GM troubles

[lyorn]

I need a Deadlands (Wild West Horror) adventure that can be played in 6 hours for Sunday after next, and I haven't even the hint of a shade of an idea. :-(

I wonder if people who ask for this as a birthday present are aware that it's about 12-18 hours work total, depending on gaming time.

Note to self: Do not agree to this anymore, unless you already have something ready you really *want* to GM.

Comments

[lexin]

I share your pain.

Even with a pre-written adventure it is at least 12 hours work to prepare it to play, what with making sure you understand everything and preparing the bits the original writer didn't bother with. Plus, with me, I write it up in a handy computer system so I can refer quickly to questions the players ask.

[lyorn]

It's all paper (or word processing) for me. I tried a personal wiki, but this allows my perfectionism squirrel the run of the place.

I develop (or for pre-made, analyse) the adventure in mind maps/flow charts, and spend a lot of time walking through the story in my mind, to familiarise me with everything in it, and to find and fix bugs. This process does not take any visible time, but it's an ongoing mental task. For the planned game it has been running for weeks and not gone anywhere except "pretty, but won't work", or "too clichéd, can't do".

When everything is clear in my mind, I create maps, floor plans, handouts, and note cards for NPCs and objects. Sometimes bugs still pop up at that phase, like interdimensional stairways or Schrodinger's NPC.

Anyway, last night I remembered an old fantasy con adventure that should work just as well with less magic and more guns. I hope.

(Complaining also helps the mental process...)