Exploration Basics
Adventuring isn’t just combat. Much of your time will be spent exploring dangerous places, managing resources, and making decisions about how to proceed.
Time in the Dungeon
Underground, time is tracked in Turns (about 10 minutes each).
In a Turn, you can:
- Move cautiously through 1–2 rooms (checking corners, mapping, watching for danger)
- Or search a single room thoroughly
- Or force open a stuck door, pick a lock, or similar focused task
Rushing: You can cover more ground by moving quickly, but you’ll miss hidden dangers and can’t map properly.
What the Referee Tracks
Each Turn, the Referee rolls dice to see if something happens—an encounter, a warning sign, a light source guttering out, or the creeping onset of Fatigue. The more Turns you spend, the more rolls. The dungeon doesn’t wait for you.
This means:
- Every action costs time, and time costs rolls
- Searching everywhere is thorough but dangerous
- Sometimes the smart play is to move on
What Affects Your Chances
Noise. Combat, shouting, bashing doors, clanking armor—all increase the chance something hears you. A quiet party is a safer party.
Light. Your torch is a beacon. Monsters in the dark see you coming long before you see them. But without light, you’re blind.
Lingering. The longer you stay in one area, the more likely something finds you. Clear a room and move on, or accept the risk.
Rest. After about an hour (6 Turns) of exploration, you need to stop and rest for a Turn or risk Fatigue. Pushing through exhaustion gets people killed.
Time in the Wilderness
Overland, time is tracked in Watches (about 6 hours each). Four Watches make a day.
A typical day:
- Two watches of travel — the safe maximum
- One watch for camp — hunting, foraging, setting up
- One watch for sleep — you need it
What the Referee Tracks
Each Watch of travel (and each night), the Referee rolls to see what happens—encounters, signs of danger, weather shifts, or supply problems. More travel means more rolls.
Supplies matter. Track your Supply. Running out in the wild is dangerous—you can’t just pop back to town.
Weather matters. Storms slow travel. Extreme conditions can kill. The Referee will tell you when conditions change, but you should plan for the worst.
Navigation matters. In unfamiliar terrain without clear landmarks, you might get lost. Slow travel is safer travel.
What You Should Know
Ask questions. “What do we see?” “Is there another way around?” “How far is the noise?” “Does this room have other exits?” Information keeps you alive.
Manage your resources. Light, food, water, rest—these aren’t flavor, they’re survival. Plan for them.
Time has consequences. Every Turn in the dungeon, every Watch in the wilderness, the Referee rolls dice. The longer you spend in dangerous places, the more likely something finds you.
Your choices matter. Do you search this room thoroughly (1 Turn, more rolls) or move on? Do you take the quick route through unknown territory or the longer safe path? Do you rest now or push on and risk Fatigue?
The Takeaway
The Referee handles the procedures, but you control the risk. Every choice you make—how fast to move, how thoroughly to search, how much noise to make—affects your chances.
- Noise attracts attention
- Light reveals you to the darkness
- Time spent = rolls made = risk accumulated
- Rest is necessary, not optional
Play smart. Ask questions. Move with purpose.
For full exploration procedures, see the Referee’s Guide: Dungeon Exploration and Wilderness Exploration.