[DMs] How much time do you spend preparing the game from one session to the next?

[Odhanan]

You are the DM. How much time do you spend on average to prepare the game from one session to the next?

 

[Berandor]

too much

It really depends on where we are in the story. If we're at the start of a new adventure, I spend probably 20+ hours; preparing the adventure, creating/transcribing NPCs and encounters, making and preparing maps, creating handouts...

I'm definitely one to overprepare, though. When I could simply take NPC stats out of the module, I write them into a handy seperate statblock. I might change monsters, create new maps, etc.

If we're in the middle of the adventure, I need a lot less time. I simply note what the players did and how that influences the plot, make up a few reactions, update handouts etc. So maybe 2-5 hours, then.

Plus writing Story Hour, of course.

 

[Crothian]

I can spend 6 hours or more, but a lot of it is hidden time. I don't spend much time preping stats or writing things down. My prep is thinking on the plots and figuring out what all is going on in the world the PCs are not directly influencing while altering plots to figure out what happens to them when the PCs do interact with them. I call it hidden time because I do it when I'm driving to and from work, watching TV, and other activities that I'm doing anyway.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

Way too much.
But if I don't, I just know that the game could have been better.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I said 2-4 but I do think about the game a lot of the time while I'm travelling to and from work and things like that. I don't consider that to be prep time though.

The last couple of weeks I have also spent a lot of time doing things for the game that I don't really consider "prep" but are definitely game related. I probably spent over 10 hours in the last 2 weeks cutting out Spell Cards from the other game company, laminating them and then cutting them out again. All 5 players all have at least 1 level of caster, including 2 clerics. I cut out well over 150 cards by my count. I hope it was worth the effort.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Emirikol]

Lemme think:
Read DUNGEON Adventure - 90 minutes (with interruptions from the kids)
Adapt to Conan's homeworld - 30 minutes
Change monsters from D&D-Zoo to relevant and horrible creatures - 30 min
Cleaning up the game area so we can play - 30 minutes
Buying SUBWAY, beer & chips - 30 min
Emailing players and friendly "you're gonna die next time" banter - 60 minutes
Reading rules and new material searching for novelty to add to the campaign - 60 min
Dreaming about having the perfect campaign and group - 90 min
Painting mini's, getting 3D terrain ready, etc. - 30 min

jh

 

[merelycompetent]

For me, 4-6 hours normally. By the time the campaign is on session 7+, I've got the major BBEGs worked out along with enough of the NPCs' stats for them to be playable. I've also fleshed out the PC plotlines and subplots, the campaign plots and subplots, and the various side-events so that they can run themselves with occasional updates from me.

The 4-6 hours each week is usually spent 1) Going over the DM's version of the character sheets and noting where I expect any curses, diseases, items, plots, subplots, etc. to intersect the PCs in the session; 2) Reviewing last session notes so I don't accidentally drop important details - like the BBEG's henchman getting killed before the final showdown (love/hate it when that happens, the clever <censored>); 3) Updating notes for the next session to account for #1 & #2; 4) running an eyeball over the updated next session notes and beyond, so I've got them all fresh in memory and can wing it if needed.

Occasionally it's much less - if the players are being overly paranoid they may not get as far as I expect. Other times, it's much more - like the time the PC's actions resulted in a complete paradigm shift in the campaign, causing me to call an early halt to the night and spend all my free time over the next two weeks working out the results.

The work is fun - I get to draw on the players' creative input, add it to my own, spice it with some inspiration, and add plot thickeners. My biggest reward in it is seeing how the players play with the results, and how much fun they have with it. I don't enjoy working out feat chains or skill point assignments, among other things. Fortunately, others on ENWorld have given their advice on how to deal with that, so it isn't a pain anymore.

 

[RFisher]

It varies (depending upon what's happen in the last session), but these days I try to spend very little time prepping & try to focus only on the things that are most likely to come up in the next session. I try to sketch out the "big picture", because I find it easier to wing the details as they come up.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

On average, I spend between 6-10 enjoyable hours preparing between weekly sessions. About once per month I spend twice that amount of time per week. If for some reason a game was scrapped for the week even after I've prepped, then I might only need 30 minutes to an hour to review notes and get ready for a session.

 

[Rhuvein]

1 hour

I spend an hour or less getting prepared for my next session. But part of that is because I like to spend a little time after my sessions (half-hour) to recap and review which removes some of the work for next time.