Mike Shea’s Eight Steps of Lazy RPG Prep have become a go-to resource for GMs looking to prep smarter, not harder. The framework came out of the D&D 5e era, which naturally raises a question: does this only work for D&D, or can you use it for other tabletop RPGs?
Shea’s answer is clear: the framework is largely system-agnostic and has been successfully applied to numerous RPGs beyond D&D, including Numenera, Shadowdark, and Shadow of the Demon Lord. The Eight Steps focus on preparing fictional-world elements rather than game mechanics, which is exactly why they travel so well across different rule systems.
This article walks through how the framework works across different games, where it shines brightest, and how you can customize it to fit your specific needs and prep style.
What ‘System-Agnostic’ Means for the Eight Steps
Mike Shea describes the Eight Steps of Lazy RPG Prep as generally system agnostic, meaning they are not tied to any single RPG ruleset. This distinction matters for GMs wondering whether the framework applies only to D&D 5e or if it can travel to other games. The answer is clear: the framework is designed to work across many different tabletop RPG systems.
Shea has personally used the framework for D&D 2014, D&D 2024, Numenera, Shadowdark, Shadow of the Demon Lord, and other RPGs, demonstrating its cross-system applicability. This real-world application across diverse rule systems shows that the framework is not locked into D&D mechanics or assumptions.
Beyond D&D 5e: The Framework’s Broader Reach
The Eight Steps framework extends far beyond the D&D ecosystem. Because Shea has tested and refined the approach across multiple systems with different mechanics, settings, and player expectations, GMs working with any of those games can adopt the framework with confidence. The fact that it works for both tactical dungeon-crawlers like Shadowdark and narrative-focused games like Numenera suggests the framework captures something fundamental about GM preparation rather than system-specific procedures.
This breadth of application also means that a GM transitioning from one system to another can carry the same prep approach forward. Rather than learning a new preparation method for each new game, you can adapt the framework you already know.
How Shea Defines System Agnosticism
System agnosticism does not mean universal applicability. Shea explicitly states that the framework does not work for every RPG, but it does work for many. This honest qualification is important: the framework is broadly applicable, not universally applicable. Understanding this distinction helps GMs assess whether the Eight Steps fit their specific game before investing time in the approach.
The framework is also tool agnostic, meaning it works with index cards, notebooks, OneNote, Notion, Obsidian, and other prep platforms. This dual agnosticism (both system and tool) gives GMs maximum flexibility in how they implement the framework and what technology they use to support it.
Why the Framework Travels Well Across Games
The Eight Steps are framed around preparing things in the fictional world rather than game mechanics. This focus on fictional-world elements rather than rules-specific procedures is why the framework translates across different systems. When you prepare NPCs, locations, secrets, and strong starts, you are preparing things that exist independent of any particular ruleset.
Because the framework focuses on world-building elements and GM-facing session structure, it applies to any game where the GM prepares the fictional environment for players to explore. A secret works the same way in D&D, Numenera, and Shadowdark. An NPC’s motivation and role in the story transcend system boundaries. A strong session opening engages players regardless of which rules they are using.
Fictional-World Focus Over Mechanics
The Eight Steps are meant to capture things in the fictional world that the GM and players build and explore together. This framing makes the framework inherently portable. When you prepare a location, you describe its features, inhabitants, and secrets in ways that fit the fictional world, not in ways that depend on specific game mechanics. A tavern keeper’s personality, the hidden treasure map, the ruined temple’s atmosphere: these elements exist in the fiction and can be adapted to any system.
Contrast this with prep that focuses on mechanics: calculating monster statistics, optimizing treasure tables for specific XP thresholds, or designing encounters around particular tactical rules. That kind of prep is deeply system-specific and does not travel well. The Eight Steps avoid this trap by keeping the focus on the fictional world.
The Core Principle Behind Portability
The portability of the Eight Steps rests on a simple principle: GMs prepare the world, and the system adjudicates what happens within it. Because the framework emphasizes world preparation, it remains relevant regardless of which system you use to resolve actions and conflicts. A GM running Shadowdark prepares NPCs and locations in the same way a GM running Numenera does, even though the rules for combat, magic, and character advancement differ significantly.
This separation of concerns (world preparation from mechanical resolution) is what allows the framework to work across so many different games. It acknowledges that certain aspects of GM work are universal, while others are system-specific.
The Framework’s Best Fit: GM-Led Games
The framework is especially suited to games with a single GM and multiple players, where the GM prepares elements of the fictional world for players to explore. This structure (one GM adjudicating and preparing, multiple players discovering) is common across most traditional TTRPGs, from D&D to Numenera to Shadowdark. In this setup, the GM’s role is to create a world and guide players through it, which is exactly what the Eight Steps help you prepare.
The single-GM, multiple-player structure creates a natural division of labor: the GM prepares the world, and the players navigate it. This arrangement makes the Eight Steps particularly effective because the framework is designed to support exactly this kind of preparation workflow.
When the Eight Steps Work Best
The Eight Steps shine in games where the GM has primary responsibility for preparing and presenting the fictional world. This includes traditional fantasy RPGs, science fiction games, horror campaigns, and many other genres. What matters is not the setting or tone, but the structure: one person preparing the world, multiple people exploring it.
Games that follow this structure benefit from the framework because each of the Eight Steps addresses a specific aspect of world preparation that the GM needs to handle. Whether you are preparing a dungeon, a space station, a city, or a wilderness, the same steps guide your preparation process.
Where the Framework Needs Adjustment
Shea acknowledges that the Eight Steps do not work for every RPG. Certain games with highly player-driven narratives or distributed narrative authority may require significant modification or may not benefit from this prep framework at all. Games that emphasize shared storytelling, player-driven world-building, or non-traditional GM roles operate on different principles than the framework assumes.
Understanding where the framework does not apply is as important as knowing where it does. This prevents GMs from forcing a prep method onto a game where it creates friction rather than efficiency.
Limitations of the Eight Steps
The framework assumes a traditional GM role: you prepare, you present, players respond. Games that distribute narrative authority more evenly among the table, or that emphasize player agency in world-building, may find some steps unnecessary or counterproductive. In such games, the GM might not prepare monsters in advance, or might not define secrets that players are meant to uncover, because the game’s design encourages different kinds of preparation.
Additionally, certain steps may be irrelevant to specific games or sessions. A game focused on intrigue and negotiation might not need a detailed monsters step. A game emphasizing exploration might not need a rewards step in the traditional sense. Recognizing these mismatches helps you adapt the framework rather than abandon it.
Games Where Steps May Be Unnecessary
Some steps can be left out if they are not relevant to a particular game or session. For example, the monsters step might be unnecessary in a narrative RPG focused on character relationships and dialogue. The rewards step might be irrelevant in a game that does not use traditional treasure or advancement mechanics. Rather than treating the Eight Steps as a rigid checklist, view them as a menu of prep activities you can select from based on your game’s needs.
This flexibility is one of the framework’s greatest strengths. You are not locked into using all eight steps; you use the ones that serve your game and your session.
Customizing the Eight Steps for Your Game
The Eight Steps can be adapted by cutting or combining elements that do not fit a specific game or session. Shea encourages GMs to choose only the prep steps that fit their own style and the needs of the game, rather than treating the framework as a rigid checklist. This permission to customize is built into the framework itself.
Customization might mean removing a step entirely, combining two steps into one, or expanding a step that is particularly important for your game. The goal is to create a prep workflow that serves your game and your GM style, not to follow the framework as a dogmatic prescription.
Cutting and Combining Steps
If a step does not apply to your game, cut it. If two steps naturally combine in your workflow, merge them. A GM running a monster-light narrative RPG might skip the monsters step entirely, while a GM running a high-magic game might expand the rewards step to include magical items, spell components, and other treasure types. A GM who prepares NPCs and locations together might combine those steps rather than treating them separately.
The point is to make the framework work for you, not to make yourself work for the framework. Experimentation is encouraged: try the full framework first, then remove or modify steps that do not serve your prep workflow. Over time, you will develop a customized version that fits your game and your personal style.
Building Your Own Prep Framework
By customizing the Eight Steps, you are not abandoning the framework; you are building your own version of it. This process of adaptation helps you understand which prep activities matter most for your game and which ones you can skip. Some GMs will find that five steps work perfectly, while others might add their own steps to address specific needs of their game.
The framework provides a starting point and a set of proven prep activities. From there, you shape it to fit your game, your players, and your GM style. This flexibility is what makes the Eight Steps useful across so many different RPGs and prep approaches.
Personalizing the Approach
Your prep workflow should reflect your personal strengths and preferences. If you are good at improvising NPCs, you might spend less time on the NPC step and more time on locations. If you love designing encounters, you might expand the monsters step. If you prefer to let the story emerge from player choices, you might minimize the secrets step and focus instead on strong starts and interesting locations.
Personalization also means choosing the tools and formats that work for you. Some GMs prefer the tactile experience of index cards, while others benefit from searchable digital notes. Some prefer detailed outlines, while others work from brief bullet points. The framework supports all these approaches because it is tool agnostic.
Practical Implementation: Tools and Examples
The framework can be written on index cards, notebooks, or apps such as OneNote, Notion, or Obsidian, demonstrating its tool-agnostic nature. Your choice of tool should depend on your workflow preference and how you like to access your notes during play. Some GMs keep their prep on physical cards they can shuffle and reference at the table. Others use digital tools that allow them to search and organize notes across multiple sessions.
Shea’s personal use of the framework across D&D 2014, D&D 2024, Numenera, Shadowdark, and Shadow of the Demon Lord shows how the same prep structure adapts to different rule systems and settings. Each of these games has different mechanics, different assumptions about the world, and different player expectations, yet the same prep framework serves them all.
Digital and Physical Prep Tools
Digital tools like Notion and Obsidian offer searchability and the ability to link prep notes across sessions. If you run a long campaign and want to reference earlier sessions or track recurring NPCs, digital tools make this easier. Physical index cards offer a tactile experience and allow you to spread your prep across a table, seeing all your notes at once. Notebooks provide a middle ground: portable, searchable through flipping pages, and requiring no technology.
Choose your prep tool based on your workflow preference and how you like to work during sessions. If you are comfortable improvising and only need minimal notes, index cards might be ideal. If you like to have detailed information at your fingertips, a digital tool with search functionality might serve you better. The framework works with all these approaches because it is tool agnostic.
Real-World Examples Across Systems
Consider how the Eight Steps apply across different games. In D&D 2024, you might prepare a dungeon location with monsters, treasure, and secrets. In Numenera, you might prepare a mysterious location with strange technology, NPCs with unusual motivations, and secrets about the world’s history. In Shadowdark, you might prepare a darker, more dangerous location with monsters and treasure suited to that game’s tone. The prep activities are the same; the content changes based on the game’s setting and mechanics.
This consistency across systems is what makes the framework valuable. You develop a prep habit that works for you, and then you can apply it to any GM-led game you run. You are not starting from scratch each time you pick up a new system.
The Flexibility Advantage: Why Lazy Prep Works
By focusing on fictional-world elements rather than mechanics, the Eight Steps allow GMs to prepare efficiently without over-engineering sessions. You prepare what matters: the world, the NPCs, the locations, the secrets, and the strong start. You do not prepare every possible outcome or stat out every potential encounter in advance. This efficiency is what makes the prep lazy: you do the minimum necessary to run a great session.
The framework’s flexibility means GMs can adjust their prep depth based on the session’s needs. Some sessions might require fewer steps, others more. A session focused on exploration might need detailed location prep but minimal NPC prep. A session focused on negotiation might need detailed NPC prep but minimal location prep. You adapt the framework to fit the session.
This approach reduces prep burnout by emphasizing what matters most: the fictional world and the players’ experience within it. Rather than spending hours optimizing mechanics or preparing for every possible player choice, you focus on creating an interesting world and strong session structure. The players fill in the rest through their choices and actions.
Conclusion
The Eight Steps of Lazy RPG Prep represent a flexible, system-agnostic approach to GM preparation that prioritizes fictional-world elements over mechanical complexity. By focusing on NPCs, locations, secrets, and strong session starts rather than rules-specific procedures, the framework remains portable across many different tabletop RPGs.
While the framework works best for traditional GM-led games with a single GM and multiple players, it can be adapted or modified for many different systems. Certain steps can be cut, combined, or expanded depending on your game’s needs and your personal prep style.
The real power of the Eight Steps lies in their flexibility. You are not locked into using all eight steps as a rigid checklist. Instead, you build your own customized version by selecting the prep activities that serve your game and your GM style. Experiment with the full framework, then remove or modify steps that do not fit your workflow.
By focusing on what matters most (the fictional world and the players’ experience within it), the Eight Steps offer a sustainable, efficient approach to session prep across any GM-led tabletop RPG.