I know there must be DMs like me, who struggle with remembering the details of a module. Especially in a place like Phandalin from LMOP -- there are many different NPCs, and each has a different clue or a different quest, and many different locations, each of which may point to other NPCs or quests or locations or parts of the story. It forms this complex web that I struggle to hold as a whole in my head.

The text in the section for each location tries to tell you what you might need to know. And in a railroady part of an adventure that probably works great. You can prepare heavily for the areas you know the players will go to next. But I'm worried that in a sandboxy part of an adventure, like wandering around Phandalin, all it takes is a PC asking an NPC an unexpected question, "Hey, do you know about X?", and then I'll have to refer over to another part of the complex web. And I imagine myself frantically searching through the adventure trying to find things, and reading in a fluster while the players sit there twiddling their thumbs. The whole idea is very anxiety inducing.

I'm the kind of guy who reads through something and then struggles to remember what he just read. I'm sure not all of you are this way, but for those of you who are -- how do you deal with this kind of thing? My current strategy is to try to create my own notes about everything. I have a page of notes about Endermath Orchard.. a page of notes about the Stonehill Inn.. etc. I find doing this helps me remember all the connections much better.

Anyone have any other advice? Commiseration is also welcome :)

BTW, I haven't tried it, but I feel like if I homebrewed a campaign I might not have this problem. I would remember a lot more of the connections, since they originated from my brain.

I just finished running a LMoP DoIP combo adventure, I used notecards for all the PCs with a few bulletpoints of their basic info and motivations.

SlyFlourish has a great youtube channel that helps with easy prepwork, and HowToD&D's youtube channel has a bunch of stuff for running LMoP that is really good.

I am having similar issues, I have a whole notebook filled with notes etc and only now using D&D beyond for combat encounters, trust that helps too! in my first session I forgot to describe the goblins and just said 'yeah your confronted by three goblins'. 

This is the reason I do not run published adventures, but make up my own. You guys making notes and stuff, and re-reading that text over and over, practically having to study for it like it is the freaking SATs, are doing more work than I do when I just invent it all. Sure they have nicer maps than I can make (though DungeonDraft is evening the playing field!), but I know my own adventures like the back of my hand by the time we play them, because I freaking WROTE them. I still have to refer to a spreadsheet for all the NPCs -- nothing can prevent that. But I also made up all the NPCs so I know how they are all supposed to act and whatnot.

For LMOP specifically -- I have that with the starter kit. I tried to read that thing and gave up after a couple of pages. It is just too much content for me to try and learn just to run an adventure. Too complicated, and not laid out in a way that I find easy to deal with. It was less work to make up my own world and adventures, by far, than to try and learn the Sword Coast and LMOP. 

So yeah, this is why I don't run published adventures.

You don't have to keep it all in your head,  you keep just enough (ie who are the factions, and who has important information) and then have notes, references, or improv -- depending on your level of comfort.  

I know my own adventures like the back of my hand by the time we play them, because I freaking WROTE them. I still have to refer to a spreadsheet for all the NPCs

'

So even if you make your own,  you are going to have notes of some form or fashion.  Part of LMoP being the starter set is that for new DMS, it helps you figure out what's important for both you and your group and how to prioritize.  Do you want to spend time on fleshing out all of the NPCs or do you want to spend time fleshing out combat encounters, or creating some new hidden mystery around the town.  As you DM more you'll get more comfortable with various aspects and figure out what balance works for you and your table. Different sessions will also require different prioritizations.

Personally, I hate creating towns and naming npcs, so I steal them from places like this, or cult of reptile god, or homlet or other modules with varying sizes of settlements :)

 all it takes is a PC asking an NPC an unexpected question, "Hey, do you know about X?",

PCs will always ask unexpected questions.   You could try to prepare for all of the questions (that's a lot of work) and is probably the first instinct.  Alternatively, as you gain experience, you may decide to just understand the motivations and goals of the major parties involved.  Then, you make up a reasonable response based on what the NPC would do (and probably make a note so you remember it) and go from there. Be warned, you may end up in completely new and interesting player-driven narratives :)   

It can take awhile to get to that point, and it's not for all DMs or tables.

I recommend using LMoP as a tutorial and figure out what parts you like and don't like, then determine how to shape your game accordingly.

Hope that helps and happy DMing.

Quote from BioWizard >>

This is the reason I do not run published adventures, but make up my own. You guys making notes and stuff, and re-reading that text over and over, practically having to study for it like it is the freaking SATs, are doing more work than I do when I just invent it all. Sure they have nicer maps than I can make (though DungeonDraft is evening the playing field!), but I know my own adventures like the back of my hand by the time we play them, because I freaking WROTE them. I still have to refer to a spreadsheet for all the NPCs -- nothing can prevent that. But I also made up all the NPCs so I know how they are all supposed to act and whatnot.

For LMOP specifically -- I have that with the starter kit. I tried to read that thing and gave up after a couple of pages. It is just too much content for me to try and learn just to run an adventure. Too complicated, and not laid out in a way that I find easy to deal with. It was less work to make up my own world and adventures, by far, than to try and learn the Sword Coast and LMOP. 

So yeah, this is why I don't run published adventures.

 I run prepublished, but I don’t do any of that. I read the whole thing, make a couple mental notes about tying it in with the others I might be using (if they foiled the thieves’ guild, what potential tie-ins are there, etc.) and then the day before I run the session I read the next few pages (probably two sessions worth just to be on the safe side) and ta-da! It honestly takes longer to respect the NPCs for 5e (I use older modules) than to actually prep everything else for the session. I spend more time vacuuming than note taking on the day of. The day after on the other hand.... that takes longer.

Personally, I hate creating towns and naming npcs, so I steal them from places like this, or cult of reptile god, or homlet or other modules with varying sizes of settlements 

Yes, naming NPCs can be a bit of a chore.

But unfortunately I can't use any of those sources, because my world is set in an alt version of the Roman Empire, and Romans didn't have the "feudal European" style names you find in those modules. Romans typically used 3 names (praenomen, nomen, cognomen), and to make matters worse, only about 36 praenomina were used (per gender). Adding to the complexity, when non-Romans were made citizens they would take one of the "available" nomina (family names) -- they could not just co-opt the name of a regular Roman family. Thus they took names like Aurelius (after Emperors who had extended citizenship to their group). So thousands of people in my world have the nomen Aurelius, Flavius, or Cornelius. This means the only way to really distinguish people is by cognomen (basically, nickname). And some Romans had multiple cognomena.

My point here is, to make proper Roman names, I can't use any D&D sources. I have to come up with my own. 

Fortunately, there are Latin scholars who have compiled lists of these things, so I have a list of the 36 male and female given names, the 600 or so known family names, and the 100 or so common cognomina (at least, those that have survived in the record books -- surely there were thousands more that no one bothered to record, just like with nick names today).

I just ran LMoP and I feel like you might be suffering a little analysis paralysis. Read through it once and try to focus on the primary story beats... the players have to get from the Ambush to the Cragmaw caves to Phandalin to the Redbrand hideout to Cragmaw Castle to Wave Echo Cave.

That's all. Pretty linear. The rest is just fluff and side adventures to get everyone extra xp, get used to how the game works and to help understand what an adventure looks like. 

You want to read through the adventure just to get an idea of what is supposed to happen but you don't need to memorize it. Give it a read through and then before each game take an hour to plan in your mind what will happen. Keep in mind that you can't plan for everything.

After a few games you should get a feel for how far the group will get each night. And don't be afraid to call the game a little early. For example,  say you plan for the first night to cover the introductions, the ambush, and the Cragmaw cave. If the players sail through it all and end 30 minutes early then call the game. Use that last bit of time to do some bookkeeping and talk character development. 

Its impossible to prepare for EVERY scenario the PCs will come up with.  As long as you understand the motivations of the NPCs and the general outline of the adventure, its not too difficult.  It gets easier the more you play with the same players too.

In my world, Phandalin, Orlane, Winterhaven, Barovia, and Gravesford are all in the same region.

Also remember that your NPCs are not perfect, humanoids can make mistakes. So if Sildar gets a detail wrong it is not the end of the world.

Also notecards are a great help, faster then flipping through the manuell. If you use a DM screen, you could make a card that folds over the top of your screen, a picture for your players on one side and info for you on the other. 

A timely video from The DM's Lair. Give it a watch https://youtu.be/bbLr2wfO9KI

I would advise a little more reading in the module than the video suggests but the point is you don't need to have it memorized. You just need to have an idea of the major encounters and how the players get from A to B to C. Then you do a little prep work prior to each game night. 

I probably did a poor job trying to make a couple of points.

1. Information Organization: As a DM we're going to have to organize a lot of information.  For each us us, we have to prioritize and figure out what's important and how we want to organize it.  At least for me, in towns, I have a list of "dramatis personae" with one line.  If I need more than that, I'll write up a small section for them later.  This comes in handy when I completely make one up and need to remember later,  "Oh, the town blacksmith?  That's Grimrock Coalhewer, a veteran of the goblin wars."   

2. Control: A lesson particularly newer DMs need is that we can't predict and control everything, trying to is an impossible problem and as Slaine noted above can lead to analysis paralysis.