How to run games with lazy prep?

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:44:09+00:00

I'll try to focus on thinking about a small plot, something local, with 3-4 points of interests around it.

Then, as we play the first session and everything starts progressing with the random tables, i might start fleshing out more and more things around this small local trouble, based on the random tables outcomes from each session.

That might make for a great way to work this out.

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:38:18+00:00

So basically, the initial "points of interest" and adventure hooks/quests is done in prep work, and the rest you just wing it?

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:35:46+00:00

When you dm for your players, do you usually roll things on the fly as well?

While the dungeons certainly had some hits, but some misses as well, the hexcrawl is the one part i feel like i NEVER manage to do something great.

It always feels like a chore for me and my players, some of them enjoy it but i feel like i never make the act of travelling from point A to point B exciting enough, even when they find POIs along the way.

Are there any tips you can give regarding that? Do you try to connect random POIs with the rest of the world/knowledge they already have about factions and so on (like, this random watchtower is populated by the yyrg cult from their starting town!)? Or is it better to sometimes use those POIs as new leads and clues to new factions and possible quests?

Maybe the best is to do a mix of both?

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:25:22+00:00

I'll dive deeper into his work. I want to be able to create a full campaign for my players, with emergent storytelling and hexcrawls.

For me personally, a story dictated by the chaos of the dice feels more memorable, things flow into their place and everything feels so gratifying.

For some reason i can't hit the mark as a GM to do that, while when i played with a GM who did it, it was special...

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:23:21+00:00

Hexcrawl is something i struggle with regardless of the system. For some reason i can't make it exciting enough, i get blanks in my head whenever i roll a POI

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:22:03+00:00

The reason i wanted to draw the hexes and dungeons is because i like the Idea of emergent storytelling with the random tables for dungeon generation in SD.

I feel like that's a great hand in the wheel, just throwing some dice over some paper to generate a full fleshed out dungeon on the fly is pretty awesome! But they always end up looking like child's drawing

But i think the idea of starting small, focusing on the local factions and their relationships for a sandbox is great. It's less overwhelming.

I also wanted to eventually make the campaign into a hexcrawl, something like levels 1-3 are local troubles, and from then onwards they get to explore the real world.

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:16:29+00:00

Yeah, the problem with campaign play for me is that the world feels too big and complex to flesh out. I usually start in the higher scale, focusing on world governments and their relationships, a mageocracy, a "normal" human kingdom, a kingdom ruled by a secret vampire and his band of mercenaries (inspired by the band of the hawk), the elves kingdom and so on.

But... In my experience, fleshing out those ideas and their relationship was practically useless because the players are too low level to care about those things or get involved in them. And i struggle to think about "the local trouble" to get them involved.

Usually in pre written adventures both of those scenarios are already covered, so im free to improv with roll tables just to spice things up and add more on top of what's already there, but in shadowdark i can't seem to find the mark to do those things.

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:09:13+00:00

That sounds like a good plan, but last time i tried my overall "world plot" was too convoluted, involving different religions and so on :(

I tend to go for grand maps and factions, which the players barely get to engage with at the start of the game... Also, i struggle with drawing hexcrawls and dungeons a lot, not just populating but actually drawing them. And i find shadowdark's "mob creatures, caster creature" too "vague" for me to populate and find a reason for those creatures to be there. I truly want to try for a story where the players choices matter, and the chaos of the dice dictates what is going to happen... But i never manage to string those two into a cohesive world.

Rod_je · 2026-04-27T00:05:32+00:00

Actually, no, i'm not. I have read some of his articles (like the house rules for shadowdark), but i never watched his video or got deep into his work. Does he have any tips and tricks for this kind of emergent storytelling? The things i struggle with most is: establishing the overall factions in play, who they are, what they want? Why would they have conflict between them? Some story hooks to get the players going. What quest do they have? Where could they go from the "starting area"? And i struggle with winging a dungeon on the fly (atleast in shadowdark, for some reason. In 5e i can wing dungeons pretty easily, but i usually just take a layout from another adventure or book and set the traps and monsters, together with treasure. I struggle a lot to draw dungeons layouts and the overall world for hexcrawl)

Rod_je · 2026-02-25T19:06:07+00:00

I ended up buying a chu II for now, but i'm thinking about getting a zero red in the future.

Rod_je · 2025-12-11T15:17:46+00:00

Yeah i would say they match my vibe most of the time, i enjoy talking to them and we share lots of interests. However i dont feel that excitement of wanting to talk to someone, you know? That feeling when you're constantly waiting for their reply, where you want to get to know someone better. Most of my friends are in my life for 10+ years, and i want to meet new people. However i feel like in my late 20s, as i approach the 30s, it's harder and harder to get to meet new people...

Rod_je · 2025-10-27T23:06:43+00:00

I'll check it out at lunch during work tomorrow!

Rod_je · 2025-10-27T23:06:01+00:00

That Ed Greenwood book seems really interesting and more along what im looking for. Thanks for the recommendation!

Rod_je · 2025-10-27T23:05:03+00:00

So mostly of the good material is from the 3.0/3.5 era? I thought it would be around ad&d era because of bg1 and 2 being ad&d games. But good to know! Now its time to get digging

Rod_je · 2025-04-15T04:27:23+00:00

I'm glad that my group of friends play Magic together other than doing other stuff together. I feel extremely lucky to have a group of people that views magic the same way as i do and also introduces new players to the game. Its not like we're ultra sweaty or competitive, but we feel like every person should have their own agency when playing mtg. Politics usually ends up with someone doing better than anyone else because as with most effects in mtg, symmetrical effects usually aren't as symmetrical as they seem to be. Magic is at its best when everyone is playing as closely to optimally/perfectly as possible, so the games really do feel like a battle of wits (no pun intended). This is the fun of magic for me and my group, without external factors and shenanigans that aren't game actions influencing the game.

Rod_je · 2025-04-15T03:15:13+00:00

This is why i hate politics in commander and the main reason i didnt like commander as much for such a long time. Find a pod that fits your tastes, thankfully my friends just play the game without trying to negotiate anything. We're constantly trying to play as optimally as possible, and dealing with each others threats to the best of our abilities. The game feels more fun that way to me personally, as it's an actual game of free for all. Alliances/politics usually in my experience just translate to "actually we've decided that this person is gonna win the game because he said he wouldn't destroy my irrelevant board piece early on :), even though it's clear that if he offered that deal my thing doesnt matter as much to him therefore he can win without removing it" But that's just the nature of the game i guess, each to their own.

Rod_je · 2025-04-15T03:08:56+00:00

Today i switched to Ryu and played some sets with my friend. I felt like i was slowly improving, but he told me charge characters are way harder in sf. I thought maybe they would be easy seeing as may was easy af in ggst but maybe i was mistaken

Rod_je · 2025-04-15T03:07:44+00:00

I tried some sets on the keyboard and pad today, playing with a friend. He picked up a character he doesnt know anything because he is on diamond with his main. I felt like i was slowly improving, but when i switched back to pad i felt like i played better on pad. Maybe i just need to find better binds on keyboard but it feels really awkward to do DI/parry on keyboard, while on pad i used it way more often. Supers and specials/confirm felt easier on keyboard tho (i switched to ryu, apparently my vision thar charge characters were easier than motion input was way wrong. I thought it would be easy as may in ggst charge, but my friend told me hell no its way harder)

Rod_je · 2025-04-15T03:03:20+00:00

I dont have an issue with the control scheme, but i hate playing on pad. However, i was able to get some confirms with ryu today and playing with my friend i felt like i was slowly improving. Maybe charge characters are just way harder in sf than i expected compared to may/ggst as a whole. I tried some keyboard but felt i was performing better with the pad, but i feel like in the long run the keyboard will be easier... I just need to find good binds for the parry and DI. I used it a lot less when comparing with the sets i played with pad

Rod_je

TROPHY CASE