Session 52 was almost all roleplaying, with a few dice rolls here and there. The PCs had some decisions to make. I was ready to deal with whatever they decided. That is one advantage of running a long campaign. I know the motivations of the NPCs, I know the undercurrents of what is happening, I have NPCs and encounters in reserve, and have a good idea how long any particular encounter will take.
I think I’ve talked about this a bit with Jeff on SAFCOcast, but I’ll say it again here. As a gamemaster, you have to get used to the idea of a quiet table. You have to get over the idea that YOU personally have entertain the players 100% of the time. If they are taking a long time to make a decision, sometimes you need to just let it play out. Of course, decision paralysis does happen, and sometimes you have to do something to break that. That is a challenge in a more open-ended sandbox style campaign. I think I’ve heard it said that with regard to prepping for such a game you need to “be prepared to improvise.” I think there’s a lot truth to that.
I think the hollowed-out crazy asteroid world I’ve come up with will be a fun setting for a session or two.
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