There’s an idea in tabletop role-playing games that whatever I invent on the fly has less legitimacy than the thing that I plan prior to the session or before the session started. Yeah, I don’t understand why that is a thing. It has existed on my table and on countless other GM’s tables.
I got this topic and this discussion from Dimension 20’s Brennan Lee Mulligan who discussed this on an Adventuring Party.
I believe the idea comes from real life, where there is an idea, there is an idea that being prepared is good. Studying for a test a few weeks before the test day is good. Working on a project a little bit at a time is good. Finishing your job duties steadily throughout the day is good. Doing things ahead of time is good. That means that those people who finished things at the very last minute are not doing a good job.
There is something about that work ethic. That is not desirable and has a negative connotation to people. I was reading this book about procrastination: What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination, Emotions, and Success by Mary Lamia.
That negative perception of society towards procrastinators can be flipped. Rather than procrastinators you can think of them as due date motivated individuals. These are individuals who are motivated not by the completion of a task, like checking the boxes of tasks off of a checklist sort of thing, but who are motivated to finish something when it is due. Successful task oriented problem solvers and due date oriented problem solvers both accomplish the same thing; they both fulfill a goal when by its due date. When they’re successful in both of their preferred work methods, they both provide quality work.
Now, the due date motivated individual’s work methods looks a lot different. While a due date motivated individual may not look like they are doing work until the last minute, they may be thinking about their project in their head. They may be drafting a skeleton of what the project will look like, how many days it will take, and when they should start to get it all done. And then, when they start working, it looks like a flurry of productivity that appears to be more grief that what it it’s worth. However, if they produce a quality product at the due date, is that not as effective as a successful task motivated individual?
Outside of task completion however, there is an argument for being prepared. Being prepared is a different skill set. It is in line with risk management, and is a part of the project management skill set. It is an acknowledgement of events that might happen. These are events that do not necessarily have a due date, but it is anticipating for what might occur, and then properly preparing the necessary tools to respond to that unexpected incident. Having a tire changing kit in your car is good. Having a fire escape plan is good. Having any tip of insurance is generally good. They serve as a safety net for you when things go bad.
Thus, not having a safety net can seem to be bad idea. There is an idea in risk management that you should not spend more money on protections than the value of the assets. If you want to spend $1 million on security of a building that is only worth $200 thousand with all of its assets, then that is not a wise investment. So, while it is important to prepare for a situation, it is also important to not over-prepare for a situation–although the onlookers may be impressed by the investments you placed.
So, your TTRPG. Is it a project? Is it a disaster? Are you doing prep for the session for a few hours each day of the week, or right before a session? Are you preparing for something to go wrong, or are you acknowledging that it’s not worth spending your energy to prepare for every possible situation?
There are very different types of game masters. There are those who like to write things ahead of time. Those who like to do in depth plot planning. Those who do in-depth world building with factions that intersect with each other and that tie into the characters backstories.
While there is value in planning (some of these things, specifically integrating a character’s backstory to the main story because that’s how you make your player feel heard, and how you lean into the collaborative nature of a TTRPG) there is a thing where regardless of how much planning you do there’s going to be a scene that you are not prepared for. Despite this hopeless situation, and despite knowing that you will inevitably be caught off guard, there are ways to make the unexpected a lot easier to process.
Chris Perkins has a list of names behind his DM screen. He is prepared to have a name for any of his characters who he has not already named. You can have random tables, that’ll generate ideas–perhaps features of a place or a person, or random treasure? You will be prepared to create any person, place, or thing with those tables. You can have a list of each of your player character’s wants, and their core motivations. This will remind, prompt, and prepare you to find a way to tie in an improvised NPC or clue to any of your PC’s main motivators.
Or, you can have nothing and just be ready to train that improv muscle. You can train to come up with things that you find in a place, find confidence in how magic works in your world on the fly, and give in to the silliness that is anything improvised, and make Boblin the Goblin.
I think that at the end of the day, there is a discussion to be had between players and GM. There should be no worry in having to improvise something. If you make it up, it’s on the table–if that sounds like something right to your group. Depending on the table, you can always change your appetite for improvised material. Players and GMs must be willing to give some grace if the GM has to look something up, or if they greet you as Greg the Office Paladin. There are benefits and negatives to both sides.
There’s some tables that allow retconning. So, you can correct things out of session or in the moment if it doesn’t fit the flavor that you guys are going for, or the boundaries of the people at the table. It’s not like you’re an actual play. This is supposed to be fun, so keep it fun! Even if you have to go back and give a little takesy-backsies, it is in the spirit of servicing everyone at the table.
So, where do I stand? For my table, make things up. I like having a game flow from moment to moment. I also…I also will be using Control+F to search through lore documents and to look through my notes for specifics about the world and its characters. So, there is a little bit of prep as well. I do both, and I rely on my players to support my notes. We work together to tell a story, and if we all forgot a character’s name…we’ll make up a new one. It’s all in good fun.
Happy gaming, friends.
Links
What Motivates Getting Things Done: Procrastination, Emotions, and Success by Mary Lamia
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