As I write this, I’m deep in prep for my games for two great conventions – Spring Kraken in Germany, and Seven Hills in Sheffield. As it stands I’m running 8 official games between these two conventions, but Kraken being what it is I’ll bring a few extra games to fill any light sessions too. That’s quite a lot of prep. 

Alongside this, I keep reading about people who are planning on running a one-shot for the first time, who sometimes never seem to get going. How do you manage to actually get the prep done? And what does ‘done’ even mean? Here are some best practices I use, which might be useful for you.

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Deliver to Deadlines

Unless it’s a repeat run for the same scenario, I’ve never written up a scenario fully when I put my convention pitch in. Having committed to running (and having an outline I can hang a session on) gives me a deadline, and thus increases past zero the chance that I get my prep done. While I’ve blogged before about back pocket games that you’ve got prepped just in case, it’s really difficult to get stuff actually finished without a deadline to go for.

Embrace Seasonality

Look, in the run up to a big con like Kraken, I’ve resigned myself to burning the candle at both ends a bit to get stuff done. Summer Kraken this is easy – I’m on summer holidays so don’t have work to worry about – but Spring Kraken is a bit different. I’m trying to do a little each day – yesterday, I read “Fireheart,” a Vaesen scenario I’m running, and tonight (after I’ve written this) I’ll condense that into bullet points. The day before, I sorted out my Monster of the Week Cthulhu investigators. And so on. At the moment, trying to do a little every day is the best way I can manage it.

Do Yourself a Favour

If I want to get a game sorted in a short space of time, I’ve got literally tens of 13th Age and 13th Age Glorantha pregens ready to go. I’ve also run both games myriad times and have internalised plot structures that work. So for me, a 13th Age game is an easy addition. If I want to prep a one-shot of Eclipse Phase, that’s trickier. I need pregens, a plot, some setting research – you get the idea. I can do myself a favour by running a game I can run in my sleep – so I make sure I include some prep-light games, even if they’re only prep-light for me.

Just Do It

“To do it, do it” is an old 1e Apocalypse World principle – but it works generally in life too. I can procrastinate as well as anyone, but having a commitment to prep some games makes me actually do it. I’m geeky (or organised?) enough to have a prep spreadsheet like this for busy periods like this – Dirk the Dice from the Grognard Files podcast has spoken about covering his home office in post it notes – whatever system works for you. 

So, some tips for TTRPG Prep Workflow, and actually getting games ready – what are your top tips for getting stuff done? Let me know in the comments.