(OOC) The Dog Days of Doom

[FitzTheRuke]

Ah. I thought by "extended" you meant that it would be muti-part. And when you mentioned 3 checks, I thought you meant each.

The only (hopefully constructive) criticism I have is you probably could have just said "Everyone give me a single skill check and tell me (with an IC post) how you use it toward the goal of getting to the market".

And then riff off what we post, adding or correcting as you go.

I find that if you have too many specifics in mind, your players will be all over the place with their responses (or lack thereof).

My advice: As often as possible, ask for one thing at a time, and go with whatever you get! Now, if only I could follow my own advice consistently!

 

[Lidgar]

Yeah, between it being a extended holiday weekend here in the States and wrong assumptions (I read it the same way Fitz did), it was perhaps just bad timing. Anyways, I like the basic thought/approach - been fun.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Yes, I agree - it's going very well, and if I didn't say so, I should have!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

@TaranTheWanderer Looking good! But... map's not working!

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

@TaranTheWanderer Looking good! But... map's not working!

Try now!

But for the record, here it is:

Feel free to discuss IC or OOC. You are on the edge of the market so you can make a plan, use abilities etc...

 

[FitzTheRuke]

What do you think, gang? Should we spread out and loot, or stick together in case of trouble?

Kobold-shaped sock puppet nods enthusiastically.

You're no, help, phoney Kobold!

(For those that missed it, Kobold Stew is gone until Friday, and I'm posting for him until he gets back).

 

[Lidgar]

Split the party! What can go wrong?

More seriously, having a couple of stealthy ones maybe hit the two holy/silver spots could work. The louder ones can then hit the emporium and then meet them on the opposite side of the square. Deirdre still has two uses of turn undead - can use one of them here in a pinch. It recharges on a short rest.

 

[Neurotic]

One or two of us, the quickest, stealthiest or most able to climb make some noise. Attract the zombies, pull them away from our target?

But this would be it then for any stealth.

Let's go in order, we need potions anyhow. Holy symbols may come in handy. And weapons and shields...we came equiped, if it happens we can get something magical, great, but Let's not risk everything for it.

Alternative: we go to the hammer first and then to pendants, there doesn't seem to be many zombies there atm. That way we can get most dangerous thing at the Center while zombies aren't alert

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

Alternative: we go to the hammer first and then to pendants, there doesn't seem to be many zombies there atm. That way we can get most dangerous thing at the Center while zombies aren't alert

I want to reiterate that you can ignore where undead are positioned on the map Unless you are intending to start a full out fight right now.

Just assume that the entire market is full of undead. It won’t be any easier or harder to go to certain locations based on what you see on the map.

Just as a warning: this isn't intended to be a combat challenge. If you start a fight in the market, you will very quickly get overrun and have to flee and, since your goal is to get loot and arm up, It doesn't mean it will necessarily be a TPK (although, it could be if you try to fight for too long), you definitely won't be able to loot everything you want and you'll be forced to retreat from the market.

If you want to know how I'm running the challenge, feel free to look at the spoiler. If you want it to be a surprise, then don't look. Just know this: I'm tracking an 'Alertness' dice. Everytime you exit a building or cross through the market, I'm rolling a d8 on a random encounter table. So, if alertness is at 1, you have a 1 in 8 chance of getting a random encounter. So, at alertness 8, you're guaranteed an encounter that you'll have to try to deal with - although, it won't necessarily be a combat.

Spoiler: Mechanics

What raises alertness:

• when the majority of the party fails a stealth check vs zombie Passive Perception +1/alertness level
• Every time you leave a location
• Every time there's a combat in a building, I roll perception + alertness level against DC 12. If I succeed, alertness goes up.
• Every time there's a combat or loud noise in the market it automatically goes up. And I roll on the random encounter table immediately. This includes spellcasting!

When do I roll random encounters?

• Every time alertness level goes up. Which could be twice if it goes up by 2.
• Every time there's a combat or loud noise outside in the market proper - even if alertness is already at 8.

So, as you can see, if you are at Alertness 8 and you start a fight, you will continuously attract more attention and quickly get overwhelmed.

Splitting the party:
Disadvantage:

• Since I roll for encounters and increase alertness every time you leave a location going to 2 locations means I roll encounters twice and alertness automatically goes up two but since you are split up, you could end up running into something while split.
• You have to deal with stuff while split (as usual)

Advantage:
- You have to roll stealth every time you go to a new location. If you split, I still do group stealth so you get a single stealth check for 2 locations. So, even if you fail, it goes up once instead of, potentially, twice. Probably best method if your group isn't stealthy.

If you are thinking, "wait, this could escalate fast!", you are correct.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Just saw this after I posted. Caer has no objection to going to the armory first, but will accompany any splitters to a different location instead.