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Mastering the Wild / Discovery and Exploration / Creating a Territory

Step 2: Design Locations

Source Ultimate Wilderness pg. 126
As a general rule, each territory should contain at least one location to discover; otherwise there’s little point to exploring a territory. In some cases, you need to design only a single location—the focus and eventual goal of the exploration. Other times, such as if the PCs are surveying a lost world or another terra incognita, you’ll want to design multiple locations, each competing with the others for the PCs’ attention.

Each location should be something memorable and significant. Finding a location should grant a reward (such as a supernatural enhancement, valuable treasure, or a way sign), or that location should be an adventure site. Locations can be as simple as a stash of ancient pirate treasure or as complex as a lost city harboring ancient magic and technological mysteries.

Each location in a territory needs its own discovery score. An obvious location (such as a large castle or a humanoid army camp) should have an initial discovery score of 3, while a more obscure location (such as a single house or a cave entrance) should have an initial discovery score of 6. You can modify this initial discovery score total using the values given on Table 4–2, but feel free to come up with your own values based on the exploration’s narrative.

Table 4-2: Discovery Score Modifier

Condition	Modifier to Discovery Score^†
Desert or plains terrain	+1
Forest, hills, or marsh terrain	+2
Mountain terrain	+3
Location is traveled to or from often	-4
Location is mobile within the territory	+4
Location is unusually large	-2
Location is unusually small	+2
Location is deliberately hidden	+2 to +6

† Adjustments are cumulative, but the minimum discovery score = 1.

Archives of Nethys

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Step 2: Design Locations

Table 4-2: Discovery Score Modifier