For all GMs out there, how do you prep your sessions?Once again, I've created a 20 page google doc worth of prep. Who knows what of the information my players will engage with.I could use sage wisdom.
> 20 page Google docGo find a copy of Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, for the sake of your own wellbeing
It depends.For D&D I usually make detailed dungeon maps on graph paper. Then for cities and towns they'll get names, a few important NPCs, names of the tavern and weaponsmith and other places, some short description, but usually I end up making up most NPCs as I go along. I literally cannot prep effectively. I will write some stuff for a tavern, the PCs will go there, and I will end up improvising like 90% of it. And when I am at home, or even walking in the woods, I can't think of anything cool or interesting. But when I am playing it is like synthesis, something greater comes out of sitting around with a bunch of dumbasses and playing. It really is inexplicable. For my Savage Worlds game? I will write down some names, maybe stat out some bad guys. But most of the plot is in my head and writing it down rarely helps. There's just no point in writing it down because the plot is so memorable to me that the only thing I need to remember is some NPC names and such.
>>97741556Lazy dungeon master is shit.Justin Alexander's book, So You Want to be a Dungeon Master has really good foundational advice about prep. And if you don't want to spend money on a book, pretty all the information in the book is on his blog, thealexandrian, for free, just in a less organized fashion. It's all there under gming 101
The sine Nomine -Without Number games can be pretty useful, but a lot of his advice is geared towards specifically sandbox play. I do think his general attitude of "you only need to prep as much as you need for the next session,but you can prep as much as you want as long as it's enjoyable" is a good mindset to have about prep.
>20 pageI have... something around a thousand pages of docs I have on hand for games.That's from 20+ years of GMing, so it's actually not that wild. Most of the stuff is just Items (and other character modifications like enchantments/curses/pacts/etc.), Enemies/Monsters, Locations, Events, Stores/Businesses, Mercenaries/Adventurers/Allies, Puzzles, and Room docs, and none that is counting notes/in progress stuff that still needs to be polished up.For most adventures, I typically created twice as much content as was used, and eventually I decided to just go back through my notes and just compile all the unused stuff for later use. After sufficient time had passed, I also started bringing back "Best hits", and now I'm pretty much set for life. Now, whenever I need an adventure, I might make a few new pieces, but then I can just grab old material to fill things out.I also keep history and lore down to almost nothing. My general rule is that if a bit of history isn't interesting enough for me to remember, the players certainly won't.
>>97741518• Know which game you're playing. This means properly setting expectations, including but not limited to:> the tone of the game; is it a metal gorefest where you rip and tear demons from Hell, is it pretty pony princesses prancing, or somewhere in between?> "can my character(s) die and how easily?"> "will I be playing the game that was described to me" or "will I be playing a game at all" or "how much time is going to be taken away from the game for irrelevant reasons?"• Have familiarity with the game, and keep any unfamiliar aspects of the game at the ready ( CTRL+F for digital documents, tabs/bookmarks/notecards for physical media ); incentivize such preparedness for the players too.• Have relevant materials at the ready and organized; character sheets, dice, maps, etc.• Set proper ambiance if desired, with your lighting, soundboard, music playlist, etc. at your fingertips. Wear a fucking costume and get your players to dress up, if that's what it takes to set the mood. Get a bitch to act like a table and roll dice on her belly.• Play the goddamn game. Have fun with it. If it isn't fun, stop playing and do something else. But for fuck sake, if you stop playing the game, for whatever reason, don't get high and mighty claiming to play games and call others nogames like a hypocrite.
>>97741556/thread
>>97741518Depends on the game.
>>97741518Towns I'll do some bullet points for noteworthy NPCs, with their job, motives, personality, etc. Usually nothing major. Then having a table of names to easily glance at in case the PCs talk to somebody random.Wilderness I make a table of random events. Not just '2d6 goblin ambush', but rather stuff like the remains of a caravan that was attacked, an old castle, etc. Stuff that can easily spiral off into an adventure of its own if the PCs decide to investigate.Dungeons I tend to map out in more detail, though that's usually after I know the PCs are already going somewhere. If the players suddenly change course and I need a dungeon on the fly, it's usually easy enough to come up with an entrance on the fly at least. As long as you've got a theme in mind for what sort of enemies are there and what sort of traps and defenses those enemies use, then it's pretty easy to come up with a watchtower, camp, or similar patrol outside.If you're less interested in dungeon crawling, then it gets even easier, since you only really need a half-dozen rooms to have something suitable enough for a basic hack and slash. I just tend to prefer some bigger more elaborate dungeons, so most of my prep goes towards that.
>>97741518>Once again, I've created a 20 page google doc worth of prep.What fucking for?If your session is more than 5 simple sentences, you fucked up big time.>Who knows what of the information my players will engage with.If you can't answer their questions without 20 pages of text, you shouldn't be running in the first place. And it's not even some improv flex or shit like that, you are simply overdoing useless stuff for no reason or point.Also, consult >>97741556. It's the "in-depth" version of "never write more than 5 sentences for your incoming session", explaining to even the most obtuse autists how to handle this shit
>>97741518Most of this thread is filled with bad advice. OP, the secret is it's all about how well you know your players.When you don't know your players, prepare as much as you can given your time and energy/motivation. You'll still have to improvise, but it'll pay dividends down the line to be ready, and you can re-use and recycle things you've prepared but didn't use.Once you've gotten to know your players, you can get away with preparing a bare minimum. You'll be able to accurately predict what they'll do, how they'll react, and what decisions they'll make, so you won't have to worry about what-ifs.
>>97741518If I'm playing a module, I rewrite everything in my own words because they often put that shit in a nonsensical order and writing it out helps me retain information better so it isn't obvious I'm reading from a script except when reading area descriptions and prewritten dialogue.Otherwise, I kind of wing it every session.
>>97742635>O-one shots?>N-never run those!>A-and familiarize yourself with players first, then adjust!You were saying something about bad advice, weren't you?
>>97742635Youre basically saying >Once you're good at running the game, you'll be good at running the game!It's useless advice for someone starting out, who doesn't know what they are doing.
>>97741518Prep as much as you enjoy. Use what comes up. Keep the rest, iterate on it, and let it slowly accumulate. You'll eventually have a well that you can draw on whenever things go in an unexpected direction.Preparation is only a trap in three cases:>You don't like doing it in the first place.>You feel some kind of autistic need to empty the tank every time you run a session.>You feel some kind of autistic need to ONLY ever use material you've prepared, turning it into a set of constraints instead of a resource.
>>97742635>Most of this thread is filled with bad advice.Which posts, and why?Be detailed and specific.
>>97742730NTA, but the shills are trying to sell some real stinkers.
>>97742760k
>>97741518what adventure module are you playing that need more than 2 page of word doc lmao
>>97741518I enjoy prepI don't feel trapped because if I have to run a session of improvisation I can, I simply enjoy myself more when I prepare a dungeon down to the miniscule details
>>97742760>I have nothing to say, and will not elaborate. Of the outside 3 outside sources recommended, 2 are free, idiot.
>>97741518Prep exists to inform your GMing decisions in a wide variety of situations, not as a step-by-step script for each possible interaction. Think things like local populations and the who's who of the campaign to draw from when in doubt; not an dialogue tree for every single character.
>>97742760>Freeware stuff developed by /tg/ almost 2 decades ago>ShillingHello, tourist
>>97741518I don't.
>>97743174>Think things like local populations and the who's who of the campaignThat's already overthinking it and I mean it with full sincerityFor a campaign you need "what" and "where". Everything else is just a filler to that. Because it doesn't matter if you end up talking with the local baron/doctor/gunsmith/school teacher. What matters is the event and where it is happening. And even the "where" part isn't all that needed, other than generally informing about the situation.People who structure their games like they are designing a vidya are really fucking weird, but I know from where that shit is coming - their reference base is vidya, novels and movies. And neither of them is truly interactive, nor flexible in possible interactions (if there is any interaction other than consuming).
>>97742635Ironic.
>>97742635>How should I prep?>You will get there eventually, buddyVery fucking helpful
How I prep after years of GMing>Music Playlist>Maps>Flavor Text and Namelists>NPC/Enemy Statblocks>Ability Checks and ChallengesAnd that's pretty much it. If I need Items I just generate them on the go. Instead of forcing my games to be like stories, I make sandboxes for my Players to stomp about. They have fun and I don't need to spend too much time planning.
>>97741518What are you running system wise and what are your players like? This general approach has helped me out quite a bit. Finding a balance of having enough material to run and improvise a bit based on, without making it into a chore or overbuilding and closing off emergent gameplay is key.
>>97742682>>97742681Kek, sure sucks that reading comprehension and good gming are directly correlated, huh?
>>97743872Yeah, I imagine that makes things really hard for you, bud.
>>97741518>how do you prep your sessions?90% of my prep is drawing doodles during work meetings
I generally don't much, I just get a bunch of icons and maps ready to go, get some vauge ideas for encounters, and adlib as I go, grabbing new maps and icons during breaks or RP sections if the session is going in a different way than I expected. Sometimes a prep a full dungeon and actually do the work and add puzzles and shit, but those sessions have been less well recieved than when I sandboxmax.
>>97743206Muh manYou are literally spelling out you prep what will happen in your campaign in advanceMiss me with that gay railroad shitNo wonder you don't understand
>>97741518Just out of curiosityWhat do you write down in that doc?Personally I prep going by this list in order of priority (we play a sandbox)>shit for players to interact withIf it's a village this is going to be a table of important NPCs, their quirks and traits, motivations, problems and fears + a list of business and services. Usually fits on a single page. I only do a map if I have spare time. For dungeons you need a map, set encounters, monsters and treasure, random encounters, usually takes up 2 pages, one for the map, one for stats and other things. If it's wilderness, you need a map, it doesn't have to be the whole world, just a couple days travel away. You also need random encounters (very important!), a backup village and a backup "dungeon". We are playing a game that comes with a hexmap and a solid 100 pages of random encounters from fluff and monsters to mini-quest hooks. So most of the heavy lifting is already done. >music3 playlist, calm ambient, tense dungeon, thrilling action. Do it once and you are golden, maybe add a new track from time to time>handoutsSelf explanatory
>>97741518Barely prep at all, the whole world basically exists as far as the player characters can see
>>97743889>n-no u!Low creativity, bad GM detected.
>>97744169>Tell people to go for it and keep prep to the bare minimum>Miss me with that gay railroad shit... you sure you replied to the correct post?
>>97744389a railroad is not about being prep-light or prep-heavyif you are prepping "what" [and "where" ahead of time you are prepping a railroad, you dumbass
>>97744452Oh... ok
>>97744583Retard
>>97742137Anyone who claims>never write more than 5 sentences for your incoming sessionis valid advice,Since it's only 5 sentences, post what you prepared for the last session. It should easily fit on a 4chan post.
>>97743206>what and whereI don't see how writing"treasure""goblin cave"is going to help you run a dungeon crawl. You still need a map, enemy stats, trap locations, etc.Post your last session prep, as an example, please.
I prep two hours tops that equal 4 hours of irl gameplay roughly. I've found anything more is a waste. Played TTRPGs for 41 years now. You can ama and I'll try to help you
>prepping anythingjust ask chatgpt to prepare for you
>>97745450No. That shit is bunk. You will never become a better GM using a crutch
OP here. I appreciate everyone's responses. I get that there's some flexibility in how people prep. It sounds like "less is more". I don't want to railroad my players so anything I prep is purely optional. I'm also not the sort of GM that can just improvise an entire session from the jump. Sounds like there's a few really good resources offered here as well as some methods folks use. I agree with only prepping one session ahead.How much of the session do you find yourselves improvising?How do you guys come up with your NPCs?Do you start by referencing your player's stories/histories (I'm doing more of that, tying little threads to their background)?One thing I'm proud of is that I do let my players affect the world. It does change based on what they do. I also let the things they don't engage with happen anyway (rather than video-game style floating side quests), their omission also affecting the world.Only prepping what's fun is also great advice. I just want to avoid getting trapped into over-preparing.
For one shots I do a general read and then do a quick run ignoring combat results and the like to get used to the intended flow. The first is to know where everything is, maybe you have a table or NPC you'll keep using but it's at the end or at their first appearance. The second is to know which thing leads where, what things affect following events, maybe change some stuff if I'm adapting it to a particular scenario or group.I rarely take notes, I might transcribe stuff to paper to pull up on the spot or share. If it's all digital and I'm gonna run it in person I might make a copy of the dungeon because checking a piece of paper looks better than checking your phone. But I think prep is more of a mental thing, once at the table you have the vital resources (statblocks for combat, maps for dungeons, item descriptions) and the rest comes up on the spot.
Quit your job to prep more
>>97745874I'm my experience, the more useful prep is NPCs or factions and their motivations, and then physical locations. I don't need to know exactly what npc 1 is going to say if I have a idea of what their goals are and how they'll react to NPCs. And I'm bad at on-the-fly location design, so having some maps and shit in my back pocket is useful. I've also really started thinking of information as "what do the players need to know/what would be useful for them to know" and less "they will find this clue here, and this clue here, etc." When you uncouple your revelations from specific vectors, you have more freedom to have alternate vectors relay said information, and it makes your structure more flexible.I think wesk prep is the choose-your-own-adventure flowchart design where you get caught up in "if the players do a, this will happen, but if the players do b, then this will happen," because the odds are good the players will do something unexpected and even if they do follow one branch of your flowchart, then you have a bunch of wasted prep.
>>97746308This anon fucks
>>97745333Neat trips, checkedAs for your question, the last session had the following note on a single train ticket (I usually write shit down on those):>Aztec temple in the jungle, housing a fabulous treasure>Local warlord (lots of soldiers) wants that treasure, too>Contact in the opening (old vet) leading to all-out assault on party>Traps: pivot to balance (rhyme), light-activated (rhyme), bogus bridge (10+ check), exact weight on the jade statue (check)So it wasn't even 5 sentences. Pretty much everything past the pre-determined opening was up to players (other than who's after them and what's potentially to gain).They fought their way through the encounter, then combined clues from the old man with tracking back on the soldiers assaulting them, decided to raid their compound and used all they've learned so far to locate the treasure. Since they did attack Colonel Fernandez, I didn't even have to get inventive about him and his troops arriving after the players.It took 2 meetings to play (4th and 11th March), nobody complained, pretty much entire game was build on players' input and me knowing the system well enough (we used Hollow Earth Expedition) to always have fitting stats for everything.
>>97745345Nta, but:>You still need a mapI think the English word for this is "doodling">enemy statsWhy are you GMing if you don't know what are stats of enemies at fitting challenge thresholds?>trap locationsLiterally just place themCan't talk for him, but already posted my own prep. What and where is perfectly reasonable way of doing this stuff, as long as you know your way around the system you are running.
>>97746308>Not prepping at work>Not prepping when commuting from work to the gameLmao.One of the best things about covid is that I no longer have actual, physical meet-ups, it's all just Teams calls. End result: 50-90 minutes of prep time on Mondays and Wednesdays. And I run on Wednesday afternoons, so I have time to get the original idea, then rethink it on the game day.
>>97741518>Once again, I've created a 20 page google doc worth of prepHow does someone even have the energy to do this?
>>97741518Some bulletpoints on interesting things, a diagram for a map with whatever two word notes on what to toss in, and notes ive made over previous sessions.I never trust my players, and i've gotten to the point i don't even keep track of what i gave them. if they dont remember it's there it might as well be gone and im not looking back at the reward list for them... unless they roleplay into it.
>>97742635you are a fucking worthless excuse for a human being, you irredeemably retarded piece of fucking shit
>>97747018The Aztec weren't actually near the Jungle, even under a relatively broad definition of "Aztec" (EX: Nahuas in general, not just the Mexica) they were located in the valleys and mountain ranges of Central Mexico, what is today Mexico City, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, etc.The jungles are along the coasts and in the lowlands, in the Yucatan Peninsula, etc. There were areas the Mexica of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan conquered in their expansionism that were in the jungles, but the "culturally aztec" cities and towns weren't in jungles.Pic related is what the areas the Aztec were in looked likeThe Mesoamerican civilizations actually in the jungle were the Olmec, Classic Veracruz, Totonac, Huastec, Mixe, Zoque, Maya, etc
>>97748641>ChatGPT, generate me autistic response to that post
>>97748641Reminds me a Pirate Borg open table I played with back in 2024.It's Pirate Borg, so it's a bullshit edgy game about bullshit edgy setting. But two guys started to argue with each other about the real-life sailing and difference between ship types after char-gen...... until the GM faced me and the other guy and said "while the two of your friends are arguing about the rigging types, you are still rowing toward the land, navigating through the anchorage." And then fluidly continued with the game, in the process shutting up the duo of autismos without even talking to them.That was a really valuable lesson, despite being in this hobby for over two decades.Do you even know what Hollow Earth Expedition is and what sort of games it supports? Or too busy throwing a tantrum about pulp being pulp?
>>97749707I assure you my Mesoamerican history autism has no need for bullshit AI programs to post obsessive rants, they'd probably spit out the same misinformation I'm trying to correct>>97749908>Do you even know what Hollow Earth Expedition is and what sort of games it supports? Or too busy throwing a tantrum about pulp being pulp?Nope, I don't. But I wasn't throwing a tantrum either in anger, I was trying to post information to be informative and that you'd hopefully find interesting. For example did you know Mesoamerican buildings were plastered and painted with mutlicolor murals in their heyday rather then just being grey masonry like how the ruins look today? See picAnyways, to your point, most of the Mesoamerican style ruins in pulp media and such are Maya influenced anyways, so them being in the jungle is fine/makes sense, you just said "Aztec" and I figured you might appreciate learning the distinction. If you don't care though then no worries.
>>97750298Nta, but go check the movie anon posted.You will get the joke.Especially since Chuck just bite the dust and it's one of his best movies (or at least watchable ones)
>>97747035>doodlingso you do pre more than 5 sentences>I remember the stats for my simple game so you should remember stats for your game tooThis is a form of prep, only prep you got to do over the years, not useful advice for new GMs.>but in my gameWe are talking about general preparation, if your form of prep only works for simple rules-light games it's not really useful for most people who are most definitely playing something vastly more complex.>s long as you know your way around the systemSo you guys should not be on /tg/ giving advice to new GMs. Your advice is the equivalent of going "Just punch through his fucking head" to someone trying to learn boxing.
>>97748030Kind of an overreaction, don't you think
>>97749908Your GM sounds kino honestly
>>97751064Ive noticed a weird thing where a vocal subset of people are really against giving any sort of useful advice about gming.y guess is that running games is the only sort of talent that they have, and so they feel as though they must be special because of it, and it isn't something capable of being taught/transmitted to others who aren't similarly special. So you get a lot of fucking non-advice that's less advice and more bragging about what an elevated being the advice giver is.
>>97751238I feel attacked. I'm probably guilty of this a bit
>>97751064>Projecting this much>Just for the sake of arguingHere is the (You) you are after.Now improve your craft and show us results next time around.>>97751238>>97751297>Knowing the system you are running (ie read it once cover to cover) and having visualisation and planning skills above the mental capacity of 10 is a special talent.Last time I've checked, that wasn't even enough to be called a fully functional adult. And here we are, in a pseudo-discussion claiming those are special, secret talents.
>>97751883*a 10 yo
>>97751238... or maybe you're just retarded?Ever considered that?Think about it: a subset of players gives you specific advice ("don't overdo it", "keep it simple", "reduce it to those minimal elements") and your reaction is... to ignore the advice and claim this is some sort of posturing and flexingMeaning you aren't actually interested in the advice, but you want to hear a specific thing you have already pre-assumed before asking for advice. Answer not matching the expectation? Well, better ignore it, since it's not what I wanted to hear, and those people are just some conspiracy of smug arseholes to look down at meAnd I'm now looking down at you, but because you went full retardNever go full retardI was running games this way when I was 13. I'm 41 now and I still run them on the exact same principles. It still works and still bears good to great results. What other advice should I give you then, other than sharing my 28 years of experience with this stuff?What? Tell you the "common knowledge" that you expect and contradict my own experience? Or tell you that you should do things that I know are pointless busywork, just because you expect them?So when someone tells me "you MUST prepare map", I have no fucking clue what they are trying to actually claim, because I always just doodle them. I know what I want the dungeon to be, I don't need to draw in advance, because this isn't rocket science. I don't need to ponder where to put the traps, because that's already part of the "vision" I've got for said dungeon>>97751064>b-but make it a general adviceIt is a general adviceYou just refuse to take it, for God knows what reasonOther than being contrarian, that isMy advice to new GMs is always the same: KISSYou don't need almost any of the shit that online guides and average anon is going to suggest, because most of that is useless decorum and hours wasted for no actual benefit. You need clear, well-defined goal(s) and to read the system - nothing more
>>97751064And to continue with this:You are basically postulating to teach people learned helplessness - that they know shit and then need to waste hours on this stuff, or they will never be good. Which is easily the most destructive thing to tell to anyone starting out. Unless, of course, your goal is to peddle them modules that do all the useless shit.Consider your own retarded claims>Players are dungeon crawling>You pre-draw a dungeon for them>But because they are exploring it, you can't show them your own map and either doodle it for them, or force them to doodle it themselves>Thus, your pre-made map is completely wasted effort>But somehow, it is obligatory to make the map before the game.Meaning you are either mental or never fucking run a single dungeon crawl yourself, but try to sound smug and knowledgeable by doing "common sense" path. All you are actually achieving is exposing yourself as a poser.>Only simple games can be memorisedSo, again, learned helplessness - "this game is too tough", the subset of the same mental and cultural retardation that claims "math is tough". It's not. But if you keep repeating to yourself it is, then it will became so, as you will stop trying to actually learn or understand it.Same with ability to eye-ball stats of things in the game. You can do that on a fly after reading the rules... unless someone shows up and tells you you must pre-write it. So you keep writing it down, and eventually unless you write it down, you are no longer capable of doing it.>We are talking about general preparation,So do I. If you plan to deflect it "it only works with simple games", then it's a bad faith argument backed by "because I say so".Well, I say that it works with any game of your fucking choice, for there is no real difference between games. They are all sets of rules within a single convention.Unless, of course, someone teaches you as their "advice" to be helpless and wallow in powerlessness, because "this game it tough".
>>97751064But I guess running T2k (the old, real editions, not the crap from Swedes) means I'm only sticking to 2d6 basic, for it is "impossible" to prep a mil-sim game by writing down "today they should reach Rotterdam". After all, it is "impossible" to be able to eye-ball the stats for encounters. for I "only" read the rules once. No, no, I should pre-write it all.Just so in the end a fag like you - or just (You), directly - crying me a river about "hurr, stop advocating railroad".tl;dr consult pic related
>>97751238A lot of people mistake the capacity for honesty with being mean because being honest to them hurts their feelings so that's the part of it they think is honest. They remember the pain and inflicting rather than the lessons or ideas. The battered housewife that hits her kids basically. Like this anon >>97752026They'll claim their belligerent behaviour is key to getting the lesson across but they won't take this one in even though it hurts their feelings.
>>97741518I do everything by hand. My session prep looks like this:>Dramatis personae stageI write down the players, their names, AC, HP, or other important stats, as well as the main protagonists and antagonists who are likely to be referenced, appear, or engage with the Party for the session.>Recap PhaseI write down the main events from last session and review my session notes (a separate document I keep with me).>Cold opens/flashbacks/key events phaseIf I want to have any story moments for players that are personal and developing their backstory, I write this down next to take care for the session.>Main eventI then set what I expect the players to be able to accomplish in a session. Usually this is baesd off things players said last session, what they did last session, and also how I want to help shape the plot. A lot of times this is player-driven. I never get into super hard details because it never works out that way.>The "Side quest hub"I always keep a wellspring of side adventures for the players to engage with which I can throw in/out as necessary. Typically, they link back to the main theme but sometimes they don't, as the Party are adventurers and sometimes just want to ... adventure, without some grand narrative arc. I find this approach to be the most consistent and also give me the greatest creative flexibility to not railroad myself or the party, but also give good ground to keep them locked into the session and have a goal to work towards.
>>97741706>"you only need to prep as much as you need for the next session,but you can prep as much as you want as long as it's enjoyable"I think it's worth going a little extra just to breathe life into your world. I prepare variety of things, and the world will keep existing. Players choosing to focus on some quests over others, picking up some threads while discarding others all has impact on the world around them. I know the motivations of the major factions in the campaign and how they are going to reach them. We use a calendar, which we track dates. I know when factions will attempt various activities in line with their faction goals, and these will progress regardless of player intervention. And its happened before, where the party set off on a month long adventure, returned to the town only tro find it now in the hands of another kingdom, as it had been conquered. I think it's really important to keep those little things in mind while you are prepping, to make sure you add it that little spice that makes your world feel alive.
>>97745195Retard
>>97745333You begin play in the quaint logging village of Coldstone, where you have access to the services of the TAVERNKEEP, STABLE, INFUSERIZER, CANDYSMITH, and GUMDROP BANK.This village lies a little ways up in the foothills, and there is a single road cutting through town forming a wide horseshoe, so that it leads out west in either direction initially, before straightening out and becoming a north south highway. The vast PEPPERMINT WOODS blanket these hills to the northeast, east, and southeast, with the sister village of CHERRY BERRY lying just about a day's travel by wagon to the south, and the MALLOW MARSH a couple days to the northwest.You have not yet discovered much of what lies beyond, but may be able to find information here in Coldstone before venturing forth. What will you do?
>>97745345No, you don't need any of that. Who told you that you do?
>>97745345stat blocks? what are you talking about? I just imagine whatever I want, and the nature of the game's mechanics and resolution method makes it easy to translate that into rules without any effort at all.
>>97747018ntayrt >nd me knowing the system well enough (we used Hollow Earth Expedition) to always have fitting stats for everything.this is an interesting point, because reading and memorization, both of the game system and crating the game world based on historical events is prep. Significant prep, you just don't think of it that way. Helps to combine this with games that are easy to improvise with.
>>97756156I play my candycane card to gather information about the Peppermint woods.
>>97745874I improvise almost everything. When creating a region, I only need to assign it travel distance from neighboring nodes, a hazard rating, a hostility level, and a theme, all of which can be done in a couple of seconds during play if needed. The rest mostly takes care of itself.An NPC is just a name and a species of animal. Most will have an occupation, and some will provide services to players. If the players become interested in a particular character, it can have detail added, and this is a collaborative process, like most of the world design. This is mostly case by case and varies by player preference. Of course character creation by the rules requires developing various connections and details about oneself, the world, and the other players. I encourage players to go beyond these requirements should they wish to and suggest anything they can imagine to add to the setting. I also recommend them to create at least one nemesis, and the more villains they want to create, the better.
>>97755783I don't disagree with you, and I don't think your point and my (/Kevin Crawford's) point is in disagreement. It's just an argument against the weird idea that some newbies have that you have to prep and entire continent's worth of ancient and modern history before the game starts.
>>97741518I draw a map, which is a good use of time, since it can be referred to again and again in later sessions, write short blurbs for the major npc's in town, which also usually an efficient use of time, and modify a couple creature stat blocs to throw the Monster Manual readers for a loop, representing local subspecies or cultures of gribbly, decide what problem the region has, which will get out of hand if unsolved, and how that should effect the players.Say, the local always-chaotic-evil humanoidsare planning to sack the town grain silo; I roll a dice to see how many in-game days or weeks that will happen in, and if their encampment isn't cleared out by then, everybody suffers, but the next phase obviously becomes "Steal back the harvest or everybody starves over winter"
>>97741518>>97741518Do campaign prep over session prep. Once you know where your setting and adventuring area is done, it's pretty easy to handle session to session. Players aren't unknowable, so once the game gets rolling it's pretty easy to guess the specifics they need for the next session. Alternatively just ask them what they plan to do next session at the end of the session, and if they don't do that.....feed them a zero-prep slop session and that'll be fine. They aren't owed your time.
>>97756210Also not the anon you replied to, but:>Everything is prep, if you are retarded enoughLike breathing. Do you breath? That means you want to sustain yourself, which means you are preparing for the session. If you weren't preparing, you wouldn't be breathing
>>97755581
>>97741556>>97741921>>97742137>>97743206>>97744271>>97747018>>97749908>>97752026>>97756628The only people itt who actually play and probably also run gamesEveryone else is a no-game at best, never-game on average
>>97756331And this guy, too, sorry for missing you, buddy
>>97752026>>97752034You're doing it right now. This is what I'm talking about.>Unless you have completely perfect recall of the entire rulebook, and have perfect ability to improv both mechanical functions, spatial information and the story at large, you're basically a blithering retard who shouldn't even try to run games.That's cool you're able to do that shit. Congrats, you're a special boy. But "Perfectly memorize all the rules and statblocks and be really good at improvising" isn't helpful or useful to most people, let alone people new to the hobby. Denigrating people for the *absolute sin* of ... having reference material makes you seem like a fart huffing elitist. Shit like "keep it simple" and "only prep what you need" *is* good advice, but you couch it in a bunch of arrogant, useless bullshit.
Here's how I prep NPCs>each NPC has an agenda>each NPC has something to offer the party>each NPC will try to advance their agenda every session (usually by offering the party work)
>>97757208>I have no argument but I must exaggerateAre you actually equating autonomous functions with someone who has made significant effort to read a rulebook, memorize the rules and the historical focus of their campaign?
>>97751238are they in the room with us?
>>97757329>Remembering thins you read means you have perfect recall>Remembering things you read last week is some special skill>Having basic cognitive and spatial skills required to pass a driving test are superhuman skills>Understanding genre conventions is rare and uncommon ability, and not expected ability of a high-school graduate>Familiarity with multiple works of fiction is unheard ofDifferent anon, but life must be hard when one is retarded and/or home-schooled.Or are you Amish? I remember playing with a guy who was an Amish shunned from his community and in his case your points would stick, too. But he was almost literally raised in a barn, so I don't blame him.You meanwhile are making your idiocy something to brag about.Like shit man, you just claimed average 16 yo shouldn't be able to drive a car, for they lack the mental capacity to place themselves in space and adjust for speed and movement.A true NPC moment.>>97757604>I have no argument but I must exaggerateIronic, since that's all the people shitting on basic, elementry-tier improv skills are doing itt.
>>97756126Retard
>>97757604>someone who has made significant effort to read a rulebook, memorize the rules and the historical focus of their campaign>significant effortWhat the other guy said already - you just described baseline, expected mental capacity of a high school kid that doesn't have any mental or development disabilities as some sort of unique skillset. To say nothing about the fact this "significant effort" is what you need to play at fucking all, not to mention running, you clueless never-game.
>>97745333So you're not going to acknowledge the multiple people who met your requirements? What was the point of your request?
>>97757927>You don't do prep exactly like me, you must be retarded!If you're not just samefagging, you're guilty of exactly the same shit.
>>97757329Don't worry, most of these snowflakes >>97757970aren't nearly as clever or good at memorization as they think they are. Improvisers tend to focus on tricking the easily fooled so when anyone actually tracks what they're up to it falls apart.
>>97757604Yes.
>>97757987Oh, I'm not worried about it, I just think it's funny that they're acting *exactly* the way I said they would act. They cannot help it.
>>97757587Here's how I create content at the conceptual level:>take a list of root themes related to my campaign (often the principles from Cultist Simulator)>pick two themes and combine them to form inspirationEx: we need a dungeon near a town. We pick Lantern and Heart. Because Lantern is the realm of secret knowledge, it'll be a library, and because Heart is the realm of preservation, it will be a medical library. Why would a medical library be a dungeon? because of mummies, of course: corpses preserved as physical medical records, which now stalk the halls as unkillable horrors. The vault is a treasure trove of scrolls, tomes, and equipment, as long as you can sneak through it and have no problem stepping over the bodies of the researchers.
>>97757983>>97757987>Anon goes full meltdown after being called retarded
>>97758011>Everyone who disagrees with me is the same guy!>You're having a meltdown!K
>>97758011>>97758025have you guys considered NOT shitting up threads in service of your own anonymous vanity?
>>97757604I'm sorry, are you actually being smug about struggling with reading a rulebook and remembering its content?And that after spending half a thread making some idiotic claim that "some people just live in their own bubble and consider their own mental state the norm"?Fuck man, describe me how do you even prep your games, if remembering rules is such a colossal, "significant" effort.Go on, cover the process. Prove to us you actually ever run anything at all..
>>97758038... have you?Especially since that vanity seems to be literally "I'm dumb and proud of it"?
>>97758038If you didn't notice, the only purpose this thread serves is filling the catalog and having a pointless argument to liven it up. So they are actually doing their part.
>>97757604How do you plan to play, not to mention run a game, without reading and memorizing the rules? Which part of this sounds to you like a prep and not basic prerequisite to even sit to the table?
>>97757960Retard
>>97757987No one you replied to thinks they're good at memorizing, which is the point. Did you read the posts? Dumbfuck?
>>97758004Why did you reply to yourself?
>>97758025Thanks for confirming it.
>>97757927>>97757970>>97758011>>97758049>>97758138Ah yes I'm sure you're all very special and the best at whatever bullshit you've passed off as thinking is. Every one of you.
>>97758615>>97758623>>97758628>>97758684... do you plan to now go through the entire thread and randomly reply to everyone, just for the (You)s? Then grab four of them.
>>97758697Again, you're not as clever as you think you are.
So you do
This might be the most feral thread in all of 4chan
I win.
>>97760741nome
Insane amount of nogames baiting and trolling itt. If anyone tells you they do no prep at all (or very often if they say 'low prep' like 5 sentence prep) they're trolling, run shit "games", or dont know what they're talking about and have done far more prep than they are letting on.
>>97762692Nope.
>>97762692You're a straight up moron that couldn't parse a sentence if your life depended on it
I think I've fallen off.I simply don't feel like prepping anymore, job's taking most of my energy and numbing me 40hrs a week.It feels like extra work, and now, when I get to sessions, I got only 40 minutes worth of shit before dying inside and going "can we push back?"Maybe im no longer fit to GM. But if I don't,no one will, and the fags im playing with made it clear none of them are interested either.Fuck.
>>97762720>>97762936Too precious.
>>97763343You should try crying about it
>>97757972I responded to all of them thounless I missed someone.
>>97752026>It is a general adviceIt's not useful advice. Any new GM playing, say D&D 5e or gurps or mythras who then tries just writing>bandits have taken hostages to the bandit hideout as their sole prepwill have a terrible session where he tries to improvize everything from a way to give the players the info they need, to how to reward the players, what monsters to use, what their stats are, what to do on the trip to the goblin cave and everything else.>>97752034>if the players don't see the map it is wasted effortthat's pure insanity>Same with ability to eye-ball stats of things in the game"Just make shit up" is not advice. And I guarantee it won't work if you're playing GURPS or Shadowrun 4e.>>97752059I'm not the guy talking about railroad, stop conflating everyone that disagrees with you as the same person. Anyway, you wrote 3 posts to say "just make shit up, it works every time" which results in garbage sessions that leave everyone, including the GM unsatisfied because there's no solid foundation to the campaign, everything relies entirely on the GMs memory to keep things consistent.
>>97765073So you agree that it is, in fact, valid advice.
>>97765150Just make shit up is good advice. Everything in the game is made up, and it's equally made up whether you make it up prior to the session or during it.
>>97757970>memorize the rulesI'm not the original anon or anything, but nigga the standard book is what, 200 pages? and thats before adding in expansion materials.This is why I don't play spellcasters in a campaign if I can help it. I am not going to memorize the entirety of all spells in the spell listings so I can be well informed. I can do plenty as a rogue or warrior without need an additional 20 pages worth of rules and bullshit that I have to learn
>>97741518I make up literally everything as I go. I don't think anyone has noticed yet.
When I prep, my game is 100% better. I'm not a computer and neither are you and that's a good thing. But there's nothing wrong with making notes so you actually REMEMBER important shit. 99% of DMs can't improvise worth two tin shits. And you know why
>>97764458Nou
>>97767200I just wanted examples to understand what they meant. I'm not the one talking about how it's bad advice.
>>97767203>make shit up without understanding>no one can get engaged in the game because things just happen at random
>>97767483They have noticed, they just believe that a shit game is better than no game.
>>97751238They're not just against any sort of gming advice. There's people who are 100% against /tg/ being useful in any way outside of the generals. These people will go out of their way to shit up any thread that is asking for actual advice on anything /tg/-related.See>>97768417on this other thread for example.
>>97742137>never write more than 5 sentences for your incoming sessionYeah sorry guys the boss only has one attack, never overprepare amirite?
>>97742730NTA but 5 sentences is usually tauted by inbreds, theres a post that says "know the game you are playing" three times before it says to "set the lighting and put on a costume", and the second post in the thread openly admits to being bad at prep
>>97743206>People who structure their games like they are designing a vidya (as an ideafag who has never coded in his life)Vidya devs make the best GMs, and the opposite is also true.
>>97741518Prepping is a noob trap.
>>97747018>I can explain my prep in 5 simple sentences!>the sentences: lkathwsmplits
>>97756175Ok but i dont want my players sitting around twiddling their thumbs while I type in foundry. You DO know typing isn't instantaneously completed, right anon?
>>97756331>An NPC is just a name and a species of animal.
>>97763188Time to boot up a minecraft server with a custom map based on the last campaign!
>>97769073Image meant for >>97757208
>>97768907>If you improv, your game is shitSo this is the power of the over-prep cope?
>>97768979>Projecting to miss the point and incite responseThat's some next level bait, grab well earned (You)
>>97770582there's a middle ground between "improve everything" and "prep everything". Your post was not it.Even the other guys ITT still ask for at least 5 sentences of prep.
>>97770592what is he projecting exactly? Did you quote the wrong post?
>>97768896Then you're not the person I'm talking to, obviously.
>>97768899With understanding, and my players are always engaged in my games.
>>97768907Ironic.
>>97768918How did you get from "you don't need prep" to "you can't give enemies more than one attack"? Which post contains that sentence?
>>97769018did you have a stroke?
>>97769073yes, that's one of the things I said. are you okay?
>>97769063never gonna make it lol
You guys would argue over two ants fucking
>>97777182... you wouldn't?Btw - two ants can't fuck
>>97769063And then online-only niggers wonder why everyone looks down at them
>>97776600>With understanding,If your advice is actually "just make shit up with understanding" the next obvious question is "how to achieve the understanding needed to make shit up" which is the actual advice you're supposed to give to a new GM.Just saying "make shit up" doesn't help because a new gm who never played before isn't going to understand.
>>97759809oh great, the half-breed pajeet is back with his broken english to samefag and act like his stinky brownness doesn’t emenate from all his posts. Yes Rajesh, you tricked whitey with your inspect element knowledge. This will bring great power and google play cards to your people. Dumb fuck.
>>97778264I wouldn't over anything that nonsensical
>>97778268Using the word nigger pejoratively makes you one
>>97741518>I could use sage wisdom.At the end of the previous session, ask the players what they're interested in doing next session. No need to thank me.
>>97783352Thank you anyway
>>97741518Main things to prep are locations, npc abilities/motivations, and balanced encounters.You can mix and match those things and adapt to player agency if you understand the environments and pieces available
>>97778439NTA, but the best way to gain that understanding is practice and experience. Which is why agonizing over prep for hours and hours isn't really going to help, because the sooner you sit down and start running the game, the better.What can help is knowing where to focus your prep, but that often tends to be a result of what people are better at coming up with on the fly. But ultimately prep is something you need less of the more comfortable you get with the game.Random tables are often a good way to help get accustomed to that. They're inherently less predictable, and while you still need to fill out the table in advance, it emphasizes the idea that the world isn't set in stone as soon as you write something down.
