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Because they are at the fridge? And they've remembered the issue AFTER it was relevant at the table as opposed to when at the table and it should have been recalled. It is a TV trope for a reason. Sure! But one of the sets of things I note is what previous facts were used to construct the...

I suspect even in 4e it is revealing that the NPC has a level and combat powers and isn't just a 'common person' or minion.

Actually, the PCs found the crown prince guilty and he was exiled from the kingdom. They never twigged that there might be a bad actor attempting to frame him. It wasn't even that good a frame. Had a player offered the scenario, that wouldn't have happened regardless of who the framer was...

Absolutely! But, it is a common style of play that many tables enjoy.

Depends entirely on the NPC and their role in the campaign. One 1e game I ran, the crown prince was accused of killing a prostitute and the PCs were tasked to (very quietly) ascertain his guilt. It would have blown the scenario wide open if the players knew a new member of court -- the sister...

No one remembering right now doesn't mean no one remembers on their way to the fridge for a drink. Nor does it mean that the fact isn't salient in undershoring a whole bunch of previous precedents and actions. Nor does it mean the it won't become pivotal again in the future.

I think there's a Crown and Anchor everywhere. The point is more that what each player knows/remembers will vary and someone* needs to be tasked with making certain the whole remains coherent. * Someone who has the official history/notes and can make the all the cross connections. Not...

Roleplay and decision-making don't affect prep time much. It can affect how much the GM feels necessary to sketch out in broad terms, if the GM simply can't know which way the players will jump in the next session. I had one group that would announce where they expected to go at the end of a...

Sure! Building player engagement is a great goal! Not the one we've been discussing though. It is certainly a laudable result even if it doesn't save much time. And having the player build NPCs their PC should be familiar with is also terrific. You still have to sift through them for...

The primary reason prep was light IME is twofold: treasure wasn't a priority and so placement of same was trivial. Dungeons weren't really a thing so mapping was also much lighter. At worst, you tended to get a couple of "special" locales. Both of those tend to substantially reduce prep...

Nah, I'll just ignore you arguments, thanks. You should have ignored the impulse to post this. EVERYONE: disagreeing without being disagreeable is the better path. Ignoring someone is fine; announcing you’re doing so just adds fuel to the fire.

@GameOrgre came out and stated where he spent his time. Dresden Files style shared worldbuilding isn't a fit. Feel free to read the thread and catch up so I don't need to summarize.

WoD was an early attempt at a "Nar" game as opposed to D&D's "trad" game play. Ultimately, the GM / players roles ended up similar with the GM being expected to simply use enough force to force play into a strong narrative. The tools to provide a stronger natural 'Nar' experience hadn't been...

I didn't ask anything @GameOgre did. The initial techniques offered would reduce prep in a FATE game (or similar play style game) during worldbuilding. It's not a stretch to point out that doesn't solve anything for GameOgre already running a 5e game.

Sure, I suppose. Per NPC that wouldn't cut much time off the construction and would potentially introduce anachronisms you'd have to be watchful for. If the campaign uses a few hundred NPCs the player sketch out, the savings might add up.

Generally, it would be impossible, yes. The players creating NPCs unless the NPCs are fluff to begin with, grants too much insight and ability to build in their own entry paths. Reviewing and editing other people's work is time consuming. Reviewing and then applying changes that I'd need to...

No. No one has argued that. The primary argument has been nothing has been presented that in fact would reduce DM time for the specific request (a currently running 5e game). A secondary argument has been there is no indication players are willing to adopt consistent prep time of any...

Sure! you can collaboratively design available and known locations. Modern games generally don't need much design work spent there though. I use google maps and run the "normal world" as the normal world. Exploration-heavy campaigns generally don't spend too much time in known territories...

It's not just dungeons: it any form of heavy player exploration. For example, a hex crawl suffers a similar problem. Should the party push through the swamp or trust skirting the edge is enough? Heck, I've run exploration-heavy soap-opera superhero games where the primary exploration was...

Well then, you obviously shouldn't be in the hobby! /s