I thought this voicemail would be better answered as a post, rather than on the minicast. So here goes… How a DM prepares or presents adventures is something that I am sure varies from table to table. In my particular case, and how I mentioned in our new “Dungeon Master Guys” podcast, I constantly seek to reinvent myself as a DM in order to sample new and different ways of doing things.
One thing is constant however, my DM binder. This for me is a must have, as I can keep all sorts of information in here at a glance. NPC’s, handouts, regional maps, and story lines all go in here and it is an invaluable resource. I’ve blogged about the DM binder before.
Your DM'ing binder should be part of your core rulebooks.
Keep everything that needs to be referenced in your binder.
While the DM’s binder is for my eyes only, the PC’s recap is a little document I put together as a PDF, using the resources available from WOTC, such as artwork and maps. This is good for those of you who, like me, do not have the luxury of playing in a weekly game. The recap is a living document that gets updated at the end of every session, and will theoretically one day exist as a compilation of the events of the entire campaign. This document gets sent to the players a few days before the next session.
A sample page from my recap document
In my campaign, I use both published adventures, and homebrew stuff. When I homebrew, I prepare my adventures in a Word document, but I have a Level Progression Sheet I use to plan out the encounters.
Another invaluable tool I use in my preparation is the combat tracker I run at the table, only because it lets me prepare an archive of random encounters I can use at any time. I love it and I’m pretty sure that it will be a part of my 4e DM’ing career for as long as I play. I have blogged about it before as well.
I also use NPC Tracker Cards to give to the players as they meet NPC’s throughout the campaign. I believe this helps keep all of us a little more organized.
Ultimately, find a system that works for you. Although it sounds like a cliche, it’s really the best advice I can give you. Find something that makes you comfortable and run with it.
I hope this helped answer the caller’s question, and don’t forget to keep calling the voicemail line at 305-349-3026. That number will get your question answered in either my minicast, the blog as a post like this one, or in our brand spanking new Dungeon Master Guys Podcast.
www. Newbie DM .com 
Jon
April 14, 2010
Why would you not use Masterplan? It’s awesome for this.
http://www.habitualindolence.net/masterplan/
pminton
April 14, 2010
Masterplan is great and all, but sometimes I feel like it takes my attention away from my players and from the story. As I’ve used it that feeling has lessened (I don’t have to fidget around trying to figure out how to do delayed actions, ongoing damage, etc anymore), but even so sometimes I miss just having my binder and my dice in front of me.
But for planning I don’t think you can beat it. I really like having all of my plot points and encounters laid out in a flowchart as I’m writing them. It helps keep the continuity straight from week to week (which I’m terrible at otherwise).
thadeousc
April 14, 2010
This is great stuff. I really like the NPC tracker Cards. I hate having to go through tons of notes to figure out the name of an NPC the group interacted with months ago. I don’t hate Master Plan but I also don’t enjoy using it. I’m old school, I like having my stuff spread across my table while I prep. It is a preference and a choice, and if my players enjoy the game and keep coming back I have no reason to change.
Jeff Carlsen | Apathy Games
April 14, 2010
It may seem strange, but after using every various form of organization, I keep coming back to the three ring binder. It’s simple, handy, and flexible.
Colmarr
April 14, 2010
I’m very pleased to see that someone else spends the time to prepare player recaps. I’ve done 40 session worth of themso far, and it’s great to occasionally sit down and read through the campaign from start to finish.
Plus of course, whenever we sit around trying to remember what we did and didn’t learn 10 sessions ago, I’m the one who can pull our the recaps and remind everyone.
breitling navitimer
January 1, 2013
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