Re: Ch 26 meta
In reply to Earnest Nicholas Samuel Ringgenberg (msg # 945):
No need for further rolls. You made a roll with a raise and the Judge gave Earnest what could be learned by it. Another roll doesn't change anything if it's essentially for the same purpose.
That said, take the Judge's words at full face value.
And yet, all he can determine from inspecting these silver coins is what they are not.
That noted, your comment about "familiar" is fair and understandable. Perhaps, that wasn't the best word choice. To clarify, the words "somewhat familiar" are intended to convey the meaning "frequently seen or experienced" in the following fashion: The stamp on these coins has all the qualities the professor would expect of coins minted for human trade, which are usually characterized by a symbol of state, an iconic image, a figurehead of state, etc. There's no doubt as to their purpose -- they are coins designed for commerce and whoever minted them followed the longstanding custom of some kind of stamp. However, regarding the provenance, in this case, Earnest cannot identify the stamp. It falls into the category of "I can tell you what it's not" followed by a long list of currencies the astute professor can recall from his book learning and first-hand experience.
Think about this when you would ask any question, such as "is it Confederacy?" Is a confederate coin something Ringgenberg would be able to identify? Yes. So it can't be that, because Earnest can determine "what it is not." Words? No, in this case it just appears to be an image. However, if there were words, the professor could tell you the languages they are not. Even "not" some languages he can't speak/read but might be able to recognize enough symbols to hazard a guess.
Re: a 4th attempt, the Judge meant to convey that you could choose to make another search, knowing it might affect your ability to get back to base camp before dark. Instead of a fade, for example, the Judge might rule that you need to make some rolls to accelerate your traveling pace after that 4th attempt, such as Athletics (climbing) or Survival (navigation), or what-have-you, instead of simply assuming you can make it back safely without any die rolls if proper time is allotted.
The Judge is pausing a little longer for Tracy's input, but it appears a consensus on fade to camp is building. Since the professors seems a little bit "on the fence" -- at least until the clarifications above -- my preference is to hear everyone's input and reach full consensus.
EDIT: added missing words in aqua
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:58, Wed 16 Mar 2022.