Still no meaningful sleep.  But we shall commit maths anyway.


In an 8 or 12 hour day, we suffer no FP loss.  On a 14 hour day we lose 2 Longterm FP (can only be regained after a full night's sleep and an extra hour of rest).

My Estimation is we will at best have 5 days.  This needs to include our 1 day of ambush prep and 1 day for the ambush... and 1 day to be one day past Saint Remy.

(apologies if I'm rehashing things, just I'm very tired and making sure I'm not missing something simple)

So, if we spend 3 days on the march, we might have 1 day of ambush prep before they are on us, because they will only need to travel for 4 days.

So my recommendation:  We quick March and press for 14 hours the first day, Normal march and press for 14 hours on day 2.  This puts us roughly 12 miles away from St Remy, and costs $120 in Quick March spells (Aegis, Dne, Abernathy, the Guide).  It will also probably require we pay the Guide a surcharge for working more than an "8hr day".

Day 3 we rest up for 3 extra hours, then normal march (9 hours) and we should end up 1 day past St Remy.

Day 4 we prep an ambush site (far enough away from our camp that advance scouts won't be suspicious) and wait.  If all goes well they march into our kill box towards the end of day 4, begining of day 5.

If someone has Strategy of Tactics skills that would help with choosing a good site and properly arraying the traps.  Dilandua has the Traps skill (though IQ being a 10 means trap building isn't nearly as high as trap disarming).

We should probably also pick up a few more shovels.  Group Basics presumes a 'camp shovel', but those are more akin to entrenching tools than actual shovels.  So call it 2 shovels and a pick.

It will probably take a full 12 hours to line each side of the road with a 1 foot deep, 3 foot wide trip trench, which is why we'll want ropes for trip/clotheslines (and pray for useful trees).  I'd say 360 yards worth, incase we find ourselves stringing the whole length.  Aegis... you have 10 feet of rope?  Why? (or did you mean 10 yards?)

Which invokes the next question, do we try to build 'traps' to limit damage to horses if they have any?  Or do we just not care about that sort loot? (IE, if we can salvage some horses great, if not don't worry about it.)





$6 a day for the boring stuff (1.5 lbs per day), more expensive for Elven (expensive, light weight, never go bad) or Dwarven (expensive, heavy, +3 resist poison) rations.

So 7 days worth of Trail Rats is $42 and 10.5 lbs.

I keep wanting to invent Alchemical MREs (Meals Ready to Explode)... but neither of my alchemist characters are particularly mad (Jareth is crazy and Ülo is angry, but neither are mad).



That's fine.  You set up with Dne, keep the foot soldiers off him while he unleashes the storm...

OOC  Thanks for doing all the maths.  You work hard at this, and it is appreciated.  I approach it more like a leisure activity and try to leave my mathing at work, or house projects.  :)

Aegis will happily kill mage types in defense of the bird man.

And he has the cash to spend on the travel and scroll if that seems like the best use of funds.

He will definitely buy Dilandua a beverage.

IQ 13 and traps here, but no Tactics or Strategy.



After the $380 for the guide, cash is drying up...I am fine to have traps that kill...




Sounds like a job for Gareth! Right up his line!

Rest sounds fine, but the price keep going up and up...

OOC  Aegis has enough cash to cover you without a problem.  But the next few rounds of alcohol at the bar are on you, and none of this nursing it crap.  You have to drink enough to be stupid.

Aegis has neither Tactics nor Strategy.  He's the meathead, and would rather drink than plan.  All he has is Soldier, which won't cover setting a trap...but might find him the right lady of the evening.

In reply to Aegis (msg # 145):

Soldier can help with the digging, but tactical advantage is IQ-6

Also keep in mind that Dne can walk on air.  So he could go up ten yards (or whatever) and chuck spells from behind a tree, act as lookout, etc.

In reply to Dne Utrotare (msg # 147):

"Just cover me as well, I am not good in a hight, it is kind of the opposite of what I do."

OOC  Aegis can cover one or both of them.  Ideally Dne can find a good perch where he's hidden but has the right range for all of his area effect stuff.  That would leave Aegis guarding the healer, and possibly more depending on how the structure of the trap location works out.

OOC  Also, we should take care to play our lack of tactics/strategy.  It's more of a subtle point, but I have seen plenty of players come up with awesome attack plans when their characters couldn't scheme their way out of a box.

OOC:  Yeah, but that should come down to trap placement, how effect the 'kill box' is at containment, and how effective we are in the opening moments at taking them by surprise and coordinating together.

Don't know how gwythaint runs it, but I usually take my cues from Action 2 Exploits on something like this (meaning I treat the Tactics roll as a Complimentary skill roll for certain actions the party will take later, or since I like to use B.A.D. a modifier on the BAD score - which would make things slightly worse for us as we're rolling tactics at a default).

Could even treat it like the Survival roll in setting up a camp in DF, off the cuff... there are three things a good setup could provide us:  Good Sight Lines, Restricted Enemy Movement, and Casual Location.

On a Tactics roll a critical success nets 3 picks, a success nets two, a failure 1, and a critical failure none.

Baseline gives us no bonuses and our prey no penalties.

Good Sight Lines:  +1 to Init because we have time to be ready.  May be picked twice.
Casual Location:  +1 to our Stealth and -1 to their Per and Danger Sense rolls as the location "doesn't look dangerous".  May be picked twice.
Restricted Enemy Movement:  If they leave the road they take a -2 to Per and/or DX to avoid traps, and once they are alerted that there are traps, they may Move at 1/2 speed to avoid penalties.

Deliberately roleplay stupid?  Not sure I agree with this.  Usually it’s best to just let it happen naturally.

In reply to Dne Utrotare (msg # 152):

Nah, don't  RP stupid, spout your plan and get a bonus to that tactics roll based on how well your articulate  it.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 153):

Sounds like D has a plan in place though. We ready to roll with it?

As long as we get time to shop before rolling out at first light... I'm ready.

In reply to Dilandua (msg # 155):

You are all loaded and ready to move

While traveling, Dilandua will range ahead a bit, no more than an hour, letting them catch up where the warrior is often found doing exercises or meditating.



OOC:  Add to the horse: Dilandua's pack (food, waterskin, tent, bedroll, etc), two shovels, pickaxe, and 200 yards of 3/8's rope.  43.25 lbs.

As usual, Dne walks one foot off the ground, and hopes this is high enough to avoid any snares.  As an added precaution, he leads the others go first.

In reply to Dilandua (msg # 157):

Rranna is happy to stay near the group, crossbow always ready and just off the side of the road.

Aegis travels like he usually does.  Weapon in one hand, booze in the other.

In reply to Aegis (msg # 160):

You head out through the south gate, and through the fields of barley and lavender. The forrest to the south is a few hours off.

“Think of all the worms squirming in that barley... yummmmmm...”

In reply to Dne Utrotare (msg # 162):

At the end of the day you have passed the farmland, and are part way into the woods.  Birds, and pixies sing.

Throughout the trip, Aegis is his usual cynical and jaded self.  He consistently pulls from his dwarven spirits to maintain a low level of intoxication.  When he isn't doing that he's jingling coins in his pocket, or flipping his knife in the air and catching it.  The man seems to be fidgeting constantly.

The best part of it is his long list of other antisocial behaviors.  If he isn't talking uncomfortably about sexual conquests, then he's telling bloody stories of escaping death and including too much detail.  Aegis takes great pride in his killing, and makes sure his conquests are good and dead.  If others aren't listening, then he ends up mumbling to himself anyway.

OOC  Aegis just can't stay quiet, and I imagine his traveling companions might want him dead as soon as the Mages are.  He's an absolute joy to travel with.

In reply to Aegis (msg # 164):

Reanna will keep to herself and keep moving as fast as she can through the day. In the evening, she will check her gear and offer to take the first watch, to look around.

Once camp is set Dilandua mostly keeps separate, performing various ritualistic exercises and weapon katas for several hours (as well as an hour or so of meditation with fragrant incense).



OOC:  Despite trying to do them all day, apparently today was "inner core" day, so 6 hours of ritualistic exercising, meditation, and inner navel gazing is required.

By my reckoning, with a Hiking roll, Dilandua only 'steals' 3 hours on the party, so has to do ritual katas for 3 hours in the evening.

21:16, Today: Dilandua rolled 6 using 1d6.  Daily Chi Rituals, 1d hours. This is probably the first time any Chi Warrior has made this roll in this game... :P

21:26, Today: Dilandua rolled 10 using 3d6.  Hiking 11.  Trying to make time.