30 Days of GameMastering--Day 8!

You got it:  Day 8, Lindevi's challenge, GameMastery go!  Today's question:

How do you prep for each session?

So, once you have a solid campaign outline, your session prep becomes a ton easier.  Your first step for any individual session is to reference that document and start identifying beats of conflict.

Let me diverge momentarily.  When I studied abroad in Liverpool, my Chaucer professor taught me one singular element which drives how I game, how I write, and how I design.  He said:

"Conflict is at the root of all literature.  After all, what would King Lear be like if everyone just sat around saying, "Pass the cornflakes,"?

Most traditional rpgs revolve around conflict--whether armed or diplomatic--as the players attempt to find a solution for that conflict.  In a fantasy game, that solution usually centers on axes going into orcs and bugbears being scorched with fireballs.  In a sci-fi game, blasters are drawn and lightsabers go whoosh.  In a horror game, conflict becomes more subtle, centering on investigation and a slow reveal of clues towards a horrific end.  The pace slows, the conflict goes from a raging bonfire to a slow burn, but it still remains.

Your task as a GM is to facilitate that conflict:  to ensure that it has a steady, enthralling pace and challenges your players without overpowering them.  By identifying potential "beats" of conflict, you can then hone in on the minutia that you need to make that conflict work:  stat blocks, maps, environmental hazards, and the like.  While you can't possibly anticipate every move by your players, try to hypothesize typical scenarios that your players might take.  Are your fantasy players seeking an aquatic treasure?  Pull a few stat blocks for Deep Ones or krakenfolk, then ready a map that builds upon that conflict.

Conflict!  Conflict!  Conflict!

You can then use those beats of conflict to structure your story.  When you've figured out what the proverbial "highs" are, it becomes easier to figure out how to get to those highs, letting the PCs themselves actively seek out what comes next, budgeting their downtime and investigative inquiries as they need.

Lastly, start building in those NPCs (particularly the villains) that you painstakingly built earlier.  Use a light touch and find ways to include those NPCs into your PCs' path.  Using the above example, if your heroes are seeking an aquatic treasure, consider providing a foil for a ranger PC by including a rival relic hunter who has an edge after that treasure.  If you give that relic hunter a chance to one-up the PCs, you can drive the action from a normal dungeon delve into a race against time.  And, if the PCs lose, they have another adventure ready and waiting for them:  track down that dastardly relic hunter!

One of the best things to have on hand for this sort of GMing, I find, is a good NPC database.  A simple Google search brings up massive databases for most major systems:  Savage Worlds, Pathfinder, d20 and more.  Having these guys in hand makes your life so much easier, as the databases are largely searchable and easy to navigate!

In Which The Warlock Tosses in Everything (Including the Kitchen Sink!)

(Aside:  Have you entered into my 400th entry contest yet?  Three simple questions might be all that's keeping you from a PDF prize pack!  Deadline is September 1st!)

This summer has been somewhat brutal on my gaming schedule.  In addition to our usual convention circuit, two of our usual crew have been finishing up their doctoral degrees, which has put a damper on our usual dice-slinging.  We've gotten in quite a few rounds of Sentinels of the Multiverse and Arkham Horror, but neither of those scratches that omnipresent itch to roleplay.

The Lady of Pain
Ruler of the City of Sigil

With ChaoticFrederick's 4e mini-campaign petering out, I offered to take up the reins for a foray into one of my favorite settings:  Planescape!  However, I decided to do something that flies in the face of traditional "game balance".  You see, I told my players that they could play anything they wanted, as long as they could relatively legally stat it up using d20 rules.

Most GMs, I'm sure, are slapping their heads right now.  And, truth be told, the usual suspects around my game table were taken slightly aback at the myriad of opportunities.  "Can I play Cthulhu?" one asked me.  "Why, yes.  Yes, you can.  Straight out of the book, even!" I replied, as I passed them the d20 Call of Cthulhu book.  "Can I play a Pokemon master?" another retorted.  "Sure.  Go for it," I responded.

Don't tell my players this, but their actual choices in character aren't going to matter much in the scope of the ongoing campaign.  Not to say that they won't have massive input (and plot hooks) hanging on their characters, but rather that the nature of Planescape's oddity will let them fit into the City of Doors with no ill effects at all.  Plus, it gives me a chance to flex my GMing acumen by accommodating a party of wild diversity in terms of both mechanics and background.

So, what did my intrepid players end up choosing?  Let's have a look, shall we?

• A time-manipulating child, claiming to hail from the Lost City of Carcosa, which was drowned beneath the waves of Lake Hali.  With an air of innocence, he claims to know nothing of the sanity-blasting horrors which overtook that dread city in the name of The Yellow Sign. (Level 8)
• A massively powerful centaur scout stricken inexplicably with amnesia, now following a pseudo-Buddhist philosophy of balance, passivity, and non-violence. (Level 26)
• A shifter bard, alternating between charm and grace and phenomenal martial arts prowess, varying only on the beast within her. (Level 7)
• Queen Lilioukalani, the last queen of Hawai'i, gifted with Pele's blessing to control fire and lava.  Lilioukalani believes herself to be the very embodiment of Pele herself:  a goddess given mortal form. (Level TBD)
• Jim Bob, a non-descript farmer...who may have a unique destiny all his own. (Level 2)

My intent is to run "rings around the ring"--one session featuring each Sigil's noted factions, culminating with a chance to escape The Cage, while simultaneously providing a grand tour of Sigil itself.

What do you think, friends and neighbors?  Am I mad?  Am I biting off more than I can chew?  Time will tell, I suppose!