I’ve been running Rise of the Runelords for my biweekly Monday campaign for a while, now. Last year, I already mentioned how I felt that the adventure paths were providing too much detail. They are overwhelming me with notes!
I looked at old school dungeons, and started to like what I saw: a lot less text! At first I thought these dungeons were boring hack-n-slay expeditions, but I started to realize that this doesn’t have to be true. The most important points were the *monster reaction table* where you roll 2d6 and add a Charisma modifier, and *morale checks* where you roll 2d6 at appropriate times to see whether the enemies retreat or flee. That changes many combat situation into social situations! And suddenly the referee has to do a lot of improvisation.
I was scared of the improvisation, but two things converted me anyway. Taking *notes after the game* instead of preparing notes before the game, and the *one page dungeon* phenomenon of 2009.
I was listening to the Fear the Boot episode on GM and player notes and got reminded of a blog post I had written last year suggesting the opposite of preparation: postparation. 😄
As a referee, preparing less material, taking notes during the game, and writing them up on a Campaign Wiki has opened my eyes. The world ends up being rich and detailed, but I don’t have to prepare ahead of time and railroad my players through the detailed plot. I can wing it, react to my players, and write it up afterwards.
Notes I take for two sessions I decided to try and prepare less. I *set myself limits*, such as not preparing more than one hour for a four hour session, or not writing more than two pages in my notebook (3.5” x 5.5”).
Then the second thing happened: One Page Dungeon Contest 2009. I discovered that other people were doing just the same. I wasn’t alone! Until then, I had felt bad. I had felt lazy. I had set myself limits because I was too lazy to spend more time on it. Suddenly everything came together:
And with more than a hundred entries to the One Page Dungeon Contest, I could learn from other people. I saw that other people were drawing maps just as I was. They had dungeons just as I had. Some did not fit my style. Others I loved. I could learn from these, and be a better referee.
That’s why I started organizing another contest. One Page Dungeon Contest 2010!
#RPG #1PDC #Old School
