Stalking people on horseback

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Dennis
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Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:46 am

Stalking people on horseback

Post by Dennis »

It feels like an oversight that we, hidden and stealthed, can put the effort to remain hidden and continue stalking someone closely as they travel through wilderness terrain on horseback. I think that the stalker should be outpaced and left behind, with a similar message being told to them.

Perhaps stalking could be expanded to allow a skilled tracker to STALK a specific set of recent prints so as to allow for auto travel following a set of prints so that the ability to chase someone isn't lost.
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Acarin
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Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Acarin »

Lets just suspend disbelief on that one. The travel rt difference is accumulated when you get to your destination...
You reach toward ((DEV Rias)) ... Pull(d225([1]x)):214 vs Mark(d1100):714 = -500 (-222%)
You notice ((DEV Rias)) glance your way, causing you to quickly withdraw your hand from his wool
drawstring pouch (open).
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
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Irylia
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Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Irylia »

I agree with the OP. Urban areas I could understand because there's plenty of coverage and obstacles preventing moving at great speed. Possibly difficult terrain areas like hills or heavy forest, but not open wilderness in plains or roads where stealth already may face penalties for other reasons. It should be way harder to remain unseen, much less keep up with an animal meant for making travel faster and easier than going on foot.
Dennis
Posts: 218
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:46 am

Re: Stalking people who are on horseback

Post by Dennis »

We had a brief discussion on the topic on the chat after this was posted, here's a summary of the talking points.

Counter point: Horses shouldn't be an automatic way to get rid of a tail. As a gameplay mechanic there hsould be some means of stealthily following someone who is riding a horse without them knowing it, without being forced to invest skill points into other trees.



Suggestion: Maybe a different command should be added - Tail - instead of Stalk, for those kinds of situations. You follow at a distance, but aren't necessarily well-hidden. Without a crowd or any kind of foliage to hide behind, what are you doing exactly to stay out of sight? Crawling on the ground?
Regarding tracking: Tracking does take time, yes, but you still end up in the same place. Though it would be great if tracking allowed you to just see the continued trail rather than having to reup the command and RT each room.
Stalking someone who is on horseback: I could see being able to stalk someone in a town or whatever while they're on horseback, because they're not moving around at a full gallop. The inability to stalk a horseback person should only apply in the wilderness where speed statistic is taken into consideration. A stalker should be able to keep up with a mule, for example.

"someone on horseback travelling at speed greater than 0 should not be able to be secretly tailed by someone using the stalk mechanic".

I agree that a sleuthy character should be able to tail them, but I do not think that the STALK mechanic should be the all encompassing mechanic by which it's done, especially since the only affect that it has on a stalker is traveltime. It does not prevent you from engaging them at an ambush unlikely at their target destination
it logistically makes no sense for me to travel across the world on horseback being followed by someone in hiding, who then leaps out at me and assassinates me while they've got 120 traveltime because traveltime is not roundtime - and there is nothing stopping them from doing that.

Discussion point: it makes no sense for someone on horseback to lead 3 other people faster than they could independently move.
Agreement: When you're grouped, the riders should logically be moving a slower pace in order to allow for their group members to travel along, unless the mount is permitting a second rider. This doesn't account for any larger groups than two, though. At the moment, group pace is not slowed down for group members following a leader. That is to say, a laden beast of burden travels at the same speed as its leader. The slowest members of the party are brought to the fastest speed.
Last edited by Dennis on Mon Mar 29, 2021 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Always remember that we are a community before anything else. Before being a 'game' or a 'world' we are a bunch of folk who get together to have fun."
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Rias
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Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Rias »

This is an oversight right next the one where people on foot travel at the pace of their mounted group leader going at a full gallop. One shouldn't be able to follow - let alone carefully stalk - someone going full speed on horseback when one is on foot.

The group movement thing will be updated so that the group goes only as fast as the slowest group member, and in the case of stalking the stalker will simply be left behind if their wilderness movement speed is slower than the one they're stalking.
<Rias> PUT ON PANTS
<Fellborn> NO
Acarin
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:49 pm

Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Acarin »

Seriously, Rias? So having a horse is all that is necessary to not be stalked?
You reach toward ((DEV Rias)) ... Pull(d225([1]x)):214 vs Mark(d1100):714 = -500 (-222%)
You notice ((DEV Rias)) glance your way, causing you to quickly withdraw your hand from his wool
drawstring pouch (open).
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
Acarin
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:49 pm

Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Acarin »

And meanwhile, I can't even follow people on foot into the wilderness...
You reach toward ((DEV Rias)) ... Pull(d225([1]x)):214 vs Mark(d1100):714 = -500 (-222%)
You notice ((DEV Rias)) glance your way, causing you to quickly withdraw your hand from his wool
drawstring pouch (open).
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
User avatar
Rias
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Joined: Sun Sep 03, 2017 4:06 pm
Location: Wandering Temicotli

Re: Stalking people who are on horseback

Post by Rias »

Galloping away across the country on a swift mount seems to me like a perfectly acceptable strategy to escape pursuers who are on foot, whether said pursuers are stalking or not. Pursuers may want to either make their move before their quarry can get to a horse, or take up the Tracking skill to follow their quarry's tracks across the wilderness and catch up with them later.

Moving into the wilderness breaking stealth is a bug as well. Not intended mechanics.
<Rias> PUT ON PANTS
<Fellborn> NO
Acarin
Posts: 202
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:49 pm

Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Acarin »

Tracking does not actually allow you to follow anybody so it's basically another way to drop stalking (many already exist) without a solution in place. Even if a solution is put in place, I'm guessing it will take an insane amount of skill points for it to actually be useful.
You reach toward ((DEV Rias)) ... Pull(d225([1]x)):214 vs Mark(d1100):714 = -500 (-222%)
You notice ((DEV Rias)) glance your way, causing you to quickly withdraw your hand from his wool
drawstring pouch (open).
Roundtime: 5 seconds.
Ephemeralis
Posts: 87
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:29 am

Re: Stalking people on horseback

Post by Ephemeralis »

This could be a good opportunity to expand a set of Ranger abilities to enable wilderness stalking/tracking on horseback, as well as providing horse breeds/equipment that aid those with stealthy inclinations. Or perhaps other exotic mounts that favor those interested in stalking.
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