Expecting the Unexpected

We reached a landmark in the campaign over the past couple of weeks, having been at play for six months now. I’m half of the way to using the catchphrase “One year ago in campaign history,” followed by a summary of the events from that session’s notes.
More importantly, the past couple of sessions have been a good reminder of an element that makes RPG’s so fun: I never know quite what’s going to happen.

This week the heroes followed up on their business on Crete, where they found a labyrinth being excavated by slaves. After dealing with the captors—regular and half-fiend minotaurs—they discovered a hidden workshop belonging to the inventor Daedalus. Therein they found a book of valuable secrets, but it was stolen away by an invisible quasit. That was when the paladin/gunslinger strapped on a pair of wings, flew to the temple that I’d intended to be the site of the big final battle, and blasted the demon into a bloody smear on the marble.
This was followed by a pitched battle with more minotaurs and a gorgon, after which the heroes took up shelter in the hidden chamber. The conjuror who was behind everything called up the rest of his minions and came to find them, unleashing a variety of summoned monsters during the ensuing combat. On his person, along with other magical items, the heroes found a communication scroll, and item that I’d figured they would use carefully to find out who was behind the plot. To my surprise, the heroes have now called out their enemies by revealing what they’ve done and I can spend the intervening week devising all kinds of comeuppance. Very little of this was part of my plan for the adventure, but it’s making for some fun sessions. It just has me a little bit worried for when, at higher levels, the heroes might start having dealings with genies.