Looking stuff up during the game

[Alcamtar]

Originally posted by Agback in thread
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30565
I'm sure if you did a time-and-motion study you would find that many GMs spend 30% of their GMing time looking things up.

Is this really true?? If I spend even 5% of my time looking stuff up, I start to feel like I'm stuck in the mud.

How about you? How much time do you spend looking up rules, how much time looking up stuff in your notes, and how much just talking "out of your head"?

Enquiring minds want to know...

Mike

 

[drakhe]

One thing I often do is make an on the spot ruling, take a note and look stuff up for the next session. Mind, you're players need to agree, if you have a bunch that realy want to know that rule on the spot...

I did notice that (for me at least) this leads to a lot of house rules. Guess as long as both DM and Players agree and have a good time ...

Another thing: such queries tend to lead to me re-reading the rules and discovering some neat rule I missed. I then promptly send an email to the group telling them about ...

 

[Sixchan]

Well, it depends. If I can get two weeks between sessions, I can often go through the adventure with little looking up. Or at least, I could in the older editions. I'm not completely familiar with the rules, but at least i spend less time buried in the DMG than the players spend in the PH...

 

[Gunslinger]

Players look rules up, which usually accounts for less than 5% of the time, because most of us know too much of the rules by heart.

As for DMs, the best one I play with spends maybe 5-10% of the time looking up stuff specific to the adventure, because for the most part he has it memorized.

 

[Darkness]

I don't have to look too much up (thus, I voted <10%). My players sometimes need to look up spell ranges and such things, but that's it, mostly, unless somebody tries something particularly fancy.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

My group has a rule: "When in doubt, fudge and look it up later."

But we're pretty understanding. If someone gets boned on a decision that turns out to be wrong we don't compain.

 

[Sanackranib]

looking stuff up

this poll would be more accurate if multiple choices were possible, as a DM I spend 10% or less of the game time looking stuff up. some stuff can be looked up later if its not critical or one of the players can look it up

 

[the Jester]

Looking up where? In the books or in my notes?

I'd say the answers get drastically different based on that little qualifier there- I prolly spend about 10-15 minutes per 4-8 hour game looking things up in the books, but I'm not including having the MM open to the thing I'm using. I prolly spend about an hour's worth of time consulting my notes, though- stuff like what is for sale in this town, plot notes, etc. I'll vote as if this counted.

 

[Alcamtar]

Looking up where? In the books or in my notes?

I'd say the answers get drastically different based on that little qualifier there- I prolly spend about 10-15 minutes per 4-8 hour game looking things up in the books, but I'm not including having the MM open to the thing I'm using. I prolly spend about an hour's worth of time consulting my notes, though- stuff like what is for sale in this town, plot notes, etc. I'll vote as if this counted.

FWIW, I meant looking up rules, not adventure notes.

 

[Zappo]

I spend less than 10% of my time looking up stuff in the manuals, because I usually have a player whose character is currently doing nothing look up stuff for me.