Exploration Procedures

Common Procedures
Dungeoneering
Orienteering

Common Procedures

Traveling through the wilderness and exploring dungeons have similar procedures. Characters get a bonus equal to one half the number of empty pack slots to tests for performing stealthy activities (hiding, climbing difficult surfaces, picking pockets) and while orienteering (tracking, replenishing supplies, etc.) (i.e. a character with 2 empty pack slots gets a +1 bonus).

Hazard Clock

To create suspense, add tension, and a pressure to move forward, a hazard clock is used to represent the passing of time and the dangers of dungeons and the wilderness.

The clock is known to the players and starts at 20
Every turn spent in the dungeon, or watch if traveling overland, the referee should roll 1d6 hazard die and subtract it from the clock
- For every turn spent without a source of light, roll an extra 1d6 and subtract that from the clock as well
- In more or less dangerous areas, additional or fewer dice may be rolled at the referee’s discretion
When the clock goes below zero, an encounter occurs and the clock is reset to 21
If the clock goes to exactly zero, it is set to 3
Any time the clock hits 3, including from landing on zero and being set there, a foreshadowing event happens - signs of a potential future encounter are seen, heard, smelled, or otherwise noticed by the party
When a 6 is rolled on the hazard die, the referee should roll 2d6 and consult the following table for what happens

2d6	Result	Dungeon Event	Overland Event
2-4	Expenditure	Active light sources lose 1 durability	Rations and waterskins lose 1 durability
6-10	No Effect	–	–
9-12	Change	Dungeon shift	Weather check (see Running the Game)

Rests

Characters must rest to keep their overall health up. The two kinds of rests are short and long rests and recover stamina and wounds respectively:

Short Rest: Quick recovery of 1 turn to catch your breath, take a drink of water, and recover all lost stamina
Long Rest: Characters recover 1 wound and remove 1 stress for each week spent resting in a safe haven

Light and Darkness

There are 4 main categories of light:

Bright: like daylight, allows characters to perform actions normally
Dim: like moonlight, actions relying on visibility are at a disadvantage or take twice as long
Darkness: minimal light, as dim light but reading is impossible. Movement and large obstacles are noticed
Pitch Black: the complete absence of light and visibility. The common experience in a dungeon

All normal sources of light such as torches, lamps, lanterns, etc. emanate bright light to a radius of 15’, dim light a further 15’ beyond that, and darkness another 15’. Candles provide light for half of that. Bonfires, braziers, and other large or extra intense source emanates light to a radius of twice the normal size.

Size	Example Source	Light Step
Small	Candle	5’
Normal	Lamp, torch, or lantern	15’
Large	Bonfire, brazier	30’

Dungeon Vision

Some characters, usually non-human NPCs, may have the ability to see in situations other that humans would not be able to. The two main types of this ability that exist are:

Heat Vision:
- Sees thermal output, whether from biological sources or otherwise
- Blocked by sufficiently thick walls, doors, etc.
- Many sentient non-humans will have this ability
Low-light Vision:
- See in light as if it were one step higher
- Has disadvantage on anything involving sight in bright light
- Most monstrous dungeon denizens will have this ability

Dungeoneering

Dungeoneering refers to the act of exploring (and looting) a dungeon.

Dungeon Exploration Cycle

The referee describes the party’s surroundings and any obvious immediate dangers (combat, traps, surprises, etc.).
Players then declare their character’s intended movements and actions.
The referee resolves the actions of each character simultaneously, along with any actions that are already in progress.
The players record any loss of resources and any new conditions (i.e. item use, deprivation, etc).
The referee will roll on the hazard clock and, if necessary, roll on any subsequent tables (dungeon or overland events, encounters, etc.).
Repeat the cycle.

Dungeon Actions

Adventuring parties can take one of the following actions each turn while exploring a dungeon:

Crawl:
- Move 240 feet;
- Moving at this slow pace allows characters to map the area, detect traps, and proceed cautiously.
Run:
- Move 3,000 feet;
- PCs are automatically surprised when encountering NPCs, will trigger all unknown traps, and cannot map the area;
- The referee will roll twice on the hazard clock when this action is taken.
Search:
- Search through a room for all hidden, but not secret, features or items;
- Secrets will be hinted at but not revealed outright.
Interact:
- Interact with your surroundings, other than searching;
- Disarm a trap;
- Listen at or unlock a door;
- Gather resources (mining, harvesting, etc.);
- Loot the area if it has been searched.
Short Rest:
- Drink water, catch your breath, and take stock of your surroundings;
- Recover all lost stamina.

Dungeon Elements

Darkness:
- It’s hard to see in the dark and most dungeons do not have any active lighting
- Some dungeons might be illuminated by magic, bioluminescence, or other means
Doors:
- Doors and entryways may be locked, stuck, or blocked entirely. Characters can try to force a door open (or wedge it shut) using available resources (spikes, glue)
- The party’s marching order determines who is most impacted by whatever lies beyond a door
- A character can detect, through careful observation (listening, smelling, etc.), signs of life and other hazards through nearby doors and walls
Traps:
- A cautious character should be presented with any and all information that would allow them the opportunity to avoid springing a trap. An unwitting character will trigger a trap according to the fiction, or otherwise will have a 2-in-6 chance
- Traps can usually be detected by carefully searching a room
- Armor can reduce damage, but only if applicable (e.g. a shield might block some darts but would not reduce damage from noxious gas)

Variant Rule: Panic

If a character or follower spends more than 1 turn in pitch darkness in a dungeon, they must make a WIL (character) or loyalty (follower) check or else panic and attempt to flee towards the exit using the run action until they succeed

Orienteering

Orienteering refers to overland travel.

Wilderness Exploration Cycle

The referee describes the current region on the map visible to the players. All hex types are visible to their neighbors. Hills are visible from and reveal 2 hexes away, and mountains do the same from 4. Forest hexes reduce their visibilty by half
Players choose travel actions to partake in
The referee narrates the results and then rolls on the overland events table
The players and the referee record any loss of resources and new conditions (i.e. torch use, stress, etc), and the cycle repeats

Travel Actions

The game assumes that you will be playing on a hex map where each hex is approximately 3 mile across, face-to-face. Each watch, adventuring parties can take one of the following actions:

Travel:
- Parties can use 24 move points (MV) per watch counted when moving into and out of a hex
- Points are halved if using appropriate means like horses or boats and doubled at night and in unsettled weather
- Move paints may not be roleld over between watches
- Must be done as a group
Search:
- Search a hex for non-obvious features such as caves, tombs, shipwrecks, springs, etc.
- A clear hex finds twice the amount of features
- A disorienting hex makes this a target 7 test
Resupply:
- Refill all usage of waterskins and 1 usage of rations on 3-in-6
- A plentiful hex makes this roll with advantage
- A sparse hex makes this roll with disadvantage
Make Camp:
- Set up camp and spend time sleeping and eating
- Hirelings who do not camp for at least one watch per day lose loyalty
Ponder:
- Smoke some Thinker’s Herbal Compound from a pipe, then ponder reality
- Ask the referee 1 question about the nature or lore of a person, place, or thing and get a mostly, or seemingly, truthful and profound answer
- Must be done as a group in camp
- If this action is taken, roll twice on the hazard clock
Research:
- Use a book of lore to ask the referee 1 question about anything in-game and get a true answer on a 1-in-6 chance (secret roll by the referee)
- Consult additional book of lore for additional success chance.
- Once a book of lore has been used sucessfully, reduce its Durability by 1.
Fortify:
- Make a camp site safer by setting up temporary defences such as earth mounds, fences, etc.

When traveling, one player should test, on a 1-in-6, to determine if they get lost. When lost, parties must use twice the amount of movement during that watch. Tests made in disorienting terrain are made with disadvantage and with advantage in clear terrain. Following roads, rivers, or other clear paths negates the need for this check.

Terrain Types

Below are the common types of terrain and their characteristics and movement point cost denoted in brackets:

Terrain Type	MV Cost	Characteristics
Grassland	3	Sparse, Clear
Farmland	3	Plentiful, Clear
Light Forest	6	Plentiful
Dense Forest	9	Plentiful, Disorienting
Hills	6	Clear
Mountains	12	Sparse, Disorienting
Wetlands	9	Plentiful
Badlands	6	Sparse
Open Water	3	Sparse
Desert	3	Sparse, Disorienting

Survival Tests

Each day the characters must test the durability of their shared equipment. For each kind of shared gear that is missing, such as rations, waterskins, camping gear, or cold weather gear where required, each character must test their fortitude, target 7 + 1 for each type of missing gear, or gain stress. Supply can be consumed to prevent failure.