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The Handy Haversack

Wilderness Journeys

This sheet provides guidelines for playing through wilderness travel and for keeping track of supplies during the journeys.

Journey Cycles

A journey takes place in Cycles that each represent the days spent travelling in the wilderness. The DM first decides whether the journey is short or long, depending on how long it will take the characters to reach their destination. The length of the journey determines how many days are represented by a cycle; each cycle is one day for a short journey or 7 days for a long one.

For each cycle, follow these steps in order:

  • 1. Weather. The DM determines the predominant weather conditions for the Cycle., you either choose the weather or roll for it on the Weather table on the DM screen.
  • 2. Pace. the players choose the groups travel pace for the cycle: slow, normal, or fast. See the Travel Pace table on the DM screen for details about each pace.
  • 3. Navigate. The DM decides whether the adventurers are at risk of losing their way, following the guidelines in the “Becoming Lost” section below.
  • 4. Encounter. Roll a d10. On a 1, the characters encounter something this cycle. The DM either decides what happens or rolls on the Wilderness Encounter table.
  • 5. Supplies. Expend food and water for each creature in the party that must eat or drink, consulting the “Food and Water” sections below.
  • 6. Progress. Track the party’s progress in the miles for the cycle. You may use a hex map in this kit to keep track of the party’s current location.

Becoming Lost

Travelers are unlikely to get lost when following an established path or road or with a landmark in sight. In those circumstances, assume a group of adventurers won’t get lost.

Here are the circumstances that can cause a group to lose its way:

  • Weather that obscures the area, such as heavy rain, snow, or fog.
  • Traveling at night, even with light sources or darkvision.
  • Dense forest
  • Traveling underground
  • Traveling at sea while unable to see the sky or any familiar land.

The DM lets the group know when they are in one or more of those circumstances, and then the characters choose one of their number who must make a Wisdom (Survival) check against a DC appropriate to the terrain (see “Wilderness navigation” on the DM’s screen). Other members of the group can take the Help action on this check as normal, and traveling at a fast pace imposes disadvantage on the check.

If the check fails, the group spends 1d6 hours (short cycle) or 1d6 days (long cycle) traveling in a random direction. The DM may roll a die to determine which hex the group ends up in on a map, such as the ones provided in this kit.

Random Encounter

If a random encounter occurs, the DM can roll on a table in a book like Xanathar’s Guide to Everything or use the Wilderness Encounter table here.

Wilderness Encounter

d8 Encounter
1 A lone, powerful creature appears! The DM chooses the creature, selecting one with a challenge rating that is 1-3 higher than the group’s level. The creature lives in the area or is passing through, and it is hostile toward the group only if they provoke it.
2-4 Hostile creatures prowl nearby! The DM chooses the creatures, selecting five with a challenge rating equal to the group’s level. These creatures are either monsters native to the area or hostile travelers
5-6 A group of friendly travelers crosses the group’s path. The travelers have 2d6 goods for sale that cost 1 gp or less on the Adventuring Gear table in the Player’s Handbook
7 The group discovers a monument. Roll on the Monuments table.
8 The group wanders into a strange place. Roll on the Weird Locales table.

Monuments

d20 Monument
1 Sealed burial mound or pyramid
2 Plundered burial mound or pyramid
3 Faces carved into a mountainside or cliff
4 Giant statues carved out of a mountainside or cliff
5-6 intact obelisk etched with a warning, historical lore, dedication, or religious iconography
7-8 Ruined or toppled obelisk
9-10 Intact statue of a person or deity
11-13 Ruined or toppled statue of a person or deity
14 Great stone wall, intact, with tower fortifications spaced at one-mile intervals
15 Great stone wall in ruins
16 Great stone arch
17 Fountain
18 Intact circle of standing stones
19 Ruined or toppled circle of standing stones
20 Pillar carved with elemental or fey symbols

Weird Locales

d20 Locale
1-2 Dead magic zone (similar to an antimagic field)
3 Wild magic zone (roll on the Wild Magic Surge table in the Player’s Handbook whenever a spell is cast within the zone)
4 Boulder carved with talking faces
5 Crystal cave that mystically answers questions
6 Ancient tree containing a trapped spirit
7-8 Battlefield where lingering fog occasionally assumes humanoid forms
9-10 A portal to another plane of existence
11 Wishing well
12 Giant crystal shard protruding from the ground
13 Wrecked ship, even if water is nowhere nearby
14-15 Haunted hill or barrow mound
16 River ferry guided by a skeletal captain
17 Field of petrified soldiers or other creatures
18 Forest of petrified or awakened tree
19 Canyon containing a dragons' graveyard
20 Floating earth mote with a tower on it

Food and Water

Creatures require units of food and water every cycle. The Food and Water Needs table lists the number of food units and water units a creature requires per cycle, and the table indicates how much each unit of food costs per creature for a cycle. A unit’s weight is determined by the cycle:

  • Short Cycle: 1 unit = 1 pound/gallon of food/water
  • Long Cycle: 1 unit = 7 pounds/gallons of food/water

A creature’s water needs are doubled if the weather is hot, unless it has resistance or immunity to fire damage.

Food and Water Needs
Creature Size Food/Water per Cycle Food Cost per Short Cycle Food Cost per Long Cycle
Tiny 1/4 unit 1 sp, 2 cp 7 sp, 5 cp
Small 1 unit 5 sp 3 gp, 5 sp
Medium 1 unit 5 sp 3 gp, 5 sp
Large 4 units 2 gp 14 gp
Huge 16 units 8 gp 56 gp
Gargantuan 64 units 32 gp 224 gp

Tracking Supplies

Use the accompanying Supply Tracker to note whether you are tracking a short or long cycle journey and how many units of food and water you are carrying. At the Supply step of each cycle, mark off a box for each unit of food or water consumed.

A character unable to eat or drink gains 1 level of exhaustion for each requirement they fail to meet. Exhaustion gained in this way can’t be removed until the character is able to consume sufficient food and water.

Foraging

Characters can hunt or gather food and water while the party travels at a normal or slow pace. A foraging character makes a Wisdom (Survival) check against a DC determined by the terrain (see the Foraging table on the DM’s screen). On a successful check, the character gathers units of food equal to 1d6 + their Wisdom modifier. Repeat the roll for drinkable water.