How do you prepare bought adventures?

[Oryan77]

The first thing I do is get a copy on pdf or scan it myself & print it off. I learned that highlighting helps me out a LOT and I don't want to mark up my original copy.

First I read the book all the way through. Then I take my printout copy and grab 3 highlighters; green, yellow, red.

I read through it again and highlight any text that I could read to the players with the yellow highlighter. Any text that is important for just the DM I highlight in green. Anything that is a person or cities name (only the first time the name appears), treasure/loot, traps, or skill check DCs; I highlight them in red. My sheets are pretty colorful but it really does help me instantly sort out information and avoid any text that isn't helpful.

I have pre-made NPC stat sheets (available in my link below) that I use to rewrite EVERY NPC/Monster statblock. I do this because it's easier to find a statblock as I need it and it helps me get a good grasp on what this character can do. Rewriting it's abilities is basically my way of studying the information.

I also have parchment templates that I like to use to rewrite any "notes/letters" that PCs might find. It's always funner to hand the players a real looking letter and let them read it themselves.

Then before the game I'll review my highlighted notes for whatever sections I think we'll get to in the game.

I put a lot of work into prepping but it's totally worth it. I have a bad memory and this really improves my DM'ing!

 

[Voadam]

Read it over,

Make sure the scenario and set up makes sense to me

Think through how the players are likely to progress through it or where they are likely to have problems.

Check maps against text for which ways PCs might go and how things link up.

Think through how stuff might respond to player actions

For NPC social interaction scenes I try to think things through from the NPC perspective so I can roleplay them more naturally when they are reacting to PCs.

Other times I don't do much prep, reading ahead only a few rooms and knowing the general plot and set up for a dungeon crawl has worked out well with some modules with lots of on the fly roleplaying. Sometimes it is hard to predict when your PCs will talk or fight or might even make allies out of monsters they find.

 

[Festivus]

I too photocopy it or print my PDF version. This version travels well and I don't mind it getting damaged on the vanpool ride home, plus I can highlight.
I read it, and read the next one in the series if it's part of an adventure path.
Next, I extract out statblocks and put each creature or NPC on their own 8.5x11 sheet (for note taking and combat tracking), re-reading the sections where they appear and making notes on the statblock sheet. I also at this time determine personalities if they are not specified and make notes of it on this same sheet.
I create entries in my Excel database for treasures, and encounters so that I can quickly calculate loot and experience (and not forget anything).
Then I create my game scale maps, select miniatures for use.
Lightly re-read the adventure once more, this time envisioning how the encounters might play out knowing my players, and often they still end up surprising me.
The night before I read in extreme detail the areas I expect to be encountered in the game the following day.

 

[Wik]

Oops.

In my defence I've never thought of blargney as a "modules as-is" kind of DM. I mean, anybody who's willing to make players roll all the dice... (best rule ever).

Yeah, Blarg was pretty much the guy that introduced me to that one, and now I use it in my own games. It's a really great little variant, even if it has a few bugs.

**

One thing I've started doing on my own adventures (and should really do on prepubs) is actually WRITE on the maps. If room #12 has three wraiths in it, I write "Wraith Room" right next to the "12". That way, it's not a matter of "Okay, you enter the room, and.... *flip through book, read encounter for a few seconds to spur memory* oh, yeah. THis room. Yeah, three wraiths attack you".

REally, it just helps me occasionally, so I still have something to say while I flip through my notes.

**

I also read the spell descriptions of every spell in the game. And if I have a copy of the PC sheets, I might run them through some of the more worrying fights before the players show up, so I know what to expect (I more or less use a system of averages when doing this). But that works only if you know how your players will generally behave, and it's only good for letting you realize that "Hey, if the golem gets close to the mage, it's 90% likely he'll die. I should consider that when I run this scene".

 

[blargney the second]

Wow, some great replies so far!

I'm on a kick right now where I'm trying hard to learn some new DMing skills. I find myself particularly deficient at complex social encounters, so I'm hoping that by running modules that feature them I'll be able to pick up the rudiments of what I need. Specifically, I'm doing Voyage of the Golden Dragon, and I'd like to learn from more experienced DMs (that's you guys ) while the advice can apply to my self-imposed tutorial. My secondary objective is to learn how to do noir flavour at the table, which is why I'd like to use the second part of that module as-is.

So here's what I've compiled from the excellent advice so far:
1) Read the module and any follow-on adventures well in advance.
2) In the days just before game day cram for the test.
3) Highlight particularly important bits in different colours (boxed text: players vs DM, names, DCs, traps, treasure)
4) Make an NPC cheat sheet (names, personalities, appearances, relationships, links to PCs, page references in module)
5) Consider possible PC responses and outcomes (like/dislike, success/fail/abort, do test runs if in doubt)
6) Consolidate statblocks especially if they're scattered, find & mark ability source pages, read up on tricky abilities
7) Put notes & page refs on module maps, draw up battle maps, find minis (examine layout and consider links between areas and creatures: sound/light, compare to boxed text, mentally run through the map)
8) Tweak (facts, names, NPCs, druids, monsters, map, tactics, what to do for failed/lost results)
9) Prep handouts, illustrations, and music
10) Just before game, review notes, highlighted parts, and cheat sheets

Did I miss anything?
-blarg

 

[QuaziquestGM]

You are running an areal adventure.

Spend a couple of hours trying to figure out the Flight maneuverability rules.
The Dragonomicon has some pages that can help.

Decide how you will represent height on your board or with your minis.

 

[wedgeski]

Did I miss anything?

Hell no! That looks like a rigorous prep if ever I saw one. One also has to wonder why we're required to do this much work to get a pre-published adventure in top-notch shape to run.

 

[blargney the second]

Good idea, QuasiquestGM. I'll do that.

Wedgeski, I imagine most DMs do as much of that as time and patience allow, whether they're using prefab adventures or homebrew. Familiarizing yourself with the material in the adventure is necessary one way or the other.

Hmmm.. it'd be interesting to figure out how long each of those steps takes on average. It almost wants to be a prioritized list to make prep easier when pressed for time.
-blarg

 

[Festivus]

Hell no! That looks like a rigorous prep if ever I saw one. One also has to wonder why we're required to do this much work to get a pre-published adventure in top-notch shape to run.

Why? Because if I wrote it myself I wouldn't have as much difficulty remembering how things are in the module. It does beg the question does it really save any time to run a really good adventure if it's prepublished.

My problem is creative thinking... I haven't been able to do much of that lately. Someone point me to creative thinking excercises and I'll start to write my own stuff again.

 

[blargney the second]

I got to apply this advice for yesterday's game. Highlighting was easily the star of the show. It really helped with the boxed text because I could skim for just the words that I needed to read aloud.

Runner-up star was tweaking statblocks: I was familiar enough with their abilities that their tactics were obvious, which kept gameplay fast and exciting.

If I'd had time to do the list of characters it would have been very handy. There were a couple of times when I forgot the presence of an important NPC, and the list would likely have helped remind me. It would have also solidified their personalities and voices as well, which is generally one of my weaknesses.

All in all, great advice here! Thanks very much everybody!
-blarg