OverlandTravelRulesforBECMI&OSRWhencharactersbeginthecampaign,thelocationtheybeginplayinisconsideredaBaseofOperation.Asplayprogresses,characterswillventureforthintotheunknown.Othercities,towns,villages,castles,keeps,ordomicileswherefriendsresidemaybedeemedanotherBaseofOperationoncesufficientroleplayingintheareahasoccurred.BasesofOperationaretypicallyconsideredsafehavensforthecharacters.Betweensafehavens,thecharactersmusttravelandplottheircoursesthroughvarioustypesofterrainwithvariouslevelsofthreatfromwildlandcreatures.TheserulesprovideasystemforoverlandtravelbetweenBasesofOperationandadventurelocations.Inthefollowingexample,thecharacters’BaseofOperationisthecityofThyatis(lowerrightofmap).ThegroupistaskedtotravelfirsttothetownofHillforkandfromtheretheymustgotothesoutherntipoftheAltanTepestorendezvouswithachieftainforameetingonbehalfofaSenator(Location7onmap).Onehexequals8miles.

Inordertomakethisjourney,theplayersmustmapouttheirroute.Asyoucansee,therearemultipleroutesthatmaybetaken.TheseroutesareplannedoutusingtheRC.Thefollowingtableliststhetypicalmodesoftravelcharactersmightutilize.

NoticethateventhoughtheroadroutethatleadstothenorthofJuliniusandtheriverroutearequicker,theirusetakesthepartyfurtherafieldandtheywinduptakingjustaslong,atleastwhereplanningisconcerned.Encountersmayvarydependingontheterrain.Also,let’ssupposetheSenatorsentthecharacterswithaletterofintroductionorsomeothersuchofficialpapersforusewhentheyarriveinHillfork.ThiswouldbeagoodopportunitytodeclareHillforkaBaseofOperations.

TheNutsandBoltsofOverlandTravelDutyPerformanceRollWhenapartyofadventurerstravels,eachcharactermusttakeononeofthefollowingroles:

Itisassumedthateveryoneisperformingmenialtaskssuchasnightwatch,cooking,woodgathering,watergathering,feedingthepackanimals,etc.

EachcharacterbeginstheadventuringdayoftravelrollingoneofthePertinentSkillRollsthatmatchtheirduty.Thistakesplacebeforetheday’sevents,buttherollsymbolizestheoverallday’ssuccessorfailureperformingyourduty.Itdoesn’tmatterwhichskillischosen.Charactersmayalsoswitchdutieseachday,butnotswitchduringthesameday.TheDutyPerformanceRollisonlyrolledonceforthedaywhereasthenexttworollsareperformedaseachnewhexisenteredandmaybeperformedseveraltimesthatday.ThemodifiersfromthefirstrollaffectseveryFeatureandCreaturerollfortheday.

• DutyPerformanceRoll–Rolledatbeginningofday;resultsaffectthenexttworolls

• FeatureRoll–RolledwheneachHexisentered;modifiedbytheDutyPerformanceRoll(1d8witha1resultinginthediscoveryofaFeature).

• CreatureRoll–RolledwheneachHexisentered;modifiedbytheDutyPerformanceRoll(1d12withanencounterdeterminedfromthebelowtable).

CreatureandFeatureRollsThetablesforthissystemarefoundinadocumentbyJedMcClure.AftereachpersoncompletestheirDutyPerformanceRolls,theTrailBosswillcalculatetheoverallmodifiersandthentheywillmakeonerollon1d8forFeaturesandonerollon1d12forCreaturesadjustingwiththemodifiersfromthepreviousstep.

Goingbacktoourexampleonthemap,ifyoulookattheRoadterrain,anencounteronlyoccursona1,whereasRiversandHillsyieldanencounterona1or2.ItmightseemsafertotravelbyRoad,butthatpathwouldrequire5rollsaseachnewHexisentered,whereasthejourneythroughtheHillsrequireslessencounterrolls,butwithahigherchanceofencounter.ThismakesthePlayershavetostrategizemorewiththeirroutes.IfaFeatureisencountered,thefollowingtableisused:

Thereare62pagesoftablesinJedMcClure’sdocument,sothepossibilitiesareratherboundlessonceyouembarkfromthistabletotheothertables.GettingLostThissystemdoesawaywiththerollforgettinglost.GettinglostinthissystemismoresubtleandresultsintheCartographermakingerrorsintheirmicro-mappingandnavigating.Ifthecharactersaregivenamaporhaveoneavailableviathegame,thentheyaren’tgettinglostatthe8-MileHexscale.Theplayermuststillmaketheirdutyroll,butgettinglostisatasmallerscaleduringtheday’sadventuring.TheDMmaydecidethatitsimplyeatsuptimeandslowstheoverallprogressofthegroup.