The Adventure Begins - Day One

We will be starting with the Movement Rules in the DMG, pg.58, for our overland adventure. With a mule to help carry things, we can assume an Average burden for the party as a whole, which gives us a 20 mile per day movement (1 hex) in normal terrain, and since Minston and his band are heading north along the road, that seems reasonable. SmallVillage is smack-dab in the middle of our starting hex, so it's 10 miles to the "border" of the next zone. They can cover that by mid-day, and get half-way into the next hex by nightfall on the same day, assuming no encounters or other unforeseen events.

Speaking of encounters - DMG pg.47 outlines the chances of encounters and how often to roll for them. Forest terrain requires more checks than any other type, six times a day. The chance for an encounter is based on the population density of the immediate surroundings, from relatively dense to uninhabited/wilderness. We will assume that the population level is Moderate to Sparse from SmallVillage to the edge of the next hex, giving us a 1 in 12 chance per check.

So it begins!

Minston and his merry band rise early, just before dawn. Double-checking the supplies secured to Mule's back, they bid a hearty farewell to the rooster eyeing them suspiciously from a nearby railing and strike northwards towards their destiny. The morning passes uneventfully (Encounter Roll 5), with the twisting path of the road eventually taking them out of sight of their home. Birds twitter, deer stare, moss grows, as wind gently rustles the tops of the trees. An auspicious start, Minston thinks.

By mid-day (ER 4), the party stops to rest their feet and enjoy a bite to eat while they chat about their homes and lives before today. Nothing special, as the Footman points out, or none of them would be here. Nods and grunts of agreement muffled by bread and cheese. After a quick bit of stretching, they regroup and stare at the mile-post just ahead. This is it. This is the farthest from home any of them has ever been.

Packs adjusted, they march forward - heads held high.

The Next Hex

We will assume that each hex has a "dominant" terrain, with a chance for differences here and there as the DM sees fit. The DMG pg.173 gives us the tools we need to determine what the next 20 miles of terrain holds for our group. Simple enough - find the terrain type they're currently in on the table, roll a d20, and skim down to find the new terrain type.

(Roll - 15) Rough terrain. According to the book, it is a badlands hex. Not exactly a desert (though it could be), but arid and nearly barren of life, and rugged. This will also affect movement rates if the road gives out or changes direction and the party decides to keep heading north.

Although the DMG does not specify how to randomly determine road or river directions, I will apply the following rule. The course or path will continue in the direction it was following when the hex was entered, then roll a d6 at the midpoint to show the change in direction, if any. If the roll shows the road or river doubling back on itself, then that will be where it ends/begins. Exceptions will be made for things like mountains etc. on a case-by-case basis.

What about inhabitants? A d100 roll (3) tells us that there is a single dwelling somewhere in this wasteland. We'll decide later if our group stumbles upon it.

Here's a hiccup - the Encounter table on pg. 47 does not include Rough Terrain. The DM will make a judgment call that Rough will use the Desert encounter line with rolls made Morning, Night, and Pre-Dawn.

The small band clears a bend in the road and finds that the trees thin out quickly, revealing a ruddy red-and-brown landscape that stretches as far as they can see. The road continues north, its dusty brown surface barely discernible against the rest of the terrain. The adventurers pause, looking behind them at the wall of green, then at each other. Mule brays mournfully. The march resumes.

Despite the dreary surroundings the weather is thankfully mild, the winds light, and the road flat. The line of green recedes behind them and eventually disappears as the sun dips low in the western sky, and attention is diverted to finding a place to spend the night. Strangely, the road almost loops back on itself (mid-Hex Roll: 5), hair-pinning back to the southwest. There is no obvious reason for the dramatic turn, and they decide to find shelter nearby for the night and decide on their course the next morning.

They soon find a suitable spot nestled in the crook of what looks like a fossilized dune and settle in for the night. Soon they are singing and sharing stories, drinking wine beneath the glowing stars, and generally feeling pretty pleased with themselves. It is decided that no watch is needed - after all, they haven't seen a thing beyond a few buzzing flies in the last few hours, and they're all beat from a good day's march.

(ER 1)

Of course, this may have been a Bad Idea...

(Still entertaining ideas for names for the NPCs, although I think Mule is suitable for... well, the mule. Comment below!)