The Adventure
Players begin in a base city (safe hub for buying gear/weapons, hiring specialists/muscle, selling loot, analyzing tech, and picking up job rumors from bars, clubs, fixers, contacts, or crooked cops).
Never hit the streets alone, you are bound to get jacked. Ideal party size is 6–8 characters: strong enough to survive threats, small enough to stay coordinated and preserve surprise. One character per player is standard; with fewer players, one person may run multiple—but no favoritism between them (no free trades, loans, or forced loyalty). Referee may allow hired retainers to pad numbers.
Before leaving the city, the party must settle some things:
- Goal - where they are going (the target).
- Supplies - what they need for the journey.
- Equipment - gear to explore the target.
- Marching order - travel formation (front/middle/rear positions, scout, mapper, etc.) plus night watches if camping. Change order only at safe points.
- Maps - street and interior maps, or dedicated mapper.
Beginning the Adventure
The players will start from a base town. Base towns provide a place where a party can buy equipment and hire men and retainers, where treasure can be sold (and perhaps magic items identified). Rumors that can lead to adventure can be gathered from inns or taverns, the various guilds, or even the local town guardsmen.
Party Size and Composition
It is not wise to adventure alone, for the monsters which may be encountered are numerous. It is much safer to go adventuring with a group of people who can help and protect each other. The best size for an adventure party is 6-8 characters, enough to handle the challenges which will be faced, but not too many to become disorganized or to ruin chances to surprise the monsters.
Most DMs allow a player only one character at a time. Sometimes a person may play more than one character at a time, such as when only a few persons are playing. The players (and the DM) should try to keep any characters played by one person from becoming too close (passing magical treasures between themselves, borrowing money from each other, and so forth). There is no reason for characters run by the same player to be any more friendly with each other than with characters run by different players. The DM may allow a player character to hire companions (see Retainers) to add to the size of a party.
Organizing a Party
Players must make more choices before play begins. They must decide where to go and what supplies they will need. They will have to establish a marching order for overland travel and organize night watches.
Before journeying into the wilderness, the party should organize itself and plan the journey along the following lines:
- Deciding where to go: Choosing the goal of the adventure.
- Deciding what supplies are needed: Preparing the party for the journey to the objective.
- Equipping and outfitting the party: Buying the equipment the party will need for the exploration of the objective.
- Establishing a marching order: Setting the party up to face combat and surprise situations.
Marching Order
Before entering a dungeon, the players should arrange their characters in a "marching order". A "marching order" is the order of position in which the characters in a party explore a dungeon; who’s scouting in front, searching in the middle, and guarding the rear. Different marching orders may be used when opening doors, searching rooms, fighting combat, and so forth. The most common marching order is to explore in a column of two-by-two though this may vary in corridors of different widths. Characters who can wear full armor might be placed to guard the front and back of the party, while magic-users and thieves might be placed in the middle of the party, ready to use their skills when needed.
Mapping
One player should draw a map of the dungeon as it is explored. This player is called the mapper. Normal movement includes the time spent exploring, measuring and mapping the dungeon.
Maps are drawn to help players visualize the area their characters are exploring and to provide a record of sections of a dungeon they have already explored. A good mapper should listen closely to the DM in order to draw a good representation of the dungeon. It is most important to record proper directions, shape, and approximate size, rather than spending a lot of time determining exact measurements and filling in minute details. It is also a good idea to make brief notes about where traps, monsters, and unusual features are encountered. A map should be simple and easy to read.
Time
Time in adventures is given in turns of ten minutes each. A turn is not a measure of real time, but is a measure of how much a character can do within a given amount of time. A character may explore and map an area equal to his or her movement rate in one turn. It also takes a turn for a character to search a 10’x10’ area, to check an item for traps, to rest or to load a bag with treasure. The DM should decide how long other actions that characters might try will take.
Movement
Movement is given in the number of feet a character may move in one turn. All characters are able to move 120’ or feet in one turn when exploring a dungeon. This is only a base movement rate used to compare the speed of the characters with the monsters which are encountered and to determine both encounter and running speeds. Encounter and running movement is much faster and is given as the number of feet the character can move in one round. Encounter movement is determined by dividing the base movement rate by 3, while running speed is equal to the base movement rate in rounds.
A base movement rate of 120’ in ten minutes may seem slow, but it assumes that the players are mapping carefully, searching, and trying to be quiet. It also takes into account the generally "dark and dingy" conditions of the dungeon in which characters are adventuring.
The DM may wish to allow characters to move faster when travelling through areas they are familiar with. The DM will also have to determine movement rates for special situations, such as for swimming, climbing or crawling, and for crossing special areas, such as slippery ground, steep hills, broken rocks and mud.
Resting
After moving for 5 turns, the party must rest for 1 turn. One turn in 6 (one each hour of the adventure) must be spent resting. If characters do not rest, they have a penalty of -1 on all "to hit" and damage rolls until they do rest.
Time, Scale and Movement
Unlike dungeons, the basic measure of distances in the wilderness is yards instead of feet. In the wilderness it is easier to move great distances. There is more open terrain, the lighting is better and there are fewer uncertainties in general. To calculate how far a character may move in the wilderness in one day, convert the number of feet he or she may move in a turn to miles by dividing by 5. The result is then read as miles. A man who moves 90’ a turn in the dungeon will move 18 miles in a day (90/5 = 18).
The distance a character may move in a 10 minute turn is equal to the distance moved in the dungeon read as yards. Therefore, a man who moves 90’ a turn in the dungeon will move 90 yards (270) in the wilderness. The distance moved in a combat round is also read as yards.
Missile and spell ranges are also read as yards in the wilderness. IMPORTANT NOTE: THE AREA AFFECTED BY A SPELL IS NOT READ AS YARDS. Thus, a fire ball spell cast in the wilderness would have a range of 240 yards, but still affect an area 40 feet in diameter.
Movement in the wilderness is normally calculated in terms of number of days travelling, and are referred to as such. Each day a character may move so many miles and this movement will equal 1 day. If the characters have an encounter, the time scale is changed to rounds. Ten minute turns are seldom used in wilderness play.
Pursuit speed in the wilderness is equal to 3 times the combat speed of the character. The same man given in the example above (who moves 90’ per turn in the dungeon) would be able to move 90 yards or 270’ in one round if he was being chased or chasing something. Such speed may only be maintained for short periods of time and requires rest immediately after.
The table below shows how many miles per day creatures may move, based upon their move per turn.
| Move per Turn | Miles/Day |
|---|---|
| 30° | 6 |
| 60° | 12 |
| 90° | 18 |
| 120° | 24 |
| 150° | 30 |
| 180’ | 36 |
| 240° | 48 |
A party may only move as fast as its slowest member.
The type of terrain the party is moving through affects the distance a party may travel. Although it makes no difference to the combat round or the 10 minute turn, the terrain may increase or decrease the number of miles a character may move in a day. The table below gives the change in movement for different types of terrain.
| Terrain | Movement is... |
|---|---|
| Clear, city, trail, grasslands | normal |
| Forest, hills, desert, broken | 2/3 the normal rate |
| Mountains, jungle, swamp | 1/2 the normal rate |
| Road | 3/2 the normal rate |
A party can move through several types of terrain as long as it has. enough movement to do so. It is suggested that all movement be rounded down to the nearest mile. For example, a party with a daily move of 12 miles starts in clear terrain. It then moves 3 miles to a road (cost: 3 miles), travels 9 miles along the road (cost: 6 miles) and moves 11/2 mile into the mountains (cost: 3 miles) before camping for the night (total cost: 3 + 6 + 3 = 12 miles).
Forced March
A character may increase the number of miles travelled in a day by using a forced march. Characters using this option will move one and a half times their normal day’s movement rate. Thus a character who moves 24 miles a day normally would be able to force march 36 miles. A forced march requires that the characters rest for one full day immediately after the forced march.
Obstacles to Movement
Travelling in the wilderness, whether by land, water or air, is not always easy as there are often features or events that will present delays or obstructions. These may include unfordable rivers, massive cliffs, snowbound passes, rapids, sandbars, waterfalls, dense forests, or vile and treacherous moors or swamps. Aerial travel may be affected by thunderclouds, strong winds, fog, or mountains too high to fly over. Occasional use or placement of these obstacles will add interest and challenge to wilderness travel.
REST: Characters must rest one full day for every six days they spend travelling. Rest may also be required after evading monsters (see D&D Basic rules). Parties who do not rest will have a penalty of -1 on “to hit” and damage rolls during encounters.
Becoming Lost
Unless the party is following a known path, or moving along a river or coastline, or toward a visible terrain feature, they may become lost. The characters will discover this on their own as they move. The DM will keep track of a lost party's actual position and direction of movement (see p. X56). If lost, the party may try to find the right direction, backtrack, or find terrain features they recognize.
| Character Encumbrance: | Normal Move (per turn) | Encounter or Combat Movement | Running Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 coins or less OR unarmored | 120’ | 40’/round | 120’/round |
| 401-600 coins OR leather armored | 90’ | 30’/round | 90’/round |
| 601-800 coins OR metal armored | 60’ | 20’/round | 60’/round |
| 801-1600 coins OR metal armored and carrying treasure | 30’ | 10’/round | 30’/round |
A player carrying treasure in addition to wearing armor must use the movement speed one line below the normal one. Movement per round will be explained in the section on Combat (page B24). EXAMPLE: A character wearing leather armor and carrying treasure will move at the rate of 60’ per turn.
Light
Most dungeons are dark and it is necessary for characters to bring their own light source with them. A torch or lantern will cast light 30 feet in all directions. A torch will burn out in 6 turns (1 hour); a lantern filled with one flask of oil will burn out in 24 turns (4 hours). It is important to remember which characters are carrying light sources. A character could not, for example, carry a lit torch, a drawn sword, and a shield at the same time.
Night Vision
Night vision is the ability to see heat signatures in the dark, warm objects appear bright, cool objects appear gray, and cold objects appear black. Reading is impossible using night vision.
Infravision
Infravision is the ability to "see" heat patterns. Most living things give off heat. To infravision, warm things are bright, cool things are gray, and cold things are black. Infravision is useless in normal or magical light. Infravision cannot be used to read without light. All non-human monsters have infravision.
Doors
NORMAL DOORS: Doors in a dungeon are usually closed, and are often stuck or locked. A lock must usually be picked by a thief. An unlocked door must be forced open to pass through it. To force open a door, roll 1d6; a result of 1 or 2 (on 1d6) means that the door is forced open. The roll should be adjusted by a character’s Strength score adjustment. The number needed to open a door can never be less than 1 nor greater than 1-5.
Once a door is opened, it will usually swing shut when released unless it is spiked or wedged open. Doors will usually open automatically for monsters, unless the door is held, spiked, or closed with magical spells.
SECRET DOORS: A secret door is any door that is hidden or concealed. A secret door usually does not look like a door; it may be a sliding panel or hidden under a rug. Any character has a 1 in 6 chance of finding a secret door; any elf has a 2 in 6 chance. The DM should only check for finding a secret door if a player says that the character is searching for one and searching for one in the correct area. The search takes one turn. Each character has only one chance to find each secret door.
LISTENING: A character may try to listen at a door to hear what is on the other side. For each character listening, the DM should roll 1d6. A result of 1 (1 or 2 for demi-humans) means that the character hears any noises being made by the creatures on the other side of the door (if any). Each character may only try once per door. Thieves have special chances to "hear noise" (see page B8). The undead do not make any noise.
Traps
Dungeons often contain traps, such as a trap door in the floor which springs open when a character walks over it. If any character does something which could trigger a trap (such as walking over a certain point), the trap will be sprung on a roll of 1-2 (on 1d6). Trap damage is usually automatic once sprung, and traps are not considered part of combat.
Any character has a 1 in 6 chance of finding a trap when searching for one in the correct area. Checking a specific area for a trap will take one full turn. Each character may only check once to find each trap.
Wandering Monsters
Wandering monsters are monsters which roam through dungeons but have not been placed in rooms by the DM. Wandering monsters may be selected by the DM to fit each dungeon.