Travel across the Wasteland is dangerous, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. The World Map uses a square grid where each tile represents a region with its own terrain type, potential encounters, and faction control.
Moving between locations requires planning: choosing routes, managing supplies, scouting for danger, and deciding when to rest.
The World Map Grid
The World Map is a 175 × 100 tile grid. Each tile has the following properties:
- Terrain Type — determines encounter tables, travel time, and detection difficulty
- Faction Control (optional) — modifies encounter tables and adds faction-specific encounters
- Fixed Locations (optional) — settlements, dungeons, landmarks, or points of interest
- Roads (optional) — reduce travel time through the tile
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 Special 2 hours (Bridge) 12 Rivers: Without a bridge, crossing a river requires an 🏋️ Athletics Test or finding an alternate route. A Bridge tile treats the River as standard 2-hour terrain.
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Roads
Roads overlay terrain types — a tile can be “Woods with Road.” The terrain type still determines encounter tables and detection DC, but roads reduce travel time:
- Road reduces travel time by 1 hour (minimum 2 hours on foot)
- Vehicles on roads may gain additional speed benefits (GM discretion)
Faction Control
Some tiles are controlled by factions (raiders, Brotherhood, Super Mutants, etc.). Faction control does not change the terrain type but modifies the encounter table:
- Increases the chance of hostile encounters specific to that faction
- Decreases the chance of nothing happening
- May add faction-specific encounters (patrols, checkpoints, ambushes)
- Increases the Detection DC by +2 to +4 depending on how entrenched the faction is
Fixed Locations
Certain tiles contain fixed locations — settlements, dungeons, ruins, camps, or other points of interest. These are permanent features of the map.
- Fixed locations appear on the map when the party discovers them (through exploration, information gathering, or quest objectives)
- Entering a tile with a known fixed location gives you the option to enter the location
- Hostile fixed locations (raider camps, mutant nests) may trigger combat depending on how you approach
Travel Procedure
When the party travels from one tile to an adjacent tile:
Step 1: Declare Movement
The party declares which adjacent tile they are entering. Diagonal movement between tiles follows the same rules as combat grid movement (to be determined based on your diagonal movement decision).
Step 2: Pay Travel Time
Deduct the tile’s travel time from the party’s available hours. Travel time is modified by terrain, roads, vehicles, weather, and time of day.
| Travel Method | Time Modifier |
|---|---|
| On foot | Base travel time |
| On foot with Road | Base - 1 hour (minimum 2) |
| Vehicle at Low speed | Base ÷ 2 |
| Vehicle at Medium speed | Base ÷ 4 |
| Vehicle at High speed | Base ÷ 8 |
| Condition | Time Modifier |
|---|---|
| Night travel | +1 hour |
| Rain / Dust Storm | +1 hour |
| Heavy Storm | +2 hours |
Step 3: Encounter Check
The party makes a Group Test using 👁 PER + 🏕 Survival to scan for encounters in the tile.
The Detection DC is determined by the terrain type, modified by faction control, weather, time of day, and vehicle speed.
| Modifier | DC Change |
|---|---|
| Base terrain DC | See terrain table |
| Faction controlled | +2 to +4 |
| Night travel | +4 |
| Dusk / Dawn | +2 |
| Vehicle at Medium speed | +2 |
| Vehicle at High speed | +4 |
| Weather (Overcast/Wind) | +1 |
| Weather (Rain/Dust Storm) | +2 |
| Weather (Heavy Storm) | +4 |
| Scout activity (from previous Long Rest) | -2 |
Step 4: GM Rolls Encounter Table
The GM rolls on the Encounter Table for the tile’s terrain type (modified by faction control). This determines what is actually in the tile, regardless of whether the party detected it.
Step 5: Resolve Based on Detection
The party’s Group Test result determines how they interact with the encounter:
| Group Test Result | Outcome |
|---|---|
| CRIT (Leader CRITs) | Full Awareness. Complete information about the encounter. You may engage, avoid, or set up an ambush. Negative encounters can be bypassed entirely. Positive encounters are automatically found. |
| Success | Detection. Partial information — you know something is ahead (general type: hostile, neutral, environmental) but not specifics. You may engage cautiously or attempt to avoid (may require a secondary 👤 Sneak or Survival Test for hostile encounters). |
| Failure | Unaware. You stumble into the encounter. Hostile encounters may get a Surprise Round. Positive encounters (caches, friendly camps) may be missed entirely. |
| CRITFAIL (Leader fails both) | Ambushed or Lost. Hostile encounters automatically get the drop on you. The party may also suffer a navigation penalty — lost time, wrong direction, or entering a more dangerous tile. Positive encounters are missed. |
Step 6: Resolve Encounter
If an encounter occurs and the party engages (or is forced to engage), resolve it according to its type:
- Combat encounters transition to the combat map. The terrain type determines the map layout.
- Social encounters are resolved through 💬 Speech, 💰 Barter, or roleplay.
- Environmental encounters require Tests (Survival, Athletics, etc.) to navigate.
- Discoveries provide loot, information, or quest hooks.
Encounter Tables
Each terrain type has its own encounter table. The GM rolls a d20.
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-Controlled Tiles use their own encounter tables, which increase the chance of Hostile encounters and add faction-specific results. See World Map Travel for details.
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Hostile Faction-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
A full day is 24 hours. Characters must balance travel, rest, and encounters.
On Foot (Sustainable Pace)
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Travel Tile 1 | 4 hours |
| Travel Tile 2 | 4 hours |
| Travel Tile 3 | 4 hours |
| Travel Tile 4 | 4 hours |
| Long Rest | 8 hours |
| Total | 24 hours |
This allows 4 tiles per day at a sustainable pace with no downtime between travel and rest. The party walks for 16 hours and rests for 8.
Pushing beyond 4 tiles means skipping or delaying the Long Rest, which risks gaining Exhaustion. A party can choose to push to 5 or 6 tiles but will accumulate Exhaustion if they don’t eat, drink, and rest properly.
With Road Access
Roads reduce travel time by 1 hour per tile (minimum 2 hours). A party traveling entirely on roads can cover up to 8 tiles per day (16 hours ÷ 2 hours per tile).
In Vehicles
Vehicles dramatically increase daily range:
| Vehicle Speed | Time per Tile (Plains) | Tiles per Day (16 hours) |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 2 hours | 8 tiles |
| Medium | 1 hour | 16 tiles |
| High | 30 minutes | 32 tiles |
At High speed, a vehicle can cross the entire 175-tile width of the map in roughly 5-6 days. But detection penalties mean the party is likely to miss encounters (both dangerous and beneficial), and fuel consumption limits range.
Fuel System (Vehicles)
Vehicles consume 1 fuel per tile of World Map travel, regardless of speed. Faster speed doesn’t burn more fuel — it just gets you there faster.
Each vehicle has a fuel capacity listed on its stat block. When fuel reaches 0, the vehicle is Stopped and cannot move until refueled.
Night Travel
Traveling at night is possible but more dangerous due to reduced visibility.
Time of Day Table
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Time of Day Light Level Detection DC Modifier Day Bright +0 Dusk / Dawn Dim +2 Night Total Darkness +4
Characters with Night Vision or the Night Person perk treat darkness as one tier brighter for detection purposes (reducing or eliminating the DC modifier).
Weather
The GM may roll for weather once per day or as the narrative demands.
Weather Table
d20 Weather Detection DC Modifier Travel Modifier Special 1-12 Clear +0 +0 None 13-15 Overcast / Wind +1 +0 Minor visibility reduction 16-17 Rain / Dust Storm +2 +1 hour per tile Reduced visibility, difficult terrain 18-19 Heavy Storm +4 +2 hours per tile 🚗 Pilot Tests required for vehicles, extreme visibility loss 20 Radiation Storm +2 +0 All exposed characters take RAD damage per tile traversed. Must find shelter or push through. 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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Resting While Traveling
The party must Long Rest at least once every 24 hours or risk Exhaustion.
Resting in Safe Tiles
Tiles without faction control or known threats 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 Tiles
Resting in faction-controlled or dangerous tiles is more risky:
- 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
- The Lookout activity becomes especially important — without a Lookout, ambushes are almost guaranteed in hostile territory
Scout Activity (New Rest Activity)
During a Long Rest, a character may choose to Scout the surrounding area instead of sleeping, repairing, or reading.
Scout: You spend the rest exploring adjacent tiles and gathering information about the area.
- You do not Sleep — no HP recovery or injury mending
- You may eat and drink normally
- Benefit: For the next 24 hours, the party’s PER + Survival Group Tests for encounter detection gain -2 DC (encounters are easier to detect)
- The GM may also provide general information about adjacent tiles (terrain type, signs of faction activity, approximate danger level)
This makes Scouting a valuable pre-travel activity, especially before entering unknown or hostile territory.
Supplies and Resource Management
Long-distance travel requires supplies:
Food and Water
Each character needs 1 food + 1 drink per Long Rest to avoid Exhaustion. A 5-day journey for a party of 5 requires 25 food items and 25 drink items. This creates real logistical planning — the party must buy, scavenge, or hunt for supplies before long expeditions.
The Wasteland Survivor milestone (Survival +5) allows hunting, foraging, and cooking during travel, reducing the need to carry all supplies from the start.
Ammunition and Medical Supplies
Combat encounters during travel consume ammunition, Stimpaks, and other consumables. The party should budget for expected encounters when planning supplies.
Vehicle Fuel
See Fuel System above. Vehicle range is limited by fuel capacity.
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
Travel Procedure:
- Declare destination tile
- Pay travel time (base time ± terrain/road/vehicle/weather modifiers)
- Group PER + Survival Test vs Detection DC
- GM rolls Encounter Table (d20)
- Resolve encounter based on detection result
- CRIT: Full awareness, can avoid anything
- Success: Partial info, can attempt to avoid
- Failure: Stumble in, possible Surprise
- CRITFAIL: Ambushed or lost
Daily Travel (On Foot):
- 4 tiles per day (16 hours travel + 6 hours Long Rest)
- Roads: up to 8 tiles per day
- Pushing beyond 4 tiles risks Exhaustion
Vehicle Speed:
Speed Time/Tile Detection Penalty Fuel Low Base ÷ 2 +0 1/tile Medium Base ÷ 4 +2 DC 1/tile High Base ÷ 8 +4 DC 1/tile
Encounter Odds (Standard, No Faction):
- Nothing: 50% | Environmental: 15% | Neutral: 15% | Hostile: 15% | Discovery: 5%