How do *you* prepare to Loremaster?

[gentlemansavage]

I hope all of you will humor me this question. It seems all my life I have been the one pushing to roleplay games in my various circle of friends, and when they humor me I inevitably assume the role of LM/GM/DM/Storyteller/Narrator/etc. I do not mind this role, but I also can't say I ever feel well and truly prepared prior to the beginning of a game session, even with published scenarios.

There must be as many different ways to prepare (or not prepare, as preference dictates) as there are people, but I would love to hear how you prepare to run a game of The One Ring. Do you spend hours memorizing rules or just rely on cheat sheets? Do you read straight from the book or spend time making CliffsNotes out of scenarios? What about music? Lighting? Food/drink?

I appreciate your input - I mean to level up my own LM skills and make the best game possible for the seven companions in my charge.

ETA: I'm asking this question with particular reference to meatspace games.

[Stilts]

7 players? Quite an ambitious size. I will admit there are surely many people on here that are more experience Loremasters than I, but I have learned a few things.

I try to limit myself to outline format instead of paragraphs of text, except when I'm writing flavorful descriptions.

I made my own spreadsheets for all the enemies in the game, and before each session, I cut and paste all the adversary blocks that I need into one or two new sheets and print those off. This is one of the best tricks I ever came up with; it saves me a ton of headaches and table space.

I try to include something personal for a few of the PCs each session, keeping their backgrounds in mind. This might be the appearance of a relative or rival, or progress towards a personal goal.

Have a backup plan in case the players don't bite the adventure hook you plan for them. It doesn't have to be big, but it's always safe to have something. The less they feel railroaded, the better.

Draft up a few quick NPCs that can be inserted into different possible situations. It can be as simple as "Oleric/Beorning/Warrior/Attribute 4/Axe rank 3/Anduin-lore/Guides travelers in exchange for good stories." If the session's excitement starts to drop or feel bland, throw in one of your NPCs to add spice.

In general, the more you prepare by adding multiple directions your group can take and fleshing them out (even slightly), the smoother things will go. Still, I've also learned that no matter how many permutations you predict, your players will always, always, always do something you don't expect. And that is a very good thing.

[gentlemansavage]

7 players? Quite an ambitious size. I will admit there are surely many people on here that are more experience Loremasters than I, but I have learned a few things.

I try to limit myself to outline format instead of paragraphs of text, except when I'm writing flavorful descriptions.

I made my own spreadsheets for all the enemies in the game, and before each session, I cut and paste all the adversary blocks that I need into one or two new sheets and print those off. This is one of the best tricks I ever came up with; it saves me a ton of headaches and table space.

I try to include something personal for a few of the PCs each session, keeping their backgrounds in mind. This might be the appearance of a relative or rival, or progress towards a personal goal.

Have a backup plan in case the players don't bite the adventure hook you plan for them. It doesn't have to be big, but it's always safe to have something. The less they feel railroaded, the better.

Draft up a few quick NPCs that can be inserted into different possible situations. It can be as simple as "Oleric/Beorning/Warrior/Attribute 4/Axe rank 3/Anduin-lore/Guides travelers in exchange for good stories." If the session's excitement starts to drop or feel bland, throw in one of your NPCs to add spice.

In general, the more you prepare by adding multiple directions your group can take and fleshing them out (even slightly), the smoother things will go. Still, I've also learned that no matter how many permutations you predict, your players will always, always, always do something you don't expect. And that is a very good thing.

7 players...I know. It started as four. Then went to five after a few sessions. A session later it's now at seven. I'm sure it will thin down as people realize the more players the more diluted it gets for each of them.

Great suggestions! I especially love the idea of preparing personal things for each PC - I was thinking my game was lacking a way to get them more immersed.

[zedturtle]

Damn. I don't mean to be the guy plugging all his stuff, but if you're looking for aids, there's this (by not me).

As for advice; I'm terrible. Not terrible at running games, but terrible at giving advice. In face-to-face games, I tend to go with minimal prep and "read" the room in order to know what to do. I will often have some sort of idea, but it's often vague and sketchy.

For PbP, everything is so much easier. I get all the posts on my phone; I read them (and sometimes respond, as appropriate) and I then get time to think about stuff... much better for planning. It doesn't hurt that my job affords me a good chunk of time where I get to think about things (and thinking about work stuff is suboptimal; troubleshooting problems you can't interact with yet leads to assumptions, which leads to the dark side).

Also, with PbP, all of the rules are right there on the computer in searchable PDF form. So I can double-check stuff before I make updates. This is almost too much of a good thing; I find myself double-checked stuff I already know, it's a waste of time but hard to break that habit.

For face-to-face games, make the best ruling you can on the spot and move on. It's perfectly fine to tell folks the next session "I screwed up this rule: We did it like X last time, but tonight (and each time after that) we're going to do it like Y."

[Yusei]

Great suggestions! I especially love the idea of preparing personal things for each PC - I was thinking my game was lacking a way to get them more immersed.

With 7 players, it's understandable. Try to give them stuff to discuss between themselves while you're busy with a specific player. Involve their characters personnally, so that they feel involved even when they have nothing useful to do.

In TOR, there are relatively few skills so, with that many players, it's likely that for any action the group has to perform, at least two characters have the relevant skill... so add roleplay details that make them all important. It's not just following tracks, it's following warg tracks, and Bhorg has been doing that all his life. There are several social characters but only one dwarf, so you create an important dwarf NPC for him to interact with... and so on.

[shipwreck]

I usually prepare with a spa day, listening to LOTR on audio, then a rigorous run up the steps of the capital building of my town.

[Robin Smallburrow]

For me, preparation for running TOR involves:

Reading & re-reading the upcoming scenario-this is more important than the going over the 'rules', and then focusing on:

1. The PCs - are there points in the adventure for each PC, especially in regards to their traits/background/goals? If not do I need to insert something more?

2. The scenery & the Journey - what are the 5 senses showing to my Players? Can I find some pictures that help the players visualise the setting?

3. The NPCs: how do I role play X? What is X's purpose in regards to the PCs? What does X want? BTW, I have found an indispensable aid for GMing in Middle-earth is a list of Names, especially for the bartender, stable boy etc. that you didn't foresee the PCs would want to talk to! ("His names's Bob? Wasn't that the name of the last bartender we met??)

4. What is/are the bad guys doing, especially in response to PC actions?

5. What else is going on that the PCs may find out about?

Robin S

[shipwreck]

2. The scenery & the Journey - what are the 5 senses showing to my Players? Can I find some pictures that help the players visualise the setting?

There is so much good Tolkien art (to say nothing of the specifically TOR stuff) I find myself spending more time looking up pieces to show off on the iPad than I do thinking up descriptions.

[gentlemansavage]

For me, preparation for running TOR involves:

Reading & re-reading the upcoming scenario-this is more important than the going over the 'rules', and then focusing on:

1. The PCs - are there points in the adventure for each PC, especially in regards to their traits/background/goals? If not do I need to insert something more?

2. The scenery & the Journey - what are the 5 senses showing to my Players? Can I find some pictures that help the players visualise the setting?

3. The NPCs: how do I role play X? What is X's purpose in regards to the PCs? What does X want? BTW, I have found an indispensable aid for GMing in Middle-earth is a list of Names, especially for the bartender, stable boy etc. that you didn't foresee the PCs would want to talk to! ("His names's Bob? Wasn't that the name of the last bartender we met??)

4. What is/are the bad guys doing, especially in response to PC actions?

5. What else is going on that the PCs may find out about?

Robin S

Great information - thanks for sharing your prep work. Regarding the scenario being more important than the rules - does this mean you have the rules memorized (or the basics at least) or that you're content to look up things in the moment?

[Yusei]

does this mean you have the rules memorized (or the basics at least) or that you're content to look up things in the moment?

If you can improvise something, don't look the rules up during the game, as it completely removes all the momentum you built. Decide something, look it up afterwards, and then if you were wrong, use the correct rule for the next session.