Lizardman
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The Stalker's skill : Find the Path

Tue 14 May 2019, 08:52

Hi !
I open this topic to ask some clarification about questions I didn't found answer for.
I will try to be clear. But I am not comfortable with english. Please excuse me.
Thanks for answering me.

I will begin with some questions about The Stalker's skill : Find the Path alternative use Keep Looking

"You usually only roll to explore sectors that you haven’t explored before. An explored sector should be considered empty, and contains no threats unless the GM decides otherwise. You can roll for Find a Path to find ARTIFACTS, GRUB and WATER in a sector that has already been explored, however – as long as you haven’t already chosen these stunts. Each new roll takes as long as exploring the sector did in the first place."

Let's consider that a group enter an unexplored Sector and get only one success on their Stalker's Find the Path roll.
This gives them informations on THREATS.
After they confront the THREATS the Sector is now considered explored.
But they couldn't get any other information because they didn't get any stunt.
In particular they don't know any information about ARTIFACTS, GRUB, WATER and ROT LEVEL.
Taking more time in that Sector the group can make more Keep Looking roll to get ARTIFACTS, GRUB and WATER.

FIRST QUESTION : Why Keep Looking doesn't allow to ask for informations about ROT LEVEL ?

The Stalker's skill : Find the Path says

"If your group has several Stalkers, only one of you get to roll to Find a Path when you enter a sector. Which one is up to you. If you later roll to find grub, water and artifacts you can all roll individually."

I suppose "later roll" refer to Keep Looking. Tell me if I am wrong.

Let's consider the first Find the Path roll required the group to stay in that Sector for four hours to explore it.
When the groupe stay more time in the Sector to make Keep Looking rolls.
That time imagine that there are two Stalkers who both make a Keep Lookin roll.
The rule says "Each new roll takes as long as exploring the sector did in the first place."

SECOND QUESTION : These two roll will take two times four hours which gives eight hours or only four hours considering the two stalkers are working at the same time ?
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: The Stalker's skill : Find the Path

Tue 14 May 2019, 10:47

Keep Looking is a normal Find the Path skill roll which means that you can choose any stunt you want, but, find Artifacts, Grub, Rot-Free Water and Bullets (bullets should be on the list as well) can only be chosen once per sector.

When it comes to assess the Rot Level is a little bit trickier and needs some clarification. The idea is, and this was actually confirmed by Tomas (game designer) elsewhere on this forum, is that if the Stalker picks "assess Rot Level", he gets to know the Rot Level immediately when he enters the sectors. The stalker can opt to leave the stalker if he thinks the Rot Level is to high and go back to the sector he came from. This doesn't take much of time and the sector will remain unexplored. Any other stunts that he rolled are ignored. Edit: I also should mention that if the player choose to not enter the sector due to high Rot level, they will not know about the threat in the sector since they never entered. I personally ask the player who plays a stalker if he wants to assess the Rot Level before I describe the sector and threats.

You can of course choose assess Rot Level even if you Keep Looking but normally you know by them if the area is full of Rot or not. If a stalker (or stalkers) do Keep Looking the normal use of the skill is to know about any threats, even though that there is no threat and they can choose any stunts they want as long as Artifacts, Grub, Rot-Free Water and Bullets are only chosen once per sector.

Also remember here that just because you choose find Artifacts as a stunt doesn't mean that there is an Artifact in the sector. Also here, remember that the GM when he rolls the Threat roll to see what the sector contains (I recommend that the GM prepare x number of sectors in advance instead of doing this live when you play) he can roll multiple threats and also multiple Artifacts. The initial Find the Path skill roll only lets the stalker to know about one threat and the find Artifact only lets the stalker to find one Artifact. If there are multiple threats, the GM can play out these threats when the group first explore the sector or he can of course save one of the threat rolled to threw in if the players Keep Looking. Other Artifacts than the one that you perhaps found with the stunt or all artifacts if you don't take this stunt has to be found the hard way, meaning defeat the monster who guards it or use lift up a part of a wall to get it or kill an NPC that has it or wherever the GM has placed the them.

If you go into a sector (and rolls for Find the Path) it will normally take four hours. Only one stalker can roll. If the group is Keep Looking then the group has to spend another four hours in this sector (doesn't matter how many stalkers that do Keep Looking). And remember that it doesn't take any time if the group double back before exploring the sector (if they used the assess Rot Level stunt on the initial roll).
“Thanks for noticin' me.” - Eeyore
 
Lizardman
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Re: The Stalker's skill : Find the Path

Tue 14 May 2019, 13:28

Thanks for you answer about BULLETS that I forget to ask.

Concerning ROT, my question was in the situation when you don't get any stunt from the first Find the Path roll or when you use the stunt you get in other option than rot assessment.
Maybe it was not clear because I struggle with my english.
But you answered here :
"You can of course choose assess Rot Level even if you Keep Looking"

About that
"This doesn't take much of time and the sector will remain unexplored"
I am still asking myself which is the prerequisite that move a sector from unexplored status to explored status.

"The stalker can opt to leave the stalker if he thinks the Rot Level is to high and go back to the sector he came from. This doesn't take much of time and the sector will remain unexplored. Any other stunts that he rolled are ignored. Edit: I also should mention that if the player choose to not enter the sector due to high Rot level, they will not know about the threat in the sector since they never entered. I personally ask the player who plays a stalker if he wants to assess the Rot Level before I describe the sector and threats."
Good suggestion
s

"Only one stalker can roll. If the group is Keep Looking then the group has to spend another four hours in this sector (doesn't matter how many stalkers that do Keep Looking)."
if I understand, two stalker each one making a Keep Looking roll will make the group spend only four hour.
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: The Stalker's skill : Find the Path

Tue 14 May 2019, 14:04

I am still asking myself which is the prerequisite that move a sector from unexplored status to explored status.
If you spend four hours (or whatever hours the GM say it will take) and deal with threat, then the sector is explored. I usually rule that if the players double back, the loose 1 hour. It is easier to keep track of time with whole hours.

Concerning ROT, my question was in the situation when you don't get any stunt from the first Find the Path roll or when you use the stunt you get in other option than rot assessment.
Maybe it was not clear because I struggle with my english.
But you answered here :
"You can of course choose assess Rot Level even if you Keep Looking"
When you don't get any stunt then the players will find out what Rot Level it has when the players starts to take damage. So for example if a sector has Rot Level 1, the players will take one point of Rot per day. So after a day it is up to the GM to decide if the players have been "mostly" in Rot level 1 sectors, if yes, then the players will take 1 point of Rot. How to do this is up to the GM, but I usually count hours and if the players have been more hours in Rot level 1 sectors than in other sectors they will get 1 Rot.
If the players are exploring a sector (four hours) with Rot Level 2, then they will take 1 point of Rot each hour. The players will know the Rot level when that happens. I usually rule here that if the players wants to they can retreat (the way the came) from the sector after an hour to avoid to take 3 more Rot but this also means that they will miss any grub, water, etc.

if I understand, two stalker each one making a Keep Looking roll will make the group spend only four hour.
To explore a sector in the first place takes four hours. If a party of 4 stalkers is exploring, they can spend another 4 hours and Keep Looking. They each make a skill roll but the Grub, Water, Bullet and Artifact stunts can only be chosen once each. Do remember that all skill failures have consequences in this game, so have four stalkers rolling the dice, there is a good chance one of them will fail. A consequence for a failed Find the Path roll could be that he attracts some wild life or a group of wild mutants or some ruins fall on top of him.
“Thanks for noticin' me.” - Eeyore
 
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Shads
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Re: The Stalker's skill : Find the Path

Thu 16 May 2019, 20:41

Ey as one who just casually read through this, the answers gave me a better idea how to use this myself, I'm currently DMing my first campaign *Genlab alpha * so this is not really relevant now, but was nice to havr it explained

Not to mention ya where clear when you applied how you do compared to what the rules exactly say, and it's something that can get real confusing

Long story short
Thanks for taking time in writing replies and applying yourself to help, your helping more than one person! ^^

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