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<blockquote data-quote="der_kluge" data-source="post: 1356147" data-attributes="member: 945">Given the recent threads about DM's packing up their bags and leaving, I'm curious to know how much time, between sessions, does the average DM here spend preparing for the next game?&nbsp; And where the majority of that time is spent.Myself, I spend a lot of time.&nbsp; We game every other week, and I probably put in 2-3 hours per day, and more time on weekends.&nbsp; So, after a two week period, I probably will have put in easily 40 hours worth of work (in that thread I said 80, but that would be ridiculously high), but 40 hours (20 hours per week) sounds about right for me.But, that number should go down once I start running from a purchased module I have that will be coming up.The process for me is as follows:&nbsp; I spend a couple of days just *thinking* about the plot.&nbsp; My campaign relies a lot on history, and certain events and figures moving about at various times.&nbsp; So, I have to ensure that the timelines are all accurate, and the motivations for all those involved are reasonable.&nbsp; Then, I draw up a map.&nbsp; This is probably where I spend the greatest amount of time.&nbsp; I use Dungeon Crafter (love it) and end up tweaking the map just so, and getting it just like I want it.&nbsp; The architecture has to make sense, and I try to make it interesting, as opposed to just stacks of rooms after rooms with nonsensical hallways, etc. Lastly, I populate it with monsters, and treasure (if applicable).&nbsp; My campaign is fairly combat-heavy (intentionally, since most of the players aren't big role-players), so this pattern seems to work ok.I'm gonna have to cut that number back though, since it pretty much consumes every evening and large chunks of my weekend.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="der_kluge, post: 1356147, member: 945"] Given the recent threads about DM's packing up their bags and leaving, I'm curious to know how much time, between sessions, does the average DM here spend preparing for the next game? And where the majority of that time is spent. Myself, I spend a lot of time. We game every other week, and I probably put in 2-3 hours per day, and more time on weekends. So, after a two week period, I probably will have put in easily 40 hours worth of work (in that thread I said 80, but that would be ridiculously high), but 40 hours (20 hours per week) sounds about right for me. But, that number should go down once I start running from a purchased module I have that will be coming up. The process for me is as follows: I spend a couple of days just *thinking* about the plot. My campaign relies a lot on history, and certain events and figures moving about at various times. So, I have to ensure that the timelines are all accurate, and the motivations for all those involved are reasonable. Then, I draw up a map. This is probably where I spend the greatest amount of time. I use Dungeon Crafter (love it) and end up tweaking the map just so, and getting it just like I want it. The architecture has to make sense, and I try to make it interesting, as opposed to just stacks of rooms after rooms with nonsensical hallways, etc. Lastly, I populate it with monsters, and treasure (if applicable). My campaign is fairly combat-heavy (intentionally, since most of the players aren't big role-players), so this pattern seems to work ok. I'm gonna have to cut that number back though, since it pretty much consumes every evening and large chunks of my weekend. [/QUOTE]

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