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

[hawkeyefan]

I just don’t accept that a game is better if there is more prep. Some games benefit from more prep than others, absolutely. But no matter the game, there comes a point of diminishing returns.

The word counts that have been mentioned would feel incredibly restrictive to me. Let alone that it will take a significant amount of time simply to read the thing… I’d find running it to be daunting and cumbersome. When you’ve written it yourself, it may not feel that way… but for anyone else, reference during play is going to be a challenge.

 

[Celebrim]

@Celebrim sure, if you are selling the stuff, you need to put the information on the paper, because you need to communicate it to someone else. But most of us are not doing that (and you are neither.)* So we do not feel the need to write down the stuff we already know because we are the ones who invented it in the first place.

In case it wasn't clear, my point is not that everyone should take the trouble to make their stuff publishable - as I said of my own stuff, it's not. My point was that the general lack of standards is creating a culture where no one has a clue what published material should look like or what useful material would look like. Instead, there seems to be this understanding of, "Well, RPG notes are just lists and so naturally people will pay for lists and no one wants anything else."

 

[Celebrim]

Dude. As a former professional writer...

I'm not really a professional writer by any stretch, but I do know if I was a former professional writer I'd have enough of an ear to recognize I probably shouldn't be starting off all my posts with that claim. I don't think it means what you think it means.

But hey, if you're going to criticize the note for a first-level bandit

Oh, he's a bandit. Somehow I feel that's now both too much information and not enough. But you do you.

Were I crafting a module for someone else, I would provide a whole lot more context and content. But this is for me. It's all I need. Do not assume that because it wouldn't be enough for you that it won't do for someone else.

As I said: "Can you work with that? Probably so."

So ask yourself - will my way work for you?

Nope. But you've definitely answered all my questions. Maybe channel all that emotion into your prep and don't waste what is according to you a whole sessions worth of prep venting to me.

 

[Kichwas]

Zero or very limited prep. I want the ephemeral, chaotic experience of collaborative "storytelling." I prefer to start with a situation and then let the players run wild.

Same here.

I can't function with a plan. I need chaos.

When I've run published adventures I've found it very frustrating and hard to get into things.