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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AriochQ" data-source="post: 6596657" data-attributes="member: 6793324">I have been playing D&D since 1977, most of that time as DM.  IMHO, you need to strike a balance between planning on spontaneity.  I try to design adventures like a story.  I will plan out specific encounters for each play session, but not necessarily where and when they will occur.  I like to allow the players free reign as much as possible.For example, in one encounter the players were to meet a tinker (who will be relevent to the story arc in the long term).  I write up notes for the encounter, including a good description, information I want her to give the characters, and answers to specific questions.  The actual encounter can happen at any point, and I usually determine that based on adventure pacing (I try to mix combat and non-combat encounters).For combat encounters I do the same, providing setting details and also include a rough list of creatures.  I will usually tweak the actual encounter on the fly based on party status.  I sometimes roll treasure ahead of time, other times I let the players roll and just use the tables.I currently use Scrivener to track my campaign, having seperate sections for each adventure (broken down by scene/encounter), NPC's, and any other info or resources that could be helpful.  We currently play monthly, and most of the time spent preparing is short spurts where I flesh out the framework of encounters I usually already have in mind at the end of the prior session.I guess overall, my philosophy is don't get bogged down in mechanics (especially in 5E).  Tell a good story and the mechanics won't matter nearly so much.</blockquote>

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