(OOC) The Dog Days of Doom

[Steve Gorak]

I’d say that an at will illusion would give advantage to the stealth roll. Not enough to replace it because it has a verbal component which isn’t stealthy. But you have to choose either detect magic or silent image because they are both concentration.

If you choose detect magic, and you guys succeed on the survival test, I will say that you can have Detect Magic up for the full scene when you get to the market. If you fail the survival test, you take too long to get there and the duration expires.

I did the stealth roll without advantage (didn’t see this post). So no need to cast silent image. Woohoo!
Cheers,

Sg

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I did the stealth roll without advantage (didn’t see this post). So no need to cast silent image. Woohoo!
Cheers,

Sg

It would have been better to have declared which one you were going to take before you rolled since you needed to make the decision before your characters left but no biggie.

I need one person to make survival/navigation roll and another to make history/“knowledge of the market” roll.

Anyone else can make 1 of two rolls to aid those main rolls

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Stratus has proficiency with Navigation Tools, which I have put under my skills as "Navigator" because I find that Tool proficiencies are actually used more often if you remember to put them with your skills. I assume that @TaranTheWanderer will let me use that. I'll find a way to fluff it.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Stratus has proficiency with Navigation Tools, which I have put under my skills as "Navigator" because I find that Tool proficiencies are actually used more often if you remember to put them with your skills. I assume that @TaranTheWanderer will let me use that. I'll find a way to fluff it.

Perfect, use that instead of Survival!

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

OOC: Three checks for Stratus: Athletics 20, Navigation 14, Stealth 6. I hope one bad stealth check does not derail the challenge. I guess I should post for Anson, too, but I'll give everyone else a moment first.

You only needed to make one check. I want everyone to choose one skill to roll.

I assume, from your ooc post, you were going to do the Navigating(replacing the survival skill) and you succeeded (barely - DC 14)

[X]Stealth - Success (this was to avoid a 'random' encounter)
[X] Navigation done - Success. (This was to get there in less, time, have detect magic up, and avoid random encounter)
[ ] Best approach to the Market (this will determine how easy and how far it will be to get into the buildings you need and whether there will be lots of zombies around etc..)

Steve Gorak and fitz rolled.

We need one more roll and, potentially, another roll to give that roll advantage.

 

[Neurotic]

In the morning

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

This is a bit of a long post. My apologies but I'm looking for GM feedback from the whole group about this challenge because I feel like people didn't understand the challenge.

It was an extended test set as a Group challenge.

Spoiler: The Test

The group challenge had 3 main goals(set by the players):
1. Get to the market unhindered/avoid the main thoroughfare
2. Don't get lost/Take lots of time
3. Approach the Market at a location that gives safe and quick access to the stores you want.

Each Goal was its own dice roll and I needed each of the 5 members of the group to contribute 1 of 5 rolls towards the challenge.

• I needed 3 main rolls to determine success/failure for each of the prescribed goals
• two secondary rolls - done by the last two members of the group that could potentially give one of the primary 3 advantage.

3 successes (on the main checks) would get you to the market unhindered
Any failure on each of the 3 main rolls, would lead to its own complication that we would rp out.

My original intent was to have you guys set all of your own goals but, once again, pbp is not the best forum for group discourse so I just made some assumptions and set the goals for you and when no-one piped in to edit or add to those goals, I assumed you were okay to start the challenge. Example: Someone could have added the challenge of trying to find survivors and escort them to the temple.

I also wanted each group member to describe what abilities/skills they were using to succeed on the challenge.

Example: Goal 1 was getting to the market unhindered. My default assumption was a Stealth roll but someone could have justified Athletics by narrating how they helped the group use the rooftops to avoid most of the zombies.

Using spells/unique abilities would help or replace a roll on a case-by case basis.
Example: Silent image would give advantage to Goal 1 if you were rolling stealth but
Jump would replace a roll if you chose to use Athletics for Goal 1. (basically, rewarding people for using up daily resources)

OOC: Once we start and see first zombies, Havoc activates tremorsense which remains active for 10 minutes. Hopefully, this allows us to navigate only the streets that are clear (or mostly clear) of zombies. Not sure how detailed the sense is, so he may even find the living and point them toward the tavern. Roll what you think would appropriate? Maybe Perception auto-success or stealth (it is not that we were hidden, it was that we went unseen? Help for someone else? Stonecunning: Bonus action: Tremorsense, range 60' for 10 minutes when touching stone surface 2 (proficiency) / day

- In this scenario, Havoc's tremorsense would definitely give advantage but since the roll was already made and succeeded, I don't want to punish you and make you use up a resource if you don't need to.

If it was going to help you learn the layout of the market then I'd allow you to get advantage or replace one of the rolls.

---

My question(s):

• Was the confusion due to how I worded the challenge? (I know pbp is super annoying for communicating intent sometimes.)
• Or is it that some people didn't know what I meant when I said it was an Extended Test? (maybe not everyone uses that terminology)
• did the instructions get lost in multiple OOC posts?

I'm asking mostly because I want feedback as a GM. I like these kinds of challenges to move things forward quickly without focusing on minutiae so I'd like to put my finger on what I did wrong. Do you have suggestions?

As far as the game goes, I'm going to move things forward. There was enough successful rolls to justify getting to the market unhindered.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Apologies- I had to go offline for the weekend. Catching up now.

Since @FitzTheRuke has navigation/survival covered, I will use fluff to roll for best approach to the market. ( @TaranTheWanderer - I think it should work; if not, use it for advantage)

 

[Neurotic]

I am familiar with the group challenge ( a la 4e), extended test didn't mean anything to me (I assumed it simply an expression for its extended duration), but you already set goals so I didn't think to change the goals - and in general, I agree to them.

As for the test - If I can save tremorsense for some later use, thank you