D&D General Where do you design your adventures?

[The Myopic Sniper]

In a hot tub.

It is what Gary would have wanted.

 

[atanakar]

My gaming room. A bit small but since I never play with more than 3 other players it works. For my current campaign we play at a friend's house. He has a large table and a central location.

 

[toucanbuzz]

At least the "at work" people are being honest.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Generally on the couch in my living room. For years I would sit on the floor with a bunch of books and maps spread out all around me. But as I've gotten older, spending time cross-legged or seiza on the floor has gotten less comfortable, for some reason...

But I certainly do think about it elsewhere, and you never know when an idea will bubble up. Often when I'm commuting. And of course there's the dreaded "right before I fall asleep" when it's the flip of a coin whether or not I'll remember it the next day.

 

[David Howery]

My gaming room. A bit small but since I never play with more than 3 other players it works.

nice. Wouldn't have worked for the last group I was in.... had me DMing for 7 players... 2 married couples and 3 singles. Luckily, the married couples both lived in the on campus housing, and they had fair sized living rooms with enough chairs for everyone (once we all pitched in on some folding chairs). We did try playing in my trailer once, and we were pretty squeezed in...

 

[caudor]

I have this hole I crawl into. Nah, but when others are watching soap operas, it is prime time for me to work at my desk.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Dining Room wasn't an option, so that's my other.
I will be trying to persuade my wife that we need a hot tub so I can create my gaming stuff in it.

 

[The Green Hermit]

I spend most of the week-and change between gaming thinking about things, turning things over in my head, sometimes working on some part of the setting where the characters aren't.

Then, a day or so before the session, I sit at the table in the game room and write stuff down in a desperate rush to be at least somewhat ready when I sit down to game.

I'm glad to see that I am not the only DM that never feels quite prepared. I have the storyline down. It's creating all the NPC's and random encounter tables that is getting me at the moment.

I prepare my adventures in my home office. I'm usually working on three projects at a time and I take a little bite off each one every day - write one blurb or encounter, design one monster, flesh out some chamber or whatever. When one adventure is complete, I add a new one to the pipeline. I find this works better than trying to rush through one adventure at a time and losing steam halfway through.

I only work on my current campaign, but I also try to do a little bit each day. I keep telling myself that will eventually decrease the frantic rush the night before a game, but I haven't seen it yet.

I do everthing by hand by choice, to get away from the screens. I only use the computer to communicate with the players via Messenger and our FB group private page. I find that if I write or draw on the computer I elaborate too much instead of remaining somewhat vague. I helps my improvise more during the sessions.

I'm mostly with you. Our adventure log is a shared document online and I keep a current list of spells I've used online (so I don't have to copy them over and over and over again by hand). Other than that, though, I only have player backgrounds and any handouts I need to create on the computer. Character sheets, including NPC's are filled in by hand and notes tend to consist of sticky notes everywhere or scraps of paper stuck inside my DM binder -- which has all my campaign materials, neatly tabbed according to location/faction.

 

[LordEntrails]

Have a conversation with an npc in my head to get a sense of who they are or if I want to have specific mannerisms or speech patter while I'm trying to get to sleep at night for example.

Man in White Coat: "Is your neighbor talking to himself again?"
Neighbor: "Yea, something about a magical sword and some imaginary country."
MiWC: "Do you feel he's dangerous?"
Neighbor: "Oofta? Naw, he's just one of those original geeks. You know, those funny dice and imaginary dragons."
MiWC:" Ah, ok. Well here's my card, call us if you need us to come take him away."

 

[Oofta]

Man in White Coat: "Is your neighbor talking to himself again?"
Neighbor: "Yea, something about a magical sword and some imaginary country."
MiWC: "Do you feel he's dangerous?"
Neighbor: "Oofta? Naw, he's just one of those original geeks. You know, those funny dice and imaginary dragons."
MiWC:" Ah, ok. Well here's my card, call us if you need us to come take him away."

they're coming to take me away ha-haaa
They're coming to take me away ho-ho hee-hee ha-haaa
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see those nice young men
In their clean white coats
And they're coming to take me away ha-haaa

 

[Charlaquin]

All of the above, minus hot tub cause I don’t have one, plus the shower.

 

[Charlaquin]

I prepare my adventures in my home office. I'm usually working on three projects at a time and I take a little bite off each one every day - write one blurb or encounter, design one monster, flesh out some chamber or whatever. When one adventure is complete, I add a new one to the pipeline. I find this works better than trying to rush through one adventure at a time and losing steam halfway through.

Smart. I should try this.

 

[Blue]

"Design" happens when I have unoccupied moments. Commuting, in the shower, whatever.

"Logistics" happens in front of a computer. Typing it up, checking stat block and copying in bits I need (or whole ones for non-D&D where they sell PDFs), etc.

 

[prabe]

"Design" happens when I have unoccupied moments. Commuting, in the shower, whatever.

"Logistics" happens in front of a computer. Typing it up, checking stat block and copying in bits I need (or whole ones for non-D&D where they sell PDFs), etc.

This feels consistent with my "workflow."

 

[Richards]

I marked gaming room, bedroom, and in front of the computer, but that's really all the same room.

Johnathan

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

For me, the "porcelain throne" is a fine place to cogitate; in addition to living room, bedroom, "in front of a computer", and "in my head".

 

[cbwjm]

I often wonder how many good ideas I've forgotten because I think of them when I go to bed at night or I'm just out walking and so I don't write them down.

 

[Len]

I often wonder how many good ideas I've forgotten because I think of them when I go to bed at night or I'm just out walking and so I don't write them down.

When that happens to me, I send myself an email from my phone - just a short sentence, or even a single word, to remind me of the idea when I have time to write it down properly.

 

[Shiroiken]

At least the "at work" people are being honest.

Obviously you don't have a boring desk job.I find it's a great way to look busy when I'm not.

 

[cbwjm]

When that happens to me, I send myself an email from my phone - just a short sentence, or even a single word, to remind me of the idea when I have time to write it down properly.

That's what I should do instead of relying on my memory. I have set up a Google doc for DnD ideas that I often add ideas for feats, subclasses, etc. I should do another for my campaign.