Fatigue and adventuring

[Hermes Serpent]

I suspect that part of the issue might be that i was using a printout of that part of the Clarifications document rather than the new rulebook which might be clearer on the whole subject.

[Andrew]

But to the uninitiated, that'd mean first explaining what a D6 was!

[Stormcrow]

I immediately read it as rolling a separate success die for the amount of fatigue added. Success die means d6. Gamer jargon like d6 can be most uncouth.

[Hermes Serpent]

A simple 'a' added between 'equal to' and 'Success die' would have made it immeasurably clearer when one is trying to decide what a new rule is supposed to mean when juggling a rulebook, loose sheets of paper and a laptop. I can't remember any rule elsewhere in the rules that uses a single Success die roll without a Feat die off the top of my head which would have made that intuitive leap any easier.

[Hermes Serpent]

Going over the revised journey rules agin to fix them correctly in my head I checked on the exact wording in the Clarifications document and see that the section for Adventurers Guide p152 tells us to replace the Planning Ahead rules with the new section.

In the original book the Planning Ahead section included the statement:
"Attribute Bonus
If a character attempting the Lore test is already familiar
with the route taken by the company (if, for example,
he comes from a nearby area) the rolling player may
be granted a free Attribute bonus; the same applies if
the route has already been recorded on the company’s
Adventurer’s Map."

It would seem that a company can no longer get a bonus for previously traversing an area or being familiar with the area.

I think that I might house rule this option back in as the new fatigue rules toughen up the issues of failure when Travelling. I think I'd offer a Heart bonus when making a Travel test within say two hexes of the characters point of origin and if the company were travelling a route they had previously travelled at least once.

[aramis]

No riding in Mirkwood IIRC.

The wording isn't exactly clear, IMO, on that point. It's clear you cannot go off-road, and that road travel through mirkwood is slow (x3) on the two roads, but not that you cannot ride on the road itself. Perhaps not enough for the 40 miles per day... but the long stretches still paved described in Heart of the Wild on the Old Forest Road should support faster travel on horse.

The Elf-Path, I only allow use of Elf-trained horses, and the Moon Steed (or lesser variations).

[Glorelendil]

In any event, the question was about starting from the Black Tarn and going straight up to the Old Road. Definitely no horses for the first leg.

[wizarddog]

In any event, the question was about starting from the Black Tarn and going straight up to the Old Road. Definitely no horses for the first leg.

According to Heart of the Wild, the Old Forest Road was 10 feet wide though has patches of road and overgrowth. It could support horses but Southern Mirkwood has very few streams for water. HOTW p67

The elf path was winding and narrow "At times, it is so narrow that only a single traveller can walk along it." HOTW p73 and "In places, the path climbs up steep hills, where the Elves cut steps into the earth". Not likely to support Horses at least while riding but can be lead unless judged differently.

Finally, remember that these are roads, so the travel modifier is only .5.

[wizarddog]

Finally, remember that these are roads, so the travel modifier is only .5.

Scratch that, it says on p32 it excludes any road or path in Mirkwood. In which case, it also says you have to lead the horse through, you can't ride it.

[Hermes Serpent]

@wizarddog the section of the route from the Black Tarn north is all thick forest of the most tangled and overgrown nature so no path period. Only the section of the route that follows the Old Forest Road is actually still paved in places.

So Black Tarn to the road is 15 days foot travel (3 Fatigue tests at TN16, 2 at TN18). The section along the road is 34.5 days travel on foot (7 tests at TN20, according to Elfcrusher's Journey app). If you've led your mounts from the Black Tarn to the road the travel time on the road goes down to 17.25 days and the Travel tests to a mere four.