There are definitely grunt tasks that make some games harder/more time consuming to prep for than others. Here are two that come to mind:

1. If you want to challenge the party with “full” NPCs in D&D 3.x, for example, creating NPCs can take a long time (even with a character generator to lean on).

2. Making maps for tactical combat can also be a sticker — especially if you make a map that never gets used (which I’ve done before!).

The system is good about dropping hints as to how to plan games, however.

I guess what got me thinking was wondering if there’s any way to quantify the prep requirements of a game. Obviously the well-versed will have an easier time, but are there certain grunt tasks that make some games simply more work than others?

Do you mean the consensus on AD&D 2e in terms of prep time/effort?

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I found that some things took longer with 2e than 3.x. For instance, winging NPCs was a bit easier because there was less to keep track of (no feats, for example) — but the CR system really speeds up prep for monster encounters.

I imagine that the Skills & Powers titles for 2e would throw that balance off, but I never used them.

As for ways to cut down on prep time in 3.x, there are some good resources in the articles and books above. Leaning on published material and using NPC generators is a good start, but to give you more specific advice I’d have to know what’s bogging you down.

I’ve never played any DP9 games — is there something unique about their prep? (And if so, I’m certainly interested in hearing about it! )

And have any of you played Silhouette-based games from DP9?

I ask this stuff because I’m GMed on and off for years, but I still feel like a novice GM. The prep time just hurts, and when the rules are too complex, like d20 3rd ed, I just get bogged down even in play.

I couldn’t agree more. As far D&D goes, the first person who does this will definitely get my money.

I took a look at SBRPG based on your link, and it looks interesting.

I helped write the game SBRPG, and tackled the prep-time issue head-on. The game uses Generic NPCs, where all you need is a level number, and the the NPC works just as well as a fully-generated character in the game (monsters work similarly). The game also has the concept of Factions in the world, and uses an abstract GM-run system to determine reactions to events based on the Faction’s ability scores. It’s a simple system, but it saves a referee a lot of work. I think we need games like this with tools to reduce referee prep-time, or put some fun back into it.

-Hak

That’s great, Mark — I hope this blog will continue to be useful to you as you get back into the GMing groove.

Jamis Buck’s generators (of which the NPC generator you mentioned is one) are a great D&D resource. I don’t think they’re quite general enough for the prep resources list, but thank you for the recommendation.

(Frank) But part of it also is that I can never really communicate my vision (I’m very visually oriented, and less so verbally oriented). I think I gave up trying to convey a lot of this information. I also noticed that it usually really didn’t matter.

That’s funny: I have a very visual imagination as well, and part of what I shoot for when I GM is communicating the (usually) very clear picture in my head to the players — which, for me, requires detailed room descriptions and the like.

I never get that much into the flavorful description. I guess that partly goes along with my combat oriented gamist play. But part of it also is that I can never really communicate my vision (I’m very visually oriented, and less so verbally oriented). I think I gave up trying to convey a lot of this information. I also noticed that it usually really didn’t matter.

Frank

Frank

This is my first post/comment to your site. I thoroughly enjoy reading all the GM hints and tips, and felt like I’ve had nothing to add, until now.

There is a great website for random NPC generation for d20 NPCs. I have just started using it, and it is a godsend. I thought you might want to check it out. I included the website in the website section of the Comment. Feel free to edit this comment appropriately to include.

A brief history: 20 years ago, I stopped playing DnD. Two years ago, a friend was starting up a game, and I really wanted to start playing again. Two years later, I’m DMing for the first time ever. As a “novice” DM, I use your site extensively for help in DMing. But I too, have experienced a sort of burnout, primarily because I’m new to DMing. The website has definitely helped with creating NPCs, and I feel more energized now that I don’t have to stat them up from scratch.

I hope this helps.

I’m happy to wing things like which way doors open (although if the adventure is a dungeon crawl, I do like that to be standardized and mentioned up front), but I like to be pretty precise about the room’s contents, both in terms of obvious things like secret doors as well as fluff and flavorful descriptions.

(Chris) The thing that gets me- is that D&D solves this issue for it’s monsters- but doesn’t apply that same logic to dealing with NPCs.

Posts 29-32 all touched on this, and I think it’s 100% correct. What I would most like to see in this regard is a sub-system that allows a D&D GM to quickly create NPCs with enough depth to be used in combat. To my mind, that means that while I don’t need to know about NPC X’s +6 in Craft (Basketweaving), I do want more info than just the combat portion of the stat block.

I’d prefer to see this as a part of the system itself, rather than a bolt-on — but if someone came up with a clever, workable bolt-on, they could have my money.

The thing that gets me- is that D&D solves this issue for it’s monsters- but doesn’t apply that same logic to dealing with NPCs.

I mean, sure the DMG gives you some prestatted NPCs using PC classes, but they sure as hell aren’t designed with “PC challenge in mind” like the monsters are, nor are they presented as nicely as the monsters.