Travel
Broadly speaking, there are 2 kinds of travel: Travel along roadways, and travel through wilderness. During both there is a chance of a random encounter occurring, but the kinds of encounters on roadways are much different than the kinds of encounters through wilderness (generally wilderness encounters are environmental challenges, hazards, or monster encounters, while roadway encounters are related to interactions with NPCs).
Because I set my campaigns in large worlds, and I want players to have the agency to go where they want without spending too much game time, you will have at most 1 encounter per day while travelling, and 1 encounter at night. To determine the type of encounter (including an "uneventful" day of travel with no encounter), one party member will roll a d20.
Depending on the type of encounter, I will roll on that specific encounter's table.
Monster encounters each have a threat level, and each hex has a threat level associated with it (from 1-4) which determines the highest threat you could possibly encounter in that hex. The threat levels correspond to a total level range for creatures:
Threat Level 1: Lvl. 1-5
Threat Level 2: Lvl. 6-10
Threat Level 3: Lvl. 11-16
Threat Level 4: Lvl. 17-20+
A party can choose to "skip" any encounter of a lower threat level than their current level. Doing so will result in each party member taking 1 offensive action from each creature (i.e. a damaging strike), and the party will recieve 50% XP.
Higher threat level tiles are found further from roadways and civilization. Generally, threat level 2 tiles are only encountered more than 2+ tiles away from a roadway, but this can vary depending on the terrain, location, and environment.
Threat level 3 and 4 tiles are rarely found on the material plane, but an example might be the surrounding tiles of a dragon's lair.
Character's can determine the threat levels of surrounding tiles by using downtime to scout, or gather information.
Lightly Injured: Missing up to 25% of HP (or Wounded 1 from dying)
Moderately Injured: Missing 25% - 50% of HP (or Wounded 2 from dying)
Heavilly Injured: Missing 50% - 75% of HP (or Wounded 3 from dying)
Critically Injured: Missing more than 75% of HP (or Wounded 4 from dying)
Injury is simply a representation of how much damage your character has sustained. It can not be reduced by any means except for recovering hitpoints, and your injured condition is always equivalent to the proportion of hitpoints you are missing.
If you attempt to travel while injured, you will risk further injuring yourself and may suffer other penalties. The penalties from travelling while injured are cumulative (but as per the rules of persistent damage, the bleed damage does not stack).
It is considered typeless damage and cannot be reduced by resistances
It occurs only once per hour of travel
The administer first aid action can be taken only once per hour to attempt to stop the persistent damage
After an hour of travel, make a very easy fortitude save for your level. If you fail, you take 2 points of persistent bleed damage.
After an hour of travel, make an easy fortitude save for your level. If you fail, you take 4 points of persistent bleed damage.
If you end a day of travel moderately wounded, make a fortitude save against disease (infection).
For each hour of travel, make a standard fortitude save for your level. If you fail, you take 6 points of persistent bleed damage. Unlike other levels of injury, you are required to make a new saving throw each hour, even if you critically succeed on a previous saving throw.
You take a -4 circumstance penalty on skill checks for all exploration activities.
For each hour of travel, make a hard fortitude save for your level. If you fail, you take 8 points of persistent bleed damage. Unlike other levels of injury, you are required to make a new saving throw each hour, even if you critically succeed on a previous saving throw.
You cannot perform exploration activities (automatically failing if you attempt to do so)
You move at half speed
