Chapter 15: Travel and Caravan Preparation
Travel Days, the Route Card, the Departure Checklist, the Travel Event Table with natural-roll framing, Low-Touch Travel, ration and Road Kit burn, and the Arrival State.
Travel Quick Reference
Use Travel Days as the only travel unit. Travel Days drive rations, Camp, rental cost, and event rolls. Travel uses four pieces:
- Route Card.
- Departure Checklist.
- Travel Event Table.
- Arrival State.
Travel is not a cutscene. It burns food, exposes gear, creates encounters, and determines what shape the party is in when the contract begins.
Route Card
| Field | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Short, 2 Travel Days | Standard, 3 Travel Days | Long, 5 Travel Days |
| Terrain | Road, -1 | Trail, 0 | Wilderness, +1 |
| Threat | Friendly, -1 | Standard, 0 | Hostile, +1 |
| Special | None | 1 Special | 2+ Specials |
Route Travel Days = Distance + Terrain + Threat. Minimum 1.
A Special replaces one travel roll. It still consumes that Travel Day unless the scene itself changes travel time.
Distance
- Short: Nearby job, neighboring settlement, roadside ruin, local route.
- Standard: Meaningful trip that matters but should not dominate the session.
- Long: Major journey, remote contract site, region-crossing route.
If a journey is larger than Long, split it into legs.
Terrain
Terrain means infrastructure, not biome.
| Terrain | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Road | Maintained, marked, patrolled, or commonly traveled. |
| Trail | Known but rough. Hunter paths, old routes, unmaintained roads. |
| Wilderness | No reliable route. Cross-country, ruins, swamps, broken passes, reactor-scarred land. |
Threat
- Friendly: Allies, favors, patrol support, cleared route.
- Standard: Ordinary road risk.
- Hostile: Active enemies, faction territory, monsters, Coiler patrols, war, dangerous contract zone.
Terrain Flavor
Terrain flavor frames the Travel Days but does not change math.
- Terrain Type: Forest, desert, mountain, forgotten ruins, abandoned settlement.
- Magik Saturation: Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High.
- Population Density: Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High.
Departure Checklist
| Check | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pace | Fast, -1, 2 rations/day | Medium, 0, 1 ration/day | Slow, +1, 0 rations/day |
| Watch | Active / Driver, -1 | Casual, 0 | None, +1 |
| Outfitting | Comprehensive, -1 | Basic, 0 | None, +1 |
| Knowledge | Guide / Prior Trip, -1 | Map / Directions / Briefing, 0 | No Reliable Information, +1 |
| Transport | Mounted / Cart / Hired, -1 | Cargo Paca only, 0 | On Foot, +1 |
Standing Modifier = total checklist modifiers. Apply it to every d10 travel roll. Negative is good. Positive is bad. Natural results still matter:
- Natural 1 is always Tailwind.
- Natural 10 is always Crisis.
- Otherwise apply Standing Modifier and clamp the final result from 1 to 10.
For matched prep, A and B count as prepared. C counts as unprepared.
Pace
| Pace | Standing Modifier | Ration Burn | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast | -1 | 2 rations per traveler/Paca per Travel Day | Less exposure, more food burned. |
| Medium | 0 | 1 ration per traveler/Paca per Travel Day | Standard pace. |
| Slow | +1 | 0 rations | Forage, graze, gather water, hunt, and restock while moving. Counts as fed for Camp. |
One ration feeds one Contractor, hired Contractor, guide, driver, or Paca for one Travel Day and enables HP recovery at that night's Camp. Alcohol enables Motivation recovery.
Watch
| Watch | Rule |
|---|---|
| Active / Driver | Hostile Encounters do not surprise the party. A dedicated watcher may lose Camp benefits unless a hired driver covers watch. |
| Casual | No special benefit, but not careless. |
| None | Hostile Encounters surprise the party. Party begins in Slow phase and rolls initiative at disadvantage. |
If the party is not surprised, a Hostile Encounter does not force combat. They can hide, flee, negotiate, scout, ambush, or engage.
Outfitting and Road Kits
Outfitting means tarps, rope, spare lashings, waxed cloth, repair stock, wheel pins, boot patches, water skins, climbing spikes, and similar road gear.
A Road Kit costs Cheap Scrip, takes 1 inventory slot, and is consumed when spent.
- Comprehensive: Road Kits equal to half Route Travel Days, rounded up.
- Basic: 1 Road Kit.
- None: 0 Road Kits.
Spend a Road Kit to cancel one time, HP, Motivation, gear, or supply cost from Weather / Environment Hazard or Resource Strain. It can also grant advantage on one relevant travel check when plausible.
Knowledge
| Knowledge | Rule |
|---|---|
| Guide / Prior Trip | Party hired a local guide or has traveled this exact route in play. Once per trip, preview the framing of the next rolled Travel Day. |
| Map / Directions / Briefing | Practical route information. No modifier. |
| No Reliable Information | Discovery events may be missed, misread, or delayed. |
Transport
| Transport | Rule |
|---|---|
| Mounted / Cart / Hired | Riding Pacas, carts, wagons, or hired transport. Carts and wagons usually require Road or Trail. |
| Cargo Paca only | Pacas carry supplies while Contractors walk. This helps cargo but provides less speed and protection than mounted, cart, wagon, or hired transport. |
| On Foot | No animals, cart, or driver. The party carries everything. |
Transport helps against Transport Obstacles and Terrain Hazards. It also lets the party avoid one non-Crisis Hostile Encounter per trip. If they flee this way, the fight does not happen, but the Travel Day makes no progress: resources are consumed, Camp may happen, and Remaining Travel Days does not decrease.
Mandatory Supply Declarations
Before departure, record:
- Rations carried.
- Alcohol carried.
- Crystal Shards carried.
- Road Kits carried.
- Ammunition and Magcells carried.
- Cargo capacity used and remaining.
- Paca, cart, wagon, guide, or driver rental cost.
Do not handwave this.
Low-Touch Travel
Use Low-Touch Travel when travel matters but should not dominate the session, especially in early sessions or for short connective journeys.
Build the Route Card and Departure Checklist normally. Burn rations, alcohol, Road Kits, rentals, and other declared supplies normally. Then roll once on the Travel Event Table for the whole route instead of once per Travel Day.
Resolve that event, apply any delay or resource loss, then state the Arrival State.
Do not use Low-Touch Travel when the journey itself is the main danger, when the party is crossing hostile territory, or when travel logistics are the central challenge of the contract.
Running Low-Touch Travel. Low-Touch Travel compresses a route into one travel event. Resolve the result with the amount of attention the journey deserves.
If the journey is connective, resolve the event quickly and move to Arrival State. If the players engage the event, the route is dangerous, or the complication matters to the contract, expand it into a full scene.
Low-Touch Travel is a pacing tool, not a safety tool. It can still cost supplies, damage gear, injure Pacas, create enemies, delay the party, or change the contract's starting state.
Running Travel Days
Set Remaining Travel Days equal to Route Travel Days.
For each Travel Day:
- Consume rations based on Pace.
- Roll on the Travel Event Table unless this Travel Day is a Special.
- Resolve the event.
- Apply time change.
- Camp if safe enough.
- Continue until Remaining Travel Days reaches 0.
Most Travel Days should take three to ten minutes unless a major scene emerges.
Travel Event Table
Roll 1d10. Natural 1 is Tailwind. Natural 10 is Crisis. Otherwise apply Standing Modifier and clamp 1-10.
| Final Result | Event | Matched Prep | If Prepared | If Unprepared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tailwind | - | Save 1 Travel Day. | Save 1 Travel Day. |
| 2 | Uneventful | - | Brief description. No cost. | Same. |
| 3 | Discovery | Knowledge | Find clue, landmark, salvage, warning, shortcut, faction sign. | Miss, misread, reach late, or lose time extracting value. |
| 4 | Road Encounter / Social Complication | - | Resolve through roleplay or checks. | Same. |
| 5 | Transport Obstacle | Transport | Cross, haul, ferry, maneuver, or protect cargo cleanly. | +1 Travel Day, abandon cargo, pay cost, damage supplies, harder route. |
| 6 | Terrain Hazard | Transport | Transport absorbs, bypasses, or grants advantage. | +1 Travel Day, HP cost, gear damage, lost position, detour. |
| 7 | Weather / Environment Hazard | Outfitting | Road Kits and supplies absorb worst of it. | +1 Travel Day, Motivation loss, exposure, spoiled supplies, damaged gear. |
| 8 | Resource Strain | Outfitting | Road Kits prevent, repair, or reduce loss. | Lose rations, spill shards, damage cargo, break gear, injure Paca, or +1 Travel Day. |
| 9 | Hostile Encounter | Watch | Active Watch prevents surprise. Casual resolves normally. | No Watch means surprise. |
| 10 | Crisis | - | Major travel scene. Prep may help but does not cancel. | Same, usually worse framing. |
Natural-Roll Framing
The natural die shows what the road tried to become. The modified result shows how preparation changed it. Use the natural roll as inspiration when the modifier changes the result. Examples:
- Natural 7 modified to 1: a storm was coming, but the party saw it early and turned it into fast travel.
- Natural 8 modified to 2: a wheel pin started to shear, but a Road Kit fixed it before it mattered.
- Natural 9 modified to 4: movement in the brush became negotiation instead of ambush because the watch spotted it.
Time Change
- Normal progress: -1 Remaining Travel Days.
- Tailwind: -2 Remaining Travel Days.
- Delay / +1 Travel Day: 0 for this Travel Day.
A delay means the day happened, resources were consumed, and no progress was made.
Tailwind cannot reduce Remaining Travel Days below 0. If Tailwind would reduce the route below 0, arrive immediately and ignore the excess progress.
Camp and Food During Travel
At the end of a Travel Day, the party may Camp if the location is safe enough.
One ration covers the Travel Day and that night's HP recovery eligibility. Slow Pace replaces ration burn and counts as fed for Camp. Alcohol is still required for Motivation recovery.
Do not add a separate hunger damage mechanic. A traveler without food can still travel and sleep but gains no HP recovery at Camp.
Arrival State
When Remaining Travel Days reaches 0, state the Arrival State:
- Travel Days taken.
- Rations remaining.
- Alcohol remaining.
- Shards spent or lost.
- Magcells spent.
- Wounds taken.
- Gear broken.
- Road Kits spent.
- Pacas injured or lost.
- NPCs gained, angered, helped, or abandoned.
- Clues or warnings discovered.
The contract begins from this state. Do not rewrite the contract to compensate.