I need a break from the internet.

Our group finished the adventure I've been running for the past month, and I feel like it was successful. The adventure had many colors, a variety of encounters, lots of story, a nice helping of role-play, some light puzzling, and lots and lots of choices. Usually I let those choices lead anywhere, but that this point in the campaign the choices generally extend to the parameters of the adventure. I'm learning that the further a campaign advances the fewer choices the PCs generally have. When a campaign is young, the characters are free to go where they will, starting new story threads as they wish. At higher levels, at least in a very story focused campaign, those choices become a lot more limited as the plot accelerates.

We're taking a break while one of our players performs a show on the Second City mainstage here in Chicago for the rest of its run. In the meantime, I'll fill in with Star Frontiers on game night. With all the little tweaks we've added, I think Star Frontiers will run splendidly. We had a character creation session last Tuesday and the players really rose to the occasion, making some exceptionally compelling people. That'll be my playground for a while, a fertile ground for experimentation.

First, though, I need to get away from the internet. It's a bit too noisy, a bit too crowded, and far too rude. 2011 has been a roller coaster year. A lot of blessings, a lot of misfortunes. I need to find a place of quiet where I can retreat for a while and think about what's important.