D&D 5E Prepping your campaign

[Tony Vargas]

-How do you prep your campaigns?
-How much do you write before hand, and how much do you improvize?
-What is on your table during a session?
-And how long do your sessions generally last?
So, how do you prep?

It's varied greatly over the years, both as editions changed, and as the time I had available changed. At first (1e), I'd prep heavily and stick to it. Later I learned a more narrative style of GMing (from experience with Champions! and the example of a specific GM), and developed more and more improvisational skills. By the 90s I was primarily running games improvisational, and it served me well with 2e, Champions!, WoD/Storyteller (Mage & Werewolf, mostly), and 3e. 4e made prep so easy that I did more of it. 5e is back to working best with improv, IMHO, and it's been fun revisiting that more accustomed style - and, also, convenient, since I've had more demands on my time that last few years, even the 4e campaign I'm still running, I now run mostly improv.

 

[Triumph_Fork]

Each DM preps in different ways. Here's how I do it.

Prep my campaign
I've got the gift of being pretty creative, and I work part-time, so I write (or type) most of my games. That being said, nobody can correct me if I ran a section "wrong". As long as the players have fun, as well as I, I like to think I'm doing my duty as a DM. I still will read a few things on occasion, or tweak things around based on party size.

I write quite a bit, but improvise many NPC's & Villains
I set a good chunk of time aside to write my homebrew games. If I write FAST, I may write 2-3 times a week. If I write slow, I may write only a couple hours once per week or less. That being said, sometimes you cannot predict where your players go. So I have to use what I have in mind, improvise it in game, and write it down on a campaign tracker later. It sucks when you forget what you improvise but your players remember, but writing it down later insures that you won't forget as often.

What's on my table
1) Custom DM screen with world map, encounter table, & rules I need to reference
2) Laptop - Stores NPC's, Villains, and some monster stats.
3) Hot coffee/espresso or a cold beer (session dependant)
4) Dice rolling container with: Dice, pawns, and room to roll.
5) Folder with important items current play area.
6) Monster manual & DM guide standing up on the floor.

Session Length
Usually only 2-3.5 hours. But we tend to have sessions weekly or bi-weekly. That said, I have to be a quick DM and I draw my maps beforehand!