DMs: How do you prepare for a session?

[KB9JMQ]

Remember what happened last session.
Have all encounters ready (ie know what spells do what, effects of poison, how grapple works again, etc.)
Have a side encounter ready in case.
Have all books and minis out and ready.
Make sure gaming area is clean from last session.
Be ready to wing it since in no way will my players take the path I think they will or do the things I think they will do.

Open Pepsi and start gaming.

 

[LogicsFate]

Create a few generic maps
Create a few generic names
Create a few generic side plots
Think about what the BBEG might be doing over the course of the session

The rest is shoot from the hip

I end up doing more planning everytime my players get off on Joke Tangents.
I.e. Once I had 10+ minutes to plan the next encounter while all my players recounted their favorite parts of Robin William's Broadway show, again. It was a helluva fight.

I'ts a loose system, people still have fun, and I can shut them up at anytime by rolling dice, or asking for a spot check. Usually they eventually stop on their own accord.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

1. Make sure the wires are still tightly connected to the metal chairs.

2. Make sure its plugged in to the wall & the master control unit behind the DM screen.

3. Make a 'test run' with the cat.

4. Set voltage based on how silly/stupid each player was the week before.

O.K. This is fantasy. But their have been times/players I wished I'd have thought to set that up.

 

[Hjorimir]

The day of the game my head pops off the pillow and I say, "Oh no! I have a game today/tonight!"

Then I scramble around in a maniacal frenzy and slap something together. Then I smile with confidence and trick my players into thinking it is something I actually put some work into.

Something like that.

Truth is that I think a lot more about my campaign than I actually write on it. There just are not enough hours in the day.

 

[haakon1]

- Read the module again for the umpteenth time. Even the parts they will never get to, because you never know.
- Write down COMPLETE notes on the stats blocks for every monster they will possibly encounter, including unpacking stuff like "Undead Traits" into the actual rules that means, and writing down the damage and threat range and missile range for all the weapons, plus capsule spell descriptions if I don't know them/have time.
- Think about the NPC's. Re-write portions of the setting and the monsters to fit the campaign better. Think about what the NPC's -- especially the bad guys have been up to, and alter their location, traps, plans, etc. as appropriate, so it seems dynamic.
- Roll the "random" monster checks ahead of time, so they are ready.
- Roll the weather ahead of time.

Get the game mat, dice, and books ready. Buy some beer and soda and rations for those who don't bring enough.

That's about it.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

When running a homebrew, I usually start with a situation or motive for an antagonist. I really like strange or surprising circumstances to kick off an adventure. Something like "You finish you meal at the tavern and are walking out into the street when you see an expensive carriage suddenly speed by, pulled by a team of 4 frothing horses running at full gallop. It hits a small child as it passes..."

I then work out consequences and likely plot events around that situation. What are the players likely to do? What sort of answers will I need?

I then flesh out more about the antagonists and their resources and motives and likely reaction to the characters actions.

Each time I think the sequence of events and contingencies through, I hone them and make notes, jotting down basic stat blocks, developing personalities and drawing maps, right up until the time the game happens... I'm always less prepared than I'd like to be. But as long as I've had at least a few hours to work on it, I can usually pull off a good game.