Wilderness Exploration

Wilderness travel uses a hex crawl system. Each hex is 6 miles across.

Daily Procedure

At the start of each day, roll Weather before anything else (see Weather).

1. Determine daily route. Players declare their intended course.
2. Check if lost at the day's start. Roll 1d6 and consult the Lost & Encounter Chances table below.
   • 2a. If lost: roll 1d6 for actual direction of travel — see Getting Lost below.
3. Move along the intended route using the Hex Allowance below.
   • 3a. If lost: only one direction change is allowed for the entire day's travel.
4. Encounter check at day's end. Roll 1d6 and consult the table below.
   • 4a. No encounter: daily move ends. Restart at step 1 for the next day.
   • 4b. Encounter: roll a 2-in-6 surprise chance per side if surprise is possible, then proceed to step 5.
5. Determine distance. Normal encounters begin at 4d6″ (4d6 × 10 yd). If either side is surprised, distance is 1d3″ (1d3 × 10 yd). Melee or missile attacks are possible at 1″ (10 yd) or closer.
6. Encounter type.
   • 6a. Evasion: If the party tries to evade, roll evasion chance (see Wilderness Evasion below) and proceed to Pursuit if the attempt fails.
   • 6b. Monster reaction: Non-intelligent monsters move to attack. Intelligent monsters analyze the situation and roll a Reaction if their intentions are unclear (see Reaction below).
7. Resolve encounter (combat, evasion/pursuit, parley, etc.).
8. Restart at step 1 for the next day's travel.

Hex Allowance

Each character or group has a daily allotment of Travel Points (TP) equal to their combat speed divided by 5 (see Encumbrance & Movement):

The party travels at the speed of its slowest member. Unused TP at day's end are lost.

Lost & Encounter Chances

Roll 1d6.

Ships continuously afloat: encounter on a 1-in-6.

Terrain & Movement Costs

Entering a hex costs TP depending on its terrain type. Searching a hex for hidden features costs the same amount again (see Searching below).

Fog or blizzard conditions increase lost chance by 1. Darkness increases it by 2.

Searching

A party may spend TP to search a hex for hidden features — lairs, ruins, dungeon entrances, and the like. Searching costs the same TP as entering the hex (e.g., 3 TP to search a Moderate hex).

Roll 1d6 after spending the TP:

A hex may be searched multiple times; each attempt costs the full TP. A result of 1 always reveals a feature if one is present — not all hexes have hidden features.

Getting Lost

When the party is lost, they unknowingly travel in the wrong direction. Only one direction change is allowed during a lost day's travel. The party may not realize they are lost until they fail to reach a landmark or the referee deems it apparent.

The actual direction of travel depends on terrain type:

Standard Terrain (clear, plains, hills, forest, river)

Roll 1d6. The party veers one hex segment (60°) left or right of their intended heading.

Example: heading NE and rolling 1–3, the party actually travels N instead.

Difficult Terrain (mountains, desert, swamp)

Disorientation is severe — the party may veer by up to two hex segments.

Example: heading NE and rolling 1, the party actually travels NW.

Ocean

On open water, the party travels a completely random direction regardless of intended heading.

Wandering Monsters

Roll 1d6 at the end of each day and each night at camp. An encounter occurs on a result within the Encounter range for the current terrain (see Lost & Encounter Chances above). When an encounter occurs, see the Daily Procedure above for distance, surprise, and resolution.

Reaction

When the intentions of an encountered creature are not obvious, the referee rolls 2d6 and applies the Charisma Reaction Modifier of the speaking PC:

Wilderness Evasion

When the party attempts to evade an encounter, consult the table below.

Adjustments:

• Surprising the enemy: doubles evasion chances.
• No evasion chance: if the party is surprised — unless in woods or magic is used.
• +25% if evading in woods.
• 10% if surprised in woods.
• +25% if the evaders move at twice the pursuers' speed.
• −25% if the pursuers move at twice the evaders' speed.

Wilderness Pursuit

1. Roll evasion chance. Pass: pursuit ends — go to step 4b. Fail: go to step 2.
2. The pursued party moves into a random hex (1d6: 1 = N, 2 = NE, 3 = SE, 4 = S, 5 = SW, 6 = NW).
3. Compare speeds.
   • 3a. Pursuer is slower: pursuit ends — go to step 4b (Evasion Pass).
   • 3b. Pursuer is faster: 3-in-6 chance to catch the party (1-in-4 in woods or swamp).
     • Caught: resolve encounter (combat, parley, etc.).
     • Not caught: pursued party moves into another random hex as in step 2.
4. Check whether pursuit continues.
   • 4a. Castle inhabitants pursuing: hostile 3-in-6, neutral 1-in-6.
   • 4b. Monster pursuing (Evasion Pass): party rolls evasion chance.
     • Fail: pursuit continues — restart at step 3b.
     • Pass: pursuit ends. Party must rest ½ day per hex moved during the pursuit.
5. Roll for wilderness encounters each ½ day spent resting.

Castle Encounters

Approach: If the party hails a castle, the castle force rides out to greet them unless the party appears quarrelsome or forceful.

Passing nearby: If the party passes within range without hailing, the castle force rides out on a roll of: same hex 3-in-6 · one hex away 2-in-6 · two hexes away 1-in-6.

Disposition: Castle occupants are hostile (1–3) or neutral (4–6) on 1d6. This may be adjusted based on alignment or faction affiliations.

Tolls and demands by castle type:

Pursuit if party flees: 3-in-6 if hostile, 1-in-6 if neutral.

Forced March

A party may push harder, gaining +50% TP for that day. Following a forced march, the party must rest a full day or become exhausted (−1 to all rolls, cumulative).

Resting & Exhaustion

• Characters must rest at least 1 full day per 6 days of travel, or become exhausted.
• Exhausted characters suffer −1 to all rolls, cumulative per additional day without rest.

Camping

A typical camp covers an 8-hour night, divided into four 2-hour watches. Characters sleeping fewer than 6 hours do not benefit from rest. Assign watches before sleeping:

1. Camp setup: clear ground, raise tents, prepare fire pit
2. Firewood: each gatherer collects 1d6 hours of fuel (reduced by wet/cold weather)
3. Watches: rotate characters; each watch at least one character is on guard
4. Wandering monster check: one roll per night
5. Sleep: characters who complete 6+ hours may memorize spells