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Wilderness

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 220
Game Masters frequently use wilderness travel simply as a means for the PCs to get from point A to point B, with an occasional random encounter thrown in to liven up the proceedings. But the wilderness has more to offer than just a path through the wasteland and a few wandering monsters. The GM’s responsibility is to bring the wilds to life. Once he has a living, breathing wilderness, the GM can start to set a variety of adventures in the wild and across the world.

What sets a wilderness adventure apart? First, the obvious answer: the terrain is more open and traversable. The party may travel through declivities, valleys, and gorges, but in general, they’ll have a wider, broader range for their trek. They will not be constrained by dungeon walls or cavern tunnels, and can choose their own pathways to their destination, but with these benefits come a wide variety of additional hazards and a potential for adventure.

Climate and Weather

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 220
Any world that supports life should contain a wide range of environments: diversity in the ecosystem helps support a diversity of life, though of course a fantasy world is subject to its own governing rules of physics and ecology. Still, to maintain a believable fantasy setting, a world-builder should make some effort to ensure the world conforms to known reality: most rivers should flow downhill, toward the sea, and boiling, sunbaked deserts should not be situated next to glaciers. Use common sense when transitioning between environments to retain believability in an adventure, unless you purposely want the party to notice the abrupt transition due to some localized arcane or metaphysical phenomenon.

The GM might consider penalizing PCs for wearing inappropriate attire in various climates and terrains: increased DCs on Acrobatics checks or additional movement penalties for heavily armored PCs in bogs, for instance, or even Survival checks with increasing DCs as the party moves into ever-more inhospitable climes. Suggested encounters are listed with many of these sections.

Climate

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 220
Each of the standard terrain types varies by climate. Climate differs from weather, though it affects the weather significantly. Climate describes the generally prevailing atmospheric conditions of a particular region on a planet and usually defines the seasonal temperature extremes. Note that weather and temperature can change dramatically between terrains even within a particular climatic zone—a warm summer evening in a temperate grassland may be a bone-chillingly cold night on a temperate mountain. The following climatic zones are therefore presented as guidelines, from the poles to the equator.

Arctic: The coldest climates surround the poles. These arctic regions are frequently frozen and covered with snow; they have with bitterly cold, dark winters and cool summers. The types of terrain found in arctic climates range from the taiga (the northern or southernmost forests, which extend to the farthest limit trees can grow) to tundra to trackless snowy steppes. The terrain types can be mountainous and glacier-bound, thickly forested, or flat and snow-covered. Despite the harsh conditions, a variety of hardy creatures live in the arctic.

Temperate: The temperate zone consists of two major subgroups: oceanic and continental. The coastal oceanic zones enjoy a largely steady temperature, regulated by the weather patterns across the ocean, whereas the inland continental zones are warmer in the summer and colder in the winter. How much warmer and how much colder depends on the various landmasses and prevailing weather patterns. The temperate zone covers fertile farmland, high mountains, verdant forests, grasslands, swamps, and many more terrain types. Temperate lands are highly desirable and travelers must be on the lookout for more than just monsters—brigands prey on caravans, armies wage war, and the politics of kingdoms and duchies make their own troubles.

Subtropical: Warmer than the temperate zone, the subtropics also vary widely in terrain type, from hot deserts to vast savannas to dense, broadleaf forests. Rainfall patterns vary widely in these regions, from dry to humid, and while the subtropics rarely see snow or frost, they can suffer intense cold snaps. As the climate tends toward moderation, the weather in the subtropics depends on the terrain to a greater extent.

Tropical: The tropics are the hottest part of a planet; lying along the equator, they come directly under the sun’s glare for the entirety of the year. Rather than winter or summer, the tropics have a dry season and a wet season, based on the movement of the rain belt from south to north and back again. Again, however, terrain makes a difference: lush, verdant jungles enjoy frequent rainfall, enormous mountains can sport snow at high altitudes, and the sands of massive deserts shift back and forth on the winds.

Weather

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 220
Weather is a topic that rarely receives much attention in adventures, but it can make encounters much more memorable. A fight while ascending a cliff becomes more treacherous if the party must climb a mud-slicked donkey path. Perhaps the ominous chants of savage cultists rise above and intertwine with the thunder, and rain spatters in the blazing torches as the fell worshipers prepare their living sacrifices. The weather itself can be an enemy, as the party races for shelter in the face of a roaring tornado or frantically steers a ship to safe harbor as a hurricane lashes the waves higher around them. Snowfall erases the tracks of kidnappers, and fog hides the breath of a dragon lurking in the brackish waters of a swamp.

A good GM considers the weather as an addition to regular adventures. How many days are routinely sunny, partly cloudy, or even merely overcast? How frequently does it rain? What are the major weather events that take place in a particular region, and how can travelers avoid them? These considerations include rain, thunder, lightning, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, and more. The weather can also combine with terrain to create truly deadly conditions, such as bogs, mudslides, and avalanches.

Another question to consider is what the locals do to protect themselves. Note that in a fantasy world this doesn’t necessarily entail just dressing more warmly or finding shelter—it may also mean appeasing the spirits of nature or the gods through propitiatory sacrifices. Safeguarding oneself from the weather—be it scorching sun or howling blizzard—is a crucial part of traveling or living in the wilderness, and the best protection against the weather may not be the best defense in combat.

Types of weather that may factor into encounters include blizzards, severe cold or extreme heat, fog, hurricanes and typhoons, monsoons, dust storms, hailstorms, sandstorms, snowstorms, and thunderstorms (with or without lightning), tornadoes, and windstorms (see the Weather section from the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook).

Environment

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 221
In addition to climate and weather, the environment itself can have an impact on adventures. The environment includes both landscapes and ecosystems. Landscape varies widely and is generally a function of both geology and geography—that is, the natural structure and substance of the land, and the physical features within a region. An ecosystem refers to the type of biological life in a region, rather than topology. The following terrain types can appear in virtually any climate, and each has its own unique hazards and considerations to take into account when used as the setting for an adventure. Remember that the possibility of becoming lost (Core Rulebook) exists in any terrain!

Deserts

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 222
Deserts are defined not by climate, but rather by the amount of rainfall a region receives; they can be cold, temperate, or hot. They exist in weather shadows, blocked from ordinary precipitation patterns. Desert vegetation is tough and sparse, able to store water for long periods, which means in turn that the soil in a desert is loose and barren, if not entirely rocky. Desert animals tend to be smaller insects, arachnids, mammals, and lizards, with some predatory birds. Venomous creatures are common. In hot deserts, the days are scorching; but at night the heat dissipates quickly, and those who don’t have proper cover or clothing can suffer from exposure.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out desert terrain. Desert terrain is described here, but encounters in the desert might also include exposure to either severe heat or cold; storms, whether blizzards, sandstorms, or thunderstorms, which can lead to flash floods in the higher deserts in particular; and thirst, when water stores eventually vanish.

Forests/Jungles

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 222
Forests and jungles are, in the broadest possible terms, places where a significant number of trees grow and where a wide variety of other plants and animals live and thrive. The type of forest changes by latitude and terrain, ranging from sparse evergreens and other conifers in the coldest and highest parts of the world to dense, broadleaf jungle in the tropics. The strength of a forest’s canopy should be determined—if the canopy creates too much shadow on the ground below, it can prevent the growth of underbrush. Leafier and more mature trees cast greater shadows, and thus more of the forest’s inhabitants may live in the trees.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out forest or jungle terrain. Forest terrain is described here, but when adventuring in the forest or jungle, some possible encounters might also incorporate darkness, falling branches or trees, fog, forest fires and smoke, or swampy terrain. In addition, trees and undergrowth can provide cover and concealment.

Hills

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 222
Hills can be of many different types. They might be rolling hills in a broad grassland, or they can be the transitional point between plains and more rugged mountains. They could be small, craggy bluffs or smooth, gentle slopes. Much depends on the terrain surrounding the hilly area. Streams or rivers may wind between the hills, cutting their banks. If the hills are the tallest features in an area, they are of immense strategic value: anyone who occupies them can see farther than would-be enemies.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out hills terrain. Hills terrain is described here; hills also provide a good setting for both natural caves and dungeons. Additional environmental hazards for hill encounters include avalanches, the danger of falls, icy terrain, inclement weather, rivers and streams, and rubble. Hills used as defensive positions might also incorporate trenches and berms.

Marshes, Swamps, and Bogs

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 222
Swamps are forested lowland marshes that sit at the junctures of multiple sources of water, maintaining a constant seep and flow that filters water from higher elevations. Bogs differ from swamps in several important regards: they lie in declivities that do not drain easily, and they are fed by rainfall, snowmelt, or acidic springs rather than by active streams or rivers. Bogs form when dead vegetation is prevented from fully decaying by the surrounding acidic water, forming a layer of peat, which inhibits further drainage of the area. All swamps support a huge variety of plant, animal, and insect life, though trees tend to be less plentiful. Swamps are humid, dank, and full of treacherous footing: shallow pools give way quickly to deeper pools, and woe to the heavily laden traveler who steps into quicksand without companions nearby.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out marshes, swamps, and bogs. Marsh terrain is described here. When traveling through swamps, one should always be wary of rotten vegetation, which can break suddenly under too much weight and cause falls, as well as quicksand and deep pools of water, which can be spotted in the same manner as quicksand. Falling into such a pool requires a DC 10 Swim check and carries the possibility of drowning. The deep water in swamps, while providing cover, can also hamper movement.

Mountains

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 222
As with hills terrain, mountains come in a variety of shapes and sizes. In places where tectonic activity has for the most part stabilized and the rock is exposed to the upper air, the mountains are smoother and more eroded. In places where the earth is still relatively unstable, the mountains are harsher and more jagged and pose a greater (and more dangerous) challenge to climbers. Caves, chasms, cliff faces, and dense rubble are all common in mountains, to say nothing of the animals and monsters that make their homes in the peaks. Mountains flank strategic passes and overlook fertile valleys, which makes them common locales for fortresses and brigands.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out mountain terrain. Mountain terrain is described here. Remember the effects of high altitude on those not acclimated to it. Mountain encounters might also include rockslides or avalanches of snow, mud, or rock, low clouds that function as fog, and ice sheets. Volcanic mountains add dangers of smoke and lava.

Plains

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 223
Plains are large swaths of flat terrain with few trees. Several types of plains exist in different climates: prairie, savanna, steppe, and the like. The most common place for people to live, plains serve as farmlands, enabling the growth of culture on a huge number of levels. Because plains are so valuable, they are frequently contested, and those who rule the plains defend their turf ferociously. Because they are relatively flat and easy to traverse, plains also make convenient battlefields, as they afford the room needed for large-scale maneuvers. Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, irrigation ditches, and other natural and man-made features divide plains and serve as impediments to travel.

The following sections of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook can help flesh out plains terrain. Plains terrain is described here. With few terrain features to shield them, plains are often beset by high winds, causing dust storms and even tornadoes. Grassfires are also a danger (treat as forest fires), and they can cause normally placid herd animals to stampede, effectively granting them the stampede and trample special abilities.

Underground

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 223
Caves form under a huge variety of circumstances: by the action of waves along the shore, internal erosion from underground streams, or acidic air and water, as well as by tectonic action. Unless frequently used as a passageway by cave dwellers, a cave has rough and erratic floors, and its passages expand and contract along their lengths. Drop-offs are frequent—travelers without safety lines are almost guaranteed to suffer falls. Even worse are cave-ins, which come with little warning and are occasionally the result of traps set by cave-dwelling creatures. Movement underground is difficult without a light source, and subterranean creatures will either be attracted to the light or squirm away from it as quickly as possible. Food is difficult to find in caves unless a creature has evolved specifically to eat subterranean lichens and molds—a prime reason for most creatures to live aboveground. Creatures that have adapted to the perpetual darkness learn to navigate by touch, smell, taste, and sound, and they are extraordinarily aware of intruders in their realm.

Dungeons are described in greater detail here in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook and here in this book. Hazards in the Core Rulebook that can help liven up underground encounters include cave-ins, suffocation, falling rocks, darkness, and dangerous molds and fungi.

Encounters on a Journey

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 223
Depending on how they’re handled, cross-country journeys, voyages by sea, or treks between communities can be time consuming and difficult to run. Properly managed, though, they can be an integral part of an adventure, or even adventures unto themselves. In general, there is little reason to require the party to live through each moment of a long journey, leaving GMs to judge when to focus on day-to-day minutiae and when to fast forward to the next encounter. Adopting elements of the following techniques can help make a long journey more interesting and eventful.

Nothing Happens: Rarely should a day of travel pass where nothing happens. Some GMs and PCs in the midst of an intense story line might seek to rush past unrelated encounters on the road, glossing them over as an author might summarize a trek of days or weeks with a few words. While glossing over whole journeys should probably be avoided—what’s the benefit of spells like teleport after all if travel by foot is no different?—GMs shouldn’t feel like they have to slog through weeks of extra encounters just because the PCs chose to visit another city.

Daily Checks: If a GM chooses to have encounters occur during a journey, but doesn’t want to run every step along the path, he might make a number of checks per day to keep the players on their toes. Occasional Perception checks as the party travels might allow them to notice specifics, from interesting landmarks and other travelers to dangerous beasts and ambushes. Each time they make a check, describe the area in a few quick words, and be ready to discuss the area further if they choose to investigate. Other challenges might call for the use of other skills, such as Climb, Handle Animal, Ride, Survival, or Swim, as appropriate. GMs should be mindful of when they call for checks to be made. Should a journey’s narrative only pause for ambushes and dangers, the PCs will swiftly begin to dread every stop and description of the path ahead.

Ongoing Encounters: While definitely the most labor-intensive route, a GM might create specific encounters for a trip and have secondary spin-off adventures available for the party to pursue or ignore. This requires significantly greater preparation time but has the added benefit of creating new stories for the campaign and cutting down on the GM’s need to craft impromptu content. The party might even choose to come back later to revisit interesting sites or plot lines.

Archives of Nethys

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