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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hawkeyefan" data-source="post: 9774661" data-attributes="member: 6785785">So this will vary from game to game because I think different games need different levels of prep… but generally, this is what I do. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">My players and I discuss what game we want to play. I usually suggest a few games I’m interested in running. Then we discuss and pick one from those.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Once the game is selected, I think about it a lot… just when I have free time or what have you. I think about ideas that might be interesting… NPCs, factions, world elements, whatever. I may jot these ideas down or I may not. Either way, I consider them only ideas at this point.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We have a session zero where we collectively make characters for the players. We do this as a group because I’ve found it leads to very satisfying play, and characters and situations that feel like they’ve already existed. During this session I take a stupid amount of notes. The histories of the characters, NPCs they’ve encountered or have relationships with, organizations that they may have interacted with, and so on. We come up with the necessary details and I take notes on all of it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I then do a lot more thinking about the game, but this time with the characters in mind. I likely will make notes at this point, focused on each PC. I try to have a few relevant things in play for each PC. I then consider the ideas I had before session zero and see if any fit nicely with what’s now been created during session zero. I may or may not use my ideas to expand on the session zero stuff or to fill any gaps I see.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Then I prep session one. This will be some kind of inciting event. A call to action, so to speak. I’m going to put the characters in a situation that demands action, demands decision. This prep will mostly consist of bullet points that I’ll reference during play.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ongoing prep- after session one, I generally think about what has happened in play, and what seems likely to come up next. I ask the players about this at the end of the session. I jot down their ideas. I consider all that before the next session and I may come up with some ideas of my own. I then make a new bullet point list for the next session, which I’ll use as a reference.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sometimes, it’s very obvious what will happen next, other times it may not be clear at all. Either way, I try to come up with a bullet point list as a starting point. If there are no obvious next steps, then I’ll draw on what’s happened and the character’s pasts, or their relationships with NPCs as starting points.</li> </ul>So my prep is relatively light, all in all. Again, it may vary on many factors… how detailed the setting may be, how NPCs are created and how complex they need to be mechanically, and so on. But generally speaking, it’s light, but also involves the players. I don’t detail anything beyond a vague notion of what the world is before I involve the players and get their ideas. This way, whatever we do, it will revolve around the characters. That’s what I want the focus of play to be.</blockquote>

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