I'm thinking about trying to run an ap, but not sure how exactly to be best prepared to for it.
I've read on here to try and read through the current volume 2 - 3 times (and the whole series at least once if possible), but aside from that I fear that I would still have to constantly stop and read the next little blurp of text, look up roll results, the details for npcs, and check results.
How do you handle all that information while keeping the session rolling? Any tips or techniques?
I've thought of putting some of the important information in something like MS OneNote, but even with that I'm not sure what to include and leave out.
Honestly I just keep a stack of books handy, have the section of the book we're working on open then just wing it, been doing that for going on 5 years or so:-) only thing I really prep beforehand is getting the pawns I'll need ready to go.
Good luck, when in doubt do what your gut tells you :-)
Out of curiosity, what adventure path are you thinking about using?
Just curious, they're all really good :-)
Iron Gods or Giantslayer.
Iron Gods is really good, running that one myself, I recommend getting the Technology Guide for that one:-)
Honestly I just keep a stack of books handy, have the section of the book we're working on open then just wing it, been doing that for going on 5 years or so:-) only thing I really prep beforehand is getting the pawns I'll need ready to go.
Good luck, when in doubt do what your gut tells you :-)
This. When you're adequately prepped, you can wing it pretty well. Generally speaking, if you can't lay your hands on the answer within a minute or 2, just go with what sounds right. Keeping the story going is more important.
If something's questionable you can make a note and research the issue before the next game session. Siccing your local rules lawyer on a problem is a good approach, too. They generally feel unappreciated and it will be a welcome change from them questioning your decisions and trying to break your campaign with corner-case builds!
Have someone else track initiative and maybe get some counters or cards to keep track of conditions and buffs.
I have a similar approach to the posters above - I find it useful to accept I'm going to forget/misremember/confuse various things and just try and sort it out down the track. I dont think it works so well if you're concerned about getting everything "right". Then you can find yourself diligently reading columns of text, just to check, whilst the players sit there waiting.
If I discover later that the door I drew in was supposed to be a secret door, I consider that as the module cartographer making a mistake. :)
Same if I accidentally reveal something the author mistakenly believed was going to be kept hidden from the players for a little longer, put treasure in the wrong room, forget to highlight a clue, etcetera...
Post it notes are really helpful. As for memorizing APs, I usually do a full-read through, as I'm doing Curse of the Crimson Throne and converting it myself I go through it slowly as I change things, then the night before I read what we'll be playing through. Don't worry about not getting everything right as long as everybody is having fun, I also find that at times when my players are discussing among themselves about what to do next or doing things in character, I slip in to read a couple things that I can't quite remember.
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For rules, I keep my laptop on the table, open to the PRD in 3 or 4 browser windows. "Find on page" is very useful.
I'm thinking about trying to run an ap, but not sure how exactly to be best prepared to for it.
I've read on here to try and read through the current volume 2 - 3 times (and the whole series at least once if possible), but aside from that I fear that I would still have to constantly stop and read the next little blurp of text, look up roll results, the details for npcs, and check results.
How do you handle all that information while keeping the session rolling? Any tips or techniques?
I've thought of putting some of the important information in something like MS OneNote, but even with that I'm not sure what to include and leave out.
I read the book in detail when prepping the campaign. I also read it in detail the day of or the day before the game to make sure I did not miss anything.
During game time keep the book open to read descriptions of the room is common, and to check for hidden loot, and other details that do not need to be memorized. Things I do tend to memorize are how the plot plays out, and the general attitude of important NPC's toward the PC's.
What I do not do is try to memorize NPC statblocks, but I do know things such as their class, relative CR, and demeanor.
When I have notes it would be for situations which could play out in a variety of ways. Many AP's are linear, but the more difficult ones can have certain parts of the book take place in a random order so I try to be sure to know where to go next.
Unless you are stopping for long periods of time the players are not likely to notice or care too much anyway.
Hrmmm I have come to rely on hero lab for rule lookup - that is if I need to see how skill x works I can hover over it and read the text quickly.
Same for special abilities and such.
As to prep - biggest one for me is to keep notes on how hard doors might be - my players always want to bust the wierdest doors down.
Past that reading/making sure I'm familiar with the story/location - not memorization though - notes from myself about what room(s) might be connected where a fight will draw other occupants - I find keeping the dungeon 'alive' helps make it feel more like a world and less like a video game - but in some cases (due to whatever reason) the next room might not give a crud what happens 10 feet away - so getting a functional idea of which rooms are allies and such or would respond helps me.
The last thing - is I try to go through my monsters statblocks and pick out feats/skills/rules I don't use often - I then will look these up and try to remember them during play - When you don't use the feats/special abilities/skills of a monster it's really a CR -3 from what it should be - these things really make a difference.
I like having the map printed on a separate paper (the keynote map) so that I don't have to flip pages looking at room numbers.
I use a program called DM's Familiar to keep track of initiative and hit points - it auto numbers multiple enemies (golin#1 etc.) and I use pawns with little sticky numbers that I pop on them - which lets me keep track of individual monsters with ease.
That's pretty much my setup.
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The best laid plans don't survive first contact, and the best laid plans for a session won't survive the first few seconds of your players sitting around the table.
The AP as written is more like an exceptionally detailed guideline that gives you a backbone to base your adventure on. For the most part I read the entire AP before starting to run it, then I read the current adventure, and before each session I re-read the parts that I expect to be relevant. This really helps me decide which tone to try and establish and which important things should happen. Other than that, I found that it is better to play fast and loose with the content than to try to strictly adhere to it.
As a poster above suggested, one of the most important things to commit to memory is certain tactics and special abilities that might come up in an encounter, and familiarize yourself with the exact rules involved. Might end up saving a ton of time during session.