We played our second session on Sunday, and generally had fun. Unfortunately we didn't have as much fun as I was hoping for. Part of this, I think, is because I was feeling under the weather, and partially because I wasn't as well-prepared as I should have been.

Problem wise, the biggest was that I didn't think things through clearly enough, and I didn't manage to have all of the characters come together. Quiet, independent stories are good on occasion, for a scene or two, but this group functions best (or I function best) when everybody is together, creating their own special brand of mayhem. If I had been feeling better, I think I could have gotten my brain behind getting everyone together (and the town would probably have been burned down).

On the flipside, a bunch of good stuff did happen. Justin, who has stolen a Spirit Flask for a client, failed his curiosity control roll. He opened the flask, released the spirit, and immediately realized that he was in deep trouble. Fortunately for Justin, the spirit had a catastrophic failure in the subsequent contest of wills, and when Justin ordered it back into the bottle, it went meekly.

Lyria also failed her control roll for her bad temper, and wound up interrupting her pursuit of a giant rat (who had stolen her payment for a job) to kick the snot out of the beast. That little scene made my day.

Thorp also displayed a real flair for the dramatic, actively engaging in Parkour to escape the law, and to pursue foes.

The best part about this group is that they've learned about control rolls. They don't wait for me to ask for a control roll (which is good, because my head wasn't up to it yesterday). They just make the roll and tell me about the result. They've learned that they have more fun when they loose control, and I throw stuff at them.

One thing I've started doing is handing out an experience point for a failed control roll, because those things are awesome. I definitely want to reward somebody who makes the game take on a new direction.

Planning Technique

The planning tool I'm using, Adventure Designer, is awesome for keeping flexibility open. Essentially the only bits I plan out are the important scenes, where interesting stuff is happening. It is helping me to respond easily to things like a player deciding to stop a chase because she needs to kick the snot out of a rat.

The one downside of it is that if I'm not mentally up to my peak, I sometimes miss prime opportunities. I should, for instance, have inserted Justin into the chase scene when he went on his morning stroll for breakfast. But my brain didn't grasp that it was the right thing to do there (I did have him involved in another chase), and that opportunity was missed.

Conclusion

First and foremost, don't finish prep just before leaving for game day. Having a little time to let your ideas gel makes for a better game.

Second, be well rested and have your head clear. That's always true when game mastering anyway, and the reason I rarely drink when I'm the GM. And Sunday's mental issues weren't something I had much control over. I was feeling off later in the day, and the early part of the day's mental issues were probably a precursor.