Framework Philosophy

The Problem with Traditional D&D Prep

Every Dungeon Master faces the same fundamental challenge: how to create engaging, coherent campaigns while maintaining a sustainable creative pace. Traditional approaches often lead to:

• Prep burnout: Spending 4-6 hours preparing for each 4-hour session
• Wasted effort: Creating content that players never encounter
• Narrative drift: Losing track of plot threads and character arcs
• Cognitive overload: Trying to keep everything in your head
• Player disconnection: Failing to integrate player interests into the world

The Mimir Campaign Generation Framework addresses these challenges through a systematic approach that treats campaign management as a creative project with clear deliverables, feedback loops, and sustainable practices.

Core Philosophy: Sustainable Campaign Management

At its heart, this framework rests on a simple principle: Campaign management should enhance creativity, not constrain it. By providing structure where structure helps and flexibility where flexibility matters, we create a system that supports long-term campaign success.

The Five Guiding Principles

1. Just-In-Time Creation

Principle: Create content only when you know it will be used.

Traditional prep often involves creating elaborate dungeons, detailed NPCs, and complex plot lines that players might never encounter. Just-In-Time Creation means:

• Prepare what you need for the next session, plus a small buffer
• Develop deeper content only after players show interest
• Keep a library of modular components for rapid deployment
• Let player choices guide world expansion

Example: Instead of detailing every shop in a city, create a template for shops and flesh out specific ones only when players visit them.

2. Design to Fit the Container

Principle: Sessions should reach satisfying endings within your time limit.

Don’t force 4-hour adventures into 1-hour slots—design 1-hour adventures instead. This means:

• Match content scope to actual session length
• Create natural breakpoints and cliffhangers
• Build adventures that can conclude satisfyingly in your timeframe
• Adjust pacing expectations to your table’s schedule

Example: If you play 45-minute lunch sessions, design episodic encounters with clear beginnings and endings rather than trying to run a traditional dungeon crawl.

3. Player-Driven Development

Principle: The best content emerges from player interests and choices.

Rather than forcing players through predetermined storylines:

• Track what excites players during sessions
• Build on throwaway comments and theories
• Let player backstories drive major arcs
• Use player actions to determine world reactions

Example: A player mentions their character fears spiders. This becomes a thread that eventually leads to a module featuring a cult of Lolth.

4. Sustainable Pace

Principle: Marathon campaigns require marathon training.

A campaign that lasts years needs consistent, manageable effort:

• Establish a weekly routine that works long-term
• Build in recovery time and prep breaks
• Use “filler” sessions to reduce prep load
• Maintain energy reserves for campaign climaxes

Example: Alternating high-prep “main plot” sessions with low-prep “downtime” sessions where players pursue personal goals.

5. Living Documentation

Principle: Your campaign world should be discoverable, not memorized.

Human memory is fallible; good organization is reliable:

• Document decisions as you make them
• Maintain accessible reference materials
• Use consistent formats for quick scanning
• Keep player-facing and DM-facing docs separate

Example: A simple “Campaign Bible” that tracks all established facts, NPCs, and locations in a searchable format.

Cognitive Load Management

The framework explicitly addresses cognitive load through physical and digital organization:

The Three Types of Cognitive Load

1. Intrinsic Load: The inherent complexity of running D&D

   • Rules adjudication
   • NPC roleplay
   • Combat management

2. Extraneous Load: Unnecessary mental burden

   • Searching for information
   • Remembering plot details
   • Tracking campaign continuity

3. Germane Load: Productive creative thinking

   • Improvising NPC dialogue
   • Adapting to player choices
   • Building dramatic moments

The framework minimizes extraneous load to maximize germane load, allowing you to focus on what matters: creating memorable experiences for your players.

When to Use This Framework

This framework excels in specific scenarios:

Ideal Use Cases

• Long-term campaigns: Anything planned for 6+ months
• Complex narratives: Multiple plot threads and recurring NPCs
• Busy DMs: Limited prep time but high quality expectations
• New DMs: Need structure while developing their style
• Collaborative tables: High player agency and world-building

When to Consider Alternatives

• One-shots: Overhead exceeds benefit
• Purely episodic: No continuing narrative
• Sandbox purists: Prefer entirely emergent gameplay
• High-prep preference: Enjoy extensive world-building

The Paradigm Shift

Moving from traditional prep to this framework requires shifting your mindset:

From: “I need to know everything”
To: “I need to know enough”

From: “Players might go anywhere”
To: “Players will signal their interests”

From: “More prep is better”
To: “Smart prep is better”

From: “I must control the story”
To: “I facilitate the story”

From: “Everything must be original”
To: “Everything must be engaging”

These shifts create a sustainable, player-centric approach that produces better campaigns with less effort.

Success Metrics

How do you know the framework is working?

Quantitative Measures

• Prep time: 1 hour prep per 4 hours of play
• Session regularity: 90%+ sessions happen as scheduled
• Campaign longevity: Campaigns last as long as intended
• Player retention: Players prioritize game nights

Qualitative Measures

• DM energy: Feeling energized after sessions, not drained
• Player engagement: Active participation and between-session discussions
• Story coherence: Plot threads resolve satisfyingly
• Creative flow: Inspiration comes easily during prep

Getting Started

The framework’s modular nature means you can adopt it gradually:

1. Start small: Implement just the Two-Board System
2. Build habits: Establish your weekly workflow
3. Add tools: Introduce templates as needed
4. Refine process: Adjust to your table’s needs

Remember: The framework serves you, not the other way around. Take what works, modify what doesn’t, and create your own sustainable campaign management practice.

The following chapters will guide you through each component of the framework, from high-level organization to session-by-session execution. By the end, you’ll have a complete toolkit for running engaging, sustainable campaigns that grow with your players’ interests while respecting your time and energy.