Prep Time

Today’s lesson, children, is about preparation. There are two keys to being a good DM, and one of them is being prepared for sessions. Most of the work a DM does, really, is preparation.

For instance, a DM preps:

• Non-player characters (NPCs), making their stat sheets where necessary
• Designing dungeons and rooms to fight in
• Developing puzzles for the players to unravel
• Where appropriate, writing riddles for them to muddle through
• Figuring out what monsters the players will face
• Making sure you’re not giving them obstacles that are too strong, or too weak
• Planning the greater story arc of whatever they’re currently doing
• Organizing what treasures they’ll find, and what they’re worth

Some DMs don’t do a lot of prep and do things on the fly. That’s okay if it’s done in moderation, but most players appreciate it when a DM walks into a room and takes command of the situation, and at least knows SOMETHING about what they’re going to run. I once played a session where the DM came in about 15 minutes before he was supposed to run game, sat down, picked up the Monster Manual, and announced “Alright! Time to figure out what you’re doing tonight!”

Definitely not the best first impression. That and other reasons contributed to the fact that I only played in that one session.

I’m not always the most organized DM, or even the most organized person in general. As a case in point, I should call attention to the fact that it’s 8:10 and EC is intended to start at 9, and I don’t have the vaguest notion of what the party will be doing tonight. Instead I’m blogging about the fact that I’m not prepared.

Counter intuitive? Of course! But it’s a lesson in disguise.

Or, actually, a lesson in plain sight. But that’s beside the point.

…Additionally…

Interestingly enough, the other key to being a good DM is being able to roll with the punches. The first law of D&D is sort of a spin off Murphy’s Law. But instead of saying that “what can go wrong will go wrong,” it goes a little more like this:

“No matter how much you have planned, the players will always find a way to screw it up.”

So no matter how prepared you are (regardless of procrastination) you have to also be prepared to say “Oh, well, that whole dungeon is now completely irrelevant,” and toss the book of information you had about the mystical forest tribe of corn-eating dryads with blue hair over your shoulder. At that point you have to let the players do what they want, because if you force them to backtrack and circle around so that they DO go through the mystical forest of corn-eating dryads, they get fidgety and pissy with you.

See, the whole point of D&D is having the freedom to choose what you do and when. If the DM takes away that freedom to choose and railroads them in a certain direction, it’s no longer fun.

With that said, though, I think it’s time I go figure out what they’re gonna be doing.

See you in a few hours for a post-game recap!

Tags: Planning