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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stormonu" data-source="post: 5719634" data-attributes="member: 52734">I usually run around the room for 45 minutes or so screaming "they're coming! they're coming!"Actually, after having DMed almost 30 years, I don't do a lot of prep work anymore (I used to do everything from scratch, but I just don't have the 4-6 hours a week anymore).  My current modus operendi is to take about 20 minutes to review the module or adventure path I'm running and do a quick check-over of the what I think the group is likely to encounter that evening (usually 2 encounters and an hour's worth of RP/interactions).I also try to have any miniatures and/or dungeon tiles at hand for the night's use set out before the night's game begin.  As far as paperwork, I keep a sheet listing the PC's name, hp total, damage taken, AC, Fort, Will, Reflex, Perception bonus and any special notes (forex, Mage Armor on the summoner's eidolon).Since my group is only playing every other week now, I always start the night with a recap of the last session.  I prefer the players to perform this recap (with some prompting to jog their memory); it tends to give me insight to what the characters are thinking and what they believe to be important from the previous sessions.  I also point out anything that at the time it occurred the players noted they wanted to follow up on and may have forgotten about, or that may foreshadow events to come.  I try to limit the recap to no more than 5-7 minutes.During the game, I run from an ipad, which so far has kept open a copy of the module I'm using (Rise of the Runelords - Burnt Offerings), a copy of the Pathfinder Rulebook and the Bestiary.  Thanks to bookmarks, I can flip to the section I need rather quickly - except for the module, which I've found myself flipping through pages instead of employing bookmarks.  To my consternation at times, since 3.5E, I haven't used a DM's screen.I've always enjoyed using miniatures for combat as I have a very poor ability to keep and relate distances in my head; besides, painted minis are generally pretty cool looking.  This does tend to slow things down a bit as I'm too apt to map things out, but I generally get great satisfaction in how things turn out.As for social interactions, I'll often assume the voice and mannerisms for various NPCs.  It's not uncommon for me to often play two NPCs with adversarial positions, and while I'm assuming a part I don't roll for skill checks (such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Sense Motive and the like) unless the PCs call for a check or I think the NPC might be suspicious of their actions.  Where possible, I try to coax the players to step into the role of their characters and not rely on the die rolls.  However, I do try to take the NPCs skills (or lack thereof) into account in how they address and react to the PCs.  If I'm not sure which way things will go, or if the players feel they need a hint, I'll let them make a skill check to help direct them.  For example, in the last session, the characters were conversing with a mercenary they'd overcome and were trying to decide what to do with; in the role of the mercenary, he suggested the characters bail on their quest - his employer was a truly horrific individual - and he would leave to return to the nearby large city (though he was really from a port city in the opposite direction).  Another NPC with the group - an elvin ranger - didn't trust the mercenary and was urging the PCs to leave the mercenary tied up as they continued on their quest (because she had a bone to pick with another mercenary in the bad guy's employ).  There were no skill checks involved in this interplay, the characters had to decide for themselves which, if either, of the two NPCs to believe (they ended up choosing to follow the ranger, even though the mercenary was truthfully warning them about the danger ahead).</blockquote>

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