GMs: How much prep do you do?

[Eternally Lost Zeppo]

I'm still trying to find the right method of designing adventures from week to week, I've tried detailed adventures with maps and stats for every NPC (even the guest stars/redshirts the PCs are likely to meet) and I've tried just having a rough 3-act plan and stats for whatever monster (or monsters) the story is likely to involve.

I need to figure out how to run it a bit more improv-style, since I won't have a lot of time to write stuff up next month.

How do you guys do prep for your games?

[Siskoid]

I do a lot of stealing.

Doctor Who is the ultimate mash-up game, so I might grab pre-fab scenarios from other games, change a few details (turn magic into science, sub Who aliens for Trek aliens or whatever, etc.) and accept that the climax will likely turn out differently (so I might use the situation, NPCs, location, plan, but let the characters run amok within that eco-system).

I've recently done just this with an entire "season" of our campaign using nothing but material from the 1st Doctor sourcebook (plus a little Fenric, but see below), changing details but basically having the players redo 100,000 BC (with Orb an actual alien influencing the Ice Age), The Daleks, Inside the Spaceship (with a different malfunction), The War Machines (but in my home town's own telephone tower), Marco Polo, The Dalek Invasion of Earth (set in Norway, which dovetailed into The Curse of Fenric). My knowledge of the show made improvising around them easy. Obviously, if your players are up on their classic Who, you can't pull this exact trick. My players weren't, but were allowed to look at the episodes afterward and it became a gateway drug for the old stuff.

Now I TOO wanted more improvising in my games, to challenge myself, especially since I'm cheating on the plot writing, so I gave my players special cards that gave them control of the plot, published here
siskoid.blogspot.ca/2013/04/rpg-talk-new-school-experience-rewards.html
and here
siskoid.blogspot.ca/2013/04/more-reward-cards.html
and that gave them, for example, the ability to focus on an innocuous detail, which would have to become important to the plot, or even create a "Bad Wolf" that would inform the overall arc and season finale. That's how we suddenly got into Norse mythology (because of WOTAN) and clues started piling up that led to my choice of Fenric as finale boss. I'm making the players share the prep load, in a sense, providing inspiration and making choices, even if I have to carry it through.

In the game I'm running now, which uses DWAITAS, though isn't Time Lord-revelant, I'm using both these tricks. The adventures are a mix of DC Heroes (superhero games have mad scientist plots, SF tropes and investigation; I downplay the fights) and Star Trek (which makes the game bounce between Earth and alien worlds every other session), AND though I'm not using the cards, I'm doing things like letting players narrate teasers that are meant to be the end of a previous untold adventure, but then using some of those elements in the current session (ex.: They named an alien monster they captured and bringing back with them, so it escapes in the middle of the prepared plot at the worst possible moment). That kind of thing.

The seat of the pants GMing makes it exciting for me as well, seeing how random elements actually connect really well with the prep stuff or overall arc, treating it like a puzzle and discovering the world just as the players are.

I don't know how helpful I've been...

[Marnal]

Once I've got a basic story idea [the Mara takes over one of the PCs] or found a good one at these forums to steal [PCs explore the world on the other side of a mirror] then I throw the list below at it. This is just something I've cobbled together over the last 4 years that uses material from everywhere and everything...

WHAT EVERY DOCTOR WHO STORY NEEDS

DESIGN SEQUENCE
I. A Plot / Story that works

A. Doctor Who [and the Doctor] is the embodiment of contradictions and opposites.

B. Dr Who doesn't have much of a genre of its own because it is constantly hops from one genre to another.
1. Figure out how many Recurrent Themes show up: Alien Menace, Altering History, Ancient Powers, Arch-Enemy, World Gone Mad, Beauty and the Beast, Chase, Environmental Action, Nature’s Rage, Historic Adventure, Intrigue, Invasion, Mad Scientists, Mistaken Identity, Parallel Universe, Quest, Rightful Rulers, Survival, Technology Gone Wrong, Temporal Paradox, Things from another Dimension, Traitor, Whom Gods Destroy.

C. Heroic Struggle/Conflict: DW tends to create its dramatic energy by comparing the Donor, the Heroes, the Villains, and the Prize. They compare to illustrate the difference and they put these groups into conflict to show these differences. Doctor Who isn’t about good vs evil, its typically more about…
1. Thinking vs Willpower
2. Thought vs Thoughtlessness
3. Learning vs Beasthood or Ego vs Id
4. Self vs Other: Self being possessed or taken over by Other
5. Identification with the Others vs Alienation from the Other
6. Humanity vs Machine Logic: the value and love of the illogical, non-functional, and inefficient [ie poetry] when compared to the extremely rational and extreme protocol.
7. Human Spirit vs Alien/Human Conquest: Every species or culture has its place. But when it tries to defile someone else’s world (often human worlds) then it the Doctor’s job to mediate and restore balance.

D. Pre-destination is antithetical to Dr Who. The whole ethos is about making a difference and resisting the inevitable. Its about hope.

E. Mystery: What’s going on here, and what should we do about it?
1. Dr Who is about the intrusion of mystery INTO the familiar science and familiar civilization. The juxtaposition of opposites creates the sense of 'otherness.' The World of Dr Who is a world of constantly uncovering mysteries and/or constantly being interrupted/confronted by mysteries!


II. Environment / Setting (Check out My Photo Archive!)
A. Past, Present, Future, or Sideways.

B. The travelers get to experience being a foreigners.

C. DW tends to have the otherworldly intrude and penetrate the Real World to create its challenges. And the social/philosophical allegories tend to reside in the B-Plot of adventure. Other possibilities are…
1. Sci-Fi can be used to pull it audience out of reality and into another world (with all new rules).
2. Or sci-fi can explore the possibilities of the Real World through allegory (as TOS and DS9 Star Trek often did).

D. The Worlds should have fantastic settings (even if they are implausible). Gonzo civilizations with Gonzo premises underlying them.

E. Doctor Who suggests the existence of environments we've never seen, something with uncertain boundaries. Doctor Who demands a constant re-thinking of rules, and invites us to query how each new time and place actually works.

F. Every "first step" outside the TARDIS should have a lush and (if possible) pre-written description that addresses all the senses [including the temporal or Vampire senses]

G. Figure out default RTD rating for every setting (Controlled by the Chaotic Limiter.)

H. Scope: The likely size of the play area

I. Technobabble / Continuity Research


III. PC Goals: Individual PCs make key difference in conflict.

A. Heroes define themselves by their ability to perceive and analyze the world around them (I think therefore I am)
1. The heroes are a balance between "I am the World" (Eastern) and "The World Belongs to Me" (Western) extremism. (ie. "The rest of the world does not matter" and "Understanding and Control of the World is the only thing that matters") [Is this why the Time Lords (and their power of Creation) must ALWAYS be non-interventionist?]

B. Struggle Made Personal: (Besides the Heroic Conflict) there is the Personal Conflict.
1. The ideological goal of the show is to find the human essence in the un-typical, quirky, and constantly changing.
2. Dr Who is about the drive for knowledge, understanding, and rationalization.
3. But it is ALSO about the drive for renewal and re-creation (which requires that you start all over with re-learning and re-rationalizing things). Through experiencing new things, the Doctor is Constantly being re-born. This allows him to escape the dangers of rationalism. Thus the experience of the external world leads to sanity and balance (and that's what the Doctor spends his life doing). We are made of layers that must be continually shed. We are a process not a thing!
4. The heroes should stand for the Human Spirit triumphing over the Dull and Boring 'doing what is rational' thought processes.
5. The hero should be give the option of ‘escaping’ but should decide to choose to press on the hard and painful route.


IV. NPC Goals

A. Monsters: The antagonist tends to fall into one of the following categories…
1. Demonic Rationality (the Time Lords, the Daleks, the Cybermen)
2. Demonic Chaos (Black Guardian, Master, etc)
3. The story focuses on the Self damaging Itself (cloning, mutation, mental powers, insanity, power hungry)
4. The story is about the external infusion that damages the self (vampire factor, possession, hypnotism, Krynoids)

B. Major Antagonist / Villain: Villain is out of balance & a genuine threat
1. An extreme "I am the World" (Eastern) POV
1. "The rest of the world does not matter"
2. Or an extreme "The World Belongs to Me" (Western) POV
1. "Understanding and Control of the World is the only thing that matters"
2. These Villains define themselves by the ability to influence and control the world around them. “I WILL therefore I am.” Is this why the Time Lords (and their power of Creation) must ALWAYS be non-interventionist? And is this why the Doctor never uses the Power of Creation interfere, because that levels the playing field? So it isn't about control and power? So its all a game to him? [albeit and lethal game]

C. The Quest for the possession of knowledge or power always leads to absence or emptiness (Omega, the Time Lords)

D. Where does the threat come from? (Just as important as Setting)
1. From the Heavens (Space?)
2. From Within (beneath the ground, or beneath the psyche).
3. From the Past (Silurians or Elrad)
4. From the Future (Day of the Daleks, the Master).
5. The here and now (civilization sliding out of balance).

E. Walk-On Characters / Locals
1. Friends: Believable characters who mean something to the audience. NPCs who see the deeper truth (that is usually only seen by the PCs) tend to be liked by the party and adopted into the group.
2. The Others


V. Subplots: Involve specific characters.

A. To be healthy, the individual should constantly be in a process. They should be endlessly responding and maturing from their experiences.

B. Look over PC’s Bad Traits (and Good traits if you have time) for how they will be affected by the story.

VI. Prologue: Something should happen before (even if PCs aren’t told)

A. Innocents die for unknown reason.

VII. The Beginning

A. Hook: The set up and heroes get into trouble.
1. PCs arrives and is usually blamed or held by the authorities for some reason or other.
2. Keep the true villain concealed for a session or two.

B. Investigation: What’s going on?
1. More deaths, PCs are either freed or the deaths help him to escape, or they exonerate him
2. The authorities start to believe the PCs.

C. Cliffhanger. Chase? Captured!
1. Doctor confronts the instrument of the bad guy

VIII. The Middle: Trouble rains hard upon them.

D. Rising Action: More action and more RISK!
1. The mysteries don't just sit waiting to be solved. They turn into action. Crisis interrupts the investigation or the investigation uncovers crisis.
2. The PCs are captured.
3. The PCs confronts the evil genius

E. Heroes rarely die
1. The PCs are not killed because they possesses technology or knowledge that the bad guy needs or wants - his companions are threatened instead.

F. Running / Chases
1. NPCs or the PCs rescue companions. Doctor escapes.

G. Violence is a last resort and usually no solution at all.
1. Some NPCs either help the PCs and die, or they go their own way and die.
2. The heroes define themselves by their ability to perceive and analyze the world around them (I THINK therefore I am).
3. Should be a chance for the villain to repent (even if they ignore it)

H. What are we going to do about the problem? Setbacks.
1. It is the intuitive qualities of the heroes that leads to the villain’s defeat.
2. Monsters always mistake shadows and reflections as substance and reality. They are easy to misdirect and manipulate.
3. PCs comes up with a technobabble way to save the day.
I. Cliffhanger: Plot Twist?

VIII. The End

A. Climax / Resolution
1. PCs save the day with a solution which isn’t a cop out
2. Bad guy usually comes to a bad end.
3. The hero has to be affected by the story or, a near acquaintance should be affected by the pain the hero suffers.

B. Epilogue / Aftermath
1. Next Time: hook for next story

IX. Must have…

A. Humor and Wit
1. Someone says “All these tunnels/corridors look the same to me.”

B. Linear and Free-Form Encounters
1. When in doubt - raise a question! The World of Dr Who is a world of constantly uncovering mysteries and/or constantly being interrupted/confronted by mysteries!

C. Fast Pace: Keep the story flowing


X. NPC stats, Descriptions, and Back-story
A. Weapons tend to have little effect on the enemy.

XI. Maps, Pictures, Timelines??
A. Key installations of humanity are often left unguarded or lightly guarded.

XII. Emotional Kicks
Name Type Kick
Aaron Tactician Solving tangible problems
Deena Method Actor Personal drama
Donny Specialist Secrets and backstabbing
Monica Storyteller Arc advancement and drama

[Siskoid]

Wow I love that!

You should submit it in some for to Zeppo's Diary of the Doctor Who RPGs zine!

[Escher]

Prep. Well...

I come up with an evocative title, decide when, where and who the antagonists are, what the mystery/puzzle/conflict is. A theme. I’ll brainstorm a lot. Look for a new angle. Look for evocative things to surprise and entertain the players with.
I’ll decide on a tone, depending on the dynamic of what has gone before and what might be coming up in the future.
If there's a season arc, then I'll add a little of that in tastefully as foreshadowing or deliberate reminders. I'll have an opening scene.


I’ll do the following:

- make a list of Major Locations and flesh them out. Choose a few key aspects for each.

- make bullet point lists of factoids, threats, resources, clues etc.

- harvest relevant images from Google of characters, places and things and put them on my tablet.

- write-up major characters.

- compile a playlist of ambient background sound of the locations and of DW music.

Then let the player's loose...

[Eternally Lost Zeppo]

Oct 25, 2013 1:24:00 GMT Siskoid said:

Wow I love that!

You should submit it in some for to Zeppo's Diary of the Doctor Who RPGs zine!

Agreed, that is an awesome checklist. That's Zepo with one 'p' by the way, not me. ^_^;

Those story cards sound like an awesome idea too, Siskoid. (Incidentally, I notice the site that has the Doctor Who Serial Title Generator has some sort of plot cards as well, not sure how they're intended to be used though.) And Esher's method is pretty close to what I've been doing lately. Anyone else?

[Marnal]

Thank you for all the kind words on my Checklist.

I'll try to clean it up a bit and zap it to the DOADWRPG when I get time.

[Eternally Lost Zeppo]

I should add one of the methods that I myself use, adapted from another RPG I run on occasions called Monster of the Week, which involves writing down six elements: the basic concept for the mystery, the hook to get the PCs involved, the monster, other NPCs/Locations (these are categorised together as Threats), a countdown of six events that would happen if the PCs didn't get involve, and any special rules needed for the scenario.

The countdown is the most valuable of these elements, since it give me an idea how to advance the plot if the PCs aren't making much progress. Listing the monsters, important NPCs and locations is helpful too, of course.

[Siskoid]

'porting over design ideas from other games, I usually keep to Dream Park's design advice that every "Action" scene be followed by an "Expository" scene and vice-versa. Basically, you do something, then learn something, then do something, etc. That simple "rule" makes answering "What's next?" simpler and keeps a balance in any game.

[Curufea]

Sadly I've only run an online Faction Paradox campaign - online games for me generally have much more preparation than face-to-face.

However, that being said, I'm hoping to do a normal game soon. And I will be making "base under siege" my standby filler - it will have some preparation behind it, more than the regular campaign. So if I get stumped as to where the players go next, or when they stumble into an area I have no idea about, I can default to a "base under siege". I view that particular trope as being fairly common to the Doctor Who style. Horror of Fang Rock, the Web of Fear, the Ark in Space etc - all examples of base under siege.

On a side note, I will be using Realm Works to track this campaign and Obsidian Portal to organise the sessions.

[ninjaconor]

I usually write up a couple of the more obvious characters the party might encounter, make notes about what I'd like to happen in the plot, draw a few maps and then throw everything out because no matter what the players will always find a way to go off course It's actually a brilliant thing though and that kind of madness is what makes tabletop RPGs so much fun.

A handy rule-of-thumb I have found if my party decides to attack or argue with a random non-statted NPC (happens almost every game) is to assume all the NPC's attributes are at 3 (the human average) and then give them one special skill at 3 or 4 (if they're a solider for example, then marksman or fighting or if they're a politician then convince) and assume the rest are at 2.

[Curufea]

That reminds me - I do like to make notes about player character backgrounds, so I can have plot hooks for the PCs. I based an entire fantasy campaign on mostly character backgrounds once. Just poking their backgrounds and seeing what happened.

[Eryx]

One problem I have is finding a means to a suitable ending in case the players don't work out an idea for themselves.

[Escher]

Dec 7, 2013 23:44:16 GMT Eryx said:

One problem I have is finding a means to a suitable ending in case the players don't work out an idea for themselves.

If this happens to me and my group, I ask them if they want to spend a Story Point for a 'nudge' in the right direction; (11th Doc version, Gamemaster's Guide p.86 “You know how I sometimes have really brilliant ideas? Sorry...”).

Not every player or group can improvise like a pro actor or script writer so planning a couple of likely openings for dealing with the players being stumped at the climax will help just in case they need a nudge.

The trick for the GM is to not make it look like a Deus Ex Machina.

There's an example of a 'nudge' early on here: dwaitas.proboards.com/thread/2380/multiple-actions-penalties


EDIT: As to the above I'd also suggest that any hints or nudges include a catch.

For example give the players a hint, even tell them they need to do/go X, Y and Z to succeed.
However, make each of those include a ‘but’. Have each one force them to encounter danger or make tough choices.

If they need to find someone or someting have it so that it's perilously fraught with hazards or they are pursued. If they need to get their hands on a device or twiddle controls, have it so there are conseqeunces to a 'Yes But' roll. Having to convince a key character/s to do something or help them should have serious conseqeunces - for them or the character/s. It's pretty common for the Doctor to have people do things for him only to perish as a result.
Also, the consequences needn't be immediate - they could return at a later time to mess things up - in the current session or later in the campaign/season.
This makes for some good continuity and gives the group a real sense of their actions and choices being significant.
 
Any complications should entertain the players and make things exciting and interesting by putting them into more action and making more decisions.