Traveling and Hexes

The map for the game world will be done in hexes. When the game first starts, only the hex with the camp will be marked on the player map. The PCs have just arrived here, fleeing from their old homes. They need to explore and find resources if their tribe is to flourish.

Each hex will take four hours to travel through. Four hexes can be traveled in a day before the PCs must camp. For each four-hour period (also known as a ‘watch’) that the PCs do not rest after traveling, they must roll a D1 Primal check. If they fail, they gain the condition Exhausted 1. This test must be repeated every four hours that the PCs do not rest, with the difficulty increasing by one each time.

Each day, the PCs must consume one unit of food (this is easiest to track during camp). If they do not, they must roll a D1 Primal check. If they fail, they gain the condition Starving 1. This test must be repeated each day that the PCs do not eat, with the difficulty increasing by one each time.

In addition, any of the tribe that follows the PCs must consume food as well, according to their size. Large dinosaurs will obviously consume more food than a tribal warrior. More information on this will be forthcoming. I’m thinking about tracking how much food is needed by a size category.

When the game first begins, the tribe will only exert their influence over the hex their camp is in. They won’t be able to easily harvest resources from surrounding hexes. They can expand their influence to surrounding hexes during downtime.

Terrain and Encounters

If entering a hex without an encounter keyed to it, roll for random encounters. This is accomplished by rolling a d10. Each type of terrain will have its own encounter frequency and list of possible encounters, defined by either the scenario or the GM. Though not exhaustive, common types of terrain are listed below:

• Forest
• Plains
• Jungle
• Hill
• Mountains
• Desert
• Swamps
• Polar
• River/ Lake
• Ocean
• Special

Special Terrain

Special Terrain includes diverse and unique features such as Volcanoes, Cursed Lands, Shale Pits, Dream Lands, Dark Nexus, Boneyards, Inhabited, etc.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes certainly have their own set of dangers, but they are a source of both obsidian and magma. Primal Fire beings will often inhabit these areas.

Cursed Lands

Cursed Lands may share a terrain type with any common terrain. These are lands where the dead do not rest. Anything killed in the Cursed Lands rises as a Restless Dead one minute after it falls. Hordes of the dead often roam these horrid places.

Shale Pits

A great source of stone. Tribes with a Shale Pit under their influence are lucky indeed.

Dream Lands

Dream Lands share a terrain type with a common terrain, though there is often something remarkable about them (a circle of standing stones; a massive, twisting tree rising out of the swamp; a pillar of bleached rock in the middle of the desert, etc). Dream Lands are places where reality is stretched thin. Creatures often have visions here, and fantastic beings are willed into existence. There is knowledge to be gained in these lands, but also much strife.

Dark Nexus

These are areas where leylines of dark energy converge. Any roll using Dark receives 1 bonus die (or more, if the land is strong enough. See below). These lands often have some sort of strange effect on those who traverse it. The GM can roll for this effect, choose one from the table, or make up their own.

Roll Effect

1-2 The dark energy of this place weighs heavily upon the mind. For each watch spent here, a creature loses 3 Willpower. This can be mitigated by a successful Resolve roll.

3-4 Beasts and Dinosaurs instinctively do not like this place. For each watch spent in this area, they must make a D2 Resolve test. If they fail, they lose Willpower equal to the amount they failed by.

5-6 The land is vampiric! For each watch spent here, a creature loses 3 health. This can be mitigated by a successful Resolve roll.

7-8 The dark energy is powerful here. All Dark rolls are made at a +2 bonus.

9-10 The dark Energy is incredibly powerful here! All Dark rolls are made at a +3 bonus.

Boneyards

This is a vast graveyard of bones. The bones may be from Wooly Walkers or Dinosaurs. It’s a great place to harvest dead animal parts.

Inhabited

Another people make camp here. This will be fleshed out more after we dive further into the lore.