The problem was, we went through 36 characters to get there. Having heard about someone (on this board) saying how honest dice rolling really adds drama to the session, I said 'Lets do it!'.
Well, yeah... But we never told you to run Paizo Adventure Paths!
I'm a big fan of open die rolls, no fudging, and telling players their target number. But I don't combine that with screw-the-PCs adventures.