The bottom part of the sidebar runneth over the page again, reminding me that I'm still one of the slackest bastards in the land, and I should either write something else, or increase the number of days displayed on the front page. The problem with that is it's the weaker solution -- I could see myself increasing the number every X days when too many articles expire to keep the layout looking neat and tidy.

I suppose what I really should do is rewrite the front page to be less vulnerable to my laziness, but really, what are the odds of that happening?

Anyway, I thought I'd write a little bit about the Hall, and this plot I'm gearing up to run in.. April? A month or so after Jeff finished his plot. Fret not, I'll be charmingly oblique, so you can read the entry without having plot bits spoiled for you, if that's a concern of yours. If the Hall bores you silly, or if you just don't care about it, this probably isn't the entry for you. :-) Try the Flash thing in the previous entry. It's still quite neat.

I sent Anders home last night. It was probably overdue. I brought him onto the Hall because I'd conceived of this scene, a six-and-a-half-foot paladin with Sean Connery's general appearance and brogue meandering into the Hall and revealing himself to be Jaret's father, much to the consternation of all present. That part worked out fantastically well. The right crowd of Patrons was there to appreciate the moment, and everyone had a good time with it. I inadvertantly ran over a similar plan someone else had that they were going to execute that night, but it wasn't deliberate. Also, there was more, "Really? You're Jaret's father? Really?" than I had expected, and not as much general conversation with Anders telling stories about Jaret.

I've been looking at that as a microcosm of assumptions that I tend to make about the Hall, and things that I need to do better, as an HM. That said, two lessons learned:

• I tend to think in scenes and events, rather than plots. I'll assume that I'll figure certain details out later (such as why Anders arrived -- it should have been a lot more impressive than simply looking for Jaret), but I don't. Scenes and all are nice, but they're better when they're hung on the backbone of a plot.
  
• Hall folk are paranoid, paranoid people. Don't expect or plan on necessarily being able to rush things along at a slambang pace. Try to be prepared for people to cast truth spells and give the fish eye to the young boy who offers them an apple. In a related point, don't smack noses for it when it happens. Every gamer in the world has had so many plot twists sprung on them that they're naturally suspicious of the free apple boy because eighteen games ago, one of their friends took a flower from a girl on a streetcorner, only to have the damn thing crawl into his ear, eat his brain, and turn him into a mindless follower of the zombie god Zooshie.
  

The first point is really the most important, that I need to take best to heart. I don't plan well to start with, so faced with the decision to try to draw up an plan or outline for something and winging it and hoping for the best, I'll wing it. Hey, that way if things go sour, at least I have an excuse, right?