The players are free. I’m prepped. I’m also slightly terrified, because I don’t really know what direction they’ll go. I have a lot of things ready, but certainly not the direction they’ll choose. I want to give them clues without railroading… though if they feel fully stuck, maybe I’ll place them on the tracks. I’m curious to see what a more “sandboxy” Act 1 feels like, but a lot of that will be up to them tonight.
If it hasn’t been clear, by the way to my players, heavy spoilers follow.
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There’s a dungeon under the Stairs of Allegiance. If they follow the clues, they’ll find it. If they flounder, I’ll apply pressure. The hope is to strike a balance between open world and hallway. That said, if they go in a different direction, I’ve got a backup encounter and combat ready to “eat the session.” We can always circle back to under the stairs months later.
I’ve been building stat blocks for the Unraveling fanatics. Right now I’m playing with mechanics like max HP reduction, reckless attacks, and smites. It gives me a lot of ground to design foot soldiers, mini bosses, and full bosses with a shared identity. They go in hard and die fast. Zealots for the Unraveling.
I’m still nervous. Maybe I’ve said too much. Maybe some of that will change. There’s also a chance the party latches really hard onto the “people in masks” they spotted in the crowd last session. Those are not the fanatics. Ideally, that’s the second Act 1 thread. But if they push, we go that way. Hopefully I have enough content to carry us through.
I’ve never loved winging it. Hm. Maybe I’ll go build a just in case map right now, wish me luck.