Gnawnian Express Station

The railroad's come to town! Board the Gnawnian Express and get set for high adventure in the Old West! Guard the supplies and protect the train to ensure its safe arrival on its perilous journey across Gnawnia!

Description and Requirements

The Gnawnian Express Station is a location in the Varmint Valley region requiring a minimum rank of Lord/Lady and the Whisker Woods Clearing Map Piece to enter. Mice are unable to steal a hunters' supplies in the Gnawnian Express Station.

In this location, the Heads-up Display initially shows a timetable of trains about to depart. Trains have mechanics similar to a Tournament, where members of the same tournament team can ride together on the train and receive a reward for completing the journey. Train names are chosen randomly, with the first word from the list:

Brittle, Bronze, Coal, Copper, Dawn, Dusk, Dusty, Fast, Fiesty, Funky, Garden, Gnawnian, Gold,
Grand, Great, Iron, Mean, Mountain, Pony, Quirky, Royal, Scorched, Silver, Soaring, Speedy,
Steel, Super, Turbo, Twilight, Valley

and the second word from the list:

Ace, Cavalier, Continental, Dancer, Deluxe, Diamond, Evangeline, Emperor, Golem, Hawk, Heart,
Intercity, Jack, King, Landracer, Limited, Monarch, Queen, Sparrow, Storm, Thunder, Zephyr

Once the time arrives for the train to depart, the mouse population changes through three phases of equal duration, where each phase has an associated Weapon with extra effectiveness during that phase. As the train passes through the Supply Depot (Supply Grabber trap), Raider River (Bandit Deflector trap), and Daredevil Canyon (Engine Doubler trap) phases, the Heads-up Display changes according to each phase to track the progress of the train and give hints on which Charms to use for attracting the mice that will award the most points. Any Law trap will do (especially when the hunter has not collected enough resources to purchase the phase-specific trap). Note that a hunter must generally click on the Heads-up Display to claim points; merely earning Royal Supply Crates, Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent, and Fuel Nuggets as loot does not aid the team's score.

Shops

These are the shops that can be found in the Claw Shot City:

• Charm Shoppe
• Trapsmith

Gnawnian Express Station Mice

Non-Specific

The following mice can be attracted at any time.

Mouse	Points	Gold	Mouse Group	Loot
Angry Train Staff	3,500	2,500	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Bartender	4,750	5,000	Wild Bunch (Crew)
Mysterious Traveller	4,250	5,000	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Passenger	4,000	6,000	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Photographer	5,000	7,000	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Stowaway	4,000	2,000	Train Robbers (Passenger)	Fool's Gold
Stuffy Banker	8,000	11,500	Wild Bunch (Crew)
Train Conductor	6,000	3,500	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Travelling Barber	5,500	3,000	Train Robbers (Passenger)
Upper Class Lady	4,500	8,000	Wild Bunch (Crew)

Supply Depot

The following mice can only be attracted during the Supply Depot phase.

Mouse	Points	Gold	Mouse Group	Loot
Crate Camo	5,000	7,000	Train Robbers (Depot Worker)	Royal Supply Crate Iron Pellet
Cute Crate Carrier	4,000	6,000	Train Robbers (Depot Worker)	Royal Supply Crate Iron Pellet
Supply Hoarder	8,000	12,000	Train Robbers (Depot Worker)	Royal Supply Crate Iron Pellet
Warehouse Manager	7,500	14,000	Train Robbers (Depot Worker)	Royal Supply Crate Iron Pellet

Raider River

The following mice can only be attracted during the Raider River phase, with the correct charm armed.

Mouse	Points	Gold	Mouse Group	Loot
Dangerous Duo	11,000	14,000	Train Robbers (Raider)	Copper Bead
Mouse With No Name	8,500	11,500	Train Robbers (Raider)	Copper Bead
Sharpshooter	15,000	16,000	Train Robbers (Raider)	Copper Bead
Steel Horse Rider	9,000	12,000	Train Robbers (Raider)	Copper Bead

The following mice can only be attracted during the Raider River phase on a trap check

Mouse	Points	Gold	Mouse Group	Loot
Automorat	6,000	8,000	Train Robbers (Automice)	Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellent Copper Bead
Cannonball	5,000	7,500	Train Robbers (Automice)	Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellent Copper Bead
Hookshot	8,000	9,000	Train Robbers (Automice)	Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellent Copper Bead
Stoutgear	7,000	8,500	Train Robbers (Automice)	Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellent Copper Bead

Daredevil Canyon

The following mice can only be attracted during the Daredevil Canyon phase.

Mouse	Points	Gold	Mouse Group	Loot
Black Powder Thief	9,000	8,000	Train Robbers (Fueler)
Coal Shoveler	6,000	3,500	Wild Bunch (Crew)	Black Powder Charm Fuel Nugget Tin Scrap
Fuel	5,000	4,000	Train Robbers (Fueler)
Magmatic Crystal Thief	13,000	11,000	Train Robbers (Fueler)
Magmatic Golem	18,000	17,000	Train Robbers (Fueler)
Train Engineer	8,000	4,500	Train Robbers (Fueler)

Hunting Strategy

While hunting in the Gnawnian Express Station, a hunter may board a train, if the hunter is a member of a Hunting Team. Trains run according to a schedule, and each train has its own name, duration and maximum capacity. A team can have up to 5 members aboard a single train.

Hunting on a train is similar to doing a tournament, apart from the fact that it is collaborative rather than competitive. The goal is to collect a target amount of Train Points throughout the journey, and hunters will be awarded loot according to both their own team's performance as well as the performances of all the teams combined. The community goal is determined by the rate of 2 points per hour per hunter (so a train holding 75 hunters for 24 hours has a target of 3600 points), then each team goal is determined by the number of teams registered (in the same example, if 50 teams registered, then each team is responsible for 72 points towards the community goal, regardless of whether there is 1 or 5 players from the team riding the train). There is an interesting effect from how the points are assigned - if every team participating has a full component of 5 players, then fewer teams can register for the train, and the team's goal will be higher than if only one or two hunters per team register but get more teams involved. On the other hand, meeting the team goal requires less effort from each team member if multiple teammates are on the same train, in part because the progress towards higher-point accomplishments are shared across the team.

Hunting on a Train

A train journey has three phases, namely the Supply Depot, the Raider River and the Daredevil Canyon. Each phase requires a unique hunting strategy, and has different mice.

Supply Depot

When the journey begins, the following message will appear on the journal.

The journey begins!

The Train train has embarked on its epic journey along the Gnawnian Express Railway! We must work together as MouseHunters to protect it until it reaches its destination!

First stop is the Supply Depot to gather supplies for the train that are to be delivered to parts of Gnawnia!

Hunting with Supply Schedule Charms armed will allow a hunter to attract a Warehouse Manager Mouse. Upon capturing it, the following message is displayed, and for the next five hunts, every hunter in the team will be able to attract Supply Hoarders (if more than one teammate is on the same train, then the five hunts are split across teammates, and not necessarily the one that triggered the rush).

Caught a big one!

Hunter caught a Warehouse Manager Mouse! Supply Hoarder mice will be scrambling out in the open for 5 turns! Supply Hoarder mice carry up to twice as many supplies as the Warehouse Manager Mouse, so I should catch them while I can!

Mice in this phase drop Royal Supply Crates. Loading these crates onto the train will give the team Train Points, and display the following message on the journal.

I wish I had a forklift!

I loaded X Royal Supply Crates onto the train, earning X Train Points!

Hunters also collect Iron Pellets during this phase. All Royal Supply Crates not loaded onto the train at the end of this stage will be lost.

Raider River

Upon entering the Raider River, the following message is displayed on the journal.

The train picks up some speed and starts to chug along!

Laden down with supplies, the Train is a tempting target for raiding mice! A wave of 10 Raiders are swarming the train, trying to smash their way inside! My team and I should equip the right charm to attract and capture these raiders!

There is an endless number of waves and defeating a wave will earn my team and the train extra points. We should try to defeat as many waves as possible!

The mice are also launching automated attacks during our hourly trap checks. Special robotic mice will always take the place of normal mice during trap checks, but they can also be encountered during normal hunts. They drop special mouse repellent that can aid us in depleting the raiding mice waves faster!

Any Royal Supply Crates not loaded onto the train have been left at the Supply Depot.

In this phase, hunters need to defeat waves of Raider mice. Each horn sound has a chance of attracting a Raider, while a trap check will attract a member of the Automice group.

Each wave has a total of 10, and catching a Raider will decrease the number by 1, apart from the Dangerous Duo which will decrease the number by 2. The wave is shared across all members of the team (all team members will see when any other member has reduced the mice remaining).

Raiders only attack one part of the train, the roof, door, or wheels, at a time, and the part being attacked will be indicated on the HUD. The part being attacked changes every hour, on the hour. To attract Raider mice, hunters will need to arm Roof Rack Charms, Door Guard Charms, or Greasy Glob Charms, depending on the part being attacked.

Upon defeating a wave, the team will be awarded an extra 10 Train Points, and the following message will be displayed.

My team broke through the wave!

Our victory earned the train an additional 10 Train Points! But there's no time to celebrate, as another wave of 10 Raiders is already clambering onto the train!

Automice have a chance of dropping Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellent, and using them will decrease the wave count by 1 each, and is accompanied by the following message.

The piercing blast of the Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent scared away X Raiders, earning X Train Points!

Hunters also collect Copper Beads during this phase. Any unused Raider B-Gone Mouse Repellents will be lost at the end of this phase.

Daredevil Canyon

Upon entering the Daredevil Canyon, the following message is displayed on the journal:

The train leaves the last of the raiders behind!

But it looks like those bitter mice have smashed down the Daredevil Canyon bridge! The Train should clear the gap just fine, but let's build up as much speed as possible to guarantee our landing.

The faster we go, the greater our reward!

Unused Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent was thrown overboard to lighten the train load!

The following hint is displayed when hovering over the Heads-up Display:

Use Fuel Nuggets to speed up the train!

The bridge is out! The train will safely clear the gap, but better build up some speed to be certain!

Collect Fuel Nuggets and toss them into the train engine to build up speed. The more nuggets you toss in at once, the bigger the speed boost and points will be!

There is no speed limit! The only limit is your mind.

In this phase, the goal is to collect Fuel Nuggets and stoke the train's engine. A hunter can obtain up to 20 nuggets; stoking with 1-10 nuggets is worth 1 point each; stoking with 11-19 is worth an additional point for every nugget beyond 10, and stoking with a full 20 nuggets includes an additional bonus of ??? points, for a maximum of ??? points per stoke. Each time the engine is stoked, a message is left in the journal:

Thanks to my furnace stoking, I have increased the train speed by X gnawts per hour, earning X Train Points!

In this phase, Train Engineer Mice drop Dusty Coal Charms (or a hunter can purchase them at the Charm Shoppe). Hunting with Dusty Coal Charms allows a chance to attract the Coal Shoveller Mouse who drops Black Powder Charms and more Fuel Nuggets. Hunting with Black Powder Charms allows a chance to attract the Black Powder Thief Mouse who drops Magmatic Crystal Charms and even more Fuel Nuggets. And hunting with Magmatic Crystal Charms allows a chance to attract Magmatic Crystal Thief and Magmatic Golem mice for the largest amount of nuggets (assuming the hunter has not already reached the cap of 20 nuggets).

Hunters also collect Tin Scraps as loot during this phase. Any unused Fuel Nugget will be lost at the end of this phase.

Train Station

At the end of the train ride, the following message is left in the Hunter's Journal:

The train launches through the air!

Launching itself off the end of the tracks at X gnawts per hour the Train soared through the air majestically. At the peak of our jump, the hunters onboard the train released the payload of supplies, making it rain onto the kingdom below. The King's Royal Supply Gatherers will be out in force to collect them soon.

During my brief weightlessness, I reflected upon what odds and hardships we fought against and am proud of my fellow hunters for successfully protecting and helping deliver the needed supplies!

The train safely crash-landed in the cushioned train yard below. I have disembarked and should now claim my reward!

A big cheer to the hunters of the Great Storm train!

Unused Fuel Nuggets were tossed away as they will soon crumble to dust.

Once the hunter claims their prize, this message is left in the Hunter's Journal:

I helped the train Train safely reach its destination on the Gnawnian Express!

My team reached the rank of X, scoring X Train Points toward the team goal of X.

The train as a whole reached the rank of X, scoring X Train Points toward the train goal of X.

In total, I claimed the following as a reward for protecting the train:

X Iron Pellets,

X Copper Beads,

X Tin Scraps,

X Train Badges,

X Fool's Gold,

X Gold,

X Points.

The base awards are determined by what percentage of points the team achieved towards the team goal, as follows:

Reward item	Duration	Goal achieved
		Sleeper (zZz)	Passenger (50%)	Engineer (75%)	Conductor (90%)	Tycoon (100%)
Iron Pellet	6 hours	1	1	1	1	2
	12 hours	1	2	2	2	3
	24 hours	1	3	4	4	6
Copper Bead	6 hours	1	1	1	1	2
	12 hours	1	2	2	2	3
	24 hours	1	3	4	4	6
Tin Scrap	6 hours	1	1	1	1	2
	12 hours	1	2	2	2	3
	24 hours	1	3	4	4	6
Train Badge	6 hours	1	3	3	3	5
	12 hours	1	5	6	6	9
	24 hours	2	9	11	12	18
Fool's Gold	6 hours	2	6	6	6	10
	12 hours	2	10	12	12	18
	24 hours	4	18	22	24	36
Gold	6 hours	1,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	5,000
	12 hours	1,000	5,000	6,000	6,000	9,000
	24 hours	2,000	9,000	11,000	12,000	18,000
Points	6 hours	3,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	20,000
	12 hours	4,000	20,000	24,000	24,000	36,000
	24 hours	8,000	36,000	44,000	48,000	72,000

Additionally, if the community reached at least the Passenger (50%) goal, a community bonus of up to 30% is added to the trap crafting supplies (Iron Pellet, Copper Bead, and Tin Scrap) reward, with the result being rounded up to the next integer. A Tycoon team can get a larger bonus than a Passenger team, and all teams get a bigger bonus if the community reached the Tycoon level.

Hunting Tips by Larry

YEEHAW! All aboard the Gnawnian Express!

The construction of the first trans-Gnawnian railroad is complete! Hunters are coming from all around to board the Gnawnian Express and journey across the land!

The King has tasked MouseHunters with the duty of securing a train filled with supplies bound for different parts of Gnawnia, ensuring its safe arrival!

Our goal as a collective group of several hunting teams is to collect supplies in the Supply Depot, defend the train from raiding mice when passing through Raider River, and then make the jump across the downed bridge over Daredevil Canyon!

The trains will be challenging at first, but hunters are rewarded for their efforts, so the better you do, the more you receive! The main goal is to work together with other hunters and any aid we provide is welcomed!

It's one big effort and teams will work together with other teams aboard their train to complete the journey successfully, so just do your best and enjoy the ride!

History and Trivia

• Gnawnian Express Station was released on 26 September 2013.

Links

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