Wilderness Statblocks

[Prime Evil]

GURPS City Stats provides a standard statblock format for settlements. And GURPS Realm Management offers a statblock format for political entities. But GURPS doesn't seem to have have a standard statblock format for wilderness regions. I'm looking for ideas about how to write up various wilderness locations for a fantasy hexcrawl campaign. Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures is an important resource for such a campaign. It's very useful for resolving the kind of challenges delvers may encounter during such a campaign. But my goal is to present a series of wilderness regions and let the players decide which direction to travel in. And DF 16 doesn't offer a standard way to write up a hexcrawl. The closest we've come so far is in the Dungeon Fantasy Dungeon Planner. The Adventure Planning form contains a "There and Back Again" section building upon the rules from Exploits, pp. 17-18. It suggests the kind of things you need to know about a wilderness area are Travel Times, Survival Skill Required, Weather Challenges, Terrain Challenges, etc. But this product presents the wilderness as a zone adventurers must traverse to reach the dungeon. It's not aimed at use cases where wilderness exploration is the point of the game in ityself. And it neglects things such as Mana Level, Sanctity, Nature's Strength, etc. I think it also predates the foraging rules in Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures. My question for the forum is what additional information would you include in a wilderness statblock? Ideally, I want something that works for fantasy games, historical adventures, and SF exploration missions on alien planets. Or am I being overly pedantic?

[dataweaver]

If it's also going to deal with alien environments, you'll want to fall with such things as gravity and atmospheric pressure/composition, as well as hazards such as radiation level and extreme temperatures. Note that one of the “atmospheric composition” options is “water” — or, more accurately, “underwater”, as “water” is also a possible terrain type, along with such things as “magma”.

That said, most Wildernesses aren't going to be that extreme.

[Joseph Paul]

For environmental conditions of alien environments you could define an Earth Standard meaning that it is in the norm for Earth for whatever quality is being statted. Gravity, Temperature range, Atmospheric Pressure etc, allowing you to concentrate on the qualities you want to vary from that familiar to the players.

[Prime Evil]

I'm wondering if the best approach might be to treat a hexcrawl like a Dungeon. There will be a set of common traits (such as Gravity, Atmosphere, etc) applicable to all locations within the wilderness setting. These are like the common details shared by all rooms in a dungeon. Then there will be local stats for each location within the wilderness. These are like the details for individual rooms within the dungeon. Under this approach, a "wilderness location" might be as small as a single hex or as large as an entire biome. Each wilderness location corresponds with a single topographical feature or ecological region.

I think this approach plays well with the world creation rules in GURPS Space. By default, all locations in a hexcrawl inherit the settings specified for the planet on which it takes place. But local conditions can supersede these on occasion. Unless you adopt the Star Wars / Star Trek approach of having every planet conform to a broad type (e.g. jungle planet, ice planet, desert planet, etc).

I like the idea of documenting stats for a location only where they vary from campaign baselines. So if you establish the campaign setting has a Mana Level of Normal, you only need to specify where local conditions vary from this baseline. If you throw an "enchanted forest" into the setting, you might specify the woodland has a Mana Level of High. But you wouldn't bother specifying the surrounding areas have a Normal Mana Level - since this is the campaign-wide assumption.

Here's what I've come up with so far for a fantasy setting:

• Terrain: This descriptive entry defines the dominant terrain in the region. These correspond to real-world categories rather than canonical GURPS terrain types. They often correspond to the eight land terrain types defined for Survival skill (pp. B223-224). But this is not always the case. This section uses terminology from real-world geography. The terrain categories are often more precise than GURPS equivalents. For example, "Woodland" terrain contains subtypes such as "Deciduous Forest" and "Coniferous Forest". Subsequent entries map these subtypes to the parent GURPS terrain types. The terrain table on p.22 of Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures uses the parent categories.
  
• Climate: This entry specifies which climate zone(s) the location or region is in. The categories derive from the real-world Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. This chapter also incorporates some concepts from the Trewartha climate classification system. Basic rules for local weather conditions are on p.B351. Use this entry in conjunction with GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures pp.30-31. Familiarity with the rules for Harsh Climates and Nasty Weather is essential. Some locations experience supernatural climate effects. Consult Unnatural Threats on p.31 of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures. This is also a good place for the GM to note any weather challenges as per Dungeon Fantasy Exploits pp. 17-18.
• Danger Level: This is a subjective rating of how dangerous a region is. It considers the likelihood of an encounter with hostile forces or natural hazards. This can be useful when constructing random encounter tables as per pp.B502-503. See also the rules for wandering monsters in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons (p.20). Use the Danger Level to adjust the frequency of random encounter rolls. This campaign setting uses 3d for random encounter tables. This diverges from the GURPS Basic Set, which uses 1d for the sample encounter table. This approach ensures the distribution of encounters follows a bell curve. Common encounters should be placed near the middle of the table. For most random encounter tables, the range between 9-12 indicates "No Encounter".
• Navigation: This entry lists modifiers to Navigation skill rolls to avoid getting lost. These modifiers also affect Cartography rolls by explorers attempting to map the region. Characters with the Absolute Direction advantage (p.B34) ignore these modifiers. On a successful skill roll, adventurers with an appropriate Area Knowledge skill also ignore Navigation modifiers. Spells such as Find Direction (p.M101), Tell Location (p.M101), Know Location (p.M103), and Pathfinder (p.M105) remove the need to roll. Flying creatures can substitute Observation skill for the Navigation skill as they can see distant terrain from above. The GM may allow adventurers to use the same approach if they can find an elevated vantage point.
• Survival: This indicates the Survival specialty required in the geographical region. See p. B224 for more details. Adventurers without the correct specialty can use Survival for other terrain at -3, Naturalist at -3, or Perception at -5. If an entry lists multiple Survival specialties, the area counts as "Mixed Terrain" as per GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures p.22.
• Tracking: This indicates any modifiers to tracking skill rolls as per Dungeon Fantasy: Wilderness Adventures p.22. The GM should also apply this modifier to military reconnaissance contests in the location. See GURPS Mass Combat p.28-29. If either military commander has an appropriate Area Knowledge skill, a roll provides familiarity with the local terrain when positioning their troops. In this case, listed penalties do not apply. This gives troops defending their home territory a huge advantage.
• Travel Speed: This entry provides a modifier for daily travel speeds based upon terrain and climate. See the Hiking rules on p.B351 and the Ground Travel rules on p.B466. The section on Trudging, Trotting, and Trundling in GURPS Dungeon Fantasy: Wilderness Adventures pp. 21-22 expands on these rules. Be aware of the rules for Travel Fatigue on p.24.
• Mana Level: This entry lists the default Mana Level of the region. For more information about Mana Levels, see p.B235 and p.M6. GURPS Thaumatology offers a detailed discussion of Mana Levels on pp.58-62. Some geographical locations have Aspected Mana as per GURPS Thaumatology p.59. In these locations, some kinds of magic are more powerful while others are weaker. There are locations with Wild Mana (GURPS Thaumatology p.59) or Twisted Mana (GURPS Thaumatology p.60), but these are rare.
• Nature’s Strength: This entry lists any modifiers for druidic magic. This campaign uses the druidic magic rules from the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy RPG. These improve upon the original rules from GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers, p19. For more information, consult the entry for Nature's Strength in Dungeon Fantasy Spells pp.6-7.
• Spirit World: This entry information about the appearance and inhabitants of the location in the Spirit World. Powerful nature spirits inhabit enchanted locations far from civilization. See the rules on pp.14-15 of Dungeon Fantasy: Wilderness Adventures. In particular, consult the Spirits of Place sidebar on p.15. Dungeon Fantasy 9: Summoners provides statistics for a typical Spirit of Place (p.24). GURPS Powers: Totems and Nature Spirits provides some additional rules for animism and shamanism.
• Natural Resources: This entry lists any significant economic resources found in the location. This may include mineral deposits, gemstones, rare plants, and similar resources.
• Land Quality: This section provides land quality ratings for various human activities, including hunting and agriculture. The ratings use the rules from GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics. The ratings correspond to those in the Hunting & Gathering rules on pp. 4-5, as well as the Agricultural Productivity table on p.11.

This is just an early draft at the moment, but it gives you an idea of things that might be relevant. Not every location needs the GM to specify every detail. Obviously, this is slanted towards medieval fantasy. If you want to adapt this for SF campaigns, you might want to include things such as modifiers to sensor and communication rolls.

Does this seem like a viable approach so far?

[Rasputin]

Is this list something you're doing for each hex? If so, it's overkill.

[Prime Evil]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Is this list something you're doing for each hex? If so, it's overkill.

I wouldn't do this for every hex. One approach would be to do it for each major topographical feature. So you'd have one listing for the Munchkin Mountains and a second listing for the Swamp of Fatal Death. Each location might be a dozen or more hexes in size. The Desert of Agonizing Pain might fill half of the wilderness map, but you only need a single statblock for the entire region. Even then, there may be oases that don't conform to these settings. A key principle of my approach is that the specific always supersedes the general. The Desert of Agonizing Pain might be a scorching wilderness filled with giant scorpions and scoured by sandstorms. But a sheltered oasis in a canyon might have an entirely different set of parameters. Statblocks should always be functional, supporting the most common adventurer activities.

An alternative approach is to record common parameters for an entire map. Then you only need to note where local conditions deviate from these overarching parameters.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Prime Evil

I wouldn't do this for every hex. One approach would be to do it for each major topographical feature.

You can do that, though I've run with only terrain type (which dictates travel speed, Survival, and Tracking) and the keyed encounters for almost a decade now. Climate isn't important; hex crawls happen in a small enough area that everywhere is pretty much the same. If there are changes to things like mana or the like, I note them as needed.

[Prime Evil]

That's a valid approach. It depends upon the level of granularity you want. As with everything else, GURPS should be simple, but offer optional detail for those who want it. And the nature of my campaign demands additional detail.

My hexcrawl is based upon wilderness survival games such as Valheim, Conan: Exiles, or ARK: Survival Evolved. The players start off shipwrecked on a foreign shore with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They only start with equipment they can scavenge or make. So the plot of the campaign involves surviving long enough to find a way back to civilisation. Adventurers need to focus on finding food and shelter, as well as gathering raw materials to craft useful tools. .

Along the way, they discover pre-human ruins in the wilds built by Lovecraftian Elder Things. These are essentially mini-dungeons. Characters can gain extra gear and magic items by raiding these ancient ruins. But this can be risky. Strange, alien influences still cling to many of the ruins.

[bocephus]

There is a guy on Youtube that has already done most of the work for you.

Look up "Randos to Heroes" on youtube.

https://www.randos2heroes.com/


As a GM I appreciate the simplicity of the system and the randomness that adds a more organic feel to something that is normally supplied by the GMs imagination. Its GURPS based so no conversion difficulties with travel times or char generation. I find that I enjoy the world more as the GM when I get to discover things right along with the players, and it really seems to make it fun for the players to know that even *I* dont know whats coming necessarily (ya I have been known to fudge in something I planned under the guise of randomness, but thats just part of GMing). A couple of rather beloved NPCs have come into being via this system and just grew as they became more relevant to the PCs and the story.


Its a "solo system" for playing an RPG, and it has some interesting features.
I use his Hex crawl system for generating what comes next for local terrain and general 'ruins', though I have never done it for a 'dungeon' which just isnt part of my play style.

If you watch a couple of his videos you will see how he uses it in his solo gaming. I use it as a GM in a very similar style just slightly modified to not drop anything overly crazy on the map (like a previously unknown metropolis in the middle of my wilderness map).

I love the terrain/travel time randomness, but I don't go all in and modify my overall maps unless it makes at least a little sense. Example you can get into a terrain modification chain that leads from wilderness to mountain to desert to swamp in a way that happens too quickly for realism or doesn't work in the already generated basic map of the world (having a jungle appear in the mountainous polar region). But his system works to relieve some of that imagination pressure from the GM but lets the world have some more randomness for everyone at the table.

I have used his quick char generation and funnel card for random town person that rather abruptly becomes an NPC and I just need some basic stats.

I have also made an Encounter terrain generator similar to his for encounters by just having a large hoop/ring I set on a large laminated hex sheet, this allows me to move the ring after the 'map' is generated and lets the players access it easily. Again this adds some nice simple elements of randomness into the play for both the players an the GM :) and it keeps things a little fresher without getting all bogged down in crazy details. The GM can always add or subtract something that might be required for an encounter (like a cliff) or water that just isn't there in a desert encounter.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Prime Evil

That's a valid approach. It depends upon the level of granularity you want. As with everything else, GURPS should be simple, but offer optional detail for those who want it. And the nature of my campaign demands additional detail.

My hexcrawl is based upon wilderness survival games such as Valheim, Conan: Exiles, or ARK: Survival Evolved. The players start off shipwrecked on a foreign shore with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They only start with equipment they can scavenge or make. So the plot of the campaign involves surviving long enough to find a way back to civilisation. Adventurers need to focus on finding food and shelter, as well as gathering raw materials to craft useful tools.

No, this is pretty much my level of granularity, aside from ignoring Land Quality, which would be better suited as a penalty to foraging rolls in my instance (variable time taken for a foraging roll would add needless complications to how I handle travel).

What you're doing is making a stat block with loads of items which will be the same as a campaign or terrain default 90% of the time. You don't need a stat block for those; you just need notes to show where the exceptions exist.

If you wanna take the extra time for this, great. I do loads of prep work that doesn't see the light of day because I enjoy world-building. But unless you have loads of exceptions to how things work, you're going to be remaking psionics in the AD&D Monster Manual: typing "Nil" or equivalent quite often.