Quick Hits I

Just a few things I was thinking about today  

The very best way to prep a session is to reduce the planned scenario to one page of notes. Sounds completely impossible, but actually it’s only moderately impossible. 

This is the stuff you really need:

Flowchart of events (if-then,) map of the area, SHORT monster stats, treasure, NPC names.

Of course this assumes you’ve read the adventure and have a decent handle on the milieu. 

This is the starting point for me. One-pager and GO. I put it on the inside of my DM’s screen along with some cheat sheets I made. (It’s got four panels. Use them.)

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I used to keep my monster manual on 3x5” index cards in a recipe box. This is twee, but it turns out to be clunky at the table. Just write the stat blocks in your one pager. 

(I still use this format for henchmen and special magic items so I can hand the cards out to the players.)

If you simply have to use the book in play, use sticky notes on the pages. Write:

1. all the stat blocks you need

2. All the page numbers of game-adjacent info - a little index. But honestly, try not to open a book while you’re running a game. 

I also don’t write up my NPCs beforehand anymore. I have random tables of names and mannerisms that I use. The NPCs pop to life at the very moment I need them, which is a nice surprise. If I need one to have a certain trait, I’ll write down one or two words on the page.

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Never look up a rule during the game. Never. If it’s important, write a note and put it on the right page beforehand. If it’s not in your notes, make it up, and look it up later.