Spoiler:
This is the session where I realized that my players had no idea what to do.
Okay, they had an idea, but no real pressure. And since one of the players was out again, I didn't want to push it, either. Finally got one character to spend Legend Points, though, which is mostly my fault as the plot is forcing a time-crunch.
Sean went to question Omaron again to see if there was any reason to accuse him. When he came back, he walked into the room to catch the end of Valteri saying something bad about him. I forced a rewind made Valteri and Vyktor play out that conversation. Sean's player decided to play up the various funny things they said about Sean. Nice little bit of RP that did nothing for the story but built the group.
Then came Magnik. I have no idea, really, what my players were trying to do here, but it didn't work. Valteri's player realized at the last second that Sean was spilling the whole shebang right outside Magnik's window.
I planned three interactions with neighbors back at the dead woman's house. The first one I presented to them was so void of content that they simply backed off and quit that avenue of investigation, which means they never found out that her Name was Zera, that she lived alone, and that some crotchety Stalwart Stone came to visit her a few days ago. These were actually planned for Blighty Hill, but the chase pulled the players away before they thought to ask around. There really isn't much here, anyway, so all of that is for the best; this was simply where they were supposed to meet up with my constructs again, which they did.
Them checking out the two crystals Magnik gave them, however, was a boon for me. It allowed me to present the disorientation of the pink crystal again. THIS was my major clue, and they had missed it before. But, like a good adventure game, they were clicking on all the things to see what a happens, and I was able to bring this back around.
The trip back to the Training Hall exposed a bit more of what I dislike about my level of planning. The big set pieces are drab and one-dimensional. Sure, it's the Training Hall, but I don't really have good descriptions written up for it, nor most other locations. It's fine; my players aren't looking for it, but it's a disappointment for me. I'm much better with the little chance meetings and describing interactions, so I should probably stick with that, rather than evocative settings.
I did my favorite thing to do, which is present a call-back to something earlier. Teran, the scared Liferock guard (whose Name is totally nothing like Veran), came to see Ghehennis. Players thought they sent him to talk with Ygdrask. They enjoyed trying to psyche him up to go into the lab. And prior to that, they got Ygdrask to verify that the crystals had similar Astral signatures to the Liferock and Pool of Shemara, so that helped verify some of the things the players were thinking.
Okay, they had an idea, but no real pressure. And since one of the players was out again, I didn't want to push it, either. Finally got one character to spend Legend Points, though, which is mostly my fault as the plot is forcing a time-crunch.
Sean went to question Omaron again to see if there was any reason to accuse him. When he came back, he walked into the room to catch the end of Valteri saying something bad about him. I forced a rewind made Valteri and Vyktor play out that conversation. Sean's player decided to play up the various funny things they said about Sean. Nice little bit of RP that did nothing for the story but built the group.
Then came Magnik. I have no idea, really, what my players were trying to do here, but it didn't work. Valteri's player realized at the last second that Sean was spilling the whole shebang right outside Magnik's window.
I planned three interactions with neighbors back at the dead woman's house. The first one I presented to them was so void of content that they simply backed off and quit that avenue of investigation, which means they never found out that her Name was Zera, that she lived alone, and that some crotchety Stalwart Stone came to visit her a few days ago. These were actually planned for Blighty Hill, but the chase pulled the players away before they thought to ask around. There really isn't much here, anyway, so all of that is for the best; this was simply where they were supposed to meet up with my constructs again, which they did.
Them checking out the two crystals Magnik gave them, however, was a boon for me. It allowed me to present the disorientation of the pink crystal again. THIS was my major clue, and they had missed it before. But, like a good adventure game, they were clicking on all the things to see what a happens, and I was able to bring this back around.
The trip back to the Training Hall exposed a bit more of what I dislike about my level of planning. The big set pieces are drab and one-dimensional. Sure, it's the Training Hall, but I don't really have good descriptions written up for it, nor most other locations. It's fine; my players aren't looking for it, but it's a disappointment for me. I'm much better with the little chance meetings and describing interactions, so I should probably stick with that, rather than evocative settings.
I did my favorite thing to do, which is present a call-back to something earlier. Teran, the scared Liferock guard (whose Name is totally nothing like Veran), came to see Ghehennis. Players thought they sent him to talk with Ygdrask. They enjoyed trying to psyche him up to go into the lab. And prior to that, they got Ygdrask to verify that the crystals had similar Astral signatures to the Liferock and Pool of Shemara, so that helped verify some of the things the players were thinking.