1: The initial setup. How far ahead of the horde does the party start?
2: Enemy movement. Does the horde automatically move forward 1 card per round or does it have to pass the challenge tests as well?
3: What happens exactly if the horde catches a PC, and how does a PC choosing to 'sacrifice himself for the greater good' actually slow the horde down any. Since each turn represents an hour, it seems like overrunning a single PC wouldn't make a dent in their overall travel time.
Checking my personal copy of The Fen, I see that the answers to your questions above were mistakenly left out of the final print. They were supposed to be at the end of the document, just after the description of all the Chase Cards. I've copied those instructions below:
"Note: The Lizardfolk Horde (army) marker moves after all PCs have had their chance each turn. It will move onto the first Chase card at the end of the third turn after the PCs begin moving. It will advance one Chase card each turn automatically, unless the Chase card it is on says that it loses a turn. Many individual lizardfolk will be doggedly keeping pace with the PCs and harassing them (as represented by the Encounter cards), but if the Lizardfolk Horde marker catches up to any PC, that PC is considered killed or captured, at the GM’s discretion, and is removed from further participation in the Chase. However, that event holds up the Lizardfolk Horde marker and causes it to lose a turn, so PCs may realize that they have the option of sacrificing themselves to give the PC in possession of the staff a better chance to outrun the horde. Lost turns are cumulative with multiple PCs on the same card and cards that automatically cause the horde to lose a turn.
"If at any time the players decide to end the Chase and make a last stand, the GM is free to play that battle out as s/he sees fit.
"If any of the PCs successfully advance through 21 Chase cards, they have arrived at the hut of Ol’ Mamma ‘Nis. Go to that section of the adventure for information on how to run that encounter.
"If the PCs elect to bypass Ol’ Mamma ‘Nis’ hut and run straight for the walls of Wyverglynn, they must successfully advance past 24 Chase cards. Go to that section of the adventure for information on running that final battle."
4: It states that characters with movement speeds higher or lower than 30 take a cumulative +/- 1 adjustment to challenge checks. The chase is at least 21 challenges long. That means that by the half way point, all those dwarf, halfling and gnome characters will be working with a -10 penalty! Conversely, the 7th lvl monk will be sailing through with a +20 bonus ?!? How did this work out in playtests?
You've misunderstood. I'm sorry if my text was unclear. 'Cumulative' refers to every ten feet of difference in a PC's movement rate. For example, a gnome with a base movement rate of 20 feet wearing heavy armor and being heavily encumbered, slowed, etc., will only move at 10 feet per round. That gives him a total of -2 on his Challenge Checks each turn. A monk moving at 50 feet per round enjoys a +2 bonus to his checks each turn.
Thank you for your questions, IronDesk! I wouldn't have known that a portion of text was missing without you. :)
SirXaris
