Which are you, The plan everything out GM, or the Ad lib?

[Tonguez]

very Ad lib, though I do like to set scenario waypoints before hand. I see the Fronts and Grim Portents of Dungeon World is a codified waypoint system

 

[aramis erak]

So I have run into all manner of GM's in my time. Some of them plan out every detail, pages of notes and info, details and writing, where as I myself am an ad libber. I go with the flow, nothing is too powerful, or unbalanced, I will wing it and it goes usually well. What are your thoughts , challenges or methods for dealing with your GM style?

Somewhere in the middle.
Pendragon, I am pretty well plotted out.
L5R, in Magistrate campaign, I have a bunch of clues and who has them, but I have a list of 2-4 possible potential guilty... the actual guilt is determined in session. (Yes, Illusionism.) If they accuse one of the possibles, that's the right answer. If not, they may get sent back on the adventure as the deaths or disappearances continue.
traveller, Mostly freeform.
Alien in Space Trucker Campaign mode, mostly freeform... with some set piece encounters.

 

[Reynard]

75k words written to be read by people other than the author is a serious task. 75k words worth of disparate notes not intended for anyone other than the writer, often describing spurious things that would be edited out from a published text, is pretty trivial to write, especially over several months worth of gaming.

They said every adventure they run.

 

[KYRON45]

Planning is just ad-libbing ahead of time.

 

[Committed Hero]

I'd estimate 2/3 ad lib.

 

[aco175]

I like to write things out most of the way for dungeons. I like to have some sense of why it is there and what monsters are inside, and how they interact. I find writing it down helps with new ideas on how the players might overcome things and I can plan for the most obvious. I know that a lot might be changed as the PCs come up with new things, but having some notes helps. I can also add details I might not think of when I just ad lib.

In towns and exploration, I might have a rough outline or some brief notes on NPCs and places, but this is mostly ad lib.

 

[Bae'zel]

I note down a bunch of stuff ahead of time, but mostly adlib during the actual session.

Adlibbing is easier when I know what to draw from.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I prep to improvise. About 30 minutes or so of prep for a 3 hour game using the eight steps.

 

[Umbran]

. What are your thoughts , challenges or methods for dealing with your GM style?

I frequently use published adventure content, for which I need minimal prep.

When I am writing my own, I tend to go into most sessions with sketches and bullet points, a few statblocks ready to go, and so forth. Low-ish prep.

When running a more tactically-focused system, I will do more prep on the combat opportunities I want to matter.

 

[JDR]

An ad libber mostly