A Round Table at a Rectangular Table (Sneak's classes)
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//This is an open talk for anyone who is a sneak or wants to learn to work with sneaks. No class leader and everyone is welcome.
Ardent carefully lays out the bottles of ale, wine, and spirits with a few shot glasses on the long table at the back of the Inn. She puts out some bowls of nuts and some apples before finding it fit for a friendly talk. And if enough of the spirits were consumed, a friendly bar fight. Good either way!
"Alright folks, I am not leader of the pack by any means. So I am not leader of this conversation. This deals with your friendly Scout and how to help them do their job. If you are a scout, its advice how to best do your job. For a first topic, I wouldn't mind laying out some generals rules on how to deal with us. "
She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest with a creak of her thin leathers.
"Now the first topic I'll cover with that is how to best use a Scout. Scouts are just that, they are a good person to send ahead to get some idea of the lay of the land and what you might be up against. Generally, they can do this job best alone or with another Scout. If those clunkier folks follow them, it defeats the purpose as everyone beasty for ten leagues now knows you are there. Generally, it is a good idea to find a defensible point and bunker down while your scout goes and does their job. "She lifted a wine and looked around at those who showed up and continued after a swig, leaning her head back.
"Now there are a few times when your Scout is really useless to send and doing so endangers their lives. They may do it cause they either don't know better, generally follow orders, or are a bit too confident in their abilities. Examples, don't scout the woods around Mintas. Don't scout the woods near Peltarch with the worgs in them. Don't try to scout around winter wolves. You get the general idea, bigger the animal, better the senses.
She clinked her wine bottle some and looked to those at the table.
"What do all of you say, on this topic?"
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(Sorry about the long pause there, went brain dead)
Ardent grinned and lifted a bottle of wine, leaning on the table as she looked down at her ledger, filled with notes about the best use for scouts."The Tanglefoot bags brings me to something really important. What is essential scout gear? I know we all have our bag of invisibility potions for the just in case, some of those tied to a potion that will let us run faster. But what do you consider essential….kits for scouts?" She leaned forward, continuing on a previous point as the alcohol started to soak in.
"AelHaearn makes a valuable point, a very valuable one. Always have a plan! Always make a marching order, always know who is doing what in your group, always know what you will do if the normal fauna turns nasty! I cannot stress enough that simply saying, oh if so and so shows up we will run away in a cave where so and so lives in great copious numbers is dumb. Perhaps, finding a way to deal with this creature or avoid the damn cave!"
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Aelhaearn, aka Aelchunk in some circles, puts in his two cents:
"I agree with what has been said before, and I would advise taking it a step further. Personally, if it can be at all avoided, I would say…
1.) Do not go into a target structure blind. If the place you are going can be scouted in advance, do so. Case your target, learn what goes in and what comes out, and when.
2.) Do not go into a building or cave or anything without putting some thought into how you are getting out of there ahead of time. As you explore further in, make sure your way out is still viable, and if something threatens that route, address it immediately, either by eliminating the threat or by calculating an alternate route of egress.
3.) Traps are great for covering your escape route, as mentioned by someone else, but can also be used effectively as a warning system, letting you know when something is coming from a different direction you cannot afford to guard or when enemy scouts are around.
4.) Other trinkets to keep handy: tanglefoot bags! I cannot say this enough. I cannot count how many times a tanglefoot bag has saved a life by tripping up a charging bugbear blackguard, or some other warrior that is strong but not too nimble, or by tripping up that mage that just downed a haste potion and is trying to escape. And darkness potions! Cheaper than invisibility, but will let you hide and sneak away from a fight.
5.) In regard to what was said before, yes, let a scout do their job. And as a scout, do not get yourself killed if the people you are with will not give you that courtesy. Let them set the traps off themselves, and eventually they may learn their lesson.
6.) Hide! It seems so obvious, but taken for granted. Hide! Every chance you get. You cannot have too much practice. Every time you turn a corner, blend into a shadow, every time you go around a bend in the trail, slip into the tall grass. You never know what will be waiting for you on the other side of that corner or bend in the road, so be out of sight when you get there."
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Wise words so far! I very much agree with what Ardent said there - folks need to let scouts do their job. I'd love to expand on that if I may. The scout's job isn't simply to count how many bad guys are up ahead. You'll find that out eventually anyway. The information gained from scouts needs to be used to gain a strategic advantage. If there are many foes, sort out a way to split their numbers up. Set up an ambush point, maybe with boobtraps. Use the information. And for Sheela's sake give them some room to do their job. Usually parties are keen to keep moving, especially if their magical protection has a limited duration. But in the end you're better off being sure you're not walking into a deadly ambush.
On the subject of setting boobtraps I have to say that it's an undervalued tactic seldom used by party leaders. As a part of an ambush they will help maximise the casualties your party inflict on the enemy and will help to take them down faster. Traps can also form an important party of your exit strategy. Not everything happens to plan and sometimes, as Marie wisely stated, the "run like hell" plan isn't always enough. Setting counter mobility traps along your exit path will help you gain live saving distance on your pursuer, and smart enemies will think twice about following you into an area they know is trapped.
As for getting about unnoticed, yeah light isn't your friend. You need it to see but it also makes you pretty obvious. If you can, drink a potion or cast a spell of ultravision and take that glowing ring off! Cover and distance from your enemy are your friends. Stay behind them if you can for obvious reasons - unless they have eyes on the backs of their heads. If you find yourself in a bad spot try not to move. Moving draws attention to yourself. It's usually better to wait for an enemy to walk off before becoming mobile again rather than trying to sneak out of a bad spot.
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Sitting in the room with her three young children, a hin that likely none bar Raul even know listens intently, pleased to see a younger generation taking an interest in scouting. Some might even wonder what a mother is doing there? After a while, she speaks up in a confidant voice.
It's great to see scouts sharing information to improve their own skills and survival… if any of you are Peltarch citizens, please consider joining the Farscouts. They pay well, and you'll work under the best commanders in the realm.
Oh, and in regards to how to deal with a scout?
Know your enemy is the number one rule of adventuring, and the same is true for scouting as a specific. If you don't know the enemy you're facing, try and find someone who does. If you can't, then be sure you have an escape plan beyond "Run like hell"
In fact, often the best thing you can do when you need to escape, is to go to ground. Your enemy won't expect that, and you can gain the time you need to think clearly and work out a plan.
Never, ever think that relying on magical trinkets, charms, or potions is a weakness. Camouflage is a brilliant spell and if you look around, you can find potions of it. Silence and invisibility are always good backups... just remember that you can't use Spellcrystals in a silenced area.
As soon as she says "Run like hell" her eldest son pipes up to repeat it and run in circles. Marie does her best to ignore it, but it's obviously amusing to her.
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Raúl is somewhere, quiet, watching and not speaking at all. Probably no one has noticed him. but he's there regardless..
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Romulus sits at the table sipping his wine and listening. When Ardent asks for comments or questions, he pipes up (as usual) with a few tips of his own.
Here are some things that scouts like the most: Darkness, rain, fog, treelines, rocks to hide behind, and silence.
Here are some things that scouts like the least: Broad daylight, noise, lack of teamwork, opponents that can smell you, party members that cast light spells while you're trying to hide, and party members that rush forward at the first enemy they spot.
