Keeping Secrets Doesn't Build Tension
One of the D&D campaigns I'm running is a called Skyfell. We meet once a month and this past weekend was the big day! I enjoy being a dungeon master. It's not just because it's an outlet for my tendency to indulge in world building. I enjoy developing a challenge and partaking in the cooperative storytelling that emerges as a group of people work together to overcome that challenge. When everything works out, it feels as though all is right in the universe. A blind spot of mine as a DM, however, is not giving enough clues regarding the mysteries the PCs must solve. I provide plenty of NPCs to interact with but when the players start interrogating them I usually fail to disclose the important bits even if the players are asking the right questions. I think part of it is that I forget to drop the info; I'm caught up in the moment. Part of it is lack of prep; I have failed to work out exactly what each of the NPCs knows. Part of it is that I have a tendency t