Wilderness Exploration

The wilderness is tracked in Watches (4 hours). Six watches make a day.

Watch Procedure

  1. Party declares activity (travel, hunt, forage, investigate, rest)
  2. Navigator rolls if traveling through difficult terrain
  3. Roll hazard die when entering a new or unexplored hex
  4. Resolve the activity (Referee decides when hazard occurs)
  5. Mark time; check Supply at end of day

The Day

Watch Time Typical Use
Dawn 6am–10am Break camp, travel
Midday 10am–2pm Travel, activities
Afternoon 2pm–6pm Travel, activities
Evening 6pm–10pm Make camp, eat
Night 1 10pm–2am Rest, keep lookout
Night 2 2am–6am Rest, keep lookout

Travel: A party can travel for three watches per day without difficulty. A fourth watch of travel is a forced march — make a CON save, Normal (DC 12) each hour or gain 1 Fatigue.

Rest: Characters need two watches of rest per day. Someone must keep lookout, but characters can rotate. Missing a night’s rest means no rest benefits and requires a CON save, Normal (DC 12) or gain 1 Fatigue. The DC increases by 3 for each consecutive day without proper rest.

Supply: Each character consumes 1 Supply per day. If water is hard to find (desert, arctic), consume 2 Supply per day to account for carried water.

Terrain

Terrain determines travel speed and activity difficulty.

Terrain Speed Navigation Hunt Forage
Road, clear trail Fast — — —
Coast Normal Easy Normal Easy
Grassland, plains Normal Normal Easy Easy
Hills Normal Normal Normal Normal
Forest Slow Hard Easy Easy
Mountains Slow Normal Hard Hard
Swamp Slow Hard Normal Normal
Desert Slow Normal Hard Hard
Arctic Slow Normal Hard Hard

Easy = DC 8, Normal = DC 12, Hard = DC 16. “—” means no roll needed or not applicable.

These are guidelines. Season and conditions can shift difficulty — a forest in winter might be Hard to forage instead of Easy. Use your judgment.

Travel speeds:

  • Fast: 9 miles per watch (1.5 hexes)
  • Normal: 6 miles per watch (1 hex)
  • Slow: 3 miles per watch (half hex)

Hex scale: At Normal speed, a party crosses one 6-mile hex per watch, three hexes per day.

Mounts: Mounts help on open terrain — roads, plains, grassland. They move one speed category faster in suitable terrain. In swamp, dense forest, or mountains, mounts provide no benefit and may be a liability. Mounts require 1 Supply per day.

When traveling through difficult terrain, the navigator makes a WIS check each watch. DC set by terrain table.

  • Road or clear landmarks: No roll needed.

Getting Lost: On a failure, the party veers off course. The Referee rolls 1d6 secretly:

  • 1–2: Drift left
  • 3–4: Drift right
  • 5–6: Backtrack (no progress)

They won’t realize they’re lost until landmarks don’t match expectations or a later successful check reveals the error.

Activities

Travel

Each watch of travel, the party covers distance based on terrain speed. Mark hexes crossed.

Hunt (2 watches)

Hunting takes two watches and cannot be done while traveling.

  1. Locate Prey: WIS check vs terrain DC.
    • Prey size: 1d6 Supply, +1d6 for every 3 points you beat the DC.
  2. Kill: Attack roll vs Normal (DC 12).
    • Success = harvest the Supply.
    • Fail = prey escapes. Can try again next watch.

Forage (1 watch)

Spend a watch foraging. WIS check vs terrain DC.

  • Success: Find 1d4 Supply.
  • Beat DC by 3+: Find an additional 1d4 Supply.
  • Fail: Nothing found.

Investigate (1 watch)

Spend a watch thoroughly exploring the current hex. The Referee reveals any hidden features — ruins, lairs, resources, hazards, or points of interest that wouldn’t be noticed while traveling.

Some hexes have nothing to find. Others reward careful exploration.

Make Camp

At the end of a travel day, one character can search for a good campsite.

WIS check, Normal (DC 12):

  • Success: Defensible site found. Edge on lookout checks during the night.
  • Fail: Exposed site. Normal lookout checks.

Rest

Characters need two watches of rest per day. Someone must keep lookout during the night watches — characters can rotate.

Interrupted rest (encounter, severe weather) may require a CON save, Normal (DC 12) or gain 1 Fatigue.

The Hazard Die

The Referee rolls 1d6 when the situation warrants — generally when entering unexplored hexes, and once during the night watches. Roll more often in dangerous territory, less on safe roads. Use your judgment.

Roll Result
1 Encounter — roll or choose from your encounter table.
2 Sign — tracks, spoor, distant smoke, sounds. Hints at what’s nearby.
3 Weather — conditions shift. Roll on weather table or choose.
4 Fatigue — the journey wears. Consume 1 Supply, or make a CON save, Normal (DC 12) — fail and gain 1 Fatigue.
5–6 Clear — the watch passes uneventfully.

Weather

When you need weather, roll 2d6:

2d6 Weather
2 Severe — storm, blizzard, extreme heat. Travel halted or dangerous.
3–4 Poor — heavy rain, strong winds, bitter cold. Travel one speed slower.
5–9 Fair — typical for the season. No effect.
10–11 Good — clear skies, mild temperature. Pleasant travel.
12 Perfect — ideal conditions. Edge on navigation.

Poor weather slows travel by one speed category (Fast becomes Normal, Normal becomes Slow, Slow becomes half speed).

Severe weather may halt travel entirely or require CON saves, Normal (DC 12) to avoid Fatigue. Proper gear or shelter grants Edge.

Quick Reference

Activity Time Check
Travel 1 watch —
Navigate Per watch (difficult terrain) WIS vs terrain
Hunt 2 watches WIS + attack vs terrain
Forage 1 watch WIS vs terrain
Investigate 1 watch — (automatic)
Make camp End of day WIS, Normal (DC 12)
Rest 2 watches —

Daily limits: Travel 3 watches. Rest 2 watches. Forced march = CON save each hour.

Supply: 1 per day (2 if water scarce).

Hex scale: Normal terrain = 6 miles/watch = 1 hex. Three hexes per day.

Hazard die: Generally roll when entering unexplored hexes + once at night.