TOPIC: What to do with Downtime?

Access to information is limited even for GMs. I didn't know it was an option for players to do an easter egg interaction even for my specific module going into GHC. Similarly I had little information from the other Soulwell GMs going into my second con.

Thanks to AC Michael for pointing this out to me at Pax south- talk to your ACs everyone! The players take GM and NPC word as gospel, even in a hellscape when they are talking to an capitals Chaotic Evil Demon. This is not my game and it is not my story, and I don't want to confuse the players. He got me back on track with about 5-10 minutes of coaching. The well is a reflection of my players, and my NPC only knew what my players knew. I was only a dark reflection of them. (Mind blown on day 2 of con)

As a GM i usually have narrative authority so it is strange to get "railroaded". The players take my word as gospel, but it is not my story to tell. There is a lot of tension in that there is only about three minutes of material in the soulwell module at normal difficulty. I tried to focus on the tension of "should we be doing this?" Which is the right question to ask, but the players have no choice and I tell them as much.
Thats heavy, let's unpack that and get some catharsis. But I want to give the players agency in the story and a chance to do the right thing.

In dnd modules that I have run in the past, when I play the part of a demonic mirror and tell players lies, or just ask them what question they want to ask me and go around in circles with my answers, the audience aka my players usually take these words as the words of an unreliable source. Anyone paying attention can see the foreshadowing of an unreliable NPC in True Dungeon. And if you weren't paying attention, thanks for pulling the wool over your eyes and suspending disbelief but ultimately you probably won't remember the details, just the emotional content. I want to focus on the moral and philosophical implications of this soul well... forum post forthcoming.

You are correct. It is not your story.
It should also be noted that you are VOLUNTEERING to tell someone else’s.

That should probably come into consideration if/when you DM next.

Side note: Mr Naglee is Director not AC. His word is gospel to ALL volunteers.

1). Just a heads up - Mike is a Director on staff at True Dungeon and was one of the two people in charge of the whole show at PAX.

2). You keep referencing an NPC in that room but there is no NPC in that room. I don’t think I understand.

3). The module is intended to be performed as written unless specifically directed otherwise by an AC or a Director.

4). As a True Dungeon DM, never, ever lie to the players as a game mechanic. Your job is to facilitate the puzzle, not make it harder by adding story details that are not written in to the module.

5). Downtime can be used for healing, explaining tokens, answering questions, and basically interacting with players. If you are a DM (who is not explicitly also an NPC) this is to be done OUT OF CHARACTER. Meaning that if you are not assigned an NPC character, you should be in “customer service mode” and not “character mode”.

If you have any questions at all about how your room can be ran, always talk to your ACs and Directors, like you said.