Careful Planning vs. Winging It

[Farcaster]

In my youth, I used to spend hours upon hours crafting sprawling dungeons with accompanying 80-page spiral notebooks full of detailed descriptions and DM notes. Often, I even wrote out the room descriptions just as you might find in the typical module. Even as I became more experienced and toned down my massive dungeon crawls and began to focus more on the story and roleplaying, I still poured as much time into preparing for a game as I did running it.

These days though, my preparation time has been much diminished. Be it because I now have work and a family of my own to take care of; or be it that I spend just a little too much time playing MMPOGs -- or heck, this website! -- whatever the cause, I'm lucky if I spend more than one or two hours preparing for a game. So, I find now that I rely heavily on improvisation. I almost always have a beginning and ending in mind, but the middle I leave to manifest in the moment. And for the most part, it seems to work. Heck, my improvised games are usually more fun than the ones I toiled over for endless hours.

So, I'm curious, when you DM/GM a game, how much time do you usually spend preparing for the game and how much is just off-the-cuff?

[rabkala]

I only detail major events and let the rest of the pieces fall as they may. I do like to have a good outline and some generic back-up encounters to cover some of those odd eventualities that players always seem to stumble upon. I also spent far more time detailing things in the past. I really hate wasting my time going into great detail on something, only to have a player figure out some bizarre twist to completely avoid it. So, to avoid my desire to railroad them into that awesome 10 pages of detail, I wing it much more. One good thing for me, I usually use the same adventure on 2 or 3 groups making what preparation I do worthwhile.

[ronpyatt]

Sometimes I have an idea about a major event, a goal, or a basic direction, but it rarely happens that way, and I'm often surprised when pieces of the story come together all on their own.
So, I resign myself to let the winds of change have their way and enjoy the ride.

[PhishStyx]

I do an outline called "Action Points," which contains usually between 5 and 15 events/scenes that occur during the game session. Some of these I detail much more heavily than others, and I don't usually go through them in the order they're written.

From my original WitchCraft game
1) Ed receives a visit from Bill Wallace, a billionaire collector of cultural artifacts, who wants to hire Ed to investigate an artifact that has come into his possession recently. In their meeting, Wallace opens a large padded case and gingerly extracts an ornately carved gold ankh roughly the length of Bill’s forearm. It has been attached to a thick gold chain at some point.

What I do lots of are NPC's. Usually I do full stats for most of my NPC's (unless they're very minor) because when I do abbreviated sheets for them I don't get to consider their impact on the game. Moreover, it always seems to be the NPC I didn't do stats for that the players want to fight or con or some such, and that bugs me a lot.

On the other hand, I seldom plan out much more than I really need; in fact, usually, I find that I haven't thought about nearly enough options. Somewhere along the way, there's always the player who wants to blow up the building with the entire group (including himself) in it, which actually happened in our last game session.

[Moritz]

Sometimes I have an idea about a major event, a goal, or a basic direction, but it rarely happens that way, and I'm often surprised when pieces of the story come together all on their own.
So, I resign myself to let the winds of change have their way and enjoy the ride.

I'm totally with Ron here. I create (or choose from a prior creation) the world before the campaign begins and then like most college campus buildings, just pull stuff out of the aether and let it land where it will. I consider it channeling from another reality, or pulling from the collective unconscious :) - I'm the medium in which to convey the story to the players. Carl Jung would be proud.

[MajereNoir]

I realize only 9 people have responded to the survey so far, but I'm frankly amazed that the vast majority agree with me that they only detail major things and let the rest fall as it may.

I always kinda thought this made me a lazy DM (hehe) but it seems I'm in good company! I used to try and make up a lot of detail, but I'd never get to use it... as invariably my players throw me for a complete loop (or the party turns evil and decides to kill the captives instead of set them free... I can't tell you how many times something like that has happened).

Alas, now, like PhishStyx there, I just make a boatload of NPCs, a couple of encounter hooks that they can take or leave, and let my players do whatever they want. And I, too, have found that most NPCs need full stats 'cause PCs have essentially got a license to kill and you never know when they're going to strike!

[MortonStromgal]

Mostly I dont plan much of anything for the whole campaign. I may plan 1-5 events that happen and some major npcs motives, however some systems (like 3.5) I plan a whole lot more just because there is too much stuff for my poor brain to remember. :rolleyes:

[PhishStyx]

Alas, now, like PhishStyx there, I just make a boatload of NPCs, a couple of encounter hooks that they can take or leave, and let my players do whatever they want. And I, too, have found that most NPCs need full stats 'cause PCs have essentially got a license to kill and you never know when they're going to strike!


Well, there's a big difference in the amount of number crunching that goes into my NPC's and a GURPS or D&D NPC.

Take this guy in Unisystem for instance:
http://www.penandpapergames.com/userpages/showentry.php?e=37

vs. a D&D NPC:
http://www.penandpapergames.com/userpages/showentry.php?e=33&catid=5

I used to play Palladium and that took tons of time and math (addition mostly), and before that 1st edition AD&D, which was nearly as bad.

What's funny is that I'm about to get into a version of Unisystem with even shorter NPC sheets, where I don't actually roll in game for NPC actions. They're all pre-rolled for me. Still not sure if I'm going to like that.

[MajereNoir]

Well, there's a big difference in the amount of number crunching that goes into my NPC's and a GURPS or D&D NPC.

I've played Unisystem a little and D&D a million times, and really I don't see much difference in time for creating a character (which is much what one is doing when one creates full NPCs). Now, granted, I've never DM'd anything in Unisystem... but I don't see where the math is really more complicated. Where I see it getting time-consuming is that there's such an open plate for picking qualities and skills; it's not just the small list of skills that you pump skill points into with D&D. But then, with the Unisystem, they've got all these fabulous templates you can use to speed the process.

... I don't actually roll in game for NPC actions. They're all pre-rolled for me. Still not sure if I'm going to like that.

My goodness, I think I'd hate that. That's just robbing the DM of all his fun! Where's the random aspect of this? Where's the chance that Bobo the Evil Clown Lord will roll a 1 and accidentally club himself in his huge foot, sending the PCs into a fit of uncontrollable laughter? :eek:

[PhishStyx]

the small list of skills

Hm, how many skills are in the D&D list?

Unisystem has 66 as I recall, not including various types of a single skill such as different languages.

Where's the random aspect of this?

Well, I'm a diceless game fan, so I may not have quite that issue with it. On the other hand, I'm still not entirely decided; we'll see after I actually run a game.

[MajereNoir]

Hm, how many skills are in the D&D list?

Unisystem has 66 as I recall, not including various types of a single skill such as different languages.

35 in 3.5 D&D, also not including the various types of a single skill like Knowledge (type).

That makes the Unisystem almost twice as skillful. Dang, I don't think I could remember 66 different skills! But then, they are not all applicable to every setting. There's a set that applies to fantasy settings and some others (like guns and computers) that only apply to modern things.



Well, I'm a diceless game fan

I'm going to show off my ingrained D&D mindset here, but I'm just not sure I get how that would work. I can see it working for skills and social interaction, but how do you resolve combat without dice? Would you just look at how many points you have in your gun skill and the DM makes a call on whether that's enough to hit based on some aspect of the target... and then each weapon would just have a base damage amount that it always does?

[ronpyatt]

Diceless? Sounds like a topic all on its own. Hmmm....
http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3931

[PhishStyx]

35 in 3.5 D&D, also not including the various types of a single skill like Knowledge (type).

That makes the Unisystem almost twice as skillful.

It a big deal. You don't have them all listed out on every sheet like D&D has; you pick what you want from the book.

The Cinematic version of Unisystem in Buffy and Angel have a very simplified skill set with only 18 skills.

You can get Cinematic Unisystem versions of the D&D cartoon kids here:
http://www.penandpapergames.com/userpages/showentry.php?e=39

Dang, I don't think I could remember 66 different skills! But then, they are not all applicable to every setting. There's a set that applies to fantasy settings and some others (like guns and computers) that only apply to modern things.

Oh yeah, the modern setting has 3 different computer skills, engineering, and so on.


I'm going to show off my ingrained D&D mindset here, but I'm just not sure I get how that would work. I can see it working for skills and social interaction, but how do you resolve combat without dice?

Depends on the game, the Amber Diceless RPG is comparative between characters and uses a rank system. So for a brief example, if your character has 25 Strength and is wrestling another Amberite with a 10 Strength, you're going to win. Maybe not instantly, but you would eventually win.

There are other options though - Theatrix,

Would you just look at how many points you have in your gun skill and the DM makes a call on whether that's enough to hit based on some aspect of the target... and then each weapon would just have a base damage amount that it always does?

Well in Buffy and Angel's Cinematic Unisystem that isn't exactly what happens although damage is pre-set. The players still roll, it's just the GM that doesn't. NPC's have pre-set "Ability Scores"

Well here's a Quick Sheet:
http://www.geocities.com/mysticalwhoosit/amyquick.jpg

Under Manuevers, "Score" is her pre-rolled result for dodging, etc.

[Malruhn]

I plan for everything... and ten minutes into playing, nearly every group I have ever been with have strayed from what I had expected - as well as all of the possible OTHER ways I expected them to go (and had prepared for!), and then I wing it.

Does this count??

(Pssst, Phishstyx, is that an avatar of Amy Lee?)

[jisan74]

Well i plan some events in my games and the rest i do on the fly.But i change this a lot.The only thing constant is the main story.But i have my players take side adventures not based on the main story to give some flavor and randomness to the game.

I use random encounters off and on.Sometimes these encounters can lead to subplots in my main story or just something different for my pcs to do besides doing the main story all the time.

[Farcaster]

ten minutes into playing, nearly every group I have ever been with have strayed from what I had expected - as well as all of the possible OTHER ways I expected them to go (and had prepared for!), and then I wing it.

That is definitely the way of things in my games as well. What I do is I plan my encounters and scenarios in a sort of modular fashion. I once watched a novice DM spend an enormous amount of energy trying to steer the players into a particular place, so they could find this graveyard he had planned out. Unfortunately, that made the whole thing feel rather forced. So, my advice to him was instead of planning for the characters to travel to a particular city or place so that they can find a specific graveyard, just make the graveyard modular and ready to drop into where ever the characters might travel. If the characters don't even go to a city, then perhaps they discover a forgotten and remote graveyard in the wilderness. Designing the scenarios this way lets you be ready to adjust the story to accommodate what the players do and maintain the all important illusion of player-choice.

[Skunkape]

The big problem I've found with heavy planning is the damn PCs decide they don't want to go in that direction, which means I've just wasted hours of time planning out some really fantastic things! That's why I just plan major plot points and let the rest fall as it will like quite few of the other posters have said.

But, I do plan location specific events which will happen whether the PCs are there or not, which makes the world more alive in my opinion.

[Moritz]

Those damn PC's.! Damn them to hell. They shouldn't ever go against your plans. Ever!.

It's why I draw maps prior to the campaign start. Just to have the world laid out in case they go east when they were originally going west.

Just because East is the 300th level of the Abyss, now that's their choice for going in.

[Grungydan]

I had to answer differently at the moment than I normally would. I typically run pretty much by the seat of my pants, juggling major events and plot threads while letting character actions and logical world reactions be my guide.

The Shadowrun game I'm running right now is a bit different due to the nature of the story. I'm drawing on so much of the official canon that I find myself spending hours and hours reading OOP sourcebooks and websites to make sure that what I'm doing this time makes at least enough sense to not cause a "wtfbbq" for anyone. Also different is that this time my players are all well versed in the Shadowrun game and world. While I don't let this keep me from changing some canon or introducing new things, I am performing a bit of an experiment in seeing just how much from the "past" I can use, so it's a lot of fun.

[HolyDiver]

Generally, I'll map out the area (if I need to draw it) and make the npcs and plan out the nights game. But a fair amount of skill in the winging it department is necessary when being a DM because one thing you can't plan on is what your players will try doing. Sure you can assume they'll most likely behave in one of two or three ways, but not always.

[PhishStyx]

It's been a lo-o-ong time since I made a map.

[Digital Arcanist]

No stone undrawn and no option unexplored is my motto. As much as my PC's combat evil I have to combat their stupidity.

I still don't understand why players need to touch everything with the tip of their swords.

[Malruhn]

Hehehehe... touching everything with the tips of their swords, indeed!

I guess I wasn't too clear up above. I now plan each location and all the important people, then determine how they will interact with the players and each other - and then let the players decide if they go in through the front door or through the second floor window.

[Drohem]

As most already know, PCs never do what you want and find delight in derailing your carefully laid plans. I no longer stick to my guns on adventures, and GM with more fluidity now.

[Olothfaern]

...I am super zealous on planning are:

...dungeon/stronghold composition and layout, traps defenses in place spell effects ambush points, deadfalls, oh yeah!

...and NPC's/monsters. I couldn't use a vanilla version of a creature if you held a gun to my head, maybe the necromancer trained (ensorceled?) his minions to have different feats, but I tend to swap out the printed feats with whatever tactic fits the space, or with whatever I want to drill my players on (I'm a teaching DM, if you survive my bootcamp you will know how to grapple, turn/rebuke, trip, and bull rush; if I'm feeling froggy, you'll know the advanced shooting into combat soft cover variant)

[Stuart Sexton]

I usually, but don't always, have a basic idea in mind, but I do very little planning, except maybe in my head. Often, my players will just call and want to get together and play. I've been GMing for 25 years now, and know my players well.

[cplmac]

Like several others have said, since the PCs seem to always go off in the only direction that you have not planned for, I have the basics of each encounter covered but am flexible to start improvising in the party goes off the beaten path.

[Freejack]

I like to have the overall plan in mind along with the required encounters detailed to some extent.

At the moment I'm running some canned adventures so I spend the Friday and Saturday prior to Sunday's game preparing. I break out my folding table, set up my gear, and break out the scenario. I read the mission through, then again while making notes relevant to the players. Some of the calculations (such as negotiation + charisma rolls) are done in the margins. I'll even practice some of the phrases so they don't come out wooden.

For example, if I'd winged one comment an Ork made to the team, it wouldn't have worked due to the phrasing. Since I practiced it, and even made a few notes regarding how I wanted to phrase it (slightly different), when I made the statement, it came out just right and the team laughed.

It sounds like a lot of prep, but it's really so I _can_ wing it. I know the general story and what the results should be. Then the team can interact with bar owners, Lone Star, and various other unimportant encounters without losing sight of the goal.

Plus I can prepare props as necessary. Some of the missions called for certain items to be used. I drop the prop on the table and whomever has the prop is the one that physically has it. Then when the hacker gets nabbed and he has the lawyer's fake SIN, the rest of the team knows the SIN is lost and now what do they do? (Besides save the hacker :) )

Plus right now I also refer to the core books because I'm still running in to things that aren't fully memorized yet.

Carl

[tesral]

You can't plan for everything and even my plans are subject to change. Game prep is so I have the confidence to take it where it goes.

I need my stats and hit points, that is about it. Everything else I can make up.

[boulet]

I always kinda thought this made me a lazy DM (hehe) but it seems I'm in good company! I used to try and make up a lot of detail, but I'd never get to use it... as invariably my players throw me for a complete loop (or the party turns evil and decides to kill the captives instead of set them free... I can't tell you how many times something like that has happened).

Same feeling of guilt I had, same relief for me to realize that every GM has to become realistic between what he wants to see happen (matters a bit) and what players want to do as lame as it may be (matters more).

Is it me or most active members of the forum are actually GMs ?

[Mulsiphix]

I just found this thread but my answer is "I only detail major events and let the rest come as it may." I've always got the big stuff planned out but like to leave it up to the players to "wander" into them. Alright maybe not wander but I believe PC's should always have a sense of free will. Yes I'm new to GM'ing but this is my philosophy ;)

[nijineko]

In my youth, I used to spend hours upon hours crafting sprawling dungeons with accompanying 80-page spiral notebooks full of detailed descriptions and DM notes. Often, I even wrote out the room descriptions just as you might find in the typical module. Even as I became more experienced and toned down my massive dungeon crawls and began to focus more on the story and roleplaying, I still poured as much time into preparing for a game as I did running it.

These days though, my preparation time has been much diminished. Be it because I now have work and a family of my own to take care of... whatever the cause, I'm lucky if I spend more than one or two hours preparing for a game. So, I find now that I rely heavily on improvisation. ....

i've had pretty much the same experience as farcaster, here. massive dungeon crawls with maps and notes, check. module-like formatting, check. dwindling time to prepare and increasing improvisation, check.

however, i must admit that if i have time, i will either make a map and note locations with significant sites and a timeline of significant events for reference purposes as the pc's wander around causing havoc and mayhem. it doesn't feel so much like chaos if i don't have as much planned. ^^

at the very least, i will review the material to see what's likely to be covered. and it's not unknown for me to take a quick 15 or 20 to go off and make up some stuff for when they really manage to get off the map.



I still don't understand why players need to touch everything with the tip of their swords.

i love that habit! i have a whole series of traps built around exploiting that one. =D and then another series of traps for when they switch to the 10 or 11 foot pole. and then another series of traps for when they start chucking copper pieces and so forth. >=D and finally, when they sit there arguing about what to try next, the ceiling starts lowering very, very slowly. spot check to notice. ^^

[rabkala]

Traps can really slow the players down to a crawl. I think traps should be rather infrequent especially when carefully winging it.

[nijineko]

oh i use them carefully. it's just that i happen to have a series of traps for dealing with that habit. it mostly causes the players to come up with something i haven't thought of, which is great! i only do it to any one player/group once. ^^ it's usually used on those who suspect a trap behind everything. after all, if that's what they want that's how they'll play it, right? so if that's how they are playing, well then, obviously, that is what they want from the game. ;D

[Mulsiphix]

Traps are awesome. I agree if overused the game can screech to a halt but when used properly it can really get the players thinking and enthralled with their surroundings. Too much of anything is overkill but if given out and used with the right proportions, the stage is set for true greatness and truly memorable times :)

[nijineko]

the trick for me, is to envision what the original builders (or later invaders) were trying to protect. and then consider access levels. unless it was an extreme "nobody-gets-this-no-matter-what", then someone is going to want access and not be bothered by too complicated methods of getting in and out. how frequently access is required or desired goes a long way to determining how easy it is to bypass the trap. of course, the easier access is likely to be either on a tight time schedule or non-obvious location.

then i try to place the trap(s) according to the logic of the original designers. were they devious little creeps, or noble yet clever defenders? sadistic voyeurs or fanatic zealots? the list goes on and on. and each psychology yeilds slightly different results for different reasons. some traps were more in the line of tests. others were to keep everyone out... or in. others were designed to filter out the authorized by various means.

once they defeat a trap, finding the scrawled notes of the builder on the inside wall of the trap access hatch, just adds the slight touch of versimilitude that makes a place memorable. nothing says realism like when the players start griping about having to deal with yet another trap built by that 300 year dead devious little (something-or-another) who designed traps for all these different people across the ancient empire....

the beautiful sounds of the players groaning when they find his maker's mark and suddenly know that somewhere nearby there's a trap, just waiting for them... it's music, sweet music to the ears.

[BardRougeBabe]

my last DM was horrible at map drawing, but wanted us to have them, so he had me draw the maps for him, which was frustrating, because then i wasn't suprised, and had to work at not metagaming, it wasn't fun.

[boulet]

my last DM was horrible at map drawing, but wanted us to have them, so he had me draw the maps for him, which was frustrating, because then i wasn't suprised, and had to work at not metagaming, it wasn't fun.
Maybe it was a hint for you to take the role of DM ? :D

[tesral]

The beautiful sounds of the players groaning when they find his maker's mark and suddenly know that somewhere nearby there's a trap, just waiting for them... it's music, sweet music to the ears.

I like this, i'm going to have to steal it. And don't forget the angle of once they get use to finding the mark, have some cheap so-in-so have faked it in his keep. The players go nuts looking for the trap that isn't. Or even the little so-in-so himself sprinkleing an area with false positives. Triple his number of "traps" and further delay any thief in looking for the undetectable.

I once totally confounded a party with magic aura and false trap. they were sure they was getting nailed if they went in there.

[Mulsiphix]

nijineko and tesral your scheming is music to my ears. You two are quite gifted in instilling passion in others who wish to oppress their players from time to time :p

[tesral]

nijineko and tesral your scheming is music to my ears. You two are quite gifted in instilling passion in others who wish to oppress their players from time to time :p

I never go straight when I can use a twist. The Purloined Letter is only a start.

[spotlight]

Ah, the purloined letter bit. My first introduction to Mn. Peorot. And a theme I sneak into almost all my dungeons. To quote, "What were you doing?" "SNEAKING!!!"

[TheOtherMonica]

Planning... hmmm... Nah... I let the dice and the players provide me with inspiration.

I enjoy DMing far more when I can mostly wing it. Don't have to fight the players that way, just let the NPCs react as they will. Sometimes that means the NPCs are fighting the players, but that's alright. Sometimes I'll realign a situation to chase the players down, but I try to make it seem natural.

[tesral]

Plan, but be prepared to wing it. Players are unpredictable critters. I find a plan is a great help even if I do wing it. For some reason I get a better game even if the plan is never followed simply by having the plan. Physiological crutch? I don't know, but it works.

[cplmac]

nijineko and tesral your scheming is music to my ears. You two are quite gifted in instilling passion in others who wish to oppress their players from time to time :p


If you don't make things interesting enough, you run the risk of loosing your players to boredom. Still, you have to find that fine line between too much and not enough oppression at times.

[tesral]

If you don't make things interesting enough, you run the risk of loosing your players to boredom. Still, you have to find that fine line between too much and not enough oppression at times.

Trying to keep them on their toes. When you have been playing with someone for 20 years, it starts to get harder. I have to reach for things that I don't normally go for. Time Travel. I grouse about time travel all the time, I don't like it. So I threw a time trave switch up into a game. Caught the group totally flat footed. I don't do that kind of thing. Recently they find themselves a Shadowrun version of their own high fantasy world. They are having fun dealing with that.

[nijineko]

luck, fortune, happenstance, coincidence... they all favor the prepared.

it's much easier to depart from a preplanned path, than to try to blaze one through the wilds of player inventivness, hacking at each leaf and vine of the weight of "i have about 15 seconds to come up with something that i never thought of...."

[Jonathan Kwiat]

I get to see what people post in reply to them here!

Well, let me see... none of the above!!!

Yeah, roleplaying is like life. Its what's happening when you were planning something else.

Jonathan

[8cidx]

I do an even mix of both. I happen to be good at thining on the fly. It helps that I am very close friends with everyone in my group so I know how they think. That helps allot when doing off-the-cuff work. If I have time I like to prepare more though.

Pretty good thread. Had almost the exact same one on my own board with a similar argument http://z8.invisionfree.com/rpgxforums/index.php?showtopic=46

I really dig a loosely planned game. I have also written a few articles on the topic. You can check those out at:

http://8xid.blogspot.com/2007/11/getting-most-out-of-your-writing.html

and part 2 at:

http://8xid.blogspot.com/2008/02/getting-most-out-of-your-writing-part-2.html

[boulet]

http://8xid.blogspot.com/2007/11/getting-most-out-of-your-writing.html

Thanks for sharing this article. Too bad the links to the pdf files are dead (http://www.rpgx.org/Acid_Burn/infected.pdf and http://www.rpgx.org/Acid_Burn/voradin.pdf). The demonstration falls short without them. And it's frustrating, like a power shorting ten minutes before the end of a thriller :)

[8cidx]

Crap, the files must have gotten deleted out of the folder when I updated my site last... I should have copies at home. Hopefully I will be able to replace them. I'll update the thread when finished.

[Jonathan Kwiat]

An oxymoron, non-sequitor poll doesn't deserve a second post but this got one from me.

Weird...

I think I just wanted to talk to some of the people posting to this post.

Ah that's why people go to the beach...its were the people are.

[rabkala]

Just about everyday has been a snow day here in WI.

[nijineko]

come to think of it... when i'm planning a campaign world, i tend to be obsessive in the extreme as far as details go. but when i run an adventure, i'm very go-with-the-flow and improvise with only general guidelines as to plot and major npcs. =D

[tesral]

An oxymoron, non-sequitor poll doesn't deserve a second post but this got one from me.

Weird...


What is oxymoronic about it? It's an old dichotomy. Do I plan or do I not? Some people can set at the table with a vague idea and pull off a game. Some people need to plan every last detail. some people (me) plan and only generally follow the guideline.

It's a reasonable question.


come to think of it... when i'm planning a campaign world, i tend to be obsessive in the extreme as far as details go. but when i run an adventure, i'm very go-with-the-flow and improvise with only general guidelines as to plot and major npcs. =D

I haven't done a new world in forever. I can't even say Thindacarulle was planned so much as evolved. I still have vast parts of the whole that are only in my head.

[nijineko]

that happens to me too. no matter what i plan, i wind up having to stick a country in here or a dungeon in there, or something. usually due to something the players did. ^^

[Nasamual]

I also used to spend quite a bit of time detailing and writing down every little thing for each adventure. That lasted a few years.
For the last 15 or so years, everything comes about as modular ideas that can fit into various situations, as others have said.
I create a world and general environment, introduce the players into the environment, then let their characters play out whatever they choose. They invariably stumble into a situation where I throw a modular idea/encounter and keep the campaign moving towards it's evolving conclusion.

The best part of having spent so much time preparing in the past is that I still have many ideas locked away somewhere in my head...now if I could only figure out how to get at them again!

[tesral]

I also used to spend quite a bit of time detailing and writing down every little thing for each adventure. That lasted a few years.
For the last 15 or so years, everything comes about as modular ideas that can fit into various situations, as others have said.
I create a world and general environment, introduce the players into the environment, then let their characters play out whatever they choose. They invariably stumble into a situation where I throw a modular idea/encounter and keep the campaign moving towards it's evolving conclusion.

The best part of having spent so much time preparing in the past is that I still have many ideas locked away somewhere in my head...now if I could only figure out how to get at them again!

Write it down. I lock them away in my computer. Cut and paste are my friends. An unused encounter is a reusable encounter. OK, the PCs didn't go down the left path and encounter the bugbears. I got some bugbears to place elsewhere.

Likewise the players do not know how the adventure is laid out. If I need an encouter they missed and can slide it in front of them and they never know it wasn't there all along.

Be ready and be flexible.

[at5115]

If I don't explicitly detail what I want to do with a game ... plots start to come out of the woodwork. I start going off on a tangent and then nothing gets finished. I've never had this problem with DnD, always with In Nomine and Gurps based things.

Although I have started loosening up somewhat, considering that my players always pick some random thing to fixate on :rolleyes:. I like to flesh out the game with random things, so I should expect this by now.

Melefresh

[Nasamual]

Write it down. I lock them away in my computer. Cut and paste are my friends. An unused encounter is a reusable encounter. OK, the PCs didn't go down the left path and encounter the bugbears. I got some bugbears to place elsewhere.

Likewise the players do not know how the adventure is laid out. If I need an encouter they missed and can slide it in front of them and they never know it wasn't there all along.

Be ready and be flexible.

Agreed. That was the essence of my post, actually :)

The only hard part about writing things down is having to remember them to begin with.

I'll definitely get back to GMing once I've gotten into playing again, so it's high time I start unlocking those spots in the ol' cranium.

[tesral]

Agreed. That was the essence of my post, actually :)

The only hard part about writing things down is having to remember them to begin with.

I'll definitely get back to GMing once I've gotten into playing again, so it's high time I start unlocking those spots in the ol' cranium.


I can claim no virtue there. Vast parts of my world are in my head. There just do not seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all on paper, or electrons as the case is.

[nijineko]

amen to that.... i currently have around 10-15 major story arcs in several different world settings floating around.

[agoraderek]

I plan for everything... and ten minutes into playing, nearly every group I have ever been with have strayed from what I had expected - as well as all of the possible OTHER ways I expected them to go (and had prepared for!), and then I wing it.

Does this count??

(Pssst, Phishstyx, is that an avatar of Amy Lee?)

yep. i should make my old players reimburse me for all the graph paper, ink, colored pencils and notebooks that were pretty much worthless because they would just do something insane that blew my plot out of the water (it was awesome, though, they were good players, just very twisted and devious).

on the other hand, it taught me how to wing it with the best, and now if i run a game, i really dont need to put in much prep, just an outline and maybe a map or two, and let the game go where it takes us...:biggrin:

i will say this, though, it was a HECK of a lot easier to wing it with 1st edition, there was so much less effort in conjuring an npc on the fly (no feats or skills to worry about). little trickier with 3.x...

[tesral]

yep. i should make my old players reimburse me for all the graph paper, ink, colored pencils and notebooks that were pretty much worthless because they would just do something insane that blew my plot out of the water (it was awesome, though, they were good players, just very twisted and devious).


I never throw anything away. Old maps and unused encounters are easily recycled.

[agoraderek]

I never throw anything away. Old maps and unused encounters are easily recycled.

oh, i never did (ive lost it all since, a detailed campaign world twenty years in the making), and recycled the good bits, but, still, i would die a little inside after spending weeks and weeks gettting an adventure....just...right....just to watch the party (usually maxitolious moonshadow, chaotic greedy grey elf) zig where i wanted a zag...

but i never was a railroader, and was always working on fleshing out the world, so i could roll with it.

someone else said something about moving the location of plot turning encounters (moving an urban cemetary to a rural area, i think). exactly right, never let predetermned geographic locations for important (and easily relocated) encounters dictate the campaing.

[tesral]

someone else said something about moving the location of plot turning encounters (moving an urban cemetary to a rural area, i think). exactly right, never let predetermned geographic locations for important (and easily relocated) encounters dictate the campaing.

Me again.

[Webhead]

I tread pretty middle-bound between "planning" and "winging". First of all, I have come to expect that my players will do everything I didn't think of, so I've given up on trying to anticipate what they will do and what off-the-wall plan they will devise to do it. Instead, I just piece together an overall plotline, whip up a handful of potential encounters and then turn them loose. My players have taken one-time, off-the-cuff scene or npc descriptions (descriptions I would just throw in there for color) and woven into entire plot threads! Of course, this is half the fun of roleplaying...watching your game take on a life of its own and going places you never imagined it would go.

But yeah, at any given moment, my players will break the mold, so rather than plan for what I think they might do, I prepare myself for being completely blindsided...because it always happens. :)

someone else said something about moving the location of plot turning encounters (moving an urban cemetary to a rural area, i think). exactly right, never let predetermned geographic locations for important (and easily relocated) encounters dictate the campaing.

I actually tend to handle situations like this in one of two ways.

1) If the encounter is really important to move an element of the story forward or would just be really cool to throw the players into, then I'll make whatever adjustments necessary to make sure that the PCs run into it.

2) However, if I'm feeling inspired or particuarly devious and I want to establish the notion of consequence and a world larger than the PCs, I will sometimes keep things as they were intended and have them running in the background without the PCs' intervention and have it come back to haunt them later. Afterall, they chose not to get involved in favor of other escapades, but that doesn't mean that the world stops turning. Just because the players don't rush off to stop Dr. Megaton from destroying City Hall doesn't mean the villain is suddenly *not* going to go through with his plan! It just means that he is far more likely to succeed and the failure of the PCs to intervene now just means bigger trouble for them later. Needless to say, I only do this when it is very clear exactly where the PCs need to be and what they need to be doing. Thus reminding them of the weight of their inaction.

The PCs should be the center of the story, but not necessarily the center of the World (unless that's the point of your game).

[Farcaster]

Me again.

Now Tesral .. Taking credit for my post are we?

I once watched a novice DM spend an enormous amount of energy trying to steer the players into a particular place, so they could find this graveyard he had planned out. Unfortunately, that made the whole thing feel rather forced. So, my advice to him was instead of planning for the characters to travel to a particular city or place so that they can find a specific graveyard, just make the graveyard modular and ready to drop into where ever the characters might travel. If the characters don't even go to a city, then perhaps they discover a forgotten and remote graveyard in the wilderness. Designing the scenarios this way lets you be ready to adjust the story to accommodate what the players do and maintain the all important illusion of player-choice.

[tesral]

Now Tesral .. Taking credit for my post are we?

Every chance I get. :cool:

Well I have said it too. It's just a good thing to rememeber.

[nijineko]

planning is best. but best plan to be flexible, cause you are surely going to be bent by the storm of player choices. the flexible reed survives the storm by bending with the wind, the mighty oak is unyeilding, and thus is uprooted by the fierce winds. ^^

[boulet]

Number two, the larch

[StarLady98]

I found that as soon as I tried to plan things out, my players would throw some kink in the works that killed whatever I had in mind. If I tried to force the plot to go the way I intended, it killed the fun of the game for the players. RPGs stories seem to grow from everyone's mind, not just the GM. It really is a story that all of you create together and enjoy together. I love it when players can surprise and out-guess me. They may be playing in 'my' world, but they control their characters' fates more than I do.

[StarLady98]

Looking over the other posts just reminded my of one campaign that the players were driving me crazy. They kept going off in such random (to me) directions, I remember being at the point of dropping the 2nd ed Monster Manual on the table, and whatever it fell open to, they were fighting. How's that for a plan?!

[tesral]

Looking over the other posts just reminded my of one campaign that the players were driving me crazy. They kept going off in such random (to me) directions, I remember being at the point of dropping the 2nd ed Monster Manual on the table, and whatever it fell open to, they were fighting. How's that for a plan?!

It's one way to get a random monster.

[cplmac]

Looking over the other posts just reminded my of one campaign that the players were driving me crazy. They kept going off in such random (to me) directions, I remember being at the point of dropping the 2nd ed Monster Manual on the table, and whatever it fell open to, they were fighting. How's that for a plan?!


I will have to remember this for sometime that the party uses up all the "prepared" random encounters and I need more for the game session.

[nijineko]

i suppose that's easier on the surrounding terrain than ripping apart two books of the same monster manual and plastering them to a wall, then tossing a dart over the shoulder backwards at said wall....

[Jakabok]

I plan a intro to the adventure, and an idea on how I want it to go (I envision a multi session story with each session or two being a chapter). Along the way (chapters) I design a specific plot or detailing to that particular session that allows the gamers to come at it from whichever way they did so. I also keep notes about the session, and do a recap after each game so if it is a elapsed time period when we game again, the players can read over the recap and know whats going on and who they dealt with and where, like a mental refresher for them and me.
Early in my GM'ing I also planned out every detail, but players being the idle fingers of chaos as they are, eventually made me toss the scripted event out and try to run things on the fly.
Also developing NPC's for me assists when I bring them into play, not just some lifeless drones there for filler, but the characters actually like to interact with them and in a sense look after their well-being.
Well that's my two-cents.

Jakabok

[Necrite]

The proper response, for me at least, is not on the list - A combination of A and F. I prepare for EVERYTHING, hours ahead, and every time, my players finish it or bypass it in very short order, going on to totally unpredicted and unpredictable things.

It makes for a lot of fun, but a lot of time spent cursing their names to the dark gods. Fortunately, once we're in game, those dark gods actually listen to my pleas... heh heh heh...

[nijineko]

i like to plan for multiple outcomes, and i have backup available in a logical fashion should i need to boost any give encounter. even so, sometimes it is better to be a reed than a tree. there is always the natural consequences of any given party choice, which is usually not what they thought it would be. ^^

[michaeljearley]

Whenever I've ever GM'd, if I plan too much or too hard, the players almost alwasys end up doing something so oppisite that I planned, I have to scrap my plans anyway.
Part of this is my failing, I admit, but then again, as a GM I focus much less on the rules numbers and much more on the story.

[Mead]

Sometimes I'd get an idea for a neat encounter, and I'd generally keep a couple of familiar modules and custom dungeon maps handy, but for the most part, I didn't ever really plan anything. Hell, sometimes I didn't even have to wing it, the players would get caught up in telling their own stories and getting into their own trouble, and I'd just sit back and switch from active GM to passive rules referee/tour guide.

[Stormhound]

With the most successful campaign I ever ran, I basically had this large framework of a world with some overarching plotlines, and just kept asking the players what they were interested in doing. Thus forewarned, I'd make plans for something interesting in the direction they were going, along with some contingencies. I could tie things to the plotlines pretty much as I chose, so I was happy; the players felt like they had complete freedom to act (except when they had to respond to the world's responses to their actions), so they were happy.

[Ramzei]

My last GM used to always say "Whatever I plan you guys royally (insert expletive) up." He went from very detail oriented to having an outline. ;)

[bltzkrg242]

I used to detail it all out but found that doing so funneled the players too much so I went fully off the cuff with a few NPC's and encounters planned. A few detailed area are available for the players to stumble upon but for the most part I spend maybe an hour a wek in prep.
I have an over-arching storyline that I am looking at and many NPC's might give hints that lead there but there are also one off pieces as well or parts that have nothing to do with the main story just for a change.

[Ghoulsick]

I'm just sitting here laughing as everyone recounts the countless times, that the players forsake the stuff a GM has set out for them. I always got so mad when that happened. So my notes became a map on which I had bullet point notes. I almost leave it all up to chance save the main plot and some things they HAVE to do to get on with it.

You can come up with a major month long game in twenty minutes if you just see it all in your head well enough. Add a couple of notes to keep you in the game. It is imagination. Let's keep it that way

[nijineko]

wandering bards play a large part of my world. stuff is layed out geographically, and the players stumble across plot hooks as they wander. they decide to leave on plot midstream and move on, and they will hear about what happened as a result from some bard in some inn later on. such actions also can adjust their reputation/infamy scores for a local region accordingly. and it's not always a bad outcome either. so they will hear stories of their prowess in one location, and stories of how they destroyed some peoples lives in another. ^^