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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 1464730" data-attributes="member: 99">My techniques are not so different than yours, dreaded_beast and I don't consider myself a lazy GM.&nbsp; I will note that I naturally tend toward a greater degree of preparation and I tend to execute it more when the group is low level.&nbsp; But I'm running a group that is around 12th level now and I've got to be able to think on my feet.&nbsp; The campaign is no longer site based but much more event based with the party teleporting all over hell and gone, passing various bits of information to various parties and generally being highly mobile.Generally I will just do lots of contemplating what the different major NPC's and factions want to accomplish and how they're going to do it.&nbsp; I familiarize myself with the spells and magic they may have at their disposal to determine if there is anything obvious or tricky they may try.&nbsp; I read over sections of the rules that are likely to be relevent such as if there is likely to be a cave in or lots of grappling or whatever.One other thing I do that you may or may not benefit from is to write down the monster stats on index cards.&nbsp; This alone massively speeds up combat because I write down all the important stuff on the card, in a standard format, and I almost never have to look at the Monster Manual to run the combat.&nbsp; The simple act of transcribing from book to card will sometimes get me to notice some obscure ability that a monster has that I might have overlooked.Also I recommend keeping a pad handy and jotting down the names and other important info about any NPC's you make up on the fly.&nbsp; After the session, give this information a look over and determine if you need to write more material down for that NPC (especially if they are going to be a major, recurring character) or not (like if the party is never going to see them again).Aside from that, it sounds like you're doing fine.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rel, post: 1464730, member: 99"] My techniques are not so different than yours, dreaded_beast and I don't consider myself a lazy GM. I will note that I naturally tend toward a greater degree of preparation and I tend to execute it more when the group is low level. But I'm running a group that is around 12th level now and I've got to be able to think on my feet. The campaign is no longer site based but much more event based with the party teleporting all over hell and gone, passing various bits of information to various parties and generally being highly mobile. Generally I will just do lots of contemplating what the different major NPC's and factions want to accomplish and how they're going to do it. I familiarize myself with the spells and magic they may have at their disposal to determine if there is anything obvious or tricky they may try. I read over sections of the rules that are likely to be relevent such as if there is likely to be a cave in or lots of grappling or whatever. One other thing I do that you may or may not benefit from is to write down the monster stats on index cards. This alone massively speeds up combat because I write down all the important stuff on the card, in a standard format, and I almost never have to look at the Monster Manual to run the combat. The simple act of transcribing from book to card will sometimes get me to notice some obscure ability that a monster has that I might have overlooked. Also I recommend keeping a pad handy and jotting down the names and other important info about any NPC's you make up on the fly. After the session, give this information a look over and determine if you need to write more material down for that NPC (especially if they are going to be a major, recurring character) or not (like if the party is never going to see them again). Aside from that, it sounds like you're doing fine. [/QUOTE]

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