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Setting up your first campaign

This guide walks a GM through creating a campaign in the web app, inviting players, connecting the GameMinder bot, and scheduling the first session.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

  • A GameMinder account at app.gameminder.io; see Setting up your account if you have not done this yet
  • A Discord server where you have the Manage Server permission (required only if you want to connect the bot)

Step 1 - Create a campaign

  1. Log in and click Campaigns in the sidebar.
  2. Click + New Campaign.
  3. Fill in the campaign details:
  4. Campaign Name: required
  5. Description: optional; supports Markdown
  6. Format: Online or In Person
  7. System: the game system (e.g. D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e)
  8. VTT URL: for online campaigns, the link to your virtual tabletop room (optional)
  9. Under Campaign Settings, optionally enable post-session surveys and set the survey expiry window.
  10. Click Save Campaign.

Your campaign is created and appears in the campaigns list on the left.

Step 2 - Invite players

Players join your campaign via invite links.

  1. Select your campaign in the list and find the Members section in the detail panel.
  2. Click Invite Links, then click + Generate Link.
  3. Choose a role (Player or Spectator), an optional maximum number of uses, and an expiry.
  4. Click Generate, then Copy to copy the link.
  5. Share the link with your players. Each player follows the link and accepts the invitation from the join page.

You can create multiple invite links; for example, one per player, or one unlimited link to share with the whole group. Active links are listed in the Invite Links modal; you can revoke any link by clicking the X next to it.

Tip

Players must have a GameMinder account before they can accept an invite. Share the account setup guide with anyone who has not yet registered.

Step 3 - Connect the Discord bot (optional)

If you run your campaign on Discord, link your campaign to a Discord server so the GameMinder bot can post notifications, create session threads, and send reminders.

  1. In the campaign detail view, scroll to the Discord Server section.
  2. Click Connect to Discord Server. You are redirected to Discord to authorize GameMinder.
  3. After authorizing, select your server from the list and click Next.
  4. Configure the optional settings:
  5. Announcement Channel: where session notifications and updates are posted
  6. Tabletop Channel: your main campaign text channel
  7. Voice Channel: used when creating Discord scheduled events
  8. Campaign Role: a Discord role to associate with campaign members
  9. Send session reminders: toggles bot reminder messages before sessions
  10. Post GM attendance summary: toggles an RSVP summary message for the GM
  11. Click Save.

The bot is now connected. It will post in the channels you configured when sessions are created, started, and ended.

Note

The GameMinder bot must already be added to your Discord server. If it is not, invite it using the link on the GameMinder website before completing this step. The bot requires permissions including Create Public Threads, Send Messages, Embed Links, and Manage Events.

Step 4 - Create your first session

  1. From the campaign page or dashboard, click + New Session.
  2. Fill in the session details:
  3. Name: a title for the session
  4. Description: optional agenda or notes
  5. Date and Time: when the session starts
  6. Duration: how long you expect to play
  7. Optionally set a recurring schedule (weekly or biweekly) to create a series of sessions at once.
  8. Click Save Session.

All campaign members receive a notification that the session has been scheduled. If Discord is connected, the bot posts an announcement in your configured channel.

What to do when it is time to play

When your session is about to start, open the session from the Sessions page and click Start Session. This marks the session as live, triggers the Discord bot to open a session thread, and notifies all members.

When the session is over, click End Session. This completes the session and, if surveys are enabled, sends a post-session survey to every player who attended.