I’m having an issue in my current campaign that I wanted to share with the community to see if anyone else has…

I’m having an issue in my current campaign that I wanted to share with the community to see if anyone else has…

I’m having an issue in my current campaign that I wanted to share with the community to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

When I started out GMing, I did a lot more prep than I do now. Part of that is probably that I’ve grown more confident as a GM, and part is the influence of games like Fate and PbtA that introduced me to lighter prep methods.

Now I’ve started running a Dragon Age campaign, which is a bit more trad-style to an extent (maps and minis, NPCs have stats, etc), and I find myself trying to re-learn how to prep all over again. I’m not even sure if the campaign actually requires a different prep style, or if I just feel like it should.

Has anyone else experience this feeling of having to re-learn how to GM when switching from running indie games to something a bit more trad-style? If so, do you have any advice on how to re-adjust, or if it’s even necessary?

8 thoughts on “I’m having an issue in my current campaign that I wanted to share with the community to see if anyone else has…”

  1. NPCs don’t need stats so much as a single sentence describing how the compare to the average. A second sentence can describe their want in life. Now that’s it.

    A solid random encounter table combined with random terrain and classic reaction table can vary fights and provide non combat outs.

    If you have big cities, get a copy of Vornheim. It works wonders and always does the job.

    Other than that, I try to use an hour everyday to prep until I have parts to run the works in a binder.

    There are so many free maps online for dungeons etc. Never spend time drawing one. Just google it. Or buy Dyson Logos stuff.

  2. NPCs don’t need stats so much as a single sentence describing how the compare to the average. A second sentence can describe their want in life. Now that’s it.

    A solid random encounter table combined with random terrain and classic reaction table can vary fights and provide non combat outs.

    If you have big cities, get a copy of Vornheim. It works wonders and always does the job.

    Other than that, I try to use an hour everyday to prep until I have parts to run the works in a binder.

    There are so many free maps online for dungeons etc. Never spend time drawing one. Just google it. Or buy Dyson Logos stuff.

  3. Yeah, I kind of know what you mean. When I switch back to running 13th Age, Mutants & Masterminds, or even Godbound, I have to do one thing I don’t usually have to with my other games: know the monster stats. That’s where I have to spend my prep. I can leave player powers, advancement, and that stuff in the players’ hands. But I have to learn and gain mastery of the BG stat blocks.

    So usually I'[ll try to keep my prep time still limited (at most, most an hour or two per session), but deliberately spend time getting those together– sometimes bunches of fight sheets done in simple form. Once I’ve done that for a while, I feel more comfortable with wining and adjusting that at the table.

    But yeah, that can be a paradigm shift for a bit.

  4. Yeah, I kind of know what you mean. When I switch back to running 13th Age, Mutants & Masterminds, or even Godbound, I have to do one thing I don’t usually have to with my other games: know the monster stats. That’s where I have to spend my prep. I can leave player powers, advancement, and that stuff in the players’ hands. But I have to learn and gain mastery of the BG stat blocks.

    So usually I'[ll try to keep my prep time still limited (at most, most an hour or two per session), but deliberately spend time getting those together– sometimes bunches of fight sheets done in simple form. Once I’ve done that for a while, I feel more comfortable with wining and adjusting that at the table.

    But yeah, that can be a paradigm shift for a bit.

  5. I find I have to stop myself from over-prepping for any game I run, even zero-prep games. I am not a huge fan of making maps for everything, but I like to be super prepared for any occasion I may come across. I do the same thing in my day to day life too, which is why my backpack is terribly heavy. World building is hugely fun for me, and so if I don’t put the brakes on it I’ll end up with a huge binder full of stuff that the players will never see. Perhaps ironically I prep my plots pretty minimally with a bare outline.

  6. I find I have to stop myself from over-prepping for any game I run, even zero-prep games. I am not a huge fan of making maps for everything, but I like to be super prepared for any occasion I may come across. I do the same thing in my day to day life too, which is why my backpack is terribly heavy. World building is hugely fun for me, and so if I don’t put the brakes on it I’ll end up with a huge binder full of stuff that the players will never see. Perhaps ironically I prep my plots pretty minimally with a bare outline.

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