Uller
Adventurer
Bottomline Up Front: This is a long post with a lot of information. Take some time to digest it all, ask questions and come up with a plan. If you prefer not to come up with a plan for the whole group, I suggest each of you name what your PC is doing plus one or two NPCs.
You have come away from Velkenvelve and are ready to travel toward Sloobludop. The journey (according to Shuushar) is about 8 days.. Without a guide, the journey is nearly impossible. With Shuushar guiding you it will be dangerous and you could still become lost...
Rest and Recovery:
For now we are going RAW: 1 hour short rests, 8 hours for long rest (only 1 LR per 24 hour period). At some point maybe we’ll want to consider a more “gritty” rest rules but let’s see how this goes.
Food and Water:
You have enough carrying capacity for about a weeks worth of food and 2 days worth of water. Your current supply is 3 days of food and 3 days of water. The amounts to about 45 pounds of food and 50 gallons of water for the entire troupe (assuming it is spread out over everyone). Each character uses 1 pound of water and 1 gallon of water. Derendil uses 4 of each. Shuushar uses half a pound of food (cold blooded) but 2 gallons of water. Drum uses almost none of each but should supplies become empty he will gain an extra level of exhaustion per day. Running out of food and water will result in exhaustion and eventually death.
Light:
The Underdark is about 50/50 complete darkness, dimly lit. Those with dark vision can function reasonably without light (although standard rules apply...if you are in complete darkness, disadvantage on perception and any other skills that require a good sense of sight...such as tracking or scouting or foraging). Those without will need a light source or will be hindered and even slow the party down. Of course, light makes stealth impossible and increases the likelihood of possible encounters spotting you.
Foraging:
Each foraging character will make a survival check every day (DC will vary and adv/disadv may apply depending on circumstances and light). On a success the character will find 1d6+survival modifier pounds of food. Also, slain creatures can be a source of food (although eating raw meat may be a bad idea). I will make a check (dependent on skill and number of foraging characters) for what water sources you discover and then foraging characters can make a check to determine if it is safe to drink. Some water sources may be guarded. When you find a water source you can replenish water supplies completely.
We will be following the rules in the DMG for what happens when you run out of either food or water (exhaustion).
Orsik can cast Create Water to make 10 gallons per casting.
Pace:
The pace you travel will determine a number of things: distance travelled, chances of encountering creatures, stealth, foraging, chances of becoming lost and perception as well as level of pursuit if you are being pursued (see below).
There are 4 paces you can choose:
Fast:
8 miles per day
Foraging: disadvantage and result is half
Stealth: impossible
Navigation: disadvantage
Perception: disadvantage
Pursuit: Lose 1 level
Normal:
6 miles per day
Foraging: disadvantage
Stealth: disadvantage
Navigation: normal
Perception: normal
Pursuit: No change
Slow
4 miles per day
Foraging: Normal
Stealth: Normal
Navigation: advantage
Perception: advantage
Pursuit: Gain 1 level
Stop
Foraging: Advantage, bounty is doubled
Stealth: advantage
Navigation: N/A
Perception: Advantage
Pursuit: Lose 1d3 levels
You can also always gain further ground (and attempt toevade pursuit) via a forced march, but this can cause you to gain levels of exhaustion, make foraging more difficult and have other ramifications. I’d go with a fast pace before considering a forced march, but cir
Travelling Tasks (Skill):
Foraging (Survival) - see foraging section above
Navigation (Survival) - the guide must perform this task and must have a general knowledge of where the party is trying to go. Perform this task to stay on course and know progress made
Lookout (Perception) - Use this task to watch for threats. Can be combined with scouting
Mapping (No skill required? Really? Okay, we'll go with it...) - This task is used to track where you’ve been. Once you have a map of a route, Navigation checks are made with advantage.
Guarding (Perception) - someone might want to keep an eye on the members of your circus...some threats might be from within.
Covering Tracks (Survival) - Take actions to confuse any possible pursuers. This can increase pursuit level if successful.
Scouting (Perception or Survival and Stealth) Increase progress by up to 25% by finding good paths and discovering any threats before the party is within range of an encounter. However, very bad rolls can leave you isolated and even separated.
Other tasks: If you can think of other things to do to help out...maybe athletics to help carry more gear so slower characters can move faster, maybe persuasion to boost morale and keep people moving, and so forth. Aiding another in their tasks is also a task.
Pursuit:
Chances are, you are being pursued. If not now, you may be later. I will track the level of pursuit. Higher means your pursuers are getting closer and at a certain level you will have an encounter with them. If the pursuit level reaches 0 then your pursuers will have lost you.
Here are some things you can do to change the level of pursuit;
Decrease pursuit by:
Travel at a Fast Pace, cover your tracks (dedicate at least one character to this task), cross a terrain feature that covers your tracks, split into two or more groups,
Increase pursuit:
Fail to avoid an encounter
Travel at a slow pace (or don’t travel)
Traverse terrain that forces you to go slow or makes tracking easy.
What I need from you:
What is your travel pace?
Marching order for open spaces and constrained spaces.
Who is navigating? (Shuushar and ?)
Are you travelling with light sources? Without light sources, those without darkvision are treated as if they are travelling one pace faster and are unable to travel at a fast pace. Light sources make stealth impossible for you (exception: scouts that are likely well ahead of any light source).
Who is mapping?
Who is scouting?
Who is looking out for hazards to the main group?
Who is foraging?
Who is watching for trouble within the party?
Who is covering tracks?
Who is doing something else?
I know you have quite a large troupe. It is possible to do two tasks if traveling at a normal or slower pace. Here is a complete list of PCs/Cohorts/NPCs.
PCs:
Erevan
Ezraen
Surana
Cohorts:
Orsik
Klep
Bertram
NPCs:
Derendil
Sarith
Eldeth
JimJar
Topsy
Turvy
Drum
Shushar
Whatever NPCs you don’t task, I will determine what they are doing. If you ask one to do something they might not want to do, you may need a persuasion check.
You have come away from Velkenvelve and are ready to travel toward Sloobludop. The journey (according to Shuushar) is about 8 days.. Without a guide, the journey is nearly impossible. With Shuushar guiding you it will be dangerous and you could still become lost...
Rest and Recovery:
For now we are going RAW: 1 hour short rests, 8 hours for long rest (only 1 LR per 24 hour period). At some point maybe we’ll want to consider a more “gritty” rest rules but let’s see how this goes.
Food and Water:
You have enough carrying capacity for about a weeks worth of food and 2 days worth of water. Your current supply is 3 days of food and 3 days of water. The amounts to about 45 pounds of food and 50 gallons of water for the entire troupe (assuming it is spread out over everyone). Each character uses 1 pound of water and 1 gallon of water. Derendil uses 4 of each. Shuushar uses half a pound of food (cold blooded) but 2 gallons of water. Drum uses almost none of each but should supplies become empty he will gain an extra level of exhaustion per day. Running out of food and water will result in exhaustion and eventually death.
Light:
The Underdark is about 50/50 complete darkness, dimly lit. Those with dark vision can function reasonably without light (although standard rules apply...if you are in complete darkness, disadvantage on perception and any other skills that require a good sense of sight...such as tracking or scouting or foraging). Those without will need a light source or will be hindered and even slow the party down. Of course, light makes stealth impossible and increases the likelihood of possible encounters spotting you.
Foraging:
Each foraging character will make a survival check every day (DC will vary and adv/disadv may apply depending on circumstances and light). On a success the character will find 1d6+survival modifier pounds of food. Also, slain creatures can be a source of food (although eating raw meat may be a bad idea). I will make a check (dependent on skill and number of foraging characters) for what water sources you discover and then foraging characters can make a check to determine if it is safe to drink. Some water sources may be guarded. When you find a water source you can replenish water supplies completely.
We will be following the rules in the DMG for what happens when you run out of either food or water (exhaustion).
Orsik can cast Create Water to make 10 gallons per casting.
Pace:
The pace you travel will determine a number of things: distance travelled, chances of encountering creatures, stealth, foraging, chances of becoming lost and perception as well as level of pursuit if you are being pursued (see below).
There are 4 paces you can choose:
Fast:
8 miles per day
Foraging: disadvantage and result is half
Stealth: impossible
Navigation: disadvantage
Perception: disadvantage
Pursuit: Lose 1 level
Normal:
6 miles per day
Foraging: disadvantage
Stealth: disadvantage
Navigation: normal
Perception: normal
Pursuit: No change
Slow
4 miles per day
Foraging: Normal
Stealth: Normal
Navigation: advantage
Perception: advantage
Pursuit: Gain 1 level
Stop
Foraging: Advantage, bounty is doubled
Stealth: advantage
Navigation: N/A
Perception: Advantage
Pursuit: Lose 1d3 levels
You can also always gain further ground (and attempt toevade pursuit) via a forced march, but this can cause you to gain levels of exhaustion, make foraging more difficult and have other ramifications. I’d go with a fast pace before considering a forced march, but cir
Travelling Tasks (Skill):
Foraging (Survival) - see foraging section above
Navigation (Survival) - the guide must perform this task and must have a general knowledge of where the party is trying to go. Perform this task to stay on course and know progress made
Lookout (Perception) - Use this task to watch for threats. Can be combined with scouting
Mapping (No skill required? Really? Okay, we'll go with it...) - This task is used to track where you’ve been. Once you have a map of a route, Navigation checks are made with advantage.
Guarding (Perception) - someone might want to keep an eye on the members of your circus...some threats might be from within.
Covering Tracks (Survival) - Take actions to confuse any possible pursuers. This can increase pursuit level if successful.
Scouting (Perception or Survival and Stealth) Increase progress by up to 25% by finding good paths and discovering any threats before the party is within range of an encounter. However, very bad rolls can leave you isolated and even separated.
Other tasks: If you can think of other things to do to help out...maybe athletics to help carry more gear so slower characters can move faster, maybe persuasion to boost morale and keep people moving, and so forth. Aiding another in their tasks is also a task.
Pursuit:
Chances are, you are being pursued. If not now, you may be later. I will track the level of pursuit. Higher means your pursuers are getting closer and at a certain level you will have an encounter with them. If the pursuit level reaches 0 then your pursuers will have lost you.
Here are some things you can do to change the level of pursuit;
Decrease pursuit by:
Travel at a Fast Pace, cover your tracks (dedicate at least one character to this task), cross a terrain feature that covers your tracks, split into two or more groups,
Increase pursuit:
Fail to avoid an encounter
Travel at a slow pace (or don’t travel)
Traverse terrain that forces you to go slow or makes tracking easy.
What I need from you:
What is your travel pace?
Marching order for open spaces and constrained spaces.
Who is navigating? (Shuushar and ?)
Are you travelling with light sources? Without light sources, those without darkvision are treated as if they are travelling one pace faster and are unable to travel at a fast pace. Light sources make stealth impossible for you (exception: scouts that are likely well ahead of any light source).
Who is mapping?
Who is scouting?
Who is looking out for hazards to the main group?
Who is foraging?
Who is watching for trouble within the party?
Who is covering tracks?
Who is doing something else?
I know you have quite a large troupe. It is possible to do two tasks if traveling at a normal or slower pace. Here is a complete list of PCs/Cohorts/NPCs.
PCs:
Erevan
Ezraen
Surana
Cohorts:
Orsik
Klep
Bertram
NPCs:
Derendil
Sarith
Eldeth
JimJar
Topsy
Turvy
Drum
Shushar
Whatever NPCs you don’t task, I will determine what they are doing. If you ask one to do something they might not want to do, you may need a persuasion check.
