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  • 5 Tips for Managing DM Prep Time

    Advice/Tools, Dungeon Masters

    Okay, so you have an idea for a nifty new campaign that you want to run but you really don’t have the time to put it all together.  What do you do?

    This can be a huge problem for a lot of dungeon masters, particularly those with a creative bent who aren’t thrilled with using someone else’s work.  All too often these folks turn into the guy (or gal) who is constantly “working on it” but who never actually ends up running a game because they never actually finish.

    Here are some ideas:

    1 – Create only what needs to be created for the campaign.  Don’t flesh out an entire world rolling up dozens of NPC’s if they will never be used.  Leave that kind of nonsense to the professionals they get paid to make up fluff you don’t.
    2 – Set a deadline.  Write down the date that you will have it finished.  Mark it on your calendar and tell someone else.  That way they can chew you out if you don’t finish.
    3 – Set aside a specific time of day when you will work on it.  Hint: the earlier in the day the more likely you will actually do it.  Stick to your time just as if you were attending an important class or going to work.
    4 – Use random name generators.  There are tons of free ones on the web.  Save yourself time where you can.
    5 – Make pre-made home-made.  Borrow from whatever sources you can, particularly maps.  Drawing out awesome maps is very, very time consuming and many of the maps in a campaign (particularly outdoor maps) end up being tossed aside very quickly.  Spend time only on the maps that the players really need.

    I hope these tips help and enjoy your game!

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    3 Responses

    1. Ameron  •  May 5, 2009 @6:28 am

      This is good advice. Just remember that the PCs will do something you didn’t expect or plan for so it’s important to be flexible. You don’t have to know how every encounter of your entire campaign will play out, but you need a general idea of what might come over the next few weeks just in cease the PCs by-pass what you saw as the next step in the adventure.

    2. Mike  •  May 5, 2009 @7:22 am

      yup, agree with Ameron, solid advise

      one thing i like to do is create a list of random names, then as i need a name i just write details to it and update my notes after the fact.

    3. Locke  •  June 17, 2009 @9:46 pm

      haha, now this is the site I should have gone to first, yep… thats all good stuff, yet one of the most important things in a campaign I believe is what makes the time you spend setting up the game worthwhile is when the PCs really get into the game and character, letting real world thoughts turn into inventive ideas for what their PCs will do.
      They need to have reason in a campaign, reason to fight and to travel or quest*(I use this word gravely; to go and slay a goblin den, well that is not much if any of a quest, though stopping the dwarf settlement from invading the elf’s forest, thats a quest!), a need to be stronger, maybe a goal, or item to abtain. I base it off of who I know will be there that week, so that I would know that the mage and cleric and her brother the blind monk will meet, which leads to a lot of last minute work. A lot of PCs my friends create do not have much basis for action, so I can only make a list of names and groups and towns with a note or two by each and hope I can counter whatever idea they get, even if they end up being a group of bards they might end up raising an army (Its possible). Its fun no matter the time it takes. I think thats my two cents people. Now, to see if I can’t find a decent name generator.

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