I am a very lucky girl.
      I get to be Dungeonmaster for awhile. I get to be the one saying, “Roll a fort save, bitches!” and “Damn! That critical hit with a lance just exploded that poor Goblin Scout!” or “Oooh, sorry, a fifteen misses, whiff!”. I get to decide how the NPCs react to the PCs, I get to roll to find out when they have random encounters and on which watch things happen. I get to weave a tale around the players’ choices, interact with them, lay traps for them, plan encounters, try to anticipate where they may go.
      I am a very unlucky girl.
      I have to be Dungeonmaster for awhile. I have to be the one saying, “Sorry, So-and-So, the character you dreamt up and had big plans for, is really dead” or “Ugh! These Goblin Scouts can’t hit you guys for beans tonight. He misses again.” and “No, I checked the rules book and you can’t have your PC charge over difficult terrain to land that massive lance blow.”. I have to try and make NPCs matter to the PCs, make them memorable and yet not let them take-over. I have to occasionally fudge a roll so as to not demoralize the players, keep things challenging but not too difficult, keep track of who is on which watch. I have to make the story up as I go, weaving their decisions into the overall arc (or creating an entirely new one on the fly), I have to keep my details straight, try not to TPK them with traps, and make every attempt to figure out what they’re going to do next.
      Dungeonmaster (or Gamemaster, if you prefer) is an awesome title. A great responsibility. A fun and stressful time.
      I love it.
      I was so very nervous to take up the reigns of this “Kingmaker” campaign. I had DM’d for Mark before, having run him on a solo campaign. I had DM’d once for our friend Mike and Mark, too. But no real groups on ‘real’ adventures.
      But after awhile, I warmed up to it.
      And then, I started to really enjoy myself. Because I know there will be bad calls and rule issues, and sometimes people will not like where I take things. And sometimes, I will not like where they take things. But damn it – DM’ing is FUN!
      Last night, I stayed up a bit later than normal, getting together the three tribes (major tribes) of the Green Blood Nation, a collective of goblinoids that has been hassling the good, honest, breadbasket-of-Brevoy-farmers north of Restov. And let me tell you, my friends, if the PCs don’t take time to use tactics… they are utterly screwed.
      When we left off on Saturday, they were within hours of catching up to “tribe two”, an amorphous, half-conceived idea I had not yet fleshed out. Thank Goodness we had to stop early – because now I have each of the three major tribes named, numbered, marked and ready for murderpation!
      Can you tell I’m excited for Saturday? Even though there haven’t been any (or wait, maybe one) recaps written, besides my own, I’m so eager to play again – anticipation is AGONY!
      Just a few days to go… Come on, weekend! Get here!

Note: Image is “dices” by tijmen from SXC.hu