Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

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Blubbo Baggins
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Blubbo Baggins » Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:57 pm

:arrow: Don't forget!

If you fail a Fatigue test, you don't add the 2 or 3 points of Encumbrance until that leg of the journey is complete!
Meaning, you don't add immediately. For example, if you are traveling from Beorn's House to the Forest Gate (if you even have to make a Fatigue check), and fail the Fatigue roll... you don't add the 2 or 3 Encumbrance until you arrive at the Forest Gate.

The only thing I'm not sure about is sometimes the the end of a leg of a journey isn't perfectly clear. If you're traveling from Laketown to Anduin Vale, and fail a couple Fatigue checks in Mirkwood.... do you not gain the Encumbrance until arriving in Anduin?

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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Hermes Serpent » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:08 pm

Valarian wrote:
Hermes Serpent wrote:Valarian has basically nailed it with the exception that Travel Fatigue is changed to 2 and 3 points for Summer/Winter in the revisions and the updated one volume core rulebook.
Ah ... I've not studied the revisions in detail as yet. Interesting that they've increased that.
This is where we see that the authors do indeed take note of what's being said.
We also see how the design intertwines in the various parts of the system. In the early days there were lots of comments about too many die rolls for travel tests when journeying. There was a 'Revised' set of journey rules offered here and on his blog before Francesco said he was going back to the original after testing the alternative rules.

We now see that the Fatigue accrued due to failed Travel tests is increased by one. We see a change in that the use of Lore for Travel is codified slightly differently and a bonus die is added for a successful test rather than the one day reduction in time, reduction in TN or an auto-success. That reduces the likelihood of getting a failed Travel test and the resulting non-loss of Fatigue has to be adjusted for elsewhere. Also note the change to a Hazard on an Eye being rolled rather than a failure with an Eye. That shifts back the possibility of the Hazard moved by the use of a Success die allowing for fewer failures.

The move to a minimum of 2 Fatigue makes the use of Ponies and boats simpler - the move from doubling distance travelled by ponies thereby reducing fatigue loss which was measured by days of Travel to dropping the fatigue cost by one balances out against the increased fatigue amount. You take less time and less fatigue due to failed tests but the fatigue loss doesn't have to be measured in amounts smaller than one.
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Valarian
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Valarian » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:13 pm

Personally, I add get players to add the fatigue at the end of the day of travel. Once the players reach a place of safety and can rest, the fatigue will disappear so I can't see the point of adding it once the leg of the journey has ended. That will only make a difference if the journey leg doesn't end in a place of safety.
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Blubbo Baggins
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Blubbo Baggins » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:23 pm

Valarian wrote:Personally, I add get players to add the fatigue at the end of the day of travel. Once the players reach a place of safety and can rest, the fatigue will disappear so I can't see the point of adding it once the leg of the journey has ended. That will only make a difference if the journey leg doesn't end in a place of safety.
Makes sense to me (to add it at the end of a day).

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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Hermes Serpent » Fri Sep 05, 2014 3:28 pm

Blubbo Baggins wrote:The only thing I'm not sure about is sometimes the the end of a leg of a journey isn't perfectly clear. If you're traveling from Laketown to Anduin Vale, and fail a couple Fatigue checks in Mirkwood.... do you not gain the Encumbrance until arriving in Anduin?
The end of a leg is usually what makes sense to the LM. It might be arriving at your destination it might be some waypoint or a change of territory.

Say I have a company travelling through Mirkwood on the Old Forest Road. They've failed a couple of fatigue tests and have 4 pending points of Travel Fatigue. Then one of the party roils a Travel test successfully but gets an Eye. I check and determine its not one of my pre-generated Hazards (I usually set them in a specific location) but a generic meeting with some orcs on patrol. I'd treat that as the end of a leg because it makes sense to me to do so. At that point they can shrug off their packs and draw weapons but those days of tripping over tree roots and feeling the oppressive nature of being in Mirkwood catch up with them and they are now have 4 points less Endurance available to cover cuts and bruises, nicks and scrapes in the fight with the orcs.

In your example of travelling through Mirkwood (and not having any Hazards occur) I'd save the Fatigue points until they stopped at a suitable point in the Anduin vale, say the Easterly Inn, Beorn's House or Woodman town as there is little in the way of secure accommodation. They may have to stay there for more time than they had planned as they only lose one point per night. Time pressure is a great way to cause groups to push on when they are still not fully recovered. So I'd dump the fatigue on them on arriving but if they them have to press on well.....
Some TOR Information on my G+ Drive.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
"The One Ring's not a computer game, dictated by stats and inflexible rules, it's a story telling game." - Clawless Dragon

Blubbo Baggins
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Blubbo Baggins » Fri Sep 05, 2014 4:13 pm

Cool, I like that - adding time pressure so they can't sit around recovering.

And, as far as a hazard, that also makes sense as an opportune time to say, "OK, now you're stopped and having to deal with this hazard (or being attacked, etc), add your accumulated Fatigue".

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Majestic
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Majestic » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:27 pm

The way Encumbrance is factored (after a failed test) threw me for a loop as well. I think it's one of those things where doing things the way "other RPG do it" colors your way of thinking.
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Hermes Serpent » Fri Sep 05, 2014 5:47 pm

The One Ring shows it antecedants in the board game design theatre once again. :)
Some TOR Information on my G+ Drive.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
"The One Ring's not a computer game, dictated by stats and inflexible rules, it's a story telling game." - Clawless Dragon

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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Stormcrow » Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:07 pm

Hermes Serpent wrote:The end of a leg is usually what makes sense to the LM. It might be arriving at your destination it might be some waypoint or a change of territory.
The revised rulebook gives more explicit details regarding this:
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, p. 159 wrote:A journey may be considered ended when the company reaches its intended destination, when the gameplay definitely leaves narrative time and the players take part in a full-fledged episode, or when some change of plan or unexpected occurrence interrupts the journey to engage the company in a different activity for a significant amount of time.
• As a rule of thumb, any interruption that carries some narrative weight or that is likely to last about three days or more is generally considered significant and thus to have put an end to the journey.
Blubbo Baggins wrote:If you fail a Fatigue test, you don't add the 2 or 3 points of Encumbrance until that leg of the journey is complete!
In the revised rules, this is no longer true.
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, p. 159 wrote:When a player-hero fails a Fatigue test, he immediately increases his Fatigue score by a number equal to the Encumbrance value of his Travelling gear.
Furthermore, it is now made clear that Fatigue Tests aren't made all at once, but interspersed between events:
ibid wrote:In the case of a journey requiring multiple tests, the Loremaster should intersperse the required rolls (and their consequences) across the length of his narrative.

Glorelendil
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Re: Encumbrance/fatigue rules for dummies

Post by Glorelendil » Sat Sep 06, 2014 3:41 am

This got me thinking....should I add a visual cue to my journeyometer that shows which hexes the Travel tests would fall on, if they were evenly distributed?
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