June 19, 2025

What is Roleplay #25: No Prep Play with David Blandy

1 hour

Welcome to Episode 25 of ‘What Is Roleplay?’

This episode we are joined by artist and tabletop roleplay game designer David Blandy to discuss No Prep Play

Chris asks David what No Prep Play is

Simply put it is playing without preparation – creating an adventure on the fly as you’re playing. Instead of having a preset scenario or adventure, you just make things up as you go.

It helps to have a sourcebook for inspiration, perhaps one with lots of tables that you can roll on to randomly generate ideas.

The Opposite of No Prep Play usually takes one of two form

Either a pre-written module in which everything for the adventure is set out – maps, settings, non player characters, creatures, everything that the players are going to encounter is contained within the book or booklet

Or something homebrewed that takes on a similar format to the adventure module. Something you’ve spent hours (or years) thinking up, writing and illustrating. Everything is set out for the player. This can be a very exciting thing for a GM to create and is a form of play within itself. You might choose to use tables from other RPGS.

David shares some tips for those who might be scared to lead a No Prep game

Trust yourself – you have the answers because you know the world you are working with, as someone who is running the game. Have a shape in your head of how you’d like the game to play out – trust this vision.

Throw questions at the group to buy time and give you ideas of what comes next

Don’t be scared of the players – they’re there to have fun with you! Have confidence that everyone is there to have fun so relax.

No Prep Play is a nice solution to the problem of the Forever GM. As the Games Master in a No Play Game you’ll get to play along with the other players, rather than having to refer to the big book and keep players on track. It’s far more organic and can make for lots of fun.

David shares some stories from No Prep games that he has really enjoyed leading

Whilst using the spark tables from Lost Eons as inspiration one party broke through the side of a cavern and discovered a whole new universe. Of course this could have been created with prep before hand but having that spontaneous moment of discovery alongside the players rather than railroading them into a fix scenario was just a really beautiful thing for David to be part of.

David also shares some of the difficulties of leading a No Prep game

The most challenging thing is just committing to doing it – as much as it’s freeing there is a sense of danger – you don’t have the safety net of a module to fall back on.

David suggests that there is a middle ground between Prep and No Prep games

Create tables before hand that you can roll on during the game. You can also pre-select these from game books that you already have on your self. Here is an example, written by Chris McDowell and intended for use with 2d20

David makes the point that No Prep Play is just a heap of fun – give it a shot

Let your party know that this is the type of game your playing and ask them to be patient with you

Chris and David enjoy an actual play, with No Prep involved!

David opts to use the Eco Mofos system, which is based on rolling d6s. Chris’s punk, William Smith, goes by the monika JET, and is a 50+ year old hacker, who is arrogant, smokes and wears a cool leather jacket.

Listen as David and Chris figure out how JET overcomes wolves, spiders webs and rats to encounter a hermit and unlock the secret to finding a new safe place to call home.

Actual Play Quick Map by Jog Brogzin

Links to things we discussed:

Games:

Lost Eons by David Blandy

Lone Eons by David Blandy

Eco-Mofos by David Blandy

Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast

Into the Odd by Chris McDowell

Isle of Ixx by Skullfungus

Ultra Violet Grasslands by Luka Rejec

Savage Worlds by Pinnacle Entertainment

Fiasco by Bully Pulpit Games

Books, Authors, Etc.

Chris McDowell Author / RPG Designer

J R R Tolkien Author

Between To Cairns Podcast

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

More about David

Itch.io – David Blandy

BlueSky – @davidblandyrpgs

Instagram – @davidblandyrpgs

Copy-Paste Co-op Website

More about Us

Beyond Cataclysm on Bluesky @beyondcataclysm.bsky.social

CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris

Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk

Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm

Our most recent project is Mork Org

Our upcoming project is Lucky for None in Space

Actual Play Quick Map drawn by Jog Brogzin

Jog on Social Media:

@jogbrogzin on IG, FB and X

Bluesky – @jogbrogzin.bsky.social

Patreon – patreon.com/jogbrogzin

With music generously provided by:

Powerplant & Imploders.

The post What is Roleplay #25: No Prep Play with David Blandy first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.

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