The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book.
– Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi (1883)
The River Travel Procedure hangs directly off the Worldwide Adventure Generator loop and introduces rules that support a dynamic mode of travel, encouraging game masters and players to take to the waterways of their worlds!
While the party is underway, the river confers a number of advantages, including:
- They cannot become lost. No navigation check, in any weather, at any hour.
- They take no fatigue from distance.
- Fishing run 1-in-2, rather than 1-in-5.
- No wandering encounter check is made. Encounters occur only through the Complication Table.
- The boat carries cargo, casualties, and anything else, within reason, practically for free.
Against that, one thing: it all rides on the boat. Once the party has packed their belongings and their lives into it, a damaged boat is not simply a delay: it could be a disaster. The rations, the map, the powder, the elixirs, treasure, all into the drink with a single mishap, and then—gone.
Step 1: Class the Water
A single river can have many personalities, each heavily influenced by the land through which it runs. It will rush down from the highlands and linger at its delta; it will crash through steep, rocky canyons and meander across broad, flat plains. To account for this, it is recommended that rivers be classed by stretches (which themselves are best managed as 6-mile hexes).
A Slow stretch of river is broad, deep, and patient, and possesses features like braids, backwaters, and bars. A Medium stretch of river is a real working river and maintains a quick but controllable pace. A Fast stretch of river is often characterized by racing white water, and while it covers much ground, the danger can be immense.
| Class | Current | Travel Speed | Distance Per Day (Average) | Upstream Penalty | Complication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slow | 1-2 mph | 3 mph | 30 miles, or 5 hexes | 20% | 1-in-10 per hex |
| Medium | 3-5 mph | 6 mph | 60 miles, or 10 hexes | 80% | 1-in-5 per hex |
| Fast | 6 mph and better | 8-10 mph | 80+ miles, or 13+ hexes | Not navigable; portage or haul overland. | 1-in-2 per hex |
Travel Speed Reference: Foot travel is 3 mph over an eight-hour day: 24 miles, or 4 hexes, with 5-6 hexes achievable by forced-marched—which induces fatigue. The waterway’s advantage is partly speed and partly the longer day: a current works while the crew rests, and the decreased exertion allows for more traveling hours in the day.
Mapping the River: Note that there are two obvious methods GMs can use to determine the class of the river: the first is to map it out according to the geography of the surrounding country; the second is to roll each hex, and then record the results into your world canon.
Step 2: Run the Hexes
At the beginning of the day, roll Weather (Table A) once. Then take the hexes one at a time, and for each, check for a complication at the 1-in-X chance dictated the stretch’s class.
A hex is two hours of Slow water, a little over an hour of Medium, and fifty minutes of Fast. Fast water is therefore dangerous twice over: more can go wrong in a mile of it, and the miles arrive sooner.
On no result, the hex passes swiftly. GMs are encouraged to give it a line of bank: an abandoned fishing village; smoke on a distant ridge; a stone that looks as though it were shaped by someone. Roll Features (Table B) and Signs and Omens (Table C) at whatever interval is preferred—generally once or twice a day, rather than every hex. From midstream the party sees a great deal of country, though very little of it in any detail.
Generate Complications
The reward of river travel is not without risk. If a complication is encountered on a stretch, roll 1d10 to determine what calamity occurs.
| 1d10 | Complication | Description | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snag or sawyer | A drowned tree or submerged rock lurks in the channel. | T5-8 Reflex Check to steer clear; on a failure, roll on the Mishap Table. |
| 2 | Bar or shoal | The boat grinds to a halt on gravel the water gave no sign of. | T6 Power Check to pole free; on a failure, the party loses 1d2 hours getting free. |
| 3 | White water ahead | The sound and current arrive well before the sight of it. | T7 Intellect Check to read a line through; failing that, run it blind and roll again at -2, or portage around the stretch; a failed attempt to run it blind requires a roll on the Mishap Table. |
| 4 | The river refuses passage | Falls, logjams, rockbeds, or something else blocking the way. | A half-day’s portage. |
| 5 | Weather turns | The sky closes and the water rises to meet it. | Reroll Table A, skewed toward foul conditions; the party either takes to the shore, or presses on at -2 to all checks. |
| 6 | The boat needs repairing | A seam works loose, a lashing parts, or a pole goes overboard. | T6 Intellect Check ashore to repair, requires half a day. Until then the boat runs at -3 to all checks; in the event a Complication occurs, roll on the Mishap Table in addition to the result. |
| 7 | Cargo shifts | The boat takes a bad roll and the load goes over on itself. | T5-8 Reflex Check to stabilize; on a failure, 1d5 stowed items go into the water—roll to determine which. |
| 8 | The channel was misread | A braid, a backwater, or a bend that leads the party astray. | T5-8 Intellect Check to catch it early; on a failure, the party is forced to backtrack upriver. |
| 9 | Something at the bank stirs | Movement in the willows, keeping pace, casting shadows, making sounds. | Roll an encounter on Tables D and E, tinted to water and bankside. |
| 10 | Another boat | Someone else is working this river, and they saw you first. | Roll for reaction. |
Resolve Mishaps
Worse even than complications, mishaps represent an existential threat to the expedition, and can spell the beginning of a long and brutal end.
| 1d10 | Mishap | Description | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Total loss | The boat breaks up and goes down, and the river scatters the pieces irrecoverably. | Every PC is tossed into the water and keeps only what is worn or in hand. |
| 2 | Broken keel | The boat grounds hard and will not float again. | After brought to shore, it requires 1d5 hours to strip its contents; half the cargo is saved. The party is afoot from this hex. |
| 3 | Capsized | The boat rolls, and everything not tied down goes under with it. | Every PC is in the water; T5-8 Power Check to right the boat; up to half the cargo may be recoverable. |
| 4 | Swamped | The boat fills to the gunwales and wallows. | T6 Reflex Check for each PC or go over the side; everything stowed is soaked—powder, rations, paper, and all. |
| 5 | Holed below the line | Water comes in faster than it can be thrown out. | Up to one hex to reach a landing before sinking. T5 Reflex Check to keep the boat afloat; on a failure, roll again here at -2. |
| 6 | Sprung seam | The boat leaks steadily and someone must bail from here on. | Half speed until repaired, which costs a day ashore and a T6 Intellect Check. |
| 7 | Steering gone | The sweep is carried away, or the rudder, one too many paddles, or the last good pole. | The party takes whatever channel the river gives them, and all Complication Checks are at -2 until it is replaced. |
| 8 | Cargo casualty | The hull holds, but the load does not. | 1d5 items go over the side; roll to determine which. |
| 9 | Shipped water | One green wave over the bow, and one thing is ruined. | Roll to determine which. |
| 10 | Scraped through | The bottom grates, the hull holds, and the pilot learns something important. | Nothing is lost, and the party takes +2 on the next Complication. |
If a PC goes into the water, they must succeed a T5-7 Power Check to reach the boat or the bank. On a failure, they are swept downstream and must try again; on a second failure, they are swept into the next hex and must try once more; on a third failure, they drown.
Additionally, heavyweight armor or a full pack takes a PC under unless shed, requiring one action and a successful T8 Reflex Check.
Step 3: Landing
Whether putting in to investigate a sighting or make camp for the evening, landing terminates the RTP and returns the party to the ordinary WAG loop in that hex, encounter check and all.
Notes
- Portaging – depending on the nature of the vessel (e.g. the heavy dugouts common to South American tribes or the light cedar canoes of the North American), portaging speeds will vary. A good rule of thumb is an hour per mile, per trip. Count how many trips the load demands, then spend an hour of daylight for each mile of each one.
- Fatigue Check: Each PC should conduct a daily fatigue check; if failed, they suffer fatigue the following day (-1 Reflex or Power).
- Tinting – a temperate river is riddled with snags and timber drives; a jungle river is plagued by fever and a closed canopy; an icy river will force an Aspect Save before a swim on any PCs tossed overboard; an underground or enchanted river has Table C carrying more weight than Table B. Doing this on the fly requires that the GM has a solid foundation of River Adventure Stories, the best of which include:
- Life on the Mississippi (1883) by Mark Twain
- Through the Brazilian Wilderness (1914) by Theodore Roosevelt
- Voyages from Montreal (1801) by Alexander Mackenzie
- The Willows (1907) by Algernon Blackwood
- A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) by Henry David Thoreau
To-Do
- List of rivercraft (weight, speed, durability, etc.)
- Running by dusk/night (one class harsher but a worthwhile gamble to get just one more hex ahead of someone or something else)
- A cargo and trade layer (if the river is to be an economic artery)
- Add pilots (and piloting ability) to enhance navigation
- XP for completing rivers