[The Gate Master]

Originally Posted by Papillon Noir

I'm not going to get away from this heavily equipped guy without incapacitating him because I'm unarmed and he is just too close behind me. Five minutes a not a lot of time and it seems like he would chase me no matter what. I don't have time to set up a trap yet, so I'm going to have to bide myself some time.

A good judgement of the situation which picked you up perception points. You made a decision for what your course of action should entail. Going against a violent killer isn't necessarily logical but that is only the initial idea. How you carry out the plan may be very logical.

The first thing I need to do is ditch the vase. I can come back for it later and right now it's just slowing me down and it could get broken. With all the large branches and pine needles on the ground, I can very easily hide the backpack with the vase in it, off to the side. I can then drag the moped towards the hill to make it appear that I tried to ride it up the hill to the road, but realized it was futile and ditched it. I can then come back to where I started and shimmy up a tree before the guy comes into view. With all the pine needles on the ground, it will be hard to track my footprints and with him being so close behind, there's a real good chance that he'll run right past the tree and towards the road, especially with my ditched moped visibly in that direction.

A good perception of the situation. You examined your surroundings and decided to ditch the vase. This could help you in two ways. If the killer finds it he may be more influenced to call of the search, and if he doesn't, you can always retrieve it later. You didn't pick up points for the latter because it wasn't the focus of the task, but a smart move nevertheless. You also gained logic points for the use of the moped. Not so much the tree, because all he needs to do is look up and see you. But the use of the moped makes this less likely.

After he's safely out of sight and hearing range. I'll jump down from the tree and high-tail it over to the tool shed. After I kick in the door I need to work quickly as he may have heard me, but that's okay since I want him to come back this way now. Every tool shed has a pick-axe or rake or something pointy that you use to till and I am going to use that to booby trap the door. I'm also assuming that there will be some rope, though if there isn't I could use part of my clothing if necessary.

If he did hear you, you sacrificed some time but you made a good judgement call on the shed and set a course of action that would get the killer out of your way for good. Perception points gained.

So, I'm going to rig a trap where the pick-axe will swing down from above the door frame when the shed door is opened, the pointy end going into his face/neck and hopefully killing him. I'm going to grab some shears to take with me before setting the trap.

A bit more detail as to how you plan to set the trap would have been good, but it was still a logical move, and very creative.

After setting the trap, I'm going to close the shed door so that it's just cracked. Then I'm going to cut my hand with the shears and smear blood on the door frame and drip some blood on the ground. Then grab a nearby large branch, half-bury part of it then snap it in half and scream bloody-murder! I'll smear some more blood from my cut hand on the protruding broken branch, use part of my clothing as a bandage, and then run and climb a tree (careful not to get blood on the trunk), several yards away. I will carry the shears with me to use as a back-up weapon.

Once again, very creative. I think luring the killer into the shed is a good idea and the plan itself seems relatively easy to set up, and even if certain things go wrong, such as the branch making a noise before it's buried, it doesn't hinder the plan. You were also logical in your choice of taking a back up weapon.

The plan is that he will hear my scream (and hopefully the branch breaking), figure I got injured and come to finish me off. If he doesn't hear me, he will probably come this way eventually, figuring I may hide or look for a weapon here. When he approaches the shed he'll see the protruding bloody branch and a trail of blood going into the shed. Hopefully it will look like I injured my leg or something and dragged myself into the shed to nurse my wounds. He comes in after me, and eliminate himself. I can then take his car keys, retrieve my vase, locate his car, and drive away.

A good plan that doesn't require too much. It is easy to set up and likely to work. You thought about the location and the killers reaction to events. There are certain flaws in the plan but you perceive the situation well and you were both creative and logical.

If this plan fails, either he dodges the pick-axe or comes to shed but doesn't go in, I will be far away enough (but still elevated enough to see the shed) that I can quietly slink down the tree and run to the gas station. There, I can retrieve the gun and fill an empty gas can or two with gasoline. I can hold up there until he appears and if I am unsuccessful in shooting him, I can sneak out the back, run a trail of gasoline and light it on fire, blowing the gas station and hopefully him with it. Ideally, I will be able to kill him and not have his body explode to steal his keys (and car), otherwise I'll will have go back for the moped and drag it to the road to leave the area. At any rate, I will retrieve the vase to take with me.

I wasn't too impressed with the backup plan. Once the killer knows you set a trap, and he already knew you were in the area due to your scream, he would be unlikely to miss you drop down a tree and run to a gas station. Also, getting there means either traveling five miles down a road or even further through a difficult forest landscape. There is also the chance that the gas station owners are pally with the killer and even that he called ahead.

As for the stream, I don't see how that would help me. The quarry just seems too far away and a place to get cornered. Also, I don't know what kind of "animals" are there and they could be just as deadly as my stalker.

A good judgment of the area. Perception points gained.

So, that's my grand plan and I hope I survive! :D

A good, creative plan, which was more about eliminating the target than fleeing and hoping that he didn't find you. The actual trap seemed informed and intelligent, as the killer, with a shotgun, would be unlikely to fear the shed. However, there is always the chance he shoots through the door, fearing you have a weapon. In this case, the backup plan seemed likely to fail.

Creativity: 4
Logic: 3
Perception: 4

Total mark: 11 It was a good plan but it failed to fully excel. The backup plan wasn't very good and the decision to kill the killer would have got him out of your hair but the fact that he's trigger happy and has a shotgun makes it seem a bit hopeful.

Now, as for your fate.

You quickly cover the vase in branches and needles, then pull the moped up the hill. It's hard work but you manage it. You climb high up a tree and sit there as still as possible.

The killer arrives on the scene and runs straight past the tree to the moped, which he inspects. He pulls out his phone and calls his wife to come out in the car. Then, he crosses the road to have a look in the woods over there.

Once out of sight, you drop down from the tree and quietly run to the shed, kicking in the door. You set up a trap which involves the pickaxe. It takes a lot of time but eventually you get it right. You break the branch and use the sheers to cut yourself and set the blood, then climb up the tree.

The killer hears the distant sound of the shed door opening and calls his wife, telling her to make her way slowly along to road towards the shed. He hears the branch snap. He runs to the shed too, not taking too much time to arrive. The blood is very fresh and so he assumes that the injury was just sustained. He warily approaches the shed and fires the gun through the door. Weakened by the kick earlier, it swings open and the pickaxe swings down. Being suspicious, he jumps back and only receives a minor injury from the pickaxe. Angered, he starts firing randomly around,

You wait in fear up the tree, many shots coming close to you. Sticking to your plan, you carefully try to slink down the tree. He sees you and fires, but is out of shells. As he reloads, you jump at him with the shears, making a good shot. You fatally wound him and search him for his keys. You hurry back to where you left the vase and retrieve it. As you walk away, proud and confident, not worrying about the killer anymore, you are suddenly taken aback by the loud bang and pain in your back. You fall to the floor. The killers wife, with his shotgun, stands over you and finishes the job.

You die.

The reason you died was due to a series of small events that built up. By giving the killer the impression you took to the road, he called out his wife. She was ready in the car. Then, when he heard the noise, he called his wife, but told her to go slowly in case you tried to double back. Your plan to kill the killer with the pickaxe failed because of his wariness, but you did injure him, allowing him to kill you. You took his keys but not his gun, not thinking you would need it. His wife, who took her time, arrived and found her husband. She took the gun and ran through the woods, knowing you hadn't taken to the roads because she didn't see you. When she found you, you were confident, and so weren't quite as aware of your surroundings. However, it was a good plan, and would have worked if it wasn't for these small occurrences.