Do you have a specific methodology when you sit down and start getting ready for the next time you’ll GM a tabletop RPG session? Does it change depending on variables like the audience, the length of session, the number of players?
Are there parts of your prep you think you’re super strong with? Are there parts you think are weaker and you’d like to improve?
Inspiration: The ABCs of Prep: Accessible, Brief, Connected – Clerical Considerations
I don’t think I have any kind of thought out methodology. So for me this post is more of a call to actually think about what I do for prep in the hope of learning and improving.
I have mostly ran modules so prep is basically reading the module. I would be lying if I said I was doing more than that. It works to a certain degree. When the module is properly laid out to be used at the table it’s great. I don’t know how common this is on “normal” table (opposed to like actual play), but I do find myself “wasting time” by looking for things and kind of breaking the pace of the game. Any tips and/or insight on that would be appreciated (maybe it’s a subject for another post though).
When I ran a sandbox for a couple of sessions, I mostly used the book (Vaults of Vaarn) to prep the needed information, basically adventure sites. I tried to prep only what I needed for the next session or so, often I had more than necessary. To note that I used no module at all during this mini-campaign.
One fun thing (for me at least) that I do is to think about the first scene of the next session. I think I do this to make coming back into the fiction a bit more involved to get the ball rolling. Kind of a “set the tone” thing based on the end of the last session. These “introdctions” just live in my head, I never write them down or nothing.
I’ve also ran modules for the last few years. I read it and take notes before the first session. For a small one (one-shot or maybe a couple of sessions), I put more time into it because I want to run it as smoothly as possible and I know the module will directly provide most of what I will need. I try to catch problems or inconsistencies, etc.
For a longer game that is much more open (I ran Stonehell for a couple of years and am running Raven’s Purge right now), I try to get a feel for the big themes and ideas. I might create a couple of random tables to help me seed them while GMing. The “prep” will be between sessions, where I will organize my notes a bit better and make the world react to what happened during the session. I still want to keep this to a minimum, ideally no more than 15 minutes: I’m not the kind of guy who loves to prep for hours.
Since I play online using Foundry VTT, most of my prep is about that: maps, journal notes, macros, etc. I love having everything coded in for the players, andI love having everything at my fingertips.
My advice here would be to delegate looking that up to players where possible, especially if the information isn’t hidden. I’ve definitely felt the momentum of action come to a screeching halt when I spend too much time looking something up.
Another trick I like to use as a GM is to let my players roll on random tables, even the GM facing ones. They have more bandwidth to roll dice than I do while narrating the session, so I tap them to make the roll and call out the result.
My prep usually has more to do with play materials than content. Lately, I’ve been able to just read over whatever module I’m going to run, and go.
If I’m running a new system, I’ll create a character from start to finish, and then find the best reference sheet I can, or if need be, make one. I really try to iron out how the game functions in play before I get to the table, so tracking down actual plays or finding a relevant discord where I can ask questions is usually a really good use of my time.
For specific systems, like Into the Odd, I’ve noticed a trend in my prep. I like to create sandboxes where there are three to four major areas that each have a named NPC to lord over them. It’s basically the realm creation procedure from Mythic Bastionland, but I don’t always have a map. Making those points of interests with intertwined NPC relationships usually creates a good framework for me to riff off of.
This is a cool method, I’m definitely gonna steal it. Really inspires me as to the value of factions in a one shot and presenting the players with a proverbial fork in the road. I think Mausritter modules do this very well as well.
For me, it’s pretty simple. I have a notebook that I use for the campaign, I throw a sticky note of the page where the session starts as a bookmark, and then write down a couple of spreads of info:
It’s kind of funny, I love having books and use them for the readthrough, but I use PDFs so I can print them out and mark them up for actual play.
Oh do I.
You can get a freebie that talks about the eight steps I use to prep games here:
I definitely change the steps depending on what sort of game I’m prepping for:
I put together these steps after interviews with hundreds of GMs and surveys of thousands of GMs. It’s clearly not the only way to do it but this style works well for a lot of folks.
I’ve also used the eight steps for lots of different kinds of games. From heavy 5e games to lightweight Shadowdark games. The eight steps are pretty system agnostic. Of course, each step can be done differently, or omitted completely, depending on what you run and how you run it.
Tool-wise, I’ve used everything from a small pocket notebook and pen to Notion to Obsidian. Lately I’ve enjoyed writing my notes in markdown in Obsidian and printing them on a single sheet using a nice stylesheet. It lets me stay analog at the table but it’s useful to have a digital record of all my previous sessions.
Thanks!
I can confirm that I have read, and also recommend the lazy dungeon master approach. Take this man’s words seriously.
Love your YT content Mike, I’ve been watching for quite a while. I like your 8 steps.
What do you use Notion and Obsidian for when it comes to prepping for a session and using your prep for a session? I saw you’ve done videos before of your prep for Shadowdark, are those good windows into how you use those two applications?
I downloaded Obsidian but I’m a bit overwhelmed/lost as to how to use it in the TTRPG space.
Daydream everything I wanna do, maybe write down an outline a few weeks ago and forget the name of the document, stress all day about it, then no matter how much time was budgeted at 2 hours out from game time and only then I assemble art+maps+stats in the VTT for the night’s game.
The main variable is that if it’s streamed I use Creative Commons art (wikimedia commons, ahoy!) + our own dieselshot art Pat makes; if it’s a home game anything fuckin’ goes.
Sorry to hit you up with more links but…
and a video on it
I do what Sly Flourish says and prepare for the next game I’m going to run, and that one only. 
I run in-person games. Some or all of this may not apply to a game master running on a digital platform.
Practically, I use a lay-flat notebook and make two facing pages of notes for the adventure. Ideally, this includes any maps I might need to reference, but sometimes I use them externally. The size of the notebook determines the length of the adventure session. An A4 notebook, using facing pages, gives me enough notes for a 2 - 3 hour game, depending on group size.