Just wanted to post some acknowledgement for all this good advice. Thanks for your explanations and examples. If anyone else wants to chime in, please do... I would hope that this thread helps more than just me at some point or another. I'll keep checking back!
Oh, and I think this has all brought to light one of the reasons I may be so thorough. I like to play, more than DM... but more than either, I love world building. Those 2-4 pages most people mention about their homebrew setting? Mine was 86 pages, 33000 words, before we started... factions, places, places within places, how the planes work, the religions, high quality artistic maps, and everything. So I think a starting point will be to extricate myself from feeling the need to be as thorough in session prep as I am in my world building. Either that or just bite it and become an author to make some money off my insanity.
Please continue if anyone else has something to say.
My general advice with preparation is the newer you are to DMing the more you need. However this preparation is still useful to the more seasoned among us, and almost becomes second nature that we really don't think about it as preparation. Most of this comes from having experience with DMing and creative thinking. Keep in mind that all the things I'll be recommending are usually things that you gain with experience being a DM so might not be that helpful.
All that being said, here is what I do and recommend for preparation:
1.) Familiarize yourself with the monster manual, and take notes of page numbers for monsters that are level appropriate for your pcs. You might also consider taking some additional notes of monster stats and maybe pick some things that are related to the areas that the PCs are exploring.
2.) Practice describing people, places, items, monsters, and anything else you can think of. Keeping it detailed but concise is generally what people want to try to maximize your mileage on your words. Coupled with the first suggestion you might find that you can reuse many of the same monsters and just change how they "look" to the players and that helps cut down on prep time.
3.) Try to learn a new word a day. Worst case scenario you learned something new, and the best case you have that one word that makes your description of something perfect.
4.) Practice combat positioning and tactics. Set up an appropriately sized room for a conflict and practice moving pieces around for combat, and using abilities on monsters. You don't need to go overboard and actually perform the battle, but get used what abilities the monsters have and how you can apply them.
5.) Practice drawing/creating interesting rooms. It's one thing to be able to draw that 10x16 room and another thing to draw a series of interconnected rooms on the fly. Granted this is not needed for some DM styles and play groups, but if it's relevant to you then no reason not to get better at it
6.) Read stories, watch movies, play video games and borrow like a fiend. Sometimes it's just what you need to get the creative juices flowing.
7.) Give yourself some time to mentally let go of worries, and let your mind play.
8.) Sit down and have a nice heart to heart with yourself. Get used to the idea that whatever plans you have will be compromised and learn to embrace the new directions the players take you in. Reflect on things that you did right and wrong, and be your own harshest critic.
I agree with Shaddylogic's list, though I've never really run practice battles. The rest of that list are things I take for granted, but which I've had to cultivate over the years. Most of them are important things to do even apart from gaming.
Just remember that you're around the table with other people, each of whom has a creative brain you can tap into, a brain that is wired to think of things that it will enjoy. Don't shut those brains down, tap into them.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
Normally I just bookmark some monsters in the MM I expect the PCs to attempt to fight before each session. I also have an overarching "Event" that is happening. The PCs usually will want to get involved in that, but if not, the plot will follow them wherever they decide to go. That usually works well enough.
Recently I've been doing a game with the following plot outline. Spoilers if I'm your DM. These are all my notes for the campaign, and the extent of the prep work I plan to do. (outside of bookmarking monsters) I also stole the opening act from someone else.
The game starts with the PCs rescuing a farmer’s son who was kidnapped by a goblin queen, holed up in the mountains in Tyrath a few days from the minor city of Kabul. When they free the boy, they find a strange key on the queen. Upon investigation it is the Tyrathian Key, one of the 6 keys of power.
A few nights before they cross the border back into protected territory, out of nowhere, a giant reptilian beast wanders into their camp covered in blood carrying a half deer. It starts crooning at them and places the deer by the fire. If they attack, it flees back into the forest. It turns out that they have a friendly single headed hydra trying to give them presents. It comes back each night with more bloody meat.
The next day, they go to the border crossing. The bridge is made out of black stone carved with skulls - an obvious leftover from the days of the BBEG's days as a lich king. It crosses a fairly decent sized river. The guards are wearing blue breastplates with purple chainmail underneath (the default for this country). They do the crossed-halberds "Halt, who goes there" deal and make the PCs identify themselves. All goes well, and the guards are about to let them pass when the hydra comes ambling out of the forest with yet another offering. The guard refuses to let the party pass across the border until they 'prove' they're not Morden cultists by killing the beast that's been helping them. Eventually, they manage to get across the border, by dealing with the hydra, convincing the guards, sneaking across the border or whatever they come up with. It's not super important which; the point is that the border guards are prejudiced jerks.
Their next stop is the City of Kabul, that was the home town of Alexander and, more importantly, where the great big huge monument to his heroism was built. There they A] get some exposition about the Morden’s evil history and defeats, B] get ratted out by the State Security/Border Guard that tried to stop them at the border. The party subsequently gets attacked and either run out of town (if they win the fight) or imprisoned (if they lose the fight) on suspicion of plotting to resurrect the Morden. If they get sent to prison, you can run a mini session where they break out with the help of the actual Morden cultists. If they are run out of town, they encounter some actual cultists who are sympathetic in the woods.
Either way, the cultists reveal that the set of 6 keys used to seal Morden’s prison were given to the protection of the nations that sealed away the BBEG and stored in some places that are culturally representative of the nations. Each nation got one key, and its super embarrassing to have lost it. The cult goes on to say that actually, they are all pretty much missing right now but no one knows it. Since they already have a key, the cultists trust that the PCs are after the same thing (freeing Morden). They have agents in tons of cities, and if the PCs go get the half the keys the cultists will get the rest. Meet up with their agents to find out where they are hidden. Then meet at the entrance and we can open the vault and free him. (PCs probably want to stop this somehow)
After they gather the last key, they are visited by a member of the Templar of Dusk who informs them that he has seen their progress, and his order wishes to engage their help. After the last rise of Morden, they formed as a society devoted to hunting out his cultists, and work outside any government, because they don’t think they are effective. PCs have heard of the org, but governments have been saying they are “terrorists” and it’s almost as bad to be one of them as it is to be a cultist. The higher ups of the cultists are never in the same place, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to decimate their leadership. All 3 leaders will be present for the reawakening ceremony. Cultists will follow PCs to the chamber, and use teleporters to summon the leaders who will perform awakening ceremony. Let this happen, and then use it as an opportunity to destroy their leaders. Leadership normally never sees one another, and doesn’t know who they are. If one is killed another always steps right up and they can never make any progress destroying them. This is the opportunity to really decimate the Morden cults.
Keys
Each key is keyed to a specific attribute, and provides a +2 to it in addition to being 1/6th of what is needed to open the vault. The key the PCs find first belongs to the Tyrathian Royal Family.
Tyrathian Key +2 Cha
This is the key owned by the Tyrathian Royal Family. They know they lost it years ago when the current kings great great grandfather took it hunting (he was a lush, hints he really just got lost while drunk in the woods). They have kept a fake on display in their throne room for years since.
Acrosian Key +2 Wis
This key was originally stored in the vaults of light. Where the holy relics of the Archons are stored. Heavily guarded and long thought impossible to enter. Apparently, that is not the case, as upon investigation of the crime scene, the PCs realize it was the work of Black Archon Cultists, and has been covered up by the church because that’s super embarrassing. The Key is in a Black Archon Church.
Sethis Key +2 Int
The Sethians built a (pyramid) temple atop their key and keep it under close watch. They actually still have their key, but it’s not wise to trespass in their holy chambers as those who profane the world snake are typically the first sacrificed.
Gabluk Key +2 Con
One of the tribes has it, and hid it. No one can agree which tribe it was. Accusing a tribe usually results in a challenge and defense of honor. Turns out that one tribe stole it because the next tribe to get it was a Morden Cult and they wanted it out of their hands.
Stonefell Key +2 Str
Lost in the underdark. Turns out a tribe of Minotaur tunneled into a dwarven vault and stole it. Fairly public, but the dwarves do their best not to admit that’s what happened. Minotaur live in a giant maze filled with traps and warriors in addition to a full-fledged town. Whole town is a giant maze, constructed in accordance with Minotaur religion which is devoted to mazes, confusion, and generally making sense out of super complex problems.
Zaratan Key +2 Dex
This key is relatively simple to obtain. When the original keeper received his key, he fed it to the turtle. It may still be in the beast’s intestines, or it may have fallen into the sea by now. No one knows. If it isn’t in the intestines, some serious magic will be needed to scour the ocean floor.
Morden’s Trident
Mordens Tomb is a labyrinth towards the center of the mountain, which is actually a dormant volcano. Anyone can enter the labyrinth. Opens into a giant pool of lava, with a hexagram stone alter. The keys go in each point, and the lava shifts and flows, creating a tunnel deep into it sustained by magic. The tunnel goes to a chamber with three sigil stones. “Truth, Justice, or Honor” or something. You can hit any and it will shift a wall behind it creating a new tunnel. Hitting one means sulfur gas or lava floods the room, hitting the less wrong one means you get a dangerous tunnel with traps or monsters. The right one just goes to the next chamber. There are then X chambers where X is the number of PCs. Each chamber has a challenge to overcome it where each PC can shine. Ignoring the challenge gets you sulfur, losing it gets you another challenge hallway, and winning gets you the easy one. The final chamber has his tomb, encased in stone, and on top is his trident. This is where the ritual to bring him back is performed. As soon as the trident is touched, the protective walls start to collapse, and the chamber begins flooding.
Important to note. I did not design the actual encounters, traps, or challenges the PCs will face. Just a rough guide of what exists at each stop along the way. (I do have brief paragraph descriptions of each city) This was also written up after being asked to run a game with a stronger obvious plot to follow.
5e comments and thoughts all in one place. Check it out to provide feedback, mock, or steal ideas. http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/28835423/Krusks_5e_Design_Goals?sdb=1
I don't usually make notes unless I've been particularly busy/forgetful lately.
Here's a transcript of the notes I jotted down over the last week or two:
Nudge Va Lia about chi.
The dog is still in the kobold village.
Haven't seen the twins in a while.
The squid is on the move again.
Might want to touch on Rose if the opportunity comes up.
It's been a busy couple weeks for me. I run a very sandboxed campaign with heavy role-players, and DM almost exclusively off-the-cuff, so my game prep is negligible.
Boraxe wrote: "Knowledge of the rules and creativity are great attributes for a DM, but knowing when to cut loose and when to hold back, when to follow the rules and when to discard them, in order to enhance the enjoyment of the game is the most important DM skill of all."
Keeper of the Sacred Kitty Bowl of the House of Trolls. Resident Kitteh-napper.
Hook/NPC RP: We need to know what we are going up against. We need you to recon outside the walls, gather information on what we are up against, and when/how they plan on attacking. - Skill Challenge Cannot assist, only way to assist is via bluff, diplomacy, stealth, streetwise. Thievery - 3 times Perception - unlimited Insight - unlimited History - 3 times Nature - 1 time Arcana - 1 time Bluff - Disguises (+2 to next check) Diplomacy - Fast talking/persuasive at getting info (+2 to next check) Stealth - remain unnoticed (+2 to next check) Streetwise - figure out where to go and how to blend in (+2 to next check)
Thievery - snag anything like maps or documents Perception - get a general idea of what is going on. Insight - Get a general idea of what is going on 15 successes before 3 failures. EXTRA Credit: if they choose to try and disrupt/sabotage
Hook/RP: We’ve lost contact with our men in section X. Last we heard they were engaged with Trolls. We need you to go find out what their status is and re-supply them with provisions. Flavor Text: As you approach this intersection, you slow. You see the remains of a battle ahead. As you get closer, the stench of burnt flesh is overwhelming. You cover your noses and investigate... You come across a severely burnt figure in the fetal position, cradling the remains of 2 small children in his arms. Not far away you see the burned out remains of a building, a partially destroyed sign lists about hanging on by a single wire, swaying gently in the wind, you can barely make out the words ‘Sisters of Morodin Orph... Further up the road you see a hideous half-human, half wolf beast, nearly torn in two. It would appear as though this might have been a druid who was killed mid transformation. Next to him, impaled upon a flagpole, you see a dismembered thri-kreen, his arms and legs are strewn about, as if ripped from his body by something very powerful. Finally, you see a troll, lying in the middle of the road. A fullblade juts from its chest, on the other end is a goliath, slumped over the hilt. The sight gives you a sickening feeling as you take in the sight of a giant battleaxe lodged in the back of his head. You realize that you have arrived too late. There will be no resupplying this party.... A NOISE JOLTS YOU OUT OF YOUR SHOCK...Your eyes are drawn to a mostly demolished two story house, a set of yellow, beady eyes size you up...Suddenly you realize that whatever caused this mayhem is still here! Roll initiative (and on first round troll smashes through rubble to jump them) -
Troll Encounter, hard encounter. Wave 1 (2800 xp): 4 Bladerager Troll - lvl 12 - 700xp (2800 total) - Metal claws 90 HP, 24/26/24/23 Speed 7 Regen: 5 Claw : +18 vs AC, 2d6 + 18 Rend (Encounter): +18 vs AC, 2d6+31 Death Burst: +15 vs Reflex, 1d6 +10
Wave 2 (2000xp): 1 Briar Troll - lvl 10 - Solo Controller (2000xp) 400 HP, 24/25/22/20 Speed 6 2 action points Regen 20 Aura 1 - ends turn next to it takes 5 dmg Dominates/stun effects are dazed instead, dazed are unaffected Whenever he takes damage, he gets OA with claws Claw: +16 vs AC, 1d6+15 GreatBow: +18 vs AC, 1d6 + 20 Rend (when surrounded by more than 1 person): 2 attacks, if both hit, target is weakened until EONT Grasping Brambles (Encounter): close blast 5, + 13 vs Fort, 1d6 +24, pull 4, immobilized (save ends)
Wave 3 (3500xp): 3 War Trolls - lvl 14, 1000xp (3k) 110 HP, 28/27/24/23 Speed 7 Regen 10 Threatening Reach: (can take OA from 2 squares away) Greatsword: +20 vs AC, 1d6 + 19 Sweeping Strike (encounter): +20 vs AC, 1d6+10, close blast 2, targets are knocked prone. Blood Pursuit: Whenever an enemy within 2 squares of the war troll moves or shifts, war troll shifts 1 square closer
1 Spitting Troll - lvl 10, 500xp 100 HP 24/22/23/22 Speed 6 Regen 10 Claw: +16 vs AC, 1d6+15 Javelin (10/20): +16 vs AC, 1d6+12 Minor - 1/turn: (range 5) +13 vs reflex, 1d6 poison damage Minor - 1/turn: 1 troll within 10 who’s regen is inactive immediately reactivates it
Here are the notes I made for the Episode Recap that Chris Perkins suggests...I use the key notes section to make points about things I think important..in this case, had they discussed tactics, they would have had an easier time...and something happened to an orphanage...who would do something like that (i.e. perhaps they should investigate)...
Episode 15g: The return to the orphanage The party successfully navigated the encampment and gathered some information about the impending attack. Upon their return, they were tasked with resupplying and reconnecting with a party sent to the northwest sector. Upon arriving, they realized that the party they were sent to help was dead and an orphanage was laid to waste. The trolls who caused this mess were still there and quickly jumped the party. What happened next was pandemonium. Orilio, a 7’5” female Goliath found her dead brother and helped the party during one of the waves of attacks. Lucky for the party, they were able to reasonably handle the waves, even if it did cost them all of their healing surges and near death experiences. Seeing how late in the day it was and exhausted the party was, they ended by heading to the tavern to get a good rest. Afterwards they’ll head to Morgoff, to report the bad news... Key Notes: * Tactics matter... * Regeneration is a pain but easily managed. * What happened to cause an orphanage to be burned to the ground? Who/what would do such a hideous deed like that? * Trolls enjoy crispy flesh, lamb like in age...
One last thing I'll mention from my experience...I've done a lot of Pregens for the group...I've found that the MM tends to be out of date with regards to appropriate defenses and attacks/etc of monsters....furthermore, I dont like the concept of recharge...too many issues tracking things in battle...instead, I use the general idea of creatures and the general gist of what they are about...then I use a modified spreadsheet to customize their stats...a lot of this is based on Chris Perkins...
this is the DM sheet I put together for me, keeps track of items/gold per level, monster mods, skill check mods, and other special house rules (like critical fails)...
Realistically, it comes down to simplification...there is enough math/etc to keep track of without adding to it...figure out what you are comfortable doing without (ongoing damage, zone effects, etc) and removethem from the monsters, adding in other simpler things to take their place...simply adding a longbow to most creatures makes them more dynamic without complicating things.
The other key advice is make your players improvise in addition to you...if they come up with a great idea or tactic, or something, don't worry about the rules, have them explain it, force them to come up with how it will resolve and what needs to be done...if it seems feesible, go for it...
i.e. Them:I want to knock the bat out of the air.... DM: Ok, how do you want to do that... Them: I want to run off this wall, attempt to grab the Winged Bat in mid air and use my weight to drag it to the ground and pin it... DM: Ok, what do you think needs to be done to do that... Them: Athletics to jump, attack to grab. DM: Ok, when you hit the ground, they'll have a chance to escape (athletics vs your fortitude)...also, make a saving throw, if you succeed, then you land on it, and it takes 1d10 damage, otherwise it lands on you and you take 1d10 damage...
what I exclude is the rolls to determine height and length of jump, no need for a str check to grab, just let them do their normal attack, as well as what they do with their weapons/etc...what they requested seemed plausible, they thought it out, I added a few minor things to it for fun and voila, we had an epic moment in anotherwise normal encounter.
Simplyify, make your life as a DM easier, not harder...you got enough to track and plan and improvise...
The other key advice is make your players improvise in addition to you...if they come up with a great idea or tactic, or something, don't worry about the rules, have them explain it, force them to come up with how it will resolve and what needs to be done...if it seems feesible, go for it...
i.e. Them:I want to knock the bat out of the air.... DM: Ok, how do you want to do that... Them: I want to run off this wall, attempt to grab the Winged Bat in mid air and use my weight to drag it to the ground and pin it... DM: Ok, what do you think needs to be done to do that... Them: Athletics to jump, attack to grab. DM: Ok, when you hit the ground, they'll have a chance to escape (athletics vs your fortitude)...also, make a saving throw, if you succeed, then you land on it, and it takes 1d10 damage, otherwise it lands on you and you take 1d10 damage...
what I exclude is the rolls to determine height and length of jump, no need for a str check to grab, just let them do their normal attack, as well as what they do with their weapons/etc...what they requested seemed plausible, they thought it out, I added a few minor things to it for fun and voila, we had an epic moment in anotherwise normal encounter.
Simplyify, make your life as a DM easier, not harder...you got enough to track and plan and improvise...
I highly recommend this approach. I've had great success with it.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
