Space in the wilderness is tracked by 6-mile hexes, while time is tracked in Watches.

A full day consists of 3 Day Watches and 3 Night Watches. Most actions in the wilderness take 1 Watch.

 

Common actions include:

  • Travel: The party moves at their overland speed. Only obvious hex features may be found this way
  • Explore: The party searches a hex thoroughly, possibly uncovering a hidden feature
  • Reorient: The party recovers their positioning and is no longer lost
  • Forage: The party Tests Savvy. On failure, they find enough food for 1 day. On success, they find and prepare 1d4+2 additional iron rations
  • Fortify: The party Tests Savvy to find an adequately protected spot on which to build a well-protected encampment.
  • Sleep: A PC gets 4 hours of sleep. They need 8 hours total, or gain 1 Fatigue
  • Guard: A PC stays up to guard during the night. With no guards on a Night Watch, any Hazard Roll of Clue is instead counted as Threat.

A typical travel day consists of 3 Watches of traveling or exploring. A party attempting to travel or explore for a 4th Watch undertakes a Forced March, and gains 1 Fatigue.

Terrain

Terrain impacts the speed at which the party travels. In difficult terrain (swamp, jungle, mountains), it takes 2 Watches to travel across or explore a hex.

 

On roads, a Watch spent traveling crosses 2 hexes. Roads have no effect on exploring.

Mounts

When the party is riding mounts, Hazard Rolls of Exhaustion and Forced Marches cause the mounts to gain Fatigue instead of their riders.

 

Mounts usually do not affect the party’s travel speed. The exception is when mounts are used to Ride Hard. Riding Hard doubles a party’s movement speed, but automatically generates 1 Fatigue per Watch for the mount and the rider.

 

Most mounts recover 1 Fatigue per day and can suffer up to 3 Fatigue. If a mount with 3 points of Fatigue gains another, it dies.

Specialists

Traveling with certain wilderness specialists grants the party a chance at reprieve from Expiration Hazard Rolls. For example, teamsters can corral animals, carpenters or wainwrights can maintain vehicles, and guides can navigate.

 

Alternatively, a PC with the proper Skill can Test to attempt to avoid the consequences of Expiration. Unlike a specialist, they may not have the necessary supplies.

Extreme Weather

Extreme weather makes travel more exhausting. A party caught in extreme weather must take shelter in a Fortified encampment to gain any benefits from rest.

 

Additionally, for each Watch spent exposed to the elements in extreme weather, each character must Test Might or gain 1 Fatigue.