You know...I'm finding that the more I approach GMing with a lack of detail-oriened prep, and focus instead on broad goals for a session and general ideas, the more fun I have as a GM.  

For some reason, I've been more actutely aware of this, lately.

Take f'r'example my bi-weekly D6 Space game, which I run at my friendly local.  Most of the time, I walk in there without NPC stats (hell, sometimes even without NPC names), without maps, without anything more ambitious than "Tonight, the players get to raid that seemingly-undefended star-liner, only to get attacked by giant bugs".  

And I end up making stuff up as I go along, grabbing NPC names off a list (or sometimes from new wave music), jotting down stats, inventing "color text" on-the-spot and just generally winging it.  This is all driven by the feel that I want for my game and my setting, and what the players do with it.

It's a kind of reactive GMing, letting the players take the driver's seat. It's my world, but they're messing with it.  Very collaborative.

And, some nights, with no net.

Does anyone else do this?

Been doing this for 20+ years, Doc! Welcome to the Seat-of-the-Pants Club!

-clash

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Does anyone else do this?

Not as much as I'd like, but I totally agree.

I think the thing is that the more prepwork you do, the more restricted you feel / are.  If you just have a vague outline, you're free to adapt more to the players and riff off of whatever comes to mind.

The downside is that you can sometimes get caught in a continuity trap.  At least, the risk is a lot more than if you had well-planned groundwork done.  However, most of the time it's really worth it.

The other downside is that some games require prepwork for certain things.  It's hard to pull a high level D20 character out of your ass, for instance.  So that's a different kind of restriction than the prepwork itself can give you (i.e. you avoid things that are hard to do freestyle, rather than avoid things that you don't have prepped).  Obviously in some systems (D6, natch) this isn't really an issue because the game itself lends well to on-the-fly creation.

My best gaming sessions are the one's where the players wandered off the map, so to speak, and pretty much forced me to improvise on the spot.  The great thing is that much of the time the players didn't know that I was winging it.

!i!

Yeah, that's exactly what I do.

It's why I tend to choose games that don't require the prep.  It's harder to have a bad guy on the fly in Exalted than in, say, SotC.

It is a mix for me. I find having nice maps makes a big difference. I can run everything else off the cuff even to the point of running different adventures from the same maps. However, for me, the map is central. You can gather the group around it, use it as a prop, even help in tactical planning.

However, I have also gone the other way. I have meticulously planned NPCs, locations and monsters. I tend to work from plot points (your general goals) and  do not sweat it if the group goes off in another direction. I tend not to make it "Group must go to Point A in order to make it to Point B" kind of strict plot layout but more "The Group will encounter an NPC that knows Item A" kind of thing.

Bill

Over the years I've discovered that when I have (and use!) lots of time on prep, I tend to spend it on things that are not the most useful in game.  For example, I used to spend extravagant amounts of time on maps, backgroud details, and characters that would end up being merely footnotes in the actual story.  I also found myself with less and less time available, so that I had to make some choices on how to spend what time I have most effectively.

Now I've resigned myself to the fact that the bulk of my notes is going to be written the night before a game.  Instead of stressing out about it and promising that next week I'll spend more time, I've been working on "improving my improv" -- acquiring or improving techniques that let me run a game where people are having a good time with less prep work.  In my case, that means:

• Favour systems where NPCs can be statted on the fly.
• Prepare some stock characters and locations I can pull as needed.
• Encourage players to ad-lib and create scenes (my group likes that approach anyway.)
• Write my notes as outlines with movable scenes and parallel plots lines.
• Brainstorm a lot of what-ifs when prepping: what if they decide to talk the villain down instead of fighting?  What if they decide not to accept the friendly NPC's help? Etc.
• Keep a running list of hanging plot threads.
• Use the tricks from Robin's Laws of Game-Mastering, such as lists of names I can use and cross out when creating an NPC on the fly.
  
• Listen closely to the players' reasoning about what's going on and use their good ideas, changing the plot mid-story if I have to, as long as it makes the game more fun for the group.

Quote from: flyingmiceBeen doing this for 20+ years, Doc! Welcome to the Seat-of-the-Pants Club!

-clash

What Clash said, only for less years!

Use your instincts and feel The Force flow through you, padawan.

Quote from: AnemoneFor example, I used to spend extravagant amounts of time on maps, backgroud details, and characters that would end up being merely footnotes in the actual story.

[...snip...]

...I've resigned myself to the fact that the bulk of my notes is going to be written the night before a game.

Using NPCs as a primary example, in my experience, I've found that players often respond with disinterest to finely-crafted NPCs over which I've slaved.  One of the cool things about just sketching NPCs off the cuff is that, once you've found an NPC your players really seem to like (or whom they love to hate), you can fill in the details later, tailoring the character to meet the abilities and aspirations of the player characters.

!i!

Anemone, those are awesome ideas.

I always kinda feel a little guilty when I've done this. Now I know its 'The way things should be done'. Thanks!

Or, use my prep time to empower better zigs when things zag, then let em zag!

I like this style. But don't you need to write down notes after the game to keep it consistent?  I know I forget stuff otherwise and then the world becomes less believable.

Quote from: howandwhy99But don't you need to write down notes after the game to keep it consistent?  I know I forget stuff otherwise and then the world becomes less believable.

Yeah, this has been my experience. I do a rough outline at the beginning of the campaign and create as the players interact with the setting. After game notes are used to create further adventures and npcs. Whether it was totally improv - which I used to do before - or half planned/half improv which is what I do now, there is some paper work involved. I just can't keep track of stuff otherwise.

My OtE campaign for instance has now got 23 plot threads going on and about 30 important npcs in play. That's a hell of a lot of paper work. It's a good thing we are all having a lot of fun

Regards,
David R

Quote from: darI always kinda feel a little guilty when I've done this. Now I know its 'The way things should be done'. Thanks!

No no no!  It's a fun way to do things.  It takes skill, confidence and a degree of reckless abandon seldom seen outside of daredevils, action heroes and Margaret Thatcher*.  

There is no one way, and anyone tells you different, you kill them in the face with a flaming shovel.


*WTF?!

After 25+ years of GMing I'm still unsure which one I personally like better: mad prep or no prep. I dunno, I just can't make up my mind. Usually, I let the group decide, not by asking them but by gauging their preference.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Margaret Thatcher

"Please no, Iron Maggie!  Not the Iron Mace of Privatization (+3)!"

"DEATH TO YOU, FOUL SPAWN OF SOCIALISM!"

DOOM!