River Crossings

[Wbweather]

So, I'm not one to add much in the way of house rules to my game, but especially with the Rohan supplement, there are a lot of rivers lying about. It has me wondering how to deal with crossing them. Here is something I came up with. I would like to know what you guys think.

Optional Rules - River Crossings
There are areas along every river that are well known as easy places to ford. It is not surprising that many of the main roads lead to these crossing points. Travelling adventurers do not always stick to the main roads however and often find themselves many miles from a well known crossing. At times such as these, players may need to search for a suitable place to cross a river.

Searching for a fordable spot in the river requires a prolonged action by the scout requiring 3 successful search rolls. A great success counts as two rolls, an extraordinary success counts for three. Any ''Eye" rolled on these tests results in an additional day of travel (the company loses a day in unproductive searching?). The scout is allowed two tests each day. Each test moves the company half a day’s journey up or down stream (this may result in travel delays as the company may need to backtrack or replan their route once they cross the river).

Once a viable area to cross the river is found, all party members must then pass an athletics test (riding if on horseback) to ford the river. The TN for this test is equal to 12 plus the roll of a success die. The TN is increase by +2 for spring (rivers running higher) and winter (ice and cold). On a great success, a player may assist another player, on an extraordinary success, he may assist 2 other characters. For each failed roll, a player loses endurance equal to the roll of a success die. A player who fails with an “Eye” result on the feat die gains a wound. Once discovered, a ford can be marked on the map (along with its TN) and used again by the company whenever they return to the area.

[Falenthal]

A quick note: I'd say that the Scout(s) are the ones with the task of finding ways and how to cross fords. The Guide's role is more "macro", so to say. A Guide knows where the group is going and what direction it should head in general terms. The Scout is the one that solves the "micro" problems of which hill would be better to climb or which of the two paths should be the shortest one.

[zedturtle]

Yep, I would definitely go with Explore over Travel, as I think it's more suitable to the finding of the fordable spot. I really like the note about needing to account for backtracking once you've crossed the river.

I'm not sure about the Athletics TN being set randomly. I wonder if it should be equal to 2 higher than the regional TN, dropping to the regional TN if the scout scored at least one Gandalf while Exploring.

Once you've found a crossing, you still need to make Athletics tests each time right? That would keep actual proper fords and bridges open for business, I would think.

[Wbweather]

A quick note: I'd say that the Scout(s) are the ones with the task of finding ways and how to cross fords. The Guide's role is more "macro", so to say. A Guide knows where the group is going and what direction it should head in general terms. The Scout is the one that solves the "micro" problems of which hill would be better to climb or which of the two paths should be the shortest one.

Yes, I think you are right about this being the scout. I was thinking travel test to tie into there being a hazard on an eye, but then the fording of the river is already a "hazard" on its own, so that isn't really necessary. Perhaps an "eye" could cause another negative outcome (i.e. temporary weariness, loss of a day, something along those lines?)

I'm not sure about the Athletics TN being set randomly. I wonder if it should be equal to 2 higher than the regional TN, dropping to the regional TN if the scout scored at least one Gandalf while Exploring.

My thought here was that the difficulty of the crossing would be independent of the terrain. Even in easy terrain, the river might be challenging to cross, while in hard terrain, a river might have a relatively easy crossing. I was trying to randomize things a bit. Of course, I'm not committed to anything.

Once you've found a crossing, you still need to make Athletics tests each time right? That would keep actual proper fords and bridges open for business, I would think.

Right. The idea is that these would still be challenging areas to cross. They could be marked on the map with the TN noted as well. These would just be short cuts that the players have found, but these short cuts would come with some risk.

[zedturtle]

Yeah, I think the TN should be somewhat variable. I guess I'm objecting to the randomizer, not the randomness, if that makes sense. More thought later (hate the phone keyboard).

[Wbweather]

What about adding a modifier to the TN for crossing based on the season. Summer being the easiest as the river is lower. Spring would be harder with winter melt and heavier rains?

[Falenthal]

Very Mouse Guard, and I like it.

[zedturtle]

Very Mouse Guard, and I like it.

What he said.

[Wbweather]

Unfortunately, I am ignorant of how Mouse Guard is played. But I'm glad you like it.

[Falenthal]

Unfortunately, I am ignorant of how Mouse Guard is played. But I'm glad you like it.

Oh, but you HAVE to read the comic-books.
Really, YOU ALL HAVE TO.
At least "Fall 1152", "Winter 1152", "The Black Axe" and "Baldwin the Brave and other Tales".