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<blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 4845573" data-attributes="member: 80487">DMing a 4E scenario someone else has written, I'll prep for an hour or less. The scenarios tend to be somewhat linear, and the players are unlikely to get through very much in 4-6 hours. My DMing might benefit from more preparation, if the time is available, as there's a lot of tricky game-mechanical stuff to digest in getting the most out of monsters. Writing my own was 1:1 or more, as there are so many mechanical details -- and with few encounters per session, I felt obliged to give each one the sort of attention I would otherwise reserve for a few. I don't have a D&amp;D Insider account, or a lot of 4E experience.Running a 1E campaign, it's harder to figure because hardly any work is peculiar to a given session; a lot gets reused (including information produced in play). I'm guessing about two hours per six-hour session (1:3). The players can accomplish a lot more per session, and which way they'll go is less predictable, but it takes a lot less work to go from idea to game element; often, my notes are in plain English (plain to me, anyhow).The prep time I put into running a 1E module is usually about 1:3, because I tend to choose fairly complex ones. I sometimes spend as much time adapting the situation to the specifics of my campaign. A straightforward, &quot;hack &amp; slash&quot; module can be run nearly &quot;on the fly&quot;.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ariosto, post: 4845573, member: 80487"] DMing a 4E scenario someone else has written, I'll prep for an hour or less. The scenarios tend to be somewhat linear, and the players are unlikely to get through very much in 4-6 hours. My DMing might benefit from more preparation, if the time is available, as there's a lot of tricky game-mechanical stuff to digest in getting the most out of monsters. Writing my own was 1:1 or more, as there are so many mechanical details -- and with few encounters per session, I felt obliged to give each one the sort of attention I would otherwise reserve for a few. I don't have a D&D Insider account, or a lot of 4E experience. Running a 1E campaign, it's harder to figure because hardly any work is peculiar to a given session; a lot gets reused (including information produced in play). I'm guessing about two hours per six-hour session (1:3). The players can accomplish a lot more per session, and which way they'll go is less predictable, but it takes a lot less work to go from idea to game element; often, my notes are in plain English (plain to me, anyhow). The prep time I put into running a 1E module is usually about 1:3, because I tend to choose fairly complex ones. I sometimes spend as much time adapting the situation to the specifics of my campaign. A straightforward, "hack & slash" module can be run nearly "on the fly". [/QUOTE]

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