I just can't focus

[rythm_rampage]

Hi folks,

I got a serious problem when it comes to preparing my sessions. It's not like I don't want to prepare but the moment I pick up a piece of paper to write something down I'm like "meeeh, maybe tomorrow".

I have some nice ideas for my Horror game coming up but when I need to develop the plotline I just don't have the discipline to do so.
Furthermore, last time I GMed it was D20 Apocalypse which sucked pretty much in my opinion because my preperation was more than lame. I really wanted it to be a fun game but well that's it. I WANTED it, but it didn't happen.

When I start preparing I usually start with one single situation in my mind (example: a group of heroes wakes up 300 years in the future and got no clue what happened in the meanwhile.)
Right now for my Horror game I already got like three or more ideas flying around in my head but when the need arises to connect them the only thing that happens when I pick up a piece of paper is that I lose focus and can't really think into the situation. Yesterday I wanted to draw the plan for a big haunted mansion but well I drawed the outlines and then I stopped because I just could only think about the connection to the plot (which does not exist atm)

What can I do, I want to start the game next weekend :/

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Always start weeks in advance. (I'm also a chronic procrastinator.) Write the whole adventure before you start - too many times I've had players skip parts of the adventure and end up leaving the "written up" portion.

Pick an "ending" idea first. If you have three ideas, that's three adventures. Pick one. Roll a dice if you have to. Now create a simple plot and a few clue trails. (The plot has to be simple - seriously, how many people figure out mystery novels by the end? Not too many people, and that probably includes your players. So, go simple.)

I don't know if you can get your hands on Critical Locations. They have a mansion, although it's a small one. One of the Game Mechanics adventures (www.thegamemechanics.com) also has a mansion in it, if I'm not mistaken.

This is a good place to post those ideas. Maybe someone can offer you good advice.

 

[rythm_rampage]

Hm ok this sounds good. Has anybody read Lullaby over here ? I wanted to use a plot as detailed in this book but a hunt for the book of shadows (a book containing a lot, if not all spells)
But now I think I will just drag the group into three simple Horror adventures that don't have a metaconnection.

Readers from Mönchengladbach, Germany, DO NOT READ THIS OR I WILL DANCE ON YOUR DECAPICATED ROTTEN CORPSE (no offense ^^)






Idea 1: there's a haunted house somewhere in the woods which is said to be abandoned. Years ago there has been an unsolved case of murder and theft. The house owner's wife had been killed and a young woman, no ID, as well. The man claimed that his wife was already dead when he entered the house and he had to kill the woman in self-defense.

What really happened: the usual stuff, Man has an affair, wife catches them when you-know-what. The Husband then killed his wife and girlfriend. Eversince the case was dropped there was rumored that a weirdlooking old woman literary flew around the place. Everybody who entered the house seemed to be locked in over the night but nothing worse happened. Actually the "witch" wants visitors to investigate the murder again and find out the truth. If given time she will establish contact with some special means (a cryptic withcode) and give hints.

 

[buzz]

What I'm going to suggest is a very Burning Wheel-ish approach. Since you seem to hate prep (and let's face it, you do), this method allows you to share the GM burdens.

1. Sit down with your players and do a brainstorming session. Ask them what kind of campaign they'd like to do, and see how that matches with your ideas. Hash out ideas together.

2. Once you have a concept everyone likes, make characters together. Instantly smack down any half-assed PC ideas, and insist that the PCs have reasons to be together. Make the players give you specific information you can use to drive the scenarios.

3. Come up with a situation that hits multiple PC hotbuttons given to you by the players. Throw the PCs into said situation. Let them drive the action.

4. Sit back, enjoy mayhem.

(Honestly, I've come to believe that the GM can't be expected to sit alone for weeks and produce amazing adventuires that totally grip the players. If you don't know what they want, or who their PCs are, how the heck can you craft a decent adventure?)

 

[buzz]

Pick an "ending" idea first.

If you already have an ending, what are the players supposed to do?

 

[Scribble]

Oye... I know the feeling...

I love gaming, and I love DMing... but the prep-work that DMing requires can sometimes a drudge...

In my own case, I tend to try to get the NPCs and monster stats out first... I'm not so bad at winging it when I need to, but the stats are hard to wing.

Shrug... Aside from that... Not sure what you're looking for?

 

[Tinker Gnome]

I know what you mean. I have a game in an hour and I still have not figured out how the town they are going to be in is going to look like exactly.

 

[rythm_rampage]

Well yeah, talking to the players is very basic for prep, BUT we, as a group of 5 people playing for a about 2 years together, never really have defined ideas about gaming. Maybe it's because there are no actual other roleplaying groups/styles around.
What I encountered lately when mastering D20 was some kind of unspoken non-interest. I always got the feeling that the campaign sucked in all ways possible (bad plot, no atmosphere, lame npcs, worse interaction with npcs) but my players didn't tell me so.
So talking to my players is something that just doesn't work.
For Horror, well, one likes cursed locations with a background (think he'll like the mansion), one likes unexplained mystery (not hard to design actually), one likes "a lot" (where's his e-mail by the way, he wanted to tell me -.-) and one really doesn't care (plays cause her boyfriend is in the group).
It's hard to do appropriate prep :/

€dit:
I want to add something. There's actually some stuff I like to prepare and what I think I am good at.
I love to draw maps of certain locations and set atmosphere through imaginary lighting and imagined scents. I hate to flesh out monster/NPCs but that something that has to be done if you can't get it straight from the books. I try to work on my character interaction and plotlines but the second one is rather difficult.

 

[Scribble]

Well... mayhaps you're trying too hard to please everyone all the time?

Maybe just shift between the wants/needs of each of the players... (except maybe the girl who just plays because her BF does... unless you guys are into that... kinky.)

Like this week, focus on the cursed location... maybe lead that into an unexplained mystery... like just who WAS that guy who sent them there in the first place... or something...



Shrug.

 

[rythm_rampage]

Yeah I gonny stick with the cursed location this week and see how it works. Looks like one of this damned issues of mine that nobody can help me with/understands.