Just curious what sort of preparation all the DMs do before they run scenarios. I'm curious about PFS scenarios specifically, but I'd be interested in reading anything different people do for non-PFS home games too.
I've never run a PFS scenario as I'm still new, but I have been the DM for home games ever since my brother went to college back in 1996. My preparation for published adventures was always a heavy dose of writing in the margins in pencil on the published books with my additions and ideas, with occasional additional scripting for ideas to add flavor to what was written. Also, in home games, changing the loot to something useful for the characters I knew were going to play was always a standard prep-time routine.
Obviously, my preparation for my own adventures usually involved a whole lot more work. Designing the encounters, making sure they all linked in an "open" way so if the PCs veered off course wildly I could still have the encounters happen, just in different ways.
So, what do all the DMs do to prep for PFS and/or non-PFS scenarios?
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Here's what I do.
First thing I do is print the scenario out so that I can browse it on in the couch or other comfortable setting. After reading over 1-2 times it I go to pfsprep.com and see if anybody has created any useful prep material.
Then I read the scenario again, this time in front of the computer so that I can look up references on the Pathfinder Wiki to get bits of Golarion lore that I'm not familiar with.
At some point I go to work on minis/maps. I look through my flip mat collection to see if I have any of the appropriate ones. For other maps I decide if I want to draw them on the fly, or predraw them on gaming paper or on a blank flip-mat.
Then I go through my mini-collection and set aside minis I want to use. Sometimes I have better minis than others but I do the best that I can.
I also go through the combat stats in detail, reading rules elements I'm not familiar with so I know how they work. I spend some time thinking about combat strategies, how to pull off clever stunts or to make things tougher or harder if need be.
I also print out the chronicle sheets and prefil out the event code/name etc. to save a bit of time at the table.
Finally I try and arrive at my table at least 15 minutes early so that I can get my stuff set up and be ready for the players.
All in all my prep tends to take me 6-8 hours the first time I run a scenario.
I probably over prep.
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Game night is Monday at our FLGS.
Sometime during the previous week I either print the scenario or get a copy from the VL. I do quick once over read to wrap my head around the narrative and note any tricky things (unique monsters, scenario-specific mechanics). This is a casual 20ish minutes. I also visit the relevant GM thread on the forum to see if there were any issues I should know about.
On Friday, I print out any relevant statblocks from pfsprep.com
On Saturday or Sunday, I sit down at Starbucks and highlight passages, make notes and make sure I understand how the monsters/encounters work. This prep time varies from scenario to scenario, so as something straightforward like Season 0's Perils of the Pirate Pact might take a breezy 30 minutes while something with lots of unique mechanics or encounters like Scars of the Third Crusade or Assault on the Wound might take almost 2 hours.
On Monday during my lunch break I pre-draw up any maps, print up anything I missed and pre-sign chronicles. This usually runs 20 minutes Since I also usually help with the muster, I also double check sign ups during the day.
I usually arrive at the FLGS 30ish minutes early to claim a table, pick out minis from the communal mini bin and do spot checks on characters at my table (what does he do, how does that work, can I see your last chronicle, etc).
So, overall, prep for me takes 90 minutes for easy stuff and 2 1/2 hours for complex scenarios.
Anything that takes over 2 hours feels like work and not like fun.
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My routine:
1. If I have time, I just read the scenario through. If not, I combine this with step 2.
2. I read the scenario a second time, this time I translate the boxtexts (I'm from Finland), underline the most relevant things in the PDF (or printout), highlight all skill check DCs, and overline everything that's not going to be relevant this time (mostly stuff from the other subtier).
3. I go trough all the combat encounters, and either copy the stablock from the PDF or find it from elsewhere if it's not in the scenario. I paste these blocks into a separate text files, one for each encounter. There I mark the most important things with different colours (red for offense, green for defense, yellow for spells and abilities). I also check the feats and other stuf I don't know how they work.
4. I draw as many maps as I can. Usually this is only one, as I have to leave the other side of my flipmat free. But if the scenario only has two maps, I'll draw both. Drawing maps beforehand allows one to make much more detailed ones.
5. I print out all the handouts and perhaps some of the pictures in the scenario. Also chronicles of course. Somtimes I translate the handouts and/or try to make them look old by soaking the paper in coffee and crumpling it.
6. I check if I have the correct figures for the enemies, or if not, something as close as possible.
7. Sometimes I try to find fitting music or sound effects to play during the scenario. Or some props, like themed snacks or an eyepatch for a pirate scenario.
These are mostly in the descending order of importance, so if time is tight, I just start skipping from the end backwards.
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My practice is very much like Robert's. I actually enjoy the prep a lot, and technically do four preparations for each scenario (at least those released recently). I usually don't have the luxury of knowing how many players I'll have or what level their characters will be, so I prepare four different sets of what I call "combat sheets," which include stat blocks for all creatures and their tactics and so on, one per combat encounter. I make one each for low tier, low tier adjusted for four PCs, high tier, and high tier adjusted for four PCs. This is necessary for me because those adjustments so often take the form of adding or removing templates and I just don't have the nous to do that on the fly.
I also prepare magic item cards (well, slips of paper), that describe everything they might find and which include the DC of the check they'll need to make to identify them. So I can just hand those over once they've IDed the item, making it easier for the PCs to make use of handy loot.
The biggest thing I do (most of the time) that I don't see others suggesting is prepare notes for each named NPC. I make a little script that describes their voice and personality characteristics and a line or two of habitual expressions or sayings. This has been especially important for me prepping scenarios with lots of NPCs and lots of non-combat interaction. I usually print out character portraits (so looking forward to the PFS Face Cards!) and hold them up when I'm portraying a particular NPC to help the players distinguish them.
Oh, and I try to read any Campaign Setting material about the particular place the scenario occurs so I can drop in some local flavor, too, so Bloodcove doesn't "feel" like Almas.
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I'll start by reading the Scenario on my tablet during lunch at work. I'm just reading it to get a flow of the whole thing.
I will then print it out and highlight the important parts and take notes in the sidelines. I highlight any important and easily overlooked aspects of the combats.
I might read through it again, paying most attention to the highlighted sections, making sure I got what I need since these will be the sections I go off of in game.
I might see if there is a GM thread on the scenario and overlook it for any key info. This step sorta depends on the scenario. If the scenario uses the same NPC statblock a new times I might print a copy of those out form the GM shared prep.
The time I spend on this depends on the scenario. More complicated scenarios take more time, like Scars of the Third Crusade, or Assault on the Wound (made whole new player handouts for that one, so that players only had the information they needed for their army). Other scenarios that are more traditional I might read over a week in advance but might not get to step 2 til the day of the game.
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My strategy begins with downloading the scenario onto my tablet and then reading it while at work or while watching tv. I'll to check my inner sea books for any information on the area's presented in order to help flesh out my own knowledge and to be able to provide some of that to the players if they want it. Then I'll go to my local library and print off the scenario and any bestiary pages that I'll need. I'll then take that home and read through and highlight any sections where an NPC is supposed to talk or relevant information, such as where player hand-outs are located or important clues relating to the story.
If any of the monsters require templates I'll take a pen and fill in the template to that bestiary page and make sure I make the changes needed. If its potentially a template on the fly, like a 4-player adjustment requiring the young template I'll add that information as brackets or parenthetically.
After that I'll draw the maps if I need to draw them or use software(Gimp) and blow-up the maps to be the appropriate size and print them off as posters using my College poster printer.
Then, I'll use my bestiary pages, my pre-gens and run through some mock battles, making sure I understand how the monster tactics work and how their special abilities function.
I'll also usually try to read through the first page or two on the GM forum for that scenario, but that isn't always as fruitful as I'd like.
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Prep?
ow ow ow just kidding.
Download it, read through it on the kindle.
If its not too much trouble , print out the dm shared prep.
Run scenario from kindle.
I used to print out the scenario, which i still prefer to do as its easier to take notes on and point out the weird stuff that should be on one page but is inexplicably explained elsewhere, but ink is expensive and then I'm left with a loose pile of papers thats going to clutter up my place somewhere.
If I'm prepping for an online game, its download, read through, get a picture for everything (usually wait till the next day) then make the tokens by changing a picture on a different token and then (hopefully) remembering to change all the macros. (which has resulted in a few hillarious moments, like an axebeak in a level 5 dungeon letting out 80 points of kung fu fighting flurries of blows and a stunning fist)
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1. Read the adventure on my tablet.
2. Read it again.
3. Draw the map while looking back through the adventure to match rooms to room numbers.
4. Pick out pawns from the collection and place them in a ziplock for game day.
5. Print the chronicles (At least 6 or 7, but I base it on the Meet Up site's table assignments).
6. Read the scenario again. Focus on NPC personalities.
7. Double check the Secondary Conditions pdf to verify what the players are actually supposed to do if it's a Season 0-4 scenario.
8. Try to figure out what I'm doing with the GM credit.
9. Take all monster statblocks from the bestiaries and put them into a text doc to print so I don't have to pull them out of the PRD later while GMing. Carefully read them each at least twice to ensure I understand what they do.
10. One last quicky through the scenario and monsters, just to refresh, as I'm setting up the table.
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A few things I do that I haven't seen listed above:
-The first thing I do is to skim for the monsters to see if there is something so cool that it justifies ordering/making a mini I don't have. (The downside of this is that I have ordered minis for Optional Encounters that end up getting cut, so I watch for that now.)
-A great GM (Drogon) once told me to plan out what the first three moves of every monster will be. This is a great way to get oneself to think about the monsters' tactics before the players show up. Obviously, this plan changes if the players do something clever, but often the plan can be followed for the first few rounds to get the monsters off to an effective start.
-I try to think of a few good lines for the NPCs to say so that they are not completely improvised. I personally love it when the authors give us a good line or two to work into the conversation, and when they don't I try to make up for that deficit.
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1 - Fill flask with appropriate whiskey beverage
2 - Make certain there are sufficient crystal vials to collect player tears
3 - Chant the GM mantra a few times "Oh mighty Baird, look over me as I prepare to fulfill your legacy, may Ledford's greataxe be ever sharp, and may the spirit of Bonekeep live on forever."
4 - Do all the actual good idea things people up there have listed.
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My husband is the king of prep in our region. His overall goal with prep is to collect all the information into one place so that he can stay focused on the players instead of focusing on his books.
A lot of his techniques have already been mentioned, but there are few other things he does that haven't been brought up already.
1) Stat blocks.
He creates a new document that compiles all the stat blocks for each encounter. If the stat blocks are different for the low tier and high tier, he includes the complete stat block for each. (Applying templates on the fly is a pain.)
He makes sure to include the rules for any weird abilities, DCs and effects for poisons, a summary of any spell effects--anything that might cause him to have to go look something up and drag the game down.
He tries to lay them out so he has all creatures for each tier on a single page so he doesn't has to flip pages during combat. If that's not possible, he puts the on separate pages so he can seen them all at once. (He started using One Note to run from his tablet. He uses the "Print to One Note" feature for his prep documents so it works exactly like his printed prep work.
2) Plot development and description notes.
He summarizes all the scenario plot points, encounter development, room descriptions, special rules, success conditions and secondary success conditions, etc. into a color coded template (DCs in red, conditions in bold with results in normal type, GM notes in blue, etc.). Basically, when you're reading a scenario, information can be scattered throughout it: for example, a detail that appears after one encounter might become relevant earlier if the players go off the rails, and the additional rules, the 4-player adjustment, and the optional encounter notes usually appear in a sidebar.
He collects all the relevant information and lays it out in short, bullet list format. Things that are dependent one something else (like "If the PCs make this perception check, they can then make a survival check") are indented under their "parent" item so it's clear how everything fits together.
He also makes tracking sheets for any special rules the scenario has, like number of diplomacy checks per NPC, timing constraints, attention or attitude tracks. These go into sheet protectors so you can mark on them with a dry erase marker during the scenario.
3) Pictures and handouts.
He pulls pictures for as many NPCs, monsters, props, regional maps, etc. as he can and prints these out. Then when he's describing the encounter, he passes around the picture of what the players see instead of just naming it. Important items that the players pick up get a stat block handout so the players have all the information they need.
4. Progressive maps
This is where his prep really shines. It takes a long time, but it's well worth it.
For any maps that aren't flip maps, he uses a photo editor program (GIMP) to edit out any GM info (secret doors, monster placement marks, etc.), then separates them into different rooms or areas divided by sightlines. Then he prints off the room maps on card stock and cuts out each area. If an area is bigger than a single page, he uses the tile function (in Visio or Acrobat) to print the map across multiple pages and tape them together.
As the players move through the scenario, he lays out the next section of the map that they can see. As a player, it's a lot more immersive than having the whole map draw or printed and trying to ignore the parts you haven't seen yet. It's also a lot easier to manage on smaller tables, because you can pull up the previous sections of the map after the party passes through it and save a lot of space.
5. Organization
All of the prep work for the scenario goes into a folder along with chronicle sheets and a copy of the original scenario. A note on the folder indicates what minis and flip mats the scenario needs. The folder goes into the large file tub that lives in the trunk of the car. Then, whenever he's mustering tables, if a planned scenario falls through, he runs through the list of "what's in the car" to see if anyone can run it. Grab the folder, pull the minis and go.
Some of his prep work was on the GM prep site, but I don't know how much got moved over. Also, his technique has evolved and improved over the past 2 years, so some of the earlier stuff isn't as complete.
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My prep is very much like Pirate Rob's.
I've learned that the more you prep, the faster and smoother the game can be (crucial if your game store closes in 4 hours).
I make sure I'm abreast of any possible rules debates surrounding class features, skills, spells, or feats found in the scenario.
One special thing I do is print out 5"x7" color pictures of the NPCs (including the Venture Captain) and display them in a clear acrylic photo stand for all to see.
It really helps in social scenarios where you meet a lot of NPCs.
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For online prep:
- Extract the images, delete any dodgy ones that aren't maps or characters. Line up the maps to the VTT's grid (Roll20), or the grid to the maps (Combat Assistant). (For Roll20), set up fog of war/dynamic lighting.
- (For Roll20) Find tokens for all the NPCs, place them where appropriate on the GM layer. Set up some macros if appropriate.
- Screenshot handouts/faction missions/"where on golarion" image/text. (For Roll20) get these set up as handouts ("where on golarion" just goes on the starter tab in any VTT like a map - excellent to set the scene.
- Open up a text file. Start copy-pasting every wall of text into sections. Remove any inappropriate line spacing or double/triple spacing between words (I like to start at the bottom and repeatedly press End-Delete-Up over and over). The reason for this is that online games are tougher to understand on a voice call than in-person (especially where accents are involved), so it's better to paste this text as well as reading it out, and cutting out the line spacing means it will paste into chat neatly. Do the same with information like Knowledge checks so that it's all in one text file and players can easily reference it - I don't read out this information from Knowledge checks, because it's knowledge "in their heads" anyway, so it makes sense that that's how they process it and remember it for later.
- Check pfsprep.com.
- Read the scenario over and over until I understand how it's meant to work - story, skill checks, stat blocks.
Remove any inappropriate line spacing or double/triple spacing between words (I like to start at the bottom and repeatedly press End-Delete-Up over and over).
Do this and save yourself some time:
1. Copy and paste text from the PDF into a Word document.
2. Select the text in each paragraph (except for the very last line of each paragraph).
3. "Find and Replace" the line breaks with the special character "^p" and replace with a space " ".
4. Click once and you're done.
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1- Print the scenario and 8 copies of the chronicle sheets.
2-I read the scenario highlighting important points.
3-If I’m not familiar with that area of the world I review any material out there from the ISWG or online that is relevant.
4-Pick out appropriate mini’s from my mini collection.
5-Draw all maps.
6-I Re-read the entire scenario the day before I run it seeing if I missed anything important with my first read through.
7-In the 2nd read through I also look at the stat blocks in detail, looking up rules when needed and noting them in the margins or on sticky notes.
8-During the 2nd read through I take mental notes on how the combats could play out and how the baddies would react. I also review creatures that are near other creatures and if they would be forewarned by lots of noise, and in some cases actually come and help.
9-If there is going to be a combat with lots of baddies going on different initiatives I pre-roll those initiatives.
10-I show up early to the game session and re-read again any particularly complex areas of the scenario or any areas that will need heavy role playing so it runs smooth without me having to look back and forth on the page.
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1) Print the scenario and do a first read-through with a yellow highlighter, highlighting sparsely. This is a general read-through to get an idea of what's going on. Make notes in the margins of how to run NPC interactions. For example,
2) I'll read the scenario again, focusing on the story. I'll sometimes create a flow chart of what happens/what the options are if it's confusing.
3) Read for mechanics. This time, I use a different colored highlighter to note DCs or mechanical modifiers buried within paragraphs of text. I'll also read each set of monsters carefully and plan out the first few rounds of each combat.
4) Go through the scenarios and make lists. Make a list of things that need printing. I like to print out NPC portraits to display during roleplay encounters/moments. Make a list of what's in each encounter, at each tier. Make a list of things to ask before the scenario begins (languages, factions, races - the stuff that can sometimes have mechanical effects, but aren't a default for me). Make a list of scenario objectives. Make a list of things to note for ABCD reporting.
5) Pull pawns from the shelf-o-pawns, checking with the lists made in step 4.
6) Draw maps. I use paper grid paper (like what's used for table displays) and color them in so people can tell what they're looking at without box text.
7) Show up to the game at least 15 minutes early to set up, introduce myself, and gather any information with players. (This 15 minutes also gives me time to run back and pick up stuff I invariably forget).
Could my prep be better? Heck yeah! Normally, my quality mostly suffers when I'm running more than once a week, or if I've focused too much on one fight and neglected the others (hello, The Sealed Gate). Also, I'm starting to use a legit checklist before I leave my house, so that I can grab it.
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1) Download and print out the scenario.
2) Print out any player handouts and 8 ACs.
3) Go to GMprep, print out useful prep such as monster stats not included in the adventure and attach them to the back of the scenario.
4) Download and print the session sheet(s).
5) Label a manila envelope with name of the scenario and put all of the paperwork into it.
6) Read the scenario and reference additional monster stats when reading tactics.
7) Check to make sure I have the flip mats required for the adventure. If not, I may draw maps either on gridded paper or a blank flip mat, but usually only if I am going to a heavily time restricted venue such as a Con. I may also email/text other local GMs to see if they have the appropriate flip mat and borrow it. Otherwise I generally draw the maps on site. Sometimes just before the game or during breaks. Sometimes in the middle of the game.
8) Pull appropriate minis for the scenario from my ridiculously large selection.
9) Make sure everything is stowed in my GM Box (a wheeled file box) and my Player Bag (an official Dungeons & Dragons backpack).
10) Put on my We Be Goblins, Goblin with Gem, Year of the Sky Key or Dogslicer Ale tshirt.
11) Load up my car and head to the game store.
12) Turn around and head back because I forgot to put the printed scenario back in the manila envelope with the rest of the paperwork.
13) Head back to the game store.
14) Call or text one of the other GMs to let them know I am going to be late because I forgot the scenario and had to go back for it.