Series Bible Management for Actual Play Shows

What a Series Bible Is and Why You Need One

A series bible is a comprehensive reference document that contains everything canonically true about your show's world, characters, and storylines. Television writers have used them for decades. Actual play shows need them for the same reason: when multiple people need to maintain consistency across a long-running narrative, everyone needs access to the same reference.

For an actual play show, your series bible serves multiple audiences:

The GM uses it to verify facts during prep and avoid contradictions
The players reference it to maintain character consistency and recall past events
Editors use it to verify proper nouns, spellings, and pronunciations during post-production
New team members (guest players, substitute editors, social media managers) use it to get up to speed
The show itself benefits from the disciplined documentation that the bible requires

Series Bible Structure

Organize your bible into sections that match how people actually search for information:

Section 1: World Overview

A two-to-three-page overview of the setting:

The world's name and basic cosmology
The current political and social landscape
How magic (or technology, or the supernatural) works
The tone and genre conventions of the show
The current in-game date and calendar system

This section should be stable — updated rarely, only when fundamental world facts change.

Section 2: Character Directory

Player Characters: For each PC, maintain:

Full name (and pronunciation guide if needed)
Race, class, and level
Physical description as established on air
Personality traits as demonstrated in play (not backstory — actual on-air behavior)
Key relationships with other PCs and NPCs
Current goals and motivations
Backstory elements that have been revealed on air (separate from backstory elements known only to the GM)
Significant items and abilities

NPCs: For each significant NPC:

Name and pronunciation
Physical description as established on air
Location and role
Personality in three words
Relationship to the player characters
Key information they possess
Current status (alive, dead, missing, transformed)
First appearance episode number

Section 3: Location Directory

For each significant location:

Name and pronunciation
Physical description as established on air
Key features and landmarks
Notable inhabitants
Storyline connections
Episodes where this location featured prominently

Section 4: Storyline Tracker

For each active storyline:

Storyline name and brief description
Current status (active, dormant, resolved)
Key episodes
Unresolved questions
Known connections to other storylines
Planned developments (GM eyes only — flag this section accordingly)

Section 5: Established Rules

Any rules, mechanics, or world logic that have been established on air:

House rules
How specific spells or abilities work in your world
Legal, social, or magical systems that have been described
Any "this is how it works in our world" declarations

These are especially important because audiences will remember rule declarations and hold you to them.

Section 6: Pronunciation Guide

A list of every proper noun in the show with its phonetic pronunciation. This is critical for:

Consistency across episodes (the GM says "AHL-dric" but the player says "al-DRIK")
Editor reference during post-production
Fan wiki accuracy

Maintaining the Bible

A series bible that is not maintained is worse than no bible at all — it gives false confidence in outdated information.

Update frequency: After every recording session, spend ten to fifteen minutes updating relevant sections. This is non-negotiable. Build it into your production workflow.

Update responsibility: Assign one person as the bible's maintainer. This can be the GM, a producer, or a dedicated team member. Having a single owner prevents the "I thought you were updating it" problem.

Version control: Track when entries were last updated. An NPC entry that was last updated thirty episodes ago should be flagged for review.

Player contributions: Players should update their own character entries. They know their character's current state better than you do. Provide a simple template and a deadline.

The GM-Only Section

Your series bible should have a restricted section that only the GM can access:

Unrevealed backstory elements
Planned plot twists
NPC secrets
Future storyline developments
Player backstory connections that have not been revealed yet

This section ensures you can reference your plans without spoiling your players. If your bible is a shared document, use access controls. If it is a physical document, keep the restricted section separate.

Common Series Bible Mistakes

Building the bible before you need it — Creating an elaborate bible in Session Zero that goes out of date by Session 5. Start minimal and grow organically.
Making it too long — A 200-page bible that nobody reads defeats its purpose. Keep entries concise. Link to detailed sub-documents for deep dives.
Not distinguishing canon from plans — Mixing "what has been established on air" with "what I plan to establish" creates confusion. Clearly mark planned content as non-canonical.
Ignoring the pronunciation guide — Inconsistent pronunciation is the most noticeable continuity error for audio audiences. Maintain the guide from Episode 1.
Treating the bible as static — The bible is a living document. If you are not updating it regularly, it is a historical artifact, not a reference tool.

Building a series bible for your actual play show? Join the TransitMap waitlist — organize your show's canonical information as an interconnected map where characters, locations, and storylines are all linked and searchable.

Building and Maintaining a Series Bible for Your Actual Play Show