Exploration

Nowhere Land is vast, dangerous, and alive. Crossing domains means braving scorching deserts, drowning jungles, frozen wastelands, and reality-breaking anomalies. Every journey tests your skills, resources, and will to survive.

Exploration Overview

Exploration in Nowhere Land combines travel mechanics (how you move), hazards (what threatens you), survival (food, water, shelter), and domain navigation (finding your way in shifting realities).

Exploration in Play

Journeys: Most travel is narrative ("You spend three days crossing the marsh"). Zoom into detail when hazards, encounters, or choices matter.
Supplies: Track rations, water, and critical gear. Most domains don't have convenient inns or markets.
Hazards: Environments fight back—heat, cold, terrain, weather, and domain-specific dangers.
Skill Use: Survival, Perception, Athletics, Domain Weaving drive exploration. Navigate, forage, climb, survive.

Travel & Movement

Travel speed depends on terrain, weather, and party composition. Use these as rough guidelines—narrative trumps exact measurements.

Travel Speeds

Pace	Distance per Day	Effect
Slow (Cautious)	15 miles	+2 dice to Perception (spotting hazards/ambushes)
Normal	24 miles	Standard pace. No modifiers.
Fast (Forced March)	30 miles	Test Forma (TN 8) at day's end or take 1 Wound from exhaustion

Terrain Modifiers

Terrain	Speed Modifier	Notes
Roads, Plains	Normal	Easy travel, well-mapped
Forest, Hills	×0.75	Slower but manageable. Risk of getting lost.
Swamp, Desert, Jungle	×0.5	Difficult terrain. Double ration/water consumption. Hazard checks.
Mountains, Tundra	×0.5	Extreme terrain. Requires climbing gear, cold-weather gear. Frequent hazard checks.
Urban (Domains)	×1.5	Fast travel on foot. Can hire transport (carts, mounts) for ×2.

Getting Lost

In unfamiliar or treacherous terrain, navigation becomes critical. Without proper navigation (maps, guide, Navigator's Tools), test Survival to stay on course.

Navigation Checks

Frequency: Once per day (or when entering new terrain)

Who Rolls: The party's navigator (highest Survival or with Navigator's Tools)

TN: 8 (easy terrain), 12 (moderate), 16 (difficult), 20 (extreme or domain-distorted)

Success: Stay on course, make expected progress

Failure: Get lost. Travel in wrong direction for 1d6 hours. May trigger encounter or hazard.

Critical Failure (fail by 8+): Hopelessly lost. Waste entire day. Trigger major hazard or hostile encounter.

Environmental Hazards

Domains are dangerous by design. Weather, terrain, and reality-breaking phenomena test your endurance and resourcefulness.

Extreme Heat

Deserts, volcanic domains, or scorched wastelands. Without water and shade, you suffer heatstroke.

Effect: Test Forma (TN 8) every 4 hours. Failure: take 1 Wound. Critical failure: 2 Wounds + 1 Fracture (delirium).

Prevention: 2× normal water rations, rest during midday heat, wear appropriate clothing.

Extreme Cold

Tundra, frozen domains, or mountain peaks. Without warmth, you freeze.

Effect: Test Forma (TN 8) every 4 hours. Failure: take 1 Wound. Critical failure: lose 1 finger/toe (permanent -1 to Craft or Athletics at Trickster's discretion).

Prevention: Cold-weather gear, fire, shelter, hot food.

Torrential Rain

Heavy downpours flood terrain, reduce visibility, and soak gear.

Effect: -2 dice to Perception, -1 die to ranged attacks. Difficult terrain (×0.5 speed). Test Forma (TN 8) to avoid slipping/falling (1 Wound if fail in dangerous area).

Duration: 1d6 hours. Can trigger floods, mudslides, or river crossings.

Sandstorm / Blizzard

Blinding storms obscure vision and disorient travelers.

Effect: Cannot see beyond 10 ft. Automatic navigation failure (lost until storm passes). Test Forma (TN 12) hourly or take 1 Wound from exposure.

Duration: 2d6 hours. Seek shelter or hunker down (no progress).

Quicksand / Thin Ice

Treacherous ground gives way beneath you.

Detection: Perception (TN 12) to spot before stepping in

Effect: Test Athletics (TN 12) to avoid sinking. Failure: trapped, sinking 1 ft per round. Test Forma + Athletics (TN 16) to escape or be pulled out by allies.

If submerged for 3+ rounds, begin drowning (suffocation rules).

Cliff / Chasm

Vertical obstacles requiring climbing or detours.

Climbing: Test Athletics (TN = 8 easy, 12 moderate, 16 difficult, 20 sheer). With Climber's Kit: +2 dice.

Failure: Fall. Take 1d6 Wounds per 10 ft fallen (max 10d6). Armor does not reduce fall damage.

Option: Spend 1 Reverie to find an alternate route (narrative bypass).

Survival Mechanics

Survival in Nowhere Land requires food, water, shelter—and the skills to acquire them.

Basic Needs

Food: 1 ration per day. Without food for 3 days, take -1 die to all checks. At 7 days, test Forma (TN 12) daily or take 1 Wound from starvation.
Water: 1 waterskin (2 pints) per day. In heat/desert: 2× requirement. Without water for 1 day, take -2 dice to all checks. At 2 days, test Forma (TN 12) or take 2 Wounds from dehydration.
Sleep: 6-8 hours per night. Without sleep for 24 hours, test Anima (TN 8) or gain 1 Fracture. Exhaustion penalties stack.
Shelter: Not mandatory but recommended. Sleeping exposed in harsh weather triggers hazard checks (cold, heat, rain).

Foraging for Food

Test Survival (TN = 8 abundant, 12 moderate, 16 scarce, 20 barren). Takes 4 hours.

Success: Gather 1d3 rations (edible plants, small game)

Failure: Find nothing or inedible food

Critical Failure: Eat poisonous food. Test Forma (TN 12) or take 2 Wounds + poisoned (disadvantage for 6 hours).

Finding Water

Test Survival (TN = 8 rivers/lakes, 12 streams, 16 underground, 20 desert). Takes 2 hours.

Success: Find drinkable water source (refill waterskins)

Failure: Find contaminated water. Must boil (requires fire) or risk illness.

Critical Failure: No water found. May trigger dehydration.

Building Shelter

Test Survival (TN = 8 forest, 12 plains, 16 desert/tundra). Takes 1 hour.

Success: Build basic shelter (lean-to, tent, cave). Protects from weather hazards during rest.

Failure: Shelter collapses or inadequate. No protection.

Tracking

Following trails, hunting prey, or pursuing enemies requires careful observation and wilderness expertise.

Tracking Rules

When to Roll: When following tracks (footprints, blood, disturbed foliage)

Check: Test Survival or Perception (TN depends on conditions)

TN Modifiers:

Fresh tracks (< 1 hour): TN 8
Recent tracks (1-6 hours): TN 12
Old tracks (6-24 hours): TN 16
Ancient tracks (24+ hours): TN 20
Soft ground (mud, snow): -4 TN (easier)
Hard ground (rock, stone): +4 TN (harder)
Rain washes tracks: +8 TN or impossible
Target covering tracks: +4 TN

Success: Follow tracks. Reroll every hour or when conditions change.

Failure: Lose trail. Can attempt again after 10 minutes (new check at +4 TN).

Domain-Specific Traversal

Each domain has unique navigation challenges shaped by its Willpower and ecosystem.

The Verdant Tangle (Jungle Domain)

Navigation: TN 16 (dense canopy blocks sun, landmarks obscured)

Hazards: Strangling vines (Athletics TN 12 to escape), venomous insects (test Forma TN 8 or 1 Wound), quicksand pools

Blessing: "Verdant Growth" - plants grow at 10× speed, providing abundant foraging (+2 dice Survival for food)

The Ashen Wastes (Desert Domain)

Navigation: TN 12 (flat, featureless, but stars visible at night)

Hazards: Extreme heat (test Forma TN 8 every 4 hours), sandstorms (2d6 hour duration, TN 12 exposure checks), ash clouds (toxic, test Forma TN 12 or 1 Wound + coughing)

Curse: "Scorched Thirst" - water consumption ×3 (not ×2)

The Frozen Expanse (Tundra Domain)

Navigation: TN 16 (whiteouts, snow obscures landmarks)

Hazards: Extreme cold (test Forma TN 8 every 4 hours), blizzards (2d6 hour duration, auto-lost), thin ice over frozen lakes (Athletics TN 12 or fall through)

Blessing: "Frost Preservation" - food never spoils, rations last 2× longer

The Null (Non-Domain)

Navigation: TN 20 (no landmarks, reality shifts, time distorted)

Hazards: Reality tears (test Anima TN 16 or 1 Fracture), paradox zones (trapped until Domain Weaving TN 20 to escape), memory loss (test Anima TN 12 or forget why you're here)

Special: Cannot rest in The Null. Every 6 hours, test Anima TN 12 or gain 1 Fracture. Must leave to recover.

Resting & Recovery

Rest is how you heal Wounds, recover Reverie, and manage Fractures. But rest isn't always safe in Nowhere Land.

Types of Rest

Short Rest (1 hour):

Recover 1 Wound
Recover 1d3 Reverie
Catch breath, bind wounds, eat/drink
Cannot take more than 2 short rests per day

Long Rest (6-8 hours, sleeping):

Recover Wounds equal to your Forma value
Recover all Reverie
Recover 1 Fracture (if in safe place with proper rest)
Cannot benefit from long rest more than once per 24 hours

Interrupted Rest

If rest is interrupted (combat, fleeing, hazard), you gain no benefit from that rest. Time spent is wasted.

Example: Party sleeps for 4 hours, then is ambushed. They gain nothing from the long rest—it wasn't completed.

Unsafe Rest

Resting in dangerous places (hostile domains, unstable terrain, no shelter) requires a watch rotation. One PC stays awake per 2-hour shift.

Encounter Check: Trickster rolls 1d6. On a 1-2, an encounter occurs (minor hazard, wandering monster, or omen).

Tip: Use encounters to add tension, not TPKs. A pack of scavengers stealing food is more interesting than a boss fight while sleeping.