Seeking pointers on preparing for DMing adventure path sessions

[Spinkler]

I've done a couple of sessions so far with Rise of the Runelords, and I'm just wondering if any DMs out there have any pointers on how to prepare for them properly. I'm quite new to this and I've been worried I might let the PCs do something with (or to) the NPCs that might render them useless for their role later in the adventure. I've noticed so far that the AP is generally pretty good with letting you know which NPCs are important.

Other than that, what sort of notes should I be focused on taking? I was considering getting the PDF to print pages and highlight passages of interest, too. There's just so much to take in, and then relaying back to the players without revealing too much is proving a challenge too.

Also, what about maps? The first map that we've been presented with is larger than the flip mat we have, should I just split it in two?

[dunebugg]

As a general rule, I always read through an entire book before running it. Make sure you understand the important parts of each chapter: who the main villain is, what you want the PCs to accomplish, important information they may need, etc. You can't really just read parts of the book at a time or run it on the fly without a lot of years of practice (even then I can imagine it being difficult as the APs are laid out quite nicely).

Make one of your players take session notes - it makes the party remember the important stuff. We always recap (as players) at the beginning of each session so everybody remembers where we left off and what was going on.

[blahpers]

Book, nothing. Read the entire AP before running a single session.

[FireberdGNOME]

Read through to get the gist. Then read in detail and understand how x interacts with z. Take notes as needed =D

Otherwise get out the models you need/might need beforehand. Print hand outs before the game.

The day before, review notes and adventure to refresh your memory.

GNOME

[Pan]

Flipping back and fourth in the book can be aggravating. I read ahead of time and use note cards to write down real important things. Some examples, have a card for NPCs, events/plots, and treasure. Using my laptop to find monster stats and look up rules is so much better than flipping through the hardcovers. You may notice a theme by now using my laptop has made life so much easier. Also using the advancement track instead of tracking and giving experience points has done nothing but make my games awesome.

[blackbloodtroll]

Having a generalized idea how to handle those wtf moments your players will throw at you is good idea. Those moments will happen, so it is best to be prepared.

[Spinkler]

Thanks to all for the advice. I'm in a tough spot having started this AP already, but I'll be making a big effort to read ahead as much as possible in our downtime over the next week.

Pan wrote:

Also using the advancement track instead of tracking and giving experience points has done nothing but make my games awesome.

Can you elaborate on this please? What is the "advancement track"? Sorry if it's a little bit of a newbish question, but... I'm a newb. :)

[Spinkler]

I'm also wondering how to handle some information.. The AP describes a bit about what's happening to cause all these problems for Sandpoint, but from a role-playing perspective, the PCs haven't really come across this knowledge... I'm having trouble figuring out where and how to introduce them to this information, if at all.

[Bart Vervaet]

The advancement track is in the beginning of each AP issue. It says something like "the PCs should be X level by the time they reach paint Y in the adventure" It's usually in a small sidebar on one of the first pages.

As far as information is concerned, it depends a lot on how eager your PCs are to learn the underlying story. A have had groups spend a lot of gold on sages to find things out, and others who just kill the BBEG and say "job done". If your players are really going out of their way to find these things out (talking to sages/knowledgeable NPCs, visiting libraries etc) you should award them with little bits of info. Note that RotRL is very difficult in that way, cause hardly anyone in Varisia even knows about ancient Shalast and the Runelords

[ossian666]

Use the AP section of the Forums. There are people who make hand outs and do everything extra that you may want. And there are lots of questions and answers to things you may be wondering. I read thru ALL of the threads on CoT before I ran and I still go back when I need info or am looking for a handout.

Another tip...drawing the damn maps sucks. I don't know about Runelords but for CoT I took the book up to Kinkos and had them blow up the maps to 1"x 1" squares so all I had to do was put it on poster board, cut it out, and lay it together room by room as the adventurers move on. It means you spend a tad more money, but A) it will make it easier and save time at the table and B) the print outs are a lot more visually stimulating than marker on a mat.