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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Schmoe" data-source="post: 6498292" data-attributes="member: 913">It's really not my style to just go in with minimal prepared material.  I find I can craft much more compelling scenarios and scenes when I have time to think them through.  If I'm running homebrew material, preparation for an adventure goes something like this:Develop an area (I'm always doing this)Develop NPCs (I'm always doing this)Flesh out likely developments in the plot the group has been followingIf those developments seem like they are leading to a site, flesh out the siteCome up with a few updates for character-specific plotsWhen we sit down to play I try to be very reactive and let the game go where the players want it to, but I wouldn't be able to react in a compelling way without all of the preparation.I'll give an example from one campaign long ago.  By the end of a session, the party had decided to seek out some information from a sage who lived in a forest about a 2 week's journey from the town.  I spent the week developing an adventure around the tower that involved a goblin druid, his corrupted brother, a rift to the Shadowlands, and slowly spreading corruption in the forest.  The adventure included the druid's tower, shadow-templated creatures (this was 3e), and a cave complex.  There's no way I could have come up with all of that or even most of that "on the fly".  Taking the time to develop it ahead of time allowed me to include subtle details that tied in with long-term plot arcs, details that I just wouldn't have thought of in the moment.I think it's amazing that some people are able to use so little preparation and run a great game.  However, I know that I'm not one, so I'm going to stick with what works for me.</blockquote>

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