Gameplay Rules

West Marches Rules

Introduction

Here are some rules for the Sagaborn West Marches Campaigns.

The Goal

Survey the land to find the best route for a road to go through the Swordspyne Mountains.

Downtime

At the start of a game session, a Westbounder may report that they have done two of the following: worked on a Skill, worked on a Characteristic, learn new spells, craft, reduce horror, or roll on the Downtime Chart. You must choose two different tasks, though you can try to level two different skills.

Downtime Chart

Work on a Skill

You can level any skill under 61 during downtime. You can attempt to level it by rolling as you do at the end of a game session and a success will grant 2 points; or you may take an automatic +1 to any skill under 61 or a +2 to any skill under 35.

Work on a Characteristic

An adventurer may name a characteristic that they have been training. It can be STR, CON, DEX, INT, ACU, or SOC. Leveling up a characteristic takes a certain number of downtime sessions based on the number. Below is a chart of how many sessions it takes to level a Characteristic up to the next level.

Spells

If an adventurer has a scroll, spellbook, a teacher, or other ancient text with spells inside, a mage can use the downtime to learn the spell. They may also scribe the spell if they have learned a spell through spell sight. Iaross at the Cauldron in Elmhearth is also a source for new spells. A luminar must have a successful Research check and spend 100 gp to scribe the spell in their spellbook.

Craft

You can use a craft skill to make 150 gp worth of crafted goods for 50% of the retail cost. You need a crafting room or kit, and a successful Crafting skill check to be successful.

Forage

Your character can spend the downtime gathering crafting materials. A skill check is needed, and if successful, you gather materials worth 75 gp.

Reduce Horror 

For each Downtime action you spend recovering Horror, subtract 1d6+1 Horror.

Session Start

1. Travel to the Storehouse and make purchases, refill food, water, and ammo.
2. Decide on Downtime activity.
3. Choose a direction and explore.

Travel and Survival

Watches

There are 3 watches per day, each lasting 8 hours. The standard day includes 1 watch for travel, 1 watch for downtime, and 1 watch for rest. Traveling more than 1 watch can lead to fatigue.

Activities

Activities that can be done during a watch.

• Travel
• Navigate
• Keep watch
• Survey
• Forage
• Hunt
• Cook or other craft
• Tend to wounds
• Rest

Travel

You can travel up to your standard day travel in 8 hours (1 watch) over non-difficult overland terrain. If you travel more than one Watch a day, you become fatigued. 

Navigate

You can navigate, finding the best route towards your goal. Unlike most other activities, Navigation can be done during Travel with no penalty. The main skill is Navigate, but other adventurers can use their Navigation to help with this skill roll. For every completed survey of a hex, modify the Navigation rating by 10% (so if there are four previous surveys in that hex, you modify your skill rating by adding 40%). Failure: If you fail to navigate the hex, you are stuck in that hex and must spend another watch trying to leave. If all Navigation checks fail during a single watch, if another attempted is tried on the following watch, the skill check is considered Easy.

Keep Watch

You can be alert for threats and watch over the group’s safety. You can do this during Travel with no penalty. Also, if you keep watch during a rest shift, but it must be no longer than 4 hours, and if it is interrupted by an event, the character Keeping Watch is not considered to have Rested.

Survey

You can survey a hex by marking trees, laying down pathways, creating a map, and exploring the hex for any features. A hex becomes Safe when it has been successfully surveyed 6 times and a completed expedition report submitted. A single adventurer can use any pertinent skill that the SG approves to survey. Surveying can be done while traveling. 

Forage

You can forage for food. With a successful Survival check, you find food and water enough for 2 people for a day (2x rations, 2x water). A critical or special gets double that amount. You can Forage while traveling, but it becomes difficult. 

Hunt

You can hunt for food. A successful Survival check provides enough food for four people for a day (4x rations). A critical or special gets double that amount. However, you can not hunt while traveling. 

Craft

Anyone with mobile crafting or repair stations can craft during a watch. Crafting can not be done during travel unless you are in a vehicle and not participating in its operation. 

Tend to wounds

You can use your First Aid to help any injured person. Attempting to do this during travel becomes difficult. 

Rest

You can rest to regain health and mana. It can not be done during travel unless you are in a vehicle and are taking no part in its operation. A character must rest for 8 hours or they become fatigued.

Standard Day of Travel

Start of the Day:

• One player rolls 2d6 for weather.
• Players use food and water rations.

There are three watches. Each watch uses this timeframe:

• SG gives a synopsis of what the hex looks like as you enter. 
• Declaration of adventurer activity. 
• Activities are rolled for. Each failure adds 5 to the SG Random Encounters Table, and subtracts 5 from the hex features roll. 
• SG rolls for Hex features if traveling. 
• SG rolls for random encounters. 
• Resolve features and encounters. 

Safe Hexes

If a Hex is marked as Safe, it means that the Road crew has built the road and that there are guards who patrol the hex, meaning you no longer have random encounters or need to navigate the hex.

Safe = Explored with Guarded Road.

Guarded = An Explored Hex that has a road connected to Elmhearth. A new stronghold must be along the road every 4 hexs (4 days travel) away from Elmhearth.

Road = Explored Hex and Elmhearth

Explored = 6 Successful Surveys

To mark a Hex as safe, it must be fully explored, and then Elmhearth must begin to build a road. To fully explore a hex, it must have been successfully surveyed 6 times. 

The Map

Each labeled “mini” hex is 16 miles across, meaning a group can travel across it in 1 day as long as terrain and weather permit (standard travel in a day is 16 miles).

Leveling

A hero gains a Talent point after every 3 play sessions. 

Guild Pay

Adventurers are given gold per successful survey in a hex. They gain a bonus of when the hex becomes fully surveyed.

Strongholds

For a hero to gain the bonuses from a stronghold they must have 2 things. One, they must have a personal bedroom in the stronghold (meaning they must build one and maintain it), and two, the adventure must start from the closest stronghold, and that is the stronghold from which they gain bonuses.

Other Stronghold Rules:

• During downtime, a hero can travel to any stronghold to do work.
• A stronghold must have one road going to it to be part of the Road West network.
• Strongholds have events. These can add to the cost of upkeep and guarding a stronghold.

Stronghold Downtime Events (1d100)

Stronghold Defense Chart

For each guard stationed at your stronghold subtract from your roll (green -1, average -2, trained -3, and expert -5). Anything below a 1 counts as a Strategic Defense. For a fumble (100), your defenses are always breached, and follow the table below.

What is this style of Play?

The SagaBorn living campaign is a bit different then your normal TTRPG campaign. This is based on a West Marches style game (see more from Matt Colville https://youtu.be/oGAC-gBoX9k). We want to have many players, like 20-30. Players, when they want to adventure, form a group, picking from any of the other players to form a 3-6 person group. They then decide where they want to venture, or what quest they want to fulfill off the Task Board. The group then petitions one of the GMs (Mike in the first couple of months) to make an adventure and they all schedule a time.

Rule One:

You are an adventurer because you feel a strong call in your bones to adventure. The boredom of a calm life doesn’t appeal to you – you are driven to leave behind the safety of civilization and explore the wilds to make your name. Regardless of what drives you, you are driven. You choose where to go and what to do. There will be a handful of obvious choices, but you don’t by any means need to take them. The adventure is in your hands.

Other “rules”:

• Players can suggest or join sessions on an at-will basis. There is no assumed set party – characters can adventure in many different groups.
• Each session is presumed to be self-contained. Players venture into the wild, find or are found by adventure, and return home each session.
• New characters start at level 1. Characters keep whatever gold and XP they earn from session to session, and characters may (until further notice) group with other characters of any level.
• Every character starts each session in Kowal. If characters have not returned home by the end of the session, they automatically return after play has ended.
  • Exceptions from this rule can be made to accommodate longer adventures spanning over multiple sessions.
• The players decide where to go and what to do in advance.
• There is a shared world map, that’s potentially unreliable.

The Current Campaign is The Road West