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[DMs] Do you enjoy your prep time from one session to the next?
- Thread starter Odhanan
- Start date
Olaf the Stout
Hero
Crothian said:
What he said. Sometimes it can be hard work but overall I enjoy it (rather than dread it or hate it). I run mainly published adventures though so I am not creating as much as I would be otherwise. I generally don't have to spend time statting up NPC's or things like that. Most of my prep time is reading through the adventure, making notes, looking up spells or magic items, seeing if there is anything that I want to change.
Olaf the Stout
Chimera
First Post
About 95% of the time, very much Yes.
I enjoy coming up with new NPCs, even if I know they're likely to die in the first round of combat. I like putting groups together, coming up with reasons for X to be working for Y, for Z to be allied to A, what relationship A has to X. Even when, for the most part, the players will never know that information.
Sometimes, like this week, I'm largely at a loss as to preparation. I have no idea what my players are going to do. They could go in any number of directions. So I'm left with Improvisation (which I'm pretty good at) and the solid foundation I've built up ahead of time.
I enjoy coming up with new NPCs, even if I know they're likely to die in the first round of combat. I like putting groups together, coming up with reasons for X to be working for Y, for Z to be allied to A, what relationship A has to X. Even when, for the most part, the players will never know that information.
Sometimes, like this week, I'm largely at a loss as to preparation. I have no idea what my players are going to do. They could go in any number of directions. So I'm left with Improvisation (which I'm pretty good at) and the solid foundation I've built up ahead of time.
Emirikol
Adventurer
I don't mind prep time, but I wish there was less. I like to game, not have to work too hard. Prepping is like work (but I have limited free time, mabye if I was bored I'd feel elsewhise). Of course with as much time as I spend on these boards, I could probably be running more 
jh
jh
The worst part of prep time for me is writing out all the stats of the various monsters/NPCs I'm going to be using onto index cards for easy reference. It's boring, especially in large, monster-heavy dungeons, and takes a lot of time.
But it really speeds up gameplay, thats for sure.
But it really speeds up gameplay, thats for sure.
Aeric
Explorer
Yes and no.
I love coming up with stories, ideas for encounters, and reacting to the players' actions from the previous session. I'd go so far as to say that I enjoy doing that more than actually running the game itself, which is why I almost never use adventures written by other people (whether it's a module, PDF, Dungeon magazine, etc.).
I hate statting out monsters and NPCs, especially spellcasting foes. Even with a wonderful program like E-Tools, it takes all night to come up with a spell list and plan of attack. If I don't plan their attacks out beforehand, the combats take 2-3 times as long.
I think that's the real reason I hate running high-level games. It takes longer to prep for a session than it does to play it.
A lot of times, I will just cop out and pull the stats straight out of a monster manual or other source. So I put "yes" as my final answer.
I love coming up with stories, ideas for encounters, and reacting to the players' actions from the previous session. I'd go so far as to say that I enjoy doing that more than actually running the game itself, which is why I almost never use adventures written by other people (whether it's a module, PDF, Dungeon magazine, etc.).
I hate statting out monsters and NPCs, especially spellcasting foes. Even with a wonderful program like E-Tools, it takes all night to come up with a spell list and plan of attack. If I don't plan their attacks out beforehand, the combats take 2-3 times as long.
I think that's the real reason I hate running high-level games. It takes longer to prep for a session than it does to play it.
A lot of times, I will just cop out and pull the stats straight out of a monster manual or other source. So I put "yes" as my final answer.
