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. :)

---

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 :)

---

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.

I'd like to stay on track of the whole baron quest if possible :)

I don't mind the mystery, but it would be nice to find someone answers to work with. At this moment I feel like we're still pretty clueless about the whole situation.

It can go either way for me.

I'm just curious to meet "her" :)

And 'she' is quite keen to meet you (specifially), and hopes you will not be disappointed. :)
Unfortunately, upcoming revelations will mean that meeting will be postponed.

Are we waiting for Norbert to do something? I'm still not sure when it is "my turn", but there is nothing Norbert would do now except wait.

I will take responsibility for the longer than usual delay. I was initially waiting to see if anyone wanted to take any action to prevent Roald from sneaking up, but then it got lost, then it was weekend and one player had been offline for more than a day and another for more than two days, so I did not want to push at that time. Then today was busy. That's how it goes. :)
PbtA does not have 'turns' as such, so don't wait for your turn if you do have something you want to do. The lack of turn order is one of the things that make PbtA work well in PbP.
I did figure as much after a day or so (then the above excuse happened:). We do have a thread where we can say if we are waiting for someone to respond, but also don't hesitate to drop an OOC message like this in the OOC thread so we know not to wait, or that everyone is happy to go ahead.

@Airshark: Sneaking closer will need a roll to see how it goes. How careful is Roald being, about not being notices as well as about 'looking for traps' and such?

He is focussing on staying hidden as much as possible. Not paying attention to traps.
He will however avoid branches or other noisemakers as much as possible.

Didn't know you checked the onlinelyness, will keep that in mind.

I'll add a 2d6+1. ( Unless constitution is involved, but dex seems more appropriate.

He is focussing on staying hidden as much as possible. Not paying attention to traps.
He will however avoid branches or other noisemakers as much as possible.

Didn't know you checked the onlinelyness, will keep that in mind.

I'll add a 2d6+1. ( Unless constitution is involved, but dex seems more appropriate.

Nice roll there, buddy :P

Just look at it upsidedown

Looks pretty normal to me.

Are you trying to get the dog seen so she can be a distraction?

Did you describe her? I am picturing a black and white sheepdog?

Norbert told the dog to stay out of sight but make a lot of noise by running "trough" the undergrowth. She would get a fierce scolding if she was recognised.

The dog is a old sheepdog:
https://www.loveyourdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Old-English-Sheepdog-Outdoors-900x500.jpg

I believe I mentioned "samson and Gert" for the flemish :)

Is the person we don't know Nixon? If we start calling him Nixon now, that's going to be confusing later on if he's not. 😅

And we don't need another twist in this tale. :)
You guys can be sure he is the one Olaf referred to as Nixon. Your characters can assume that too, though they might still have doubts if you want.

---

Neither Olaf nor Nixon are are carrying significant weapons: Olaf has the sort of stuff a farmer would carry for protection (axe and dagger, probably) and Nixon does not appear to have any weapons at all, though you can't rule out a knife.

If it comes to blows you guys should not be in any real physical danger.

Is that something Albert would be able to see from a distance through a storm? At this point he's assuming they are armed and possibly decent fighters. But if he knows there is less danger he'd be less worried.

With Albert's Awareness, probably.

Adding that and a bit about Nixon in the RP to make it official. Consider it to mean any or all of you when it says 'you' in that post.

OK, so no praying. Noted.

Oh, alright. That's good to know :)
To clarify, Albert will of course say a prayer for Roald's safety (as mentioned before). But if/when Roald is in trouble, he plans to act. He'd like to have a plan ready for such a scenario.

How long would it take for Albert to get to the tree at running speed? Is it 20 meters away or more like 100?
I know we don't have to worry about the threat, but it's a bit of a tense situation.

I assume you are on the edge of the clearing? The clearing is only slightly larger than the span of the tree's branches, so maybe 6 meter?

Oh, that's a lot closer than I thought. Alrighty :)

Unless we want to do anything with things as they stand (and this can include hoping the conversation covers some certain points) I will move this along in a few hours.

More information is what I'm hoping for.

If there is nothing, you can fast forward.

For sure. But how will you get that information? You may have to take what you have been given and go talk to the relevant people.

Oh ok. I was under the impression Nixon would do some more talking. 😁

A little, but this may be all you get from him for free.

Do you (gen, Fossball) want Roald to take action?
Maybe jump from behind the tree and put a knife to Nixon's throat.
I mean, he IS spreading stories about us, implying we have something to do with the disappearance of 'her'

Technically he is tell the truth. You were there at the time he says you were, you did meet the girl right before she --allegedly-- went missing. He did not spread any stories about you until he was asked specifically.
You mean take the stigma off Albert by confirming that you guys are bad guys in Olaf's view? :)

Well... We tried being good 😊

Really? Not since you left the evil temple. It is almost like you were corrupted down there... Poor Aha...

If we want to get back on Olaf's good side. I guess we'd have to either save the girl or find information that would help them get her back.

You could jump out and threaten them, but I'm not sure what we'd get out of it. Unless you think they orchestrated the kidnapping.

Events will shortly conspire to provide opportunities to do so... or to make things worse given your luck so far.
That, of course, does not fit with what was said. But the depends on how much you trust the whole conversation you are witnessing.

Oh, I see. I know that he said "Clodomere's second youngest son had his eye on her".
I didn't think it would be the case, but technically Nixon could be working for this son. It did seem unlikely to me. But good to know that's not the case.

Or was there a clearer mention I missed?

He well may be, but if so, he is not telling Olaf that, and there is little reason for him to be telling Olaf anything at all.
No, basically that whole post.

I am OK with moving forward.

I hoped Albert would be able to get clear with the dogs disturbance. If he jumps out now and confronts or even attacks Nixon, Norbert will wait for the next group of adventurers to get out on the road :)

You mean after the TPK? :)

By scent/smell? In the pouring rain? I am not sure.

There is a better chance the dog can find Olaf if you give him the little bit time you mentioned. That could work... to some extent.

I agree, Norbert will probably try this if the dog is confident :)

Not a bad plan, Norbert.

If he can be tricked into believing you were not following him but came to help he might just be relieved enough to not question why you came at all, and maybe even overlook how quickly you got here.

This seems like it needs you to roll +CHA --unless you can justify why another stat would fit better. On a 6- he won't believe that you were not spying on him, but how much worse can it really get? On a 7-9 he will accept you for now, though you may have to work on him some more as you travel. On a 10+ he will be so relieved that he forgives you enough to talk freely, though it still will not take much to remind him of his distrust. And on a 12+ all is forgiven.

You can add that roll to the existing post, unless you want to wait for someone else to try adjust the odds with an action of their own.

I believe the best action for Roald and Albert is to stay out of sight, but who am I to keep them out of trouble :)

Norbert will give i his all tomorrow round noon.

That will be fun for the trip home. :)

Consider it done. And easily in this storm.
OK, so not going to try stay out of sight? That seems like it would have been hard to maintain.
What's this then? And did we bring whatever they are? We did not bring most of our stuff.

Well, it will be as hard for us to track Norbert as it would be to track Olaf. So retuning together with Olaf as a guide seemed the best option.

Roald left his sword with Albert before he went sneaking around.
I believe I said somewhere Roald brings his sword and a torch (unlit)

Ah, right. Yes.

Since Albert has Roald's sword (and torch?) I guess he'll have to make himself known as well.
But I'll give the others some time to assure and help Olaf first.

If you want to keep Albert out of sight, we can easily say you gave Roald his stuff back off-screen. You are (or can be) together right now.

Trying to lie even more and pretend someone who is here is not here might come back to bite you though. Maybe you pretend you were all spread out while looking? But that might be hard to sell later and a lot of work.

@fossball: Pretending some were not here was your plan, do you still want to try it, or did you have something else in mind that might work better?

I was going to have Albert come in coughing and out of breath. He's prone to coughing fits, so that wouldn't be odd. Especially with the extra weight.

Would following the 3 of them from a distance be possible with Albert's awareness? He's not very sneaky though.

Delaying and staggering the arrivals would not be overly suspicious, though we only got a Partial Success, so these arrivals may set the timing for more rolls, rolls that would be called for anyway, and this way it spreads out who makes these rolls and exactly what they are.
Awareness could help, but only in as much it will mean you probably won't lose track of where they are while they are close enough for you to perceive them. The roll in question here would be more about whether you keep them close enough...
... and not be noticed.

This seems like a tricky endeavour to maintain for the whole trip back.

I was thinking of staying out and find some shelter until the rain stops or the sun comes out.

I applaud your sensibleness. That is regularly my advice for when 'lost in the woods'.

You will have to propose that to Olaf, and then convince him. Do you want the others to join you before or after that discussion? (or at all?)

I don't think Norbert knows what the intentions of the others are. He will trie to play it slow so they have time to react.

I can feel the question ready to surface.

I think it is not more than three or four hours till it starts getting light?

The moon will be gone in minutes, but that makes less difference in the trees.

We will, however, be very tired from hardly sleeping at all this night. :(
Albert is still waiting for Roald to join the group first.

Is that what you had in mind?

Something like that, sure.

Norbert can answer though, there is nothing stopping you guys from getting together.

Sorry, I am still a bit overwhelmed by the new job and I get home and dislove in the coach :)

I will try to write a bit more regular.

Please don't let the game become another burden on you. We are patient and only want to make your life better, not harder. Take your time.

No rush from me. It shouldn't become a task😉

Seems like it is better coming after Olaf got to react anyway. But order does not matter too much in PbP.

@Airshark Hows that hand, by the way?

Only pain when I move it.
Speech to text works, but not as Good as I would like it to be. 😉

Tx for asking

And wiping my butt it's a pain in the ass. 🤣

Yeah, I have wanted that to work better than typing on a phone screen, but it still doesn't. :(
I told you so... don't ask me how I know...

Get wet-wipes, or something like them but better for the environment (general advice?).

No problem, Fossball. I'm actually happy with the slower pace at the moment, as I find myself lacking time (and inspiration) ;)
This gives me a bit more time to think about 'what next'

I'll post Albert's actions later today.

Is the dog back? Norbert would expect him te be.
If the dog is still confident to find the way back to the house, Nobert will follow him.

Up to you, I would assume so, but I don't know what order Norbert gave. I did not refer to the dog to leave all possibilities open.
The chances of a dog making it back to a place it has only been to once is low, the rain means it can not follow the scent back. All this to say your Survival Ability would not prevent you from failing in this case, but the dice may be good to you.

If you take the lead on getting home you would still need to convince Olaf to follow you and not stride off in his own direction. But that --and convincing him to camp for the night-- might get easier if he discovers he is lost.

Unless someone actually does something to persuade Olaf not to blunder on home, I will move this forward to what comes next. It feels like we are a bit stuck here?

Yeah, I think we'd like to convince him but lack the arguments to do so. Albert isn't too keen to disagree with Olaf, in case that turns into another argument.

Has Albert had a chance to see Olaf's hand? Any indication of how badly injured it is?
If it seems badly injured, Albert would try and cure that wound if Olaf allows it.

I don't think so, it is rather dark. You just know that he is cradling it and being careful.
OOC I can tell you that, as things stand, it is not life threatening, and he is not acting overly concerned --but he is a bit of an alpha-male. I can escalate it as a GM Move.
There may be a time for that later...
... but I can not predict his reaction.

That sounds smart anyway. Shelter would be first priority if it's not life threatening, I'd say.
Mhm, it's a bit iffy whether he'd allow it. But it might be a way to get back on good speaking terms.

Oh, forgot to add: I'm good with moving the story along.

Sheltering together is a good bonding experience. So if you can get there that should be a thing you can try with reasonable expectation of success. You don't have to tell him you are 'doing a supernatural'.
Noted, and assumed from your previous. :)

Alrighty :)

I second that

Remember that, in Olaf's mind, he knows these woods, knows where the path is, and knows where home is, and is not lost.

I remember, but I'm not sure how Albert can fix that issue as he's also unsure about the way to go. It seems likely he'd trust upon Olaf's knowledge of the area. Even if that goes against his intrinsic sense of direction.
You start to doubt yourself when someone is that confident and headstrong.

Sure. I was wanting to leave open the possibility that you could persuade him to stay the night, but that never materialised. Nothing was said that would sway his confidence.

I know :)
We didn't manage, and now we've got to make the best of it, I suppose.

We are not going to let him get lost again. So Norbert will follow him, even if it means getting soaked and walk all day, next day.

Maybe that would earn his trust :)

Roald thinks the monster Olaf saw is Norbert's dog.

'Trust', such a fickle thing. :)

Olaf is obviously not going to like Roald's less-than-diplomatic observation. :)

I will wait to see what the others say before seeing if he storms off on his own.

Yeah well... We tried being tactful and diplomatic. Maybe now he can stop pretending.

Another thing I was thinking about is an NPC search party.

Noted...

@gen

Good cop, bad cop.

👍 Nice

'Good cops' need to be charming. Roll for charm. On a 7-9 he will need you to provide concrete assurances that you can make a fire.

I'd like that assurance as well. Who needs to roll to assure me? 😝

Added the roll. It's a 9...

Raynor?

Oh sorry, Norbert already started building a fire. He is relieved by Roalds interruption and is waiting to say "I told you so".

I think Norbert has enough experience to keep the fire away from the trees (if he gets it stared).

Presumable Norbert still used the trees for some cover so a quick renewal of rain will not put it out immediately.
It is very hard to set a tree on fire --even when it is not wet-- so Norbert will know he does not need to be that careful or get that far away from their protection. Avoiding roots so you can dig a bit of a fire-pit is probably the biggest factor in that distance.

yup, always :D

How confident is Albert feeling that Raynor is still with him?

That's a good question. I think the 'feeling' is not directly linked to the actual connection. The fire gives Albert a comforting feeling.
So I'd say he is confident in his own faith. It's up to Raynor to acknowledge that.

Does that help as an answer?

Sure, was just wondering since the last time we looked at this he was thinking he may have let Raynor down and his healings were not going so well.

If he has no doubts now then fine, else you can mention them when you narrate your roll. It won't affect the numbers, but might flavour the outcome.

Yes, that's true. I see it more like he knows that he's trying his best to do the right thing. Unfortunately, things didn't go the way he'd like them to go. And now he's a bit scared that Raynor is going to be unhappy with him.
But that doesn't mean he has lost faith.

Not sure if I had to wait on the 'check for glass' thing. Am I good to just keep going? Never mind

Hey look, I didn't roll double 1 at least! :)

I admit I am relieved, I did not want to have this force us to go back to the 'dungeon' because 'in-game deities' say we were wrong to leave. This means that Raynor does not mind you being out here, and we can go back when we choose.

Me too. And Albert for sure!
I think if that ever were to happen, at a time when going back is not a viable option, it's best that I start a new character instead.

That was something you spoke about back then, which is another reason I hoped it would not go that way.

Is there anything we want to still see during our camping session tonight? Or do we want to skip ahead to morning?

Skippy please.

What he said ↑
:)

+1

I was kinda waiting for Fossball to reply first as he will probably want to lead the way now.

@fossball; I'm not sure if you were just busy with other stuff (which is perfectly fine, that happens :) ) or if you were waiting for 'your turn'. But in case of the 2nd thing, feel free to post whenever you feel your character would do something. Even if it's multiple posts in a row.

How far do you want this distrust towards a possible traitor to go Vague?
Is it something that is beneficial for the scenario?
Roald will definitely have it wrong because I don't see the characters turning on each other. So I would think that Norbert will prove his loyalty in the future or another traitor will reveal himself. Maybe one of the other npc's.

Will this be a one time 'vision' or something that will happen again over time?

Which traitor do you mean? I don't think it should affect the 3 player characters.

What you are doing is more than I could have asked for.

Obviously Norbert is not a 'traitor' and this is all lies. Now that you have enlisted Albert into your 'suspicions', maybe, between the two of you, you can reach a conclusion that Norbert is safe without needing to let him know you were suspicious --which could hurt his feelings, your being big damn adventurers and all.

I am hoping it will become clear soon.

Norbert can always stay out in the forest if the others go into the village. He was comfortable enough out there.

Olaf has indicated that he does not have any dealings with the other baron, that Clodomere is 'on the other side of the valley' [ref], so he might not be able/willing to help you form an army over there...

Do you want to assault that baron too? If so we can arrange an army, but that does limit the talking-potential.

Did an edit on my last post. Just to make it more clear.

You asked for it, make that roll.

They call him Sir Albert, The Kid-Slayer!

Wouldn't you probably try to lose?

Perhaps, but he did ask for more information ;)
I guess I just succeeded at the social interaction, whatever the outcome may be.

Indeed. Information that you may be able to use later. You don't know who Stephan is (probably one of the older kids?) or who 'they' are.

Haha "The altogether" :D

I hope it translates. :)

Albert and Roald are free to meet up at this point [ref, ref].

It looks like your companions took your stuff with them when they left for town. You can confirm that by asking anyone who saw them leave... You are tired and that will impact some rolls or consequences. If you want to get some sleep we can jump to you waking up. Let me know when you are ready.

fossball has not been online in a few days, so we can proceed without them and they can catch up when they get back.

That all sounds good to me. I'm happy to skip to waking up after a nap.

If fossball's absence continues into next week I will reach out to him.

Aight skipper! Skip away!

I'm back, sorry for my abscence.

Norbert will be trying to get closer to the two men from now on. He is still very confused about the magic that healed Olaf. But if nobody else freaks out about it he is fine with it too.

Welcome back, no worries.

Norbert is welcome to ask :) Albert will gladly talk about Raynor

Roald did share the information with Albert. He still has some doubts about Norbert. I will try to work towards/create a situation where Norbert can help Roald in a convincing way.

Ah, OK, cool. So it is known. Ignore me. :)

Do you have anything to say about where we go next? (fair chance you are writing that right now.:)

In a few minutes 😃

No rush, I just did not want to cut you guys off.

The mayor's son wasn't aware of his sister being taken?

Or am I mixing things up now?

He gave no indication that he had any idea about what was going on.

Surely he would have mentioned it if was his sister? Unless he was involved, of course, but --aside from the assumption that he knew the details-- there has been no suggestion of anything like that.

Albert wasn't there when the others saw the empty cupboards. Did Roald or Norbert let him know?

Surely he would have wondered why you were not accepting their food or eating anything? I see no reason they would not have told you if you asked? But it is up to them.

Norbert would have mentioned it, but seeing there is enough he has no problem joining for one more meal.

That's possible, but he was also very tired at the time, so I figured he didn't have the brain capacity to really give it much thought :D

If Norbert did mention it, Albert will be a bit confused. "I guess Norbert didn't see the correct cupboard".

Is it still before lunchtime? Did you only sleep for an hour or so?

It is nearly mid-summer, so the sun rises early, so the 'mid-morning' that you got here can have been a while before lunch, but it is hard to see how it is now much before lunchtime, so I am not sure where Albert thinks he will get more food by then.

Oh, sorry. For some reason I thought it was morning. Uhm I guess it's a bit after noon already then? I'll edit my post to say 'dinner' instead of 'lunch' then.

You have just woken up. :)
Cool. Some time in the afternoon does make more sense.

I think I got away with it, guys 😅

Is the deep forest somehow on the way to the baron?
I don't really want our 'mission' to get side-tracked yet again. So if it's not anywhere near or on route, I'll just go without my gear

Her use of the word 'somewhere' indicates that she does not know those specifics, 'the deep woods' does not sound so much like an actual place as just a descriptor like 'over yonder'. You can press her on that and see how you feel. You could also track down Stephan (easy to have discovered that he is one of the older kids at the table) and ask him for details, but maybe doing so in public would be less than politic?

Your two bits of information were that 'your friends went back to town', and that, maybe, 'Aunt Nicki took them'.

I did use slightly provocative words like 'took' on purpose, but the kid did not imply there was force involved and everyone else seems to think they went back to town.

Given the information: Albert is welcome to be suspicious --there are definitely lies afoot-- but would also not necessarily kick himself if you got to town and found they were not there.

Alright, thanks for clearing things up :)

's m' job. :)

Wow. You more worried about your stuff than your friends? I am getting a real Shylock vibe all of a sudden. :)

And, no. I am not suggesting Christian had anything to do with anything...

Well, my friends most likely decided to leave, and they can fend for themselves. My waterskin can't! ;)
I honestly didn't consider that they might be in danger, lol. Was there any sign of a struggle in the barn?

OK, was wondering why you wanted to find Nicki at this time.
Nope. Everything looks like they left peacefully. Not that your backpack could put up much of a struggle. :)

I find myself wondering: How heavy are all 'y'all's your packs? Would Phil have been able to carry one all the way, would Dylan with all his armour? Or would they start complaining after a few miles?

My gear is on my char sheet. The only thing on my person would be the broom handle and a dagger, probably. I'm not sure if I still have a wineskin. I don't think I ever used it. But it likely got lost or used up along the way.

Yeah, the sheets look pretty light, I doubt those packs would be a problem. Just wondering if anyone had any rocks in there or something. :)
I am pretty sure you all ran of water (or anything to drink) in the crystal cave. But you probably refilled those, and I think there was talk about that experience resulting in your being paranoid and taking lots of water from the innkeeper?

Still, not enough to be a problem worth mentioning.

Norbert also runs around very light. He has a thick wool blanket but normally wears it over his shoulder across his back (so he ties it under his am).

Where are we going? To the village, or to the baron? Or somewhere else?

Is there anything you want to do along the road to your destination, or should we jump to there?

Do you want spoiler-hints about what each destination might bring? They may influence where you go, and those hints may not be true if you go elsewhere and change things. I just worry that we you all may be getting frustrated with the lack of understanding/information.

I'd prefer to go to town first if that is where Albert's backpack is.

I have no problem with the lack of information. The only thing that I'm missing a bit is a sense of progress. It feels like we've been trying to a baron for ages :P
Not that I dislike the RP. The Olaf side-quest was fun and the bit with Nixon could come into play later (I'm hoping ;) ). But I'm not sure it helped us with the job we got from the mayor.

Unless that's part of the hidden information. In which case, maybe a comment like "You might want to bring this up when talking to the baron" would help :) It doesn't have to be the full story. More like a confirmation that we accomplished something toward our current goal.

The spoiler could boil down to: If you go to the village you will get more 'progress information', but that might prevent you from getting to the baron (possibly cutting off that whole line). If you go to the baron first you will get more rumours and hints similar to what you have now, that may help solve the situation.
Everything is connected. This has the potential to come back later.
The mayor might not think so if you tell him. But he does not know what is really going on. :)
How about: If you pay attention, the baron might bring this up himself.

😊👍

Nice to know that everything is connected. Makes me curious

I am still not sure where we are going next, though it does sound like it is the baron rather than the village?

Answer in the poll. Don't let the others' vote being visible influence your answer.



Feel free to discuss your answer or preferences as well as answering the poll. If we are going to the village, Norbert might want to take steps to avoid his family spotting him, for instance, we can come up with anything we need.

As quasi-established in the RP: You can get to the other baron before tonight, but it will be tight. You doubt you can also stop off at the village and still make it before nightfall --but that may be possible if you are quick there.

Hahaha. I tried to make exactly that poll this afternoon, but didn't succeed.

Tx!

Norbert very much wants to talk to the rest of yesterdays party and would not mind sleeping in a bed after the short and cold night.

TheGenerator also voted for town, so I will take us there when I get a chance. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow.