One Multi Or 3 Micros And A Mystery

[+bons]

Here's the gist:

 

A Harry Potter themed cache (due to these great Harry Potter logbooks I found) consiting of 3 micros and an ammo box, all further than .1 mile from each other but close enough to all be done at once.

 

Each of the micros will be slightly puzzle based. For example multi#1 will read something like:

Up above the Octogon

Gryffindor's magic delivers

Watching over the northeast

To seek over the river

But Slytherin hides down within

The haunted tree's protection

one hundred fifty feet away

In a southwest direction.

 

The micros are altoid sized or larger, and will each hold a logbook. In each logbook will be two numbers in the following form:

A=7

F=3

 

The final cache will be at cordinates N##.ABC W##.DEF

It will also contain a HP logbook, as well as a good amount of HP swag.

 

Technically, I could just call this a multi and use one of the micros as the starting location but making it 4 separate caches has it's own appeal to me as well.

 

Thoughts?

[+CO Admin]

Whats the question??

[+Renegade Knight]

3 micros and a mystery is my vote.

[+webscouter.]

Three micros and a mystery.

[+Sparky-Watts]

Whats the question??

Isn't that Larry King's line?

[+robert]

You could do them all separately, especially if they take some work to get to each stage. If they're relatively easy, might as well just make it a multi.

 

There are cache "series" out there, so you can do that with yours, just don't make them too easy from one to another.

 

An example of a series starts with The Cat's Meow. Each next part in the series is listed in the instructions, and you should do them in order (though it's easiest this way anyway).

Edited December 9, 2003 by mrkablooey

[cutsandbruises]

Will we need our invisibility cloak to be the FTF this one?

Make sure there are no dementors stashed in any of the micros until the final cache. Then make the FTF fight off the dementors before they can log it.

[+Crow T Robot]

Due to the close proximity of all 4 caches, this one certainly seems more appropriate as a multi. It would be more viable as 4 individual caches if there was a much greater distance between all the caches. The guideline for cache saturation contains similar language.

[+bons]

I'm not sure what "relatively easy" means but I'm thinking somewhere on the low end of a 2/2 for each of them (suitable for child and parent without being a walk in the park).

 

Unfortunately that leaves me with 2 votes for "3 micros and a mystery" and 2 votes for "multi". On the plus side I feel a lot better about being undecided.

[+bons]

Possible change in plans:

 

If I make it a 4 part multi, is the following legal?

Stage 1: Greater than .1 mile from the nearest cache

Stage 2: Greater than .1 mile from the nearest cache

Stage 3: LESS than .1 mile from the nearest cache (but well over 300')

Stage 4: Greater than .1 mile from the nearest cache

 

The reason I ask this is that there's a feature of the park area that I would really like to highlight but had planned on not using because of the .1 mile rule. I seem to recall reading the the first and last part of the multi had to be .1 mile away, but I was unsure about any caches in between.

[+SylvrStorm]

I'd say make it a multi, unless there's a good reason for making them separate caches (significant distance apart, placed by different owners, etc.) The difference between this and a series of themed caches is that they are meant to fit together (i.e. you can't do the final unless you do the earlier ones). That gives them a stronger tie, so I'd do it as a multi.

 

I'd also point out (though it may already be obvious to everyone) that the order you do the micros is irrelevant, so there's no need to specify a first, second, etc. Instead, just call them the clue micros and the final cache. Unless of course they are physically in a line along a trail or something, but nothing like that has been mentioned.

 

For the starting cache coordinates, consider using parking coords.

 

SylvrStorm

[FallenFaery]

I think it depends on how much greater than .1 miles apart they are. There have been great series caches out there but the walk between are usually about .2 or more.

[+yumitori]

Given your revised plan, it sounds like it's time for you to contact your local approver and get their take on it.

[Keystone]

It's normally just fine for intermediate stages of the same multicache to be less than 528 feet apart. The 528 foot rule is designed to prevent confusion and keep a lid on cache density between separate geocaches. Thus, each stage of your planned multicache needs to be at least 528 feet from any other active geocache.

 

Now, if two stages of your multicache were 48 feet apart, your friendly cache reviewer would pull you aside and explain that it's quite possible for someone to stumble upon stage three without finding stage two. But at 300 feet separation you ought to be fine.

 

Go write that puppy up.

[+robert]

I'd say make it a multi, unless there's a good reason for making them separate caches (significant distance apart, placed by different owners, etc.)  The difference between this and a series of themed caches is that they are meant to fit together (i.e. you can't do the final unless you do the earlier ones).  That gives them a stronger tie, so I'd do it as a multi.

 

I agree. It probably WOULD be better as a multi, especially after re-reading what you said. If they're going to be .1 apart, make it a multi. Even though it's legit as per the rules, that's a bit too close to be more than one cache.

 

I'd also point out (though it may already be obvious to everyone) that the order you do the micros is irrelevant, so there's no need to specify a first, second, etc.  Instead, just call them the clue micros and the final cache.  Unless of course they are physically in a line along a trail or something, but nothing like that has been mentioned.

 

My reference to that was the specific cache series I referenced. The caches must be done in sequence if you want to complete the story. If this is what the OP wanted to do (tell a story), then doing them in sequence is key. Otherwise a simple multi is fine.

 

Edited December 10, 2003 by mrkablooey