Exploration in Dolmenwood

The Dolmenwood campaign setting is presented as a hex-crawl in the traditional mould.

● The ​campaign map​ gives an overview of the setting.
● The map is divided into ​6-mile hexes​, each with a number.
● This book provides a ​description of every numbered hex​ on the map.

As a wilderness setting, adventures in Dolmenwood are assumed to revolve heavily around

travel through the enchanted, treacherous woodland. This section thus presents a simple
procedure for running exploratory adventures within Dolmenwood. The aim is to furnish a
specific and easy-to-follow procedure which the referee may use in order to adjudicate what
the player characters encounter on their journeys, and to provide flavourful, incidental details
to reinforce the atmosphere of the setting.

Overland Travel
The following information is a summary of the standard B/X rules for wilderness travel, for
convenience.

Travel on Foot
● A character’s movement rate indicates how many miles he or she can move in a day
of overland travel.
● If the optional encumbrance rules are in use, a character’s movement rate is
determined by the amount of weight he or she is carrying.
● If the optional encumbrance rules are not being used, characters on foot have a
movement rate of 120’ (40’).

Beasts of Burden
● An animal’s movement rate (determined by its encumbrance) indicates how many
miles it can move in a day of overland travel.
● Beasts of burden have two levels of encumbrance: unencumbered (full movement
rate) and encumbered (half movement rate).
● If a character is riding an animal, the weight of the character and his or her gear
counts towards the animal’s load.

Beast of Burden Movement Rate and Max Load

Unencumbered Encumbered

Animal Max Load Movement Max Load Movement

(Coins) Rate (Coins) Rate
 Draft horse 4,500 90’ (30’) 9,000 45’ (15’)

Mule 2,000 120’ (40’) 4,000 60’ (20’)

Riding horse 3,000 240’ (80’) 6,000 120’ (40’)

War horse 4,000 120’ (40’) 8,000 60’ (20’)

Quick Rider Weights (Optional Rule)

The following weights may be used for quick calculations of characters’ weight, for the
purposes of tracking how loaded a mount is. A person is assumed to weigh 1,750cn. Typical
adventuring gear (including weapons) is assumed to weigh 250cn. Treasure should be
counted on top.
● Unarmoured:​ 2,000cn.
● Leather armour:​ 2,200cn.
● Chainmail:​ 2,400cn.
● Plate mail:​ 2,500cn.

Vehicles
Normal Animals Extra Animals

Vehicle Movement Animals Max Load Animals Max Load

Rate (Coins) (Coins)

Cart 60’ (20’) 1 draft horse 4,000 2 draft 8,000

or 2 mules horses or 4
mules

Wagon 60’ (20’) 2 draft 15,000 4 draft 25,000

horses or 4 horses or 8
mules mules

Distance Travelled Per Day

Once the movement rates of all members of the travelling party are known, the distance that
the party can travel in a day can be calculated.

Group Movement Rate

● A group of characters can only move as quickly as the slowest member of the party
(including animals and vehicles). Thus the distance a group can travel in a day is
determined by the movement rate of the slowest member.
● Mounted characters move at the movement rate of the mount.
● Animals pulling vehicles move at the movement rate of the vehicle.
Terrain
● Dolmenwood features clear, forested, hilly, and swampy terrain.
● Major and minor roads are marked on the campaign map.
● Characters on foot may travel through any type of terrain.
● Characters may only ride mounts in clear or hilly terrain, or on roads. In other types of
terrain, mounts must be led.
● Vehicles cannot move through forested or swampy terrain, except on roads.

Miles Per Day

The distance a party can travel in a full day -- based on their movement rate and the type of
terrain being traversed -- is summarised in the following tables.
● Normal travel:​ A full day of travel, with adequate pauses and rests throughout the
day.
● Forced march:​ A very long day of travel, with very minimal pauses and rests. After a
forced march, the party must rest for a full day.

Normal Travel
Miles per Day

Moveme Clear Clear Forest Forest Foreste Hills Swamp

nt Rate Road* Road* d Hills

240’ 48 72 32 48 16 32 24
(80’)

120’ 24 36 16 24 8 16 12
(40’)

90’ (30’) 18 27 12 18 6 12 9

60’ (20’) 12 18 8 12 4 8 6

45’ (15’) 9 14 6 9 3 6 5

30’ (10’) 6 9 4 6 2 4 3
* Only major roads marked on the campaign map give this advantage.

Forced March
Miles per Day

Moveme Clear Clear Forest Forest Foreste Hills Swamp

nt Rate Road* Road* d Hills

240’ 72 108 48 72 24 48 36
(80’)
 120’ 36 54 24 36 12 24 18
(40’)

90’ (30’) 27 41 18 27 9 18 14

60’ (20’) 18 27 12 18 6 12 9

45’ (15’) 14 21 9 14 5 9 8

30’ (10’) 9 14 6 9 3 6 5
* Only major roads marked on the campaign map give this advantage.

Exploration Procedure
● A party may wish to ​travel from one location to another​. In this case, its daily
movement rate in miles simply indicates how far it gets.
● Sometimes, a party wishes to engage in other activities (e.g. ​exploring, hunting,
foraging, fishing​), in addition to (or instead of) travelling. To simplify time tracking,
each of these activities is noted as consuming a certain number of miles from the
party’s daily movement rate.
● The referee may rule that ​other activities​ (e.g. exploring a dungeon, staying in a
town, consulting an NPC, etc.) also consume miles of daily movement. As a rough
guideline, one mile of movement is consumed per hour spent.
● Forced marches​ are only possible as the sole activity for a day. (i.e. no miles of
movement may be consumed for other activities.)

Travelling
On roads​ (minor or major roads marked on the campaign map):
● Open features​ of hexes travelled through may be encountered.

Off-road​:
● Open features​ of hexes travelled through may be encountered.
● There is also a 2-in-6 chance of ​getting lost ​(see ​pXXX​). An ​experienced
woodsman​ decreases this chance to 1-in-6. In ​swamp​ the chance is 3-in-6 and in
clear terrain​ the chance is 1-in-6.

Hex Dimensions
● Travelling from one flat side of a hex to the opposite side is 6 miles.
● Travelling from the centre of a hex to the edge is 3 miles.
● Travelling from one corner of a hex to the opposite corner is 7 miles.

Exploring
Rather than simply travelling across a hex as quickly as possible, characters may wish to
spend more time exploring inside the hex, searching for interesting features.
 ● Exploring a hex ​consumes 8 miles​ of movement.
● All ​open features​ of the hex are discovered.
● One ​obscure feature​ of the hex is discovered. If a hex has multiple obscure
features, it will take multiple passes of exploration to discover them all.

Interaction​ with discovered features is assumed to occur as part of the exploration. If the
party spends an extended time (several hours or longer) interacting with a feature, the
referee may rule that they consume additional miles of movement.

Retracing steps​ to a previously discovered feature is automatically successful, if the party

returns to the hex later on.

Foraging
While finding plants and fungi in the wilds of Dolmenwood is a trivial matter, locating
specimens that can be identified as suitable for consumption is far from guaranteed.
● Foraging while travelling:​ There is a basic 1-in-6 chance of success.
● Foraging as a sole activity:​ Per 4 miles of movement consumed, there is a 2-in-6
chance of success.
● An ​experienced woodsman​ increases the chance of success by 2-in-6.
● If successful​, food sufficient for 1d6 people for one day has been acquired.
● The referee may consult the lists of edible plants and fungi. under ​Ecology, pXXX​,
for ​examples of what might be foraged​.
● Some hexes also note ​specimens which are automatically found​ when foraging.

Hunting and Fishing

Dolmenwood is teeming with animals, birds, and aquatic life, but the difficulty is in being
skilled enough to catch them.

Hunting
● Per 8 miles of movement consumed​, there is a 1-in-6 chance of tracking down
animals which are suitable for eating.
● An ​experienced hunter ​increases the chance of success to 3-in-6.
● The referee may consult the list of animals under ​Ecology, pXXX​, to determine ​what
is encountered while hunting​.
● If animals are ​successfully tracked down​, the referee should run the encounter
according to the normal rules for combat.
● If animals are ​successfully killed​, food sufficient for 2d6 people for one day has
been acquired.

Fishing
● Per 8 miles of movement consumed​, there is a 1-in-6 chance of catching fish
which are suitable for eating.
● An ​experienced angler​ increases the chance of success to 3-in-6.
● If fish are caught​, food sufficient for 1d6 people for one day has been acquired. The
referee may consult the list of fish under ​Ecology, pXXX​, to determine what is
caught.