The Judge was waiting for skill rolls from all 4 heroes before posting results about the tapestry and the ledge in the spider cave. Since everyone has now posted, the Judge will make a post addressing all rolls and results sometime today.

Here's wishing all of you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!

Just as an FYI, the holidays are putting a dent in my posting schedule. :)

Understood, Jake.

Thanks for the holiday wishes, Earnest.

Peace and long life.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 904):

The holidays have also put a dent in my posting as well.

A belated happy holidays to all, I hope they were nice and relaxing. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2022.

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 905):

Hey everyone, sorry my posting has been so inconsistent lately. Some personal issues have made it more difficult to keep up with posting. I’ll do my best to be a bit better about it from now on.

In reply to Tracy Windham (msg # 906):

No worries. RL always comes first. Hopefully things will smooth out for you sooner rather than later.

After the exchange between the rifleman and the professor and the lack of other input, the Judge is fixing to move forward with Earnest's plan to try to draw out the rat swarm.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 908):

Question:
Is it reasonable to assume the pards left a small trail of oil to the spot where they are standing or will Tommy have to throw his torch to light the fire?
This message was last updated by the player at 01:20, Sat 29 Jan 2022.

In reply to Thomas Pearce (msg # 909):

It’s reasonable but in the heat of battle, either way an Athletics roll is required to succeed at lighting the oil.

FYI, Tracy asked questions in PM this morning, anticipating a reply today before taking the step of putting him on Hold.

The Judge is pausing for follow-up from Earnest. The Athletics roll is at –2 because he took two actions in the turn. Earnest knows this and has told the Judge he intends to use one more Benny for a reroll. After that, the Judge will draw another round of initiative cards and start the next round.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 912):

Huh. Iffin' the Judge suspected the professor was going to roll three aces, he might have just moved on without offering the chance for another reroll,

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 913):

The dice roller giveth, and the dice roller taketh away!

Clarifying a few things that have come up recently -- and are impacted by the nature of RPOL play.

Swarms: The Judge has ruled that there is no Trait roll needed for Fighting to stomp on a swarm. It does count as an action, so if you do more than one action the multi-action penalty still applies. Earnest's recent turns illustrate this: he stomped and made Athletics roll, so the Athletics was –2 for multi-action penalty but there was no effect on the stomp because it's not a Trait roll, just a damage roll.

Normal movement while engaged with a swarm is fine, as long as you aren't trying to withdraw from the melee. These swarms are relatively large and include multiple beings, so the Judge is handling this slightly different than with "individuals" in a melee. Again, Earnest's actions are relevant. He moved to get Jake's torch, which was in the same space as the swarm, but he wasn't trying to disengage, he was just repositioning himself and the swarm is still engaged in melee. The Judge will still adjudicate an attack against him when the rat swarm gets its next turn.

For Tommy and Tracy, this should prompt some thoughts about how to use your turns. Tommy noted he wanted to move "if" it didn't incur the free attack. The Judge rules that it would trigger the free attack, because the intent seems to be to get away from that swarm and rejoin his pards in a different location (remember, there are two Medium swarms right now). However, he could stomp on rats as his action and try to move away (even Run) without any penalty because Run and stomping are both actions, but neither requires a Trait roll. Still, as soon as the Judge perceives the movement to be "withdrawing from melee" then Tommy is subject to the Free Attack by the swarm. And leaving the area of the tunnel swarm to get back to the larger cavern with the "on-fire" swarm fits the Judge's definition.

Tommy posted for his turn, but added his "if" note in OOC, and he asked a question of the Judge in PM. So the current ruling is that Tommy's turn is still happening, and the Judge will allow Tommy to revise his action based on this information, if he wants to. The Spirit roll still stands, and he is unshaken (TN 4 is all that's needed).

Minor edits for clarity
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:44, Fri 04 Feb 2022.

The Judge is pausing after PM with Jake. The rifleman won the test, but with no raise.

He needs to decide whether to make the Swarm Distracted or Vulnerable. It's a tough choice, but against a Swarm, the Judge is recommending Distracted.

EDIT: It's a tough choice, actually. Depends on what Tracy does next and still kind of a toss-up. The Judge has shared thoughts with both players.

No problem if you want to discuss here in meta. The Judge will pause for a bit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:27, Sat 05 Feb 2022.

Jake has made his choice. The Judge is working on a narrative post, presently.

Jake's Test succeeded again -- waiting for his choice of Distracted vs. Vulnerable. The Swarm will also be Shaken this time, because Jake got a raise on the opposed roll.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 918):

Tommy will post his move later tonight or tomorrow morning

Thanks for the note.

Both Tommy and Tracy have indicated they will post today. The Judge is waiting for that to happen before moving to the next round. Both are Wounded, so it's unclear what they might try to do this round.

As you may have noticed, no Jokers have been drawn so far over the course of 5 rounds, so one is likely to come up in the next round. Therefore, a hint from the Judge: things like Aim or Test or Reload could be viable options before the next round.

Nice, Tracy. I had not realized that we had a pistolero amongst us! :)

The Judge drew a new Action Card for Earnest, as requested for the Benny spent. See msg # 970 in Ch25 for the re-ordering.

Posting here to save a message in Ch 25, still figuring we can finish this Combat before we reach the message limit.

Jake smothers the fire on Earnest’s legs.  The Judge is going to close Ch25 and start a new chapter in 24 hours or so. Feel free to post dialogue as an aftermath in Ch25 before then. Tommy and Tracy need Healing and the Judge assumes the men will want to go into the rat cavern. The Judge will fade up appropriately and necessary rolls can be made as part of the fade up.

That was an interesting battle. Everyone gets a Benny to use in the aftermath/fade up and then we will call this a session and reset Bennies and characters can take an Advance.

Wow, Earnest got some timely, good rolls for Healing on Tommy and Tracy. All Wounds are removed with those rolls.

The Judge is starting Ch26 today.