It depends on how quickly you can scan different types of organizational methods.
I'm fairly visual but I like words. I'm also lazy so when running a very complex plot where players needed to talk/grab/open/use various people and items I use the following system:
Every place/room gets a notecard or piece of paper with a big title labeling which one it is. The front has the description, people and stuff the players need to find out. List each one on a line with a space in front for two marks. The first space is checked once they notice the thing (looked around the room, seen the person, poked the thing). The second gets checked off if they get the relevant information they needed (spoke to the person/got the info/opened the thing/took the thing). That second means they completed the task and you probably don't need the card again unless the players can't remember what they did there or if they have the thing. It's mainly so you know they did the thing and you don't have to cover it again.
After the listing of the thing is a page number where it's referenced in the book in case you need more detail or can't remember something so you don't have to flip through looking for stuff.
On the back side of the paper is a quick list of page numbers for treasure tables (if relevant) and so I can make notes about what players did/did not do in case they go back.
If NPCs belong to different factions I have also color coded their names with two or more colors if they are double-agents.
For plot points label them A, B, C, etc. and put those letters on the rooms/people cards at the top so you can quickly pull which are relevant. Front side of the plot point gets the description and the back gets notes on what the players did. If the players go back or your notes get extensive make another card and either attach them or start labeling them A1/A2.
Example:
Players go to A to meet
someone offering a job and collect a Map, Instructions and promise of payment (up to 20% in advance).
A card goes something like this on the front:
Quote:
A
Wyvern's Tail, Waterdeep Tavern
[X][ ]Main room: 6 tables, 1 bar, stairs to rooms for let above, open hearth.
[X][X]Garven, Bartender p.17
[X][ ]Kess, chatty Barmaid p.17
[X][ ]Tess, silent Barmaid p.17
[X][ ]Hala, thief p.17
[X][ ]Cento, sellsword p.17
[X][ ]11 random patrons
[ ][ ]Mysterious Patron p.5
Dungeon # of book the pages are from.
Backside:
Quote:
A
Pickpocket table p.XX (if you haven't already memorized this from previous adventures).
Cento: copper coin with a sword on one side and a wavy mark on the other. 5 irregular holes around the edge. Needed to access hidden room upstairs. Also carries enough matching copper coins for all player characters. Those coins match each other and have 2 weird holes that open a cabinet in the Captain's map room.
Ignored Kess, annoyed Tess, broke furniture and are no longer welcome without a bribe or disguises. Looted 3 patrons, caught by 1 who's going to be useful later for another Waterdeep plot. Never found hidden room, patron or received coins. Maybe add one coin to the pickpocketed loot?
..and that's about typical for when my group got together. Half the plot derailed at the first encounter if the characters had to find a clue or meet someone. We had much better success with "You have been found by the representative of Lord Moneybags. He offers this quest, do you accept?"
I still have location/people cards that are ready to go for a different adventure now because they never got used. After finishing pre-made plots they go in a box for instant "shuffle adventures" where every player picks 3 cards and whoever is DM makes a plot out of what they pick. Everything is already referenced with whatever specific book they were made for and the treasure tables are ready to go.
Hope this helps!
I want to live in Theory. Everything works there.
Have you checked the
Gem MP for Gene and Breed scrolls before buying an AH listing from me ending in
5g?
