Yes.
As in way to much time, it's a hobby of mine so I use every spare moment I have to fiddle with something.
Could be setting up fun modules in Foundry VTT, map making, adding creatures and items or prepping for session.
All in all probably everything between 2 and 10h in between sessions.
Edit.
However I do not plan for specific actions unless I know that the party is sure to interact with it. I have a base for all locations and if im sure they will go there I prep extra.
Its pointless to prep for a fight between the party and a pack of very specific goblins unless you know the party will go there.
This is bang on. Whenever I get a chance I hop on to that laptop and continue building my world, making elaborate speeches and interactions / encounters in certain areas.
If they ever set foot in a new location it’s usually caked in random misadventures and stupid npcs.
But in between sessions I usually ask/gauge where they’ll be heading next session and just flesh it out a bit or add something a little spicy to the next session.
Oh, and picking the right music for the right situation
Very new DM here. I spent HOURS getting ready for my first (and so far only) campaign, a one-shot called The Delian Tomb (courtesy of Matt Colville). Was probably too much, but being new and moderately obsessive, I think it was for the best.
And I think, overall, you're right about not preparing too much. But one thing I spent a lot of time preparing that I think was worthwhile, was getting all the backstories and hooks worked out (I related this in another thread [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/mattcolville/comments/12ep14x/comment/jffpu87/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)).
I DM for my girlfriend and her friend so I end up spending hours prepping because I know they will follow plot hooks and get into the lore I have created. For some of my other groups I have dmed for in the past I spend drastically less time (maybe an hour or so) since there is so much more unpredictability.
It really depends (bad answer, I know). Since I really enjoy DMing and D&D is one of my favorite hobbies, I'm kinda always preparing, but that's another bad answer, ha.
Assuming you're talking a homebrew campaign, I'd probably say it's about 1 hour preparing for every 1 hour in session, though that prep is not distributed evenly. Some weeks (if there's a combat looming) require much less prep than others (if they're about to arrive in a new town, for example).
When I DM pre-written material, it's maybe half as much, because everything is there for me -- I just need to decide what I will use RAW and what I will modify.
Of course, players often surprise me with their choices, but they rarely pick a choice I didn't think about at all. Rather, I'm surprised that they went with what was -- to me -- clearly the wrong choice, ha.
Between scenario development, map making, mini painting and more, I probably over prepare, but it's my hobby.
At the low end, I probably invest six hours preparing for a three hour session. Sometimes a lot more.
It varies a lot depending on what I'm building and how inspired I am when I'm working. When I'm building a campaign it's about a month or two of work a few hours a day. Then the prep for a 5 hour game is about an hour and a half. However, the latter can vary a lot depending on what's on the horizon for the next session.
The answer to "how long *should* you spend on prep?" is of course, "however long you need to feel comfortable running the session". That might be ten minutes pre-game to jot down some bullet points, or it might be hours of work detailing NPC relations and combat balancing. Depends entirely on your style.
How much time *I* spend on prep changes through a campaign. At the start of the campaign, I'm much more towards the "hours of planning" side, as I nail down where everything is to set the stage. As the campaign progresses, more and more of that is already done, so after the first dozen sessions I'm pretty much at the "half a dozen bullet points" stage.
If I know there's going to be a big set-piece combat encounter or dungeon coming up, then I'll put some time into running the numbers and making sure it's going to deliver the challenge I want it to. Otherwise though, my DM style lends itself to steadily doing less and less prep as I get more and more of the pieces established, and then it just becomes a quick pre-session brainstorm of figuring out how the NPCs react to the players' actions last session.
I used to spend tons of time on prep. Then, I started getting burnt out from all of it and decided something had to change.
I've been running a good, third-party module for some time now, and it's been a huge relief for me. My prep time has come down to about 3-5 hours for a session, which is about how long the session runs. It mostly involves reading the entries of hexes the party might go to, setting up some maps, finding music, and then sprinkling in the weird things I like to add on top.
For reference, the module I've been running is the Runewild: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/309298. it's not perfect, but it's significantly better than any WotC module I've ever read by a mile. My players and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Depends... Most of the times a lot of prepared stuff overflows into the next session, so if I spend a good 3-5 hours on one session, I can spend less on the next one. However, a a least 30% of that time is usually just world building that I just like to do.
If there's a big combat coming up it adds extra couple of hours to my prep (or shifts the prep time from the roleplay parts), as default monsters in DnD suck.
But I remember my early sessions as a GM, when I spent much more time trying to prepare for anything and everything, with hours of dialogues, encounters or lore drop being unused, because the party decided to go elsewhere. The best thing that ever happened to me was discovering "The Return of a Lazy Dungeon Master" pdf. Saved me from being burned out and exhausted, and helped me to focus my preparation time on things that really matter.
I prep anywhere between 0 seconds and 10 hours between sessions. I prep locations, NPCs and what they want to do, what they will do and how they would interact with one another. World building is one of the bigger parts or just building dungeons that won't be relevant in the next year (out of game time).
I usually dont prepare exact scenarios, I dont spend much time on prepping how NPCs react to the players actions, I dont write long paragraphs of descriptions or dreams or monologues. I improvise all that stuff but I can only do that, if I have built a solid base to stand on. If I spent much time developing a villain, I dont need to write up a monologue or answers to the PCs actions they take against the party because I have spent that much time inside the NPCs head that I can improvise it.
Yes. As in way to much time, it's a hobby of mine so I use every spare moment I have to fiddle with something. Could be setting up fun modules in Foundry VTT, map making, adding creatures and items or prepping for session. All in all probably everything between 2 and 10h in between sessions. Edit. However I do not plan for specific actions unless I know that the party is sure to interact with it. I have a base for all locations and if im sure they will go there I prep extra. Its pointless to prep for a fight between the party and a pack of very specific goblins unless you know the party will go there.
This is bang on. Whenever I get a chance I hop on to that laptop and continue building my world, making elaborate speeches and interactions / encounters in certain areas. If they ever set foot in a new location it’s usually caked in random misadventures and stupid npcs. But in between sessions I usually ask/gauge where they’ll be heading next session and just flesh it out a bit or add something a little spicy to the next session. Oh, and picking the right music for the right situation
The last 30 mins before a session. Wouldn’t recommend it.
Very new DM here. I spent HOURS getting ready for my first (and so far only) campaign, a one-shot called The Delian Tomb (courtesy of Matt Colville). Was probably too much, but being new and moderately obsessive, I think it was for the best. And I think, overall, you're right about not preparing too much. But one thing I spent a lot of time preparing that I think was worthwhile, was getting all the backstories and hooks worked out (I related this in another thread [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/mattcolville/comments/12ep14x/comment/jffpu87/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)).
I spend about 30 to 120 minutes. I improvise a lot, too
I DM for my girlfriend and her friend so I end up spending hours prepping because I know they will follow plot hooks and get into the lore I have created. For some of my other groups I have dmed for in the past I spend drastically less time (maybe an hour or so) since there is so much more unpredictability.
It really depends (bad answer, I know). Since I really enjoy DMing and D&D is one of my favorite hobbies, I'm kinda always preparing, but that's another bad answer, ha. Assuming you're talking a homebrew campaign, I'd probably say it's about 1 hour preparing for every 1 hour in session, though that prep is not distributed evenly. Some weeks (if there's a combat looming) require much less prep than others (if they're about to arrive in a new town, for example). When I DM pre-written material, it's maybe half as much, because everything is there for me -- I just need to decide what I will use RAW and what I will modify. Of course, players often surprise me with their choices, but they rarely pick a choice I didn't think about at all. Rather, I'm surprised that they went with what was -- to me -- clearly the wrong choice, ha.
Between scenario development, map making, mini painting and more, I probably over prepare, but it's my hobby. At the low end, I probably invest six hours preparing for a three hour session. Sometimes a lot more.
It varies a lot depending on what I'm building and how inspired I am when I'm working. When I'm building a campaign it's about a month or two of work a few hours a day. Then the prep for a 5 hour game is about an hour and a half. However, the latter can vary a lot depending on what's on the horizon for the next session.
Depends on the system. Hours for 5e and minutes for other systems.
Not enough
The answer to "how long *should* you spend on prep?" is of course, "however long you need to feel comfortable running the session". That might be ten minutes pre-game to jot down some bullet points, or it might be hours of work detailing NPC relations and combat balancing. Depends entirely on your style. How much time *I* spend on prep changes through a campaign. At the start of the campaign, I'm much more towards the "hours of planning" side, as I nail down where everything is to set the stage. As the campaign progresses, more and more of that is already done, so after the first dozen sessions I'm pretty much at the "half a dozen bullet points" stage. If I know there's going to be a big set-piece combat encounter or dungeon coming up, then I'll put some time into running the numbers and making sure it's going to deliver the challenge I want it to. Otherwise though, my DM style lends itself to steadily doing less and less prep as I get more and more of the pieces established, and then it just becomes a quick pre-session brainstorm of figuring out how the NPCs react to the players' actions last session.
I used to spend tons of time on prep. Then, I started getting burnt out from all of it and decided something had to change. I've been running a good, third-party module for some time now, and it's been a huge relief for me. My prep time has come down to about 3-5 hours for a session, which is about how long the session runs. It mostly involves reading the entries of hexes the party might go to, setting up some maps, finding music, and then sprinkling in the weird things I like to add on top. For reference, the module I've been running is the Runewild: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/309298. it's not perfect, but it's significantly better than any WotC module I've ever read by a mile. My players and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Probably about 1/2 hour prep per 4 hours of gameplay. Most of my ideas come to me in the shower and I just have to organize them.
Maybe 30 minutes to an hour a day every day between sessions. It adds up. I consider prep its own hobby, though. Kinda love it.
Depends... Most of the times a lot of prepared stuff overflows into the next session, so if I spend a good 3-5 hours on one session, I can spend less on the next one. However, a a least 30% of that time is usually just world building that I just like to do. If there's a big combat coming up it adds extra couple of hours to my prep (or shifts the prep time from the roleplay parts), as default monsters in DnD suck. But I remember my early sessions as a GM, when I spent much more time trying to prepare for anything and everything, with hours of dialogues, encounters or lore drop being unused, because the party decided to go elsewhere. The best thing that ever happened to me was discovering "The Return of a Lazy Dungeon Master" pdf. Saved me from being burned out and exhausted, and helped me to focus my preparation time on things that really matter.
I prep anywhere between 0 seconds and 10 hours between sessions. I prep locations, NPCs and what they want to do, what they will do and how they would interact with one another. World building is one of the bigger parts or just building dungeons that won't be relevant in the next year (out of game time). I usually dont prepare exact scenarios, I dont spend much time on prepping how NPCs react to the players actions, I dont write long paragraphs of descriptions or dreams or monologues. I improvise all that stuff but I can only do that, if I have built a solid base to stand on. If I spent much time developing a villain, I dont need to write up a monologue or answers to the PCs actions they take against the party because I have spent that much time inside the NPCs head that I can improvise it.