Complete "Course" / Product for Dynamic/Prep Lite GMing

[Gary F]

Is there any plan to create a new "course" or product (pdf book) that summarizes your prep lite/loopy planning/plot factory approach based on how you currently conceive it? You can kind of extract it by looking at your old posts.

Is there a way to share a finished campaign that includes how you use Campaign logger so we can use as template?

 

[JohnnFour]

Hey Gary!

Yes, I do plan on creating such a course. It will tie in the essential stuff from other courses and show you how to build different kinds of campaigns.

With Campaign Logger vNext out of beta now, I've started using it to prep my next campaign. I hope to share the file in the future when there's enough work done on the campaign.

 

[Gary F]

OK please announce both by email in case I'm not on forum. Thanks.

 

[JohnnFour]

Will do!

What would you like me to specifically talk about and demonstrate?

That'll help ensure the tutorial(s) hit the mark for you.

I've got this noted:

summarizes your prep lite/loopy planning/plot factory approach based on how you currently conceive it

So you want a quick review of each technique, methinks.

Then the recipe for how to use each, in what order, and how.

Anything else? Please hit me with a brain dump if you have time.

 

[Gary F]

Sure. Your stuff on Adventure design was very well done, but normally I'm not writing a long, detailed adventure. I'm trying to avoid that. I want to be able to develop a dynamic, living campaign where it doesn't take me forever to plan out a detailed adventure each week. So I've seen posts where you talk about loopy planning, plot threads, random tables, fronts, NPC creation, etc. And those ideas have evolved over time (you had a post about how you pick some active plot threads and have a goal and current next step "at the top." I've also seen stuff about creating situations (not plots), 5 room dungeons. So I think a complete "active campaign / prep-lighter" would be awesome!

Separately, an example of how *you* use Campaign logger would be great (you could actually combine this with the above).

 

[JohnnFour]

That's excellent.

I've also reached a conclusion that my teaching approach, or whatever you want to call it, is more about supporting theory and distinct methods. I love that stuff, so I naturally gravitate towards thinking about it and inventing stuff for us.

So one pivot I'm making in 2022 is more "How to do X" type content.

How to build a campaign. Step by step.
How to build a village. How to operate or GM a village or character home base.
Etc.

I guess these headlines are already there in courses and content, but I'm thinking it'll be presented more like WikiHow or like a food recipe, rather than, "Here's all the theory and a disparate bunch of techniques."

Not sure that makes sense.

I'm also aiming for shorter content. 60 minute videos on the theory of story structure doesn't help you get ready for tomorrow's game. @ExileInParadise helped me a ton on that front collaborating with my on the upcoming Wizard of Combat material, for example.

So thank to feedback from you and other kind folks, we hope to serve your GMing needs in improved ways in 2022!

 

[Stephan Hornick]

That's right: shorter videos for the 20 min break with slides, theory, recipe and call to actions (for discussion and proof-reading by you and other members of the community).

Also, maybe more show than tell. If it might be possible, show us how you run a session. Often, it is this unspoken content, that makes it most terrifying for new GMs or which makes more experienced GMs still nervous. To see how you handle this, might be very helpful.

And if you want to put the dot on the i, you could afterwards post a video in which you comment on your own techniques, what you thought in this moment, what surprised you and why you decided to go for this or that decision and on how you experienced the session in general and what you believe your players experienced.

Also, I would suggest to put the main topic of our hobby into the focus at least once: FUN.
What is fun in this game, what does the GM need to understand about fun, what is fun for different players and GMs, and how can we increase the fun? I have researched a whole lot about it in the past and had never had the time to write something about this (being occupied with many other interesting topics), but I am looking forward to share then.

 

[Gary F]

I'm very good at running pre-written campaigns (which I have no trouble hacking and improvising around) but despite consuming lots of GM advice (books, blog posts, etc.) can't really create things well on my own (both during prep time and in sessions) from whole cloth - dynamic campaigns, more sandboxy. I can tell you all about plot factories, and loopy planning, and fronts, but can't actually produce something (I have OneNote notebooks full of GM advice) where I'm completely improvising scenes based on my own stuff.

Can I just pay someone who can do this to mentor me? There must be someone who can do this well who could just meet with me for 15 minutes a week to give me some direction.

 

[Stephan Hornick]

Of course. I wouldn‘t want money for this though. My suggestion:

1. Create a new thread.
2. Post a summary of what the current campaign/adventure is about, what you and your players like and what the party is consisting of (ideally with background) for some initial seeds.
3. Then we may all pipe in and suggest things for the next session.
4. This way you practice and see what we are looking at for prep and also what we consider for during-session options.
   

 

[Stephan Hornick]

I was just watching a video of @JohnnFour's Wizard of Story V3 course, the 5 Room Dungeon Workshop. There he referred to a very old Roleplaying Tips Newsletter that is of a topic that might be very helpful to you, Gary.
Please find the newsletter and discussion thread here: RPT #499 | Turning Coal Into Diamonds - How to Mine Backstories To Create Killer Campaigns.

 

[Gary F]

Cool thanks all. I'll post my stuff in a new thread.

 

[Stephan Hornick]

I notice that you haven‘t done so yet.
No worries. Although there is no urgency here, I know the feeling to have to present something perfectly if at all. Please know that it doesn‘t need to be perfect or anything. Thoughts are hard to put on paper (even digital one) precisely. Just start with your first thoughts. It is allowed to be a work in process and be revised throughout the contact with other GMs. I don‘t know if that is the case with you right now, but just know: I‘m happy to help, so don‘t worry.

 

[Gary F]

Will do busy with work