Quicksand Hazard

[Zapp]

See page 526 for the specifics and the beginning of the Hazard chapter on page 520 for general rules.

How do you run a patch of Quicksand?

I would like there to be a chance of more than one hero getting caught up by it. In movies and literature it's not uncommon for characters to only realize they're stuck in quicksand after a crucial few seconds, enough for the second or third man in line to also risk getting trapped.

But if I use the interrupt as instructed, a second character will of course never willingly use its actions to Stride into the area.

How would you run the hazard (from exploration mode up until the transitioning into encounter mode and the first round of "combat")?

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I'm thinking of having a few low-level critters (such as Goblins) trying to bait the heroes to running into a patch of Quicksand.

How would that encounter play out, from the instance the heroes spot the hiding Goblins (or when the Goblins pop up to pelt them with arrows or something).

The goblins only make a few quick attacks and then flee. The heroes reflex is to pursue.

Assuming they don't think of making Seek actions, there is now zero chance of spotting the danger, and if they just throw themselves into a sprint, they will run right into the quicksand.

When exactly can or must I trigger the quicksand's reaction?

I don't want to trigger it as instructed, during the fastest character's turn, since that means only one character is ever at risk.

But if I don't, won't that character simply keep on running, exiting the patch on the other side?

In short, how do I reconcile the reality of people moving simultaneously with the game mechanisms of everybody acting in turn, on an initiative list?

[Zapp]

Any thoughts? =)

[mrspaghetti]

Zapp wrote:

Any thoughts? =)

Unless the PCs are walking abreast I don't see how more than one ends up in the muck if there's only one patch of it. If there are several patches irregularly placed then maybe.

[Ravingdork]

Seems to me like you'd only be able to manage it in exploration mode, as turn-based initiative would keep a second or third person from entering the area.

Unless of course, the PCs couldn't tell where the area began and ended. Then it's less about who went first, but about who stepped where.

[CrystalSeas]

It's also about the path.

Is it a trackless swampy area that they're trying to bushwack through?
Is it a swampy area, but there are game trails going from hummock to hummock?
Is there a clear path marked by locals to guide people through the swampy area?
Is there a secret path that only locals know the signs for?

[Draco18s]

Just because the first guy got stuck in it doesn't mean everyone else know where the edge is.

[Zapp]

Ravingdork wrote:

Seems to me like you'd only be able to manage it in exploration mode, as turn-based initiative would keep a second or third person from entering the area.

Thank you. I thought as much.

Exploration mode it is! :)