Setting Camp

Maybe I should expand on what I was interested in….

The Roman Army would march 5-hours (About 12 miles hard march), then spend the rest of the day setting up what could best be described a fortified camp so when night fell they were secure. This was aided when engineers with the legion would serve as an advanced guard, and stake out the location for the camp. Again all with preplanned precision. When I was stationed in Korea, we did pretty much the same thing, only we didn’t march for five hours, we rode in humvees and armored vehicles instead. But the whole 5-hours on the march, followed by setting up fortifications seems to be standard military procedure for centuries on end.

With that in mind, and also considering the large number of adventurers with military experience, I am surprised that most “camps” are little more than a collection of bedrolls. Granted this is reasonable for scouting parties, that want a stealthy approach. But it seems counter to the thoughts of most of our PC’s backgrounds.

Perhaps the mod writers are assuming a full 12 hours on the march? In which case we would expect to cover 30 miles by foot a day? That is a lot of walking with gear, and armor, and weapons.

Another thought is that most players are dumping all or most all of their cash into runes and weapons/armor upgrades. Would a real person do this? Or would they rather spend their gold on a nice tent and a soft bed to sleep in while traveling?

Just some thoughts…. Remember magic is supposed to be rare in this game. So why are we walking around with so much rare equipment, and so little mundane gear?

Given what I recall reading in Forged in Magic we are not going to see runes on ladders. As I recall enchanting in general is an arduous process fraught with danger, so not taken lightly. Hence the 5GP cost which in Arcanis terms is a LOT of money. At least to the average person. Adventurers well that’s another story.

Oh I was just having fun. No harm done or meant. This is Arcanis not Eberron after all.

A lot of mods don’t involve setting camp. Hard to dig a berm and a dry moat if you are in downtown Savona. Though the thought of that is so weird I kinda want to use that as a hook someday in something I write. “You’re trying to get to the Governor’s office but it looks like legionnaires are trying to set up a fortified camp in the middle of the street, digging up cobblestones and blocking traffic…”

I have not served in the military but I have had the misfortune to dig some big holes with shovels. IMO it’s absurdly hard work. I am well aware that the legions of Rome did it day in and day out … Which I find pretty impressive. On the other hand I think the only reason it worked for them is that they had a hundred (or more) people working it for three hours. I don’t think 5 people produce anything really impressive ditch-wise in the same period. IME holes take a lot of digging.

Lots of mods that involve travel still don’t worry much about setting camp either. My PCs Made it to fervidite mines and Tultipet (twice!) without worrying much about the camping layout. Mostly I think because 4 hours can go fast in a slot and mod writers usually don’t want to spend time there that they could use on RP or combat.

Do people want complicated plans for camping to make a difference in mods? Would that add an important layer of versimilitude? Or are players just worried about being “screwed” at some point by mod authors and judges?

I neither want complicated plans to set up camp to be the core of a mod. Nor I am worried about being screwed by the mod writers. Rather I think it is a mistake to insert into the mind of our PC’s our player understanding of the metagame. Let me explain….

As a former military man, who has been trained from birth to worry about the proverbial attack in the night I have to wonder, how Acturis would triage his gold spending habits. Keep in mind that he was a translator and intelligence analyst when in the Legion of the Watchful Hunter. As such, he is very familiar with all the things that go ‘bump in the night’. Imagine, spending twenty years reading all the Cadian deeds done by Vincenes and his compatriates. Missions that went well, and those that didn’t. Add to that the very real possibility that, due to the profession that Acturis has chosen -bounty hunter- kind of makes him a little paranoid about ‘random attacks’ from val Borda in the night.

I see this exercise as off screen backstory more than anything else. Now IF how I defended my camp became an issue in a mod, I would see that as a profound treat. But I don’t see that as mattering 99% of the time.

Now Eric, I would note that there is a certain curio shop in the First City that has a healthy respect for a single dead arsonist. To quote that owner, “What person sets up traps in their own home?” Well, his profession dictates that Actruis’s home be mobile….

War Ferrets? I like that. Perhaps Matt can stat them up and throw them at us at Arcanicon. Sort of the next iteration of the dreaded Hummingbirds.

Rabid war ferrets? Even better! How about dire rabid war ferrets?