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Old 10-06-2024, 01:31 PM   #11
thom
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Default Re: Humans using Tracking skill at night-difficulty?

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Originally Posted by DeadParrot View Post
Pick the least injured/best runner to keep moving and bring back reinforcements to extract revenge.
Ahh..a GM after my own heart! <eg> Already planning for the orcs to send their 2 least injured ones back to the tribe to tell the sad story IF the PCs find them & attack (they may decide not to go after the orcs-sometimes they get wimpy).

thom
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Old 10-07-2024, 11:59 PM   #12
Pursuivant
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Humans using Tracking skill at night-difficulty?

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Originally Posted by thom View Post
I'm trying to figure how hard it'd be for humans to track at night. Thoughts?
As long as the tracker and the person holding the Continual Light (Daylight) item are working together, I'd say no penalties.

If you've got a good light to work with, tracking by sight at night can sometimes be easier, since you can hold the light close to the ground so that the higher areas of the track cast long shadows, making the track easier to see. Against that, however, you lack ambient light which might help you pick out details you'd otherwise miss.

There's also the major bonus in that at least some of the orcs are bleeding, possibly quite heavily. As long as the ground is dry, that should also give a bonus.

In either case, it will be a slow process and the PCs will be making themselves extremely obvious with their lights and noise. A morale roll for the orcs might be in order. A bad result (for the orcs) might result in the survivors surrendering, especially if they're so badly wounded they can't run away. A good result might result in them setting a trap or ambush to punish the PCs for their hubris. Bonuses to orc morale if they're got a surviving, relatively undamaged leader type who can make an Intimidation or Leadership skill roll.

A Tactics roll by the PCs might warn them that they're begging for trouble and that a better tactic would be let the orcs flee, wait for daybreak when tracking is faster and easier and then track them back to their camp. At that point, Stealth rolls might allow a hasty ambush - or quiet retreat if the orcs are reinforced. A higher Margin of Success with a Tactics skill roll might remind the PCs that their location is known and that the surviving orcs might be coming back with reinforcements. That means the smart thing to do is for the PCs to break contact, cover their tracks and hide until they determine just how many hostiles they're up against. After they've assessed the threat, they can then start moving to make follow-up attacks.

Last edited by Pursuivant; 10-08-2024 at 12:07 AM.
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Old 10-09-2024, 10:21 AM   #13
thom
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Default Re: Humans using Tracking skill at night-difficulty?

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Originally Posted by Pursuivant View Post
As long as the tracker and the person holding the Continual Light (Daylight) item are working together, I'd say no penalties.

If you've got a good light to work with, tracking by sight at night can sometimes be easier, since you can hold the light close to the ground so that the higher areas of the track cast long shadows, making the track easier to see. Against that, however, you lack ambient light which might help you pick out details you'd otherwise miss. There's also the major bonus in that at least some of the orcs are bleeding, possibly quite heavily. As long as the ground is dry, that should also give a bonus...
Thanks, this was what I was thinking as well.

thom
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