DM Dilemma - I Need Help, ENWorld! - *UPDATED* - Putting YOUR ideas to work!

[Gloomshroud]

I want to tap the brain trust of those here, as you are FAR better at this than I am, from what I can tell. Here's the issue:

As a DM, I strive to constantly improve my game. This is all in the interest of good fun, of course, but I have really hit a wall here. I constantly strive to give my players a dynamic, evolving game in which their choices matter.

However, I'm guilty as sin of running "adventures on tracks." I understand the concepts of situational preparation vs. plot preparation. I understand the basic idea of WHERE I want the adventure to go. However, I run into a HUGE stumbling block when I actually try to sit down and WRITE IT DOWN.

This is the important thing. My dilemma is not the "theory," but rather the "practice" of creating good adventures. The PHYSICAL act of creation. Outlines don't work for me, flowcharts end up a confused mess that leave me overpreparing. I love preparing adventures, but I don't want to do so much that it stalls my start time (as it has already done so).

So, I'm hoping to tap into YOUR methods of adventure CREATION. I want to know WHAT you physically write down, HOW you physically right it down, HOW MUCH you physically write down (or type, whatever).

You have a good idea...now how do you bring that idea PHYSICALLY to paper? Also, it is worth noting I do NOT like to run adventures COMPLETELY off the seat of my pants. Ability to improvise is valuable and necessary, of course, but I like to have a good idea of what my options are.

So, please, for the sake of my game and players, what is your input?

EDIT: Also, this is completely system independent. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I also wanted to add that I keep a DM Notebook. In it I have random traps, plot ideas, NPCs, place/street/ward/NPC names, treasures (magical and mundane) NPCs, and all the other doodads that DM Notebooks commonly contain. So, I have resources for improv. But my issue is not this extaneous preparation. It's this: I have a good idea. Now, I'm staring at a blank sheet of paper...what now?

 

[Diamond Cross]

Well, think of it like playing a highly popular video game like say Devi May Cry.

Not like a movie. You can enjoy a movie, but playing a video game has more involvement than just watching something on screen.

 

[Gloomshroud]

Well, think of it like playing a highly popular video game like say Devi May Cry.

Not like a movie. You can enjoy a movie, but playing a video game has more involvement than just watching something on screen.

Can you explain further your METHODS of recording this on paper?

 

[Agamon]

Hmmm. My style tends to not be highly organized/prepared. I make a point form list of ideas/encounters that may or may not come up during a session, and add to it during a session as things come up. If an area is definitely on the agenda, I write it up (or alter something that has been published to fit in), town, dungeon, whatever it may be.

I like doing it in a freestyle sort of way when possible. A lot of the stuff sits upstairs in my head, but putting it down on paper (virtual paper, in my case) helps orgainze it.

 

[Gloomshroud]

Hmmm. My style tends to not be highly organized/prepared. I make a point form list of ideas/encounters that may or may not come up during a session, and add to it during a session as things come up. If an area is definitely on the agenda, I write it up (or alter something that has been published to fit in), town, dungeon, whatever it may be.

I like doing it in a freestyle sort of way when possible. A lot of the stuff sits upstairs in my head, but putting it down on paper (virtual paper, in my case) helps orgainze it.

I am also an organizational type. However, I'm more looking for the CONTENT here. For example, you said:

I make a point form list of ideas/encounters that may or may not come up during a session, and add to it during a session as things come up.

HOW do you write it down? Word? Excel? Outline format? Just notes?

You also said:
I like doing it in a freestyle sort of way when possible

I do too. What I need is HOW do you "do it" in a freestyle way?

 

[Umbran]

Right now, I'm running Deadlands, which doesn't have a whole lot of dungeon crawling. So, I don't have lots of maps or closely-placed location logic to work out. Combat is pretty harsh, and there's no simple resurrection in the system, so the party doesn't fight unless it needs to, so I don't have to detail the combat stats for too many things either.

I am still early in the campaign (a half-dozen sessions or so), and the party hasn't entered any longer-term plots yet. They're still feeling around, figuring out who they are, and the players are getting used to the genre.

We're running weeknight sessions, so we are limited in runtime from when folks arrive after work, to about 11 PM when they have to go home to get sleep for the next workday, and there's a meal in there too. So, at best we're getting about 4 hours of play. And the party's six PCs, which keeps things a bit slow. No matter what they do, they're only getting so far before we break.

I'm not writing a whole lot of things down before play right now. I have a few sentences of notes, some general ideas and themes and key events, and an image of the locations in my head.

I expect they PCs will probably bury themselves into one or more longer-term plots soon, and as those go I will increase my preparations to suit. I especially want to start working with soundtrack and handouts more.

 

[Ogrehatescomputers]

I do a lot of the same things you do. I have my note book with my lists of badies and treasures and such. and i write down and "general outline" nothing super serious. Have those KEY story elements you want to happen, happen. Your the DM so you can guide or intice your players to "story scene" fairly easilly.

Don't over think it. Not every room in every tower or dungeon or abandon castle has to have a story element. And when i've done that in the past my players have gotten worn down by it quickly. Don't worry yourself with pre set maps either. If the players do the map but skip room X where a story element were to take place, simply move the room into their path. In that same fashion, if they are out in the city or town or whatever and the arent going where you need them to go, send the story to them. have a messanger waiting to tell them somthing.

When it comes to writing out giant sections of of plot, i don't. I write out things that have to happen no matter what. for a lot of the everyday stuff i wing it. i've also written a letter on the computer. printed it out and left it for them find in a dungeon as there next clue.

If your worried about writing out everystep of a dungeon crawl, what i do sometimes is take different sections of different dungeons from premade games. printed them out on the comp. and run with those as my dungeon. for my story lines i try to keep it interesting and fun, but open so the players can have some influence on it. and if they do something like, kill someone they should have let live, i'll makea concequence for that later. i think of my story lines like the alphabet. the players are going to get to b then c then d no matter what. but if the do something bad in b then maybe c takes longer or is costly to them.

I love story telling and love it even more when the group plays in character. It is one of the best things of DnD. Perhaps it would be better if you wrote your story out like, A then D. and how they get from a to d is up to them. but no matter what have those story lines ready to happen at A and D no matter what.

Anothre thing I do to reward my players for listening and particpating in more than just fights is, i ask everyone to email me a game summary and the best one gets som extra xp. it makes everyone have a more vested interest in the story. it's also made one of my players a entire level higher then the rest of the group.

I hope my rambling somewhat helped. Good luck. Your players are lucky to have a DM dedicated to the story as much as your are.

 

[Gloomshroud]

Right now, I'm running Deadlands, which doesn't have a whole lot of dungeon crawling. So, I don't have lots of maps or closely-placed location logic to work out. Combat is pretty harsh, and there's no simple resurrection in the system, so the party doesn't fight unless it needs to, so I don't have to detail the combat stats for too many things either.

I am still early in the campaign (a half-dozen sessions or so), and the party hasn't entered any longer-term plots yet. They're still feeling around, figuring out who they are, and the players are getting used to the genre.

We're running weeknight sessions, so we are limited in runtime from when folks arrive after work, to about 11 PM when they have to go home to get sleep for the next workday, and there's a meal in there too. So, at best we're getting about 4 hours of play. And the party's six PCs, which keeps things a bit slow. No matter what they do, they're only getting so far before we break.

I'm not writing a whole lot of things down before play right now. I have a few sentences of notes, some general ideas and themes and key events, and an image of the locations in my head.

I expect they PCs will probably bury themselves into one or more longer-term plots soon, and as those go I will increase my preparations to suit. I especially want to start working with soundtrack and handouts more.

Wow. That actually sounds like fun, hehe.

Now, here's the meat 'n taters:
...and as those go I will increase my preparations to suit

My question is thus: HOW will you do so? WHAT will you write down to prepare?

 

[Nagol]

0) Examine campaign current situation for interesting situation -- look at loose ends and unresolved conflicts for inspiration.

1) Decide on the basic structure of the situation -- exploration of static environment, response to other's action, proactive party action.

2) Decide on any thematic elements in the situation.

3) Decide on expected threat level and reward level.

4) Decide on what campaign elements will be reflected in the adventure. What NPCs, both individual and groups, will be represented and/or interested in the situation, location, McGiuffin, etc.

5) Decide how much each group knows, how much involvement is each is willing to commit for their current knowledge, and each group's goals. Assign a starting involvement for each group and likely evolution of their involvement.

6) Using broad strokes, decide how different situational resolutions will impact the various groups and the campaign in general. This step can often be skipped if the adventure will have very limited impact on the campaign universe.

7) Run the adventure.

8) Assign consequences and impacts based upon actual resolution of the situation.

 

[Ogrehatescomputers]

also i write things out in both a notebook and word. i've tried excel and other tihngs but word is good enough. i'll email reminders of story elements, esp is the plot line was a while back.