I agree that there is a sweet spot between under and over prep. I tend to sketch broad historical outlines with bullet points, write one page descriptions for towns and a paragraph for NPCs. I also try and do a few little charts of how things are connected in a given area. With dungeons I write out a page outline of the general physical traits of each region and a few tables of what can be found treasure and monster wise in each one. Only important rooms get any actual description and specific forethought.

I find that level of prep leaves me enough room to wing it while still having enough decided to help me chose what direction I am winging it so to speak.

I don't claim to be perfect, and some of this may be old hat to people, but some tips I would give someone are:

Relax. Mistakes will be made, and the game is supposed to be fun, not work.

Don't tell players what their characters are thinking or doing. Hands off!
It's ok to suggest a character might infer something, but tread lightly.

The players are not the enemy. You are a judge and referee, not an executioner.

When possible, give a character a chance to perform an action instead of saying 'no way'

Beware of gm pet npc's. Most players will dislike an npc stealing the spotlight, saving them, being annoying, etc...
Handling a gm pet npc may be one of the hardest things to do right. if there is even a right way.

Don't railroad unless the players enjoy that play style. Support what the players do tempered by world logic.

Try to understand the role play of each character. I say try, because when you are wrong, it can annoy a player. Tied to this is the 'don't tell the player what his character is thinking' mentioned above.

Be thankful when a player corrects your rules errors, or points out where you made a mistake, or remembered a detail wrong. Everyone at the table should be helping each other. That's helpful.

When a rules debate surfaces, discuss it after the game.

Admit when you are wrong.

In combat, don't overuse the following:
Invisible ninjas back stab the pc's in their sleep
Main bad guy escapes the pc's.
Rocks fall, everyone dies.
Pc's in deathtrap with no way out.
Only one practical way to overcome a challenge.
Enemies never negotiate or run from battle.
Zombies that use tactics a navy seal would envy.

Quote from: Bill;673294Great advice!

Recycling is very handy.

More important than cards full of NPCs, monsters, treasure, maps etc...

Don't throw away your scenario ideas!

So your idea for an adventure where the PCs are trying to smuggle a fugitive noble and their treasury past enemy lines and to their allies* never caught on with the players, or they fucked it all up before you could even get started. Just file it away for future use.

This not only allows you to try it again some other time, but removes the temptation to try to railroad the PCs. If they don't bite, no problem: Just try it again later if the opportunity arises.

* This is the premise behind the classic movie The Hidden Fortress, and a sub-plot in the Cadfael series: One Corpse Too Many.

Quote from: LordVreeg;672937the more prep and the more data you have, the better the feel for the campaign and setting and the more consistent the setting appears.

Every GM thinks they can wing it as well as they can do a prepped game.  But nearly every GM disaster I have watched has had one thing in common.  Too much winging it.

I'm the complete opposite. The more prep I do, the worse the game. I find myself too constrained and spending too much time looking things up or trying to remember things or worrying about missing things. Not prepping frees up my mind and allows me to be spontaneously creative. I'm not bound by books or player's expectations of what the setting should be like.

I'm about to start a new game with new players and I'm not using a fleshed out world. The PC's will start in an area that is somewhat isolated from the rest of the world and so will start off knowing very little themselves. Together we will create the world through gameplay.

System familiarity. It will take practice, but GM system familiarity helps retire system to the background. And it frees up mental space to keep on their toes, as players are most ingenious.

Setting sketch familiarity. Again, like above.

For both of the above, don't be afraid to make it yours. But when you do, be consistent. Take notes if you have to.

Be patient with both yourself and your players. This is a social game, and social decorum helps keep things smooth. Use your words, even if you have to count to ten first.

Quote from: vytzka;672928That's silly.

:duh:

If you are playing a game with concrete conditions that do specific things, print out a cheat sheet for players for quick reference.

(I just like cheat sheets in general for any system that has a complexity higher than Risus)

Quote from: Arkansan;672850Ha! True. Unless it is in fact a clever ruse to lure them into thinking they should know what to expect.

I once had a player that liked to sneak looks at my gm notes and npc character sheets.

So I left some fake notes and npc sheets that suggested an npc was a high level dopple ganger wizard instead of what the npc really was (a lawful good fighter)

I also left false notes that referenced a vast treasure in a swamp.
(What was really in the swamp was quicksand, shambling mounds, and and will o wisps)

Fun times!

Quote from: Bill;674904Fun times!

Shame this forum doesn't have a like feature

Quote from: LordVreeg;672937the more prep and the more data you have, the better the feel for the campaign and setting and the more consistent the setting appears.

Every GM thinks they can wing it as well as they can do a prepped game.  But nearly every GM disaster I have watched has had one thing in common.  Too much winging it.

The secret to successful winging is taking good shorthand notes so that consistency is maintained.

Also:

Quote from: Justin Alexander;672969I tend to agree with LordVreeg. A lot of this "prep less" advice is missing the mark: The problem is not the amount of prep; it's that you're prepping stupid stuff.

You don't need less prep. You need smarter prep.

For example, did you just spend an hour writing a 3 page biography for one of your NPCs? I virtually guarantee you that you just wasted a bunch of time. Did you spend four times as long keying your dungeon because you insisted on writing out polished boxed text instead of just throwing down some bullet points of the pertinent details? Yeah. You just wasted your time again.

Some tips for smart prep:

(1) Try to avoid prep which cuts off options during play.
(2) Don't prep anything which could be just as easily generated during play.
(3) Try to avoid prepping any specific plots. And definitely avoid prepping any outcomes.

Spot on. Its helpful to remember that DM notes are just aids for helping play run smoothly at the table. Not every scenario needs to be written up completely as if presented for someone else to run.

This didn't click with me over 30 years ago when I looked to modules as a guide to how much I should be writing up for an adventure. Oh, the agony of the overprep blues.

Quote from: Bill;674904I once had a player that liked to sneak looks at my gm notes and npc character sheets.

So I left some fake notes and npc sheets that suggested an npc was a high level dopple ganger wizard instead of what the npc really was (a lawful good fighter)

I also left false notes that referenced a vast treasure in a swamp.
(What was really in the swamp was quicksand, shambling mounds, and and will o wisps)

Fun times!

:rotfl:

There is nothing more hilarious than letting a player hang himself with his own supposed cleverness.

Quote from: Bill;674904I once had a player that liked to sneak looks at my gm notes and npc character sheets.

So I left some fake notes and npc sheets that suggested an npc was a high level dopple ganger wizard instead of what the npc really was (a lawful good fighter)

I also left false notes that referenced a vast treasure in a swamp.
(What was really in the swamp was quicksand, shambling mounds, and and will o wisps)

Well played. Very well played, indeed.

My advice: don't save ideas, use them. I had so many cool ideas that spoiled in the fridge. So I started using every awesome idea I came up with as soon as it hit my brain. And the game RULED.

Of course it was Exalted, which gave me he leeway. But the theory is sound.

Quote from: vytzka;672928

Quote from: Black Vulmea;672849Never share your tips online where potential or actual players can see them.

That's silly. Some of those players will probably be inclined to GM at some point and they need all the help and encouragement they can get.

vytzka, either you don't know I blog about refereeing all the damn time, or you're simply unable to recognize humor, so I decided to write a tip post just for you: How to Referee, Part One.

Get to know your regular and semi-regular players. What they like and dislike is a better guide than what people who aren't in your game fixate on.

Learn that roleplaying doesn't require a system to tell you how to do it.