There was a moment of release, I think some time in 1980, when we were let out of the Dungeon. To be honest I can’t recall what system it was, it may have been Runequest, but it might just as well have been AD&D. I am sure the idea of open-world adventuring (the idea, not the name I just used) had already been introduced to us through Traveller, but to be honest I can’t even recall exactly when that was.
What I can recall was being presented with a map. Black and white, I think a Judges Guild publication that the GM had brought in, covered with a hex-grid, and absolutely chock full of potential. I remember clearly that moment of excitement, that we could go anywhere.
Of course, all that potential was unrealized. At thirteen (or whatever age we were) we hand-waved the encumbrance rules, and wandered around the map for a few sessions looking for a story, getting frustrated that we weren’t finding one, and wandering off to join a game of Traveller.
Reading the Journeys chapter it feels like the potential is there once more. The map is there. It’s in full colour this time, but still overplayed with a hex grid. Castles, villages, tombs etc are marked on the map, but mostly un-named. There will be stickers with the final version that enable your party to make it their own. It’s a quantum map, the adventurers will find an adventure wherever they chose to go, you just get to choose which adventure, when they get there.
This chapter systematises the journey, giving players a choice of actions in the wilderness. The most common thing they will do is hike. It takes a quarter day to cross a hex of difficult terrain, but open terrain hexes can be crossed at the rate of two a day, or even three on horseback. Hiking at night is difficult but not impossible, but it’s expected that your party moves for one or both the daylight quarters. But your journey will not be without incidents, some of which may delay you. Two of the party should take on different roles to minimise such problems. One should Lead The Way, becoming a pathfinder. Every time the party enters a previously unvisited hex, they must make a Survival Roll. If they fail, there is a d66 table of problems they encounter from inclement weather to blocked paths, wild creatures and simply getting lost.
These problems are not random encounters. There is a separate table of those in the GMs book, apparently. And to minimise the impact of those, the players should appoint a second character to Keep Watch. If the encounter is some sort of threat, the GM will ask that character to make a Scouting Roll to see how much warning the party gets.
The party can easily hike for two quarters a day. If they want to hike a third quarter everyone must make an endurance roll. Those who fail take a point of damage to agility and must let the others go on ahead, or persuade everyone to wait. Try and hike for four quarters and the endurance roll is at -2, and everyone gets the Sleepy condition. So the best thing to do is stop and make camp. Camping, fishing, hunting and foraging all require Survival rolls so it’s worth investing in that skill failure means a further roll on the mishap table for your activity. Mishaps vary from minor annoyances, the loss of items, rations and sleep to things that might cause injury. Food game med through foraging, hunting and fishing can be turned into preserved rations by a character with the Chef talent.
While all this activity so going on, it’s good to have someone resting, so that they can keep watch while the others sleep. It would also be good to have someone watching while everyone else of preparing camp or finding food and water. Note, there is a difference between Rest and Sleep. While both allow you to recover all your lost attribute points, you must sleep for one quarter every day, or start taking damage to Wits. So tight now, I don’t see why anyone would choose to Rest rather than sleep. Maybe the Rest activity is just there for when, though a camping mishap, you can’t get any sleep – thus you are rested ( you recover any lost attribute points) but Sleepy. Both rest and sleep need a whole quarter, if interrupted by “something dramatic, like combat” don’t count, you don’t recover your attribute points, and possibly end up sleepy too.
The chapter ends with a note on water travel, but sea or across/along rivers and lakes. But it doesn’t say much. For example it doesn’t say if it’s faster than walking. We do know that people with fishing equipment can fish while the boat is moving. The only time you can gather resources while on the move.
This s all feels simple enough to be fun, while making journeys an adventure. I feel that sense of potential once more.
fictionsuit.org 