Be honest, DMs: how much do you ad lib?

[Ace]

I'm a fanatical reader of Knights of the Dinner Table and last night I was reading some of my old issues and laughed my head off at this story in which B.A. (the DM of the group, for those of you who don't know KODT) confessed to his players that because he was so overworked he had completely ad libbed their last session, making up stuff and rolling on random encounters. The irony, of course, was that this was (according to the players) their best session ever.

My question for you DMs out there is this: How much do you ad lib? And have you ever had the balls to ad lib an entire adventure? I have to admit--I'm itching to try, just to see if I can get away with it...

I add lib about 85% of my adventures (except Dungeon Crawls) I usually have a bunch of stat blocks, maps, a time line and a little plot- The rest will work itself out

IMC the players decide what adventures they want to have not the DM. I will point them in a few direction but they can do anyhting they really want to

 

[Nightchilde-2]

More than my players know. I find it TERRIBLY difficult to ad-lib a D&D game as opposed to, say, a game using the Storyteller System. But I try. I generally get a map, an idea of the scenario and roll up appropriate treasures and let fly.

The secret is to not let the players know you're making stuff up on the fly.

 

[Quasqueton]

Exactly how are you defining "ad lib"? Do you mean making *everything* up totally out of whole clothe at the game table?

For instance, the first adventure for my current group was an old ruined castle full of minor undead and surrounded by a lizardfolk tribe. I had all the residents written up (lizardfolk, skeletons, zombies, hag covey, etc.), a map of the castle, and the backstory and current plot of the locale written out.

But how the PCs approached the adventure (diplomacy with the lizardfolk, or weapons out charge) was completely open. Since there was no script for the PCs to follow, everything that happened within that adventure was ad lib, in my mind.

If the PCs used diplomacy but insulted the tribal chief, I would have to ad lib one way. If the PCs attacked first, but then offered peace, I would have to ad lib a different way. How the adventure proceeded and would end (or not end) was completely open to how the PCs handled things.

So, did I ad lib in the sense everyone here is thinking? Or was the fact that I had the monster stats, map, and backstory written up mean that I did not ad lib?

Is ad lib at the opposite end of the spectrum from a plot nazis? (Did I just kill this thread by saying, "nazi"?) Whereas the plot nazi must have everything happen exactly as he has planned it, does the ad libber have to make everything up on the spur of the moment, with no notes at all?

To me, either extreme is undesirable.

Quasqueton

 

[tauton_ikhnos]

Me ad libbing == train wreck in fast forward

Use modules, planned encounters, etc.

How events & encounters intersect, that I do on the fly, but have to have everything prepped ahead. If PCs go somewhere I have no prep at all, pause game, and either (a) regroup in 30 min, or (b) regroup next week, depending on amount of prep needed.

 

[BSF]

Heh - Ad lib, what's that? I creatively build scenarios on the fly. I also personify my characters as needed. Just-In-Time stat generation has occurred at times. But, ad lib?

I won't give an estimate of how often I ad lib. It can vary quite a bit. But, I am generally very comfortable ad libbing and my playes have enjoyed some of those sessions the most. I know I have hosed sessions while ad libbing, but I seem to have more success than failure.

I think the keys to successful ad lib come from being familiar with the rules, being familiar enough with the game world that you aren't afraid to make up something new, having a decent idea of where you think you are going to go with the ad lib bits, and knowing your players to some degree. The great thing about this is that these are the same keys to a lot of successful DM'ing anyway.

The biggest hurdle I have seen for people ad libbing is the fear. They are afraid that they won't be able to make a convincing NPC on the spot, or that they didn't plan for the PC's to track those 4 ogres, that were a random encounter, to a cave hidden behind a boulder. As a DM, all of us tend to want to present the "perfect" adventure to our players. Sometimes we agonize over little details that don't matter in the grand scheme of playing the game. So, get over that fear because most of our players aren't going to quibble that you don't have all the hobbies and secondaries motivations mapped out for an NPC they just met. If you need to, call a 5 minute break to grab snacks, hit the bathroom, swap out music, and get your head wrapped around whatever it is you are making up. If all the things you are ad libbing start to become overwhelming, just remember that you need to get to the end of this session, that's all. Then you have time to flesh out everything you just ad libbed the framework for.

 

[heimdall]

I've ad-libbed as the case demanded it when my players do something unexpected. They did this past Tuesday and I was very impressed with their creativity. I don't mind ad-libbing in those situations.

I have ad-libbed sessions and even entire campaigns with good success, but I find that at the end of it I am not as satisfied as when I make an earnest effort to prepare. I may only use 2-5% of the material I come up with during a given campaign, but I always have it for the future. Preparing, for me, is a lot of fun because I can try things out on paper (or computer) and see the results before subjecting my players to them.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

So have any of you ever just...froze up?

I did once. As silly as it sounds, I was horrified. The players took a turn in a direction I hadn't anticipated. My brain locked. After a few minutes of intentional OOC distractions, things got back to their normal flow. But those two or three minutes seemed to last an eternity as I struggled desperately to come up with some direction.

Maybe I just take my job as DM too seriously.

I'm typically pretty good ad ad-libing though. My dungeons are well planned, but everthing else is just backed up by a sort of "plot skeleton".

 

[d4]

have i ever ad-libbed entire sessions? heck, i've ad-libbed whole campaigns.

when i GM, i typically show up with a GM screen, some dice, and a list of NPC stat blocks.

and that's it.

everything else is made up on the spot.

winging it -- it's the only way to fly!

 

[Agback]

My question for you DMs out there is this: How much do you ad lib? And have you ever had the balls to ad lib an entire adventure?

I almost always ad lib almost everything I GM. I give players so much freedom to shape the adventure that it would be impractical to do anything else.

Regards,


Agback

 

[nopantsyet]

I adlib constantly. My preparation is mostly spent in developing the campaign world and NPCs. There are plots going on, and various NPCs are tied to certain plots. But their actions are not scripted. I may plan to reveal certain information via a particular NPC if the situation arises, but everything depends on what the PCs are doing.

As far as combat, I spend my preparation time building ecosystems to determine what type of monster encounters may occur. Monster encounters are either pseudo-random (pacing decisions...) or location-based. Humanoid encounters are more based on character actions.

Overall, I try to make the game as immersive and interactive as I can. I try not to let NPCs act on meta-game knowledge just as my players do the same with their PCs. It generally works out very well.