NTS: consolidate/prune these notes
- may be better done by making individual notes out of thematic clumps (e.g. location design)
from The No-Prep Gamemaster:
location and encounter
don’t marry location and encounter.
think of a couple of key encounters. place them where you need them, during the session. if players enter a room and it’s not time yet for the big encounter, fill the room using random tables. if running a module, move the preset encounters to different locations as you see fit.
random tables support searching, which in turn gives a sense of reward for characters’ curiosity and initiative.
how to use random tables
having the gm roll
works best in these cases:
- speed: if asking the players to roll will disrupt the flow or distract them at a key moment
- limiting player knowledge: if the answer to a question or outcome of a situation will spoil their fun or reveal info that’s better hidden
e.g. player asks if they’re being followed. you don’t know. you roll to find out the answer, and then have player roll perception or similar, and tell them if they’re being followed or not based on the result.
having the players roll
typically the preferred method.
- players control their own fate; no questions about fairness
- greater player agency
- less work for the GM
- self-reward; feeling of accomplishment
the random table is your servant; use it as best suits you. there’s a lot to be said for the magic of a random dice roll; that said, if the table provides something simply unworkable, then ignore it. but consider every result before you reject it! operate based on rule of fun.
best case/worst case
when overwhelmed with decisions, use a d6 with six representing the best-case scenario for the player and one representing the worst-case. numbers in between are degrees on the spectrum.
this can be used whenever a player asks a question you don’t know the answer to. you can ask a player what the best and worst-case outcomes in this situation would be, in their opinion, and then have them roll to determine the actual outcome.
don’t create everything
create a framework for your world; some general concepts that will create a mood and steer your players in certain directions. let the characters’ actions and dice rolls fill in the details as you go.
having locations and names thought up in advance is a good starting point, as well as the broad strokes of ideas for cool encounters.
if you prepare random tables for anything, do it for names. players will always ask for names of people, things, and places.
don’t follow rpg modules to a T, but mine them for new and useful ideas, names, maps, NPCs, etc that can be plugged in to the story you’re collaboratively creating with your players.
maps and similar supplements are system-agnostic.
to retcon or not to retcon
did it shaft a player, break a scene, or blatantly misuse a rule? if so, stop the session, acknowledge the mistake, and do it over.
if it was minor, move forward and address in debrief if needed.
plucking from pop culture
it’s totally fine to run characters through the rough plot beats of a movie, book, etc as long as it’s obscure and no one at the table has encountered it before (or else it can be disappointing.)
it’s also totally fine to pluck aspects, scenarios, etc from more popular media as long as they’re treated as starting points for players to take and run with.
situations, not plot
think of situations and complications, not a plot arc. a campaign will spring organically from these encounters if the characters have strong motivations and everyone is on the same page.
you can even start a session in medias res, in combat rather than an inn!
combat is a great way to stall for time in general. players enjoy it and it lets you come up with adventure hooks and retool the forward trajectory.
random tables are great for revealing the items found on dead bodies
from Michael Shea’s The Lazy Dungeon Master:
five-minute adventure preparation
three questions:
- where does your adventure begin?
- to what three areas might your adventure lead?
- what are your three notable NPCs up to?
3x5 card adventure design philosophy: cheap, simple, and constrained
beginning your adventure
pick a starting location with flavour that will suggest meaningful things about the world without stating them outright
give yourself a lead without following through
a campaign elevator pitch works as a replacement for worldbuilding – a short, focused, single-sentence description to summarize the adventure
the three paths
different approaches here:
- where the PCs will end up
- where they begin
- what they might find in the middle
you might instead choose three adventure locations they might discover, leaving the paths in between open, for more of a sandbox vibe.
three paths approach gives you “just enough detail to feel comfortable without overwhelming your story or your players”
options should be focused and not overly vague. locations should have a few details attached to them, while still being contained within a single sentence each
events or locations should tie back to the main adventure seed in some way, but without building the situation out too much
character-driven stories
as you, the GM, can’t control the directions your PCs will take, you should focus on preparing compelling NPCs to interact with them
focus on four to six primary NPCs: up to three neutral/allied, and up to three villains. secondary NPCs can be improvised
traits of good villains:
- they have a reason for being the way they are
- they are dynamic and are spinning many plates of plot
- they’re smart
- they think what they’re doing is right, and might even be correct in that belief
you can promote secondary NPCs to primary depending on the rhythms of the game and which characters the players are interested in
tying PCs to the story
always keep the PCs at the centre of the story.
- build on what the players give you
- be willing to take your campaign in new directions
- suggest ideas that have future adventure possibilities
consider keeping a single 3x5 card for each of the PCs, focusing on their backgrounds, motivations, and potential ties to the ongoing organic story. consider adding the “emotional kick” you think that player gets out of playing ttrpgs.
keeping the end in sight
don’t sell an ending you can’t deliver: don’t pretend to have some intricate detailed master plan that doesn’t actually exist. it will just lead to player frustration
focus your campaign along the single campaign elevator pitch/“plot seed.” this avoids being overdetermined and leaves room for the story to twist and weave, but keeps the primary goal in focus
ask your players what they want. after a few sessions, ask them what kinds of things they’d like to see their characters do, and integrate them in the adventures to come
keep the entire campaign short (8-12 sessions) and you’ll have less loose ends to worry about
world building through relationships
weave the threads of character relationships into the fabric of the story. give players time to explore their relationships and make sense of the ones that might seem difficult
building from frameworks & reskinning
assemble lists of compelling plot hooks and character archetypes that can be ported into different contexts and used as jumping-off points for your story to evolve into its own thing without you, the GM, having to improvise wholly net new content purely out of your brain
embrace the tweak and the mashup
reskinning = replacing the flavour, story, and description of a set of roleplaying mechanics, such as a monster, an encounter, a trap, terrain, or an environmental effect, with something of your own design.
you can do this with characters, monsters, encounter areas, game worlds, etc…
six traits about your game world
nail down six to eight traits about your world that your players will grasp and remember
the traits should:
- differentiate this adventure or campaign from others in similar settings/genres
- describe common knowledge available to the characters of the world
- inflect locations, character interactions, and friction between factions
- build the boundaries of the sandbox in which the PCs define their own stories
improving improvisation
the bar for player enjoyment at the table is usually far lower than the GM thinks. people just want to hang out, have a few laughs, and play pretend for a few hours. chill.
fill your toolkit with aids for improvisation rather than strict and structured plans
look at your players not as an audience, but as partners in the show; there needs to be a dynamic of trust and openness
even if you’re nervous, act as if you’re very relaxed. don’t apologize for missteps, don’t sweat the small stuff. listen, laugh, and say yes
put yourself into character as the NPCs
improv skills come from practice! this means running games, and lots of them, and paying attention to the moments when you can scale back the desire for control and let the situation blossom organically
immerse yourself in fiction. specifically inspiring and well-crafted fiction.
from The Prep-Lite Manifesto Template:
objective
start with the Objective—single sentence defining what the whole session is about. material written should lead towards the resolution of the objective (without that specific resolution being predetermined)
opposition
people or forces challenging the PCs in the completion of the objective
- who:
- what: what goal or object are they interested in obtaining, thus bringing them into proximity to the PCs?
- motivation: why are they struggling over the objective?
NPCs
at least three NPCs, who may or may not be part of the opposition, who might appear during the session
- name:
- role:
- tags: e.g. “hostile, mysterious”
locations
at least three locations that will likely appear in the session
- name:
- location:
- tags:
scenes
for a 4 hour session, budget 4-5 scenes. 1 scene for the hook, 2-3 rising action, 1 climax/conclusion
to create a scene, mix and match locations, NPCs, opposition, and details from the Objective. this ensures that each scene contributes something distinct and supports the overall story direction.
use the following attributes to structure scenes:
- objective: a goal that connects to the session-wide Objective. scene-level objective tells you when the players have reached the end of the scene
- location: picked from a list of locations
- facts: bulleted list of (only) important facts about the scene. These are things that ensure continuity between scenes, important clues, etc.
- NPCs: which NPCs will be in the scene. almost every scene should contain at least 1 of the previously defined NPCs.
give yourself <90min to fill out the template
see also