Don't be like me... How to OVER-PREPARE for SESSION 1 of a D&D Game (DM Tips)

#DMTips #OurFirstSession #D&D #DnD #TooMuchPrep
This is how my excitement came to the surface in preparation for session 1 of my new D&D campaign!!! Too much? Not enough? You decide!!!
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[@ImaginerImagines]

I can only speak about what works for me. I call it the spider-web design. I over design the settlement they are starting in with hooks and initial encounters in the town and the one encounter area heading out of town in each direction they could go from the hooks. When they go in whatever direction they want I then do the same thing for where they went for the next session, expanding the spiderweb out. Eventually you find that you have so much fleshed out that you know the whole continent.

[@StorycraftSociety]

That’s fantastic! Also a really great way to keep your information organized! Might have to steal that!

[@BaggoBites]

I love the excitement and enthusiasm you have for your game and your players! Thank you for sharing that excitement and your process, it's super inspiring.

[@ericolson1265]

I love the map you made and your own published grade location backstory with pictures! Awesome stuff!!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! The dream is to publish it one day, so I’ve figured, if I make it up to par NOW it’ll make it that much easier when publishing time comes!

[@georgedeppner418]

Interesting, in the group we had for many years (my best friend was the DM and the real ♥ heart of us). We were all interested in wargaming and our dungeon sessions supported that. The DM put out a AAR after every session weather a battle or a dungeon, the reports read like a War and Peace after a few years (lol) you seem to have the same commitment (or obsession lol) I would definitely by your book

[@misskaterinat]

I’m starting my first long term campaign in a couple months, and you’re speaking to my overprepping soul right now 😂 Love hearing about your campaign prep/ worldbuilding!

[@hippo1701]

As a stage manager for theaters in the town I live in, it never occurred to me to read my session notes like an actor would for a play his is in. Now, I'm going to try that. I will let you know how it turns out. We are playing d&d in December after college is out for christmas break.

[@jakenjaa8164]

Is there a place we can buy your setting content?

[@shadowtheory7500]

Your enthusiasm is amazing to see! And it makes sense, because as you've said many times in the video, your players sounds INCREDIBLE! It looks like you put a ton of effort in and it's all paying off. I'm impressed!

[@StorycraftSociety]

My players really are fantastic. I don’t think I’d have the energy to put in this kind of effort if they weren’t. That being said, it took me YEARS (like 7) to cultivate this table, lots of meeting people and running games at the game store.

[@caseodell6810]

I truly admire your preparation and craft. Would love to have a group with so much care and attention. Have fun!

[@alicemursteinlesbefaen666]

absolutely amazing video, you seem like an incredible dm to play with. good luck with your campaign!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! I try (hard) to make it as enjoyable for everyone at the table as it is for me.

[@CapnClutch08]

Love all the prep. You killed it my man. Comment for the algorithm 👏🏽

[@Zeedijk2020]

I love that you let each character play their festival experience one-on-one with you. Did any plot-related events take place during this? It would be such an amazing idea to have them all unwittingly witness a part of, or find evidence for, a mystery or a crime in these one-on-ones and then watching them putting it all together after the first week. Thanks! I feel inspired now.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh of course!

[@brynjarjohannesson5685]

Reminds me of Kevin Crawford's advice about world building in Worlds Withou Number. He says worldbuilding should a) useful, as in sonething that gets use at the table and/or b) enjoyable for the world builder. It seems you really like doing this so that's great.

[@friedrichhack1407]

WOW! Awesome. I would love to sit at your table. I have watched a lot of your craft videos and I really enjoy them. Thank you for the look into how you prep and the work you put into your game. Your players are very lucky to have a great DM (a bit jealous of them).

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! I certainly try to be the best DM I can be!

[@georgedeppner418]

Fantastic energy, I know it's gonna be a fun time!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! I sure hope so!

[@CampaignTerrain]

Brilliant. I love to prepare "All The Things!" (tm). I find it allows me to grok the setting fully, which, in turn, lets the players feel more immersed in the world. If, every time they ask, I have a quick answer for the setting, and the beings within it, it feels more real, to them. Great work, Garman, and such a fun video, about it 👏

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! I feel the same way!

[@harryravenkiller8580]

I love your giddy excitement. It is infectious

[@StorycraftSociety]

Haha thank you!

[@reddogterrain]

Perfect! Thanks for the tips. I am about to start DMing my first campaign in 30 years.

[@StorycraftSociety]

That’s awesome!

[@MrBrad9]

enthusiasm is contagious. I can just imagine your players Where did you get that big map printed out?

[@ryansullivan5854]

That's impressive. Now I feel slightly less Type A about my prep work ...

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hahaha

[@pez5767]

HOLY COW! I think, more than anything else, I'm impressed you were able to maintain interest and focus on the group (and with the players) for 4 months BEFORE playing!

[@StorycraftSociety]

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face. I have an EXCEPTIONAL group of players.

[@KingPaul97]

This video is amazing

[@IWFarrar2]

Love the enthusiasm! If your players bring half the enthusiasm you have... What a session that would be. I like to include art of the items on my item cards I give to my players.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh! That’s a really good idea! I had a player at my table who liked to draw the cool weapons and armor, until the bastard has to go and move away!😄

[@erikmattsen4317]

And I thought I over-prepared! I bow down to your mythic level overprepardness!

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hahaha, don’t encourage me please.

[@dreadmorg]

Holy smokes this is all so awesome!! Now for the "how'd ya?" questions... How'd ya make that beautiful map? Looks professionally printed? The map frames really add a wonderful touch.

[@StorycraftSociety]

So I make all my regional maps on inkarnate! But if you’re talking about my GIANT wall map, I did commission that to be made by a professional.

[@dreadmorg]

@@StorycraftSociety Thanks for the response Garmin but I was intending to ask for specifics on where/how you got it printed, what type of paper you used, how you got it to hang on those rods so nice and straight, etc. I also had my HB world map professionally commissioned, but then got it printed via Vistaprint and it's ok, but not epic like yours. Mine just looks like a big poster (if that makes sense).

[@tinaprice4948]

I make all the items as well, I make them to the size of a baseball cards so they can fit in the clear sleeve notebook pages that hold 9 cards, also make all their character abilities and feats and such into the same size, plus they get the magic cards for their spells.

[@StorycraftSociety]

OHHHH, that’s a good idea!

[@pez5767]

I love the idea of the character art for initiative trackers. What program are you using to "modify" the character art?

[@StorycraftSociety]

Just photoshop. Nothing fancy.

[@MrCowboy6588]

How do you do minis for the player characters - do they provide them, or do they select from your collection, or something else before Olivia paints them (fantastically, I might add!!)? I'm starting up my first in person campaign in the new year, after having DMd on roll 20 for almost 3 years over the pandemic - and I've been trying to get my players to design something in hero forge for me to 3d print and paint for them, but its like pulling teeth. Wondering if the move might just be to put out 20 something already painted figures and say "What inspires you?" and go from there in session 0? What have you found to be the most fun/interesting way for them to realize their characters on the table?

[@StorycraftSociety]

Ok so (big opinion dump coming), My players all design their own characters on heroforge and usually pay Olivia go paint them. HOWEVER, i by no means expect that from any of my players and typically for newer players or one shots, I’ll present minis that are close enough to their characters. Asking people, especially new players, to commit to 20 bucks for one mini can be a huge ask for some people, and that’s totally fine by me. I personally don’t feel your mini has to be an EXACT representation of your miniature. (My buddy Drew who was at my table for awhile before he had to move away, felt the opposite and LOVED that he could have his character nearly exactly as he saw them, on the table. He’s also on a similar level of crazy as I am and heroforged TWO minis for his very first character, so you can’t really use him as a baseline.). Hero forge can also be kind of intimidating for people who’ve never used it before, I personally suck at using it, I have friends however who’ve gotten really good at it and I usually just have them make my mini for me haha. So, asking people to learn how to use this whole website to make a custom mini when they might not be that into the idea of having a custom mini might also be a big ask. Now my personal opinion of what to do in this situation. It sounds like you have access to a 3D printer (so jealous). My suggestion: make em yourself! Christmas is coming, that’s a hell of a Christmas (or late Christmas) present for your players. Or a gift for no reason at all other than you felt like it. Some of them might not care, and that can be a real bummer, BUT, some of them maybe just haven’t had the gumption to even try to make their own mini, but when they see what’s possible, the bug might bite em. And then when you start your next campaign, maybe some of your players will do it themselves. Or not, and if not, who cares, if they’re stellar at roleplaying, care about your homebrew lore, respect your game, or whatever other quality makes them endearing enough that YOU want THEM at your table, then don’t sweat it. It’s just a mini.

[@StorycraftSociety]

Oh also, for session zero. I wouldn’t pull out ANY minis until after characters are made. Letting the player have an idea of the character they really wanna play in their head is more important to me personally than the mini being an exact approximation of their character. I feel like they’ll be way more invested in that PC than if they saw a mini they thought was really cool and built a character around that.

[@Phleanix]

So damn jealous of your players. I’d love to be in one of your home games! 😅

[@Rick-tt5hi]

I want to play in one of your campaigns!!

[@StorycraftSociety]

That is a bigger compliment than I think you can imagine.

[@josephdambrosio4130]

Do you ever video your games and post them to your KZbin channel?

[@scott17601]

I 10000% want to be in your game! :)

[@StorycraftSociety]

Thank you! That is a huge complement!

[@neilhenderson6602]

Is all this prep not absolutely exhausting?

[@sm0ky_cowboy693]

Awesome videos! Are you recording your sessions? Upload THEM! :D

[@friedrichhack1407]

Yes, I would definitely like to watch a Storycraft Society episode as well

[@StorycraftSociety]

The idea has been kicked around. Unfortunately the major issue is all the technicals involved. I strive for a level of quality in the production of my videos that I just don’t have the resources to deliver for something like that…. YET. It’s an idea that never really stops floating around (and my buddy Drew, whom you’ve all met in one of my beach videos, CONSTANTLY hounds me to do).

[@zeugenberg]

9 minutes 50 seconds in. Session Zero starts 😂

[@forouza1]

I found your video entertaining and informative. Unfortunately I think this is the problem with D&D as it stands right now. So much expectation and work on the DM’s part. Your friends hopefully appreciate all the effort and work you are putting in. It seems you have some star players who are committed 100% too. It seems you enjoy the process which is good for long term success. All the best adventuring.

[@StorycraftSociety]

My personal opinion is that if I want my players to give a certain level of commitment then I have to match that energy. I certainly wouldn’t do this for an Adventurers league or something. And I DO have an exceptional table that’s taken me YEARS to find and cultivate.

[@pez5767]

You said, "You have to have props for session #1"... do you try and have props for every session or is that a part of session #1 in particular?

[@pez5767]

Also, it's interesting how different types of paper inform the narrative. I tend to use tea-dyed regular printer paper to give it more of a parchment look, but I can see how using other styles could be a lot of fun too and add to the story. Secret hidden tip.

[@friedrichhack1407]

Yes, would like to know more on props as well, if they are used more often than in session 1.

[@StorycraftSociety]

So I may have misspoken. I don’t MAKE my players get props or anything like that and they by no means HAVE to. They like having props for their characters. Usually it’s something small and manageable, a ring or a necklace or bracelet. (I have to also add because I can’t say it enough, I have a STELLAR group of players who care deeply about the game and my world and their characters. Some players just aren’t going to care THAT much, and that’s fine. I’ve taken having some sort of prop myself whenever I get the chance to be a PC. I find that it helps with the emersion into the character. But that’s just my opinion! I would never force anyone to do anything extra I’d they didn’t want to.

[@jonnil1997]

This is so impressive! Dont show my players this lol

[@StorycraftSociety]

Hahaha, no promises!

[@kajetan9906]

Over-prepared!? Don't know what it is. I'm more of a under-preparer

[@patrickg4830]

👉 *Promosm*!!!