Regarding fate-of-the-world, that's a mistake I've made in past RPGs. It makes for a good hook, but kind of sucks when you realize it will take X months/years to finish the game.
A series of one-shots gives me the freedom to change my mind about the next level, and in fact, I come up with more...
The game is rather experimental, but yes, I try to let players' decisions affect the game and hope that none of my NPCs steal players' thunder.
By the looks of things, the fairy player found a very clever way to stop the horde, and between strategy and lucky dice, it looks like all seven...