Delving 101

1.0 Introduction

Dark caves, forbidding ruins or lost cities - the lure of high adventure often calls a certain folks into places that most people would otherwise avoid. And rightly so: More often than not these places are inhabited by monsters, dark cults, forgotten traps and other hazards.

Many enter these sites with high hopes but ill preparation. Those who live near the major temples know a ritual that is often fondly called "the naked run". It's the run of those who have perished during their expeditions and now have to venture into the same dangerous place again - only now without their prized equipment.

The aim of this lecture series is to promote a safer way to delve into these places. There are a few simple behaviors that can help you survive these events.

2.0 The Basics

2.1 Information Before you don your armour and stride into the nearest cave, brandishing your torch, you should at least gather some information about your destination. Try to find out any legends about the place. Can you learn who inhabits it? If you are lucky, you'll even find a map, or a guide who already knows the place. To that end, scour libraries or old archives. Make sure that you talk to fellow adventurers.

Share this information with all in your party. Not bit by bit, but before you start your quest.

2.2 Preparation Based upon what you've learned about your destination, you can decide on which equipment to take, or what spells you need to prepare. If you enter a place that is filled with spiders for instance, you'll want to take potions of restoration, as well as antidotes for the various poisons.

Don't forget to see if you can get immunizing items or spells, or to get weapons that are suited to your most probable enemies.

Stock up on bandages as well as curative potions. Especially the bandages are quite important: A potion helps only you, while bandages can mean the difference between life and death for a fallen friend.

2.3 Communication Talk to your teammates. Learn what they can and cannot do, agree for short and distinct warning calls and establish who will do what task during your outing.

During the actual outing, you should always inform each other of your status: Do you still have sufficient bandages? Is someone gravely injured? Are you running out of arrows? If someone spots something, tell others. When in doubt, call out a "stop", when you feel that explaining might take a while.

3.0 Formation

This is the most difficult but also the most important part of a successful and safe outing. Not everyone is equally suited to every position. Let me list you a few basic positions and functions:

3.1 Frontline Those who are heavily armoured and capable of taking some amount of damage without being overly affected by it should stick to the front. Your main task is to keep any foes from getting at your weaker comrades. You block doors and corridors and engage the hard-hitting foes.

Don't rush at the enemy, let them come to you, except when you are sure that closing in will give you considerable terrain advantage. Keep in mind that charging the enemy will create a wide space between you and your companions. Such spaces are usually quickly filled in with enemies, cutting you off from your healing support.

Generally all members of the party should consider the frontline as a mobile wall: Don't move past it, especially not during combat situations. Those who make up the frontline should strive to maintain just this: A line. Stay close together and don't allow enemies past you. This is admittedly a hard task, but a lot hinges on this.

3.2 Archers If you can competently hold a bow, crossbow or can otherwise throw implements or spells of destruction from afar, you will find yourself in this group. Most of the time the folks that are in this group wear only light armor, so you will have to rely on your front liners to stay unharmed. If they let any foe through to you, you will have a severe problem.

But as long as you are free to shoot or throw, you will be a much appreciated boon. A good group of archers can considerably support the front liners, to the extend that they only have to fight half the number of foes or sometimes even none at all. For this to work though, you can't afford to stay too far away from the frontline. So when moving along, don't tarry too far behind!

3.3 Healers While they often don't fight at all, their contribution is most vital: A fighter who occupies the frontline cannot afford the time to mind his own healing, or to quaff potions. Your sole task is to monitor your comrades and to keep them patched up. If you do your job right, your frontline will never fail! Consider taking invisibility potions so that most enemies won't be able to attack you.

3.4 Scouts Those who live in constant danger of having their home invaded by adventurers understandably seek means to protect themselves. They set up ambushes, traps and other surprises to keep you out. You will have to rely on your scouts to check the way ahead, otherwise you will blindly run into these surprises (Which is often known as the "Order of Gorethar Method". While I applaud it's effectiveness, I couldn't honestly support it)

Scouts should be the only unit that actually ventures ahead of your frontline, and should do so only in controlled moments, retreating behind the frontline as soon as the enemy is engaged.

3.5 Mages "Fingerwagglin" is what an old friend of mine calls it. The roles a mage can assume are as numerous as there are books in a library. Some may join the archers, others see their calling as healers and supporters and even others have perfected the ways of steelcasting and step up to the frontline. Tell your fellows what you can do best and determine which role you are best suited to.

Apart from this, your place should be in the center of the group, protected by your allies and ready to boost their attacks.

3.6 Roaming Reserve Often also known as rearguard. Those of your group who are most versatile should pick this admittedly unglamorous position. It is not uncommon that unforeseen things happen, or that you suddenly find some foes in that area behind you that you thought to be safe by now. The roaming reserve is there to take care of these things. Be it a Psion who has jumped right into your archer group, or a group of Cave Spiders which has just lowered itself right behind you - your rearguard has to spot these things, take them out if possible and alert everyone else of the new threat.

3.7 Leader Given perfect communication, this position should be optional. Alas, things are seldom that perfect, so you really should elect one of your midst to be the leader for your venture. The main task is to monitor the formation of the party and to maintain it by calling back those who break it. It's also the leaders task to determine which way to head next, when to stop, and so on. Consulting with the rest of the group before doing so is of course greatly advised.

4.0 Retreat

Especially agree on the amount of risk you are each prepared to take. Keep in mind that you are not a military unit: For those reaching the mission objective can be paramount for the greater picture. "If you don't take that hill, the rest of your army can't advance."

A group of adventurers is something else. You do this to find treasures, for the pursuit of knowledge or just for thrill. None of these can be enjoyed if you get killed in the process. So, when you notice that one of you shouldn't go on, or if you realize that you've bitten off more than you can chew: Retreat.

Don't rush off all at once willy-nilly though. If you can, let your mages create some distraction to cover you. If not, don't stand in each others way. Those who are farthest behind run, those at the frontline should stay long enough that the healers have tended to the fallen and then run like hell. If the healers can't reach those fallen fast enough, or if the situation is really dire, run ahead anyway.

A coordinated retreat will help you in many ways. If you botch this, you'll end up with more casualties than if not. It is entirely possible for a scout armed with invisibility potions and a rod of resurrection to gather a lone fallen comrade. If it's half of your party whose bodies are lying there - you are having quite a problem.

Generally speaking you should aim at not getting into these situations at all. Always have a scout check out any threats ahead and try to figure out if you can take them before even engaging them. If things appear way too dangerous, they probably are. At this point you should consider taking another route, or at least getting reinforcements.

5.0 Final Thoughts

With these few things you should be able to enter the next dangerous place without getting killed in the process.