Simulacrum Wilderness Exploration

Chapter IV: Adventuring
MOVEMENT & ENCUMBRANCE Forced March

On a day when force-marching the party adds one to their
Characters are usually either marching day-by-day overland,
hex-point allowance, but cannot forage and gains one fatigue
or cautiously exploring. Both are covered below. In either case,
level (see p. 20) at day’s end. Such a grueling pace can be kept
the party marching order must always be clear, along with the
up until a marcher is heavily fatigued. Most NPCs so fatigued
distances between party members.
will begin pressing for at least one full rest day, and refusal
Whether indoors or out, whenever the party encounters
may provoke Morale checks (see p. 31).
potential opposition, play switches to combat speed (see
A day of full rest is required to remove one level of forced
Movement Phase, p. 29).
march fatigue from most creatures (for mounts, see p. 25).
OVERLAND MOVEMENT*
In some campaigns, journeys are often abstracted as “X time
passes”, perhaps with a random encounter or two for colour.
However, these rules were written to support a more involved
style of wilderness play known as the hexcrawl. This is a
game where the journey is as important as the destination, or
one where there isn’t necessarily a main destination per se,
instead being based on exploring a land filled with points of
interest: hidden caves, half-buried statues, abandoned cities,
haunted forests, lost tribes, and of course, dungeons.
Travel overland is measured in hexes, with each hex being
six miles across. Your typical party can cover four hex points
per day. The cost in hex points to enter a hex depends on its
base terrain type, as seen below. Unlisted terrain features such
as great rivers, canyons, and the like can further raise the cost.
Hex Terrain Hex Entry Cost

Plains, steppe, farmland 1
Hills, woods, desert, rough 2
Mountains, jungle, swamps 3
ENTERING A HEX
If a party wants to enter a hex but lacks some of the points
Hex Terrain Modifiers Cost Modifier
needed, the points they do have are spent towards entering it,
Heavy rain / deep snow / thick fog +1
but the party ends the day in their current hex. The party
Temperature extremes +1 enters the new hex once the full hex point cost is paid.
Good roads or excellent trails –1 (see below)
Encumbrance (see p. 25) +1 per burden level Navigation
When a party wants to move through a hex, they may get lost.
The good roads bonus can only apply once a day; at least If they’ve never been to the next hex they’re headed to, a PC
two hexes of good roads must be covered that day. makes a navigation check by rolling 1D12. Subtract the
When the GM constructs a hex map for your campaign, hex’s base Hex Entry Cost, and another –6 if there is thick fog,
some hexes will look empty. Mountain and hill hexes are a blizzard, a sandstorm or the like in the hex. Remove up to 2
generally known as such unless blocked by higher terrain points of these penalties if the party has any members with the
features. Otherwise, entering any hex next to a blank hex will Fieldcraft feat for that hex’s terrain type.
reveal that blank hex’s terrain type. On a result of 1 or less, the check fails: the party is lost. To
A party may also choose one of two optional march types find their way, the party must spend hex points equal to the
each day, reflecting its priorities: either caution or speed. cost spent to enter the hex they are in, and then make another
navigation check. Failure means that the party is still lost.
Cautious March The check is skipped if the party has a respectable map or
The party reduces their pace so as to better spot and avoid knowledgeable guide, or if there is a road, trail, river, or
alerting potential enemies. While marching overland that day, coastline in the current hex they can follow to the next hex.
subtract two from the group’s hex-point allowance, but apply a Random Encounters: Each navigation check triggers
+1 bonus to all rolls for overland random encounters. one roll for random encounters in that hex (see p. 23).
– 24 –
Chapter IV: Adventuring
Searching ENCUMBRANCE
Only entering a hex allows a party to determine its features.
There are two types of hex features: overt and hidden. Burden Combat Hex Cost
Overt features might not be encountered automatically, Level Speed Modifier
but require no special effort to run into them. For example, a — Full —
caravan met by any party entering the hex by day on a 1D6
Light –25%* +1
roll of 4+ is an overt feature, despite the chance to miss it.
Moderate –50%* +2
Hidden features may or may not exist in a given hex, but
can only be found if the party searches the hex—moving off Heavy –75%* +3
the beaten path to seek out points of interest there. Immobile 0 N/A
A search requires spending the same number of hex points *Round final value up to the nearest 5 ft (e.g. a base 30 ft of combat
that it cost to enter the hex and, like entering a hex, is only speed translates to encumbered speeds of 25 / 15 / 10 ft)
complete when the full hex point cost is paid. The party then
makes another navigation check for the hex. Failure means MOUNTS
that the party is lost; resolve this as normal. When the party Beasts of burden have their own movement rules.
succeeds, this reveals one hidden feature in the hex, if any
(normally at random, but some hexes may have a specific Combat Daily Hex
order to how their hidden features can be revealed). Creature
Speed* Pts
A hex can have both overt and hidden features. For
Camel 65 5
example, an overt group of orcs blocking a bridge and
Donkey / Mule 50 5
demanding a toll may be operating out of a hidden orc lair in a
network of caves further off in that hex. Elephant 50 5
Lost: Since a party must pass their navigation check to Giant Lizard 60 5
find a feature, becoming lost normally interrupts a search. Horse, Draught 50 5
However, the GM may allow certain hidden features to be Horse, Riding 80 6
discovered even by lost parties. For example, the party, Horse, War 65 5
disoriented and fatigued, stumbles upon an ominous, blood- Ox 50 4
caked altar in the midst of a clearing where no birds sing….
*For a rough yards per minute rate, triple these values
Overland Random Encounters
One random encounter check (often called a “wandering A mount can only be force-marched (see p. 22) for one
monster check”) is made after each navigation check. day at a time, and requires two days of good rest afterwards. If
To make a check, the GM rolls 1D12, applying all relevant instead made to travel the next day, it can only move at its
modifiers to the roll: normal move rate, and dies at the end of that day.
Terrain Limitations: Mounts can be walked through
terrain with a base Hex Entry Cost of 3+, but not ridden in it.
Action Modifier
Treat a mounted party wishing to enter such terrain as if they
Base Hex Entry Cost is 3 (e.g. swamp) –3
had no mounts and had marched on foot that day to that
Base Hex Entry Cost is 2 (e.g. hills) –2 point, using their own personal hex point allowance.
Hex is unusually dangerous –1 or –2
Hex is safe (e.g. patrolled) +1
Party has 1+ members with Fieldcraft for
+1
that hex’s terrain type
Players are moving at a cautious march +1
On a result of 1 or less an encounter occurs: the GM rolls

on the appropriate encounter table for that hex type.
Camping: If the party spends the night in the wilderness,
make an additional random encounter check. Subtract 1 if the
party keeps a fire big enough to see by going through the night
(although fire scares off some creatures even as it attracts
others). If an encounter occurs, randomly roll to see on whose
watch (if any!) the encounter takes place.
– 25 –

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Chapter IV: Adventuring

MOVEMENT & ENCUMBRANCE Forced March

Hex Terrain Hex Entry Cost

On a result of 1 or less an encounter occurs: the GM rolls

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