Think Like An Adventurer

Here an interesting excersise inspired by The Great Mr. Camomile Snide. I'm going to post a scenario and I want people to post what they believe each member of our party of heroes will do. Very simple. The idea is for everyone to start thinking like their character and not like themselves.

Our Cast of Characters:

Bilbo of West End, the halfling Thief- Equiped with the basic adventurer's kit, thieve's tools, a bag of marbles, and a ball of twine.

Conan the Axe Master, the human Fighter- Equipped with the basic adventures's kit, a large metal shield, a two-handed axe, a battle axe, and two throwing axes, and a potion of trapfinding.

Obiwan Medkit, the dwarven Priest- Equipped with the basic adventurer's kit, a healer's kit, a tenfoot pole, a holy symbol, and 30 gp.

Gandalf McMerlin, the elven Magic-User(Wizard)- Equipped with the basic adventurer's kit, a spell book, a map of the area, four rubies, and 50' of rope.

Scenario Number 1:

Our party of four are all sitting in the pub, Darkwaters and Other Fine Drink, trying to decide how to best utilize the map recently acquired by slaying The Orc King Floyd. They spend hours discussing their opions and realize that things would be more managable if they at least knew where the location idicated on the map, Dragon Maw Swamp, was located. The pub is full of locals and abuzz with talk of the traveling bard playing the pub and how sweet his voice is. The barkeep rest lazily on his counter and awaits closing time with nothing to do. Haunter, a local ne'er-do-well, sits in the corner watching the gathered assemblage hoping to find a quick score. The party needs info, what do they do.

Answer for one, or answer for all its up to you. Let's see what people think our party of four will do.

Well the first thing I could think they could do is to give the thief 2 rubies and 1 to the priest and the priest and wizard could split the 30gp and finally leave the map with the fighter. The wizard can go up to the bard and try to talk the information out of the bard. Bards are masters of information and is probably the best bet at finding what they're looking for. Since the bard is singing at the pub, I would have to assume that he is working and is probably not going to give the information for free (hence why he needed some gold and one of the rubies). The priest (being a dwarf) would go to the bar and talk to the bartender. Bartenders are great for gossip or local information and might know where the place is. The priest could get him talking if he buys a few drinks while talking and can even pay for the information. Lastly the thief can talk to the ne'er-do-well in thief speak to find out what he knows. If the swamp contains anything of value, this person should know where it generally should be. Being a douche bag he wont give the information for free. He might part with the info for 1 or 2 of those rubies. The reason the fighter is left with the map is so that it wouldn't be stolen while everyone was in different areas. It is less likely that someone will try to rob someone who could kill them with a thought. After everyone's done they would meet back up with the fighter and everyone shares what they have with one another. Using all the information they have, they are now able to mark on the map where the swamp should be. now they just need to get ready to leave...

The four should split up and question the two in the bar. The Axe and Mage should question the bartender while the thief and healer should approach Haunter. Conan and the mage should buy drinks to soften the mood between them and the bored proprietor. The mage could even perform some tricks to entertain the keeper so the time could seem to pass a little faster than it normal. As for the the thief and priest, they should offer some money to the ne'er do well for some info, all the meanwhile being careful on what to divulge to Haunter as he may want a major cut on what they are doing.

That's what I would try and do.

Edit: Didn't see the bard, tried not looking at what Jose posted and at some point skimmed and missed the part of the bard singing. He would get questioned too, but I kinda feel like I was cheating by seeing Jose's post. So I'll just leave it as is.

i will answer for the thief since that would be the closest thing to what i am in game. the first thing i would do is find out if i knew what the rest of the party was holding. if i knew they had the money and jewels on them i would ask cautiously of course for some to get information from the guys. speaking in thieves cant i would speak to haunter and just hold a convo with him to pretty much convince him that i was on his side. after that i could tell him that i could use some information and that he would be paid handsomely if he gave the correct information. striking up a deal with him i would ask him for information about where dragon maw swamp was in proportion to where we were. i would tell him that i have to handle some business out there and that with his information i would be rewarded handsomely by my client. thats would be all the information that i would give him. then i would watch his body movements/eyes. being a liar myself i would know what to look for when someone is lying and i would watch for any of the tell tale signs such as blinking excessively, any stuttering, not looking me right in the face as he answered things like that. and then while i was staring at him if he didnt know i would thank him for his time. if he did know and the party gave me any gems or jewels i would slight of hand one or some money to him for his troubles. if they didnt and he gave me information i would slight of hand whoever hand some money in the party to give to him as payment. that what they get for being stingy with the money. then i would make my way over to the bard and ask to speak to him after he is done. i would bring the priest with me because he has the money and i would speak to the bard after he was done and pretty much play to his ego and his voice. always start of with a compliment. then ask him that on his travels has he ever heard of a place called dragon maw swamp. if he knows and the information pans out with the thief i would thank him and then using all the information deliver it back to the party. people might ask why would i talk to the thief? my reason is this. if i didnt make conversation with him to show that my group had a fellow thief in there he might have been inclined to try to rob us and ultimately end up dead. by me showing that i was a part of the group and i had honor among thieves i would expect him to show the same honor and help a fellow thief out. after the adventure if we gained any treasure i would be thinking about him and maybe even divying up some of my score to maybe give him a bit on the side for his thanks and information

Conan(fighter) - I'm the only fighter in the group which means I'm always in the front soaking up most of the hits, so while we are in town imma enjoy my drink and relax. I'll back up my boys if shit goes bad.

I'm at work I'll finish the others later

Still thinking, but if the Bard is soo loose with his tongue...why pay him a large sum? Hey bard why not sing us a tale of the swampass swamps -Or- wow mr bard those are some great tales that you are weaving, have you ever been to the treacherous swampass swamps??

The bard could easily be goaded with out revealing your hand and at a nominal cost.


The Scoundrel will take most planning, because if word got out that you are asking a lot of question just maybe some "friends" might visit or tail us.

The combo of the halfling and the goon should be enough. Ax breakers presence should be enough to keep the scoundrel off his game; wile the short and friendly little guy does all the canting. Money will need to be exchanged, the amount requires roleplaying.

Only ask questions......ACTUALLY. Its a location on a map...why even ask the theif. its a waste of time and money.

The bard, the bartender, and the locals are the best source of information. Buy a round or two for everyone, let the people come to you and find out all you need through drunken revelry.

We also have a hunter. We can easily ask if he knows of said swamp, then hire him on as a guide. Easy and simple.

I like the way this is going. We got some good answers and suggestions as well as a beast ass run-on sentence. I think the best answers came from Legendary and Leetin, probably because they are the most experienced roleplayers. When it comes to roleplaying real word experience as well as pop culture and game mythos play a big role in disciscion making.

Bards are known for being worldly and being wellsprings for thousands of tidbits of information. In some additions they are akin to spellcasters and thus would be easier to aproach as a wizard while in other additions they are more like rogues thus the thief would be his pal. Either way, the chances of the bard having the info you seek is high even if its only just another clue.

Scoundrals won't always have the information you need but if it is something of value there is a greater chance that he'll know but also a greater chance of underhanded events occurring. We all seen the movie or read the book where the hero shares too much info with a villian and he gets ambushed in the end by the criminal that set up the double cross. The only scoundral you can trust is your own, and only as long as you can wring his neck.

Bartenders in real life as well as fantasy hear an alarming amount of gossip and hearsay by pure virtue of the lubricated tongue. If any of you have been drunk or around someone under the influence you know the likelihood of those under the influence talking. Its a matter of breaking the barkeeps monotony and giving him something to talk about.

I have to admit that Legendary would have gotten extra RP experience for pointing out the need to protect the map. How crazy would it be if while everyone scattered to question the patrons Haunter stole the map ? Unfortunately, since Legend and Leetin are the responses I'm continuing from you guys get to keep your stinking map. !
___________________________________________________________________________________

Scenario Number 2:

Conan, Bilbo, Gandolf, and Obiwan, our party of Four managed to coerce a decent amount of information from the barkeep and bard. Dragon Maw Swamp is north of town, far north. Its a three week journey through a region called Orclash. It used to be Orc country but some mysterious force chased them away. The Party of Four hired a ranger named Koe. Koe knows the region and she only wants 100gp for getting you to the swamp, 25 more to get you back. The party sets out and a week passes. It is early one morning when the sound of feral war cries warn of approaching enemies. There are three tents up, Bilbo is on watch and Koe is down by the river 20 minutes away.

There are 6 Gnolls approaching. Obiwan is praying to his deity and will hate to be disturbed. Conan is fast asleep and Gandolf... well he's Gandolf, he doesn't sleep. What is the party to do?

I was going to answer this tonight!!!!!!!

Now... you all giving answers and stuff.

Oh well.

Lyrah wrote:I was going to answer this tonight!!!!!!!

Now... you all giving answers and stuff.

Oh well.

There is a second scenario you know!

since it is night time i am expecting it to be dark. being a rogue i could use the dark to my advantage. after sneaking over to wake up the conan to warn him of danger i will tell him to fake sleep. i will then sneak around behind the gnolls and then pick them off 1 by 1 with some kind of ranged weapon. if i dont have a ranged weapon the next best thing would be a dagger which can double as a ranged weapon. if they made it to the camp before i killed them all then conan would be ready to incercept and finish them off. (side note: when i said pick them off 1 by 1 i meant back stabbing them then imediately moving away from that spot to a different vantage point)

I would need a little more detail to answer fully, like what's the terrain like, and can the Gnolls see us, that kind of stuff, but I'll try my best...

The first thing to do would be to wake up Conan. Then Conan, Bilbo, Gandalf can intercept the Gnolls... Bilbo can use the tall grass to lye in wait while Conan charges towards the Gnolls. Gandalf, being a high lvl wizard can weaken the gnolls with a fireball or two, or if he's not high lvl a few magic missles should do the trick, and Conan can decimate a few with a few swings of his weapon. Bilbo can "snipe" off the remaining few that survive or try to flee or warn the other gnolls. After this the group should begin to take the camp apart while one person stands watch to make sure they don't get surprised or ambushed and to make sure none are heading towards the ranger, as he/she is by himself/herself. After the priest is done praying they can head towards the ranger and continue on with what they were doing and have the ranger cover their tracks so the gnolls can't track them so easily.

Now if the terrain doesn't allow the gnolls to see the camp right away, the group can easily and quickly take down the tents and cover up anything that might give away their location. The can simply wait it out while the gnolls pass them by. Thus avoiding a potentially annoying battle at the start of the day just when everyone is done resting. This can also be done if the gnolls simply haven't seen the group yet and are just on patrol.

Another thing to note here is in what direction the gnolls came from and what direction the war cries came from. Remember that the group is supposed to be heading north. If the sounds came from the north, then the group might want to think about going the roundabout way there or to be completely prepared for the chance that they might have to fight almost all the time while heading to their destination.

Just read Lacelots post...why does he think it's night time when the DM said it's early morning?...Did he mean that since it's early in the morning it's around dawn, therefore it could be a little dark still?...Anyone want to clear this up for me?...

6 gnolls are nothing why bother waking anyone up (Conan). The thief and wizard are strong enough to handle this on their own. Maybe

Lets wake up the tank. Actually Let the wizard wake up the tank wile the sneaky one repositions for a backstab.

This should be a quick battle.

Mr Dorf can make quick work of the attackers with an A.O.E. spell. This will soften them up.
Conan runs ahead with his ax's of fury (Forgot his level, might have combat dominance) and easily take down 2.

We are now left with 4 possibly very wounded Gnolls.

The priest is praying, we need his spells and should not make his god mad by disturbing him.

We get hit, we loose innish get hit again.

Conan kills two more

Bilbo backstbs one and the mage kills the final with a magic missile.

Lets all go back to sleep.

No other responses? No one? Come on.

i thought i did. i misread it and thought it was nighttime when it was early morning. i think something is wrong with me

This was an interesting thread, someone should spin out a scenario. I nominate Patrick(The Magi) Farmer Dave.

nope, i dont like that idea at all... if im bored i might. farmer dave is a different person, i thought it would be fun to RP him so people could hear the same voice i did when i wrote that story, but i do not want to be him at all.

Someone give us a scenario, since The Magi is too scared to try.

wait no fuk you im trying to keep my character. but now im solomon i feel like i might be useless.

why are you soloman?

Write a scenario on on you current situation? what happened to Solomon and how can we help??

Actually, anyone could take the initiative... we are all aspiring writers or GMs. Try your hand, come one come all.

Maybe NotKevin should do it...

No takers? Cambria or Elizabeth should take up the torch.

Lem, Lem, Lem. You are ever so hopeful. It's adorable.