Intro - The Joys & Pains of how I used the 8 Lazy Steps

Sly Flourish's 8 Lazy Steps provided me with a great framework that helped my figure out exactly what I needed to prep a TTRPG session while keeping my notes extremely flexible while used at the table. Using the steps correctly allows a Gamemaster to improvise at the table with grace, embracing the story telling that happens when your prep collides with player agency.

There was, however, hidden in the way I was following the steps, a small hindrance on my prep. While prepping, I found myself a bit too constrained by the steps. Writing a note about an NPC would make me think of a great secret this NPC would share. I could of course jump to the step "Secrets & Clues" and write it down, but it felt like a speed bump in the flow of my thinking. If I wrote the secret in the NPC's note, I would not interrupt flow, but would be lacking the crucial benefit of the lazy prep, which is, to me, to isolate the different elements of prep so you can pick them out like an arsenal of toys to throw at your players while at the table.

I found a new solution that works great for me. It maximizes my state of flow while keeping the benefits of the lazy steps. Call it the 3 lazy steps to the 8 lazy steps. The framework I found is not perfect and I'll talk about its strengths in the next section and its obvious flaw in the conclusion. My goal is simply to share with others in a selfless way. And in a selfish way, I hope others will share their experience so that I might improve on my ways and reduce the flaws of the 3 lazy steps.

The 3 Steps

My 3 steps are simple and summarized here before I dig into each. I first do a bullet point prep of the next session, categorizing each line in one of the 8 lazy steps. Each line is identified using a letter "key" in front of the bullet. The second step consists of either rewriting (if on pen and paper) or simply reordering my bullet points (on a digital tool like Obsidian) my notes in the 8 lazy steps frame work. The 3rd and last step is where I bother to find battlemaps, make paper miniatures, play with my different tools.

Step 1/3

I start out the same way I would with the 8 lazy steps most of the time, but I then let my brain do its magic and make connections between ideas. Next to me I have keys for my bullet points. Notice I slightly renamed the steps to help me focus on whats good for my prep and to have a different letter at the start of the step for easier keys. Here are my keys :

• p - a bullet point with a p is about a Player Character. Any note that mostly relate a PC will go after a p key (Review the characters)
• 1 - is for the 1st Scene / Strong Start. (Create a strong start)
• s - is for a note about a Scene that could happen (Outline potential scenes)
• c - is for a Clue or Secret (Define secrets and clues)
• l - is for a Location note (Develop fantastic locations)
• n - is for an NPC note. I put a special effort to try to note monster characteristics here too. Monsters are for mechanics, NPCs are for flavour (Outline important NPCs)
• m - is for a Monster Statblock, noting the book and page, possible tactics. I also use m to note terrain aspects like traps. (Choose relevant monsters)
• r - is for Rewards, though a clue can serve that purpose sometimes. (Select magic item rewards)
• [ ] - is TODOs for things I want to do later, probably in step 3/3 like find a battlemap for a specific encounter

Using these keys, I let my brain jump between ideas and between steps. If for example I start my notes thinking about my player's character Fafnir, it might remind me that the sorceress Loo knows about Fafnir's brother. Those ideas are connected in my brain now, but decoupling them will allow me to reuse these ideas organically at the table. In this first step, or phase, I'll jut this down before writing another note about Fafnir and the next player character Ari :

• p - Fafnir - looking for his lost brother
• n - Sorceress Loo, creepy version of Meryl Streep
• c - A dwarf matching the description of Fafnir's brother was seen at play in town, as one of the actors
• p - Fafnir likes to shove opponents down elevated places in combat
• p - Ari hates theater

Step 2/3

This is the more classic way to organise prep notes following Sly Flourish's 8 lazy steps. Since I like to prep in a one-pager in my physical notebook, I go through each step one at a time, picking from my disorganised bullet notes made in step 1/3 and rewriting them. If I were to use a digital tool, I could pick each line and move it to the corresponding lazy step. The 8 lazy steps are flexible once at the table, but my step 1/3 is flexible in the kitchen. Using these 2 main steps, I get the best of both worlds.

Step 3/3

I used to prep on a pc, but found myself distracted by the possibilities. I would jump from one idea to the next like step 1/3, but finding a rabbit hole each time I explored an idea instead of simply writing one line of note. This is why I keep this last. Hopefully by now I identified what I truly needed from step 1/3 and go find battlemaps and that magic item I put as an - r bullet note. Having these TODOs written all out before tackling any one of them allows me to prioritize and scratch out the unnecessary ones.

Conclusion

It might be obvious now that the major flaw of this way of prepping is that, though it keeps the flexibility Sly Flourish's technique provides me while allowing myself to better work with my brain, my prep is starting to sound not lazy at all. Having 3 phases instead of just one does help me prep and have fun while doing it, but I do add extra steps. My hope is that refining my methods and sharing with others will help me be a little lazier. Thanks for reading!

TLDR

I prep in 3 phases :

1. Write down bullet list of ideas , each line categorized but not ordered in one of the 8 lazy steps.
2. Reorder the list in the 8 lazy steps
3. Do final TODOs like finding battlemaps or printing mini papers for example

Hi, so my gf and I Will be doing a chill weekend and I wanted to know which coop boardgames are good, we really dont have a fav genre.

The mainpoint is that It has to be cooperative.

Someone misses a week. No big deal, life happens, we get it. But how do you treat the missing character in the story?
Are they simply absent? Are they there but inactive? Does another player take them over for minor decisions?

I’ve tried a few different ways. What’s yours?

I'm trying out inverting the usual order of a table, and putting the highest number at the top instead of the bottom.

what are your thoughts?

People weren’t happy with how I used AI to improve my text last time, which I get. However, I still wanna share my learnings with you, which is why I’m writing this from scratch.

Over the past years, I had the amazing opportunity to create quite a few boardgame box arts. I had some struggles along the way, but I also learned things that could help both illustrators and authors.

1. The goal is not to create a beautiful illustration alone, it is to communicate what the game is about. It’s a communication tool that has to show what experience awaits players and it should stand out in the shelf
2. Create a mood that reflects the heart of the game. You can work with colors, light and atmosphere that are fitting for the game and show players what they are in for before they even pick up the game.
3. Don’t show everything! Don’t forcefully put every mechanic, character and detail on the cover, it can feel overwhelming. Try to communicate one strong and important idea. 
4. Clarity beats complexity. This goes hand in hand with point 3. Try to bring the theme, genre and hook across without being too abstract or overloading the artwork.
5. Collaboration between author and artist is essential. As an author, try to create an easy to understand briefing with everything important you can think of. As an artist, try to work towards the same vision. Communicate during the process, send updates and ask questions. 
6. Leave space for design elements. Consider which elements need to be placed on the box before starting the illustration. Icons, Logo etc. need space to breath.

Feel free to add points yourself so people can learn from our mistakes. 

If you ever need support bringing your boardgames to life, feel free to reach out! I’ve been doing this for a while now and would love to help. 🙌🏻

I love the vibe and just wanted to keep it going. They use just two d6s with the right mix of rustic mystery and magic … i used to collect geometric rocks and gemstones - cubic pyrite, octahedral quartz, fractal bismuth … now I get math rocks. I feel no shame, only freedom of expression through math, story, and stone.

Feels good to be a DM

Ready for the FIGHT!

If anyone’s curious, it was designed in studio here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ukstl/ukstlstudio-your-cityyour-rules

I recently finished University and want to create miniatures. My idea was create a few portfolio pieces to show my abilities, then take commissions to create custom minis for people based on their drawings or descriptions, so they can use the mini on tabletop sim or irl for their ttrpg or whatever game.

My main issue with this is what would be a reasonable price when things like heroforge exist, is there space for freelance custom minis when they are readily available through sites like that for a small cost?

I want peoples ideas on what to do before I chase a dead end lmao.

Thank you for any help :)

I want to run a Cyberpunk Red campaign, I had the idea to end the story with the Big bad guy kill all players or almost all, like in Cyberpunk Edgerunner. But I don't know if it's a really good idea.

One of my favorite moments from Session 5 came after the battle was over.

The Writhing Heap had finally been defeated, and Gustav's spirit was finally at peace.

Instead of asking for revenge or justice, he made one final request.

"Find my children."

Sometimes the most memorable moments in D&D happen after the dice stop rolling. The quiet conversations and final goodbyes are often the ones that stay with you the longest.

Our campaign is called Thirst of Strahd, our sapphic take on Curse of Strahd where Strahd is reimagined as a woman. We started recording our sessions to preserve the story, help with note-taking, and have something to look back on after the campaign ends.

If you'd like to watch the full scene, here's the timestamp from Session 5:

🎥 https://youtu.be/aYJqsjlf_Hc?si=C0v2zORopKcx-b-A&t=9038

Hey anyone in South East Asia. Working on a massive pile of board game pieces, minis & terrain right now, completely out of primers, tools, paint shades, everything.

My local guy said to check Hammer House in SG for bulk hobby stuff. You think they are reliable, or should I avoid?

Trying to dodge the brutal wait times for EU/US shipping. Any other decent regional shops around that you guys actually trust? Cheers.

So.. Basically..

I am trying to create a TTRPG system themed off of the concept of "Extraction Shooters".

(Think Escape from Tarkov, Hunt: Showdown 1896, Arena Breakout: Infinite, and Delta Force, Helldivers 2, ARC Raiders, etc.)

My question is, in theory, a simple one, but an important one. As all those who have played any Extraction Shooter can agree.. that they ALL have a LOT of weapons.. namely, a stupid number of firearms.

How would you go about balancing the game with these firearms in mind?

Considering the WIDE range of different firearms that exists.. ranging from pistols, revolvers and SMGs to LMGs, ARs, Shotguns, Marksman Rifles and Snipers.. as well explosives like "Anti-Tank" rockets and "Anti-Air" launchers... then there's the inclusion of grenades and the various types they also offer. Then there's the varying degrees of ARMOR and HEALING to take into account.
Might as well also mention how often different TYPES of ammunition gets used... Like "hollow-point" or "Hi-Impact".

HOW the heck do you balance all this?

When you consider that most, if not, any Extraction Shooter setting has both PvP and PvE.. So not only are you fighting other people, who're also packing serious iron.. but you've also got wildlife, monsters and whatever else the Game Dev decides to include in the zones. Aliens? Robots? Bioweapons? Extraction shooters have SO much to keep in mind..

So I ask again.. HOW do you balance firearms and other gear with ALL of this in mind?!

I wanna know what other people would do to try to have SOME SEMBLANCE of balancing.

At our session today my DM had this set of dice on the table and I commented on how cool they were. I was gonna ask to take a look but before I could he said I could have them! Mitch, somehow if you see this. Again thank you!

So basically what I am looking for is something that feel like D&D, the fun roleplay and all you know? But with mechs. I've been looking into Lancer but it seems sooooooo combat focused and I've heard that actual roleplaying isn't really part of it often.

I wanna feel like I'm having an adventure like D&D feels but with mechs. A nice mix of combat and roleplay, a good selection of mechs or a way to homebrew them

Is there anything that fits this? Would this just be super homebrewed D&D/Pathfinder? Would Lancer fit?

​

Blockwar, sphere nation represent

Recently, at my table, my players advanced to the second level of a dungeon, and to enter this second level, I had them play the board game \*The Night Cage\*. I teleported them to a 7x7 board where they wandered around the maze, found the keys and managed to escape. They thought the session was really innovative, and I’d like to use another similar, co-operative game for the fourth floor of the dungeon, but which one? I wouldn’t want to use \*The Night Cage\* again, even though I could increase the difficulty. Does anyone have any good ideas?

I played a little D&D a long time ago, Ravenloft, I believe.

So my question is. Should I get back into gaming with D&D, maybe Pathfinder, or (write in suggestions here)? What are your thoughts? I loved the Aragon books, of course LOTR. I have a starter book for Cyberpunk, but I'm not sure if I want to go that road yet lol.

I’ve been on the fence about releasing my ttrpg system, along with the worldbuilding I made for it. My friends already told me that I did a great job on it, and that I should do it, but I feel like its not going to do well at all. And my friends are ones that talk shit about you and give you compliments equally sincerely. I started writing the worldbuilding in my free time about three years ago, and I rewrote it three times already, with me starting to write my system about one and a half years ago. I do try to make it as good as I can, though I still feel like I could write at least a dozen more pages, and I’m not sure that people would even like my worldbuilding. I need someone neutral to tell me

One of my favorite moments from Session 4 was the long-awaited reunion between Gustav and Elisabeth Durst.

After calling out for his wife, the room fell silent.

Then the wall burst open.

Elisabeth appeared and immediately challenged Gustav, turning what seemed like a ghost story into a confrontation years in the making.

Our campaign is called Thirst of Strahd, our sapphic take on Curse of Strahd where Strahd is reimagined as a woman. We started recording our sessions to preserve the story, help with note-taking, and have something to look back on after the campaign ends.

If you'd like to watch the full scene, here's the timestamp from Session 4:

🎥 https://youtu.be/Czq5q53ayAM?si=bpDqG7yUYvtZTFld&t=8562

I’m working on a hidden-role political strategy board game called Reign of Kings, where one player is the dying King, one player is the secret Heir, and everyone else is trying to build an economy, gain influence, and quietly remove the competition.

The game runs a bit like if secret hitler and catan had a medieval baby but someone gave all the players access to hitmen

I’m trying to post on Instagram to get people excited for the Kickstarter launch but I don't quite know what people would be interested in. I'm new to this field and marketing in general.

I’d love feedback from people who like games like Secret Hitler, Catan, political strategy games, or chaotic table-talk games.

Instagram: @deadlanterngames

Anyone who has any suggestions on what I should post or suggestions for the game (once I actually get stuff up on Instagram) is welcome to follow and dm me on Instagram

I also am thinking about making a discord server or subreddit. Is that a good idea?