As a DM which do you like best?

[Kahuna Burger]

I chose Setting, though Campaign was a close second. The tie breaking point is that campaign ideas usually just come to me almost fully formed, and thus there isn't a lot of creative process in them. Settings are projects I can sink my teeth into and really enjoy, and campaigns, adventures and npcs often naturally emerge from the setting work.

 

[Stormborn]

(Did you mean Gollum?)

D'oh! Yes. How could I worry about "Amon Hen" (which I am still not sure about) and get Gollum wrong?

 

[frankthedm]

Making the monsters

 

[Dan Bell]

I used to like Creating the Setting with my own homebrew world. However, as a time saver I began using the www.lythia.com free downloads to save time building areas of the world and now have branched into Campaign and NPC design.

 

[barsoomcore]

Of the options, I chose "Creating The Campaign" -- since it includes creating the setting (a campaign must have a setting to run in), creating the adventures (without adventures there's no campaign) and creating the NPCs (again, necessary for a campaign to exist).

I mean, a "campaign" is basically a collection of adventures and NPCs set in a particular setting, right?

That said, I'm T. Foster -- actually running the game is FAR more fun than any of the prep work.

 

[ivocaliban]

Of the choices, I definitely had to vote NPCs. Whether foes or allies, having a cast of well-imagined NPCs is a great way of encouraging well-imagined PCs. I know that when I was starting out, I didn't quite get the whole "roleplaying" thing until I played under a DM who was brilliant at creating, describing, and acting his NPCs. Then it all clicked. I try to offer the same experience to my players.

I'm with you! It's the NPCs that really brings the world to life for me, regardless of which side of the screen I'm on. This is especially true for me, however, because I've been running a campaign with only one player for several years.


EDIT: Thought I'd add my order preference as well:

1.) Creating the NPCs
2.) Creating the Setting
3.) Creating the Campaign
4.) Creating the Adventures

 

[NCSUCodeMonkey]

Lots of world builders! I voted for adventures, however, because I like to construct fun challenges and I tend to do my worldbuilding/npc building as part of the adventure itself.

 

[Tinker Gnome]

It is making the adventure for me.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

I voted for the last option

Creating is all cool and stuff, but I am not a fiction writer and have trouble keeping a coherent world setting. I much prefer taking a well built world {Eberron/Ravenloft}, a solid campaign {War of the Burning Sky}, grab the next module {Shelter from the Storm... my group starts that one this month}, tweak the NPCs to fit my group.. and then the fun part comes....

Dump that whole kettle of goodness in front of my players and try to adjust to whatever 'left turn' they come up with while maintaining a fun game session and a passing resemblance to the module/campaign/world

To me, as a GM.. thats what I like best... riding the beast of the social conflict known as a game session.

 

[Dice4Hire]

It is all part and parcel of the whole experience. I enjoy creating all of them equally.

Now if you had mentioned statting them out, well the answer would be different.