Look-outs

[Majestic]

I've noticed a few spots in Tales from Wilderland - among the potential Hazards - where the company is camped and the potential Hazard targets the Look-out(s). Sometimes these attacks happen in the middle of the night. And I realize - from the description in the rules - that this is the task of the Look-outs, to keep watch for the party.

And on the road, while travelling, that works out fine.

But when night falls and our company makes camp, they tend to often divide the watches between all party members. I would imagine that the smaller a company is (especially if it's only three or four people), the more common this would be.

So how do your parties of adventurers do this? Do you always have the Look-out people the ones on watch when a Hazard attacks during the night? Do the Guide and Hunstmen and Scouts get to snooze all night while the few Look-out people keep their eyes peeled for danger? Or do you do like I do, and randomly roll to find out who happens to be the one (or two) persons that have watch duty when danger arrives?

[zedturtle]

My groups seem constitutionally unable to generate Hazards (gosh-darn TBHC!!!!) and thus I have less experience with this. In the past, I've assigned it to one of the look-outs, since that's the narrative role the player has elected to play in the Journey phase.

But, it's not unreasonable to randomly assign someone to be on duty. But any Awareness tests should be made with a Look-out's rating, since that's how the system is designed. So, for those two things to make sense, I guess it would be randomly determined from the available Look-outs, which with a small group is probably not random at all.

[Rich H]

Simple solution is that everyone, not just Look Outs, take turns at watch but the Hazard occurs when the Look Out is on his watch, therefore the using his role and his skill rating.

[Falenthal]

I've had this situation, too.

I haven't reached a decision yet, but mostly I try to differentiate between a Hazard and an encounter that I set at night. If it's a Hazard and hits the Look-out, then I try not to make the Hazard happen during the night.
Otherwise, my method changes depending on the encounter/hazard: I make them roll in order and the first one who fails has the encounter; or maybe the encounter is that there's something hidden/difficult to spot and the first one with a great or extraodinary success detects it. I think I've changed the procedure everytime.

To be honest, I think that the TOR journey rules try precisely to avoid the common habit of "setting watches" that every group has. It is considered as micromanagement as counting arrows, rations or the weight of your coins are.

[zedturtle]

Simple solution is that everyone, not just Look Outs, take turns at watch but the Hazard occurs when the Look Out is on his watch, therefore the using his role and his skill rating.

This is a much more pithy way of saying what I was trying to say with my narrativist mumbo-jumbo; if a Hazard happens, then it happens on the Look-Out's watch.

[Majestic]

To be honest, I think that the TOR journey rules try precisely to avoid the common habit of "setting watches" that every group has. It is considered as micromanagement as counting arrows, rations or the weight of your coins are.

Oh, I hear you. And to be clear I would never take my game into the "how many arrows have you shot?", "let's figure out how much each coin weighs?" or "let's map out who is on watch at what hour?" territory.

I've simply, at night - when they've elected to have a watch (because there's been times in protected settlements where they've elected not to) - asked if they are taking turns with the watch. And then simply rolled a Success die (or the Feat die) to randomly determine who was up when the Hazard hits.

During the day (like when actually travelling), it's much easier, where you can figure that the other various roles are occupied and busy, and the Look-outs are the ones whose job it is to be watching the horizon (and every angle) for trouble.

[Rich H]

I've simply, at night - when they've elected to have a watch (because there's been times in protected settlements where they've elected not to) - asked if they are taking turns with the watch. And then simply rolled a Success die (or the Feat die) to randomly determine who was up when the Hazard hits.

This is what me and zed were referring to... Don't randomly roll to see who is awake for when you apply the Hazard. If it's a hazard relating to the Look Out role then have it happen when the Look Out is on watch. Or if there's more than one, have all Look Outs roll (as per the RAW) and as long as one succeeds the Hazard is avoided.

[Majestic]

Right, I get that logic. It still seems a bit strange to me, though. That it just so (always) happens to be the Look-out that is the one who is up when, say, the Wargs attack at night.

I suppose it's like you said, it's using the roles for what they were designed. It gives those characters with a high Awareness a chance to shine in their role.

[Rich H]

Right, I get that logic. It still seems a bit strange to me, though. That it just so (always) happens to be the Look-out that is the one who is up when, say, the Wargs attack at night.

The fact that the Hazard has already been determined as happening to a Look Out has determined this. The Warg attack is the Hazard that was triggered earlier when an EYE was rolled on a Travel Test, yes? Therefore that's the random element, don't add in *another* check to see who the Hazard effects as that's already been decided. If a rock fall hazard occurred while the companions were scaling a mountainside and it was meant to happen to just the scout then you wouldn't roll randomly to see which character was exposed by the rock fall would you? Why is the Warg attack associated with the Look Out's Hazard any different?

I suppose it's like you said, it's using the roles for what they were designed. It gives those characters with a high Awareness a chance to shine in their role.

That's not the reason. From how you've described it, and correct me if I'm wrong, the Warg Hazard was identified as applying to the Look Out(s) so it has to happen when the Look Out is around/active (ie, on watch if you've decided that it occurs at night while the PCs are camping).

Sorry but am I missing something here because I'm struggling to understand why this is 'odd' for you?

[Stormcrow]

A lookout's role does not include keeping watch in shifts while camping. If it did, why would a non-lookout have to spend a point of Hope to deal with a hazard that a lookout is supposed to deal with?

Hazards that target lookouts should take place while the lookouts are doing their job, which is different than other roles.