I stink at winging it- HELP!

[maddman75]

Don't Panic! Yes, others have said it, but I'm saying it again because it is important. Personally I love it when the group does something I haven't considered.

- Don't set up conclusions based on what the PCs will do. Give them a conflict or problem and see what they would do to get by it. Lets say the lord of the keep says they've been having trouble with an orc tribe. They've taken over an old keep and keep raiding out of it. Rather than try to figure out what the PCs are going to do, just detail the keep loosely. The players might try a frontal assault, or a trojan horse, or simple diplomacy, or a night-time raid, or something that you've never considered. You're just introducing a problem without a pre-concienved solution. Let them go at it!

- Your notes don't matter. Unless the PCs have interacted with it in some way, what you've prepared is irrelevant. If they run into a band of orcs and comment "That Duke Dastardly must have hired the local tribes to make the roads more dangerous, so the King will give him more troops!" That's much cooler than what you had planned, so thinking quickly you say that there's a bag of coins from the Duke's mint on the leader. The players think its cool and they think they're clever for figuring out your Evil Master Plan.

- About Evil Master Plans, even if you don't have one always act like you do. When the chance comes you can tie everything together to make it look like a carefully crafted plot, while the players have had complete autonomy the entire time. Love it!

- When in doubt, ninjas attack. Or orcs, or zombies, or whatever as your game dictates. You can figure out why they're attacking later, if anyone cares.

- Don't be afraid to ask for a few minutes to think about things. The players won't feel bad for you, they'll feel good about themselves for stumping the GM!

 

[Reyemile]

I encourage anyone in a large metropolitain area to keep their ear to the ground regarding a free improv class. Many places that have improv class programs will have a recurring single seminar or class that is either cheap or free as a way of letting people check out what they teach and how they teach it. If you have a couple of hundred dollars, of course, you could probably take and eight week program of improv which, even at the beginner level, would help any DM tremedously. Being able to react on the fly in a positive manner is the essence of what they teach and you need not be funny or intend to get onto a stage to gain some benefit by such instruction.

Darn, I was hoping that no one else had mentioned improve so I could sound all smart and awesome for suggesting it. Foiled again!

That being said, Improv classes at summer camp are responsible for much of my DMing skills, as well as my teaching ability (my day job)

 

[CharlesRyan]

A lot of people are saying "prepare," and I definitely agree. But as a one-word bit of advice, it can be overwhelming--how do you "prepare" for every possibility?

My advice is to narrow the concept a bit. If you think about it, when winging it you probably stumble over some things more than others. For me, I can wing plot changes just fine, and locations pretty darn well. But if I have to come up with the name of an NPC on the fly, he's probably going to be called "Bob." For whatever reason, in a pressure situation I just can't come up with details like that.

So for me, the "prepare" mantra often applies most to having a list of names and similar details that I can draw upon when winging it. For you, it might mean having a few stat blocks off to the side, fleshing out your campaign map a bit, or whatever.

The point is, if you can identify the sort of things that hang you up or send you into a panic, you can reduce the "prepare" mandate to something that's much more manageable.

 

[Haltherrion]

Prepare shorter notes- fragments of things you can use. Plus try to figure out what specifically stumps you and prep some material to cover that. Is it pulling together a random critter or NPC? Then make a few up ahead of time. Is it dialogue? Jot downs some phrases you like. Adventure hooks? Make up a few. SImilarly, review the stuff that you have trouble with a few nights ahead of time and before the game.

You don't need volumes of notes, just some half or quarter pages here and there to guide you through.

 

[pjrake]

My .2 Cents:

I like to think of running a session as taking a test. I study before hand (game prep), by writing notes, encounters, maps, even dialogue (like a Q&A type deal). In other words, I spend ALOT of time prepping for any possible outcome.

But when it comes time to run the game, I put away all my papers (no cheating while taking the test!). The only thing I refer to are the stats, which are printed on index cards anyway, and a map if I have one. So during the game, I do not look at my notes at all and pretty much go with the flow of the game.

Afterwards, when I look at my notes, many times it's completely different than what actually happened during the game.

But here is the key: I prepared (studied) ahead of time, read over the notes, created my own "world" in my head that I was prepared to run the game (take the test).

Dumb analogy, I know, but it works for me

Hope this helps!

-PJ

 

[The Shaman]

Let them ponder, wonder, and speculate. Then you can work off of their ideas and fill in the gaps.

Another technique is to change what you have written a bit so it 'rises' to meet the PCs no matter what they do. . . . 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.

Listen to your players' table talk and then make their speculations reality. If a player says, "maybe there's a tribe of angry goblins behind all this." Then by god, there is a tribe of angry goblins behind all this.

I strongly disagree with this advice. For me this is actually a way of robbing players of making meaningful choices.

My bit of advice is to stop thinking in terms of plot or adventure but in terms of the game-world. Let the world react to the adventurers' actions. When they walk into town, try to put yourself in the shoes of the people of the town: what is the reaction of the guard on the town gate to the adventurers? the head of the local thieves' guild? the owner of the best inn in town? the burghers of the town council? the little beggar boy in the market?

And remember that each person holding a job may react differently: that guard may be easily bribed, or completely uncorruptible; lazy and disinterested in his work, or dedicated and observant; affable or gruff.

Motivations are the source of adventure, so motivate your npcs and monsters and adventures will present themselves.

This works with modules as well. Consider the classic Village of Hommlet. Say the adventurers spend a night in Hommlet and then decide to move on. You know what's happening at the moat house, and surely the villagers of Hommlet aren't the only ones to notice signs of the return of the cult. A merchant on the road - or the bodies of a merchant party - may point to increasing bandit activity. Other villagers may have their own stories about the strange doings in the area. Read the module, but use it as a tool to understand what's going on in the wider world, and use that information to inform those reactions.

 

[fba827]

As you read through the adventure, at every couple paragraphs/encounter/etc, as yourself the question ...
"What if it ended this way instead .../ what if they went to A instead of B?" and jot down notes on how to tie it back to the main story.

Your players might not necessarily do the curve-ball you asked yourself but:
a) it might be a little close and give you an idea as to how to tie it back
b) it gets you thinking outside the box as a mental exercise (aka practice).

 

[pawsplay]

The best practice for winging it is to prepare relentlessly. Eventually, your bones will know what to do.

 

[nedjer]

Having a good chat with the players well before the campaign or module is a win for me. They can give a general idea of some of the adventures or modules they'd like to get caught-up in. No need to be real specific but Dark Age, Medieval, Tropical, Desert or Rainforest and conquering, exploring the unknown, deadly dungeons, mystery and/ or lost at sea . . . in advance can set up some common ground/ plot and feature seeding without locking too much down

 

[qstor]

My two coppers...Make a list of objects, tavern names, NPCs etc before a game. Then if the PC's ask like what bars are in town? You'll have a list of names to pick from.

Also make a note next to each NPC, as to their description. Maybe one has long hair, or a beard or is a dwarf etc.

check this site out too

Roleplaying Tips for game masters for all role-playing systems

Good luck

Mike