Now that you have your racing map, I need to explain some more about how the race will work. Each day has (by default) two travel phases. If nothing else happens, the party will travel a number of progress points during each phase equal to the speed of its slowest member (each individual person's speed is equal to their normal land speed divided by 10). A party of Amiri, Valeros, Kyra & Merisiel would travel at a pace of three progress points per phase, but a party of Amiri, Valeros, Kyra & Harsk would travel at a pace of two progress points per phase.
That pacing can be changed by advantages. During each travel phase, each party member can attempt one advantage check. IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: each type of terrain allows a different number of maximum advantages per phase. If the party uses up all of the maximum advantages for the terrain type they started in during a given phase, the rest of the party will not be able to get any further advantages. Let's say that Kyra decides that she badly needs a scimitar and wants to craft one, but their terrain type only allows three advantages. If Amiri, Valeros & Harsk all jump in first and make advantage checks, Kyra will not be able to roll. I failed to explain this well enough in a prior game that I GM'd. THIS CAN GET PEOPLE KILLED (mostly if they don't get weapons & armor crafted in time).
If a player fails at an advantage DC related to traveling, they will reduce their individual speed by 1 for that phase. This might not slow the group down if (like Amiri) they are already faster than the rest of the party. If a player fails a travel-related advantage DC by five or more, they will slow the whole group down by 1 for that phase.
Because of the quirky nature of play-by-post, I'm going to enforce rolling order stringently: the first person to roll will use up an advantage if they succeed. However, I will also allow people to declare their advantage rolls to be low priority, in which case I will take all non-low priority rolls before theirs. Talk to each other to coordinate in advance what you are wanting to do. After a certain point, it probably won't matter too much who rolls in what order, but it can be important early on.
More about terrain: Each type of terrain hex has a different number of progress points needed to complete it, a number of maximum advantages and an advantage DC. I'm not going to tell you exact numbers for what each type of terrain requires and allows until you enter a hex with that terrain type, but here are some general guidelines. "Harder" types of terrain will require more points of progress to complete a hex and have higher advantage DC but will also have more maximum advantages. "Easier" types of terrain are exactly the opposite. I'll tell you now that plains hexes allow zero maximum advantages. Since you are starting in Hills, here is the terrain type data for that.
Your GM recommends that you come up with a plan for each day of travel before you get started. Something like "we will craft & gather supplies for the first phase and then dash ahead for the second phase" is not optimal (if nothing else, this strategy fails to make use of any tactics), but it's a general example of the sort of thing I'm talking about.
Each day spent in the wilds will require each party member to eat one unit of food & water (typically gained via the Gather Supplies advantage). We'll be checking for food supplies at the end of each day. Hunger and thirst are stupidly bad, so don't ignore this.
I'm probably forgetting to explain something, so let me know if you have questions.
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This scenario uses a modified version of the pursuit mechanic, and you will eventually get Player Handout #2:
SAMPLE ADVANTAGES
The following advantages are just a sample of those possible. Each advantage lists the terrains most likely to allow it, though there are certainly exceptions. It is possible to choose more than one of the same category of advantage for the same terrain tile (for instance, a jungle with multiple know the terrain advantages might require different Knowledge [nature] Dcs).
Climbing Lead (Hill or Mountain): A character can attempt a Climb check to ascend ahead of the others with a rope to help his allies navigate the worst areas. The DC varies based on the difficulty of climbing.
Craft or Modify Tools (Any): A character can attempt a Craft check to fashion or modify specialized tools (such as footwear to travel over icy surfaces). Unlike normal, attempting to gain this advantage reduces a character’s personal progress by half (rounded down). Once she has succeeded on the skill check once per character, the advantage applies for the rest of the adventure, without further action on her part, unless the situation changes enough that she needs to modify the tools again. The DC varies based on the complexity of the gear, though it is typically 15 (for a high-quality item). A PC can create armor made of mundane organic materials or to create simple weapons, bows, and martial bludeoning weapons; at the GM’s discretion, other basic gear with non-metal components might be possible. Because the PC attempting to gain this advantage is assumed to have 4 hours in which to work, she can attempt two checks for each phase instead of one.
Evade Hazards (Any): A character can attempt a Survival check to recognize hazards and rough areas and ensure that the group skirts around them when possible. The DC varies depending on how devious or hidden the hazards might be.
Fancy Footwork (Any): A character can attempt an Acrobatics check to help balance in an icy or wet area, leap over quicksand or between rooftops, or move more rapidly. By using ropes, finding a safe path, or otherwise leading the way, the character helps her allies move faster as well. The DC varies depending on how treacherous the footing is.
Gather Supplies (Any): A character using this advantage can make a single Survival check to gather food and water while they travel. Using this advantage reduces a character’s personal progress value by half (rounded down) for the duration of the phase. A character can collect one day’s worth of food and water for one person by succeeding on a DC 10 Survival check, and can supply one additional person for every 2 points by which their Survival check exceeds 10. A PC that gathers more food and water than necessary for a given day can save these supplies for use on the following day. Alternatively, a character can use this advantage to gather material components for spells by making a single DC 10 Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (nature), Spellcraft, or Survival check. A successful check produces a collection of materials equivalent to a spell component pouch. The components gathered in this way are natural materials with magical properties only roughly analogous to those normally required by spells. To cast a spell using these components, a spellcaster must succeed on a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + the spell’s level. At the GM’s discretion, a player can ignore this penalty for spells with material components that can reasonably be found in the wilds of Sargava. For example, a grasshopper’s hind leg (jump), fine sand (sleep), and a pinch of dirt (longstrider) are all materials one might find in the wilderness. Butter (grease), a drop of mercury (floating disc), and a cup of wine (identify) are not. The gather supplies advantage does not count against the normal limit of advantages allowed for a terrain tile, and it can be used even in tiles which allow 0 advantages.
Know the Area (Any): A character can attempt a Knowledge (geography) check to allow the characters to exploit nearby useful terrain features that he remembers while avoiding dangerous or obstructive features. The DC varies based on the feature’s obscurity.
Know the Terrain (Any): A character can attempt a Knowledge (nature) check to deduce something about the current terrain that gives her group an advantage. The DC varies based on the particulars of the deduction.
Notice Shortcut (Any): A character can attempt a Perception check to notice a shortcut or other hidden feature that grants an advantage. This advantage is not as helpful for pursuers in a direct pursuit unless they split up (see page 147) or deduce a point where they are sure to intersect the quarries’ trail.
Professional Opinion (Any): A character with a relevant profession might be able to grant the party a significant advantage in a pursuit. For instance, in a pursuit through a mine, a character can attempt a Profession (miner) check to learn about the mine’s layout based on markings or other indicators the miners left for their colleagues.
TACTICS
Tactics are the key to shaking competitors that are catching up to the party—or to overtaking a more efficient group that has a commanding lead. The following tactics present many of the most basic methods for doing so, but if the PCs come up with a new tactic, the GM should use these examples as guidelines. Tactics can affect a single character, multiple characters, or the whole group. There is no limit to how many tactics a character or group can use, but common sense prevents using two contradictory tactics. Characters and groups decide which tactics they are using for each 4-hour pursuit phase, though some last for multiple phases or until the characters using them decide to stop. Tactics that require the group to be either the pursuers or the quarries, and which can’t be used in races, have been removed from this list, while others have been modified to accommodate the specifics of this scenario.
INDIVIDUAL TACTICS
These tactics apply to individual characters, and each character decides whether she’s using the tactic.
Recovery: A character can spend a phase tending to the health of her or her allies. This allows the character to cast healing spells, for example, which can be useful for removing nonlethal damage if the group has been hustling or making a forced march (see group tactics, below). A character that spends a phase helping with recovery can attempt to gain an advantage during that phase, but she takes a –5 penalty on any checks made to gain advantage.
Special Movement: A character with consistent access to a fly speed, swim speed, or the like for a full pursuit phase might be able to move particularly quickly over the appropriate type of terrain; though, for instance, a character flying above a jungle canopy would not be able to follow a trail below.
GROUP TACTICS
These tactics apply to the group and can be used only if all characters agree to do so.
Forced March: A group using the forced march tactic gains an additional 4-hour pursuit phase at the end of the day. At the beginning of this third pursuit phase, each member of the party must succeed at a DC 10 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and become fatigued. At the end of this bonus phase, the PCs must make a second Fortitude save, this time at a DC of 14, or take an additional 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and become fatigued (or exhausted, if already fatigued).
Hustle: A group can hustle during a phase to increase its progress during that phase by 1 point. A group can use the hustle tactic once per day without penalty, but using the hustle tactic a second time causes each member of the party to take 1 point of nonlethal damage and become fatigued. Each subsequent time the party uses the hustle tactic that day, each member takes double the amount of nonlethal damage previously dealt. Unlike a normal pursuit, the group is not limited in what sorts of advantage checks in can make while hustling, but each member of the group takes a –5 penalty on any checks made to gain an advantage other than those specifically related to movement (such as climbing lead or fancy footwork).
