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

[MoogleEmpMog]

I'd say about 4-6 hours, counting the time it takes to prepare the adventure, create the stat blocks and think about things like tactics, contingency plans for when the PCs go in a completely bizarre direction, etc.

However, it really comes down to 12-18 hours once every three to four sessions, because the PCs tend to dig themselves a very deep hole in one particular adventure rather than moving quickly from one to another.

 

[Piratecat]

My game is low-epic, with 21st and 22nd lvl PCs. I said 2-4 hours, but it's broken up oddly.

We have the most fun when I spend minimal time: prepared, but not obsessively so. My preparation tends to come in big chunks, though; less than an hour for two games in a row, then 4-6 for the next game. I spend a lot of prep time just thinking over plots in places like the shower, the car, when falling asleep - time that otherwise would be less useful.

Getting good at winging NPCs has saved me a cubic buttload of prep time. This is great, because fiddly combat prepping isn't something I particularly enjoy.

 

[MerricB]

1-2 hours.

I run three regular campaigns. The original Ulek campaign takes the most time (1-2 hours). The RPGA campaign I'd spend perhaps 30 minutes preparing for. The Age of Worms perhaps 30 mins-1 hour. I'm also a speed reader, which helps muchly with prepackaged adventures.

Cheers!

 

[Hussar]

I said 2-4 hours. OTOH, I am now completely prepped for my game until about Christmas, so anything I do now is just gravy.

I LOVE the World's Largest Dungeon. Campaigns in a box are the only way to fly.

 

[Roadkill101]

I said 1-2 hours. Sometimes it's less than one hour and sometimes it's closer to five, over a two week period. All my prep-time happens at work, and depending on how busy I am helps factor in how much I can work out. I do a lot of the "wing it" sessions. But I don't run D&D/D20, I use something I've created and it's less prep time intensive and rules light, so "winging it" is less of a hassle than with D&D/D20.

 

[der_kluge]

I voted 0-1. Sometimes I don't prep at all. I'm running a prepared module, which I've read in advance. So, wherever they go in the dungeon, I'm already prepared - the module has it all covered.

But when I do prepare, it's rarely for the next game, since I largely don't dictate where they should go. I can't really prepare one game ahead. So, I try to stay weeks ahead of them.

So, I stat up an ogre encounter - should they choose to go there, down the road. Or, I generate plot hooks for various scenarios. Or, I might change the treasure make-up of a room. Currently, the priests of Bhaal they are fighting in one area have a poor selection of pre-defined spells, so if I get a chance sometime this weekend, I might prepare a more optimized spell list for them to make their next run-in with them more difficult.

 

[diaglo]

4 hours of prep for 1 hour of game time.

i.e. 6 hour session = 24 hours of preparation

 

[Imruphel]

For me it depends a lot on the actions of the players in the previous session(s). I spend a lot of time preparing a campaign before we start playing (one of the advantages of living in a different country to my players!) so can often run sessions with no additional preparation other than a quick review. However, sometimes the choices of the players may require me to prepare afresh in whcih 4-6 hours is normal preparation time for a 4 hour session.

But I love it!

 

[Gold Roger]

Depends a lot on what I'm running and even more on my mood. I prepare when the fancy to do so strikes me, sometimes barely, sometimes I take hours on one NPC. That can end terrible when I'm preparing adventures of my own, so I've turned to modules.

 

[el-remmen]

On average I'd say 1 to 2 hours per session, but I do a lot of early prep before the campaign even starts.

I always start with a checklist/outline, so even if I don't finish preparing I know what I intended when it comes time to wing it.