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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6576912" data-attributes="member: 996">That's obviously going to vary with the DM.&nbsp; But, the nature of the prep time is different.&nbsp; When you're making your own scenario, you spend some time just coming up with ideas - and that's not necessarily sitting down and focusing on the game, an idea can hit you in the middle of other activities.&nbsp; You also spend focused time satting out and making notes on the things you've come up with.&nbsp; You build NPCs, choose/create/mod monsters, set DCs, draw maps, outline plot arcs or whatever else it is you feel you need to be ready.&nbsp; When you're using a published scenario, you spend focused time reading &amp; understanding it, maybe adapting it to your group in some way (tweaking a stat here or there, dropping or changing some element you don't like).&nbsp; Depending on the product, there can be very little to that process, or a great deal.&nbsp; A simple, 'railroady' scenario, like one the earlier Encounters freebies, you could prettymuch pick up and run.&nbsp; A more involved AP takes more time to thoroughly understand so you're ready for what the party might do and how things change based on what they do (or don't do).With the systems you're familiar with, it probably is easier, on balance, in terms of focused time dedicated to prep, to use a published scenario.&nbsp; You avoid the effort of building NPCs/monsters and designing encounters.&nbsp; And, 5e gives you license to overrule anything that turns out to be problematic in play - your players should be accustomed to DM rulings as part of the ordinary pattern of play (describe action, DM decides success/failure or calls for a roll and describes results), so when you override the module, it shouldn't seem unusual or out of line.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 6576912, member: 996"] That's obviously going to vary with the DM. But, the nature of the prep time is different. When you're making your own scenario, you spend some time just coming up with ideas - and that's not necessarily sitting down and focusing on the game, an idea can hit you in the middle of other activities. You also spend focused time satting out and making notes on the things you've come up with. You build NPCs, choose/create/mod monsters, set DCs, draw maps, outline plot arcs or whatever else it is you feel you need to be ready. When you're using a published scenario, you spend focused time reading & understanding it, maybe adapting it to your group in some way (tweaking a stat here or there, dropping or changing some element you don't like). Depending on the product, there can be very little to that process, or a great deal. A simple, 'railroady' scenario, like one the earlier Encounters freebies, you could prettymuch pick up and run. A more involved AP takes more time to thoroughly understand so you're ready for what the party might do and how things change based on what they do (or don't do). With the systems you're familiar with, it probably is easier, on balance, in terms of focused time dedicated to prep, to use a published scenario. You avoid the effort of building NPCs/monsters and designing encounters. And, 5e gives you license to overrule anything that turns out to be problematic in play - your players should be accustomed to DM rulings as part of the ordinary pattern of play (describe action, DM decides success/failure or calls for a roll and describes results), so when you override the module, it shouldn't seem unusual or out of line. [/QUOTE]

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