Travel Guide

Travel Tutorial

You are about to embark on a map travel adventure! Traveling will be different from navigating a city, so I will lay out the steps for you now. Be aware that map travel will require more group decisions and interactions and will also include turns and an increased amount of combat and reward. 

First let’s look at the map: 

The map is based on a grid and has an axis with letters and the opposing with numbers. When referencing the map, choose a coordinate that matches the desired location and state it using the letter and then the corresponding number.

For example, there is a treasure chest on the map located at L12.

Icons on the map include things like definite enemy encounters, caves, dungeons, and locations to explore, places where camping will be safe overnight, and other things of interest. If you want to know more about a certain icon, reference it’s location and ask NIMS or someone else in your party that might have that information. 

Each time period of the day allows you to travel 4 spaces on the grid in any direction or combination. 

While in any vehicle or transport, you must stay on the designated roads. If the group leaves the road or if there is a destroyed road, the transport will have to be emptied, put into a blue space container travel container, and then re-deployed once the group goes back to the road. If a road is simply “damaged” (not shown above) the car can travel it, but the number of spaces that are able to be traveled is split in half (so 2 per time period instead of 4).

 Terms and Guidelines: 

Navigator: The character that is in charge of movement and tone for the day. This character is selected randomly at the beginning of each day and has the option to pass to the next character. They will select all travel squares and roll for the tone of each time period. 

The Navigator has the final say in how the group travels. They must state which squares they are leading the group to travel (since this is digital, I realize that it’s an annoying step, but it will make sense later). 

Travel Order: Before you travel, a travel order will be decided via random selection. Travel Order will decide several things: The first responder to events on the square,  who has the first turn in combat (the order will dictate the order of turns in combat as well) and also determines who rolls for certain events that may happen as you travel. An example of this is if an npc approaches the group and a roll is needed, the next person in the order will get to make that roll.

Events: Each square on the map has a potential event. As you move to the coordinates selected by the navigator, a roll for each square will be done by the Story Teller (me). Based on that roll, an event may or may not happen. The tone of any event will be dictated by the roll made by the navigator at the beginning of the move. 

These incidents will cover a range of topics including: scenes with things to explore, encounters with npcs, side missions from npcs, encounters with enemies including ambushes and traps, and more!

Combat Order: The Lead in the group will have the first move in any combat situation unless there is an ambush or a roll that allows the enemy to attack first. The lead will dictate if combat or diplomacy will be used if possible. If combat is selected or unavoidable, the lead will get the first move in the encounter and the others will have moves in the order as stated above. Combat turns can be passed (if the person wants to stay out of the battle or cannot respond in a timely fashion) and no harm will come to the character as long as they stay removed from the battle. However, a character can be captured and detained even if they don’t fight.

If an enemy surrenders, the player who executed the last attack has the power to accept or deny the request.

What about the NPC’s? You can choose to call any character traveling with you to fight. If you do not call them to fight, they will hold back and only intervene in non combat ways, like pulling someone out of danger or helping with a retreat. If an NPC gets a turn, they will be able to move once all the other players have had a turn, effectively putting them at the back of the queue. 

Nims is also an NPC. She, however, will step in during dire circumstances and attempt to save or heal anyone who is grievously injured or in danger. 

If you have familiars, companions or bots, you can choose to have them fight in combat. If you choose this, they will take your turn for their move. Some of these extras have special moves or abilities that can be used, but they cannot benefit from any buffs or items you may have. 

Detailed Travel Example: You are at  square M15. You want to get to the treasure at L12. The navigator will roll for tone and then state each square they’d like to travel to in that time period. For this example the navigator would say : Moving to M14. The storyteller will roll the die for an event. If there is no event, the group would move to the next square and the process will repeat. 

The next move for the group is L14. A roll is made and an event occurs. The Story teller will point the event at the next person in the Travel Order. They will be the lead for that square and  have the first turn in reacting to the event and any rolls that happen during the opening. The other players will have their turns in succession based on the Order. At the next event, regardless of who has had a turn previously, the next person in the order will have the next “lead” position. This will ensure that everyone has a chance to lead events as people travel. 

Example: the order is Pi, Alpha, Beta, Gamma. 

The first event encountered will go to Pi for the lead.

The next event will go to Alpha.

The next to Beta and then Gamma. 

Once the group reaches the final square and completes all activities, they will start the process again for the next time period. 

Step by step break down of traveling.

Step 1: The groups Travel Order will be selected and confirmed. 

Step 2: The navigator will roll for the tone of the time period that you will be traveling in. 

Step 3: The navigator will propose a destination and the group can role play and decide if they agree.

Step 4: Once a destination has been agreed upon, the navigator will select the route and state the next square they’d like to travel to. The time period will be complete once the group has traveled 4 squares. 

Step 5: At each selected square, the story teller will roll the die to determine if an event will happen and what type. Once it has been started, the lead will be in control of the reaction and what happens next. The rest of the group will take turns interacting in the event based on the Travel Order. Please wait for the Storyteller to direct the event towards the appropriate player before completing any response that may alter the situation. Players can rp within the group as a reaction if they like.  

Step 6: If there is an event, once it has been solved the group will move to the next square. If there is no event, the group will move immediately.

Step 7: Once the group travels 4 squares, the process will start over at step 2 for the next time period.