I've read tons of GM'ing advice. I've played in a number of online RPGs. I 'know' how to run a game - Theoretically.

However, for practical knowledge, the current roadblock seems to be 'How do I turn that into a session outline?'. The problem is, I don't know what the finished product is supposed to look like. Hard to get 'there from here' when you've never seen there.

So I'm wondering if some of the good GM's around here can post links to thier prep-work so I can [del]cheat off of them[/del] get an idea of the end product I'm aiming towards.

Thanks for any and all help.

The finished product is the game at the table.

I suggest you create a tense situation, with various motivated NPCs, and a map (dungeon, village, forest, star system).  Then drop the PCs into it, Fistful of Dollars style, and just watch what happens.  No 'session outline'.

I've stolen a fair bit from here and there (S. John Ross's Troika/Trinities), as well as general plot direction.

This is pretty basic:

I create 4 Interesting things that have nothing to do with plot, but may be interesting for the PC's to see/explore/examine--I make a bullet list of these, and use 3 of them in play as needed.


 I create 4 conflicts that DO have something to do with the plot, but may be side plots, red herrings, etc. Same as above, I will only use three of them.

I create 4 descriptive aspects, these are moments of introducing new creatures/people/vistas etc. Ditto.


These things are my drop in boxes. Things I will drop in where I feel appropriate and would be a "sidebar" to the main outline.


I begin by getting the PC's together  and on the same page. Directing them to investigate/explore the same thing; or having them all under fire in media res. It doesn't matter if they all begin from different planets/time zones what have you--I will make sure that they arrive or meet at a given point and allow them to discuss/share clues.

I then wrap up that scene, taking a cue from where they choose to go where the next scene will be--either interrupting their plans by dropping the villains henchmen or giant monster on them, having them encounter a non-plot but dramatic conflict.

I let that scene unfold, guive descriptions of what's going on and get who is doing what. I let them finish or wrap up what's going on then move to a "contemplative" scene. Depending on genre of the game this could be something serious or mild--seeing their girlfriend on the wrong side of town for her errands, to a camping scene at night, to simply crashing back into bed after the day's actions--but not finishing up the "plot"

I then introduce several more scenes of their interaction with what's going on--usually I create 4, and depending on their choices use 2-3 of them. These can be locations or suspects to investigate, people to talk to who might contact them over what's going on--like mentors, contacts, friends--etc. Sometimes one of these will be their foe/the person behind the plots.

I then move to another action scene series depedning ont he length of the game and genre this may take more than one session, and eventually they will find their way to dealing with/disrupting the plot. Or in some cases, MAKING the plot. Letting their action choose the direction the game has gone.

I usually just write down the key things I'd like to see, like this; but rather than generic advice it be specific stuff.


Heroes meet after  shipwreck, find a warm fire with a friendly monk cooking stew. Asks them to help him get more food so they too can eat.

While seeking food, a strange beast attacks. The creature can be driven off rather than killed.

Describe Creature, Describe landscape.

Heroes rest harmlessly, monk may be suspicious but non-harmful, just very curious, describe weather of the day, and strange silence of animals in this wilderness

Heroes are directed to towns by the monk--offers to show them the way. Will travel with them if allowed. They arrive, he thanks them and hurries off to do business. Describe his sudden hurry, and the people of the towns behavior to newcomers. (Good or bad), describe conflict over the town about to stone a person for being "a monster", person is a young woman, but her "monstrousness" is unrevealed.

See where players go/act, Add in description of ongoing townfolk issues, have monsters attack town at night. Monk has disapeared and no one has heard of or seen him...

And so on...
Letting the PC's choose at each point where they go, what happens and what fallsout of their choices, but dropping in bits of stuff that has nothing to do with what's going on--because the worlds aren't just about plot.

Look at the very first posts of my Praemal Tales and Seven Spires where I explain the thought-process that led to our campaigns. My new Citadel of Eight may be of some help as well, though I just started it and am not yet at the actual beginning of the game.

I have much the same kind of problem, never quite sure how to prep, or even how to tell if I've done enough (or even too much prep - that can be equally deadly).

Anyway what is working for me at the moment (for a supers game) goes something link this.

I started by looking at things from the villains point of view. Give the villain a complex goal, for instance taking control of the NY Mafia or reviving the Third Reich.

For each session I prepare two lists. One is Things the Party Could/Should Do which is essentially a list of the various leads they can follow (obviously this is kind of tricky for the first session).

The second list is Things the Villain Might Do which will include which mostly stuff the villain does to towards his overall complex goal, for instance spring a notorious hit man from jail or hijack a drugs shipment intended for a rival gang. Some of the items on this list might just be random events not related to the current plot. Obviously one has to consider how the players can get involved every time.

In play I let players drive. Hopefully I've guessed correctly what leads they choose to follow, if not I have to improvise. Whenever they seem to run out of steam (or I just feel like it) I choose one of my Things the Villain Might Do scenes and see what happens.

At the end of the session I usually find I've only used up a fraction of the items on my list. Some go directly into next weeks game prep lists, some I have to scrap because other stuff has happened in game that makes this item obsolete, some I can just modify and recycle.

As a method for prepping, this is still a bit of a work in progress, but I am reasonably pleased with it so far.

Er, all of that would be the stuff I already know. And I know full well the finished product is the game session. The thing is, I don't know what pre-session notes look like, so I'm looking to rectify that.

I don't need how-to's; I've read more of them than I can remember. I just want to see what those how-to's produce - For example, the GM-Fu .pdf wrote out a five-room dungeon with just a few lines each - And that helped a lot.

So, to conclude, I've got to much 'how-to' and not enough 'this is what'.

Well okay, here's the prep sheet from game 3. I don;t know how much sense it will make to anyone. As I mentioned above some of the things on this list happened as planned, other stuff went entirely in a different direction. There are no stats because I am taking the straight out of the Marvel Superhero Rules book.

The Tower Episode 3

Previously on The Tower
TJ1 lasers blasting Blizzard helicopter. Aurora appearing in a Dr Pepper Zero advert on TV, Smithers punching through the Hydra shuttlecraft, Raptor, in human form, at the Smithsonian museum checking out the dinosaur displays.

Current Leads & Goals

Track the villains – The cards have clues. Murlock has criminal contacts (could be Black Cat).

Vulture – On parole, made a deal to call the heroes when he is contacted. He will be asked to help free Blizzard

Scorpion – Working with Mr Hyde. Their job is the tanker (see below).

Blizzard – Captured.  His attitude is "I'll be out of here before you can say "spandex". You guy attacked us. That armour thing came from your lab and just grabbed us!

Rhino – Off the radar. His job is to sabotage Starks alternate Shield armour, see below.

Stilt-Man – Has not more info. If  heroes welsh on the deal he will issue threats "Mark my words, no one welshes on Stilt-Man!"

Technical Leads: Using the Stilt-Man remote and stuff on the helicopter might help them track Blizzard's base. Red = instant success Yellow = by the end of the day, Green  = in the next few days White = the technology is totally passive; it is impossible to trace unless there is an incoming call.
 
Stuff that might happen

The Black Cat Calls.  The Black Cat sends Murlock an email on one of his private accounts "Saw you on TV M. Looking good. We should talk. Meet Thursday at the usual place? BC" (The usual place is a rooftop in Chinatown). She figures she saved enough that now she wants to go legit to get the heat off her (admits she stole some money off one a Yakuza gambling operations but says "But in my defence, it was really easy.") and wants to join Tower. If she does she will tempt Murlock into crime and eventually betray the team.  At some stage during the conversation they are attacked by ninjas.

Scorpion and Mister Hyde have succeeded in hijacking a Roxxon Oil supertanker and capturing the ship captain, whom they chained to the prow of the ship. The tanker was filled with 50,000 tons of liquefied natural gas. Hyde sets it on a collision coarse with the docks of New York City demanding a ransom. The resulting explosion would likely lead to the total destruction of the entire metropolis.

Rhino In Jersey - The hero learn that Rhino was in a fight with Iron Man at Stark Industries R&D plant in New Jersey. Rhino flees after doing extensive damage which was Iron Man saving civilians.  If they dig further they will learn this is where the new Shield armour was being made.

Break out! – Transporting Blizzard on Route 87 to a prison facility near Albany. Ambush to be stage just past Cedar Hill exit. Vulture doesn't know who else will be there. (Rhino, Boomerang, and Electro).

Ah, thanks, that did indeed help.

Here was my first Spirit of the Century adventure for "The Curious Carnival and the Curse of the Carnelian"



The Carnival comes to rest in outer rolling hills of Cullenshire, a large village on the edge of the Scotland-England border.  The village has a long lineage of claiming themselves on one side of the border or the other in order to benefit from whichever despot has the least heinous hold upon their short hairs.

The shepherds of the village edge, eye the odd assortment of wagons that wound themselves up the way.


The Village is overseen by Lord Cuhlain (Cullen), who is a distant but amiable lord, and the Mayor, one Mister Macleash.


Scene One: Arriving in the village on their rumbling wagons the heroes find themselves staring down at two men in a duel, their pistols loaded, they are about to turn and fire. Intercession can stop one or both of them quickly. When questioned they won't have any reason to be dueling other than “it seemed like a good idea at the time..” or with deep pushing “We just wanted to see what it was like..to face death..”   Other than that seem a bit disconcerted but unclear. After a moment or two the men seem more than happy to buy the lads and ladies a pint together at the pub.

If no one intercedes they both die, which draws out the mayor and the local bobby. They examine the two with shakes of their heads “These two were best friends, can't see what got into em...”

The Mayor will cluck about local regulations and offer the Carnival the use of an empty lot for their “show”, but only if they promise to be on their best behavior. If he is bribed he will instantly become their best friend. He still won't offer anything but the lot, but will even put in good words with people to come see their “show”, the Bobby is unhappy with them no matter what and eyes them suspiciously. He's a good man of a sort that doesn't bend unless he has to, and makes his mind up, based upon the study of someone rather than their appearance. He of course doesn't like Lord Cullen, as the man always “rubbed him the wrong way..”


Lord Cullen will make an appearance to see their show, but find the whole thing “a preposterous moment of poor mood..” and leave hurriedly with his entourage of men.


Scene 2: The next morning before much of anyone is awake the heroes will hear many cries that draw the morning carousers and shoppers as well as others out. A boy of six or so is dancing and running about the rooftop of the local clock tower. It's got a narrow ledge and is seven stories up—a fall is sure to be lethal especially with the spiked wrought iron fence around it. He seems completely unconcerned and is laughing.  If no one acts he will fall to his death. His mother is crying out in fear and weeping while others stare up at him in frightened awe.



Scene 3  While the heroes are seeing to their supplies for their between trips, a tinker/peddler is surrounded by children. He's offering chap books for a shilling, and a look into the magical world found inside gemstones for two shillings. He has a large kaleidoscope type apparatus which he unlimbers from his cart and lets people look through. Any adult who seems truly interested will get his keen pitch on the “wonders within other worlds, and the mind enhancing   benefits of the luminal etheric transfer of light through crystals. He has bad teeth, and smells of dog, but is generally amiable to anyone with a keen interest in science, exploration or other mental pursuits.   He will sell crystals for two shillings as well. Each one with a different effect.

Green Adventurine stones to sooth the mood.
Blue Agate to bring Happiness.
Clear Quartz to perceive problems for a new perspective
Red Carnelian to face fears.


If questioned he says he has done good business here so far, but while talking to the heroes the Mayor will come up and hassle him. “Lord Cullen said you weren't to sell anymore of your hoaxes here...”  the mayor seems pretty irate, but mostly this is because Lord Cullen has asked him on three occasions to see the man driven out. “If you don't leave, I'll have to have Sheriff Bedle lock you in a cell..” The man simply acquiesces to stop selling his goods as asked, but doesn't want to leave until after the weather clears.




Scene 4: While the cold rain drizzles down, nothing much is going on. A number of people are drinking at the pubs, a few hustle and bustle out. The heroes see some of Lord Cullen's men draw truncheons and rush around the corner into an alleyway.  

Inside the alley is the tinker is backed into a corner under what little shelter the overhangs give. A barking dog about knee high to an average man is growling at the truncheon laden men and holding them back from the tinker even as a bright red welt grows on his face.





 
The heroes should help, and discover the tinker sold his largest citrine gem to Lord Cullen's “woman”, she came dressed in cloak and her voice was beautiful, and soft, but the tinker didn't like her much. Still he had to make a living. Since then, Lord Cullen has tried to drive him from town, but he has not the coin or supplies for him and his dog to move on yet.

If they help he will be gracious and thankful, and depart with his dog. He'll give them a blue stone, an unusual gem he found in a ring of mushrooms once. He claims that the blue will guard them from the blood to come.  


Scene 5:  Lord Cullen's men appear heavily armed to escort the heroes to Lord Cullen's manor atop the hill that overlooks the entire village. The Sheriff will try and interfere when he sees them and says he has to question the heroes about some thefts about the area. They'll concede only if the heroes go with the Sheriff. He'll take them to the pub and offer them a drink. In the dark dusky room, one of the men will slip out after they're drinking.  The Sheriff will get up and leave following the man, but asking them to wait here. If they don't they will hear the two arguing and then a gunshot will ring out of the night. It should strike the Sheriff and wound him grievously. The man he was talking to will flee into the night.



The next scenes depend on where the players go and how they deal with this.

GM notes are like lecture notes: everybody writes down different things and you need to develop your own method.

Thank you, that was both relevant and something I already know.

You might want to take a look at some D&D sessions on Youtube just to give you a basic idea if you never played or entirely forgotten. As for books, believe it or not Dungeon Mastering for Dummies  actually has a lot of solid advice and even a good example on running a basic game. I also highly recommend finding a good book on the craft of storytelling and maybe even improvisational drama as  both subjects share a lot of similarities to GM'ing. Good luck!

I highly recommend just doing it.  Run a session with whatever notes you can come up with.  I rarely end up referencing anything that isn't combat statistics, though I do find it useful to write outlines.  The only way you are going to find out what works for you is by doing it.

I write down a summary of the session first.  This is just to organize my thoughts, because one the players start doing things, this "summary" becomes useless. Then I record descriptions of events and characters, including NPCs, monsters, whatever, in the order which they will be encountered.  This order will break down in actual play.

I have plenty of adventure notes if you really want to see them, but I don't think posting 8-10 pages of stats and descriptions is really helpful.

What game are you running?

I'm strongly of the "kick the dude into the deep end of the pool" kind of philosophy on this one.

RPGPundit

My prep notes going into a game consist almost entirely of names, charts, maps and stats. I avoid writing out descriptions, summaries of sessions, and other bits of prose whenever possible. I paperclip all my notes to my DM screen for easy consultation.

Generally speaking, I have:

1) A list of the name of all the major NPCs that have appeared recently or will appear soon and some interesting minor ones. Sometimes with a short phrase next to them to remind me who they are, or why they're here. I fill this out as I go, so that I don't have to remember it that closely between sessions.

2)Maps of possible combat situations. Even if it's a game where there's no need in the system itself for a map, I like to have at least a quick sketch so I can describe things in a consistent way. Any map I don't use in a session I save, so that if I want a similar fight later, I have one at hand.

3) Stats for bad guys / encounter sheets. I hold onto these and recycle them, esp. if I don't use them in one session. They can always crop up four sessions down the line reskinned. I usually include treasure on this. In practice, this is the same sheet as the map-sketches in 2.

4) I have a little chart showing the rough progression of what the NPCs plan to do over the course of the session, with some possible divergences or convergences based on what I think the most likely course of action for the PCs will be. I draw these up in between sessions and they're probably the notes I consult the most.

I make them by writing every major NPC's name at the top of a sheet of paper, then writing the opening event of the game at the top. I draw a little arrow from the opening event down a bit to the next event, and so on, until I'm somewhere near where I want the session to end. I then draw little arrows down from each NPC, with a pause at each event they're contributing to or appearing in. I then write a short note along the arrow what the NPC has been doing between the last event they appeared in and this one.

Works pretty well. Worth trying if you never have.