1st Scroll - The Will of Nobles - 1st - 3rd Days

[jemmus]

Bump

We need actions from Omi, Ito and Katsumi.

[jmacatty]

Omi will draw hia katana and begin moving down the trail, motioning to the others to follow,

[jmacatty]

Ito, with a glare at Omi's back will also draw his katana, and move down the path.

[jemmus]

Going to revise the rule for Walk action among boulders squares. BMA/4 isn't realistic. Let's go with BMA/3, round to nearest whole number. We'll follow the Strategic Movement rule about being able to enter the next hex (in this case, square) with less than a full point of BMA remaining.

Run action in gray boulder squares requires a Deftness ST, Trip on a critical failure. Failed ST = move at Walk speed. Broad Jump rules remain the same.

[jemmus]

Post somewhat revised.
New map legend, obscured areas added.


Turn 1 map. The PCs are in the squares with arrows. The arrows indicate facing.

Let's move along without Katsumi. He can pop back in later if it comes up.


The noontime sun shows through foliage of the youngish maples and oaks in front and overhead. Omi, his armor lightened by leaving pieces behind at the charcoal burners' camp, places his feet to the sides of the tracks that Kentaro found. He moved through the jumbled, knee and thigh-high rocks ahead. Before him, the imprint of feet on the earth was plain. It was a well-used path through open ground.

Ito, also with lightened armor, rather begrudgingly follows Omi. He considered branching out and picking his own course through the rocks, rather than looking at the backlaces and personal colors of the bushi's helmet fringes. "Next time, you'll look at mine," he thought. He glanced back at the ronin and the gakusho. "The ronin did well at picking up the trail. And the priest did well against the o-bakemono last night. Seems a trustworthy one when things get tough."

Sorry, post somewhat revised.
Taisho is observing. He only sees the boulder-strewn, rather lightly forested field. Young trees and bushes obscure sight of many parts of the area. Some songbirds sing from the trees. It appears that this part of the mountain is empty of all but nature.

Kentaro has an action, if he doesn't want to follow Omi and Ito single file. Otherwise, he'll follow on Turn 2. Actions please.

[jemmus]

We need Kentaro's action for Turn 1. Then everyone's for Turn 2.
Entering a boulders (light gray) square costs 3 yards Movement Allowance for all of the PCs. The bushi can enter 2 boulders squares per turn, Taisho 1. Movement into brown or green squares cost 1 yd Movement Allowance. If your PC moves, please state the grid coordinates. For example, Omi is currently at CC11 and Ito is at DD11. (Sorry, the letters on the right don't exactly line up)./ooc]

[Marullus]

Sorry, I misunderstood "Kentaro has an action." I thought I was already declared.

I was the first to state my action - I am dutifully following Omi and Ito as my superiors. I have my bow drawn and ready. Bringing up the rear single file is fine. If that means I don't have room to walk until Turn 2, then that's fine... I'll perform Observe Situation in turn 1 while I'm waiting for them to walk ahead of me and move to follow on turn 2.

[jemmus]

OK, got it. Kentaro doesn't observe anything unusual. Just nature and some birdsong. Moving to Turn 2. Kentaro will follow single file behind Omi and Ito.
Need Omi's, Ito's and Taisho's actions.

[jmacatty]

Omi will move to square BB12; Ito moves to CC12
Omi is watching the area around AA15 and straight across the AA row.

OOC: The first likely place for the camp is apparently in the BB row, in front of the flat rocks. Can we see the camp?

[ffilz]

Taisho will keep pace behind the bushi as well as possible. He will take the easier route if possible.

[jemmus]

Both Omi and Ito have enough movement allowance to move into another light gray square if you'd like. Entering one of those squares costs 3 movement allowance. Brown or green squares cost 1 movement allowance.

[jmacatty]

Yes, they will move as suggested.

[jemmus]

Turn 2 - Tactical Time Scale

Ito threaded his way through the boulders toward the large standing and lying rocks.
Ito broke from single file and did the same, abreast of Ito.
Taisho followed at a slower pace with Kentaro behind him.
All of the travelers noted that to the north of where they had started from, a there was a slight path worn through the ground foliage in a clear area.

Circumventing the large lying rock caused Ito to fall in behind Omi again. Omi, ready for instant action, reached the standing rock and looked behind it. But there was nothing notable there. Just more natural terrain.


Black squares are again areas obscured by foliage or large rocks. The PCs are in the squares with arrows. Brown squares are path squares. Technically from the PCs' current positions some of them are obscured. But the PCs remember where they were.

I changed from Detailed Time Scale to Tactical Time Scale since we're not in combat, and to move things along. Kentaro earlier said he'd bring up the rear behind Katsumi, so I put him last. If anyone PC is not where they would want him, please let me know. I just had Omi check out the big rock at the BB row since he mentioned it, and had everyone else follow.

[jemmus]

MA in Tactical Time Scale:
Omi - 25 yds
Ito - 30 yds
Taisho - 15 yds
Kentaro - 25 yds

Gray squares - 3 yds to enter
Dark gray squares - Require Climbing
Others - 1 yd to enter
Must have the full MA required to enter a square. For example, if have 1 yd MA left, cannot enter a square requiring 3 yds MA.
Actions?

[Marullus]

That's more trail than was exposed before, and I hadn't noticed the rocks due-north. Can Omi see just around the tip of the rocks, or the whole way into that alcove behind it?

Kentaro remains tense, covering the rear, ready with his bow. He slows his pace to make sure he doesn't leave Taisho alone and unprotected. As they catch up to Omi and Ito, he suggests at a whisper, "Check behind this outcropping fully, then perhaps we backtrack or cut northwest and follow the trail more northward?"

[ffilz]

Taisho will follow as best makes sense.

[jemmus]

As the PCs moved along, more of the trail came into sight.
Omi can see well enough around the rock to guess that there's no man-made structure. It also doesn't look like anyone has walked around this area recently.

[jemmus]

No need to over-think the map grid thing. Basically, on this mountain a fire, mudslide, or fire and erosion or something else created a jumbled landscape of boulders and big standing and lying rocks. Moving around is like hiking in the wilderness. It's slow, if entering a gray boulders square. It's the same a normal (1 yd per BMA, walking) in others. You can also climb big rocks, for vantage or line of sight view. Or Leap across or into boulders areas, for fast tactical movement.

The travelers had traversed the sides of many mountains as kids, with their old dads, old uncles, and young cousins. Always, turning color maples and shrubs on the lower sunny slopes. Ascending to mixed the pines higher up. And then toward the top, only the tall fragrant pines, blocking all sunlight, and leaving only their dried needles carpeting the earth beneath.

On this Chiyo-san mountain it was different. It was as if the great pines had been burnt away, and the very soil washed away, to make the mountain's rocks and boulders be exposed to the sun once again. Young maples thrive, shrubs prosper, lichens on damp shaded stones spread. The merchant gakusho, the ronin, and even the high samurai realize, "This is a distant and overgrown place. Hard roots throughout the soil. A good place for bandit birds to roost in."

[jmacatty]

Omi will move back in the direction of the path.

Ito, will follow.

[Marullus]

Kentaro holds his position while the others loop back past him. He keenly Observes the Situation for any sign of bandits or that the group has been spotted, looking for evidence of passage on or off the trail.

Adding a tracking roll, too...
Tracking (BCS 4) [1d20]=2