IC IX

[thirdkingdom]

I forgot to mention, but this is the updated map post: viewtopic.php?p=35909#p35909

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Now, most of the attacks have happened centered around here," he motions to another section of the map east of the Road"

56.17, 56.18, 57.16, 57.17

"though not limited to here. Shit, the Beast hit the camp south of us a month or so ago. Anyway, we're pretty sure if the Beast has a lair it's not in any of the forest we normally scout. That leaves this area, here, as well as the mountains beyond."

Hexes 58.16-58.18, plus the row of mountains to the east.

"Nobody really knows what's deeper into the mountains. More mountains, obviously, but there ain't no trails and it's too high for the trees we want. Plus there's goblins and orcs, and Mondjo reckons he saw a dragon or wyvern circling off in the distance not too long ago. So, our best guess is the Beast lairs somewhere in the foothills I just showed. Any questions?"

"Is there any pattern to the attacks master Josiah? You say some of the attacks have happened in this logging areas so I assume those happened at daylight while the loggers were doing their work, is that correct?"

"Are there any survivors of such attacks, or is there anyone who has otherwise seen the beast? If there are we would like to speak to them before we begin our hunt. You have also mentioned that one of the camps has been attacked, did the creature openly invade the camp or did it strike in a more discreet manner?"

Innana the Fighter:
Innana looks at the Drudsa, "Sounds like we may be heading to the mountains. What do you think?"

"Hopefully we will find the creature without the need to travel so far from here. We need to be very thorough so the beast doesn't slip around us and strikes again while we are searching so I suggest we start around this area..." Drudsa points at the map "and if we find nothing there we start moving further away. Our focus should be finding its lair, if we locate it we can try to make an attack plan and meet it in our own terms. Meeting it while it is on the prowl might happen, and we should be prepared for it, but the risks will be much higher."

Drudsa has pointed at hex 56.17

My suggestion is to get any additional information Josiah might have and question any people who have seen the beast, then leave early next morning for that hex and explore it fully.

Drudsa will prepare two analyse spells on the following day so he can try to identify some of the magical items.

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad agrees with Drudsa's suggestion of starting at 56.17. However, a hex crawl at that spot may not be necessary, since it has been thoroughly explored by the loggers, with no sign of a lair to be found.

Bregalad notes the section indicated by the magic user. "Aye. That would be a good place to start, Drudsa. There may be helpful clues at that place, and the loggers may have more information. However, the unexplored area indicated by Josiah would be a better place for us to conduct a thorough search."

Hexes 58.16-58.18, plus the row of mountains to the east.

"Josiah, thank you for your assistance in this matter. This may be a strange request for you and your men, but would you also be willing to hold some of our gear here for safe keeping? I could pay two hundred gold pieces now, and two hundred more when we our finished. You see, I misjudged how long this search may take. If we were able to lighten our load, we could cover ground faster and have a better chance of catching the beast."

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny looks over the terrain map.

"If we must push into the mountains, I am not certain how well our mounts will fare, especially if we must leave them behind to advance into more difficult terrain, something I am loathe to do in this situation. Perhaps we should consider leaving them in the safety of the camps..."

Whether on foot or on horseback, it appears that the PCs will be moving at the base speed of 20'/round. If I understand correctly, that means that the PCs should be able to cover 6 miles per day, with a total of about 24 miles to explore, making it possibly up to a 4-day hunt. Lanny carries all of his essentials on his person (including his rations and such) although I know that might not be the case for all the PCs.

"Josiah, how long has it been since the last attack? Jaceo says the attacks have been occuring about weekly, perhaps a little less often..."

Weekly attacks are not necessarily in line with the patterns of were-creatures (I assume those would be monthly). Lanny suspects that something might be happening in the mountains (humanoid activity? dragons?) to be pushing the beast out of its usual hunting grounds... Of course, it might not be "hunting" in the traditional sense either...

"I suggest we push foward to the unexplored areas and start our more thorough search there... For no matter how thoroughly we search an area, the beast may still slip past us after we have searched, so it is best to start crawling through the area most likely to contain the lair..."

Lanny agrees with Drudsa about the starting point and with Bregalad about saving the more meticulous search for the unexplored areas unknown to the loggers (58.16 to 58.16 and the row of mountains to the east). TK, on the updated map you provided, if the PCs were to move at 6 miles per day, would that basically mean they can explore 2 of those hexes per day? Just trying to understand the mechanics of this before we get started...

[thirdkingdom]

Drudsa the dabbler
"Is there any pattern to the attacks master Josiah? You say some of the attacks have happened in this logging areas so I assume those happened at daylight while the loggers were doing their work, is that correct?"

"Are there any survivors of such attacks, or is there anyone who has otherwise seen the beast? If there are we would like to speak to them before we begin our hunt. You have also mentioned that one of the camps has been attacked, did the creature openly invade the camp or did it strike in a more discreet manner?"

Josiah

"No pattern that I or any of my rangers can discern. It seems that most of the attacks have occurred at night, but we can't even be sure of that. Most of them have targeted the men while they're out on the job, and, well, their bodies were not always found that quickly, if they were found at all. Typically what the boys will do is set up a base camp out in the woods from which they work; there are some semi-permanent ones out there that are used frequently, others are tents or simple lean-tos. Hell, most times if the weather's nice they don't even bother with shelter."

He pauses, and looks around the room. "No survivors, and no one's even seen the Beast. Seen its tracks, sure, and bits of brownish fur, but that's about it. The raid on the camp took place at night, no moon to speak of, and gutted three men on watch and carried a fourth away before anyone could roll out of bed. The last killing was somewhere . . . here," he points. "Jaceo can show you where; he was one of the one's found the bodies.

Josiah indicates Hex 56.17 as the scene of the latest killing.

[thirdkingdom]

Bregalad the elf
"Josiah, thank you for your assistance in this matter. This may be a strange request for you and your men, but would you also be willing to hold some of our gear here for safe keeping? I could pay two hundred gold pieces now, and two hundred more when we our finished. You see, I misjudged how long this search may take. If we were able to lighten our load, we could cover ground faster and have a better chance of catching the beast."

Josiah

"Uh, sure. Shit, for that amount of gold I'll personally stand guard over your kit. We've got two mules you can take, as well. They'll be faster than ponies over rough terrain, and are used to these woods, besides."

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Lanny the Elf
Lanny looks over the terrain map.

"If we must push into the mountains, I am not certain how well our mounts will fare, especially if we must leave them behind to advance into more difficult terrain, something I am loathe to do in this situation. Perhaps we should consider leaving them in the safety of the camps..."

"Well, I cannot carry all my stuff without Sugarfoot. It will not slow us down, it probably moves better than me in rough terrain."

Bregalad the elf
Bregalad notes the section indicated by the magic user. "Aye. That would be a good place to start, Drudsa. There may be helpful clues at that place, and the loggers may have more information. However, the unexplored area indicated by Josiah would be a better place for us to conduct a thorough search."

Lanny the Elf
"I suggest we push foward to the unexplored areas and start our more thorough search there... For no matter how thoroughly we search an area, the beast may still slip past us after we have searched, so it is best to start crawling through the area most likely to contain the lair..."

"Indeed, I guess if there was any lair in the areas closer to the camp the loggers would have identified it."

[thirdkingdom]

Josiah

"Your concern about the Beast striking here is well-founded. If it should, we will light a fire, and make it smoke with wet evergreen boughs. If you ascend a tall tree at the beginning and end of each day we should be able to effect a rudimentary communication. "

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf
"Josiah, thank you for your assistance in this matter. This may be a strange request for you and your men, but would you also be willing to hold some of our gear here for safe keeping? I could pay two hundred gold pieces now, and two hundred more when we our finished. You see, I misjudged how long this search may take. If we were able to lighten our load, we could cover ground faster and have a better chance of catching the beast."

Josiah

"Uh, sure. Shit, for that amount of gold I'll personally stand guard over your kit. We've got two mules you can take, as well. They'll be faster than ponies over rough terrain, and are used to these woods, besides."

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad thanks Josiah (and will bring his surplus gear to him afterwards), placing 20 platinum pieces upon the table before him.

Bregalad has lightened the load for himself and his steed. (It is now noted in the Bregalad's character sheet.) His payment of 200 gold (and 200 more later) covers the surplus gear for the entire party. So, if anyone wants to lighten their loads, now would be the time to do it.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Bregalad the elf
"Josiah, thank you for your assistance in this matter. This may be a strange request for you and your men, but would you also be willing to hold some of our gear here for safe keeping? I could pay two hundred gold pieces now, and two hundred more when we our finished. You see, I misjudged how long this search may take. If we were able to lighten our load, we could cover ground faster and have a better chance of catching the beast."

Josiah

"Uh, sure. Shit, for that amount of gold I'll personally stand guard over your kit. We've got two mules you can take, as well. They'll be faster than ponies over rough terrain, and are used to these woods, besides."

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad thanks Josiah (and will bring his surplus gear to him afterwards), placing 20 platinum pieces upon the table before him.

Bregalad has lightened the load for himself and his steed. (It is now noted in the Bregalad's character sheet.) His payment of 200 gold (and 200 more later) covers the surplus gear for the entire party. So, if anyone wants to lighten their loads, now would be the time to do it.

Innana hands over her non-magical sword to Josiah. After juggling a few things around from her bags to Bliss, Innana is able to bring her load weight enough to quicken her pace.

"Thank you Bregalad for securing our belongings. A very good idea indeed."

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

"You are welcome, Innana. It will be important for us to be light and fast while pursuing this creature."

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"I believe I'll leave my pony here; sounds like I'll travel faster on my own two feet."

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

If I understand things correctly, even if just one person takes a horse or pony with them, the fastest the group would be able to move is 20'/round (6 miles per day), regardless of any lightening of loads that is done by others (since, per TK, the horses/ponies cannot move any faster than 20'/round through this terrain, and we always move at the speed of the slowest member). If, on the other hand, we all go on foot, and if those that are in plate mail lighten the loads that they carry, then we can probably achieve a group speed 30'/round.

If we want to try to achieve this, one option would be to leave all of our horses/ponies at the barn and just use the two mules as our pack animals (to carry rations and Drudsa's stuff), since they can already move at 30'/round through this terrain. Or, if we want to just avoid the hassle of an equipment dump altogether, then we can just stick with the 20'/round group speed.

Just FYI, there is a post on the Standards thread showing the current movement rate of each PC and their respective mount (mount speed assumes that the mount is carrying a rider with standard equipment and is moving through normal terrain). Per previous rulings, those in plate mail armor encumber their mounts, while those in leather or less (or magical chain mail, which weighs the same as leather) do not. Encumbered mounts move at half their normal speed (40' for a riding horse and 35' for a pony). Draft horses can carry far more weight than riding horses or ponies, so their slow base speed of 30' would not likely be reduced any further due to carrying a rider in plate mail). Again, these speeds are for moving through normal terrain, not the difficult terrain we are now facing (which reduces all mount speed to 20'/round).

TK, if I am off the mark on any of this, please let me know.

[Grognardsw]

Aquar the cleric

Aquar listens to the conversation as the questions he asked earlier are addressed. It seems he'll be hiking about the woods for a while. Well he's been meaning to lose a few pounds, and if this be Procan's way the priest will persevere.

Aquar can get to 30'/round if a mule carries his filled backpack.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

For some reason I was thinking that the pony would be able to move at 30'. Drudsa cannot carry all the necessary equipment (including tent and rations, which alone take 270 cn) on his backpack, as the capacity of a backpack is 400 cn. He could use a sack to carry the stuff that doesn't fit on the backpack but I think we'd better take the two mules along to carry all the stuff the characters don't need to have immediatelly at hand such as tents and rations.

Drudsa leaves Sugarfoot and some of his belongings under care of the loggers.

"Master Josiah, I believe we will be taking your offer of two mules. If none of my companions objects, of course."

I have adjusted my character sheet to indicate what is left with Sugarfoot at the camp and what will be carried by the mules.

[thirdkingdom]

zeb, what two items do you wish Drudsa to try and identity?

[zebediah]

zeb, what two items do you wish Drudsa to try and identity?

First casting on Innana's alphatian sword. If Drudsa fails the percentage roll he will cast a second time on the sword.

If first casting is successful Drudsa will cast his second Analyse on the spear.

[thirdkingdom]

Before it is time for bed Lanny has the breakthrough he had been seeking and gains comprehension of the Sleep dweomer. The night passes uneventful.

Flaurmont 8, AC 1000
7:00 am

The companions awake to a heavy downpour and stifling heat. Whilst the others are preparing for their journey Drudsa quickly memorized and casts the enchantment that give him insight into an object's magical nature. Both the Alphatian sword and Bregalad's spear are imbued with a modest enchantment.

Both are +1.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny rises at dawn, gazing outside his tent into the pouring rain. He knows the rainfall will make travel difficult, and he only hopes that it will also keep the beast sheltered in place for another day as well. He puts away his spellbook with a smile, having finally learned the intracacies of the Sleep spell. Knowing that Drudsa is using his spells to identify their new weapons, and recalling the rumors of possible orcs and goblins in the foothills, Lanny decides to prepare his new spell on behalf of the group. He looks up to the sky, wondering if the rain will let up soon...

Lanny memorizes:
Level 1: Magic Missile, Sleep
Level 2: Invisibility

For some reason I was thinking that the pony would be able to move at 30'. Drudsa cannot carry all the necessary equipment (including tent and rations, which alone take 270 cn) on his backpack, as the capacity of a backpack is 400 cn. He could use a sack to carry the stuff that doesn't fit on the backpack but I think we'd better take the two mules along to carry all the stuff the characters don't need to have immediatelly at hand such as tents and rations.

The two mules (without riders) can carry a total combined weight of 6000cn without becoming encumbered. To keep things simple, perhaps we can assume that they are carrying our tents/bedrolls/rations on their backs, and that each PC can utilize roughly 200cn worth of space in the two saddlebags for miscellaneous gear such as spell scribing supplies (each mule's saddlebag can hold up to 800cn of stuff). This should enable everyone to get to 30'/round without having to dump too much equipment at the camp or leave behind anything too essential.

I think we are ready to go... except for this blasted rain!

[Alethan]

The only thing Rhys has packed on his pony is a lantern and flasks of oil; I guess and a sleep roll, which I've neglected to add to his inventory. So he can leave the lantern/oil and just pack a bed roll on the mule.