The Unseen Servant forums

Ok, let's fire this back up.

Does the party still want to follow the "loop a bit southwest and then head northwest to the swamp" plan or something else?

I think we are still sticking to the original plan.

Rex wrote: ↑Fri May 05, 2023 4:21 am I think we are still sticking to the original plan.

If you look at the hex map I shared, there is a hex of plains between The Farms and Song Lake. I will start you there, then move to the hex of plains to the north, then move NW into the swamp hex.

If you disagree with that plan, speak now. Otherwise, I will make it happen.

I am fine with that plan.

Marullus wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 12:11 pm A good night's rest in the inn to clear System Strain. Set out in morning, head straight out and start sweeping the NW quadrant and then the second Hex.

Rex wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 2:10 pm Agreed on the sweep.

Urson wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:35 pm This works for me- simple plans are the best.

sulldawga wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 4:56 pm Looks like we have three votes for resting one night to wipe out System Strain and then returning to the wilderness.

I am assuming that you're going to return to the same hex to complete the sweep. Let me know if that's incorrect.

I think we agreed to return and finish sweeping the NW quadrant to complete that hex, then move into the second hex.

I think that finishes the hex with the muddy splotch on it? Moving NW from it places us in the hex east of Song Lake? From the west edge of the hex what did we/do we see and know about the hills and the lake beyond? Anything interesting on the horizon?

New IC thread is up!

Whether you're accepting Romten's offers or not, time to keep moving.

I vote for not.

Did we get the impression it was a time-bound offer?

Marullus wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2023 11:36 am Did we get the impression it was a time-bound offer?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Folks: My mother is in the hospital, dealing with what we think is congestive heart failure. If I take too long to respond, Please NPC my characters.
If you have any positive vibes to send her way, please do.

Urson wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2023 3:48 pm Folks: My mother is in the hospital, dealing with what we think is congestive heart failure. If I take too long to respond, Please NPC my characters.
If you have any positive vibes to send her way, please do.

Very sorry to hear it Urson. Don't worry about the game, we'll be here when you get back.

Here is a first draft of the pointcrawl rules.

• Hexes will be invisible to the party. I will stop talking about them with players; they're only for my personal GM map
• What the players will know are Points and Paths.
• Points are like points of interest, waypoints, or landmarks. They help the players know where they are in the wilderness.
• Paths are the ways that players get from point to point. They can be anything from roads to rivers to game trails to "I walk from here to that tall tree I see in the distance".
• I think I will give you accurate distance measures along Paths to make mapping easier for you
  Lairs and dungeons are points but the paths to get there aren't always obvious. Sometimes it's as simple as following a game trail from a pond, which leads you to an elk lair. Other times, they're harder to find.
• There are other ways to find lairs/dungeons.
  You can use a Notice check while traversing a Path. The downside to doing so is A. it slows you down and B. it provokes more wandering monster checks.
  You can find high ground and look around for points you couldn't otherwise see
  You can find maps
  You can talk to people who know of such locations
  You can do research in Ket
• You can always blaze your own Path rather than follow one of the Paths I describe to you. The downside to doing so is A. you can get lost and B. it may provoke more wandering monster checks.
  Sometimes, blazing your own trail is good. You find a shortcut or a point of interest you might otherwise have not found.
  Sometimes, you are forced by the terrain into "the long way around" and you lose time or stumble into dangerous areas.

Let me know what you think.

I like it. Much easier to immerse myself into then, we search hex a etc.

That sounds great.

Especially knowing that "high ground" is possible - that's what I was going for when talking earlier about us getting to the edge of the foothills on the last hex. If we can do that while we're here, that'd be great! This makes more sense IC.

I don't like how it's inevitable, once you make a loop around the hex, that you find everything in it.

True. I would add an assumption that no hex is ever fully explored until it is settled and cleared for farmland... I wouldn't take "searching the hex" as literally. I usually expect there's a primary feature for a hex that is obvious (tower is line of sight anywhere in a hex) or found (OSR had a 1-in-3 chance for hidden ruins, I think) and there is always a chance of new random encounters and lairs because those guys move around.

Your pointcrawl rules sound perfectly reasonable. It covers the main points, but leave 'wiggle room' if we Players do something off-the-wall.

If you're doing anything other than attacking in a round, can you spell out your actions in OOC underneath?

Not to pick on Rex but here's an example.

Rex wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 4:31 am Ciarra

Once the wasp is within short range she throws her spear, then she readies her hammer and shield.

Readying an Item is a Main Action. Once Ciarra has attacked, she has to wait until the next round to ready her hammer and a round after that to ready her shield.

In the interests of speeding up combat, I am going to communicate the HP and AC of any enemies you're facing.

I am treating the wasps like Wailer Cranes (p 301 of rules) minus the sonic damage. HD 1, AC 12, +2 attack, 1d6 dmg. Anyone hit by a wasp must make a Physical save or else take 1 point of System Strain in addition to any damage.

Wasp 1 - 2 HP
Wasp L1 - 5 HP
Wasp R1 - 6 HP
Wasp R2 - 7 HP

L1 means the one to the left. R1 and R2 are to the right of the party. HP rolls here.

The party still has not set up a marching order so enemies will randomly choose their opponents unless circumstances dictate otherwise (ex. in this fight, Mikhail was the one whose movement set off the wasps so W1 will focus on him).

sulldawga wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 4:12 pm Readying an Item is a Main Action. Once Ciarra has attacked, she has to wait until the next round to ready her hammer and a round after that to ready her shield.

Readying a STOWED item is a main action. The hammer and shield are among her Readied items.

page 32.
PCs can use Readied items as part of whatever action they’re doing without taking any extra time to draw them, dig them out of a pack, or get them ready for use. Thus, a hero with a sheathed sword that is Ready can draw it as part of the attack they’re making, and a hero with a Readied magical potion can quaff it without spending any extra time finding it in his pack.

I guess that's the point. I don't want to have to look up whether or not a player's hammer and shield are Readied or Stowed for every battle.