How to Prepare (CSC)

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==Scenario One==
: It couldn't be helped. Until an hour before the guys are supposed to show, you were involved in a kill-or-be-killed table tennis game with your room mate. Now you're gonna have to throw something together fast. But hey, you know the sniff, didn't you just look at it, like, just last week? Maybe you can just use that module you bought at the hobby store last week Great stuff! No need to reread that, its all ready to go. Anyway, you've gotta run out and grab a bunch of munchies and soda pop before everyone shows up. I mean, priorities first, right?
==Scenario Two==
: You can't remember when you've operated on this little sleep (but hey, you're so tired that remembering anything right now is beyond your capability). But it's worth it-your campaign is ready for the big game today. You've spent over 100 hours devising the penultimate encounter between good and evil (the ultimate battle takes place next week). There'll be mayhem and carnage galore tonight! You've prepared for every possible alternative... except one. Your players decide that they really aren't ready for the penultimate encounter with evil and just want to bash a few more orcs or harass a dragon or two. You hadn't prepared for that option and your befogged brain has difficulty even deciphering a monster manual let alone coming up with an adventure on the fly. Sometime during the game you fall asleep face down in the chip dip, burbling out your world's darkest secrets between onion-scented snores. Out of respect for you, the players keep the volume on the TV turned down.
Successful gaming is more than an impromptu performance in. a fabricated world for a group of Individuals who just happen to be available and interested in the AD&D® game. Good gaming experiences require creative preparation (and it is possible to over prepare!). While most of this burden falls on the DM's shoulders, advance preparation by the players will help the adventure run smoother. In short, the more details that can be resolved ahead of time, the less often the game will have to be interrupted.
For those DMs whose preparation time is limited, a highly organized and efficient use of that time is essential. Divide the game preparation into six segments:
==Scenario Planning==
Take the time to layout the adventure you want to run. Be careful to provide for as many logical deviations from the main plot as you can. But don't worry, the players will think of something you didn't.
==Background Information==
Determine what information the characters will have available to them at the start of the game. If more data will become available later on, document it and have it on hand when they need it. Player hand-outs are a very effective way of dispensing information when it becomes available.
==NPC Statistics==
Generate the non-player characters which you will need for a given scenario. Be sure to give them all the detail they need, but don't go overboard. Make notes of an PCS's personality traits and motivations so that you can quickly determine his or her reaction to anything the characters might do or say.
==World Update==
Determine the effects of your last gaming session on the world in general. Are there maps that need updating? Were important NPCs killed? Anything which might be important to the campaign world in general should be noted here. Also, it may be that the events of the next game will be certain to have an effect on the world which can be noted ahead of time. This will save you time when you set up for next week's game.
==Character Update==
If any of the player character's have been changed in some way by the actions which they took at the last game, be sure to update your records on the matter. For. example, did Thrang the indefatigable contract lycanthropy from the werewolf he battled? Did anyone go up a level? All of this information must be carefully maintained so that the referee can always have accurate data at arm's reach.
==Alternate Scenarios==
Finally, give thought to what will happen when the players decide to go or do something for which the DM has not yet prepared. This is, perhaps, the toughest area of the six to develop as it requires you to determine what unexpected things your characters might do. If expecting the unexpected sounds like something of a paradox to you, then you've got an understanding of the problem.