Travel across the Wasteland is made along Routes between known locations. Each Route is split into Stages, and each Stage may hold an encounter.
Regions
The World Map is divided into Regions. Each Region has a dominant terrain type and may be held by a faction.
Terrain Types
Terrain Table
Type Description Foot (Off-Road) Foot (Road) Detection 📊 DC Plains Flat, open grassland 2 hours 2 hours 10 Wasteland Barren, irradiated desert 2 hours 2 hours 10 Hills Elevated terrain, uneven ground 3 hours 2 hours 13 Woods Dense forest, limited visibility 3 hours 2 hours 15 Urban Ruined city blocks, dense buildings 3 hours 2 hours 15 Swamp Murky, difficult terrain 4 hours 2 hours 17 Mountains Steep, treacherous terrain 5 hours 3 hours 17 River Water crossing, may require fording or bridge 2 hours 2 hours (Bridge) 12 Location Settlement, city or point of interest 2 hours 2 hours — Rivers: Fording a river without a bridge is a Crossing — an Environmental encounter on that Stage. See 🗺 River Crossings.
Diagonal: A tile entered diagonally costs 1.5× its hours.
Locations: Entering a location tile takes 2 hours from any adjacent tile, diagonal included, regardless of terrain, road or Visibility. See 🗺 Locations.
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Faction Control
A Region’s holder sets its encounter table and adds to its Detection DC, both by the holder’s posture toward the party:
| Posture | Encounter table | Detection DC |
|---|---|---|
| None — open ground | Standard Encounter Table | +0 |
| Allied — you have standing, safe passage, or their comms | Allied Encounter Table | +0 |
| Guarded — they hold it, you are unwelcome, but not yet a target | Guarded Encounter Table | +2 |
| Hostile — you are prey on their ground | Hostile Encounter Table | +3 |
| Secretive — the ground is managed to hide what is on it | usually Guarded | +4 |
- Region DC = the terrain’s Detection DC + the holder’s posture DC.
- Posture follows the party’s current relationship with the holder. When it changes, the Region’s table and DC change with it.
Routes and Stages
A Route connects two known locations. It is divided into Stages.
- A Stage lies in one Region and is either on a road or off-road.
- A Stage is at most 6 hours of travel on foot, using the Terrain Table’s Foot (Road) or Foot (Off-Road) column.
- A tile entered diagonally costs 1.5× its hours.
- A new Stage begins where the Route enters a new Region, or joins or leaves a road. Otherwise Stages are filled to 6 hours, and a tile may run across two Stages.
- Some trips can be made by more than one Route — by road, or cross-country.
Locations
Towns, cities and other points of interest are location tiles.
- Entering a location tile takes 2 hours from any adjacent tile, regardless of terrain, road, Visibility or vehicle.
- Entering a location is not a Stage. It has no Encounter Die and no Detection test — the location is the encounter.
- Leaving a location takes no time. The Route’s first Stage begins at the next tile.
- A Route ends at the first location tile it enters. Going on from there is a new Route.
- Locations appear on the map when the party discovers them. Hostile locations may trigger combat depending on how you approach.
River Crossings
Fording a river without a bridge is a Crossing: an Environmental encounter that always happens on that Stage, in addition to its Encounter Die. A Crossing has no Detection test.
Travel Procedure
Before Departure
- Choose a Route.
- The GM rolls weather for the day.
- The GM rolls one Encounter Die (d20) per Stage, on that Stage’s Region table — all before the party sets out.
Each Stage
- Pay the Stage’s travel time (see 🗺 Travel Time). The clock advances.
- If the Stage holds an encounter, the party makes a Group Test using 👁 PER + 🏕 Survival against the Detection DC.
- Resolve the encounter by the Group Test result.
- The GM rolls weather again at the start of each new day.
Arrival
If the Route ends at a location, enter it: 2 hours. No Encounter Die, no Detection test.
- Leaving the Route. If the party turns back, changes destination, or stops for more than one 🏕 Long Rest, the rest of the Route’s encounters are discarded. Continuing is a new Route.
- Visibility and vehicles change a Stage’s travel time, never the number of Stages.
Detection
Detection DC
Region DC + Visibility + vehicle − 🗺 Scout
| Modifier | 📊 DC Change |
|---|---|
| Region DC | Terrain + Faction Control |
| Visibility | +0 / +2 / +4 |
| Vehicle | Its stat block’s Travel row |
| Scout (24 hours) | −2 |
| Group Test Result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| CRIT (Leader CRITs) | Full Awareness. Complete information about the encounter. You may engage, avoid, or set up an ambush. If you engage hostiles, you gain a 😲 Surprise Round. Positive encounters are found. |
| Success | Detection. You know something is ahead (hostile, neutral, or environmental) but not specifics. You may engage cautiously or attempt to avoid it (hostiles may require a 👤 Sneak or Survival Test). |
| Failure | Unaware. You stumble into the encounter. Hostiles who were hunting you or lying in ambush gain a 😲 Surprise Round. Positive encounters are missed. |
| CRITFAIL (Leader fails both) | Ambushed. Hostiles gain a 😲 Surprise Round. Positive encounters are missed. |
Encounters are then resolved by type:
- Combat — staged per 🎯 Encounter Setup.
- Social — 💬 Speech, 💰 Barter, or roleplay.
- Environmental — the Test the hazard calls for.
- Discovery — loot, information, or a quest hook.
Visibility
Visibility Table
Visibility Light Weather Detection 📊 DC Travel Time Good Day Clear, Overcast / Wind +0 +0 Poor Dawn, Dusk Rain / Dust Storm, Radiation Storm +2 +1 hour / Stage Bad Night Heavy Storm +4 +2 hours / Stage Use the worse of light and weather. They do not stack.
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Darkness is judged per character. Each participant in the detection Group Test uses the light they perceive:
- 👥 Night Vision — light is one tier better.
- 🎖 Night Person — light is always Good.
Neither improves weather.
Time of Day
Time of Day Table
Time of Day Hours Light Level Visibility Dawn 04:00 – 06:00 Dim Poor Day 06:00 – 18:00 Bright Good Dusk 18:00 – 20:00 Dim Poor Night 20:00 – 04:00 Total Darkness Bad Use the band the party is in when a Stage begins, for both travel time and the Detection DC. See Visibility Table.
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Weather
Weather Table
d20 Weather Visibility Special 1-12 Clear Good None 13-15 Overcast / Wind Good None 16-17 Rain / Dust Storm Poor Difficult terrain 18-19 Heavy Storm Bad 🚗 Pilot Tests required for vehicles 20 Radiation Storm Poor All exposed characters take RAD damage each Stage. Must find shelter or push through. The GM rolls weather at the start of each day. See Visibility Table.
Ghouls and Radiation Storms: A Ghoul’s immunity to radiation creates an interesting party dynamic during a Radiation Storm. The Ghoul can continue traveling safely while the rest of the party must shelter or suffer. This may lead to split-party scenarios where the Ghoul scouts ahead while the others wait out the storm.
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Travel Time
A Stage’s travel time is its on-foot hours, plus Visibility:
| Visibility | Travel Time |
|---|---|
| Good | +0 |
| Poor | +1 hour / Stage |
| Bad | +2 hours / Stage |
Use the Visibility at the start of the Stage.
By vehicle, divide by the Travel row on its stat block. See Vehicle Travel Table.
Encounter Tables
The table a Stage rolls on is set by its Region’s 🗺 Faction Control:
| Table | Nothing | Environmental | Neutral | Hostile | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allied Encounter Table | 40% | 15% | 30% | 10% | 5% |
| Standard Encounter Table | 50% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 5% |
| Guarded Encounter Table | 40% | 15% | 20% | 20% | 5% |
| Hostile Encounter Table | 35% | 15% | 15% | 30% | 5% |
Standard Encounter Table (No Faction Control)
Standard Encounter Table
d20 Category Description 1-10 Nothing Uneventful travel. No encounter. 11-13 Environmental Weather hazard, terrain obstacle, radiation zone, water crossing, collapsed structure 14-16 Neutral Traders, travelers, wandering NPCs, animal herds, refugees 17-19 Hostile Hostile creatures, bandits, wild animals, feral Ghouls 20 Discovery Loot cache, pre-war ruin, unique location, quest hook, mysterious stranger Faction-held Regions use their own encounter tables. See 🗺 Faction Control.
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Allied-Controlled Encounter Table
Allied Encounter Table
d20 Category Description 1-8 Nothing Patrolled and quiet. Current patrol markers, a maintained stretch of road 9-11 Environmental Checkpoints, controlled demolition, marked minefields, decontamination stops 12-17 Neutral Patrols, supply convoys, scribes and surveyors, vassal traffic 18-19 Hostile Something got through the perimeter, and the garrison is short-handed 20 Discovery An unclaimed cache, a patrol that never reported in, salvage flagged for pickup Used for ground held by a faction the party has standing with — the Brotherhood around Bunker Alpha, or a vassal settlement’s approaches.
The character of this table is traffic, not threat. Most rolls put people in front of the party: someone to be recognised by, questioned by, traded with, or asked for a hand. Their patrols are the reason the road is quiet — hostile results fall to 10%, the lowest of any table and below open wasteland, while neutral traffic doubles to 30%.
A Hostile result is not the holders turning on the party. It is a breach of their security — something came through the perimeter — and the party is the nearest body available to answer it. Played that way, a Hostile roll on allied ground is a favour asked at gunpoint rather than an ambush, and is one of the cleaner ways to hand out a quest hook mid-journey.
Allied ground also costs +0 Detection DC: patrol markers, cleared roads, and shared comms are information, not obstacles. See 🗺 Faction Control.
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Guarded-Controlled Encounter Table
Guarded Encounter Table
d20 Category Description 1-8 Nothing Quiet, but the ground is managed and watched. Boundary marks, tended trails, cut sightlines 9-11 Environmental Deliberate obstacles — a closed route, felled timber, a crossing they control 12-15 Neutral Rangers, vassal traders, locals moving under safe-conduct 16-19 Hostile Challenged, shadowed, or escorted to the border — enforcement, not predation 20 Discovery Something the holders would rather you had not found Used for ground held by a faction that considers the party unwelcome but not yet a target.
The distinction from the Hostile Encounter Table is the opening move. Force here is a response, not an invitation: a Hostile result should begin as a challenge, a warning shot, a shadowing escort, or an order to leave — and only become a fight if the party pushes, lies, or is caught somewhere it shouldn’t be. A party that answers honestly and turns around can usually walk out of a Hostile result on guarded ground. That is the whole point of the table.
Against the Standard Encounter Table, hostile results rise from 15% to 20% and neutral traffic rises from 15% to 20%. Guarded ground is busier and touchier than open wasteland, because somebody is actually patrolling it.
See 🗺 Faction Control for how a faction’s posture selects its table and Detection DC.
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Hostile-Controlled Encounter Table
Hostile Encounter Table
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d20 Category Description 1-7 Nothing Uneventful but tense. Signs of raider activity. 8-10 Environmental Raider traps, blocked roads, burning wreckage 11-13 Neutral Nervous traders, refugees fleeing raiders, scavengers hiding 14-19 Hostile Raider patrol, raider ambush, raider checkpoint 20 Discovery Raider cache, captured prisoner, hidden raider hideout
Daily Travel Schedule
The party must start its next 🏕 Long Rest within 24 hours of finishing the last one, or risk 😫 Exhaustion. Those 24 hours cover travel, encounters, scavenging, and the party’s one 🏕 Short Rest — at most four full Stages.
Vehicle Power
Each vehicle’s stat block lists its Power. Entering a location tile counts as a tile. Each Route lists its length in tiles.
| Power | Cost | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| ⛽ Fuel | 1 Fuel per tile | Tank size on stat block |
| Fusion Core | 1 charge per 5 tiles, rounded up at the end of each Route | 20 charges per core |
A diagonal tile costs 1 Fuel, like any other. When a vehicle runs out of Fuel or charges, it is Stopped and cannot move until refueled or given a new core.
Resting While Traveling
The party must start a 🏕 Long Rest within 24 hours of finishing the last one, or risk 😫 Exhaustion.
Resting in Safe Regions
Open Regions and Regions held by allies allow normal rest procedures:
- Camp setup Group Test (END + 🏕 Survival)
- Normal rest activities (Sleep, Repair, Read, Scavenge, Lookout)
- Standard food and drink requirements
Resting in Hostile Regions
Resting in Guarded or Hostile Regions:
- Camp setup Group Test has increased CRITFAIL Range (+1 to +3 depending on the threat level)
- Hostile encounters are more likely to occur during rest
- Without a Lookout, ambushes are almost guaranteed
Scout Activity
During a 🏕 Long Rest, a character may choose Scout as their 🏕 Rest Activity.
- You do not Sleep — your 🏕 Recovery roll is not upgraded (1d8 + END MOD instead of 1d20 + END MOD) and you do not mend your own injuries
- You may eat and drink normally
- Benefit: For the next 24 hours, the party’s Detection Group Tests gain −2 DC
- The GM may describe the Route ahead: terrain, signs of faction activity, approximate danger level
Supplies and Resource Management
Food and Water
Each character needs 1 food + 1 drink per Long Rest to avoid 😫 Exhaustion.
The 🎯 Wasteland Survivor milestone (Survival +5) allows hunting, foraging, and cooking during travel.
Ammunition and Medical Supplies
Combat encounters during travel consume ammunition, Stimpaks, and other consumables.
Carry Capacity
All supplies must fit within the party’s combined Carry Capacity, vehicle cargo, and Pack Brahmin inventory (if available). The 🎖 Strong Back perk and trade assets from the 🎯 Businessman milestone help with logistics.
Quick Reference
Before Departure:
- Choose a Route
- GM rolls weather
- GM rolls one Encounter Die (d20) per Stage
Each Stage:
- Pay travel time (Stage hours + Visibility, ÷ vehicle)
- Encounter? Group PER + Survival Test vs Detection DC
- CRIT: Full awareness, Surprise Round if you engage
- Success: Partial info, can attempt to avoid
- Failure: Stumble in; hunters and ambushers get a Surprise Round
- CRITFAIL: Ambushed
- Resolve the encounter
Arrival: Enter the destination location — 2 hours, no Encounter Die
Detection DC: Region DC + Visibility (+0 / +2 / +4) + vehicle − Scout (2)
Daily Travel:
- Start the next Long Rest within 24 hours of finishing the last — at most four full Stages
- Past 24 hours without starting one — Exhaustion risk