D&D 5E Storm King's Thunder [OOC]

[FitzTheRuke]

The party knows something is there. Probably orcs. But only Tranio KNOWS - he saw necklace of ears and humanoids in the fog. The rest of us are blind. Remember that the fog is thick enough that we didn't see across the bridge - most of the party probably doesn't even see Tranio and Dren - we depend on voices to inform us.

No, I totally agree on that point. I'm just curious as to why people are kind of acting like there's no danger. We've been told there are orcs out here somewhere and we should be on our guard. I would think that when something shows up, we should react like it's probably orcs until proven otherwise.

If you were a soldier on the front, and someone shows up in the dark, don't you act like it might be an enemy? I'm not talking about shooting everything that moves, but sending civilians forward or wandering forward yourself while chatting away seems a bit... lax?

It kind of feels like everyone's trying so hard not to metagame, that they're not willing to act like there's a probable threat here.

Anyway, I mean all of this mildly, and not as a big criticism to anyone. Just a friendly discussion.

 

[Neurotic]

I did NOT send anyone, I organized them to go fast once we get all clear

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I did NOT send anyone, I organized them to go fast once we get all clear

Oh, I didn't mean you were sending people, but some of the other posts sounded like people weren't clear on where anyone was and if the villagers were crossing or not, including the DM. I was just trying to be clear(ish) that I think sending them is a terrible idea. So terrible, in fact, that I'm surprised anyone would think that we might still be sending them across.

 

[Neurotic]

Agreed. I'll re-read last several posts, but I don't think anyone but us goes unless we have cleared both sides or there is overwhelming threat. No ideas good DM ☺

 

[FitzTheRuke]

[MENTION=6853819]TallIan[/MENTION] where do you get the idea that heavy obscurement means no ranged attacks? I am not arguing, I've just never seen that anywhere.

 

[industrygothica]

[MENTION=6873732]seriousmoonlight[/MENTION] also said not to worry about disadvantage due to the fog, so I'm guessing that right now the fog is just a flavor element rather than a tactical terrain feature.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think what seriousmoonlight meant about how the obscurement was complicated so forget it, is that by pure RAW (a bit strangely), if you can't see them, you have disadvantage, right? But if they can't see you you have advantage. Back-and-forth, all of which cancel out. It's a silly thing.

AFAIK, and I'm happy to be wrong, all we need is to know that they are there and we can pretty much attack as normal.

You can ignore it working that way, which everyone often does, IME, but giving everyone disadvantage just makes for a needlessly long fight. The way I like to do it is: If you roll badly, blame the fog. Keep it in mind when you imagine what you can and can't see. Role-play it, but don't worry too much about it mechanically.

I admit I could be totally wrong!

 

[seriousmoonlight]

Couple things:

1. I apologize, with 10 feet squares there should be room for medium creatures to share. The campaign switches the grid sizes a lot and I was thinking about the 5 feet rules.

2. Yes, the fog was more story flavoring. I went down a wormhole of reading obscured interpretations vs RAW. Fitz is right that there were advantages and disadvantages that cancelled out. Different opinions about ranged attacks too. I didn't want to slow stuff down further, so was suggesting just do an encounter as normal. (Watch all battles be on beautiful spring days now XD)

3. Let me know if you want to pick different starting squares and I'll update the map.

4. Aremus and Tranio get to go again. I considered their previous attacks pre-fight readied actions.

 

[TallIan]

[MENTION=6853819]TallIan[/MENTION] where do you get the idea that heavy obscurement means no ranged attacks? I am not arguing, I've just never seen that anywhere.

Apparently in my head

I was sure heavy obscurement prohibited ranged attacks - even played a session with that rule - which I now cannot find. So I made it up, or my players did, as they greatly benefitted from that.

 

[KahlessNestor]

Apparently in my head

I was sure heavy obscurement prohibited ranged attacks - even played a session with that rule - which I now cannot find. So I made it up, or my players did, as they greatly benefitted from that.

It's a rule that makes sense. You are basically firing blind, which means you have to pick a square. But unless they make a Hide check, you by RAW know where they are even if you can't see them. So...everyone knows where everyone is, no one can see anyone, everyone is even, so no advantage or disadvantage...

It's like showing your math rather than taking out the calculator