Initial thoughts regarding the game?
It's 12:30am, you're drunk, you feel good about the game but you're trying to close it down, and that's when it strikes.
For fucks sake. Now. Fucking, now. It's ...now? Why not now.
Now that that's out of the way, I would've, could've, should've.
Should've had dwarves in the wreckage fighting for their lives, despite Prissmahl's presence (yeah, that's how his name's actually spelt).
Should've provided the characters with a fast travel back to town.
Should've expected fuckery.
Most importantly, I should've just played it through. I didn't want to deal with it, I should've just played it through. I feel like I was being unnecessarily resistant and I can come up with a multitude of reasons why.
I could've just said, "Not now, let's just wrap it out and continue this next session."
I could've played it through, sped things up and generally made things more entertaining.
I could've been a DM.
The game went well sofar as I was concerned; I hit most of the beats, I was a bit foggy on what to do when the players got to the tower and decided to wing it. For the most part it was what I intended but I should have ended it much sooner so as to be better prepared. I've been priding myself on developing a set of well knit dealings and I don't want to risk things going too far sideways.
I can already see that there's going to be a whole lot of debate on morales and laws come the next few sessions.
See the thing about it all is that Joe's actions don't annoy me, but his reaction when I have him assassinated after he goes back? That's gonna annoy the fuck out of me.
See, I figure, Ivor is going to report in and say, "Hey all, I killed the doting father of three that was a devout follower of the church. Yeah, y'know, that paladin was barking about some heretical nonsense so I put him to the sword and blew the contents of his brain casing into the snow. He won't be bothering anyone anytime soon."
No?
"Where's Orion?"
"He.. didn't make it."
"Didn't make it?"
"Didn't make it."
["Joe, roll deception."]
["Fuck. I rolled shit."]
["He signals guards and glowers at you."] (I should start using that. Glower.)
["Fuck you, Dooley"]
Maybe he rolls awesome!
"Hey, Valen, where's Orion?"
"Ivor killed him."
["Good talk."]
Somebody's gonna be a bit pissed off with Ivor. Some folks are doubtlessly going to think he's a psychopath at the least. So now the cogs turn, and in the same brutal fashion that Ivor moved on a paladin of the state, so too shall the state move upon him. If or when they reach the city.
When that assassination happens, I get into an argument. Then an hour of game disappears into a void of discussion regarding the poltical alignments of religious powers in a figment world that I'm pulling out of my ass.
Now let's say I ignore ALL that. I say, fuck it, I want to move on with my story; the other party members will talk about oh say, the curing of a zombified man whose grey matter was moments later also turned into a naturally formed temporary art piece of the abstract sort,
I can hear the conversation going already:
"But he used heresy!"
"The gods can forgive oversight when their peoples very survival is at stake!"
["Fuck you, Dooley."]
["The executioner puts the axe through Ivor's neck."]
I'm obviously paraphrasing the events that would transpire thereby but that's the gyst of it.
Ultimately I think the big core issue in it is the lack of survivors in the crash. I had described lots of legit bodies, and zombies, but no survivors. Having survivors would have alleviated suspicion and tension.
Y'know?
I dunno.
Live and learn.