Travel Turns

Travel Turn Actions

During Travel Turns, the Company generally acts as a group, and can take one action per Travel Turn. Some common actions and their procedures follow.

Graphic: The silhouette of a boot with the heel coming up off the ground surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Peregrinate - the Company moves from one location on the map (e.g. a hex or a point) to another. The pathfinder makes a navigation Check to avoid getting lost.

Graphic: The silhouette of three pine trees surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Explore - the Company reconnoiters the location they are in, finding any relevant points of interest. If they are searching for a specific location that they have not visited before, the pathfinder makes a navigation Check to determine whether or not they find it.

Graphic: A stylized compass rose surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Orient - the DV of the next navigation Check is reduced by 4.

Graphic: The silhouette of a hand reaching down to pick a plant from the ground surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Forage - each Errant may make a navigation Check. If they are successful, they gain 2 Supply.

Graphic: A pitched tent next to a small fire surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Make camp - the pathfinder makes a navigation Check to find a suitable campsite or resting point. On the Turn when the Company makes camp, individual Errants may also choose to either take watch or sleep.

Graphic: The silhouette of a cloaked figure standing watching surrounded by a hexagonal border.

Take watch - characters may keep lookout if others sleep. If one character keeps watch for an entire Travel Turn, they gain a point of Exhaustion. However, if two characters keep watch, no Exhaustion is incurred. If no characters keep watch, then all Event Die rolls of 5 (encounter sign) are instead treated as rolls of 1 (encounter).

Graphic: A figure in the dark laying down asleep surrounded by a hex border.

Sleep - Errants who spend two full Travel Turns sleeping gain the effects of a full night’s Rest.

Day & Night

If using the standard scale for Travel Turns, there are six Travel Turns in a full, twenty-four hour day. Errants can generally only peregrinate for four Travel Turns a day before night falls and they need to make camp (though the Guide may wish to adjust this depending on the season). Peregrinating for more than four Travel Turns a day causes each character in the Company to gain 1 point of Exhaustion per extra Travel Turn.

The Guide should note the effect of night-time for the purposes of making navigation Checks (see the Pace table on p. 123) and also for what sorts of encounters the Errants are likely to run into; different, perhaps more dangerous creatures are more at home in the moonlight than the safe, revealing light of day.

To find oneself oft astray is the lot of an Errant. Most actions during Travel Turns that involve orienteering or pathfinding of some kind require a navigation Check. A navigation Check is generally a skill Check, though some other Attribute may be used if the Guide deems it appropriate.

Unlike other Checks, the DV of a navigation Check made to determine whether the Company gets lost is kept secret from the Errant making the Check, and the Guide will not inform them whether they succeed or fail: though they may sometimes know they have lost their way, other times they will be ignorant of their waywardness.

When peregrinating, if the Company fails a navigation Check, they are lost. The Guide may roll a D6 to determine what direction they end up moving instead of their intended direction, a roll of 1 means they move north, a roll of 2 indicates north-east, 3 indicates south-east, and so on (corresponding to the faces of a hex).

The DV of a navigation Check is modified based on the terrain type, weather, visibility, whether or not the Company has maps or directions, and so on. The specific DV value adjustments of the most common of these conditions are noted on the Pace table (p. 122).

If the Errants are on a road or navigating by an obvious landmark (following along a river, the edge of a forest, the looming obelisk on the horizon, etc.), there is no need to make a navigation Check.

Pace

The rate of movement in Travel Turns is expressed by Pace, which is represented as a fraction. The numerator being how many significant locations are moved through (e.g. a hex), and the denominator representing how many Turns that takes. The standard Pace, therefore, is 1/1. Any modifiers to Pace are added to the standard Pace fraction (e.g. if an effect modifies Pace by +1/x, the Company’s Pace is then 2/1).

Pace is modified by how fast or slow the Company wishes to move, the terrain, weather, visibility, and so on. The specific Pace adjustments are noted on the Pace table below. Effects that modify Pace are additive.

An Errant’s SPD does not affect Pace. The risk of travelling while encumbered is represented by the rolling of negative Event Dice.

Graphic: An exasperated man in the wilderness fights with his laden pack mule. The man pulls the mule forward, both hands on the creature’s reins, a word bubble filled with curses above his head. The mule’s hooves are planted firmly in the dirt road, teeth bared in refusal. Behind the pair the road stretches away into the distance across great rolling hills.


Appropriate mount/vehicle	+1/x
Road	+1/x	Cannot get lost
Moving slowly	x/+1	+1 positive Event Die. Automatically detect any points of interests or hazards.
Moving quickly	+1/x	+1 negative Event Die. Overlook any points of interests or hazards.
Deserts, forests, hills, broken land	x/+1	Navigation DV +2
Jungle, mountain, swamps	x/+2	Navigation DV +4
Night-time/Darkness	x/+1	Navigation DV +4
Inclement weather	x/+1	Navigation DV +2
Severe weather	x/+2	Navigation DV +4, Exhaustion every Travel Turn not spent camping
Detailed map		Navigation DV -4
General map or specific directions		Navigation DV -2
Vague, confusing, misleading map or directions		Navigation DV +2 to +4

Marching Order

Unlike during Exploration Turns, where the Company will often be moving through a defined space, Travel Turns will generally have a more abstracted sense of space. Therefore, a strict marching order is not necessary. Instead, the Errants should specify which of these three positions they are occupying

Scout - Errants who are scouting are exploring about 120 yards ahead of the rest of the Company; any encounters and encounter signs are found by the scouts first, and they make any necessary Reaction Rolls. If encountered by NPCs, scouting Errants are allowed to make a Check to hide.
Pathfinder - the pathfinder makes all relevant navigation Checks. If no Errants are scouting, consider the pathfinder to be at the front of the Company for the purposes of encounters, Reaction Rolls, and so on.
Company - all the other worthless fools, who have naught to do but twiddle their thumbs.

Resting

Beggars and gods alike from time to time need to put up their feet.

If the Company chooses or is compelled to Rest for a Travel Turn, an Errant may use an armour repair kit to replenish their Blocks.

If an Errant spends two Travel Turns sleeping, they gain the effects of a full night’s Rest: they may remove a point of Exhaustion and replenish any other resources which recover with a night’s Rest. They may also use a healer’s kit to recover HP equal to a roll of their damage die.

If sleeping in a warm, safe bed within a Settlement, they may recover HP equal to a roll of their damage die without the use of a healer’s kit.

Graphic: An Errant sitting with their back against a tree, smoking a pipe and looking up at the sky. They look exhausted. Their helm rests beside them, and their hand has been bandaged.

Unsuitable Campsites

If the Company fails to find a suitable campsite, the Guide can offer them the choice between two or more unsuitable campsites. The Guide may devise specific effects of unsuitable campsites, but in general the two following can always be provided.

Uncomfortable - no Exhaustion can be removed or HP recovered while sleeping here.
Open - all rolls of 5 on the Event Die (encounter sign) are treated as rolls of 1 (encounter), even if a watch has been posted.

Eating & Drinking

So long as an Errant has rations and a waterskin, they are presumed to be eating and drinking throughout the day, even if the Event Die does not call for rations to be Depleted. It is assumed that, while travelling in the wilderness, sources of water are easy to come by and that waterskins can be continually topped up. A Guide should inform the Company if they are venturing into an area where this is not the case, so they may provision themselves accordingly.

If the Event Die calls for rations to be Depleted and a character has neither rations to Deplete nor Supply to reduce, they will begin to starve. They accrue 1 point of Exhaustion, and will accrue another point of Exhaustion for each day they go without food and each time the Event Die calls for rations to be Depleted.

Disease & Infection

If an Errant finds themselves at risk of disease or infection, the Guide may have that Errant make a phys Check with a DV equal to the difference between their current and maximum HP. If they fail, they have contracted a disease or infection.

The Guide is encouraged to devise the delectable depredations such a malady will inflict themselves, though in lieu of that, a generic ruling is that a disease or infection reduces an Errant’s phys by 1 for each day it is left untreated. Once it has been treated, the Errant’s phys returns to its original value less one, unless it was treated the same day it was contracted.

Mounts & Vehicles

If all characters in the Company are appropriately mounted or envehicled for the terrain being travelled through, their Pace is modified by +1/x.

A mount or vehicle’s SPD has no bearing on Pace; it is only relevant if movement is being tracked in Initiative Turns. Their SPD is not affected by Encumbrance. Mounts and vehicles do not have Encumbrance, but if they are carrying more items than they have slots for, treat their SPD as 0 and ignore any bonuses to Pace.

A rider or passenger counts for 20 Item Slots on the mount or vehicle, plus the number of Item Slots they have filled (e.g. an Errant with 10 Item Slots filled counts for 30 Item Slots on its mount).

Mounts take 10 times as much Exhaustion as people (e.g. if a mount would suffer 1 point of Exhaustion, they instead take 10 Exhaustion).


Cattle	100	4	None	Can only be used for carrying packs or pulling vehicles.
Horse, draft	100	8	Flat lands, forests, roads.	No SPD reduction when pulling vehicles.
Horse, riding	80	12	Flat lands, forests, roads.
Horse, war	60	16	Flat lands, forests, roads.
Mule	80	1	Flat lands, forests, roads.

A mount’s slots or carrying capabilities are modified based on the type of tack it is wearing or the vehicle to which it is hitched.

A vehicle may be hitched to multiple mounts. For the purposes of slots, add the slots of all the mounts together before applying the modifier. For the purposes of SPD, subtract the modifier from the mount with the highest SPD.


No tack	0		None
Tack, pack				Cannot be ridden.
Tack, riding
Tack, military				Barding does not count against mount’s Item Slots.
Tack, exotic				Necessary for non-standard mounts.
Cart	× 2	-8	Roads	Breakage chance equal to navigation DV when off road; test every Travel Turn. Can be hitched to two mounts.
Chariot			Flat land, roads.	Breakage chance equal to navigation DV when off road; test every Travel Turn. Can be hitched to two mounts.
Coach			Roads	Breakage chance equal to navigation DV when off road; test every Travel Turn. Can be hitched to four mounts.
Wagon	× 4	-8	Roads	Breakage chance equal to navigation DV when off road; test every Travel Turn. Can be hitched to four mounts.

Graphic: Two mounts facing each other. One is a horse in trotting posture, wearing regal barding and decoration. Its saddle cloths have heraldry of lions clawing up at the air, and a unicorn’s horn protrudes from its metal face plate. The other is a wooly yak adorned with bells and tassles. Its horns are capped with metal orbs, and its saddle is draped in layers of blankets patterend with geometry and flowers.

Graphic: Rays of light breaking through a cloudy sky. A flock of birds descends from the clouds.

Weather

Weather conditions begin in the middle range (6-8) for each season.

A roll of local effect (4) on the Event Die during Travel Turns may prompt the Guide to change the weather.


2	Inclement weather (e.g. downpour)	Severe weather (e.g. thunderstorm)	Severe weather (e.g. hurricane)	Severe weather (e.g. blizzard)
3-5	Cosmetic change (e.g. drizzle)	Inclement weather (e.g. heat wave)	Inclement weather (e.g. fog)	Severe weather (e.g. hail storm)
6-8	Cloudy	Sunny	Overcast (-2 to next weather roll)	Inclement weather (e.g. sleet)
9-11	Clear skies (+2 to next weather roll)	Clear skies (+2 to next weather roll)	Cloudy	Overcast (-2 to next weather roll)
12	Beautiful day (only need to spend one Travel Turn sleeping)	Beautiful day (only need to spend one Travel Turn sleeping)	Clear skies (+2 to next weather roll)	Clear skies (+2 to next weather roll)

The rolled weather persists until a Deplete (3) is rolled on the Event Die during Travel Turns, in which case the weather returns to a state of normalcy, or until another weather effect is rolled. Most weather will return to normal at the start of a new day, though at the Guide’s discretion, a weather condition may persist for multiple days.

Inclement weather increases the DV of navigation Checks by 2. As well, each Travel Turn not spent resting at a suitable campsite or other form of shelter will require every member of the Company to make a DV 2 phys Saving Throw, or else incur a point of Exhaustion.

While inclement weather makes travel more difficult, severe weather such as blizzards, hurricanes, and thunderstorms makes it all but impossible. The DV of navigation Checks increases by 4; each Travel Turn not spent Resting at a suitable campsite or other form of shelter will cause every member of the Company to automatically incur a point of Exhaustion.

Travelling in climes of either extreme heat or cold causes 1 point of Exhaustion per Travel Turn if a character is not appropriately outfitted.

Other effects of weather can be applied as the Guide deems appropriate. For example, rain may affect metal weapons and armours, bowstrings, and paper (causing a loss in Quality or triggering Breakage rolls), and cause the ground to become muddy difficult terrain.

Graphic: An Errant stirs a bubbling cauldron. He has a wide brimmed hat on his head, a pointy beard, and a long mustache made for twirling. A clawed hand sticks up out of the cauldron. Beside it, a meat cleaver rests embeded in the head of a fang-toothed monster who is unsettlingly close to being human.

Eating Monsters

Errants with strong stomachs and daring palates may turn to slain monsters as a source of food.

Turning monsters into victuals takes a Travel Turn and is a skill Check with a DV equal to the Threat of the monster, adjusted according to the following modifiers

-1 if clean water is available.
-1 if cooking equipment is available (a mess kit is insufficient).
-1 if a fire is available.
-1 if salt or other spices are available.
+4 if you cannot spend a full Travel Turn cooking.

A success produces rations. If the monster is larger than average, the Depletion of the rations may be increased by 1 or more. Failure indicates that the food is spoiled; it may still be eaten, but a phys Check will be required to avoid contracting an infection.

Note that eating some monsters, especially highly magical ones, may have potential side effects. In such cases, the Errant makes a Saving Throw. If they succeed, the Errant gains a one-time use of a monster’s ability (e.g. a dragon’s breath, a vampire’s hypnosis, a slime’s corrosive touch). On a failure, the Errant suffers the effects of that ability as if they had been subjected to it, though perhaps in a diminished form (e.g. eating dragon meat may cause you to take fire damage, though perhaps not to the full extent of a dragon’s breath ability).

Voyages

The standard scale of Travel Turns works for traversal of areas in the scale of tens or hundreds of miles. However, if the Company wishes to undertake a truly significant journey, spanning the length of a country or continent, the Company may wish to initiate a voyage.

To do so, they must first secure a suitable mode of travel, whether it be ship, camel, or caravan, and pay any necessary expenditures for such transport and any requisite crew. Then, they must secure provisions for the trip. Provisions cost 10 pennies for a day’s worth of food, water, and other sundries. Each provision purchased reduces a Settlement’s available Supply by 4 for the purposes of determining inflation. If it becomes necessary to track, a day’s worth of provisions takes up an Item Slot.

The Company rolls 2D6 for their voyage. The Guide may impose situational modifiers to the roll based on the context, either negative or positive, though the total should not exceed either -3 or +3.

On a roll of 10 or higher, the Company makes it to their destination without any complications.

On a roll of 7 to 9, a complication occurs en route that the Company will have to resolve before the voyage can be resumed and completed.


1	Out of provisions.
2	Treacherous weather (including becalmed seas if at sea).
3	Mutiny.
4	Route impassable (map wrong, geographical change like landslide or earthquake, political turmoil in region, monster barring the way, etc.).

On a roll 6 or below, the voyage is a failure. The Company’s mode of transportation has failed (ship sank, caravan ransacked, etc.), their provisions lost, and they are stranded. Roll D% to see how close to their destination they got, treating a roll of 100 as a 99.

Marine Travel


Vehicle	Crew (Oarsmen)	Crew (Sailors)	Pace (Rowing)	Pace (Sailing)	Appropriate Terrain
Canoe	1	-	1/1	-	Shallow water.
Galley	60	20	2/1	3/1	Shallow water.
Longship	0	0	1/1	4/1	Shallow water, deep water.
Raft	1	-	1/2	-	Shallow water.
Riverboat	10	1	2/1	3/1	Shallow water.
Sailing ship	-	20	-	4/1	Deep water.
Warship	-	40	-	3/1	Deep water.

Of any given crew of sailors, at least one must be a captain. Anyone can serve as an oarsman, including sailors, Errants, and passengers, though the latter are none too likely to be pleased. Regular mercenaries pressed into rowing duty make Morale rolls every day.

Canoe - can transport two people. Can be carried, taking up 2 hand slots and 2 handy slots.
Galley - can transport 240 people. Has a ram.
Longship - must be crewed by a special mercenary squad who act as sailors & oarsmen.
Raft - can transport 10 people.
Riverboat - can transport 25 people.
Sailing ship - can transport 100 people. Has a ram and one catapult.
Warship - can transport 360 people. Has a ram and two catapults.

Passenger capacity is inclusive of crew members. Each mercenary (infantry) counts as two passengers, and each mercenary (cavalry) counts as 4, to represent the transport of their gear & mounts.

Carrying capacity is not given for marine vessels, as their capacity in slots would be far too high to be of any practical use. Instead, the Guide should use their discretion when determining when a marine vessel has been overburdened with cargo.

When peregrinating on water, navigation Checks are made as normal. A navigator on the crew reduces the DV of navigation Checks by 4.

At the start of each day, roll to see wind conditions.


Upriver	x/+1
Downriver	+1/x
Becalmed	-	No sailing possible.
Weak winds	x/+1
Fair winds	+1/x
Strong winds	+2/x
Inclement weather (gales)	+2/x	Chance to become water damaged.
Severe weather (storms)	+3/x	Chance for sinking or shipwreck.

If a weather effect is rolled while waterborne, it replaces the previously rolled wind conditions until it subsides.

During gales, shallow water vessels have a 2-in-6 chance of becoming water damaged, and deep water vessels have a 1-in-6 (a longship counts as a shallow water boat for these purposes).

If a vessel is water damaged, its Pace is reduced by x/+1 till it is repaired at a port. Repairs cost 1/4 the price of the vessel.

During a storm, any vessels being rowed have a 4-in-6 chance of sinking. If there is land at least one hex adjacent when the vessel sinks, Errants may make a skill Saving Throw with a DV equal to their Encumbrance. If they succeed, they wash ashore at the start of the next Travel Turn, though any items not placed in worn, hand, or handy slots are lost. If they fail the Saving Throw or there is no land adjacent, they drown and die. Crew and cargo are lost when a vessel sinks.

During a storm, any vessels moving under sail cannot control their movement. Each Travel Turn they move in a randomly determined direction. If they move into land, there is a 4-in-6 chance of a shipwreck. During a shipwreck, Errants may make a skill Saving Throw with a DV equal to their Encumbrance. On a failure, they take 4D6 damage, halving this damage on a success. Any Errants who go out of action from this damage drown and die. Crew and cargo are lost in a shipwreck.


2	Becalmed.
3-5	Weak winds.
6-8	Normal winds.
9-11	Fair winds.
12	Strong winds.

Travel Turn Procedure

The Guide declares the start of a Travel Turn; the timekeeper notes down which number Travel Turn this is.

- The Guide Checks how many Travel Turns have elapsed; if it is the fourth Travel Turn in a day, the Guide announces that it is night-time, and makes any adjustments as necessary.

The caller relays the Company’s action for the Travel Turn to the Guide.

- If the Company is peregrinating, first determine Pace; then, the pathfinder makes a navigation Check, with the Guide noting if the Company gets lost.

The timekeeper rolls the Event Die.
The result of the Event Die and the Company’s actions are resolved.