Prep Time Vs. Play Time

[4everdm]

For me based on a one night game, I think Eric is pretty acurate in his explanation, however that would pertain to just a one night session. For major campaigns I can take up to a month of prep time before I DM the next session.
Don't give a DM too much time to prep - we just have more time to plot out the nasties and villians, for better or worse - LOL

 

[ForceUser]

I'm with Mr. EN. I spend a lot of time mulling over characterization, plot threads, contingencies, etc. I don't like being blind-sided by completely unexpected turns, so I try to imagine myself in my players' shoes and reacting to an upcoming story point in a variety of ways. I try to take into account the fact that high level players can pretty much uncover any secret and get anywhere they want. I plan adventures based on the assumption that they will use what abilities they have available to the fullest. So far it's working pretty well. But I spend a lot of time in thought as a result.

 

[the Jester]

I try to take into account the fact that high level players can pretty much uncover any secret and get anywhere they want. I plan adventures based on the assumption that they will use what abilities they have available to the fullest. So far it's working pretty well. But I spend a lot of time in thought as a result.

This is a good point- higher level groups, ime, in 3.x, require much more prep than lower-level groups. It can take several hours to work up a high-level villain properly.

 

[kamosa]

I spend less time now then in 2E

I tend to prep less per hour than I did in 2e or 1e. I find that with all the special rules and lots of rolling stuff and looking up powers and feats we tend to get less done per hour in 3e, so I only have to prepare every third session or so.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I generally spend less time on preparing the night's game than actually playing it, and I definitely spend less time developing the campaign in general than playing. Even my NPC development for big combats has become abbreviated.
Part of this is having an older campaign with well-established plot threads. A lot of plot writes itself.

I'm with Piratecat. My game's been running for more than 3 years with about 12-16 hours of game per month and I tend to see the same characters and locations over and over, requiring less and less prep time. The plots are often character driven and are attempts to wrap up loose ends.

It was much harder in the beginning but now there are so many trigger events that could make the characters targets or potential allies to be sought out that the plots write themselves. Even when I do something off the wall, I can usually end up blaming it on the players.

 

[Ron]

I hardly write anything as preparation to a game. Usually, I write down spellcaster's spells, as it might be hard to track it without taking notes, and I do some very schematic maps. That's it. This doesn't means that I don't spend time thinking about the game. I do. It is one of my main occupations while taking the subway in the home or to the work.

It isn't exactly preparation to the game, but, as I am a reasonably good amateur illustrator, I take some time to actually draw the main npcs. To illustrate them is very useful as I usually determine their personality and equipment while I am actually doing it. Still, I hardly take any kind of notes.

 

[Arnwyn]

I tend to prep less per hour than I did in 2e or 1e. I find that with all the special rules and lots of rolling stuff and looking up powers and feats we tend to get less done per hour in 3e, so I only have to prepare every third session or so.

Exactly the opposite for me. My prep time for a 3e game compared to 2e is absolutely astronomical, but gameplay in a 3e game has been much smoother than 2e - they get far more things done, and faster, in this edition.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

It's working out and writing up 3e stat blocks that takes the time, although I've started to spend less time worrying about what extra skills an advanced monster has if it's going to be killed in one or two rounds!

The other weird thing is that the bits I spend ages preparing seem to be the fly past in play, and the bits I don't spend much time on take ages to play through.


Cheers


Richard

 

[diaglo]

3 to 1 ratio.

3hrs of prep for every hour of play

2 of those hours are spent on the adventure for the night. while 1 more is spent on campaign tie-ins.

 

[Thanee]

I voted the first (less prep than play) and other.

I don't really do much in terms of preparation, but I do spend some time browsing these board and other stuff, just to relax, which sometimes does lead to something, which I include in the game then. While this is not really preparation, it's maybe a bit of it still and would be fair to be counted somewhat.

Bye
Thanee