The Contact (OOC)

Out of character chatter about The Contact can go here to avoid cluttering up the Roleplay thread.This is for longer questions and answers related to that Roleplay, general rules questions not answered in the Help! thread can go in General.

Add a link back to the post in question so we can have context. After posting you can right-click on the orange header and select 'copy link address' (or whatever your browser calls it), then paste that in your OOC post.

If it turns out Olaf is not on his way to see his contact we may need to change the thread name. :)

You don't know if your noticing him was a good or a bad outcome on the Die of Fate roll. I can reveal that roll any time you guys want, or keep it secret for as long as you want if that builds suspense.

I would say that both Albert (keeping watch) and Roald (not sleeping) hear a suspicious sound. The fact that they both hear it rules out the possibility that it's their imagination or just a tree creaking in the wind.

Reason enough to take a quick look outside the barn.

If it speeds things up, we might let the npc's continue sleeping.

I was thinking this a perfect thing for Norbert's dog to notice. Maybe just all 3 of us notice in some way? That would also make it easier to let the npcs sleep. We can't go sneaking around with Daryl.

I'm fine with keeping the roll secret.

The dog would get an earful if he did not notice someone or thing sneaking around at night. That is what he is trained for.

So Norbert wil be peeping trough a slit in the barn wall when Olaf leaves the house. If the moon is out, it should not be too difficult to safely follow someone with a lantern.

I am back by the way, England was great.

Also fine.
I was leaving Norbert out because of his absence, but now that we are back at full strength...

Let's mop up this quest!

😁

Indeed. I had some Nerbert related notes in my 'what could happen' list, but they were optional and hopeful (since we took so long to get here).

Good to have you back, @fossball, and good to hear it was an enjoyable trip. I hadn't expected 'England' when you complained about stone-age-technology. :)

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fossball: Would your dog bark and make a noise or come quietly and wake you? Or do you just immediately notice as her head goes up?

The moon is behind the heavy clouds, so it does not provide any direct light, but that also means it does not blind you (fullmoon on a proper-dark night is worse than nothing:). But it does provide some general light from above while also blanking out any shadows.

Olaf has a storm lantern, so, so long as you can keep him in sight, it should be easy enough to follow him.

If we don't want to bring the NPCs there are many ways to leave them behind. I had already sorta planned on having Theo and Phil not want to go out in this weather.

The storm is still going on. It is mainly big, fat, rain, and wind, but also occasional lightning and thunder.

We went to the peaks with the camper and my wife forbids all tech ... so I always go to the stoneage when we camp together :)

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The dog would make some sound but no real bark. If Norbert would not wake up, which would make him a louse sheepherd, the dog would make more noise. If the "dark shape" would come closer the dog would start to growl.

I would be in favor of following with just the tree of us. We could meet outside on our own initative. The others don't have to wake up Norbert. I don't feel we are that close yet, but this may give us the oppertunity to grow closer.

I approve.
True.
You are welcome to say that Olaf has to pass by the barn to get where he is going, or just that you wake up from the dog's alertness and see him leaving.
Simple enough to just not wake the NPCs, or they can choose to not go out in the storm, both ways result in just the PCs.
True. In the fiction you are still 'one of the villagers who joined yesterday'. Having Norbert initiate the scene gets you deeper in with the party.

You can go ahead and make another post adding that, or wait for Albert to move things forward (or Roald, but we can assume Albert would wake Roald and get him to join, given the history and trust there).

What fossball posted was about exactly what I was hoping for :D
Should be fine :)

@fossball: Do you want to give us a hunter/tracker roll? Presumably +WIS?

On a 12+ you will discover something new; On a 10+ you manage to follow Olaf without indecent, as described; On a 7-9 you can still manage it, but there will be a price, consequence, or complication. Because of your Survival Skill you can not Miss, so a 6- will give the same results as a 7-9, only more consequential.

Always good to include this sort of detail so the outcome can be better tailored.

Speaking of such things: What did we bring with us? Did we bring our full packs of gear and provisions, or travel light? Olaf brought nothing.

Presumably this was a group consensus and not individual choices?

I Would say, only weapons, maybe a torch.

In the pouring rain?! Good luck with that. :)

Not a lit torch. Just in case. 😉

I know it is not lit, that is what I am saying. :)
Agreed.

I agree. Albert probably just has his staff. Possibly a dagger on his belt. His traveling gear is in the barn.

Is this just as a character or are the players also wanting a radical change from the current pace? Everyone should answer.

I have been toying with a few options to shake up the mystery since the point at which you left your NPCs and wandered off, but I am not sure how much it will derail the story.

We can keep working out the mystery, or we can blow that open in a big way and jump to what comes next. All fine by me.

For me there's no need to blow it open yet.