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session

players names - mark down what session elements fullfill their preferences, resolve

make spreadsheet sessions on column, player prefs in rows. - for it’s planned, + when it happens. tracking tool.

Session checklist - prepare music track - prepare picture firefox display - pre-roll spot/listen/search checks for characters before session. then you know can plan ahead of time for them. - review dm book contents - prepare calendar, weather, check for holidays, festivals - prepare starting remarks

Check time throughout session, plan end, plan clifthangers - start of session - read starting remarks - recap

  • throughout session - take breaks, when stuck, to wing it, settle problems, for suspense. http://www.roleplayingtips.com/articles/how_to_fix_botched_encounters.php

  • throughout session - check off preferences met, add unexpected ones

  • throughout session - take pictures

  • 1/2 through review who hasn’t been served, shift focus.

  • end of session - asked what did you like, what did you not like

ession Summary/Prep Notes - Ummm, what happened last game…Was Makrolon still alive? One of the more useful things that I did for a long running campaign a few years back was the creation of Session Summary/Prep notes. After each game, I would go through any notes I wrote and write down a high-level description of what happened. After a while, this became a fairly good chronicle of the game.

I divided the sheet into 3 parts.

* Summary section - a short synopsis of what happened last time.
* Preparation section - writeup of what is most likely to occur in the next section.
* Reference section - information which is needed repeatedly throughout the game. For me, usually names of the Kingdoms, copy of the coinage system, calendar system, etc.

Summary Section * Date of the game session * Who attended the game * What time period in the game was covered in the session * Summary of last session - a nice reminder to the GM of what happened, so that the action can continue. o GM Notes - usually just a listing of what was awarded last session o In-between game discussion - summary of any discussion which happened in-between the game sessions o Timeline - what happened in the last session

Preparation Section

* Some periodic information useful to each session. I had a table which covered the next 6 days - usually plenty of time to cover one session of play.
      o How bright the moon(s) is (for the night-time adventures)
      o What the weather is like (in general)
      o high/low temperatures 
* Next steps - what encounters, things are mostly likely to happen. This way I could jot down a few notes and have them ready for the next session.
* Current events - what things are going and where that may (or may not) the players.
* Future Items - things which might be needed for the future. Usually, listening to the players say things like "we should find the Druid and talk to him about the Sage." This was a handy place to write down those thoughts so that they would come up again.

Background/Reference * List of the important NPCs the players might meet up with in this area - names, mannerisms, notes. * list of any information which might be needed relating to the entire campaign. * A to-do list: list of those things which I need to complete in support of future sessions - might be “finish the dungeon at Elkabar” etc.