Memories of Holdenshire: The Journey
The adventurers will need to travel from Northminster to the Weirwood, where they will meet with Granny Appleseed. They will be pursued by Tariq Crestveil, who still believes that the adventurers kills dhis sister Annika.
Captain Tariq. The Narrator can have Northminster's captain of the guard catch up with the party while they're on the North Riding Smuggler's Route or when they're in Lanickshire. Refer to Encounter 2: A Persistent Pursuer.
Off the Path
The previous encounter spooks Belton, cementing his belief that the roads are no longer safe. Read or paraphrase the following.
Belton exhales a long breath he had been holding in. "That confirms the worst I had in mind. So, how about a change of plans?" The smuggler points out into the North Riding grasslands. "There's an old smugglers' route out there. It used to be a common way to dodge tariffs. Ever since that got lifted though, there's really no use for it left. I reckon it's probably an overgrown mess, but it will let us stay away from any roadblocks. What do you all think?"
The adventurers can inquire more before they take this route:
- Where does this path lead to? The smuggling route leads to Halfpoint, whose remote location makes it harder for news to arrive. The party likely will have a week from today before news of their "horrific deeds" spread there, which gives them some time to hide, plan, and stock up should they need to.
- What about getting to Weirwood? The PCs have two options after arriving in Halfpoint. They can continue following the smugglers' route through Lanickshire to Thornbury, then take the road to Hengistbury to enter Weirwood. The other option involves cutting across Crawley Hills straight to Weirwood, which will be truly off the road.
Belton can give a rundown of what the party can expect in each of the regions they might travel through:
- While North Riding can be quite dangerous at times, the smugglers' route runs a safe distance away from most monster lairs and criminal hideouts.
- Halfpoint's history with smuggling and its isolation makes its residents willing to turn a blind eye on suspicious activities.
- Lanickshire is a typical farming region where rumors spread quickly. Since many are just hearsay though, folks are not necessarily eager to act on what they are told.
- Thornbury is a very safe town, though being a frequent resting stop, they are bound to know about the escape and bounties soon.
- The roads are going to be chocked full of checkpoints and patrolling guards. The only stretch that might be safe is between Hengistbury and Thornbury, as there are not as many soldiers stationed there.
- Hengistbury is a mundane town with only a sheriff and ranger as its defense. Life there is simple, making it a great place to start anew.
- Lastly, the Crawley Hills are less dangerous than North Riding, though the lack of an established travel route makes journeys more difficult.
Starting Logistics
The difficulty of a journey sometimes lies not in the dangers ahead, but in the logistics and planning of the undertaking. One wrong calculation of the amount of food available, or a sudden change of plans like the adventurers currently face, and a party might find themselves facing impending starvation.
Thankfully, Belton came prepared. The wagon carries 20 Supply for people, plus 16 Supply of feed intended for Rummynose (the horse drawing the wagon). For PCs that did not pick up any survival gear , the Narrator can have them come across an explorer's pack (with the rations replaced by 5 torches). The party also receives a map of the local area with the smuggling routes marked on them if they decide to part ways with Belton at any point during the trip.
Local Map (20 gold)
This map depicts an area that is well known to its makers and shows the full details as well as routes within the realm, including the names of hamlets, villages, and towns. When using this map, you may travel at a fast pace without taking a penalty to your passive Perception while within the area it depicts. If you also use a compass in conjunction with a map, you gain an expertise die on checks made to avoid becoming lost.
Journey Checklist
When making a journey , follow these steps.
- Based on the world map, the Narrator determines which Regions exist on the route.
- For each
Region
determine the travel distance, travel pace, and resultant travel time.
- The Narrator determines the Region’s traits and task DC, and rolls 1d20 to determine the prevailing weather.
- Each adventurer selects one or more journey activities and makes relevant checks.
- The Narrator rolls for one or more encounters using the appropriate tiered table for that Region . These may be monsters, exploration challenges, social encounters, or scenery.
- Determine Supply usage and apply fatigue if necessary.
- Repeat step 2 for each Region .
- Arrive at your destination!
The order in which journey activities are resolved and when encounters take place is up to the Narrator, although we suggest that you resolve journey activities, and then run any encounters.
Method of Travel
Consulting the map the party estimates that the distance between Northminster and Halfpoint is approximately 50 miles (their destination is 10 hexes away and each hex represents 5 miles). The wagon, at its regular slow pace, covers 16 miles a day if nothing goes wrong. If the players decide to push the wagon into traveling at normal pace, they can cover 24 miles at the risk of a malfunction if they fail the daily DC 13 land vehicle check.
Belton will bring up that the wagon has a major drawback: they cannot cover their tracks as easily, and can never hide from ambushes. If the group were to proceed on foot at a slow pace, on the other hand, they would be able to use Stealth. While abandoning the wagon does greatly decrease the party's carrying capacity, avoiding getting jumped on might be worthwhile in itself.
If the adventurers somehow happen upon enough mounts for everyone—perhaps from knocking out some scouts—they can travel at a mounted pace. Much like the wagon they will not be able to use Stealth, and will also take additional penalties to their passive Perception and Perception checks, but they'll make it to Halfpoint in only a day and a half.
Belton's Wagon to Crawley Hills, North Riding
Region: Tier 1 Rolling Grasslands
These regions are filled with farmsteads interspersed by large swathes of gentle wilderness and the occasional grove of trees. If there are any paths they are only used by locals and not very well maintained.
Weather. 1–8 clear, 9–12 overcast, 13–16 rain, 17–19 mist, 20–25 snow.
Journey Activities. Adventurers gain advantage on checks made to Chronicle, Gossip, Harvest, and Rob.
Halfpoint, Hengistbury or Thornbury
Region: Tier 1 Urban Township (tier 0 for Hengistbury or Thornbury)
Filled with polite and simple folk living industrious lives, these rural towns are centers of commerce and where most of the nearby region's artisans ply their trades.
Weather. 1–8 clear, 9–12 overcast, 13–16 rain, 17–19 mist, 20–25 snow.
Breakable Surroundings. A critical failure on a Strength or Dexterity check results in destruction of property, angering the owner of said property.
Journey Activities. Adventurers gain an expertise die on checks made to Busk or Rob.
Hengistbury to Blackford, Lanickshire to Holdenshire
Region: Tier 1 Open Roads
These roads are maintained with taxes collected from the regions that use them, and all manner of folk tread upon them on their way from or to homesteads, towns, and locations of note.
Weather. 1–8 clear, 9–12 overcast, 13–16 rain, 17–19 mist, 20–25 snow.
Fast Travel. Adventurers move one mile per hour faster when traveling along open roads.
Holdenshire, Lanickshire
Region: Tier 1 Country Shire (tier 0 for Holdenshire)
Idyllic glades, worked fields, and quaint homes mark out these areas. The lives of people here are nearly free of conflict and any greater struggle than dealing with pests damaging crops, seeing to the next harvest, or spats between neighbors.
Weather. 1–8 clear, 9–12 overcast, 13–16 rain, 17–19 mist, 20–25 snow.
Journey Activities. Adventurers gain advantage on checks made to Busk, Chronicle, Gossip, Harvest, and Rob.
Friendly Locals. Adventurers gain an expertise die on Charisma checks made against people local to the region.
Haven. The whole of this area counts as a haven. Travelers can always recover from fatigue and strife when taking a long rest, even when camping.
Weirwood
Region: Tier 1 Feywood
Ancient trees fill this forest, their leaves filtering the sun's light and masking the mystery that pervades the woods. Signs of fey and other children of nature are everywhere, and many say their presence gives the area a sense of magic all its own.
Weather. 1–15 clear, 16–19 mist, 20–25 rain.
Fey Promises. When an adventurer breaks a promise made in a Feywood they suffer a level of strife .
Natural Camouflage. Adventurers gain an expertise die on Stealth checks.
Journey Activities. When making a check to Hunt and Gather, an adventurer rolls with advantage .