Read it before you run it?

[Zak S]

Do you usually read all the way through a module before you run it? Is your answer different if it's a mega dungeon with like three hundred rooms?

 

[Imperialus]

I'll read a module for sure. In my Dwimmermount game I skimmed the entire book but I only really read the next level in detail prior to the PC's getting there.

 

[ccs]

Yes, I read the entire adventure 1st. (in fact I'll often read it through several times...)
1) That way I know if there's things I need to adjust for some reason.
2) I'll know the NPCs well enough to not really need their stat blocks.
3) I'll know if there's any additional prep I'd like to do - map making, 3d parts, ordering specific minis, painting specific minis....
The earlier I know these things, the better.

And in the case of PF adventure paths? Each issue is usually written by a different author. And very often later volumes have important plot/NPC developments that would be really nice to know of early on. But aren't possible due to that different author set-up. I don't want to know about, or mind, this stuff as a player. But as a DM? Kinda important. Refer back to my 1-3 list.
So I NEVER run a PF AP before I have all 6 volumes.

 

[delericho]

Do you usually read all the way through a module before you run it?

Yes. If nothing else, a lot of modern adventures are written like stories with secrets only being revealed to the DM later in the adventure, rather than as game aides where everything is presented up-front. So the only way to be sure I know what I need is to read the whole thing.

Is your answer different if it's a mega dungeon with like three hundred rooms?

I don't use such things, especially after "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil". But if I did, I would indeed read the whole thing first.

 

[Morrus]

Generally, yeah. Though if it's literally just a site-based mega-dungeon with tons of rooms I'd struggle.

 

[Bera]

Usually just a good skim, depending on the length. If its long, I'll make probably do a super quick skim and focus on the parts the players are most likely to encounter first and the parts I'm liable to want to modify. I usually feel, afterwards, that I should have taken notes after the skim since few modules provide a decent overview and things like lists of NPCs with locations, lists of treasure with locations, etc.

If I'm running something in Roll20, I actually do take those notes after a fashion because I'm either redrawing a map or hackishly trying to cover up things like secret doors and pits that the map includes.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I definitely read all the way through a module before running it. And then read and re-read it as I'm running it. For me, in order to really do justice to a module and bring it to life, I have to know it as well as an adventure I came up with myself.

 

[Ramm83]

I definitely read all the way through a module before running it. And then read and re-read it as I'm running it. For me, in order to really do justice to a module and bring it to life, I have to know it as well as an adventure I came up with myself.

Same for me here. U need to know the ending before you can start the beginning

 

[cimbrog]

Yeah, read the whole module at least once. For megadungeons I only read the level that they're on or will enter soon. However, if the megadungeon is put together well, you should at least skim the rest of the module to find out what the factions are and how the levels are connected. For example, if you're on level 1 of Rappan Athuk, you might want to be familiar with level 4 since the PCs can end up there if they go down the river.

 

[arjomanes]

I'll skim it, going to the map first if it's a site-based location.

For crazy long adventures like Out of the Abyss, I just skimmed to get an overview, then read the first couple chapters and took some notes. That's about the biggest adventure I could imagine running (and I'm already getting tired of the Underdark by level 5 now).

For shorter 32-64 page modules (which is what I usually run, as sites/rumors in a sandbox), I'll read through the whole thing and take notes before running it. I like the LOTFP layout; it's easy to skim because of the convenient large section headers (though the modules are too deadly for my group to enjoy, so I rarely run them as written).