Scouting
With unlimited resources, Curious Pastimes would love to populate an in character enemy camp for the duration of every event, which brave and canny scouts could go and spy on, infiltrate and sabotage in real time. But in practice, enemy troops only exist for the time they roll out on monster slots or take to the field of battle; and their camps are “off-screen,” somewhere just past the edge of site.
To give the spies their chance to shine, then, we give them scouting slots, dedicated encounters in which they get a chance to assess enemy numbers, deployment and capabilities, identify generals and observe special weapons and assets. More pro-actively, scouts can set field traps, sabotage siege engines or otherwise influence coming battles.
Booking a Slot
Scouting is available at various times every event. Available times will be communicated to faction teams ahead of time, and may vary depending on resources. Each slot lasts approximately 20 minutes including briefing time (see below).
Scouting slots must be booked at least two hours in advance, indicating where the players intend to scout (and a general indication of objective, if possible). Scouting missions must target a location in walking distance, unless the scouts have access to some form of magical travel. On the evenings before the four major battles, priority will be given to scouting missions against the enemy encampment.
Slots are booked through a faction team, although a scouting mission can include any mix of groups or factions.
Scouting groups can consist of up to 20 players, but given that stealth is of the essence, players may find that smaller groups are more effective.
Scouting Objective
Scouts should come prepared with a goal for scouting, which must include where they’re going (or who they’re scouting), and may include what information they’re looking for, or some idea of what they’re expecting to achieve. It is always possible to head out opportunistically, scouting the enemy “to find out what we can,” although the less specific the objective, the more general the information will be.
There are two types of objective: reconnaissance, in which the scouts are purely seeking intelligence, and espionage, in which the scouts are attempting to actively influence the target. Espionage objectives may include setting field traps, disabling enemy traps, sabotaging siege engines, damaging structures, assassinating officers, or spreading rumours among the enemy to damage morale. Espionage missions always have a higher difficulty than reconnaissance missions (see below).
Before Scouting
Scouts may wish to gather what information they can from non-player characters, other scouting groups or other sources before scouting, so they can set more specific objectives for scouting missions. In particular, use of the skills Strategic Insight and Pathfinder before scouting can steer objectives (and should be mentioned to the scouting referee at the start of the slot).
The Scouting Slot
Players should report to Ref HQ (or another designated location) before their slot begins. Please be prompt, as delays can impact later slots.
A scouting referee will meet the scouts and discuss their scouting objective, making note of any use of Strategic Insight or Pathfinder. They may ask them a little about their intended strategy, including skills they’re likely to bring to bear. They will then brief them on the upcoming encounter (below), then take them to the edge of the scouting area and time them in.
The Encounter
Scouting takes place in an area of site away from the camps, large enough to require some exploring. A group of monsters will be placed somewhere in the area, appropriate to the encounter (guards, patrols, roving beasts etc.). The scouting referee will set the players a task they have to complete undetected and return to them within 15 minutes. Possibilities include:
- Find a specific object(s) and return it to the scouting referee.
- Count all the monsters in the area.
- Eavesdrop on the monsters talking among each other and note what they say.
- Kill or incapacitate one or more of the monsters.
Every scouting encounter has a difficulty, based on the scouts’ objective, which will be reflected in the complexity of the task and in the monsters’ briefing.
Monsters will be briefed according to the scenario: they may be alert or distractible, disciplined or shambolic, aggressive or restrained. Whatever their briefing, if they clearly see or hear the scouts, they will raise the alarm, alerting other monsters to the scouts’ presence.
The encounter is live, and any spells or abilities may be used normally.
Note that this encounter is an abstraction, intended to set the scouts an appropriate challenge. While every effort will be made to set scouts an appropriate encounter for their scouting objective, the referee may be constrained by the resources they have to hand and the time they have to prepare. Regardless of the specific encounter, completing the task will represent fulfilling the scouts’ mission objective.
The Outcome
On returning to the scouting referee, the scouting party will receive feedback on their performance. The result will depend on the following:
- Completing the task (including partial completion)
- Returning to the scouting referee within the scheduled time
- Avoiding raising the alarm
Based on the level of success, the scouting party will be briefed on what they’ve observed or learned, or what effect they’ve achieved, if any.