Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="payn" data-source="post: 9793707" data-attributes="member: 90374">One reason I love modules is that while I love using maps, monsters, and NPCs im not fond of actually making them. Things like the NPC Codex that Paizo made for PF1 are my bread and butter. So, the more of the mechanics that are done and ready for me to grab and go like a tool kit the better. Foundry VTT has made this even more of a breeze. I didnt think id enjoy online play as much as I have. Im a lot more efficient and a lot more game gets done during sessions with FVTT. The real prep I engage in is thinking about NPC personalities, their situation, how they are gonna react, etc.. I think of one step after the next as a chain reaction and want a good response to the PCs every step of the way. No, I dont plan for every eventuality, as we all know the PCs are always gonna find an unpredictable path no matter what. Though, I want an interesting and organic experience to unfold during every session. Tailoring the experience to my players is part of that prep too. I greatly dislike random encounters and loot drops and try instead to have things of interest in place. So, sometimes that means digging into my GM tool kit ahead of time instead of during valuable session time. Whatever mechanics I can offload will open up my cognitive space to focus on moving forward at a good pace. Some folks can do all that improv, ive seen it once or twice. I've also been in dozens of improv games that were not fun. The GM thinks they are good at it, but they are not. I know im not particularly good at it and im a better prepared GM. When I think about it, its likely due to my desire for long campaigns. Dont get me wrong, I love a good one shot, but I live for a long form story. More serial in nature as opposed to episodic. Whatever fits in between, isnt for me. So, west marches isnt going to hold my interests. Give me a good players campaign guide, interesting setting filled with factions, and endless political intrigue.</blockquote>

Verification