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Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:42 pm
by sully
If you use the word "width" to describe left-right in one room and up-down in another room, and don't tell any of the players, then it's impossible to map with any degree of accuracy.

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:47 pm
by sully
Having thought on this further, I think I get what you're saying. I do think it would be easier if we imposed an order on your descriptions that is static no matter which way the PCs are facing or which way they are entering a room. For example, if we went back to the first entrance of the dungeon and labeled "up" as "north", just for the purposes of mapping and general spatial awareness, regardless of whether or not it was truly north, and all further descriptions assumed that north was static, it would make both knowing where we were relative to the dungeon entrance, and mapping, much easier.

Is that possible?

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:50 pm
by Tonneau
Lemmi curses as the light winks out. She continues down the passage by feel, hunting the door quietly and wondering who else is wandering around in the dark

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:29 am
by waysoftheearth
Chiron

Chiron tries the stuck door at the far end of the boat room, and by whatever chance it opens easily! Outside, the is a passageway running immediately and only to Chiron's left. About 30ft down this passage, there is a door on the right-hand side of the passage, which continues ahead beyond the reach of his torch light...
Chrion's door check: 1d6=6!
sully wrote:I do think it would be easier if we imposed an order on your descriptions that is static no matter which way the PCs are facing or which way they are entering a room. For example, if we went back to the first entrance of the dungeon and labeled "up" as "north", just for the purposes of mapping and general spatial awareness, regardless of whether or not it was truly north, and all further descriptions assumed that north was static, it would make both knowing where we were relative to the dungeon entrance, and mapping, much easier.
This touches a broader philosophical discussion about how much meta-knowledge the players should have, and what role mapping plays in the game. I agree the characters in game should have a general spatial awareness of their immediate/recent surrounds that is tricky to convey in the PBP context. However, providing the players with infallible positioning knowledge that their characters don't have is (IMHO) solving the wrong problem. I suspect it's not necessarily the silver bullet it may seem to be (e.g., when the ref's map is non-orthogonal, curvy, natural caverns, and so on), and that it would kinda undermine the "mapping sub-game".

Let me have a think about how to best improve the situation. In the meanwhile I will ensure mud maps consistently show "ahead" (from the character's in-game perspective) as "up", and be more explicit whose "left" or "right" I am referring to in descriptions.

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 6:07 am
by waysoftheearth
Lemmi

Lemmi feels her way down the dark passage... by 30ft, 40ft in she can scarcely see a thing. A few more paces, edging along the wall now, and ah! Here's the door frame she was certain she had to find... the dragon vault room seems a long way back now.

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:55 pm
by Tonneau
Lemmi feels around in the dark for the handle and opens the door, taking care to do so as silently as possible.

She pulls a dagger from her belt and peers within to see if the light source remains...

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:00 pm
by waysoftheearth
So... what does Chiron want to do?

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:35 pm
by sully
Chiron leaves the door open behind him and proceeds down the corridor. He pauses to listen at the next door on the right-hand side of the passage.

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:01 am
by waysoftheearth
Chiron

Chiron proceeds one-score paces along the passageway before pausing to listen at the near door, to his right-hand side. He makes out no sound above the flickering flame of his trusty torch...
Listening check 1d6=?

Re: (084) The Churchcroft Cellar

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:03 am
by waysoftheearth
Lemmi

Lemmi peers into the ruinous boat room just in time to see somebody's heel vanish out the door at the far end of the room; whomever it was is taking their torch-light with them into the passage way beyond...