The weekly DM process

[Ktulu]

I'll throw in my two cents on the subject; but it's not very organized, either.

I generally have an idea of where I see the game going in the next week. This may be due to the players making some decisions, or it may be caused by something in the plot. Regardless, I begin by determining how to open the story:

BTW, I use Microsoft OneNote to track my ideas (though, admittedly, I'm lazy and don't update it often).

Once I've decided how the session opens (is it picking up from last week's cliffhanger? Combat! exposition? Did time pass? etc...), then I move to the Encounters I suspect will happen. Each encounter (skill challenge or combat), should lead to at least 2 different outcomes (not just win or lose, either. That's a foregone conclusion). I then look at the likely options ther players will take and move to the next section (adding in NPC's, and such).

Once i've got my basic layout in place, I build my combat encounters by laying out the map, then miniatures, then building the actual encounter via the Monster Tool and D&D 4e combat tracker.

Rinse and repeat, until I'm done.


I probably spend about 30 minutes to an hour every day or so, throughout the week. It culminates in something close to a 1:1 ratio of planning to prep-time.


What I don't do is write stuff down. I don't write down what NPC's will say, or write descriptions down. For me, I do better playing off what the players ask or look for, thus creating a world that they're exploring, not just telling them what I've planned. I'm pretty good at improv, so that works for me.

However, I play in a game where the DM writes almost everything down--descriptions, most NPC's responses, everything. And that game is very good. It never feels as though he's "reading", he just has everything heavily prepared. Never feels railroady, either. I suspect he spends more than 4-6 hours preparing in a week, though

 

[Katana_Geldar]

I like to do most of my prep before the first session, really sit down and see what I'll need to bring, need to replace and what I need to tell the characters. As well as what I need to put in my DM's bag, as I get public transport to the game.

Night before every session I re-read what I will likely run that session, make sure my minis, dice bag, note pads, tiles/maps and necessary books are in my bag ready to take the next day.

It's better I think to do most of your prep when the campaign is still new and fresh, and then make necessary adjustments as you see them. Usually by the time the last sessions of a campaign roll around I have other things to do and working on the current campaign has become a drag.

 

[Truename]

Truename, your treasure cards are great! Would you be willing to share your template? I'd love to use it!

Thanks! I'm not sure if you'll be able to use my template--it's in Pages for the Mac--but you're welcome to it.

 

[GRStrayton]

Thanks! I'm not sure if you'll be able to use my template--it's in Pages for the Mac--but you're welcome to it.

That's perfect! I'm on a Mac and I only use Pages! Thank you so much for this!

 

[Cor_Malek]

First and foremost - I think about the adventure, how I'd play (not lead) it. GM and player expectations can often differ on how you "should" act in given situation. I think of things players can screw up/ make a breakthrough in/ just play out differently. It's more of a mental exercise than preparation - I don't bother writing this down, it's not like players will give me much time during session. They face a situation, and have to come up with answers. I can hardly plan out 2-3 steps in chess, I'd consider position that I can think of all alleys players would think of as a bit arrogant. This might be my rationalization mechanism though, as I'm quite lazy ;-)
It's also why I'm not a fan of pre-published adventures - they really do little to shorten my preparations, or even make them easier. Players kill half of the NPC's that are supposed to be surprising allies, befriend half-baked one-shot villains, steal and sell silly McGuffins, and accumulate trinkets.

I try to replenish my resources though. I hate finding out that I don't have given spice mid-way through preparing a meal, I hate being without props mid-game even more.

Name List. Several colums, for each race. Gnomish is the shortest yet widest ;-P You never know who the PC's will try to befriend or incorporate to their plan. I've heard of people crossing out once-used name, but I prefer to just add adjectives or last names. I cross them out only for important yet rarely occuring NPC's, so the group doesn't get confused.
Maybe not so important if you can think of names on the spot, but I find it... paralysing.

Up-to-date character sheets. Arguably more important than the Name List. I keep them close-by, try to remember the main twist of character build, and keep an eye on skill-list at all times. I tried many ways to avoid The Rolling Trope, and this works best for me. You can't take dices away from group, because rolling them is part of the fun. People have a lot of prejudices and little habits regarding their dices and rolls.
So instead, I ask them to give me a roll every now and then. If you ask them to give you a perception roll, they'll know there's something to look for here. If they botch it, they'll either meta-game and find a reason to look in the area, which will make some of them feel bad. Or they'll RP, and move on realizing that they might be missing out on something - and will feel bad. Asking them to roll will saves to notice someone is screwing with them? Dumbest thing ever.
After a while it doesn't disrupt anything, as instead of talking - I just make a rolling gesture and the players know what I mean. I actually make them roll more than is needed to keep them off scent (though not everyone notices this, and they tend to be happy and relaxed after high, and on their toes after low rolls. )
It also makes it easier when players are improvising a lot. taking the sheets from them during game is somewhat of a hassle.

Appropriate encounters. I don't like random fights, but sometimes the players will roast a boar in the middle of forest, and then all go to sleep. Be prepared ;-) This is the most redundant prop I have, and unlike the Name List - it often has to be replaced when the PC's move.

Maps. You can't go wrong with too many maps. Small situational, like river crossing; bigger ones like of whole area, whatever you have time for. I keep them as templates, and often have to copy them on the fly, and in such instances I use tracing paper. If it's supposed to be a handout - I try my best to make it on paper, preferably aged in some way. But often PC's will have their characters or NPC's sketch something, and then I use this technique, as I'm used to it from my work.

I, um... *coughs* I talk to myself. Well, not to myself - to the cat on bottle of Gato Negro, owl sculpture on shelf, whatever is close. Otherwise I have trouble pulling-off original mannerisms for NPC's, and get lost with eye cues - and I love incorporating those into games. It's rare that players catch those, but rewarding to them and me when it happens.
Pro-tip: Don't do this with headphones on. Not in public.

Extend choke-points. Unless you're a pro-DM with decades of experience, and a lot of it at freeform RP in particular - you need some hooks for the story, or else it quickly becomes chaotic. There will appear some points, where - to move forward - PC's are expected to do/find/see/encounter something. I try to find those points and add additional alleys.
As a sub-type of this - add cues. I endorse the three-clue rule. Most of the time the players will be actively seeking leads, and I have to scrap those I've readied and think of others anyway. But sometimes the group is just at loss. People are tired, or just don't feel like thinking all that hard, and instead - just "look" around and roll perception. I like to be prepared.

I generally don't bother with Red Herrings, as from my experience the players seek them out on their own anyway. But if I noticed that a group reads me too well, I'd probably add this to prep.

 

[huskythegeek]

It's great to read about how you guys handle this long and confusing process. As of right now, I take things as they come to me. I've made short outlines for each PC outlining adventures that will focus on them, and have made a similar outline and background for my main villain.

As far as my weekly prep goes, I still have yet to fall into a comfortable rhythm. Being a full-time student with a part-time job (besides DMing XP) might have something to do with that. However, I generally prepare a weekly "outline" that gives me an optimal series of events (assuming my PCs will correspond with it). As I get further along in the weekly outline however, it becomes more apparent that a lot of what happens depend on major choices the party may make. I don't want to FORCE them to let the goblin chieftain leave, so that they may befriend him another day. I don't want my outline to end at that moment either though, so I kind of have to outline what I think they will do and keep a backup plan in my head just in case.

Being as this will be our second play session, I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on myself. You guys have given me a lot of ideas on how I can improve on my own methods

 

[Cor_Malek]

A bit late, but I just saw the link when browsing my RPG links*: Prep Lite Manifesto. Might come in handy next week(s?).


* coincidentaly - anyone remembers the RPG web-comic with episode featuring pseudo-dragons ranting about humans being pseudo-apes?