Travel is measured in leagues, hexes, and phases.
Measure | Meaning |
|---|---|
1 League | 3 miles |
1 Hex | 1 league across |
1 Phase | Roughly 6 hours |
A hex is an abstract area of terrain, danger, landmarks, and discovery.
Travel measures meaningful progress, not exact footsteps.
Each day is divided into four phases.
Phase | Common Use |
|---|---|
Dawn | Break camp, prepare, set out |
Day | Travel, explore, interact |
Dusk | Make camp, forage, conceal |
Night | Rest, keep watch, hide from danger |
A phase is a meaningful unit of action.
What can be done in a phase depends on terrain, weather, danger, and intent.
During one travel phase, the party may move the following distance.
Terrain | Hexes per Phase |
|---|---|
Road or Path | 3 |
Open Plains | 2 |
Difficult Terrain | 1 |
Difficult terrain includes forest, marsh, hills, mountains, broken ground, ruins, snow, dense wilderness, and hostile country.
The Referee may reduce speed when terrain is especially dangerous or unclear.
Characters may travel 2 phases per day safely.
A third travel phase is a forced march.
A forced march may cause:
Fatigue
Lost supplies
Slower recovery
Missed signs or danger
A harder time making camp
The Referee may call for a Save or impose a Condition such as Drained or Staggered.
Travel beyond three phases in a day is rarely possible without magic, mounts, roads, or desperation.
Mounted travel doubles speed on roads and open plains.
Terrain | Mounted Travel |
|---|---|
Road or Path | 6 hexes per phase |
Open Plains | 4 hexes per phase |
Difficult Terrain | No benefit |
Mounts still require food, water, rest, and safe footing.
In harsh terrain, mounts may become a burden instead of an advantage.
Weather changes the journey.
It may reduce speed, hide landmarks, damage gear, exhaust travelers, or make a route impossible.
Weather | Road or Path | Open Plains | Difficult Terrain |
|---|---|---|---|
Normal | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Rain or Fog | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Storm | 1 | Impassable | Impassable |
In severe weather, the Referee may also impose:
Fatigue
Damaged gear
Reduced visibility
Navigation errors
Dangerous encounters
Lost time or supplies
A route may become impassable when the fiction demands it.
Characters can usually see across their current hex, if terrain allows.
From high ground, they may glimpse into nearby hexes.
Obvious features may be seen automatically.
Examples include:
A tower on a hill
Smoke on the horizon
A river valley
A road or bridge
A large ruin
A settlement
Hidden locations are not revealed without exploration.
Seeing a feature does not reveal what it is.
A black tower may be abandoned, occupied, cursed, or something worse.
When the party enters a hex, the Referee describes what is obvious.
The party usually learns:
General terrain
Obvious landmarks
Large visible structures
Nothing else is found without exploration, searching, scouting, or local knowledge.
A hex should feel like a place, not an empty square.
Distance within a hex is abstract.
Think in points of interest, not exact measurements.
Examples:
Camp → Ruin
Village → Shrine
Road → River
Hilltop → Cave Mouth
Ford → Watchtower
Moving between points may take part of a phase, a full phase, or more.
The time cost depends on:
Terrain
Risk
Weather
Visibility
Clarity of the destination
Whether the route is known
A clear route may take part of a phase.
A hidden, dangerous, or uncertain route may take a full phase or require exploration.
When the party travels, follow this order:
Choose destination or direction
Choose travel phase
Determine terrain and weather
Move the party
Describe what is seen
Check for encounters, discoveries, or consequences
Keep travel fast unless danger, discovery, or choice matters.
Use travel to create pressure, not bookkeeping.
Track phases, supplies, danger, and discovery.
Do not measure every mile.
Let roads, weather, terrain, mounts, and local knowledge matter.
A good route is treasure.
A bad road is a threat.
The map shows distance.
The journey reveals the world.