In reply to Amaruq (msg # 58):

Weekends don't really count towards the game, anyhow, and this one, in particular, is a holiday weekend, so you shouldn't miss anything.

we'll see how far we get by Friday, then the next update will be Tuesday.

OK, folks, I've split the party into two groups. Rowboat has the original thread, and the folks on the ship have a new one, for now. At least if I did it properly.

I'm not a big fan of splitting the party, which is why we kept Nazem as an NPC, but it does happen on occasion.

Next update is Tuesday, folks, but I will be around all weekend if you want to post in the meantime.

Happy 4th for those of you in (or expatriate from) the US.

Grab some lumber while you're out there, so I can do something besides sit in my cabin for weeks on end.

LOL

OK, folks, I'm going to stream line the mapping of the coast. I'll still be rolling events, I just won't update day by day I'll synopsize what's happened in the background when you have an encounter I need to post. This should speed things up a bit.

Also, I'm going to synopsize any non human coastal encounters. And, as we seem to keep splitting up the party when things actually DO happen, there will be more sea borne encounters, so everyone gets a chance to do something, even if it's just combat.

Also, if EVERYONE forages, you'll get more sooner. Remember, the reason we kept Nazim as an NPC was specifically so every PC could go ashore at once while having someone on the ship. And now we have a second NPC for the time being.

I have a question though, what do we do if there’s a encounter rolled and we’re not on the ship and don’t have people to man it and we just have Nazem on the ship. I guess they get killed and the ships gone?

Hey, if that happens, then we have additional RP opportunities.....

I think having an in-game problem we have to solve is a whole lot better than having people that can't participate in the game because they're watching the ship.

Well, If I'm rolling n encounter, it's for the terrain the party is in. If you're in the forest I'm not rolling sea encounters.

But, yes, it IS possible that something might happen to the ship. Nazem can drive, Hersten can fire a ballista (quite well, actually). If it's a worry, put Alarm (with Nazem and Hersten able to trigger it) on the cabin door and stay within a mile.

The other option is to have half the party leave from boredom. Something to is close to happening as it is.

I had thought this was covered in the "Keeping Nazem or not" discussion.

Regardless, folks, I'll be switching things up a bit to include everyone.

That isn't a good thing if the party keeps splitting, just a necessary one.


Right after this encounter.

Thalassa and Damen do not have to fish from the back of the boat.  We two can use the nets in and under the water.  We can also spear fish in the water.  I also mentioned kelp and seaweed, which are both edible.  And, to preserve foods, we just need to fill a pot with sea water and let it evaporate.  All things a ranger, a druid, or a sailor or shipwright with survival, would know how to do.

In reply to Damen Iourdanos (msg # 70):

Yes...when the boat isn't moving (it is marginally faster than you, and, after 8 hours, you'll be far behind). But it IS moving during day shift, which is when she fishes.

Besides, for her it kind of IS required. Underwater fishing is actually HUNTING. Her abilities are boosted for FISHING only.

True.  But Damen is better at hunting and foraging in the water and on land along the coasts.  His first preferred terrain was Coastal, and his first preferred enemy was Beasts.

But...you have plenty of meat. You need everything else. The stuff that comes from land plants.

And you have another preferred terrain. You're just as good in the forest.

This is true.  But, you can get a lot 9f the same nutrients from kelp and seaweed.  Seaside and oceanic societies have been doing so for centuries, if not millenia.  We don't always have to forage on land.
There are other things that we have been forgetting about having a ranger on board regarding favored terrain:

• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a norm al pace.
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.

Now, an argument could be made that it the ability is Overland Travel and does not include the water. But, on the coast, the water is just as much a part of the terrain as the land, just as a river or a lake or a stream is anywhere else.  Plus, technically, the water covers land.  While you can't actually track in water, if you see the wake caused some creature (or a school), then that information would be discernable.  With his knowledge of ships, he should even be able to tell the number if crew and how laden with cargo a ship is by how low it rides in the water.

In reply to Damen Iourdanos (msg # 74):

Two of you can forage under water. Eight can forage on land.

Splitting the party is a bad idea, as I said yesterday. I'm not running two groups. That's not fair to the group that doesn't get the encounter. Also dangerous if an 8 person encounter focuses everything on one (partial party) group.

And "Coastal" isn't "Aquatic" or "Out to Sea". It's the coast and surf, not under water. We'll have to wait for a later sourcebook for more.

I'm just giving ideas.  If we hunt and forage along the beach, we cover both land and water.  And I think his next terrain choice is going to be Open Sea. LOL

Well, as to options, Players will do what they want, and, when it goes pear shaped, blame the DM. So I warn folks. You've been warned. My conscience will be clear.


As to open water as  a terrain type, that isn't an option (yet). Wwhich is fine, this isn't an undersea game, it's an exploration of new LANDS game.

I've been working, off and on, on a undersea game, but there are some issues. Terrain types for rangers and druids is just one of them. Tool/Craft for shells and coral is another, although I have a work around (sort of. It needs work, still). And I can only find 4 races that I'd use, although I might benefit from another pas at Volo's and Mord's TOF

Boss says "pick some weeds", you get off your butt and go pick some weeds.

In reply to Raddik (msg # 78):

Oh, I'm sure he'll take mushrooms, dwarf boy. Lots of Vitamin B (a lack of which causes Beri Beri). Nazem certainly misses them

I need a foraging plan, folks. Who's going, etc: Camp on the beach or come back to the boat at night. That sort of thing

I can ritual cast Tiny Hut for the land foraging team which will keep people safe, warm, and decently comfortable as they travel in-land. I can also do some scouting with Arcane Eye should the need arise. I have no proficiency with Survival so my assistance in the actual foraging would be minimal.

Edit: I can also cast Fly
This message was last edited by the player at 19:57, Thu 08 July 2021.

In reply to Hedwig Bancroft (msg # 81):

Tiny Hut as written doesn't move.

Folks can forage without training, they just don't get as much over the long term.

People don't typically move at night so it shouldn't be an issue. It's also a ritual so if we do need to move I just need 10 more minutes.

And understood.