Keeping Watch

[Plane Sailing]

The article about 'keeping watch' on the WotC website http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/tt/20051213a is quite interesting, and could provide a basis for some further profitable general discussion.

It is interesting that they mention the Alarm spell so positively. Our gaming experience of it recently is that it is pretty useless since the reduced it's radius from 30ft to 20ft. For one thing it means that rogues can easily get within ranged sneak attack distance of the watch without setting off the alarm!

The big problem with alarm though (which may be down to our DM) is that everything that attacks us at night opens with a charge attack, which means the Alarm goes off at the same time as the initial attacks... not that great!

On the other hand, the defensive keep watch spell uber alles for us so far has proved to be spike growth. Huge area, long duration so an 8th Druid can surround a 20ft by 20ft area by a 20ft deep trapped area. Bad news for anything that tries to sneak up on you or charge into the attack. We haven't had any night-time marauders since that apperaed on the menu...

Another technique that wasn't mentioned in the article but which I commonly see is for the tank fighters to carry chainmail shirt 'pyjamas'. At least you get +4AC when attacked in the night, and there is no penalty for sleeping in it.

Cheers

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

Mithril Chain Shirt PJs are pretty much a must-have item.

In my experience, 9 times out of 10, if the GM is role-playing out setting up camp, you're going to be jumped by a dozen ninjas in the middle of the night with naught to hand but a table leg.

I once played a Goblin Rogue by the name of Grimbold The Mighty. We were out in the wilderness, setting up camp ... so I grabbed the marker and started drawing out the camp in loving detail for the GM: Tents, camp-fire, where the horses were picketed, etc. I described Grimbold carefully digging out a small pit trap in front of his tent, setting a few spikes at the bottom, and covering it with thin sticks and leaves.

And then explained that Grimbold would take his thin old blanket he'd had for years and sneak off into the woods about forty feet away and crawl under a hollow log and go to sleep. Everybody got a kick out of that.

And, of course, the camp was attacked in the night by bandits and monsters. And I looked up the rules for how noisy a pitched battle was, what the DC would be from 40' out in the surrounding woods, and given Grimbold's 8 Wis and 0 Ranks in Listen ... he slept through the whole thing.

--fje

 

[demiurge1138]

Alarm might not keep out the sneak attacks, but what it is good for is preventing coup de graces. Injured during the night, sure, but not dead.

Demiurge out.

 

[Henry]

Our group breaks up watch into three 4-hour shifts. (Remember that you can only travel 8 hours in a day before being fatigued, so there's about 16 hours of down time.) We used to stick all the spellcasters at the 1st or third watches, until we realized that the PHB says that the sleep can be made up, and the rest that casters need doesn't HAVE to be in one 8-hour "block."

OUr tactics are usually:

--Rope Trick if the caster has it; Leomund's Hut or Mordy's Mansion if we're really good.
--Pick a clearing or clear-cut where we have a better chance to see the attacker.
--Keep a covered fire nearby that can start into a bigger one (or a ready pile and a tindertwig).
--Have an animal or familiar on watch each watch shift, because of scent.
--have backup Chain Shirts if you're not already wearing one (or at least leather).
--Cast all helpful spells possible before you go to bed, rather than waste them. Scrolls can be handy for midnight attacks.

OH! You know how the PHB says you get 32 miles per day on horseback? Well, on long trips, ALWAYS hustle for the last hour of travel time (you don't pay for it physically). That way, you'll get an extra 4 miles per day in, which adds up quickly. In ten days, that's 40 miles closer you are to your goal!

 

[Sejs]

One of the more amusing things I've had my players spring on me for setting up camp was when the wildshape-capable druid started turning into the biggest burrowing animal he could (dire badger, for example) and digging a den for folks to bed down in. All the cooking and the like was done outside, and the watch was held from a concealed position near the entrance, but once it came time to hit the sack you'd head on downstairs and sleep nice and safe. A little Prestidigitation in the morning to clean off and you're good to go.

All in all, I thought it was rather clever.

 

[fafhrd]

It is interesting that they mention the Alarm spell so positively. Our gaming experience of it recently is that it is pretty useless since the reduced it's radius from 30ft to 20ft. For one thing it means that rogues can easily get within ranged sneak attack distance of the watch without setting off the alarm!

The big problem with alarm though (which may be down to our DM) is that everything that attacks us at night opens with a charge attack, which means the Alarm goes off at the same time as the initial attacks... not that great!

Alarm can be tricky to use effectively out in the wilds, but in a structure, like, say, a dungeon you can alarm the approaches away from where the party is sleeping, hopefully with a door interposed between you and the bad guys. In the hands of a sorceror, alarm is a whole nother matter. My last party's sorceror would expend 4-8 leftover slots each night to lay a blanket of alarm spells around the campsite. Even in the wilds that can give you enough time to mount an offensive.

 

[freebfrost]

Another reason I am glad that Necromancer converted Wyvern Watch for 3.5 in their "Eldritch Sorcery" product.

Of course, Secure Shelter is one of my all-time favorite spells, and makes for a much safer night's rest.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Surrounding your camp with big rocks should keep creatures from charging you.

Unless they're big cats, who can just bound over the rocks and pounce on you anyway. (Hey, it's not perfect.)

 

[Castigator]

Make a party composed completely of non-spellcasting warforged and you can simply skip the sleeping....

 

[Conaill]

In the past, we've used a Stone of Alarm attached to a black silk thread, stretched around the entire camp site... Hey, it does say "affixes itself to any object", right?

Stretches the rules a little, perhaps, but not exactly game breaking. And exactly the kind of thing a tinker gnome would think of...