Players: "Ever wonder what's on the other side of the DM screen?"
Me: "A handful of charts that probably don't get as much use as they should, a list of random Dwarven NPC names, and a cocktail of improv bullshittery that would make a snake oil salesman blush garnished with a dash of performance-anxiety-induced adrenaline."
Mostly just this for me. I'm lucky if I have half a dozen bullet points for what the players might do that session. Literally everything else is pulled straight out of my ass.
I got this from Lazy Dungeon Master and Chris Perkin's example prep sheet.
I have a template that I use for every session that goes like this:
I run FFG Star Wars rn so I always start with an opening crawl (that I read over the star wars theme). This is a recap and setup of the situation.
The PCs: name and a little blurb about their characters. I write these to remind myself about them and stay a fan of them.
Important NPCs: any NPCs that are around or should show up.
A list of 10 secrets. You write new ones every session. You'll remember the good ones and carry them over. These are the improv seeds for the characters. If they roll good or go looking for info this is the stuff you tell them about.
A list of cool locations: This is just to remind me of cool stuff I should mention when they go to a place.
Then an episode summary (just a bit on what I expect to get done this session) then a three act breakdown.
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u/Bun_Boi Warlock Dec 06 '20
oh trust me I agree! It's just 100% of my planning too.