Campaign prep is something every dungeon master a needs to do … even if "prep" is something you throw together five minutes for the session starts.

On this episode, we talk about our individual game prep strategies, from structured approaches like Chris's multi-phase plan to Ken’s adrenaline-fueled last-minute inspiration. Josh and Erin share insights into managing unpredictable player behavior and ensuring character growth.

To end the episode, we offer advice on how to childproof your evil lair.

Quotes

"I process, I think, I make notes. Honestly, that second section is my favorite part." – Chris

"The first group I ever DM’d for were probably some of the most creative people that I’ve ever known, and that was a bad thing because they went off on a whole bunch of different tangents that I did not see coming at all." – Josh

"The first thing I want to do is figure out how I’m going to make characters change." – Erin

"I have to have deadlines or else it won’t work. My best ideas come the night before or the day of the game." – Ken

Chapters

0:00 Intro0:30 Chris’s Three-Phase Prep Method3:00 Josh's Chaotic First GM Experience5:45 Adapting to Player Choices7:45 Erin’s Character-Driven Prep10:15 Ken’s Last-Minute Inspiration12:45 The Role of Music in Game Prep14:30 Tools for Note-Taking and Mapping17:15 One-Shots vs Long Campaign Prep21:45 Final Thoughts on Prep Approaches24:00 How to Childproof an Evil Fortress26:02 Outro

Video

https://youtu.be/DFn26QB8-Oc

Show Notes

Chris’s Three-Phase Prep: Reading the material, brainstorming for character hooks, and finalizing maps/tools.

Josh’s Experience: Adjusting to unpredictable players and focusing on world-building to adapt.

Erin’s Approach: Preparing for character growth and change, particularly in convention games.

Ken’s Method: Last-minute inspiration, enhanced by musical playlists and physical notes.

Digital Tools: Discussion of tools like Obsidian and Remarkable tablets for note-taking.

Final Thoughts: The group compares one-shot vs long campaign prep.

Outro: Discussion about childproofing an evil lair.