Silver!

Tonight's second session was great.
Without the character gen we were able to dive straight in with things.
A Character "Caerphilly the Swashbuckler" received a fatal wound, failed two saving throws, so the other PCs carried him back up through the dungeon (they hadn't gotten that far in) and back to the Inn to see if there was a doctor in the village to help in. There was, but sadly it was too late and the character died.

The new character "Joe" is great, he seems to rush in without thinking. I hope he doesn't die though there's a high chance he will.

The rest of the group are also brilliant, with a bit more play time their characters are starting to come out. Grumlore the Barbarian is quiet yet slightly grumpy, Scape Goot the Wizard is getting more drinky and Elise the Thief really loves her silver and, as it turns out, is rather handy with a whip.
They seemed to enjoy rampaging round the rooms I've put together.
I had set up a room of jars, each containing a random nasty/pleasant suprise. As the first jar that was opened ( I say opened, Grumlore smashed the jar onto the ground) seemed to be full of silver, Joe decided this is what all the jars contained and with a shout of 'Silver!' he took his club and smashed a load of jars in one fell swoop. Chaos, as it does, ensued.

Things I've learnt.

Seeing the players actually going through the environment you're creating is the most fun thing to watch.

Unpredictability in players is good, do not be afraid of it.

Draw and create more things to give to the players, they seemed to like it.

Learn to listen to everyone talking.

If I stop worrying about what is happening, I can make stuff up on the spot and let the players run loose.

I must remember to write down stuff I've made up on the spot and weave it back into the game.


Trust in the basic framework.

Because the world I'm playing in is being made up as I go, it seems the best way to get information about it is to listen to the players. Tonight I discovered that Magic Users have Masters and that the main city (Crow) has a library (actually, I learnt this from an NPC but still…I hadn't thought about it before).

Just because a magical item is placed, don't assume the players will use it.

Don't make little happy noises when players head towards a room  that you really like. It sort of gives things away…

-------------------------

We're not gaming for a little bit, due to holidays and the like, which means I can crack on with world building and thinking up more campaign ideas. Essential, this is all just means I get to make things up and do some drawing, which is part of the whole fun of this.