Supplies
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
OOC--Buchek will recommend that everyone wear protective leather clothing--high boots, long gauntlets, buckskin pants, and buckskin jackets, preferably with sleeves that can be cinched tight against the arms, and with a belt cinched around the waist. This will provide some protection against the normal sized venimous snakes and spiders that abound in the Tall Grass. Each party member should be equipped with a machete, for hacking our way through foliage when necessary, and everyone should carry a long pole (length depending on the character, of course--Kayla probably wouldn't get very far with a 10 foot pole) for probing the swampy ground ahead of them. It would be a good idea to stock up on as much anti-venim and healing potions as possible, of course, and as in any AD&D adventure, it'll be a good idea if everyone has a decent amount of rope. Buchek has a 50 foot length of silk rope, and he'll recommend that every party member carry that much.
As for food, something that occurs to me is that we could take a (female) goat with us. It would provide milk, would act as a walking meat locker, and could always be used to distract a giant snake that decided to have one of us for lunch. Goats are pretty hardy, and could probably find food for themselves in the Tall Grass. Of course, goats are also notoriously stubborn, and it might be difficult to lead one into the Tall Grass, and there might be times when the noise it might make could give our party away. What do you guys think? Anyone in the party have any skill in animal husbandry?
I'd definitely recommend stocking up on arrows, as Mike suggested.
Buchek wants a whip. I'm thinking about taking an exotic weapons proficiency in the whip when he gets to a level where he gets to do something like that (although I have no idea when that'll be), and I'd like to have him get one and start practicing with it.
In addition to obvious stuff like food and water, Buchek is also going to want a number of those items that always come in handy when adventuring. Specifically:
a spool of thread
a spool of twine
3 or 4 candles
a pouch of finely ground salt
a pouch of chalk dust (or flour if chalk dust isn't available)
a pouch of fine sand
a piece of chalk (or charcoal if chalk isn't available)
a dozen really tiny bells
several skins of wine for cleaning wounds
a spool of sinew for on-the-go stitches
a couple of fish hooks
a sack of marbles, or sling stones if marbles aren't available
a magnet, if such things are available and aren't hidiously expensive
a fire pot--basically, a small clay container in which it is possible to carry a burning coal--in the swamp like Tall Grass, we may have trouble starting a fire, and a fire pot might be handy.
Buchek has several skins of oil, and would recommend that others carry some--they can make handy molitov cocktails in a pinch.
A couple of sacks of caltrops are always nice too, but I don't know how handy they'll be in the swamp.
What do you guys think?
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
Oh, and a couple of needles as well.
Buchek will also want a bowie type knife, and possibly a smaller knife as well.
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
I'm sorry guys, but I have two clients going live march first, so I am barely able to keep up with reading the posts right now. For the time being, Erk has no special needs equipment wise, and can provide food and water for the party in emergencies. He can also provide his own water daily.
God will provide :)
From: Mike
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
OOC: My email is back up, so hopefully the list is as well.
Telwyn also has a 50' length of silk rope. Additionally, he not only has enough ranks in Survival to automatically know which direction true north is, but his short sword also has that ability. So we can probably ditch the compass. He's also got three fishhooks, although I don't see where it hurts to brings more; they're so light.
For things like clothing, do we need to specify exactly what outfits we're bringing? And how many changes of clothes? I usually just assume on adventures that I have one or two changes of appropriate clothing, but I guess it depends on how detailed Matt wants to be.
Similarly, things like wine and sinew for dealing with wounds usually just falls under the category of "Healing Kit."
How about torches or lanterns? Telwyn has nothing like that, although he does have a flint and steel. He's got 7 ranks in Survival, which would be a big help in starting a campfire in most environments, although I would imagine the DC for such a check would be higher in a marsh.
Telwyn has 5 ranks in Handle Animal plus Wild Empathy, which should be a help if we decide to bring the goat. Also with the mules, as they can also be quite stubborn.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
Yeah, it all depends on what kind of DM Matt is. I've played under DMs who didn't make players deal with this kind of thing at all, and DMs who made stuff like this an important part of their game. Both styles are fun, although extremes in either direction tend not to be. If Matt wants us to worry about this kind of thing, we should probably bring a cooking pot for boiling water, since drinking swamp water straight from the ground probably isn't the best of ideas.
Buchek has a rank of 7 for survival too, so he should be okay with starting fires in the wilderness as well. The firepot still isn't a bad thing to have though, as fire arrows could be started from it, as could those oil skins. No time in combat to hunker down and get a fire going.
Buchek doesn't have anything in the way or torches either. Probably a good idea to take some along.
Buchek has a grappling hook, by the way, so there's no need for another of those.
Matt, I assume that Buchek is capable of erecting a shelter woven from grass, since that's what the Clans use for shelter. How long would it take him to put something like that together? I'm just wondering what kind of shelter he could put together for the group each night.
From: Matt
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
For things like water and fire and whatnot, survival checks become key. For instance, if you want to find drinkable water, I'd roll Survival and let you know what you find. However, in a situation such as this, I'd likely *not* tell you your roll... you might think the water's great, when it might give everyone stomach cramps the next day. Same for finding food.
Now, with a cooking pot to boil water, the survival roll might only be to find a dry spot to build a fire. See how that works?
The way I run things is very situational. Figure out what you'll want to bring, because you may need certain things at certain times... or want them. Then again, they all provide story hooks. For instance, bringing a pot to boil water in... if you don't, then you'll need to go searching for drinkable water, which can lead you into certain types of events; if you do, then the fire for the pot might attract attention that would lead to other types of events.
The supplies will be as important to you as you make them... if you've got people to find/make water and gather food, you'll need to bring less supplies of that ilk along.
As far as food for the mules, they are pretty good at finding grasses they can eat, so you don't need to bring food for them. Once you've figured out your list OOC, have someone type up the final bit and send it over to me - that'll be the official "what we have with us" list for the journey.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: Snylledd's Arrival
That makes sense Matt! Thanks for clarifying.
You know, another thing that might be handy would be a length of oil cloth--it could be very useful for keeping water off of us, could be used in a pinch as a sail, as part of a makeshift travois, or even cut into strips for use as a sling. Probably pretty heavy though. What do you guys think?
From: Clara
Subject: surival
OOC: I was also thinking about a common pot for cooking. I will be getting my own silk rope.
I wasn't planning on the staff or machete, but I might be able to add it in. Kayla's small, so she can't carry much weight (about 25 pounds). She'll need about 25 pounds of stash-weight on the mule for things like soap, extra waterskin, lamp, oil, and bedroll. She has no survival, healing, or husbandry skills. At least she can swim and ride.
She has all sorts of small weapons, but no bow (sling instead). I was going to give her a signal whistle, whetstone, and flint to carry on her at all times.
And while I'll be around today and tomorrow, my e-mailing will be sparse from Thurs-Sun. I'll be in LA.
-Clara, for Kayla