I was wondering how you guys prepare your sessions. I'm a newbie GM and we are finishing the lost mines of Phanthelver. We are having lots of fun with it, but it is a bit hard for me to prepare so many areas of the adventure before every session just because my players would want to go there.
I've read many many times, the idea behind DMing is to keep improvising and get the story unfold with the players, just by having a few story beats prepared in advance. I am a professional video game level designer, and it is a bit hard for me to switch from my daily extremely handmade work, to get loose and improvise as DM.
I feel I am over preparing things. How do you guys mange it?
There is an easy answer - ask the party where they want to go at the end of a session instead of the beginning. Obviously the party will require you to improvise some details (e.g., depending on how they go about entering Cragmaw Castle) but you shouldn't have to prepare multiple game areas for a single session.
If you are running a published adventure, it is generally advised to have read through the entire adventure at least once before starting to run it, so you are familiar with what is coming up. That is what I did with LMoP, and what I have done with Curse of Strahd.
Each week after the session, if you have an idea of where they are going next week (something the PCs should discuss at the end of a session), you can then reread that section. Spend time between sessions rereading parts of the adventure, especially the NPCs.
For LMoP I made my self a cheat sheet of the NPCs, the chapter titles, locations within each chapter, and a flow chart of all the faction missions.
I personally use OneNote for this, but you could even just make notes on good old fashioned paper. This way you can review at a glance what is coming up in any given area.
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Try this, have a small 5x3 note card for each encounter. On the card in large type have the name of the encounter. Then have a very bullet points that tell you at a glance the most important things that could happen, or have to happen, in that encounter. Then any NPC names in ALL CAPS so they stand out. Finally, a page reference number.
To use an example from LMoP:
CONYBERRY & AGATHA'S LAIR (p28)
Conyberry - Ruined town sacked by barbarians.
Trail NE to Neverwinter Wood & Agatha's Lair
Dome shelter woven from trees
If PCs are rude/disrespectful, AGATHA disappears & they get nothing.
DC 15 Charisma (Persurasion) Check. Automatic success with silver comb.
Bowgentle's Spellbook traded to necromancer named Tsernoth.
AGATHA can also give directions to other places.
AGATHA - BANSHEE (MM. [pg#])
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
Try this, have a small 5x3 note card for each encounter. On the card in large type have the name of the encounter. Then have a very bullet points that tell you at a glance the most important things that could happen, or have to happen, in that encounter. Then any NPC names in ALL CAPS so they stand out. Finally, a page reference number.
To use an example from LMoP:
CONYBERRY & AGATHA'S LAIR (p28)
Conyberry - Ruined town sacked by barbarians.
Trail NE to Neverwinter Wood & Agatha's Lair
Dome shelter woven from trees
If PCs are rude/disrespectful, AGATHA disappears & they get nothing.
DC 15 Charisma (Persurasion) Check. Automatic success with silver comb.
Bowgentle's Spellbook traded to necromancer named Tsernoth.
AGATHA can also give directions to other places.
AGATHA - BANSHEE (MM. [pg#])
This is essentially what I've been doing for LMoP. Since I ended up changing slight details for my run through the campaign, I typed out reference sheets for each major area/encounter of the adventure. I then put all the sheets into my DM binder (which I highly recommend) for quick reference once the players arrived at that particular section of the adventure.
(For Example) My reference sheet for the town of Phandalin included a list of each important NPC and where to find them, as well as each location/encounter in town. I also generated reference sheets for each dungeon (and some side quests) to help compile the various enemy stat blocks/special encounters/traps/secret passages/etc.
I know it's probably overkill considering all this information is already included in the published material, but I definitely found it helpful to have on hand for quick reference.
I try to present the adventure as a sandbox with lots of branching directions for the players to explore (or not explore... where's the closest tavern?!). Chapter's 2-3 are fairly open ended and give the party lots of leads and side-quests to pursue, though if you follow the advise of the published guide they will inevitably be forced to deal with the Redbrands at some point. I try to prepare my references/notes for encounters within 1-2 sessions in advance. Any further than that, and you'll likely prepare a side-quest your players never pursue.
I whole-heartedly agree with the above comments advising you to speak with your players after the session to get a good idea of where they want the adventure to go next.
That's actually a pretty neat idea! I'll try it for sure :)
What about not over planning the session? And get loose about what actually happens? (that's what I keep hearing all over the place)
Check out articles by Mike Shea (aka Sly Flourish) on being a "lazy dungeon master". http://www.slyflourish.com/
Let me put it this way: Prepare as MUCH as makes YOU feel comfortable. Just remember that your players likely will do something you didn't expect, and you need to expect that. Be prepared to either throw out what you prepared, or modify it to suit what happens. Just DON'T PANIC.
Remember that your players don't know what you know. They don't know that down path A is a medusa. If they take path B instead, but you still need them to meet the Medusa to find a clue about the evil Dragons, just move the medusa encounter to path B! They won't know the difference, unless you already told them the medusa was on Path A.
Over time, as you DM, you will feel more comfortable with how much YOU need to prepare, and how much you can "make it up as you go".
Arm yourself with random roll tables for NPCs, names, and encounters, and keep notes! If you need to come up with an NPC on the spot, roll a name of the random table, but DON'T TELL THEM it was random. Make sure to write down that NPC's name for later if/when they encounter them again.
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"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing) You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
If your looking for a friendly advise about running Tabletop Rpg's, covering subjects that focus on the game, players and the more inward problems that you as a Gamemaster maybe having, then check out "The dungeon masters workshop" brought to you by our resident DM/GM Jack Sunaway, available to read from the Cardboard Arcade Blog. Go and check out his writings at https://cardboardarcade.blogspot.co.uk and tell us what you think and if there are any subjects you'd like Jack to cover. We cant wait to hear from you.
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Hi guys.
I was wondering how you guys prepare your sessions. I'm a newbie GM and we are finishing the lost mines of Phanthelver. We are having lots of fun with it, but it is a bit hard for me to prepare so many areas of the adventure before every session just because my players would want to go there.
I've read many many times, the idea behind DMing is to keep improvising and get the story unfold with the players, just by having a few story beats prepared in advance. I am a professional video game level designer, and it is a bit hard for me to switch from my daily extremely handmade work, to get loose and improvise as DM.
I feel I am over preparing things. How do you guys mange it?
There is an easy answer - ask the party where they want to go at the end of a session instead of the beginning. Obviously the party will require you to improvise some details (e.g., depending on how they go about entering Cragmaw Castle) but you shouldn't have to prepare multiple game areas for a single session.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
If you are running a published adventure, it is generally advised to have read through the entire adventure at least once before starting to run it, so you are familiar with what is coming up. That is what I did with LMoP, and what I have done with Curse of Strahd.
Each week after the session, if you have an idea of where they are going next week (something the PCs should discuss at the end of a session), you can then reread that section. Spend time between sessions rereading parts of the adventure, especially the NPCs.
For LMoP I made my self a cheat sheet of the NPCs, the chapter titles, locations within each chapter, and a flow chart of all the faction missions.
I personally use OneNote for this, but you could even just make notes on good old fashioned paper. This way you can review at a glance what is coming up in any given area.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
That’s exactly exactly what I’ve done so far, but I had to be constantly re reading every part several times :/ due how open chapter 2-3 are
Try this, have a small 5x3 note card for each encounter. On the card in large type have the name of the encounter. Then have a very bullet points that tell you at a glance the most important things that could happen, or have to happen, in that encounter. Then any NPC names in ALL CAPS so they stand out. Finally, a page reference number.
To use an example from LMoP:
CONYBERRY & AGATHA'S LAIR (p28)
AGATHA - BANSHEE (MM. [pg#])
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
That's actually a pretty neat idea! I'll try it for sure :)
What about not over planning the session? And get loose about what actually happens? (that's what I keep hearing all over the place)
I try to present the adventure as a sandbox with lots of branching directions for the players to explore (or not explore... where's the closest tavern?!). Chapter's 2-3 are fairly open ended and give the party lots of leads and side-quests to pursue, though if you follow the advise of the published guide they will inevitably be forced to deal with the Redbrands at some point. I try to prepare my references/notes for encounters within 1-2 sessions in advance. Any further than that, and you'll likely prepare a side-quest your players never pursue.
I whole-heartedly agree with the above comments advising you to speak with your players after the session to get a good idea of where they want the adventure to go next.
"Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower canines that resemble tusks." MM p245 (original printing)
You don't OWN your books on DDB: WotC can change them any time. What do you think will happen when OneD&D comes out?
If your looking for a friendly advise about running Tabletop Rpg's, covering subjects that focus on the game, players and the more inward problems that you as a Gamemaster maybe having, then check out "The dungeon masters workshop" brought to you by our resident DM/GM Jack Sunaway, available to read from the Cardboard Arcade Blog. Go and check out his writings at https://cardboardarcade.blogspot.co.uk and tell us what you think and if there are any subjects you'd like Jack to cover. We cant wait to hear from you.