Roy K. Bartoo - 04:55pm Aug 14, 1998 PST (#33 of 42) Randy, some questions and comments about Safe Return Doubtful. I wanted to try running some of the expeditions historically (ie, match the explorer with his correct ship and crew type), but had some difficulties (granted, my research was only about two hours at the library). The ones I think I figured out are: Nils Nordenskjold Ship, Vega, Crew: Good Sailors George de Long Ship, Jeanette, Crew: Improvisational Skills Robert Peary Ship, Roosevelt, Crew: Good with Dogs Sir John Franklin, Ship: Erebus/Terror, Crew: Good with Sledges, not so good at provisioning :) Charles Hall, Ship: Polaris, Crew: Improvisational Skills The ones I don't know are: Roald Amundsen, Ship: Gjoa, Crew ? Dr Elisha Kane, Ship: Advance, Crew: ? Fritjof Nansen Ship, Fram, Crew: ? Adolphus Greeley Ship, ?, Crew: ? Sir William Parry Ship, ?, Crew ? Frederic Cook Ship, ?, Crew: ? (the available ships are the Bradley, Hecla and Proteus: the available crews are two Amusing Fellows, one Good Sailors, one Good with Dogs, one Good with Sledges) Also, why didn't you have the "Survivors" image backprinted onto the Crew cards (instead of the generic SRD back) - save some cards, and then when a crew was reduced to survivors, just flip the card. And while the rules say up to 5 players there are only 3 player cards (a very minor detail). Questions: Is 'Coastal Inlet' land for the purposes of the split land/sea rule? What disaster line is used? If 'Ice Boxed' is drawn during the winter while the expedition is away from the ship, do you still roll for the ship? Section 5 refers to 'cairns created'. How is this done? Just drop the stuff there and automatically find it later? When on an Ice Floe, do you use the 'Ship' line of a disaster card? Is it possible to lose latitude while hunting due to a 'lose course' disaster? If a disaster is avoided due to Crew skill, does that card still count as the draw for possible advance, or may the player draw another card for any advance? Can Survivors pull a Sledge? Do Survivors retain the Skill of the Crew they came from? Does the Starvation modifier mean "CONSECUTIVE previous turns without food" or "TOTAL previous turns without food"? I assume that a result which would reduce Crew to Survivors eliminates a Crew already reduced to Survivors? The Terrain card says Ice Floes, the Player Crad says Icebergs (and omits Starvation). Can Dogs become Frostbitten as a result of severe weather? For those who haven't tried it, the game reminds me a good deal of AH's B-17, except that it is a great deal more deadly. My expeditions: Peary died of Forstbite at 88 N, the Survivors staggered back to 70 N, only to succumb to starvation. On his twin's attempt, he starved to death at 89 N, after reaching the Pole. The Crew starved to survivors on the way back at 78 N while on ship, then progressed only two more degrees in three seasons on ship, and the Survivors starved to death. Charles Hall was able to sail to 83 N, in what seemd like an easy cruise. On the return trip, though, he starved to death at 75 N. In the expedition from Hell, Sir John Franklin walked to 74 N, overwintered, walked back to the ship for more food, spent a year and a half walking to 75 N, spent over a year without moving (trying desperately to hunt enough food to get back to the ship), finally made it back to the ship, and starved to death at 72 N. His twin's ship struck and Iceberg and sank on the first turn of the game. The survivors, having nothing else to do, hunted on the Ice Floe for a year until it floated back south to 70 N. Franklin's third try, he managed to sail to 75 N, walked to 78 N, abandoned the Sledges, walked back to the ship, avoided a Starvation and made it home alive. My only major complaint with the game is that the movement rates seem just too slow. I don't have my calculations with me, but as I recall, even without disasters that sent you backwards, the average move was only 1 degree on land. Since there are only six opportunities to move in a year, this means the average advance is only 6 degrees per year - a rate that you are unlikely to see in practice, as disasters lurk in abundance, and food runs out terribly fast. Granted the Early period explorers had a terrible time, my reading suggests that the Late period explorers ought to move faster than this. It will take a ship over a year to sail from 70 N to 83 N (should it make it that far). Then 2.5 years to get to the Pole and back, and another year+ to sail back south - that's five years, even with the luck of being able to sail that far north, and no disasters. Interesting game, worth the money (although my SWI favorite is Mad Monks, even if I do get burned at the stake as a heretic). Roy Randy Moorehead - 12:01pm Aug 17, 1998 PST (#38 of 42) Currently playtesting: Rus! SRD questions/answers: Coastal inlet may be considered land (it may be moved through by foot, dog, or ship as per page 6: Terrain cards: Coastal Inlets) if you like. The disaster line is always dependent on your mode of transportation, so use whatever line you are moving as (and remember that you must annouce your mode of transport _before_ turning over a card. Ice Bound: use that only if the exedition is currently with the ship. On an Ice Floe, yes, use the Ship line of the disaster card (well, it is sort of substituting for the ship ;-) Since you may not hunt and move, ignore the lose lattitude since it technically applies to when you are moving. I suppose you could get lost while hunting, but this opens up too many possibilities for abuse. Anytime a disaster card is drawn, no advancement is possible. Do not draw another card, even if the crew/equipment avoids the disaster. Page 2, under Sequence of Play, fourth paragraph should be taken literally. Survivors do not retain any skills of the crew they came from (I guess that if they have been reduced to survivor status that they weren't all that good). Survivors may not pull sledges, but may pilot a ship with the adverse modifiers given on page 6 under Survivor Cards. Starvation modifiers would be for consecutive turns. Randy Moorehead - 12:34pm Aug 17, 1998 PST (#39 of 42) Currently playtesting: Rus! Even more SRD: Crew reduces to Survivors; Survivors reduced are eliminated. No, dogs cannot suffer frostbite; they are the only ones hit by Piblokto (which may include the effects of severe weather). The Cairns question: this line was accidently left in from an earlier version. Here is the rule: Cairns may be created on land or ice. Mark the location on the Expedition log sheet. Cairns may contain any amount of food and/or equipment. Once the lattitude is left, cairns may be visited/found on future turns only by the expedition that created them. The expedition must roll a 1-4 on 1d6 to find the cairn. Searching for a cairn costs just like hunting (no advancement possible). Searching for a cairn may be combined with hunting during a turn. Consider this an optional rule, that must be agreed upon before play begins.