We're going to crush these sub-humans, Walker. In order to overrun the tree (if there is a suitable one), they'd have to get out of their cave. That's a 3d6 dmg jump through a hail of arrows ... with melee attackers waiting below. And don't forget about the fire and smoke -- we'll see about that.

That's just the cost for hiring an expert hireling; I think you always have to pay for their kit.

Levitate is a 2nd level spell. Sil can't learn it.

They're cavemen. Let's not forget it. They don't run patrols. They don't post guards. They don't braid rope. It would be nice to catch a few of them in the woods, I suppose. We have already killed three of them; it's not like 3 more are going to show up as part of some kind of cultural exchange program.

There is the question of how they were supposed to enter/exit their cave on a daily basis. It may have been one the designers didn't anticipate. I doubt there is a five-page supplement on the daily life of Neanderthals. It was probably always an encounter designed to inflict maximum pain on a scout or two.

Walker knows nothing of these de-zin-irz of whom you speak... ;-)

I have some questions and thoughts that I hope to express IC, but later tonight.

The reference to a 'cultural exchange program' made me titter.

Then, after we win, we'll fire him and sell his stuff!

DM: did Sil'qian or Vale get an idea of how far back the cave went?

I'm seriously thinking that using the Unseen Servant might be a much better than Sleep it could constantly drop oil flasks or burning wood at the cave entrance.

We could also consider some sort of pavise to provide cover for the archers.

Nah, it was too crowded and you were too busy fighting for your lives.

Unseen Servant, a magical force akin to mage hand. That could work quite nicely, quite nicely. Emptying a flask of oil and dropping a torch is simpler than mending, something servants can do.

No need for a pavise, I believe. Range for spears cap at 45 feet. A longbow can fire from 60 w/o a range penalty.

Which spells do you know again, Vale?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

We can get two crossbowmen for the price of one archer...

Detect Magic, Jump, Read Magic, Ventriloquism.
Nearly the most useless mage ever.

@Vale - I dunno, Jump and Ventriloquism could both be quite useful in our current undertaking!

@DM - how would you handle a short vignette of Walker's recon while the others heal up? He just wants to carefully scout and observe the goings on of the cave entrance and surrounding area. Is that possible?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:30, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

You'd need to pay for the boat fare, of course.  Rangers don't have any stealth abilities in OSRIC, so I'd probably also need some plan for ensuring that you're not seen.

Munwin, do you need any extra coin for banded mail + shield? I would also recommend prepping 2xCLW and 1 Bless (for the hootenanny to come).

Sil, I still think sleep is the way to go. With an average roll, you drop 4 or 5 of them.

Walker, I think it's much safer to travel as a group and we have already scouted the area, having been there before on a trek that took hours. DM reported that the surrounding terrain was "grassy, with scattered trees." We'd don't know if those are trees that, say, a ranger could climb up and snipe from -- but we should know that from our previous excursion.

If Munwin#2's ready to go, perhaps we could just proceed directly there, having paid the boatman's fees.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Thank you for the offer. As of now, Thunwin is buying a regular mail hauberk, so upgrading to banded would be an additional 15 gp. I assume a dwarf would use a small shield, which would be  another 10 gp.

On spells, Thunwin was going with 2 Cure Light wounds and one Detect Magic, since Cure s always useful and Detect Magic has been needed in the past.  However, if the rest of the party feels Bless is more useful, Thunwin can take that.

Lenny will give you 25 gp.

Dwarves can use medium shields, so that's 2 more.

Bless will help us win the encounter. Anything we find can be taken back to town where it can be scoured.

In reply to DM Maleketh (msg # 940):

The only "stealth" in old-school games was surprise and rangers excel in it:

Thieves have some talents, hiding, move silent, etc. but I kinda feel like "hunting", that is scouting and observing quietly, is sort of baked-in to the Ranger class.

But if we're all ready, then let's head out and maybe have Walker just go out a little ahead of the party for a bit to see what can be seen.

I was kinda going for a few rolls and a handwave as flavor for downtime.

Lenny's idea of taking a pull of the potion is a good one, but let's go ahead and move forward since Munwin Thunwin is ready to go.

Tally ho, then! Time for the Extirpation of the Clan of the Cave Bear!

Totally fine with Walker being on point. Totally agree with the "baked in" sensibility regarding rangers, but the rules just don't really allow for it as a set of class skills. And I never really cared for those rules when they were later introduced.

Lenny will also buy: 15 pints of oil, with 5 each stored in the thinnest of linen bags; 5 torches; and 3 small sacks.

-15 SP for oil
-5 CP for torches
-27 CP for 3 small, membranous sacks

I think the correct statement would be that Thunwin is almost ready to go. The GM went to bed last night without giving final approval for Thunwin's gear. He will join the party as soon as I get final GM approval.

I'm probably not going to have time for a full review for a few days.  For now we'll go on the assumption that it's good.  I'll get a post up... when I can.  I'll try to make it tomorrow, but work's getting crazy and I can't make promises.

Very well. Thanks for provisional approval. Do we need to create a separate new Character Details. bio etc. or should I just revise the current Munwin one?

You can just revise your current one.  I'll get your name changed too.

In reply to Lenny (msg # 943):

Thank you. I will adjust the armor, shield and spell accordingly.

As of now, I believe that Thunwin is completed revised with photo, character description and all the items in character details. If anyone sees something I have missed, please let me know.

Just your character bio? Banded mail + shield + -3 for a 17 dex = AC 0.

If you put your other 16 (17) into con, you should have 8 + 2 = 10 hps.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:35, Fri 14 Jan 2022.

I realize I had not updated Thunwin's stats in the Character Details His DEX is 13. His CON is 18. My apologies. Thunwin's DEX has no effect on his AC. Thunwin does get +2 on HP for a total of 10. His 18 CON also means according to the OSRIC chart that he gets 100%I have adjusted several items on the Character Details to reflect the current stats. I believe that Thunwin is entitled to 2 bonus languages, which means one more besides Archontean which I am taking over from the late Munwin. Does anyone have a recommendation> I suppose I could take neanderthal, but hopefully that tribe will not be around much longer survival on Major Issues and 99% on Minor Issues. I don't know why it is lower on Minor, but either way, it should help if he dies again and there is a chance of getting him resurrected.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Sat 15 Jan 2022.