I stink at winging it- HELP!

beldar1215 · Jun 16, 2010

Hello All,
I know this has probably been asked tons, but I'm going to throw it out there again. I completely stink at winging it. I run mostly pre-made adventures and when the party deviates from the module, I get panicky. I try to stick to things exactly as written and this almost never works. I need ideas on how to get past this issue. I don't feel like I'm a bad DM, I just wish I was better at making things up and going with the flow.

Beldar

Celebrim · Jun 16, 2010

beldar1215 said:
Hello All,
I know this has probably been asked tons, but I'm going to throw it out there again. I completely stink at winging it. I run mostly pre-made adventures and when the party deviates from the module, I get panicky. I try to stick to things exactly as written and this almost never works. I need ideas on how to get past this issue. I don't feel like I'm a bad DM, I just wish I was better at making things up and going with the flow.

Beldar

Panic is 90% of what stops a DM from being able to handle improvisation. If you take the DM away from the table, and sit them down with a peice of paper, the same DM that can't improvise in play is usually able to freely produce a flowing stream of all sorts of ideas.

So, my first peice of advice to you is to make sure you are capable of producing your own ideas when you aren't in a panic position. Start creating your own mini-adventures to run in between premade adventures or as side quests. Start expanding premade adventures with new encounter areas. That's usually pretty easy to do and often necessary, as its not unusual to find premade adventures containing very vague areas that the writer didn't have the space in the text to detail to any great degree.

Once you know that you can improvise when you aren't under pressure, the next thing you have to do is get rid of your panic. The key to that is to have at your fingertips sufficient material to spark your imagination when the time comes. In my opinion the single most important crutch for a DM in this situation is the random table. Even if you don't use it randomly, having those ideas at your finger tips can keep the game flowing long enough to fill out the session and give you oppurtunity to detail your ideas in between sessions. I'd suggest getting AEG Toolbox (or Ultimate Toolbox), looking at the tables in the back of the 1e DMG, and composing your own random encounter, event, and discovery tables. This is never going to be wasted work, because even if you don't use these ideas immediately, even if you never roll against the table, the ideas you create, mine, and refine while creating these tables will serve you well when creating material in other contexts.

Make sure you cover your own weaknesses. Every DM I think has had that momment of panic when the PC's want to know the name of some hitherto unnamed NPC. Keep lists of names at hand so that you can push past that panic. I think you'll find if you control your panic and practice creating between sessions you'll be able to create during a session.

Fanaelialae · Jun 16, 2010

Don't Panic!

Instead, when your players do something you didn't expect, take a moment to think about it. It's easiest if it happens during a conversation, as you can roleplay the NPC giving thoughtful consideration to the question while you come up with an answer. If you're having trouble coming up with an answer outside of a conversation, stall for time while you think of something. For example, if the PCs go down an alley to sneak into the village jail, describe the drunken hobo startled by them. Sometimes these stalling tactics may even grow into part of the story (the PCs decide to befriend the hobo or pay him for information). Most often they won't in any significant sense, but they'll buy you enough time to decide how secure the side entrance to the jail might be.

If you get really stuck, call for a short break (smoke/bathroom/whatever) and give the scenario some thought away from the table.

Most importantly though, accept that it isn't necessarily going to be a masterpiece. If something you improvise is functional, you've done yourself proud. Running off the cuff is more art than science (IMO). Give it some time and practice, and you'll see yourself improve.

Grymar · Jun 16, 2010

Pre-set up a few quick encounters. The "kick in the door" type, so that when your guys go off on a tangent, you have something you can throw in. Four goons bust down the door and come in swinging at the party.

Then let them wonder why. Were they assassins hired by <insert vexed villain>? Was it a case of mistaken identity? Throw an obscure clue down (one wears a signet ring of a manticore) and LISTEN to their theories as they talk. Let them fill in the blanks.

Oh, they are taking the ring to a local expert in nobility? Grab your pre-made list of names (if you don't have one, get one) and then a quick table on personality quirks (again, make one up before the session). Then go back to their theories and pick the one that sounds interesting. You are rewarding them for thinking by letting them know that they were right.

So what did it take to improvise? You have a pre-made assault, a list of names, and a list of personalities. That should take an hour out of game to prep and you can use two of those time and time again.

The RPG Ultimate Toolbox is also helpful for lists of these very things. Names, geography, plot hooks, etc.

But the key for me is to put pressure on the players. Let them ponder, wonder, and speculate. Then you can work off of their ideas and fill in the gaps.

And there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with telling your players "hey, grab a snack guys. I need 10 minutes to get something worked out here."

Barastrondo · Jun 16, 2010

Celebrim has much good advice. Let's see what might also stand recommendation:

- Don't be afraid to say "Interesting. Let's take a five-minute break while I work this out." Presumably your players will understand, and if any of them has a smoking habit, this might be welcome.

- One thing I do ahead of time is prepare stat blocks that can be easily pulled out and in some cases reskinned: for example, "level five humanoid bruiser" (which could be an orc, a human thug, a palace guard, whatever), or "neonate vampire." Once you have a reserve of these, you can almost dial up encounters as though you were pulling cards from a deck. (Literally, if they fit on index cards.)

- When you're looking at a pre-planned adventure, maybe try anticipating, as a mental exercise, a place or two where it could go off the rails. Then imagine what the antagonists of the piece would do if that happened, and what you might do on game night to adapt. This gives you a little extra practice. If the adventure does go off the rails in the place anticipated, miraculous! You're set. But even if it goes off the rails in a completely different place, you've gotten some practice in thinking about how to adapt.

- And always be ready for the possibility for an adventure going off the rails to turn out great. It might, it might not. But if you always bear in mind that the outcome could be even better than what you've planned, it may cut down on the nerves a bit.

Dausuul · Jun 16, 2010

Good advice from all. My two cents...

My first suggestion is this: Throw out the module. If you write the adventure yourself, you'll be more comfortable tweaking it on the fly.

My second suggestion: When you write the adventure, don't script out a rigid plotline. Instead, make up a general scenario, and put together a bunch of encounters (both combat and non-combat) that you can throw at the PCs whenever it's appropriate. If you don't have a plan to begin with, the PCs can't deviate from it.

By way of example, you could create a scenario in which the PCs are tasked with infiltrating a castle and killing the evil wizard who rules it. The castle has a network of caves underneath it filled with all manner of aberrations and demons, the result of the wizard's experiments in summoning and transmutation. The castle itself is guarded by the wizard's mind-controlled warriors. Being as the bad guy is a wizard, you can assume that he's warded his castle against most forms of magical ingress *cough*teleportation*cough*; however, the caves beneath have no such defenses.

Then make up a bunch of encounters. Have some monster encounters for the PCs to fight in the caves, and some mind-controlled warrior encounters for them to fight in the castle. Add a few other interesting items, like an imprisoned devil that the PCs can talk to and maybe get help from (at a price, of course), and a few warriors who've slipped free of the wizard's domination. For each encounter, consider what might happen if the PCs try to talk, and what might happen if they try to fight.

Don't plan out exactly where to put the encounters, though. And don't figure out how the PCs are going to get into the castle. That's their job. Let them come up with a plan and put it into action. Any time it seems like they're having too easy a time of it, lob one of your encounters at them.

It might help to think of yourself, not as a novelist or adjudicator, but as a sadistic scientist. Your goal is not to determine the outcome, but to poke the PCs with pointy sticks and see how they react.

(This is not a universally approved approach to DMing. Lots of folks prefer more of a "static-world" approach where the DM lays out everything ahead of time. But if you're having trouble improvising, I think this is a good way to learn.)

ExploderWizard · Jun 16, 2010

A little bit of extra prep goes a long way. Even when using published adventures, think about the area where the adventure takes place. Don't focus on the events and encounters outlined in the module because (hopefully) the adventure has the details for that.

For example, if your adventure takes place in a POL setting and you have a small town and an adventure site think about what types of things would fit into that environment that isn't covered by the module. Prepare statistics for NPC's and monsters that would fit into that area. Another handy idea is to have a separate list of names unconnected with any stats to rattle off when an NPC needs to be created on the fly.

For NPC's that are not suited for a combat role you can create your own roles. Sage, craftsman, guide, merchant, etc. Statistics are easy to generate, just assign decent ability scores to the stats needed to fulfill the role. For example, a guide might have a decent WIS, and a good skill levels in nature.

So lets say you now have stats for some bandits, wolves, some humanoids, NPC specialists, and a few other critters native to the area. You also have a list of names ( suitable for both sexes and several common races).

The players decide to go "off mission" and explore the surrounding area instead of going straight to the haunted tower of death. They figure that finding a local who knows the area would be a smart move. No worries. You have stats for townsfolk, and a long list of names at your fingertips.

The trick to make this all come together is good note taking during the game. While preparing generic stats I will give them a code. Then when I need to assign these to an NPC I can just jot down the name and the code of the generic statblock.

Example: Big Earl- D
D could be the stats for a guardsman, a blacksmith, a farmer, etc.

The notes help insure consistancy. When the players return to town later you have your notes to remind you who that shopkeeper was or that the town drunk was named Ned Stubbs.

If you plan on sticking to published stuff for the bulk of your adventures then this kind of extra prep should be adequate to handle some side excursions. If you want to get into more freeflowing adventure design then more depth will be required.

Doug McCrae · Jun 16, 2010

1) Preparation is the key to improvisation.
2) Written material can be changed on the fly.
3) Take a 5 minute break when you need time to think.
4) The Monster Manual helps a lot.

1) Prepare whatever you find hard to create on the spot. For me that's names and adventure seeds/outlines. Armed with a few adventure seeds you can stop worrying about whether the current one goes kaput, because you have a backup.

2) Another technique is to change what you have written a bit so it 'rises' to meet the PCs no matter what they do. Say there is an important letter on the body of a master villain and the PCs don't search his body. But they do search the chest. So you move the letter to the chest. Players are none the wiser. No matter what road the PCs go down they meet the little old man who sends them on a quest. And so forth. Everything should still remain plausible ofc.

3) If it takes you time to figure out alternate NPC plans, like the PCs enter by the skylight when you were expecting the door or whatever, or you need to do some quick stats when the PCs attack an NPC you thought they would befriend, then just call a short break. Food break, smoke break, toilet break. It's fine, no one will mind.

4) It's easier to improvise in D&D cause there are so many damn monsters in the world. Opposition is so easy to come by. It's a heckuva a lot harder in a superhero game (my preferred genre), let me tell you. There just isn't that much in the world that can trouble the PCs. And what there is all has to be handcrafted.

IronWolf · Jun 16, 2010

A lot of good suggestions here already. Practice with a lot of these techniques will help you get more comfortable with it in general. But before the session, thinking about what throws you off the most if the PCs deviate slightly from course can allow you to prep some random lists ahead of time that you can turn to in an instant to come up with something.

For example, I am horrible at coming up with names on the fly. I can picture people, come up with their motivation on the spot depending on the environment but I can stumble on a name for that NPC I didn't expect he PCs to talk to for minutes. Since this is a weak spot for me, I can make this easier on myself by having a list of names on hand to use on the fly.

As someone mentioned, ditch the published adventures for awhile. I sometimes find running published adventures harder than ones I built up the bare framework for. I worry about contradicting the written adventure if I have to decide something on the fly, etc. With ones you developed you don't have to worry about that as you are likely familiar with what you had in mind. It can be a good way to practice on the fly decision making and world creation.

Once you get used to it you can move back to the published adventures and hopefully be a little more comfortable with the times the PCs hit an area not covered in the module. And also be more comfortable with tweaking the adventure on the fly if a previous decision contradicts something later.

Good luck! Again - lots of good advice in this thread already to get you well on your way.

beldar1215 · Jun 16, 2010

Thank you all so much for the advise. I'll need to spend some time with it after work today. The only problem I see so far is ditching the modules. I'm currently running the adventure path from Dungeon and don't want to toss out the game.

Keep the advise coming. I can use all of it I can get.

Beldar