Standing Orders

[rredmond]

See the House Rules thread and let me know.

I'll keep all the SO stuff in the first post, so post suggestions, questions, whatever here.

Until told otherwise: Marching Order -
5' Wide Corridor
[Blodgett]
[Elwita]
[Freda]
[Ogre]
[Ejayess]
[Phanstern]
[Dread]
[Kayen]
[Karraway]

Notes: I tried to maintain our original arrangement, keeping our halfling thief in front, followed by Elwita and Freda. There is also the understanding that, should an enemy approach us from the front, Blodgett and Elwita will kneel (or otherwise lower themselves) enabling Freda to fire arrows above their heads. Elwita can also fire her heavy crossbow from a kneeling position. Ogre will continue to follow. Without knowing the stats for the new characters, I assume that our new fighter/cleric combination would have better fighting capabilities and listed them next. Our illusionist and pure magic-user will fall into the middle, with our new fighter/magic-user and Karraway offering our rear protection.


10' Wide Corridor
<- [Blodgett] ->
[Elwita] <> [Ogre]
[Freda] <> [Ejayess]
[Phanstern] <> [Dread]
[Kayen] <> [Karraway]

Notes: Blodgett continues to stand in front, allowing him to perform his stealthy tasks. Our pure fighters (Elwita and Ogre) would be side-by-side behind Blodgett. Freda will still stand behind Elwita preserving our ranged attack plan. Sliding in behind Ogre will be Ejayess, our new cleric/figher. Our two spell casters (Dread and Phanstern) will form a line in the second-to-last rank, with Kayen joining Karraway offering our rear protection.

[dmw71]

Regarding the marching orders, I will open the discussion by nominating Elwita to be in the front ranks, and possibly the point person in a more narrow corridor. Not only does she have a decent armor class (1) and a good number of hit points (54), she has a high charisma (15) and is her diminutive size (3'10") may also allow the potential for ranged attacks to take place from behind her.

This is not to say that she expects to be the group leader, but would not be opposed to holding such position if that is the party's decision.

Thoughts, or other suggestions?

[Alethan]

Anyone who volunteers to be the group leader is alright in my book! I'm very happy to give Freda a Type B personality and do much more following than leading. I don't want to imply a lack of activity or inability to roll-play or participate; In fact, it is quite the opposite - I tend to be the party leader (by defacto or by nomination) and am happy to relinquish the role to someone willing to wear the mantle.

That said... Freda has excellent AC (-1 w/sword and shield, 0 without the shield), decent hit points (45), reduced chance of surprise, and tracking abilities. She'd be happy to go second (when in single-file) or be in the second row (when doubled up) and fire arrows over Elwita's head.

[Computer +1]

I think the dwarf up front with the ranger second is a good idea.
I can take up the rear if you like with the others somewhere between us.

[Computer +1]

I should say though that if a fight starts up from Ogre is going to want to get in it fast!

[Argennian]

Karraway the cleric would like to be somewhere between the midde and rearguard in the Marching Order. Happy to wait to see where everyone else wants to be positioned before confirmation.

Regardless, we should be sure to have a default single-file and two-abreast M.O. listed for Ron going forward.

[rredmond]

Remember in a 10' hall (which isn't what you are looking at now, but mayhap you will) you can go two by two.
The 5' width limits you to one by one... unless you didn't want to fight or defend yourself and stuff.

[dmw71]

Remember in a 10' hall (which isn't what you are looking at now, but mayhap you will) you can go two by two.
The 5' width limits you to one by one... unless you didn't want to fight or defend yourself and stuff.

At current, we have six characters:

[E] Elwita, Dwarf, Fighter (6) | AC: 1 | HP: 54
[O] Ogre, Human, Fighter (5) | AC: 1 | HP: 45
[D] Dread Delgath, Human, Magic-User (5) | AC: 6 | HP: 25
[K] Karraway, Human, Cleric (6) | AC: 1 | HP: 42
Blodgett, Halfling, Thief (5) | AC: 3 | HP: 25
[F] Freda, Human, Ranger (4) | AC: -2 | HP: 40

While there may be other situations which present themselves, we should come up with standing orders for how the party will be organized in both 5' (single-file) and 10' (side-by-side) corridors.

5' Wide Corridor
[E]
[F]
[O]

[D]
[K]

10' Wide Corridor
[E] + [O]
+ [D]
[F] + [K]

All we need to do now is fill in the [?]'s with the names of the characters which will occupy those slots.

For the 10' wide corridor, I have proposed a suggesting marching order. My intent was to keep the fighters up front, the thief and the magic-user in the middle, and our more than capable cleric and ranger in the rear. Freda originally suggested standing behind Elwita and firing missiles over her head, but ranged attacks will still be possible if Blodgett, a halfling, was also in front of her.

I didn't even want to attempt to rank the 5' wide corridor, but did tentatively place Elwita in the lead.


I think it's also important to note that, given many of the party members are wearing metal armor (and making significant noise simply by moving), the above standard marching orders should not prevent Blodgett (or anyone else) from taking advantage of their class (or racial) abilities in the scouting department.

It is also worth mentioning that the party could have a different organization once the party has stopped (e.g. preparing to open a door).


Let's discuss.

(edit: updated 5' wide marching order)

Is anyone unhappy with their positioning in either of the below marching orders? We haven't started yes so there's definitely time to make some tweaks if necessary.

5' Wide Corridor
[E]
[F]
[O]

[D]
[K]

10' Wide Corridor
[E] + [O]
+ [D]
[F] + [K]

[Alethan]

The 10' wide looks good to me, especially since Freda could still launch arrows over the dwarf and halfling heads.

For the 5' wide, Freda is fine with being second as something of a scout and first-attack type (again, arrows over the dwarf's head) or being one of the capable fighter-types in the rear guard. So either second or last/second last would be fine.

[Knight of Gondor]

As the wizard in the group and an AC 6 I would like to be second from the back. As to party leader, I am one of the new guys to pbp so I will take the role of "magical advisor" and let someone else lead.

[Computer +1]

Ogre doesnt mind where he is.

Front, back, middle. Just so long as he gets to fight.

Ogre may want to feel like a leader at times but he isn't the brightest for planning and he is the worst choice for parley.

[dmw71]

Some other standard actions we could establish standing orders for:

Watches
With an even number of players, we should form three, two-person teams to stand watch together. While not familiar with the OSRIC rules on spell recovery yet (or if the DM has any house rules on how this will be handled), this will be especially important for our magic user, and potentially cleric. I would suggest Ogre and Elwita pair up with Dread Delgath and Karraway in some combination, and Blodgett and Freda form the third pairing. Objections?

Scouting
While exploring, is there anything Blodgett or Freda want to establish as standard practices? Do they want to remain in formation at all times, or will they be planning on scouting ahead? If scouting, they should probably establish what actions they are taking to accomplish the tasks at hand (e.g. secret door or trap detection, etc...) as well as maintain their safety (e.g. listening for sounds around corners, watching for tripwires or trapdoors in the floor, etc...).

Doors
Once the party arrives at a closed door, who will be checking for traps? Blodgett, I assume. What will be their standard operating procedures? Additionally, once the party has decided that they are going to enter a room through a closed door, will there be a designated door opener? Will the order the party enters the room vary from the marching order (e.g. fighters go in first)? I believe it would make sense to discuss this as well.

[dmw71]

Team Leader
I separated this question as it probably deserves its own post.

Is there any character that wants to lead the party?

I know Freta and Dread Delgath have indicated they are out. Ogre has stated he has illusions of leading, but is aware he might not be the best choice.

What about Karraway? Blodgett?

Elwita would be willing to do it, but certainly does not have to.

[Argennian]

Team Leader
I separated this question as it probably deserves its own post.

Is there any character that wants to lead the party?

I know Freta and Dread Delgath have indicated they are out. Ogre has stated he has illusions of leading, but is aware he might not be the best choice.

What about Karraway? Blodgett?

Elwita would be willing to do it, but certainly does not have to.

So if we get captured, we can tell them the dwarf made us do it and it was all her idea?





(totally joking with you, Dave! )



Honestly, I don't think we need to have a leader declared, per se. There will be times when each individual will come to the forefront with a specialized skill or ability or parley opportunity and be potentially directing the scenario. Elwita does have a high charisma and would certainly be a good choice if we're looking for an edge in the reaction department!

[dmw71]

So if we get captured, we can tell them the dwarf made us do it and it was all her idea?

Let's mark that down as a standing order.

(totally joking with you, Dave! )

Totally caught that... no worries!

Honestly, I don't think we need to have a leader declared, per se. There will be times when each individual will come to the forefront with a specialized skill or ability or parley opportunity and be potentially directing the scenario.

I would be in agreement with this. With such a diverse party, I suspect there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to stand out.

[Argennian]

Ok, got a few free moments and more coppers from me piggy bank!

At current, we have six characters:

[E] Elwita, Dwarf, Fighter (6) | AC: 1 | HP: 54
[O] Ogre, Human, Fighter (5) | AC: 1 | HP: 45
[D] Dread Delgath, Human, Magic-User (5) | AC: 6 | HP: 25
[K] Karraway, Human, Cleric (6) | AC: 1 | HP: 42
[BL] Blodgett, Halfling, Thief (5) | AC: 3 | HP: 25
[F] Freda, Human, Ranger (4) | AC: -2 | HP: 40

In regards to Marching Order: It looks like we're going to have up to another 2 PCs in the group (Woot!) so not sure where they'll want to be, but this would give us 4 ranks deep in a 10' wide corridor...

Based upon everyone's input and what we've discussed so far in this and the Strategy Thread, is this what we're looking at so far?

5' Wide Corridor:
BL
E
F
O
D
K

If any baddies pop up, Freda would still be near the front (helping with her Ranger Avoiding Surprise class skill) and still be able to fire off arrows over the halfling and dwarf. Blodgett would be in the perfect position to utilize those nifty elven boots and move forward to check stuff out but could still easily fall back through friendly squares to end up behind Elwita, Freda and Ogre if confronted by any combat melee scenarios. Just a few coppers of ideas.

10' Wide Corridor:
B + E
F + O
D + K

The more I think about it, Karraway would make a good rearguard, as he wears plate armor and has decent hit points to boot. Even if the party is in a 10' wide corridor, he could fall back to the middle, effectively protecting Dread and being able to look up the middle between party members to cast a spell (potentially).

Still have a few coppers worth of musing (and on a real computer at the office and not out on the road with my smartphone) Since Alethan's buddy was looking at the fighter/mage, that would be a good fit for a potential 2nd or 3rd rank character, depending. And we have Migellito looking at one of the remaining two PCs: a fighter/cleric or an illusionist. Fighter/cleric would work well in 2nd or 3rd rank, imho. The illusionist would probably work well/be safe in the 3rd rank, but of course, this is all "too much coffee and bandwidth-fueled" speculation on my part!

Ok, gots to hit the road and go back to my smartphone now. I'm so excited for this that I'm shaking! (or is it the 20oz coffee with 2 spoonfulls of brown sugar?) Either way.... EEEAAAGGGHHHH!!!

[dmw71]

Okay, here is my proposed marching order(s).

Party Roster
[E] Elwita (Dwarf, Fighter, 6)
[F] Freda (Human, Ranger, 4)
[O] Ogre (Human, Fighter, 5)
Blodgett (Halfling, Thief, 5)
[D] Dread Delgath (Human, Magic User, 5)
[K] Karraway (Human, Cleric, 6)
[P] Phanstern (Human, Illusionist, 5)


5' Wide Corridor

[E]
[F]
[O]
[P] <--
[D]
[K]

Notes: Our halfling (his stealth skills complimented by a pair of Boots of Elvenkind) will be in front, followed by Elwita and Freda. I just realized that Freda is not very tall herself (5'03"), but there will be an understanding that, should an enemy approach us from the front, Blodgett and Elwita will kneel (or otherwise lower themselves) enabling Freda to fire arrows above their heads. Elwita can also fire her heavy crossbow from a kneeling position. Ogre will be "close" to the front ranks and serve as immediate protection to our spell casters whom follow. Karraway will assume rearguard duties.


10' Wide Corridor
<- ->
[E] + [O]
[--] + [P]
[--] + [D]
[F] + [K]

Notes: My thought here is that we continue to allow Blodgett to stand in front, allowing him to perform his stealthy tasks. Our fighters (Elwita and Ogre) would be side-by-side behind Blodgett with our two spell casters (Dread and Phanstern) lining up single-file behind Ogre (this would still allow Freda, from the rear rank, to fire arrows over the heads of Elwita and Blodgett. Karraway would remain in his position as rearguard alongside Freda.

Alternately, we could go side-by-side along these lines:
+ [E]
[F] + [O]
[D] + [P]
<- [K] ->


Thoughts?

[Alethan]

Thoughts?

I think you're as OCD as I am. Or, as "we" like to put it, "CDO" (alphabetical order).

Oh, and the marching orders all look good. Obviously, you've put some quite a bit of thought into it. It shows.

[migellito]

Looks excellent to me Thanks for putting this together!

[ToniXX]

Looks excellent to me Thanks for putting this together!

Seconded.