Brain having trouble...

this is my first time DMing and I am having troubles with organizing my ideas... how do you organize your thoughts on paper? is your npc dialog thought out or is it on the spot? i feel frustrated....

Ways to use Roll20 to organize your thoughts/game prep: Try the GM layer. Write some notes on the screen or map, using the text tool, and put the text on the GM layer. Things like, maybe there is a Room or a building on your map, and you put "Dishonest salesman lives here; he lies to the group!" Then when your players arrive at that spot, you remember the tone of the scene that you wanted to play-out there. Pre-writing NPC dialog would be impossible most games I've played. You can't anticipate all the questions and things that would be said in conversations/dialog. Best to plan the personality, role, position, purpose of the NPC, then try to get into that mindset and say what they would say, depending on what the Players ask them. For the general GM'ing advice (non-Roll20 specific) you can find better answers on other RPG related forums like, say Reddit RPG, or ENworld, or RPGnet. Hope this helps!

thank you so much that has actually been a big help

When i write an N?PC i generally decide on a personality from a book, or movie for the character. this allows you to have a consistent personality. I would not try to do the voice unless you are very good at voices, or you will confuse the players, more than they already are... For instance I have a thief/wererat, so I used Enrico Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy , So when he talks, " He, always inserts commas through his speech, and he refers to things with 'ya know' and 'like', but not a valley girl 'like', a NYC Jewish/Italian 'like'. As for organizing the game space, get your general idea, then get your graphics together and place everything on the board, then move what you don't want them to see to the GM layer. You will develop the style that works best for you as you go along. Don't be afraid to fail, because you will screw stuff up a few times, that is how people learn.

yeah i wouldnt have a NPC dialog constructed at all, to much room to goof if your players go off rails duirng the conversation...put together the basics. as per Goldie: "personality, role, position, purpose of the NPC, then try to get into that mindset and say what they would say" but also make a short list of key information the players might be looking for and what the NPC knows: <> goblins have been seen in the woods to the north west. <> Farmer McDuffie had his cows go missing, and a large foot print was found neer his fence, might be a giant they think. <> the town doesnt have a magic shop but Helga dawnstrider is the local go to herbalist, maybe she has potions to spare. <> NPC Joe witnessed Sugabuns the barmaid conversing with a hooded man 3 nights ago, when they noticed his presence, the hooded figure vanished. and for the actual conversation just be consitent and keep track of your notes. al e. said: Don't be afraid to fail, because you will screw stuff up a few times, that is how people learn. HA, to this day i still screw up a few times, when my players correct me on some rule i fergot or some information, they get insperation...

al e. said: Don't be afraid to fail, because you will screw stuff up a few times, that is how people learn. Example of common dialogue: Me: And the orc hits you for 5 damage. PC: Wasn't he blinded last round? Me: Oh hell. *sigh* Yessssss. And THAt is why I refuse to have any automatic dealing of damage or won't use hit/miss helpers unless they can show the otherwise hidden information. Because I screw up SO MUCH. :>

I absolutely agree with what has been said above. Specifically: Do not try to write out everything an NPC might say. Give them a personality, and know what they might or might not know about, and ad-lib the rest. Voices are fun, but unless you're good at them, don't worry and just use your usual voice. My voices all end up being either Scottish or some kind of weird eastern-Eurpoean, no matter how they start out, so mostly I'm just using my normal voice. The most important thing is just to get across the idea of the character, it doesn't matter how you do it; players are forgiving. And, as GenKitty says, encourage your players to let you know when you've made a mistake by ADMITTING IT when they're right! I hate, hate, hate when a GM is all "I said it so it's true, deal with it." when they're obviously wrong! I make several mistakes a session, and know exactly what she means by "*sigh* Yessssss." As far as prepping the game overall, improvisation is your friend. Come up with scenes, ideas for what might happen, thoughts about how THIS situation interacts with THAT one, and try to be consistent. If you expect your players to do X, it's virtually guaranteed that they'll skip X, ignore Y, think about Z, but then end up doing B instead! Nobody can prepare for every eventuality! The better you know your 'world' and its inhabitants, the better you can prepare ad-lib what happens next. One thing I find helps with this is to go through the story from the point of view of one of the NPCs... They saw this happen, they heard that rumor, the PCs told them about the other, and as a result, their view of the situation is *whatever*. And, at least as far as everybody I've ever played with is concerned... if the GM isn't frustrated, the players are doing something wrong! q;} -Phnord, the Eternally Frustrated GM

I write important dialogue such as where it starts and where I want it to end (if there is a proposal for instance) because I have a terrible memory. Also it helps me focus on and develop the character and helps if I want to ad lib later. And this is where I figure out what voice to give them: accent, speech impediment, attitude, etc. I just write them as email drafts and delete them when passed that point in the story. Sometimes I also add film quotes to see if the players pick up on them out of context.

paul p. said: I write important dialogue such as where it starts and where I want it to end (if there is a proposal for instance) because I have a terrible memory. Also it helps me focus on and develop the character and helps if I want to ad lib later. And this is where I figure out what voice to give them: accent, speech impediment, attitude, etc. I just write them as email drafts and delete them when passed that point in the story. Sometimes I also add film quotes to see if the players pick up on them out of context. Pretty much exactly what i do, i tend to have leading statements that the NPC will make, usually right at the start and a few others should the conversation get too far off course. Ultimately though my conversations have a big <IMPROV> marked on my notes... leads to some very interesting, organic, and sometimes bizarre plot twists. Other than that make sure your NPC's have personality, a commoner usually needs to 'speek as tho 'e is semi-liter.. err.. litra... errmm.. not so smart' where-as a noble might 'overly elaborate on said subject matter, often interjecting language that may, or may not, be requisite to the overall conclusion of the interaction and more often than not will, if only to highlight ones educational background, use multiple words when fewer would suffice, what what.' Mages are fun, i tend to make them part way between a noble and a commoner, 'smart' long-winded conversations with a rural twang cause hey, most mages are mad right! Ultimately though, in terms of organisation, just have a good idea of where you want to go with the conversation and don't worry about how they'll get there, a DM will always get his/her own way but a really skilful will get their own way while making the players think they've gotten theirs ;)

I have a wizard in a certain campaign (ROTR) that runs the magic shop in SP. He's pretty bored in there, not a lot of trade in the small town. When the PCs go to sell stuff, if he sees them coming, he always contrives a silly illusion like a trapdoor opening under them or a huge bug on his corpse (with Silent image). It's always almost totally ineffective but then he wheezes with laughter for 5 minutes as if it was a huge success. The PCs roll their eyes each time but they love him :)

You know, I don't want to derail this thread, but when I read the subject, all I could hear was Gumby brain surgery. "GET BETTER, BRAIN"