TNU Play Report Bonus Stuff: Scouts

This is going to be a report on some background prep that has turned into a bit of a solo game in its own right. In previous reports, I have provided background info on the Occult-Futurist scouts that have been misdirected to 0202 by Akela back in Report 6. It has reached a point where they have sent a boat with a crew of scouts to try to reach that location, and those scouts are entering dangerous/consequential areas. I have 5 days worth of travel to cover.

Occult-Futurist scouts have stats based roughly on those of of Imperial Mercenaries from Only Monsters Here, without the treasure on hand and with the additional wrinkle of all of them having Occult-Futurist Helmets and therefore access to the light spell and possibly others. I decided to roll up one additional for this party, from the Battle spell school table in TNU. This group received Brutal Weapon.

Occult-Futurist Scouts
Level 1d4 evil humans
Armour 13, Hit Die 1d8, Morale 0, Numbers 1d6 (2d6), Speed 7, Surprise 0.
Cha 8, Dex 14, Fer 14, Hth 12, Int 12, Wil 12.
1 weapon attack (shortsword) or spell per round.
As long as the Scout has access to their helmet, they can cast: Light, Brutal Weapon.

From here I can roll numbers — I’m considering the scout boat to be a full lair. It turns out there are 7 of them dispatched, and they are level 1. They have a full month’s worth of food for the expedition, and the boat has 2 rifles on board. I also rolled twice to see if they have access to a hot air balloon. This particular party does not. As they are cautiously traveling upriver and need to conserve fuel, their boat will be moving at a normal rate of 1 hex per 8 hours, though if they use the onboard engine and one full day’s worth of fuel to increase their speed to double that.

Day 1:
Starting from the ocean in 1204, the scouts enter the mouth of the river at 1103. I have a call to make: there is a mobile dungeon in this stretch of river that I overlooked defining a start position for. Time to correct that! My call is that when entering the river between 0603 and 1103 for the first time, to roll 1d6 to place the River Temple’s current location. I will append this to the relevant hexes! I rolled a 5, placing the River Temple in 1003, meaning that the scouts will run into it by the end of the day. With no other random encounters generated today, I move them into 1003 where they see the temple ahead. Reaction rolls seem necessary on both sides. A 4 for the Occult-Futurists, and a 10 for the River Temple.
4: “Powerful monsters attack immediately. Unsure monsters threaten the PCs to see if they are worth attacking. Cowardly monsters flee.”
10: “Monster is neutral, ignoring the PCs if they do not cause trouble, and willing to speak with them if they are inoffensive.”
I decide that the River Temple is putting on its most innocuous front when they run across it. Its denizens are hoping to put this strange boat at ease — more traffic on the river means more victims for the nightmare in the future. Occult-Futurist Scouts fit the bill of “Unsure monsters” pretty well. They get belligerent, and threaten with their rifles. The River Temple obligingly gives them a wide berth.
I decide the River Temple is moving east currently. It will linger in 1103 for 4 days.

Day 2:
Another day of no random encounters. The Occult-Futurists are making their way along the river, apprehensively watching the shoreline. They see nothing but tall grass and old standing stones, and wonder who built them. It is cold here. They pass through 0903 and 0803.

Day 3:
No random encounters. The boat moves through 0703, and then into 0603, where it sees the Rittersnake Dam, a dungeon I need to turn into a post here. Again I move to reaction rolls: Occult-Futurists get an 8, Rittersnakes an 11.
8: “Monster is cautious, and attacks or flees if approached, but may be persuaded to parley if the PCs can assure it they have no larcenous or violent intent.”
11: “Monster is neutral, ignoring the PCs if they do not cause trouble, and willing to speak with them if they are inoffensive”
The Rittersnakes remain inside their dam, watching but not hiding. The scouts mistrust them. Three Occult-Futurists will remain with the boat, four will venture ashore in the morning. If misfortune befalls any of them, reports that get back to the Occult-Futurist command will cast suspicion upon the Rittersnakes.

Day 4:
I will now primarily be following the party of 4 on land. They bring provisions, their personal arms and armor, and one gun. They enter the bramble forests of 0602, and begin working their way through it slowly and painstakingly. They are slowed to a crawl, only making one hex a day. The encounter roll gave me a 3:
“Choose the most appropriate event from the following:
-Light sources are taxed by 1 hour.
-One ongoing spell or enchantment ends.
-Some other resource is depleted by the environment,
-A special event occurs, if any have been defined for this area.”
I decide that the magic of their helmets has been suppressed for a day. Unable to cast Light, they become frustrated while setting up camp for the evening. Tempers are high.

Day 5:
No random encounter. The helmets work again, but the scouts are still on edge. The sounds of nature have them jumpy. They painstakingly delve into 0502, gun trained on the tree-sized bramble bushes.