Cartograph

A solo roleplaying game of mapmaking

and discovery

By Brandon Lee
Cartograph
Created by Brandon Lee
brandontlee.itch.io
The Ravensridge Emporium
Published by The Ravensridge Press

Special Thanks to:

N.Robinia @ thebardicinquiry.com
Jessie Lee - my adoring wife
Claudia Scarth - my supportive mother

2
 Table of Contents
What is Cartograph?
Overview.................................................................................................................. 6
What You Need....................................................................................................... 7

The Basics
Setup ....................................................................................................................... 9
Your Cartographer .................................................................................................. 9
Resources............................................................................................................... 10
Reputation ........................................................................................................ 10
Wounds..............................................................................................................11
Coin ...................................................................................................................11
Wares.................................................................................................................11
Items................................................................................................................. 12
Food.................................................................................................................. 12
The Map .................................................................................................................13
The Journal ............................................................................................................14
The Prompts...........................................................................................................15
Game End...............................................................................................................16

How to Play
Settlements ....................................................................................................... 18
The Dice Pool................................................................................................... 18
Location ............................................................................................................ 19
Ruin .................................................................................................................. 19
People ............................................................................................................... 19

3
 Cycle of Play ..........................................................................................................20
Exploration Phase............................................................................................. 20
Arrival Phase .....................................................................................................21
Rest Phase .........................................................................................................22
Rest Phase Actions............................................................................................23
Jokers .....................................................................................................................25

Tables
Journey Table.........................................................................................................28
Exploration Table...................................................................................................28
Item Table ..............................................................................................................29
Joker Table.............................................................................................................30
Town Prompts ........................................................................................................31
City Prompts...........................................................................................................32
Discovery Prompts..................................................................................................33
Forest Prompts .......................................................................................................34
Mountain Prompts..................................................................................................35
Lake Prompts..........................................................................................................36
Open Land Prompts ...............................................................................................37
Settlement Names ..................................................................................................38
People .....................................................................................................................39
Rules Reference..................................................................................................... 40

4
 What is
Cartograph?

5
 Overview
Cartograph is a solo journaling RPG about map making, exploration,
worldbuilding and resource management.
The heart of this game revolves around the creation of a map, which
you will fill out with detail as you play. You will take on the role of
a budding cartographer, arriving at a new land with a blank map book
and a desire to explore.
Slowly but surely, the history of this new world will emerge, and your
cartographer will have a journal full of notes and stories to reflect
that. You’ll be sketching locations on an ever growing map, and
exploring those locations through journal prompts.
The cycle of play will have you rolling some dice onto a piece of
paper and marking some of the features on the map according to
where the dice land and on what number. You’ll then visit a location
on your map, and draw a card from the deck, which will present a
prompt for you to respond to in your journal. Finally you’ll take a few
actions to manage your resources, and the cycle will restart.
You may wish to play Cartograph over many sessions or all in one go.
Ultimately this is an exercise in creativity facilitated by some rules and
prompts, and as such can become taxing on the mind. If you do intend
to play all in one sitting, be sure to take breaks here and there to
reduce your mental fatigue.
By the end of a game, you will have produced a map of an unknown
world, complete with a journal that details those places. This can be
a great artefact to use in other roleplaying games!

6
 What You Need
To play Cartograph, you'll need the following supplies:
• A Pencil and an eraser.
• Paper to draw your map.
• A place to take your journal notes and record your resources.
• A standard deck of playing cards (including the jokers).
• A collection of six-sided dice, ideally equal amounts of three
different colours. Six of each should be enough.

This book refers to landmark, biome, and temporary dice

regularly. Before you begin, you'll want to denote which colour die
refers to each. Personally, I like to use blue dice for landmarks,
white for biomes and clear for temporary. Ultimately, it doesn't
matter what colour dice you choose, just so long as you can
distinguish between the three types. You may wish to notate a dice
legend at the top of your journal to keep track of this.

7
The Basics

8
 Setup
To begin, first find a comfortable spot with space to roll dice and
write. Grab 1 landmark dice and 3 biome dice. These dice form your
initial dice pool. Set the remaining dice aside for now. Shuffle the
playing cards and set them aside too. Finally, at the start of your
journal, start by marking a spot to track your wounds, coin, wares,
reputation, items, and food, and a spot to fill out a few details about
your cartographer.
You start the game with 1 food, 1 ware, and 1 coin.

Your Cartographer
Before starting the cycle of play, you'll need to know who you're
embodying as you traverse the unknown. The first thing you should
do when creating your cartographer is to pick a name.
Next, you’ll want to define their disposition and a value they hold.
Their disposition will inform a general tone in which they will interact
with the world, and their value will allow you to see what is
important to your cartographer. Consult the cartographer table on
page 27 or define your own! Both the disposition and value should
be one word descriptors such as “Impatient” and “Fame” respectively.
Your cartographer is the lens from which you view this new world,
so take a little time to think about who this person is and where they
have come from. Remember that your journal should be written
from your cartographer’s perspective.

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 Resources
Throughout the game, your cartographer will be acquiring and losing
a variety of resources as they respond to prompts and take actions
during the rest phase. You’ll need to keep track of these in your
journal as you go. Each resource will be detailed over the next few
pages.

Reputation
Your reputation is an abstraction of how well known you are
becoming in the new land, and in what way. If it is a negative value,
you are seen as an uninvited guest to the land. If it is a positive
number, your presence is welcomed. You may wish to consider your
reputation when responding to a prompt.
Reputation modifies the cost of items you buy for each reputation
you have. For example: if you had -3 reputation, items cost 3 more
coin to purchase.

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 Wounds
Wounds are short sentence fragments that describe an injury, physical
or otherwise, that your cartographer has sustained on their journey.
You have 3 wound slots; if your cartographer must take a wound
and has no slots to do so, your cartographer perishes and the game
is over.
When you receive a wound, write a sentence fragment stating what
injury has occurred. For example: "shattered forearm".

Coin
Coin is a numerical abstraction of wealth or currency. You might wish
to think about what this land uses as currency, or you may wish to
simply leave it abstract.
Coin is used to take additional actions in the rest phase, buy items,
and converse with locals.

Wares
Wares represent the various commodities and goods you may acquire
throughout play. You can carry a maximum of 5 wares around at any
given time, but some items may give you more space. Wares are
tracked by a numerical value, but you may wish instead to write what
explicitly you are transporting, such as: "Greyberry wine".
Wares are used to sell at settlements for coin and primarily serves
as a way to make money or converse with locals.

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 Food
Food represents your stockpile of nourishment. There is no limit to
the amount of food you can carry, so hoard away.
Food is your primary way of replenishing dice when in the wilderness
and travelling to far locations.

Items
Items are significant boons to your cartographer. They usually offer
powerful bonuses that help you fill out your map quicker, aid in
resource management, or keep your cartographer out of harms way.
You cannot carry duplicates of the same item. If you are instructed
to acquire a random item, simply draw and discard the top card of
the deck and consult the item table on page 29.
Items have non-descriptive names by design. You should think of a
descriptive name for an item when you take it, that fits with the land
you have created so far. Maybe the people of this settlement ride
3-legged goats around, so your “Animal mount” might be a 3-legged
goat.
Items are granted by prompts or by taking the shop action in the
rest phase.

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 The Map
You'll be asked to fill out your map a lot as you play, but the specifics
on how you do that are not defined. This is intentional. Art style is
such a personal thing; it doesn't matter if you are an accomplished
artist or a stick-figure connoisseur, your map will be wonderful and
wholly yours all the same.
During the exploration phase, you’ll be rolling your dice pool onto the
paper. Wherever the dice land dictates where that feature of the map
is located. Dont be beholden to this! If you’ve already a established
coastline, and a biome dice rolls into the middle of the ocean, you
can move it to somewhere more appropriate. You cannot disregard
a dice entirely however.
It could however offer an interesting part of your world too. Why are
there pine trees jutting out of a stormy sea? How is there a desert in
the middle of the ocean?
You should draw your map in pencil, as you may be erasing and
redrawing features as you learn more about them. Below are some
examples on how you could draw these elements if you are stumped.
Trail
Mountain range

Town

Mountain Coastline
City Discovery Lake
Ruin
Forest

Open Land

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 The Journal
The journal is your logbook on the various wonders your cartographer
discovers as you play. Generally, you make a journal entry when
responding to a prompt, but if the inspiration takes you, feel free to
notate more. You may wish to write a paragraph on the rest actions
your cartographer takes, as they make their way through bustling
thoroughfares to find an inn for the night, or haggle with a four
armed salesman for that particularly shiny relic.
When writing journal entries, it is advised to keep things brief. No
more than a paragraph tends to work best, otherwise the flow of
play begins to slow, and things can become tedious rather than fun.
If you find the journaling aspect to be tiresome, write less! Even a
sentence can be plenty.
When responding to prompts, you should consider:
• The reputation of your cartographer.
• What wounds they have sustained.
• The places they have been so far.
• The people they have met.
You may want to consider what mechanical rewards the prompt offers
you, and explain them in the response.
These things can offer narrative context and are a great jumping
point for a prompt response. Each experience serves to weave a
greater story about the world you have found yourself in, so if you
need inspiration, you need only look to the map you are creating.

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 The Prompts
Whenever you visit a location, you’ll be presented with a prompt.
These prompts aim to give you a starting point in detailing the
location, and will end with a question or two. You should aim to
answer each question in your journal entry, and fill out as much extra
detail as you like.
After the questions, most prompts will display a mechanical effect in
bold. This is generally gaining or losing resources, but some are
different. Some offer you a choice between two effects. If you cannot
fulfill the conditions of one of the choices, you cannot select that
choice. For example, if the choice was: lose 1 food and gain 3 biome
dice but you didn’t have any food to lose, you couldn’t take that
option to just gain 3 biome dice.
If a prompt instructs you to mark a location on your map, that simply
means you sketch the specified location to your map where indicated.
If you are instructed to take a permanent wound, this is simply a
grevious wound that cannot be removed by any means.
Some prompts may give a benefit or detriment in the next phase of
a particular type. This effect only happens once and occurs the very
next time the indicated phase starts. For example: lose 1 action in
your next rest phase would result in the player only having 1 action
to perform in that same turn’s rest phase. The player would have 2
actions in the following rest phase, as per normal.

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 Game End
The game can end in a number of ways, some positively and others
not so. The game will end if:
• Your cartographer must take a wound and has no slots to do so.
• If you draw your third joker of the same colour.
• If you run out of dice.
These represent a negative end to your cartographers expedition.
If you manage to name 10 locations on your map, as well as have
at least one complete coastline, your cartographer retires and has
finished their journey.
A complete coastline is defined by a single, unbroken coast stretching
from one page edge to another, or by a a fully enclosed island. If
your complete coastline surrounds an island, it must have at least 5
named locations on it. In other words, your island must be of
significant size, otherwise this condition could be filled from a single
landmark die being surrounded by coastline.
You may wish to change the number of locations you need to win
depending on how long you want the game to be. Sometimes, the
game will end and you'll have a half finished map on your hands.
That's ok! You can always return to the map and finish it at your
leisure, or if you want to play casually, you can ignore the game
ending conditions and stop when you are satisfied with your creation.

16
How to Play

17
 Definitions
This section will define some common terms used in the game. If
you’re ever confused about a rule, check this section first!

The Dice Pool

During play, you will be rolling dice from your dice pool directly onto
your map. This is the primary way the map gets filled out with detail.
Some prompts or actions may let you gain more dice. Whenever this
happens you simply take the appropriate colour dice from your supply
and add it to your pool of dice. Whenever you would lose a die, you
lose it from your dice pool.
Landmark dice mark settlements on your map, which are generally
quite favourable locations.
Biome dice mark natural environments that define the landscape.

Temporary dice are special dice you may acquire on your

journey. You may treat these dice as either landmark or biome
dice when you roll them, your choice!

Settlements
A settlement refers to any kind of location that houses a people.
Mechanically, this is either a town or a city. If you are instructed to
mark a settlement, or you roll the settlement result on a die, this
means you can choose between a city or a town.

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 People
This game may often refer to a “people” during prompts. It is
important to note this does not simply refer to humans. This could be
any group of living things! Feel free to make up what you think is
appropriate for the circumstance, or refer to the "people" table on
page 39 of this book.

Location
A location is any point of interest you’ve drawn on your map from a
dice roll. This could be a settlement or mountain range. This can be
a named location or one you have yet to visit. The only things that
don’t count as locations are coastlines.

Ruin
You may come across a prompt that asks you to mark a location as
a ruin. You can draw this however you like, but the important thing
to remember is that the location no longer counts as a settlement. If
you’re taking your rest phase at a ruin, it counts as the wilderness.

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 Cycle of Play
Cartograph is divided into 3 distinct phases of play, which form the
game loop. The game begins in the exploration phase.

Exploration Phase
Get out your sextant and roll out your parchment. It's time to make
a map. Don't worry, you don't have to do it all at once.

Procedure
1. Roll your dice pool directly onto your map. Try to roll them
close together. Sometimes using a cup and upturning it onto
the paper works well. If some dice fall off the paper, reroll
them.

2. Mark coastlines surrounding all landmark dice. Settlements

often find themselves near water. Mark a rough coastline
around each landmark die, no more then a few centimetres.
You may wish to fully surround the die, denoting an island!

3. Consult the exploration table and begin sketching your map. If

some dice would make sense shifted around slightly, do it!
These rules are not rigid here; its more important to make
a cohesive map.

4. Return all rolled dice back to your dice pool. You might want
to do this as you draw your map, returning a die once you’ve
drawn in its location.

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 Arrival Phase
It's time to choose which location interests your cartographer. It is
during this phase that you will flesh out the details of one of the
locations on your map. This is done by chronicling your expedition in
your journal.

Procedure
1. Choose any location on your map. If the chosen location is not
the closest to your current location, you must lose 1 food to
travel there.

2. Draw a dashed line from your previous location to this one. If

this is the first arrival phase of the game, skip this step, as
you have no previous location yet!

3. Draw a card from the deck and consult the journey table. Write
a short sentence or two in your journal answering the prompt
and describing the journey to this place.

4. Consult the appropriate location table and respond to the

prompt for your drawn card in your journal. Write a sentence
or two describing this place. Remember to journal from the
point of view of your cartographer! Keep in mind what sort
of people might be at this place, and what sort of landscape
surrounds you.

5. Name the location on your map. If you're stuck, there's a

handy name generator on page 38 of this book!

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 Rest Phase
After a hard day’s travel, your cartographer has some downtime to do
with what you wish. Kick up your feet, talk to the locals, buy some
items or supplies, go out hunting, or sell some of your wares.

Procedure
1. Lose all temporary dice in your dice pool. If you gained any
temporary dice from your last prompt, keep those dice.

2. Lose any 1 remaining die from your dice pool.

3. If you are at a settlement, roll a die and halve the result to

determine the value of wares at this location. Some settlements
are more interested in buying your stuff than others.

4. Select 2 different actions from the appropriate action list.

Depending where your cartographer ends up for the night,
different sets of actions are available to them.

5. You may lose 1 coin to take a third action.

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 Rest Phase Actions
Settlement Actions
These are the actions available to you if you’ve wound up at a
settlement of some kind.
Converse: Lose 1 coin, gain 1 temporary die. If you are at a town,
gain an additional temporary die.

Sleep: Gain 1 biome die. You may lose 1 food to gain 1 additional
biome die.

Heal: Lose 1 coin, remove 1 wound.

Restock: Gain 1 food or ware.

Sell: Gain coin equal to this settlement’s ware value for each ware
you sell. You may sell any number of wares. For example, if the
ware value of this town was 2, you could sell 3 wares to get 6
coin.

Shop: Draw 3 cards from the deck. If you are at a city, draw an
additional card. Consult the item table (page 29) to see what's
available, and roll a die for each item to reveal its price.
Remember! Item prices are modified by your reputation! If you
wish for a less random way to determine item prices, simply
consider all face card items (Jack, Queen, King) as 4 coin, and
all other items as 3 coin.

23
 Rest Phase Actions
Wilderness Actions
If you find yourself anywhere but a settlement, these are the actions
available to you. Being away from civilisation restricts your options.

Camp: Lose 1 food, gain 1 biome die.

Converse: Lose 1 ware or coin, gain 1 temporary die.

Hunt: Roll a die and gain that much food. Lose 1 die of your
choice.

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 Jokers
Jokers represent the mortal dangers of exploring a foreign land and
the ever-looming threat this poses to your cartographer. If at any
point you draw a joker, pause your current action and consult the
joker table on page 30. Respond to the prompt from the table in your
journal, then shuffle the joker card into the deck. Once you’ve finished
shuffling, draw a new card and continue with the action you were
previously in the middle of.

You’ll want to keep track of how many times you’ve drawn a joker of
each colour; if you ever draw your third joker of the same colour,
the game is over!

25
Tables

26
 Cartographer Table
Roll Disposition Value
3 Impatient Wealth
4 Untrusting Nature
5 Excitable Notoriety
6 Akward Knowledge
7 Cynical Beauty
8 Jovial Love
9 Grumpy Altruism
10 Unimpressed Safety
11 Focused Thrill
12 Curious Affirmation
13 Amused Challenge
14 Defensive Honour
15 Cowardly Experience
16 Impulsive Law
17 Talkative Attention
18 Audacious Generosity

You can roll 3d6 on this table twice to determine the disposition
and value of your cartographer, or you can simply choose.

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 Journey Table
Suit Prompt
The journey had an unforeseen benefit. What helped
Hearts you whilst travelling? Gain 1 food or ware.

Your travels were expedited by something unexpected.

Diamonds What quickened your journey and why? Gain 1
reputation.
The journey was perilous, and you were put in harm’s
Clubs way. What dangers did you face? Gain 1 wound.

Your travel was slowed by an outside force. What was

Spades
the cause of the delay? Lose 1 food.

Exploration Table
Roll Landmark Dice Biome Dice

1 Nothing Nothing
2 Nothing Mountain (range if 2 dice present)
3 Town Lake (river if 2 dice present)
4 City Open Land
5 Settlement Forest
6 Discovery Same as closest biome or choose

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 Item Table
Card Item
A Animal Mount. Gain 2 landmark dice.
Animal-drawn Wagon. Gain 1 landmark die and 1 biome
2
die. You may carry up to 10 wares.
Optical Device. May reroll 1 die or redraw 1 card once a
3
turn.
Assistant. Once per turn, may pay 1 coin to extend
4
coastline, or name a location.
5 Hunting equipment. Do not lose a die when hunting.
6 Region Map. Gain 4 biome dice.
7 Camping Equipment. Gain 1 extra die when camping.
8 Armor. Gain 1 wound slot.
9 Book on local customs. Gain 1 extra die when conversing.
Rare Artefact. You may sell this artefact as if it were a
10
ware. Triple its value.
Magical Item. Shuffle any number of cards back into the
J
deck. Gain 1 biome die.
First-aid. When you take the sleep action, remove 1
Q
wound.
K Fortune device. Gain 4 landmark dice. Costs 4 more coin.

29
 Joker Table
Red Joker
Occurence Prompt
A people you had previously visited track you down
1 and confront you. What did you do to insult them?
How do you react?
Once again you are tracked down and accused of
2 something terrible. What do these people believe you
have done? Lose 1 reputation.
Believing you a blight upon the land, you are taken
3 by these people. How do they make you pay for your
supposed crimes? The game is over.

Black Joker
Occurence Prompt
This new land is beginning to take a toll on your
1
body. What unforeseen effect has it had on you?
The wilds are treacherous and your bones are weary.
2 What drives you to continue your journey? Gain 1
wound.
The ache of your wounds grow stronger, and your
spirit starts to wane. What place did you wish to see
3
in this land but never got the chance? The game is
over.

30
 Town Prompts
The structure of this town is otherworldly, labyrinthine and dreamlike.
A What bizarre effect seems to have gripped the people here? How do they
act? Gain 1 ware.
This town has harnessed some natural force as a source of power. What is
2 dangerous about this power source? Gain 1 random item.
An enormous statue looms over the buildings in this town. Why was it
3 built? What does it depict? Gain 1 ware.
A farming village boasting the best product in the land. What produce do
4 they farm? What makes it unique? Gain 1 food.
A town stricken by some foul illness. What is causing the sickness? How
5 do you remain safe? Gain 1 reputation.
A town run by outlaws or criminals. What is protecting this town from the
6 law? How are its citizens treated? Lose 1 coin and gain 1 reputation.
This town has been ravaged by some calamity, and lies in ruins. What
7 seems to have happened here? Mark this location as a ruin or lose 3 food
as you help the survivors.
A coven of powerful seers inhabit this town. What future do they see for
8 you? What reputation do the seers have? Gain 1 reputation.
A mysterious, natural feature lies on the outskirts of this town. What is it?
9 Why do these people fear it? Mark 1 discovery near this town.
A large campsite of some travelling people. Why are they out in the
10 wilderness? What story do they tell you? You may redraw the next card
you draw in the arrival phase.
The people of this town all revere some great prophecy. What is the
J prophecy about? Mark a new location of any ype on your map involved
with this prophecy, or gain 1 coin.
A roaring festival greets you in this town. What is the festival celebrating?
Q Gain 1 coin or gain 1 food.
You are welcomed into this town and revered by the people as some kind
K of mystical god. What do the people believe about you? How do you
respond? Gain 1 random item or 3 biome dice.

31
 City Prompts
A settlement overtaken with nature. What bizarre plant have these people
A cultivated? What is it used for? Gain 5 food and lose 1 coin or gain an extra
action in your next rest phase.
The government system in this city is unlike most you've come across. What is
2 society like in this city as a result? Gain 1 biome die.
This city is a bastion of defence with a prominent religious influence. What
3 makes the city so protected? What religion are its people enthralled to? Heal 1
wound.
A bustling merchant city. Bold colours and decorated buildings line the streets.
4 What does the city trade in? What diverse people do you see here? Gain 3 extra
coin if you sell here.
A city of ancient technology. What strange method do the people here use to
5 get around? Shop items cost 2 less coin at this city.
A crumbling city. Few people still live here. What caused the city to be
6 destroyed? Why do some still stay here? Gain 1 extra action in your next rest
phase.
A city of people dedicated to violence and war. What rumours have you heard
7 about this city? Why are its people so feared? Lose 1 landmark die or mark a
discovered settlement as a ruin.
A monarch rules this city from a lofty structure. How are they seen by their
8 people? Gain 1 coin.
A large arena sits in the centre of this outlandish city. What games are played
9 in the arena? Gain 1 wound and 2 coin or lose 1 reputation.
Magic is prominent in this city. It's people are proficient in the arcane arts. What
10 affect has the prolific magic had on the city? Why is magic so common? Gain
1 biome die.
A fearful people living under the rule of a malevolent being. What type of being
J is it? What power does it hold? Gain 1 reputation or gain 2 coin.
This city houses a people whom live in underground networks. What unique trait
Q do these people possess? How do they view outsiders? Gain 2 biome dice or
gain 1 landmark die and lose 1 reputation.
A prosperous people have harnessed magic that has influenced their architecture.
K How does this manifest? What do they teach you? Gain 3 wares or mark a
discovery anywhere on your map.

32
 Discovery Prompts
A doorway or portal leads to some unfamiliar and alien place. What
A otherworldly beings are here? What is anomalous about your surrounds?
Biome dice mark coastlines in your next exploration phase.
An abandoned structure overrun by vile creatures. What caused the structure
2 to become abandoned? What creatures have made home in it? Gain 2 coin.
The ruins of some ancient settlement. What defences have been left intact?
3 What guards this place? Gain 3 temporary dice.
A perilous natural landmark. What natural element makes this site so difficult
4 to traverse? What is rumoured to lie at its centre? Gain 1 random item.
The body of some gargantuan creature lies here. How long has the body been
5 here? What warning do you see nearby? Gain 1 random item.
A hazardous labyrinthine structure. What force causes folks to get lost here?
6 Who controls this domain? Lose 1 die and gain 3 reputation.
A vast underground system of caverns, caves and tunnels. What geological
7 mark makes these caves unique? What might they have been created by?
Gain 3 biome dice and 1 permanent wound.
A religious site crawling with worshippers to some long forgotten deity. What
8 do the worshippers do to show their faith? How is the deity depicted? Gain
1 reputation.
A near impossible structure amongst the countryside. What makes the
9 structure so impossible and strange? What people protect it? Gain 1
landmark die and gain 1 wound.
An ancient battleground or site of a powerful weapon. What permanent mark
10 has it left on nature? What historical event might this have been a part of?
Name 1 location that this event had relevance to.
A legendary lair of some deadly creature. What common folklore tale is told
J about this creature? What makes it so powerful? Gain 1 wound and 5 coin.
A mystical and revered location of great power that moves about the land.
Q Who inhabits this location? How does it move? Gain 3 food and 1 coin.
A relic or mythological item sits in the open, secretly guarded by a protector.
K What myth is associated with the item? Gain 1 reputation and 2 wares.

33
 Forest Prompts
Otherworldly and alien. Plant life you have never seen before populates
A this place. What odd natural phenomenon do you witness here?
Occupied and guarded. You see watchful eyes as you pass through the area.
2 How do the people here confront you? Gain 1 reputation.
Dense, old woodland. This forest is eerily quiet. Why do locals never enter
3 these woods? What superstition is told about this place?
Overgrown, tropical jungle. A hermit has made home within this forest.
4 What do they tell you about this place? Gain 1 reputation.
Well travelled and fertile. All manner of animal life spring from the
5 surrounds. What supports this abundant ecosystem? Gain +3 food if you
hunt here.
An isolated town sits within the trees. How do the people here treat the
6 nature around them? Why do they live so deep within the trees? Mark a
town at this location.
Infested and unsettling. Dangerous creatures have made home here. What
7 are they? How do you avoid aggravating them? Lose 1 ware.
Sentient and watching. The plantlife seems to have a mind of its own.
8 What conversation do you have with the forest? Gain 1 temporary die.
Littered with ruins. Old decaying structures are abundant here. What
9 civilisation used to live here? Why have they vanished? Mark 2 ruins
within this forest.
Waterlogged mangroves. This forest is dangerous, and you can see
10 occasional travellers have fallen victim to these woods. What struggles do
you face here? Gain 1 wound and gain 1 coin.
Mystical and dreamlike. Things are not as they seem here, and your senses
J are confused. What bizarre experience do you have here? Lose all your
dice then gain 2 biome dice and 2 landmark dice.
Giant, lush rainforest. Sounds of distant animals and water echo around
Q you. What unexpected sound do you hear? What do you find when you
pursue it? Lose 1 food and gain 1 biome die.
Mythological and ancient. You find yourself at the sight of something
K primordial. What is it? How does it manifest? Gain 1 landmark die.

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 Mountain Prompts
Monumental and honoured. This place is filled with an air of mysticism
A and sanctity. What construction, natural or otherwise, occupies this place?
Gain 1 reputation.
Jagged and snow-capped. What creature do you see in droves at this
2 altitude?
3 Ashen and volcanic. What feature has scarred the landscape here?
Peculiar and unnatural. Something about this area feels wrong. What do
4 you notice about the place that invokes that feeling?
Ancient and dilapidated. Ruins of a long dead people litter these peaks.
5 What story can you glean from their architecture? Gain 1 ware.
Treacherous and guarded. What people or creature guards this place? What
6 do they defend it from?
Glacial and icy. Biting winds make hard work of this place. What remnants
7 do you discover frozen in the ice? Gain 1 wound.
Legendary and renowned. What legend have you heard about this place?
8 How do you discover the artefact here? Gain an item with the ability:
“you may treat all dice in your dice pool as any type of die.”
Known and well travelled. A path or road makes for an easy traversal.
9 What fellow travellers do you meet? Gain 1 ware.
Magical and coveted. This mountain houses the source of some great
10 power. What does the power grant? Who seeks it? Gain 1 reputation.
A hidden city lies in the depths of this place. How do the people here
J sustain themselves? What threatens their way of life? Mark a city at this
location.
Verdant and Lush. Flora has all but consumed these crags. How does this
Q region of landscape differ? What foreign plants do you find here? Gain 1
food.
Enormous and tall. You see a grand view from the dizzying heights this
K mountain offers. What points of interest do you see from this vantage
point? Gain 1 landmark die.

35
 Lake Prompts
An aquatic people live here. What does their civilisation look like? Why are
A you denied entry?
The body of water here has dried up. Only arid soil remains. What do you
2 find amongst the dry earth? Gain 1 coin.
Disguised and magical. A shroud has hidden something about this place.
3 How do you discover its truth? Gain 1 reputation.
This body of water extends far underground. How do you descend? What
4 does it lead to?
Vehicles pass by on the water frequently here. What makes this place so
5 well travelled?
An enormous structure is built over the water. What is it for? Who built
6 it?
You are surprised by a dangerous aspect of the water. What injured you?
7 How do the locals stay safe? Gain 1 wound.
Meetings between two peoples are held on the water. What agreement do
8 you witness? Why are the meetings held here? Gain 1 reputation.
This water houses a vibrant and flourishing ecosystem. What people utilise
9 this place? What unique cuisine is produced here? Gain 1 food and 1
ware.
A foreboding island sits in the middle of the water. Why is it so feared?
10 What is rumoured to live there? Gain 1 reputation and 1 wound or lose
1 reputation.
A friendly creature has made home of this water. What advice does it give
J you? Gain 1 landmark die and 1 biome die.
A natural phenomenon creates beautiful sights here. What makes it so awe-
Q inspiring? Gain 1 landmark die.
This water is littered with wealth. What tradition has culminated here?
K What effect has it had on the water? Gain 3 coin and lose 1 reputation
or lose 1 coin and gain 3 temporary dice.

36
 Open Land Prompts
Strange, geometrical structures dot the surrounds. What purpose might
A they serve? Mark and name a discovery at this location.
An arid desert of rolling dunes. The heat is harsh and the winds are fierce
2 here. What respite do you discover? Gain 1 food and mark a ruin at this
location.
Evergreen hills stretch to the horizon. What natural feature stands out
3 here? Gain 1 biome die.
Scarce, craggy trees scatter across a marsh. A collection of destroyed
4 structures sink into the mud. What do you find amongst the wreckage?
What caused the destruction? Gain 1 coin or gain 1 food or gain 1 ware.
A fetid and vile swamp. Is this place populated at all? What sense of yours
5 is assaulted by the environment?
The land is sparse and vast. Large creatures roam these plains. What
6 encounter do you have with one of these creatures? Gain 1 wound and 3
food or Gain 1 temporary die.
Dangerous territories. A brutal people claim these lands. How do they
7 demand you leave? Lose 1 action this rest phase.
A tall cliff edge boarders your travels here. You meet a travelling merchant.
8 What legend do they tell you of? You may take an action this rest phase
to sell food as if it were wares.
A stampede of creatures storm over a savannah. What are the creatures
9 running from?
A plateau of land offers a phenomenal view. What people have settled on
10 this mesa? What distant encounter do you see? Extend nearby coastline
or mark a town at this location.
A field of vibrant and beautiful plant life. What magical properties do these
J plants bestow? Who is here collecting them? Gain 1 biome die.
A perpetual weather effect of some kind looms here. What does it obscure?
Q How has the land changed due to this?
This stretch of land is particularly large. Give a name to this region and
K draw another card to see what type of open land it is.

37
 Settlement Names
Roll Prefix Suffix
3 Amber hollow
4 River haven
5 Ravens tide
6 Tar hill
7 Black point
8 Gloom leaf
9 Great fell
10 Tens ridge
11 Ilden pass
12 Yelon hold
13 Sallow bron
14 Grey guard
15 Vex vale
16 North scar
17 Wild fast
18 Splinter crest

38
 People
Roll Trait Descriptor Focus
3 Magical Four-armed Traders
4 Ambitious Tall Scavengers
5 Loyal Short Architects
6 Proud Hairy War mongers
7 Untrusting Decorated Scholars
8 Loud Winged Custodians
9 Inquisitive Ethereal Hunters
10 Generous Eyeless Industrialists
11 Religious Horned Hedonists
12 Nomadic Muscular Spiritualists
13 Familial Enhanced Explorers
14 Individualistic Mouthless Farmers
15 Instinctive Slow-moving Artisans
16 Respectful Delicate Historians
17 Graceful Many-legged Devotees
18 Unrelenting Many-voiced Entertainers

39
 Rules Reference
Exploration Phase Exploration Table
Roll Landmark Biome
1. Roll dice pool onto your map. 1 Nothing Nothing
2 Nothing Mountain (range if 2)
2. Mark coastlines around all 3 Town Lake (river if 2)
landmark dice.
4 City Open Land
3. Consult exploration table and 5 Settlement Forest
sketch locations. 6 Discovery Closest or choose
4. Return dice to dice pool. Ruin
Settlement Rest Actions
Arrival Phase Converse: Lose 1 coin, gain 1 temporary die.
If in town, gain +1 temporary die.
1. Choose location on map. If not
closest, lose 1 food. Rest: Gain 1 biome die. May lose 1 food
to gain +1 biome die.
2. Draw dashed line to location. (Skip
if first turn of game!) Mountain range
Heal: Lose 1 coin, remove 1 wound.
3. Draw a card.
Restock: Gain 1 food or ware.
4. Consult journey table.
Sell: Gain coin equal to this settlement’s
5. Consult location table. ware value for each ware you sell.
6. Name location on map. Shop: Draw 3 cards, +1 card if in city. Roll
dice for each to determine price. Consult
Rest Phase item table on page 29 to see whats on
offer. May buy 1 item.
City
1. Lose all temporary dice.
2. Lose 1 other remaining die. Wilderness Rest Actions
3. If at a settlement, roll 1d3 to Camp: Lose 1 food, gain 1 biome die.
determine ware value.
4. Perform 2 different rest actions. +1 Converse: Lose 1 ware or coin, gain 1 temp die.
Action for 1 coin.
Hunt: Roll die and gain that much food. Lose 1 die.

Coastline
Journey Table Forest
Suit Prompt
The journey had an unforeseen benefit. What helped you
Hearts Trail
whilst on travelling? Gain 1 food or wares.
Your travels were expedited by something unexpected.
Diamonds
What quickened your journey and why? Gain 1 reputation.
The journey was perilous, and you were put in harms way.
Clubs
What dangers did you face? Gain 1 wound.
Your travel was slowed by an outside force. what was the
Spades Town
cause of the delay? Lose 1 food. Discovery
Lake

Open Land
Mountain