I’m confused.
I see a lot of articles on the RPG Bloggers Network providing game prep advice. What to think about before a session. What to write down. What to roll up.
Do GMs really have that much trouble preparing for a session?
Seriously. Do we not know how to prep? When I started GMing, I used the advice provided in my GM guide of choice, which laid out the things I’d probably need (maps, enemy stats, etc.).
So, before each game, I made sure I had mapped out any places the players were likely to visit, rolled up stats on any enemies, and figured out what I thought would happen.
Then I GMed. Oh, I’ve tweaked the formula over time—I love world creation, so I suss out lots of details—but I didn’t need to read half a dozen articles about game prep.
And I wonder if other GMs are the same way. Do we really need prep advice? Don’t we know the basics that need to be set up?
I wonder if it isn’t anxiety, stemming from a desire to control the events of the game. Perhaps GMs hope that, with the right prep, the session can go exactly the way they want it to.
Problem is, it rarely does. The story belongs to the players as much as the GM. They have the freedom to pull the story in a different direction, no matter what the GM has prepped.
So, shouldn’t we all just prep the basics, and go with the flow?
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2020
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November 2020
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- Is Mecha Dead?
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October 2020
- Digging Deeper Into: Castle of Cagliostro
- Digging Deeper Into: Blood The Last Vampire
- Fall Anime Preview 2020
- Brent’s Anime Rec: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
- Digging Deeper: Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968)
- A Brief History of Anime: The 2010s
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- Digging Deeper Into Akira
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September 2020
- Digging Deeper Into: Okko's Inn
- A Brief History of Anime: The 1990s
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- Brent's Anime Rec: Kodocha
- A Brief History of Anime: The 1980s
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- A Brief History of Anime: The 1960s
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August 2020
- A Brief History of Anime: 1900-1959
- Digging Deeper into Pom Poko
- Brent's Anime Rec: K-ON!
- The heartwrenching contrasts of war in "In This Corner of the World"
- Digging Deeper into A Silent Voice - SPOILERS
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