I once spent 6 months leading up to summer to plan out a campaign that would take us 3 months to get through, and while I allowed the team to do whatever they wanted, let’s just say a few villages grew legs to plop down ahead of their path. Not everything was planned, but the bulk of it was there and details could be filled in as we go and they become relevant. Always keep notes.
Then one day, one of the players couldn’t make it, so we still met but with 5 instead of 6. Nobody wanted to play without 6, so they asked me to pull out a side one if I had one. I did not.
So improvisation it is.
Afterward they asked if they could restart and play THIS campaign instead because they felt I had put more thought into it than the previous one.
I’m gonna be honest, I finished the campaign but that comment killed my passion for it because they essentially told me “your plans are shit, we’d rather just have rehashed tired movie plots instead”
It’s been years and my dice still sit on my shelf, notebooks boxed up I don’t even know where. I don’t think any of my character sheets survived my last move either.
I guess I don’t have a point beyond reminiscing
Shit, that’s sad. Sorry to hear
I really dislike the thought of running epic months-/years-long campaigns. In theory, it sounds like it could be interesting, but then it just breaks down under real world conditions. You’ll rarely find a solid group of consistent players and if you’ve already worked it out that its going to take months to get through, you’ve kind of already decided to start railroading the players (though you can allow for improvisation, the overall story’s structure is pre-written).
I much prefer running one-shot adventures, maybe lasting <10 sessions at most, where I have as little idea what’s going to happen as the players and there’s no pressure to keep things going. It just lets me work on the general feel and concept for the game I want to run and not worry about funneling the players through a set of specific story beats or work out what’s happening in the background amongst different factions, etc. If the players liked running improv, just go with it then, true improv in gaming feels so rare (at least in my gaming group I think).
Did you have to remind me of the prep work for tomorrow’s sesh?
*jumps
For me it’s all the time the other way around. I prepared everything and think about the session later the day. Then I read the group chat and people cancel and try to reschedule without finding time for it…
Toss them a minor magic item. Prep while they squabble over who should take it for 30-60 minutes.
In 3 months, you’ll forget they have it and they’ll use it to completely bypass a 4 hour combat you planned, leaving you in the exact fake boat you are now but even worse.
But that’s a problem for future you.
Straight up this so much
I’ve literally rescheduled games due to this
Inattentive ADHD and being a DM can a bit of a mixed bag a lot of the time, but hey I can improvise like hell in sessions when the party starts to wander
Hell for the last 4 months the party has been wandering
Just finished a 2 yr campaign as a DM and had plenty of these moments. I am looking forward to being a player again while I recharge for the next campaign I run.
Ok, ok, I’ll do it right now.
I mainly GM Adventure Paths, so it’s a bit different, but typically aim to prepare up to a whole book in advance. Which really is overkill, but it does mean that I’m never in a rush or panic over it, and lets me devote extra prep time to whatever I feel deserves it.
Thanks for the reminder, it’s next week
