Adventures & Traveling (Compatible across All RPG Systems)

About this Book

This book is intended for Storytellers and players of most fantasy RPG systems, especially those that occasionally make time and space for something other than combat and exploring dangerous dungeons. It offers a richer perspective on traveling and adventuring as a whole, always aiming for the simplest possible game mechanics—no unnecessary rolls or extra calculations.

In the first chapter, you’ll find inspiration in the proposed NPCs and their descriptions, which often (or can) directly lead to quest hooks or reveal interesting information, such as the location of a forgotten ruin. This is ideal for creating richer and more believable quest beginnings, instead of the typical “You’re sitting in a tavern and hear about a dangerous nearby dungeon...”

The second chapter focuses on enriching travel, an unavoidable part of most adventures. It describes various activities adventurers can engage in while camping in the wilderness. These activities enhance roleplaying while also adding to the game system with small bonuses that stem from such actions.

The final, third section of the book delves into herbalism—gathering and processing magical herbs and mushrooms. This activity can also take place during wilderness journeys, allowing heroes to craft brews, ointments, and other herbal products that provide healing, resistance to poisons, and other helpful effects. As with camping activities, these effects are not exceptionally powerful but offer minor assistance and a deeper roleplaying experience.

Notice

This book is largely a compilation of three smaller, previously published guides: the mini-books Non-Combat Encounters, Camping, and Magical Herbs. The comprehensive compendium Adventures & Traveling consolidates their content and adds a few pages of new material, along with entirely new, previously unused artworks. However, the majority of the content is identical to (or very similar to) the content of the aforementioned older guides.

Compatibility

This book is intended for all RPG systems and adventures in fantasy worlds. The cost of this universality is a certain generalization of information. Sometimes, it’s a matter of terminology (for example, we use the term Storyteller in this book for the person running the game, though in your RPG, this could be Dungeon Master, Game Master, or something similar).

Other times, particularly in describing the effects of specific camping activities or magical herbs, numerical bonuses have been generalized to descriptive terms. For example, instead of “+1 bonus,” we use “minor bonus,” as your RPG system may use different values like +1, +2, etc. The Storyteller can easily translate these into the specific rules for your system.

Similarly, adapting skill usage for specific activities or effects is necessary; the book provides several general skills, but in your game, they may have different names and focuses. The exact difficulty check is also not specified here; however, it can generally be considered “standard, moderate” difficulty. The Storyteller will need to assign a specific difficulty based on the system you use.