How I prep my games

Weird Writer suggested this as a topic/challenge for a post, and I think it’s a good idea, so here we go.

Preparing a Campaign

I’ve run three short (~a dozen sessions each) OSR campaigns so far, along with smaller games along the way. I am also in the process of preparing for a megadungeon-focused campaign right now, though it has taken quite a while longer than normal due to life.

Step 1 - What is this going to be about?

The first thing when preparing a campaign for me is to figure out what the hell do I, as a referee, actually want out of it. For example my BSSS campaign was focused on two elements: Seeing how the minor variations of OD&D compared to B/X change the pace of a game, and running a hexcrawl. In my second Greylands game run for my partners the goal was to see how much I can strip back the basic elements of play while still having an enjoyable weekly game. In my current prep I am building a megadungeon from scratch and I also am interested in seeing how sustainable that kind of campaign is over a longer period of time, plus I am testing out Tunnels & Trolls as a ruleset and seeing how sustainable that is as well.

Step 2 - Assembling initial materials

Once I have an idea of what I want, I start to assemble tools and materials that I might need to at least begin the campaign. That usually involves creating a map (and as such also a vague sketch of a setting to provide context), populating it with points of interest (usually pre-published dungeons), writing up any house rules that I will be using and then getting into the weeds of smaller details - a compact setting primer, a player-facing booklet to be used at the table for easy access to the house rules, a spreadsheet to track character and player rosters, in-game calendar, stats about the game etc.

This step can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to, well…months and in the current case over a year and a half.

Expanding on the above listed elements, here is what I find important about each of them.

Rough Notes - I tend to just use a single Google Docs file when I do this, but better methods might exist for others. I make a document about the campaign where I throw every single idea, house rule, setting information or anything else that I would need for it. The file is rarely organized, and I simply use it as an initial repository to make sure i don't forget something. The most useful thing from this notes file is a running list of things I still need to prepare, and things that I have prepared, as well as writing things before I can then copy them into the setting primer or players document.

Map - An OSR campaign needs a map. The locations you will be exploring need context, whether that is a map of the part of the world or a map of the singular dungeon you will be playing in. In all of my campaigns I have created the overall map myself, as I have a specific setting in mind, however I often use pre-existing maps for dungeons by using modules that I feel fit the overall vibe I want. In the case of my current prep, it means drawing and stocking the map of my megadungeon myself.

The BSSS campaign map.

 

 

This is the revised version of the Greylands map. Version 1.0 looked even rougher.

Modules and Points of Interest - I select at least one, usually between 2 and 3, dungeons that I will be using as the initial locations for the campaign. In my Grelyands campaign that was Dyson’s Delve, in my BSSS campaign that was a map from In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe that I then modified to fit the pseudo-Messoptamian setting of the campaign.

I rarely, if ever, use a module straight as it is without changing something to it. Usually it is simply re-flavoring enemies and encounters to fit the setting better, sometimes adding or changing the treasure available if I feel it is not appropriate for what I want.

Points of interest that I tend to create entirely myself are the “safe” zones - towns, villages, forts etc that I have put on the overall map.

House Rules - I have yet to run an OSR campaign without extensively tinkering with the ruleset I have chosen in some way. In some cases, like the Greylands it was fairly standard B/X(or OSE) with some simple house rules. In BSSS I effectively wrote an entire hack for OD&D to make it do what I wanted. In my current T&T wave I have also extensively redone and renamed elements in the ruleset to make it do what I want.

For me a campaign is always a good excuse to tinker with rules and mechanics. I enjoy seeing how changes in a magic system, or even the dice used for HD, can affect gameplay. While I do not consider any rules text, even the ones I write, to be beyond adjusting and ignoring if needed during play, I do like seeing how tweaks result in broader behaviors and changes during the game.


Setting Primer - Players always ask for some kind of setting primer, so I try and write a few words in very broad strokes about what they might actually need to situate themselves within the game. It can vary - the Greylands game had a very bare bones one, the BSSS game had a rather more detailed one both here on the blog and also sprinkled throughout the player booklet. My current megadungeon one, being focused entirely on the dungeon, has only a few broad paragraphs of setting, the rest being conveyed entirely through character backgrounds and items.

Player Booklets - Because I enjoy making these, in my in-person campaigns I always have a player handbook kind of deal. A collection of the house rules, character information and other things that players might want to look up during play, that is not part of the general rulebook that I am using as a chassis. My BSSS one became quite a bit more extensive as I changed enough things to necessitate it. These don’t have to be physical books of course, a simple google docs or pdf with the relevant information are also useful, and in fact I make a habit of collecting such for other people’s games as I find them endlessly fascinating to flip through.

Spreadsheet - I have found that any campaign I run benefits greatly from having a Google Sheets document for the campaign. That one contains, at a bare minimum, a character roster with relevant information (level, experience, player controlling the character, any notable powers or notes), a quick session recap calendar with both real life and in-game dates for the events, and then usually auxiliary tabs for stuff like hirelings, classes unlocked by the players (if I am doing that), stats for the campaign (I do love me some campaign stats!) and so on. 

The BSSS spreadsheet/roster

Other Materials - That varies from campaign to campaign. I like to usually have a list of names to use for NPCs and/or PCs; a character sheet (either a suitable preexisting one, or a custom one that I make myself); item lists (if not using a default one from a book); reference sheets to put in my DM screen (if needed)

Once I get all of this assembled I print out maps, modules and other reference sheets, booklets and other material, putting them in plastic sheet pockets and those in my referee binder. My binder always has extra character sheets, the world map I’ve made and whichever dungeon or module I am currently running. With all of that out of the way I then begin organizing the game itself (first two were open tables, third one was a closed family game) and begin.

Preparing a Session

Once the campaign gets going the prep I do from week to week changes significantly. I make a point to establish a solid groundwork (as you can see above) so that I have to do as little as I can between sessions, though even then I’ve found that it sometimes becomes too much by the later sessions.

Keeping the sheets up to date - Most important thing to do, and I usually do that after that week’s session, or at absolute latest the next day. Update everyone’s XP totals, changes in character, date, a quick session notes recap for my own sake (I do not keep any real notes during play, so I simply remember everything and write it down as it is fresh in my mind).

Setting reaction and dungeon restocking - The main and often hardest part of the week to week session prep - modeling how the world reacts to what happened in the previous session. Restocking or changing the dungeon(s) if needed, seeing how any factions or power players move in response to the actions of the player (if they know them) or advance their own schemes (if they’re unaware what the players are doing).

This has often resulted in me feeling incredibly overwhelmed as the fictional situation becomes more complex, with multiple factions and dungeons involved. I’ve yet to really get better at handling this, although discussions on discord have lead me to a potential solution which I will attempt in my next campaign - Making a list of any potential reactions or changes by factions, and then rolling a die to see which single one actually happens for the next session.

Preparing additional material - I always make sure I have a clear idea of what players plan on doing the following session (and I tend to hold them fairly firmly to any decisions made), and if that involves exploring new locations or following up on hooks that I have previously set, I then go through the various modules or adventure sites that I have prepared for the campaign or at least earmarked to use in it, and then either simply reread them and do any final adjustments, or if it is something completely new I go through the process similarly to how I do in campaign prep, and read through and edit the text with any changes or re-flavoring I need to make it fit.

Updating binder - I take out material that I will not need for a session and replace it with print outs of stuff I will. Binders get way too heavy and unwieldy fast, so I try and keep mine to the bare minimum if possible, especially considering I am usually also carrying my dice, player booklets, rulebook(s) and other materials when running.

In total I find that short of being swamped by too much reactivity from the world, my weekly session prep involves on average half a day of work, at most a day if I have to prepare something else. My hope with my next campaign is to streamline week to week prep even further, by restricting the play space to a single large dungeon.