24. Left Branch (Ewell, Ken, Darrin, Epsilon, O'rek only)

[dmw71]

Do you mind if I keep track of the maps that have been posted in this thread?

I even hinted at doing just that, trying to forge a connection between the archival nature of play-by-post games and a characters' memory:

...you do have the ability to to back and retrace your steps by re-reading the various thread(s). These artifacts will serve as your characters' memories. If you want to go back and piece everything together, your character remembers. If you don't, your character forgot, or got lost.

It's the first campaign on this board I've seen where character mapping is an in-game issue.

I get that you're one of the newer players to my game, and I'm trying to give you new guys some leniency when it comes to certain things, but the game quickly becomes less fun when I'm forced to defend or debate my decisions (<--- again, you're not allowed to read through the other threads but I'm dealing with another similar situation with another group).

I didn't think I would need to make a house rule or spell out the fact that I would expect players to map (or go all Hansel and Gretel and leave a trail of breadcrumbs) since I'm not familiar with any edition of the game where the rules indicate mapping is just implied. Every rule that I've read, and how I've always played, requires the players to make the effort (or not).

In other games, my request was a trivial one that was answered with either a map or "later, when I have time."

Well, this isn't "other" games, and since I don't follow games I'm not a part of, I don't know how other DMs handle this. If a DM wants to just give the players GPS, that's their decision and I don't fault them for it. That is now how it's done in this game, though.

I'm a bit of a stickler for details. I do track exactly how many spells have been cast that day, and how long the spell has been in effect once cast. I do track how many rounds a torch has been burning, and how much weight a character is carrying, and whether or not the character actually owns the piece of equipment they're stating they want to use. And, as we now know, whether or not the characters have been making any effort to "map" while exploring.

[Zhym]

Okay, so here's what I patched together using posts in this thread:

Trog Tunnels.jpg (47.04 KiB) Viewed 1109 times

Ignore the various character initials except for the ones marked in yellow; I didn't feel like going through and editing them out. It looks like something's out of scale, because we should be on top of the big room Epsilon, Ewell, and I saw after the nursery. But it's a good bet that's what's just around the corner.

[wolfpack]

I say we keep moving forward and see what happens

[Zhym]

Personally, I'd rather go back to where the smell was weaker (in the passage in the southeast area of the map). I don't like our odds against full-grown trogs, but maybe that one female that wouldn't die just spooked me. And I'm surprised that we haven't met up with the other group; the right branch off the entrance must have led to an entirely different area of the cave system.

[ravenn4544]

I do like the idea of making sure our backs are covered (caverns are cleared of known obstacles) when advancing into new territory. I only have one heal left remember!

[wolfpack]

whatever the group decides, I have 1 hold person.

[onlyme]

I am in all day budget meetings today, and cant post. Ewell will do whatever is decided, but it sounds smartest to head back SW and go up the right fork where the other group went... then comeback with all of us to fight those big'ns?

[dmw71]

So, what's the decision here, guys?

[Zhym]

I think we're going back to the right fork off the entrance where the other group went. We'll use the intersection with the note to rearrange into our usual marching order.

[wolfpack]

ok so back to the original fork to where the spiders were

[ravenn4544]

O'rek follows cautiously... "Spiders? Why'd it hafta to be spiders...."

[dmw71]

Ewell leads the group back down the right branch the other half of their group left down. Two dead spider bodies lie on the floor at the intersection of first side passage to the right, and sounds of a conflict are heard further down this main right branch.

Code: Select all

                 noise

                 |   /_
                 / x   
                / x _  
               /Ew /  
         \Or\_/Ke /      x = spider body
          \Ep Da/      
           \   /
           |   |
           |   |
           |   |          

Questions? Actions?

[Zhym]

Let's head towards the noise.

[wolfpack]

lets move quickly

[onlyme]

Ewell quickly moves past the spiders toward the battle... with glee.

[ravenn4544]

O'rek will listen at the corridor they pass (sounds like the tunnel that heads to the right) but will make sure to keep in the lingering a of the light ahead of him.

[dmw71]

Your actions are noted, but for timing reasons, this group will be delayed momentarily.

[dmw71]

Moving everyone back here: viewtopic.php?p=66995#p66995