Wasting my life away?

[Topdecker]

https://i.imgur.com/eaTEr1i.jpg

That is for the last 13 months. And yes, I have had some fun :)

On an odd note, I have around 210 hours played as the GM, another 40 or so as a player, and the remaining 450 is prep time (quite a bit of it idle, probably). Sort of a bummer that it takes 2x as long to prepare as it does to play it out. Maybe I am doing it wrong :)

So share your sad tales of time well or misspent.

Top

[vodokar]

I look at it another way. I spent over 20 years without being able to play. That was the true waste.

[LordEntrails]

Well, I wouldn't consider 2:1 a bad/unusual ratio. When it comes to putting together a technical class, it's 8:1!

[damned]

Prep vs game time will depend on how much you like to prep and how familiar you are with your prep methods.
I think a lot of Gms would spend 1 to 2x the amount of game time in prep time.

[Zacchaeus]

4665 hours in 3 years here :D

[damned]

4665 hours in 3 years here :D

Dude! Thats 40 working weeks/year!

[HavocSmurf]

I guess it only tracks time if steam is logged in? I'm showing 18 hours, which is only about 2 weeks worth on a slow month, not the year and half I've been working with FG's. Prep time for my campaign is about 3:1. I'm very wordy when typing up my build. Map building can real slow things down too and apparently my dungeons are not very small. I guess my players are used to exploring broom closets. :)

[gqwebb]

I don't look at it as a waste at all. For I spend most of my prep time distracted, side tracked, or researching. I think that is what makes me such a great dm.


Now for anyone doing the following that may be a waste.

https://thechrisvossshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/flowchart2.png

[Ken L]

Prep light and rely on your improvisational skills. Use Importers and other extensions to aid in the the more technical prep but the 'story' prep in my opinion should always remain fluid as it's the most mutable.

I spend less on prep per session than I spend world building which I secret away during down time as the ideas hit me. I don't spend time spinning on a chair thinking of things to put in my world. Carry a mini notebook or something with you, a scratch pad of sorts to jot these things down for you to later quickly add to your lore collection. This in all makes my world building occur as naturally as a water-cooler break so it doesn't consume much; but again it draws heavily on your own improvisational skills to invent names/places on the fly, and recall them for consistency as needed during the actual setting.

It's also more moody so if you're a bit stressed or feel pressured, you loose some GM mojo where if you had a more rigid prep structure, would prevent.

This is at least how I work my way around the problem of 'endless prep'. It works great for my groups.

[LindseyFan]

I waaaay over prep... 4:1

[dulux-oz]

Well, if you count the creation of the DOEs as prep (which they actually were - I wrote them because I use them in my games) then I think that I win(?) the "Overprep" stakes - I don't want to think about what the ratio would be :D

[JohnD]

I don't know what my ratio is. I've done minimalistic approach which works since I have my books and PDFs handy. I've also entered everything for a module as if it were an official release... that took a lot longer and although it was a better experience DMing it, I'm not sure if the time vs utility trade off was worth it since I'd rather be playing or DMing than building.

[Topdecker]

I no longer subscribe to the open world impromptu approach. I did that for years and find myself having more fun pushing really brisk, action-orientated adventures that move to a cadence I control. But accomplishing that requires some prep time, frequently wasted because some choices are A or B (and resources are needed for the unused path). The visual nature of Fantasy Grounds, for me at least, demands some prep time. I know plenty of GMs that worry over the audible portion - music and/or sound effects. Drama eats up some clock ticks.

[SirGraystone]

694 hours in 5 months, i think i've got a good start :D