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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9339491" data-attributes="member: 6877472">Life circumstances have given me a lot of free time.&nbsp; Sunday I begin the first session of my new game.&nbsp; I've been converting old D&amp;D modules for 5e play (but this isn't really a 5e or even a D&amp;D topic).&nbsp; Last night I finished up what I hope will be the fifth adventure.Not the fifth session.&nbsp; The fifth adventure.And now I'm wondering, am I being too optimistic?&nbsp; Am I setting myself up for failure?&nbsp; Most games I've been in or run don't last this long.Is planning so far ahead a mistake in of itself?&nbsp; We all know the adage, &quot;no carefully prepared campaign has ever survived contact with the players&quot;.&nbsp; I don't yet fully understand their strengths and weaknesses, and I'm designing encounters they'll be facing when (I presume) they'll be level 9!&nbsp; I'm probably going to have to go back and change a lot of things.And the more I think on these lines, the more I second-guess myself.&nbsp; I seeded the game with spellbooks, but I don't know if there's going to be a Wizard yet (yeah, session 1 is also going to be session 0...well 0.5, I guess.&nbsp; It's not how I wanted things to go, but here we are)!Are the rewards too great?&nbsp; Older adventures can be pretty fast and loose with treasure.&nbsp; How many interesting things am I going to need to offer for downtime activities?&nbsp; Have I really given the party enough things to do with their gold?Will they even like the adventures I have planned?&nbsp; Will they turn their noses up at the plot hooks and side quests?&nbsp; I don't want to railroad them, but if they set off in a wild new direction, I don't know what I'll do.I guess the question I'm wrestling with is, is there such a thing as too much preparation?&nbsp; I haven't GM'd a game in some time, I used to do it all the time, but back then, I'd rarely prep more than one session ahead.&nbsp; Now I'm wondering if I'm setting myself up for a fall.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 9339491, member: 6877472"] Life circumstances have given me a lot of free time. Sunday I begin the first session of my new game. I've been converting old D&D modules for 5e play (but this isn't really a 5e or even a D&D topic). Last night I finished up what I hope will be the fifth adventure. Not the fifth session. The fifth adventure. And now I'm wondering, am I being too optimistic? Am I setting myself up for failure? Most games I've been in or run don't last this long. Is planning so far ahead a mistake in of itself? We all know the adage, "no carefully prepared campaign has ever survived contact with the players". I don't yet fully understand their strengths and weaknesses, and I'm designing encounters they'll be facing when (I presume) they'll be level 9! I'm probably going to have to go back and change a lot of things. And the more I think on these lines, the more I second-guess myself. I seeded the game with spellbooks, but I don't know if there's going to be a Wizard yet (yeah, session 1 is also going to be session 0...well 0.5, I guess. It's not how I wanted things to go, but here we are)! Are the rewards too great? Older adventures can be pretty fast and loose with treasure. How many interesting things am I going to need to offer for downtime activities? Have I really given the party enough things to do with their gold? Will they even like the adventures I have planned? Will they turn their noses up at the plot hooks and side quests? I don't want to railroad them, but if they set off in a wild new direction, I don't know what I'll do. I guess the question I'm wrestling with is, is there such a thing as too much preparation? I haven't GM'd a game in some time, I used to do it all the time, but back then, I'd rarely prep more than one session ahead. Now I'm wondering if I'm setting myself up for a fall. [/QUOTE]

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