The Wilderness

Using This Chapter If you're starting a party of beginners with this adventure module, it might be good to skip this chapter until most of the party are level 2 or higher. Simply state to the players that they are able to walk to the Grimspire ruins in about an hour and a half (assuming the slowest party member moves 20' per round, or 12 miles per day), and don't roll for any encounter checks. At some point, however, your party will probably decide to explore the surrounding area. They might wish to travel to another town, maybe to buy items not available in Darion's Bridge; or they might simply decide to explore the wilderness. When that happens, it's time to turn back to this section. The Map The map provided at the end of this section is laid out in hexes, where each hex is 2 miles across. Movement on this map is affected by the terrain, of course. For each hex entered, the slowest member of the party must have at least as many remaining miles of movement as found on the following table in order to enter the hex. If that character does not have that many miles remaining, he or she may choose either not to enter that hex or to perform a forced march (see below). Terrain Miles Cost Road* 1 or 2 Clear, Trail Forest, Hills Crossing Stream +2 * In much the same way as diagonal movement on squares, hex movement on a road has a variable cost; every odd hex entered costs 1 mile, every even hex costs 2. Crossing a stream refers to those streams shown as a gray line on the map. Wider rivers are more difficult to cross, and usually require a boat or raft (or magic). Characters have as many movement points as their daily movement rate in miles. For convenience, the most likely range of numbers is given below; for a more complete table see the Wilderness Movement Rate section of the Basic Fantasy Core Rules. Movement of a group is at the rate of the slowest member. Faster characters do not have miles "left over" at the end of the group's movement. In order to use "excess" miles, the party must split up at the start of the day. Characters may choose to do a forced march, using up to 50% more miles for a day. Using even a single extra point constitutes a forced march. See the Overland Travel section of the Basic Fantasy Core Rules for details of the effects of this. Mv Rate Miles Mv Rate Miles 10' 50' 20' 60' 30' 70' 40' 80' Visibility Characters in a grass hex can see the type of terrain in all adjacent hexes, and may be able to see prominent landmarks in those hexes. Further, if characters are in a grass hex and an adjacent hex is also grass, the terrain of hexes adjacent to the adjacent hex can also be seen, but most landmarks cannot. Hill hexes are treated as equal to grass only if characters choose to move to a high place in the hex to look around. This increases the chance of an encounter (see below). Forested hill hexes do not always have a "high place" but such will be indicated in the map key (below) if relevant. Characters in any other kind of hex must declare in which direction they intend to exit the hex, and will only learn what type of terrain is in the next hex after they have completed crossing the current hex. Any encounter in the hex will occur before this point (see below). Wilderness Encounters Hexes on the wilderness map are numbered. The wilderness key (below) has numbers only for the hexes with placed encounters. When a hex is entered, check the key; if there is a placed encounter, follow the directions given there. Otherwise, roll 1d6, and on a roll of 1-2 for hexes with water in them, or 1 for hexes without, roll to select an encounter from the list following. Also do this when a hex with a placed encounter is re-entered, if the inhabitants no longer pose a threat, as new monsters may have moved into the hex. As a special case, if the hex entered has a road running through it, consult the next section for details. Otherwise, if an encounter is indicated, roll on this table to determine the type of encounter: 1-3 1 Black Bear: AC 14, HD 4, #At 2 claws, 1 bite + hug , Dam 1d4 claw, 1d6 bite, 2d6 hug , Mv 40' , Sv F4, ML 7, XP 240 ea. HP 4-5 1d4 Wild Boars: AC 13, HD 3, #At 1 tusk, Dam 2d4, Mv 50' (10'), Sv F3, ML 9, XP 145 ea. HP 1 Owlbear: AC 15, HD 5, #At 2 claws, 1 bite + 1 hug, Dam 1d8 claw, 1d8 bite, 2d8 hug, Mv 40', Sv F5, ML 9, XP 360 ea. HP 7-9 Orcs: 1 Orc Leader: AC 14, HD 2, #At 1 longsword, Dam 1d8, Mv 30', Sv F2, ML 9, XP 75 HP 2d6 Orcs: AC 14, HD 1, #At 1 longsword, Dam 1d8, Mv 30', Sv F1, ML 9 (8), XP 25 ea. HP 10-112d6 Wolves: AC 13, HD 2, #At 1 bite, Dam 1d6, Mv 60', Sv F2, ML 8, XP 75 ea. This encounter should be delayed until after nightfall 85% of the time; assume the encounter happens in the hex where the party ends their movement, unless they end in town in which case this may be omitted or rerolled. HP Ogre: AC 15, HD 4+1, #At 1 club, Dam 2d6, Mv 30', Sv F4, ML 10, XP 240 ea. HP Road Encounters The road is heavily patrolled for the protection of travelers along it. The road from Dyaverk to Darion's Bridge is patrolled by units in service to Count Ecks, whose castle is in Zannik (off the map to the west, at the mouth of the Upper Dya). The road from Darion's Bridge to Kendall Keep is patrolled by units in service to Count Kemnosen, whose castle is in Sevalenth. Despite these patrols there are likely some dangers on the road; and, if the player characters have done something they shouldn't have, encounters with a patrol might also be dangerous for them. An encounter happens on 1-2 on 1d6 for each road hex entered, using the following table to determine the results: Wilderness Encounter (see above) 2-6 Patrol: When encountered, the Captain of the patrol will parley with the apparent leader of the PCs. After greetings are exchanged, roll a reaction check to see if the leader likes or dislikes the party; if the leader takes a mild dislike he or she might simply order them to stand aside, but if the roll is particularly bad the patrol leader might attempt to arrest the party. 1 Patrol Captain: Human Fighter 2, AC 18, AB +2 (+3 melee), #At 1 longsword, Dam 1d8+1, Mv 20', ML 9, XP 75 Equipment: Plate Mail, Shield, Longsword HP 1 Patrol Sergeant: Human Fighter 3, AC 18, AB +2 (+3 melee), #At 1 longsword, Dam 1d8+1, Mv 20', ML 9, XP 145 ea. Equipment: Plate Mail, Shield, Longsword HP 2d4 Patrol Troopers: Human Fighter 1, AC 16, AB +1 (+2 melee), #At 1 pike, Dam 1d10+1, Mv 20', ML 9, XP 25 ea. Equipment: Chain Mail, Shield, Pike HP 7-8 Bandits: Use the following items to generate a group of bandits. There should be one fighter-class and one thief-class leader, either of which might be in command of the group, along with a number of fighter-class and a number of thief-class flunkies. 1 Bandit Fighter Leader: Human Fighter 3, AC 15, AB +2 (+3 melee), #At 1 longsword, Dam 1d8+1, Mv 20', ML 9, XP 145 ea. Equipment: Chain Mail, Longsword HP 1 Bandit Thief Leader: Human Thief 3, AC 14, AB +2 (+3 missile), #At 1 shortsword or 1 shortbow, Dam 1d6 shortsword, 1d6 shortbow, Mv 40', ML 9, XP 145 ea. Equipment: Leather Armor, Shortsword, Shortbow, Quiver of 20 Arrows HP 3d4 Human Fighter 1: AC 13, AB +1 (+2 melee), #At 1 scimitar, Dam 1d8+1, Mv 40', ML 9, XP 25 ea. Equipment: Leather Armor, Scimitar HP 2d4 Human Thief 1: AC 14, AB +1 (+2 missile), #At 1 shortsword or 1 shortbow, Dam 1d6 shortsword, 1d6 shortbow, Mv 40', ML 9, XP 25 ea. Equipment: Leather Armor, Shortsword, Shortbow, Quiver of 20 Arrows HP Wilderness Map Key As noted above, this key has numbers only for hexes with placed encounters.