Well, just returning from meeting with the second Pathfinder group and making some characters. I really need to start coming up with names with the groups. The Age of Ashes group and the Open World group? Well, it's all semantics, anyway!

The Age of Ashes group has recently finished chapter 3 of Hellknight Hill and are hurtling toward the finale of the first book after only two sessions. Impressive (even if those were each 9 hour sessions that were a true test of the vocal chords of yours truly). You can check out their recent session over in the Age of Ashes Update section. This session features A LOT of dungeon crawling and a good handful of friendly fire. Turns out that not all clerics are healers.

I thought I'd use this little update to talk a little bit about being a GM. One of the most important things you can do as a storyteller is going over your sessions carefully and taking note where you could do better. I've been playing for a few decades now, and I still take note of how I could do better; even moreso now that I'm learning a new edition.

Something that I noticed while playing in the most recent session, is that I haven't been really handling "secret rolls" too well. According to second edition rules, certain rolls should instead be handled by the GM to evoke a certain level of suspense and distrust. I've hand-waved this throughout the Playtest and have done so in our games, but I should pay more attention as these rolls can drastically change things! Here are a few examples of rolls that we should be rolling in secret (in case I forget!):

• Identifying Magic/Alchemy: Boy, this is what started this whole line of thinking when Uhn misidentified a potion while Viggo correctly did so. Having the goblin insist that the potion of invisibility was in reality a potion of enlarge person would have changed things quite dramatically in the game. I regret letting this moment pass us by.
• Recall Knowledge: Boy, these skills come out so fast and furious that I very easily forget that they're supposed to be secret checks. When these are rolled secretly, failures could actually give you misleading clues! A critical failure rolled out in the open is a more obvious incorrect answer. I'll work on these!
• Rogue-y Stuff: This one may shock you, but things like lying, disguising yourself, and even Stealth checks are supposed to be secret checks! This actually makes a lot of sense. If you roll a low Stealth check, you aren't likely to try and stroll across the heavily guarded courtyard. The Age of Ashes group lacks... subtlety, so this hasn't been a real issue yet. Well, we do tend to open doors very quietly. This could change that dynamic.
• Sensing Direction: Yup. You can walk around in circles. Actually there are no listed failure effects for this, so I'm not as concerned about these checks. We'll see. We may have to do some navigation in the near future...

Alright, that said, I did get to sit down and make some characters with the Open World group (still doesn't feel right, I'll find something that does). We've got a demonic goblin sorcerer who is obsessed with eating whatever she can get her grubby little hands on. Along with her will be Twig, the gnomish bard, ready to play a tune on her accordion and entertain all with her pet/familiar monkey.

We've got two more characters to make and I'm excited to see this group grow into something truly terrifying! I sure hope so because The Fall of Plaguestone is said to be quite dangerous...

-Dungeon Master

PS: With October right around the corner and Halloween about to be upon us, I'd LOVE to run a spooooooky Dread game with interested players. It's hard to do this strange game justice in a quick blurb, but a horror roleplaying game with a Jenga tower instead of dice? What's not to love?