Mignon nods farewell to you all and gets back in the boat and begins rowing offshore.

"Good luck!"

You are now a good distance behind enemy lines along the Northern shore.

Irraxan will use his invisibility to rise up in the air above to have a quick look around (and Z can use his senses as well).

Z suggests that perhaps the best thing to start with is to find a large goblin camp and observe from a distance. What we need to know first is, whether there are messengers carrying orders travelling regularly. Or maybe logistical supply runs. Either way, we could then try to follow those back. If it's a messenger route, we might find the person/thing in charge, if it's a supply route maybe we can find their supply depot and set fire to it all

Randall:

”Wise council—information first, then discernment to decide how best to use that knowledge, then decisive action to cripple the enemy forces, eventually destroying their leadership and their will to fight,” replies Randall to Zenodor.

"Sounds like a plan, which way should we go?"

"I suggest we head inland from here, towards the nearest camp of the goblin army - but being careful to approach such that we remain well behind it and out of sight. Perhaps we can find a wooded hillside or something that offers both a vantage point, and concealment."

You do find a dry riverbed that runs close to a goblin camp. The advantage is you will be out of sight on your approach as the goblins are focused forward on the city of Laurentiis. The disadvantage, you're sort of boxed in on both sides and only have mobility to go back and forth along the dry riverbed.

(Want to try the dry riverbed?)
(Or spend some more time and try and find another option?)

(Z is happy with the dried riverbed unless someone else has a different view?)

(If no hills nearby, the dry riverbed should suit fine)

Petcan approves dry riverbed plan

So, is your plan to stay in the dry riverbed and observe from there?

Or, get as close as the dry riverbed will allow and then try to stealth closer, or even into a goblin camp?

Or something else entirely?

"I suggest the familiars that can turn invisible do some scouting before we do anything."

Randall:

"Sending invisible scouts ahead sounds like a great idea.  I'd like to get off the beach and go at least partway towards the goblin camp using the dry riverbed," says Randall.

"Agreed, let's move closer and see what is there to decide on next plans"

Quote from Brian_Avery >>

So, is your plan to stay in the dry riverbed and observe from there?

Or, get as close as the dry riverbed will allow and then try to stealth closer, or even into a goblin camp?

Or something else entirely?

 (Get reasonably close in the riverbed, so we're able to observe the camp overall, but are not close enough to risk discovery and far enough away to be able to move out again). 

Quote from Stormbringer4729 >>

"I suggest the familiars that can turn invisible do some scouting before we do anything."

 "Excellent. I shall send Irraxan. As I said earlier, let's try to find messenger or supply routes. I fancy we should be able to find out where their orders and their supplies come from." 

You find a place in the riverbed that runs about 100 feet from a medium sized goblin camp. (Goblin camps pepper the landscape and they come in 3 sizes, small, medium and large. There are lots of medium and small but not as many large.)

Irraxan proceeds to scout invisibly and sees some runners or messengers going from camp to camp but none heading away from or toward the siege line. He overhears common enough orders being sent and received, mixed in are disgruntled comments on the failed sewer tunnel plan.

(If any of you want to investigate further by getting closer, or entering the camp include a Stealth check in your post.)

(How many goblins are in small, medium and large camps? (approximately from what we and Irraxan have seen))

Petcan is perfectly happy to wait for Irraxan to relay information before we act. He'll just be keeping watch in the meantime

OOC. I presume disguises (even magical) are out of the question, as none of us would pass as a Small creature (I think we are all Medium). Do any of the messengers pass near the riverbed or some other place where we could ambush and capture one (without being spotted by the rest of the goblins in the camp)? Maybe it's time to have a live prisoner to interrogate. If not a messenger, could we try to find an picket guard or similar?

Small camps have 12 to 20 goblins, medium camps have above that up to 50 or so, and large camps have too many coming and going to hazard a accurate guess but are easily over 100.

No goblins come anywhere near the dry riverbed. If you want to try for a lone goblin it would require leaving the dry riverbed and making a Stealth check of some kind.

Over a short amount of time passing there are 4 options you could try for, or not.

1. Goblin messenger/runner.
2. Goblin picket guard.
3. Goblin relieving himself.
4. Goblin wandering drunk.

I could make someone invisible to go snag someone if they want