Chapter Seven

Travel, Exploration & Time

This chapter exists to give the table a shared rhythm: when time can be loose, and when time must tighten. It gives the party simple answers to the questions that trip up long campaigns — how far can we go, how long before we need to eat, what can we do in two hours, and what happens when we refuse to stop?

Steel Age lives and dies on pacing. When the party is safe, time can pass in broad strokes. When the party is exposed — hungry, watched, or pressing into hostile ground — time must be felt. This chapter makes that possible without demanding a stopwatch.

Time scales and daily structure · the rule of two and forced march · fatigue and lingering fatigue · rest, sleep, and rations · travel distance · encounter checks · scouting, foraging, hunting, camp, and watch · exploration time · lighting and visibility · terrain

Time Scales

This chapter uses four time scales. The GM shifts between them as needed — not to measure minutes, but to make decisions carry weight appropriate to the situation.

Campaign Time1 Day

The long view: rations, sleep, weather, long recovery. Use when the party is traveling between places or when consequences matter more than the hour.

Daily Time1 Segment = 2 Hours

The backbone of travel and recovery. Loose on calm days — but when the party is under pressure, the Segment clock keeps the day honest.

Exploration Time1 Turn = 10 Min

Used when the environment is actively dangerous or uncertain: ruins, tunnels, hostile forest, tense infiltration. 12 Adventuring Turns = 1 Daily Segment.

Combat Time1 Round = 5 Seconds

The razor edge: violence, panic, and split-second decision. Uses rounds and the combat phases described in Chapter IV.

Practical Table Rule

Moving across country: Daily Time.
Searching or creeping through danger: Exploration Time.
Blades come out: Combat Time.
Weeks pass and wounds knit slowly: Campaign Time.

The system is built to survive rough handling. Use as much structure as the moment deserves.

Daily Segments

Daily Time is measured in Segments. A Segment is a two-hour block of meaningful effort — long enough that decisions matter, short enough that you can feel the day slipping away. A standard day contains 12 Segments. When the party is traveling, living outdoors, recovering from wounds, or operating under time pressure, the group should think in Segments. At the start of each Segment, the party chooses one:

Travel Segment — Two hours of overland movement toward a destination.
Action Segment — Two hours on a focused task that is not primarily movement: scouting, foraging, hunting, making camp, healing, repair, ritual, or exploration.
Rest Segment — Two hours off the march. Clears Fatigue. Does not clear Lingering Fatigue.
Sleep Segment — Two hours of uninterrupted sleep. Each Sleep Segment removes 1 Lingering Fatigue. Three Sleep Segments constitute a night's requirement.

Each choice has clear consequences. Travel moves you. Action changes the situation. Rest pays down immediate exertion. Sleep pays down what the road has done to you.

Fatigue and Lingering Fatigue

Steel Age draws a hard line between what tires you now and what wears you down over days. A fighter can grit their teeth through a clash. A traveler can grit through a bad afternoon. But the road collects its debts.

Fatigue

Fatigue is short-term exertion: breathlessness, muscle burn, and the immediate cost of combat and stress.

Rest Segment: removes all Fatigue.
Rest Turn (Exploration): removes up to 2 Fatigue.
No effect if Underfed or Starving.

Lingering Fatigue

Lingering Fatigue is deep weariness: long marching days, poor sleep, hunger, cold, sustained tension. Intentionally slow to remove — you cannot sleep off a week of bad decisions in a single night.

Sleep Segment: removes 1 Lingering Fatigue per Segment.
Missing required sleep: +1 Lingering Fatigue per Sleep Segment missed.

Lingering Fatigue is not a moral judgment. It is the cost of living on the edge of your limits.

Each point of Lingering Fatigue applies −1 to all die rolls, stacking with regular Fatigue. This penalty applies at all times — in combat, during skill checks, and on any roll where accumulated weariness would matter.

Gregor Agripole, Man-at-Arms, Barony of Ophrados

I knew I was in trouble when I stopped caring about the road. Not frightened, not angry — just empty. Three days of hard march will do that. You think it is tiredness and it is, but it is the kind of tiredness that sleep does not fix in one night. I slept and woke up tired. I slept again and woke up less tired. By the fourth day I was something like myself again.

The road takes from you in ways that do not show until you need what it took.

The Rule of Two and Forced March

Most people can push hard for a few hours. Fewer can do it all day. Steel Age treats overland travel the same way it treats combat: you can press your advantage, but the system remembers.

The Rule of Two

A character may complete up to two consecutive Travel or Action Segments before requiring a Rest or Sleep Segment. In practice this creates a natural rhythm: work hard for four hours, breathe for two, then decide whether to push again. A Rest or Sleep Segment breaks the consecutive chain.

Forced March

If the party pushes beyond the Rule of Two, they are forcing the march. For every consecutive Travel or Action Segment beyond the second, apply escalating Lingering Fatigue at the end of that Segment:

3rd consecutive Segment: +1 Lingering Fatigue

4th consecutive Segment: +2 Lingering Fatigue

5th consecutive Segment: +3 Lingering Fatigue — continue escalating by +1 each additional Segment.

Lingering Fatigue from a forced march can only be removed through sleep.

Collapse Limit

If Lingering Fatigue exceeds half your Toughness attribute (round down), you cannot take additional Travel or Action Segments. You may still defend yourself, crawl to immediate cover, or withdraw a short distance from immediate danger. To continue Travel or Action Segments, you must reduce your Lingering Fatigue below the threshold through Sleep. Rest alone does not break the Collapse Limit.

Example — Forced March

Kesta and Kristoph have completed two Travel Segments this morning without rest. The settlement is two miles out and light is failing. They push on — a third consecutive Action Segment without rest. No roll required. The cost is automatic: +1 Lingering Fatigue each. They reach the gates before dark.

Results: The third consecutive segment costs +1 Lingering Fatigue. A fourth would cost +2, a fifth +3. Lingering Fatigue from a forced march only clears through sleep. They are inside walls — but tomorrow starts harder.

Example — Lingering Fatigue

Kesta enters the settlement carrying +1 Lingering Fatigue. Kristoph pushed harder earlier — he is carrying +2. Both sleep three segments that night.

Kesta clears after her first Sleep Segment. The remaining two she simply sleeps well. Kristoph clears after his second Sleep Segment. By the third he is recovered. Both wake clean.

Results: Lingering Fatigue clears at 1 point per Sleep Segment. Two points requires two segments to clear — well within a full night's sleep. The danger is stacking it high enough that a full night is not enough, or having sleep interrupted before you clear.

Rest & Sleep Segments

Rest Segment

A Rest Segment is two hours off the march: eating, tending gear, loosening cramped muscles, and easing the body back from strain. Rest is not sleep. It helps you catch your breath. It does not undo a hard day.

Effects: Remove all Fatigue and all Strain (minimum 0). Does not remove Lingering Fatigue or Lingering Strain.

No effect on Fatigue or Strain if Underfed or Starving — see Rations.

Sleep Segment

A Sleep Segment is two hours of uninterrupted sleep. Sleep is where real recovery happens. It is also where the road makes its demands.

Requirement: A typical day requires three Sleep Segments (6 hours total).

Effects: Each Sleep Segment removes all Fatigue and 1 Lingering Fatigue. Completing three Sleep Segments supports natural Health recovery — see Chapter VIII.

Missing sleep: +1 Lingering Fatigue per required Sleep Segment missed.

Sleep and Watch

When a character stands Watch during a Sleep Segment, that Watch Segment counts toward their three-segment requirement. A Watch Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue — only true sleep does. Each character may count one Watch Segment per night toward their requirement. Additional Watch Segments count as missed sleep.

Note on Group Choices

Most parties will choose the same Segment type together. If someone splits off — scouting ahead, treating wounds, hunting while others push onward — the GM resolves that as separate Segment choices. The structure remains the same. Only the consequences differ.

Freyja, Fighter

The first real sleep after a hard march is not comfortable. The ground is still the ground. The pack still smells like three days of road. But somewhere in the second hour something lets go — some tension you did not know you were carrying — and when you wake up the world is not the same weight it was. That is the thing about sleep. It does not fix anything. It just reminds you that you are a person and not just a thing moving through bad country.

I have seen men refuse to sleep because they thought the work was not done. They were right that the work was not done. They were wrong about what refusing to sleep would accomplish. By the third day they were slower and angrier and worse at everything. The work was still not done.

Rations and Recovery

Steel Age assumes food is not decoration — it is a condition for recovery. A character can push through a hard day on stubbornness. They can even fight hungry. But the body will not repair itself without fuel. If the party chooses to go hungry, the system does not invent heroic resilience. It simply tells the truth: fatigue stops clearing, strain lingers, and wounds stop knitting.

Rations

A ration represents a full day's worth of food for an adventurer. Travel Rations are compact preserved food — hard bread, smoked meat, dense grains — designed to keep longer and pack smaller. Fresh Rations are common food: bread, cheese, stew, vegetables — bulky and quick to spoil. Fine Rations imply coin, status, or a generous host. Costs, spoilage, and packing details are in Chapter VII.

Daily Requirement

Each character must consume 1 ration per day. In harsher conditions — forced marching, extreme cold — the GM may require 2 rations. A small meal, successful hunt, or shared ration may prevent a character from becoming Underfed if it meaningfully meets the day's need.

Underfed

If a character does not meet their ration requirement for the day, they become Underfed. This persists until they complete a day meeting the requirement. Underfed characters can still fight, travel, and cast — they simply do not recover.

While Underfed: Rest Segments remove no Fatigue. Rest Turns remove no Fatigue and no Strain. Sleep still removes Lingering Fatigue normally. Hunger interferes with wound recovery (see Chapter VIII).

Starving

If a character is Underfed for two consecutive days, they are Starving. This persists until they complete a day meeting the requirement. Starvation is a slow collapse — the body cannot repair itself.

While Starving: Rest removes no Fatigue. Rest Turns remove no Strain. Sleep removes no Lingering Fatigue. Hunger interferes with wound recovery (see Chapter VIII).

Recovery and Food State

State	Rest Segment	Rest Turn	Sleep Segment
Normal	All Fatigue & Strain	Up to 2 Fatigue · Up to 2 Strain	All Fatigue + 1 Lingering Fatigue
Underfed	No Fatigue · Strain normal	No Fatigue · No Strain	Normal
Starving	No Fatigue · No Strain	No Fatigue · No Strain	No Lingering Fatigue

Sigor Andstradt, Veteran Man-at-Arms, Barony of Velmorys

People talk about armor like it is the answer. Good mail, good helm, solid shield — and yes, all of that matters. But I have seen what happens when four trained men-at-arms go three days without proper food in bad country. We were chasing bandits who knew the forest better than we did. By the third day we had burned through what we carried and found nothing worth eating.

We could still walk. We could still hold a weapon. But when it came to it — when something finally needed to be done — the weight of everything was wrong. The arms were heavy. The mind was slow. Harl went down first. Then Borten. Then Mikkel. I got out because I ran and they did not.

I have thought about it many times since. We were not bad soldiers. Harl had fifteen years. Borten was the best knife fighter I have known. What killed them was not the bandits — it was three days of bad decisions about food before the bandits ever found us. We were already gone before the fighting started.

I carry twice what I need now. People call it superstition. I call it the only lesson worth learning twice.

All the training in the world and all the steel in Dyrhal does not mean a thing if you have not eaten.

GM Note: Players coming from systems where food is rarely tracked may need a reminder that rations matter here. The first time a party goes Underfed is a good teaching moment — not a punishment, but a signal that the road has its own demands. Consider flagging food supply at the start of a journey the same way you would flag ammunition or light sources. It is easier to course-correct at the market than three days into the forest.

Travel Distance

How far a party moves in a Travel Segment is determined by the terrain page for the ground they are crossing. Each terrain page provides a movement table by weather and visibility conditions. Read the table, apply encumbrance, and that is the distance for the segment.

Universal Modifiers

Road: +1 mile per Travel Segment regardless of terrain. A road aids movement even in darkness — the verge, camber, and direction keep a party on course when visibility fails.
Burdened: −1 mile per Travel Segment.
Laden: −2 miles per Travel Segment.
Overloaded: −3 miles per Travel Segment or halt.
Winter: Foraging and Hunting CMs increase by +2 across all terrain.

Minimum Movement

Burdened and Laden characters always cover a minimum of 1 mile per Travel Segment regardless of terrain or conditions. Overloaded characters halt in most terrain. In the most favorable conditions — road present, clear visibility, flat ground — the GM may allow 1 mile at their discretion. Overloaded is not protected by the minimum movement rule.

Example — Minimum Movement

Kesta and Kristoph are in Swamp/Fen terrain in heavy rain. Both are Laden — carrying a wounded companion between them. They check the Swamp/Fen terrain page. Heavy Rain / Fog: 1 mile. No road. Laden: −2 miles.

1 − 2 = −1 mile. That would be zero or negative — the minimum rule applies. Distance this segment: 1 mile.

Results: Modifiers cannot reduce movement below 1 mile for Burdened or Laden characters. Overloaded does not share this protection.

Encounter Check

Every Travel Segment and Action Segment in the open, the GM makes an Encounter Check. This is not combat — it is a check for whether something in the environment notices or intersects with the party. An encounter may be a threat, a contact, a sighting, or a sign. The GM determines what based on terrain, time, and fiction.

Each terrain type has an Encounter Step — a Challenge Mark reflecting how frequently something finds the party.

Safe (CM 6) — Settled land, well-patrolled roads.

Low (CM 8) — Farmland, coastal roads, settled wilderness.

Standard (CM 10) — Open forest, hills, typical wilderness.

Dangerous (CM 12) — Heavy forest, swamp, contested ground.

Hostile (CM 14) — Deep wilderness, war zones, cursed ground.

Roll 2d6 at the start of each segment. If the result meets or exceeds the CM — no encounter. If it falls short — something is out there. Failed checks are not automatically combat. The GM determines the encounter from terrain, time, and fiction.

Example — Encounter Check

Aldric leads a party through mountain terrain. Encounter Step: Dangerous (CM 12).

First check: GM rolls 8+5 = 13. No encounter. The party moves on.

Second check: GM rolls 3+4 = 7. Encounter. Two figures visible on the ridge above — armed, watching. Bandits, a patrol, or desperate travelers — the fiction decides.

Results: Meet or exceed the CM — no encounter. Fall short — something is out there. Not every encounter is a fight.

Overheard, common room, Radom

We were two days out of Radom on the eastern road, staying at the waystation. Decent fire, decent wall. Lucan woke me in the second watch — said something was outside. Not an animal. He could not say what, and Lucan is not a man given to nerves. I sat up and listened.

There was a sound. I will not describe it well because I did not understand it then and I do not understand it now. It was not a footstep. It was not wind. It was something moving with intention in a way that did not match anything I had a name for.

We did not speak. We did not open the door. We let the fire burn low because we did not want to feed it and make noise. We sat with our backs to the wall until the sound stopped. I do not know when it stopped. I only know that at some point I realized it had.

In the morning there was nothing to see. No tracks we could read, no damage, nothing taken. Whatever it was had moved on or never been what we thought.

We do not talk about it much. But we both remember it. And neither of us has taken that road since without checking the waystation before we sleep in it.

Action Segment Activities

Each Action Segment is two hours on a focused task that is not primarily movement. Each character may attempt one primary activity per Action Segment. When the outcome is uncertain, resolve as an Unopposed Skill Check vs a Challenge Mark (CM). Success exceeds the CM — ties favor the world.

Heal (Field Treatment)

Skill: Healing. Use for stabilization, treating injury, illness, or poison. Roll Healing vs GM-set CM (typically CM 8–12). On success, apply the relevant healing effect from Chapter VIII.

Repair (Field Repair)

Skill: Craft or Construction & Labor. Use for patching equipment, maintaining weapons and armor, mending camp gear. Roll vs CM (CM 8 minor fixes; CM 10–12 serious damage or no tools). On success, restore basic function.

Ritual / Working

Skill: Unseen Craft (Casting). Use for deliberate non-combat magic — wards, readings, blessings, longer castings. Resolve per Chapter V. Typically consumes one or more Action Segments.

Exploration

When characters carefully investigate a dangerous location, the GM may resolve the Action Segment in Adventuring Turns. See Exploration Time and Adventuring Turns below.

Watch · Survival (wilderness) · Streetwise (urban)

A watcher stands guard during the Sleep Segment, listening for movement and managing light and noise discipline. Watch is binary — you are on watch or you are not. There is no margin of benefit, only degrees of failure.

Success	Threat detected in time — party warned, may take one preparation action before contact
Failure	Noticed too late — encounter begins at a disadvantage (poor positioning, scattered gear, no time to arm)
Margin −3 or worse	Threat is inside the camp before anyone wakes — one or more characters may be Surprised

Base CM set by terrain. Increases in storms, fog, dense cover, or hostile ground. A watcher ranging away from camp to check trails treats the action as Scouting instead.

Example — Watch (Failure)

Viktor stands watch in forest camp. Watch CM 10. Roll: 2+3+2 = 7. Failure — margin −3. Hard failure. The bandits are inside the perimeter before he registers the movement.

However — Freyja made camp successfully earlier and chose the Security benefit. The party is not surprised. Both act in the first round despite the failed watch.

Results: A failed watch puts the camp at a disadvantage. A hard failure risks Surprise. Camp benefits like Security can offset a failed watch — but cannot replace it.

Scouting, Foraging, Hunting & Making Camp

The following four activities use the same margin-based resolution structure. Roll the skill, read the margin, choose benefits or suffer terrain-specific penalties.

Result	Outcome
Margin +3 or better	Choose 2 benefits
Success (margin 0–+2)	Choose 1 benefit
Failure	Nothing — segment spent, no benefit
Margin −3 or worse	Terrain-specific penalty (defined on each terrain page)

Scouting Survival (wilderness) · Streetwise (urban)

Read the route ahead — identifying threats, terrain features, safer paths, and conditions. Base CM set by terrain; increases for night, fog, heavy rain, or hostile ground.

Benefits

Information — Clear actionable detail: route, threats, terrain, or approaching danger.
Shortcut — +1 mile to the next two Travel Segments.
Stealthy Travel — Encounter Step one level safer for the next two Travel Segments.

Example — Scouting (Major Success)

Viktor scouts through forest. CM 10. Roll: 5+4+2 = 11. Margin +3 — choose 2. Takes Information and Stealthy Travel. GM describes a fork ahead and a waystation on the ridge. Encounter Step one level safer for the next two segments.

Results: Margin +3 gives two benefit choices. A good scout finds the better road and brings the party through quietly.

Foraging Survival · Winter +2 CM

Search for edible plants, clean water, usable materials, or herbs.

Benefits

Provisions — 1 ration found.
Camp Materials — +1 to next Camp roll.
Herbs — One Herbalist's Kit use at GM discretion.

Example — Foraging (Success)

Freyja forages in forest. CM 9. Roll: 3+6+1 = 10. Margin +1 — choose 1. Takes Provisions. 1 ration found.

Results: A clean success produces one benefit. Not a feast — but enough to matter.

Hunting Beastwise · Winter +2 CM

Pursue and take game — tracking, setting ambushes, or bringing down prey.

Benefits

Silent Kill — Encounter Step one level safer this segment.
Good Kill — +1 ration beyond terrain's standard yield.
Learn the Land — Standard rations + 1 to next Scout roll in this terrain.

Example — Hunting (Failure)

Aldric hunts in forest. CM 8. Roll: 2+2+2 = 6. Margin −2 — failure. He finds sign but the deer has moved on. Segment spent. Nothing taken.

Results: Failure costs the segment. The party eats from their pack tonight.

Making Camp Survival (wilderness) · Streetwise (urban)

Required when sleeping outside secure shelter. Roll when the party settles for the night. CM set by terrain — increases in storms, hard ground, pursuit, or hostile territory.

Benefits

Concealment — Encounter Step one level safer during Watch/Sleep.
Security — Not surprised if attacked; all defenders act in round 1.
Comfort — First true Sleep Segment removes 1 additional Lingering Fatigue.

Example — Making Camp (Hard Failure)

Kesta camps in Swamp/Fen. CM 12. Roll: 1+2+1 = 4. Margin −8 — hard failure. Ground is waterlogged, fire won't hold. Swamp hard failure applies: Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue. All characters gain +1 Lingering Fatigue at the start of the next Action Segment.

Results: A hard camp failure costs everyone. The fen takes something back. Tomorrow starts harder.

Exploration Time and Adventuring Turns

Daily Segments are enough when the road is open and choices are broad. But some places do not allow broad choices. Ruins, tunnels, hostile woods, a fog-choked shoreline, a tense approach to a guarded manor — these are environments where ten minutes matters. In those places, Steel Age tightens the lens.

Exploration Time is not only for dungeons. It is for any situation where caution, noise, attention, and time pressure must be felt.

Adventuring Turns

An Adventuring Turn is 10 minutes. A Daily Segment is 2 hours — 12 Adventuring Turns. When the GM declares Exploration Time, the party resolves play in turns until the situation loosens again. During each Adventuring Turn, every character may take one primary action. The party does not share a single action per turn.

What You Can Do on an Adventuring Turn

Move cautiously to a new position
Search an area (a room, a stretch of ruin, a patch of brush)
Keep watch (listen, observe, cover an approach)
Examine something in detail
Work a mechanism or practical obstacle (doors, climbing, improvised tools)
Communicate quietly (signals, brief planning, controlled conversation)
Take an Adventuring Rest Turn

The GM calls for Skill Checks when the outcome is uncertain, risky, or contested.

Adventuring Rest Turn

A character may spend an Adventuring Turn resting: drinking, breathing, loosening cramped joints, settling after immediate stress.

Effects: Remove up to 2 Fatigue (minimum 0). Remove Strain equal to 3 or your Strain Threshold, whichever is higher (minimum 0). No effect if Underfed or Starving.

A Rest Turn is a choice. It is time spent not searching, not moving, and not advancing.

Encounter Checks During Exploration Time

Encounter Checks are made once per Action Segment (the full 12-turn block), not once per Adventuring Turn. Site danger typically comes from hazards, noise, and GM-triggered consequences. The GM may introduce threats narratively at any point during the block.

Sustained Tension

Sustained Tension is tracked per character. If a character completes a full 12-turn block without taking at least one Adventuring Rest Turn, that character gains +1 Lingering Fatigue at the end of the block. A character who takes even one Rest Turn avoids the penalty — at the cost of one turn of inaction.

This forces the core trade of Exploration Time: move faster and search harder, but arrive frayed — or breathe, and risk what comes with delay.

Example — Exploration Time and Adventuring Turns

Kesta and Kristoph approach an Aurikronton ruin. The GM declares Exploration Time. Sustained Tension is tracked per character.

Turn 1: Kesta searches the first chamber. Survival CM 10. Roll: 4+3+2 = 9. Failure — empty, partly collapsed.

Turn 2: Kristoph examines a carved lintel. Lore CM 10. Roll: 5+4+2 = 11. Success — garrison post, border holding. Possibly a storage vault below.

Turn 3: Kesta takes a Rest Turn. Removes 1 Fatigue. She is now clear of Sustained Tension for this block. Kristoph continues searching.

Turns 4–12: The party works through the ruin. Kristoph never rests. At Turn 12, Kesta is clear. Kristoph gains +1 Lingering Fatigue from Sustained Tension. The GM returns to Daily Segments.

Results: 12 Adventuring Turns consume 1 Action Segment. Sustained Tension is tracked per character. Any character who takes no Rest Turn during the block gains +1 Lingering Fatigue at the end of the segment.

Lighting and Visibility

Light is not cosmetic in Steel Age. It determines what can be seen, how quickly a group can move, and how safely they can act. When visibility worsens, distance shrinks, danger grows, and effort becomes more costly.

Visibility Tiers

Tier	Description
Clear	Details can be identified reliably. No special penalties.
Low	Shapes and movement visible; fine detail work is unreliable.
Poor	Silhouettes only at close range; identification requires care or proximity.
None	No useful visual information. All sight-dependent actions impaired or impossible.

Environmental Visibility Profile

At the start of each Travel Segment or Exploration block, the GM declares the visibility profile across the five range bands: Point Blank / Short / Medium / Long / Extreme.

Condition	PB	Short	Medium	Long	Extreme
Clear Day	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
Dusk or Dawn	Clear	Low	Low	Low	Low
Night (open terrain)	Low	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor
Pitch Darkness	None	None	None	None	None

Weather and Conditions

When conditions meaningfully limit sight — heavy cloud, steady rain, smoke, fog, blowing snow — the GM may step down one or more outer range bands by one tier: Clear → Low → Poor → None. Worsen the farthest bands first (Extreme, then Long, then Medium) unless the fiction clearly affects everything.

Light Sources

A light source improves visibility in its immediate area but creates a simple trade: you can see, and you can be seen. Common sources: Torch (bright, short-lived) · Lantern (steadier, requires fuel) · Candle (weak, close work) · Campfire (strong light and signal, requires tending) · Magical light (treat as Lantern unless spell specifies otherwise). Costs and equipment entries in Chapter VI.

Light Source Durations

Source	Duration
Torch	1 Daily Segment (2 hours)
Lantern (Oil)	3 Daily Segments (6 hours) on a full fill
Candle	1 Adventuring Turn (10 minutes) per candle
Campfire	Multiple Segments if tended and fueled; dies down without tending
Magical Light	Per spell; treat as 1 Daily Segment when in doubt

Ser Nathan Purcell, Knight of Ardeaux, currently in service, Barony of Kalz

In Ardeaux a light in the dark means a settlement, an inn, a garrison post — civilization within reach. You see a torch on a wall and you know what it means. You know who put it there and why.

Dyrhal is not like that. A light in the dark here means something is out there with a reason to have a light. That may be a settlement. It may be a camp. It may be something you would rather not have seen you first. I have learned to read lights differently here — slowly, from a distance, before I decide what to do about them.

In Ardeaux light means safety. In Dyrhal it means someone is present. Those are very different things.

Light Overrides

A light source creates an illuminated bubble — not a change to the world. For each range band, use whichever tier is better: the environmental profile, or the light override from an active source.

Source	PB	Short	Medium	Long	Extreme
Torch	Clear	Clear	Low	—	env. profile
Lantern	Clear	Clear	Clear	Low	env. profile
Candle	Clear	Low	—	—	env. profile
Campfire	Clear	Clear	Clear	Low	env. profile

Lighting in Travel Segments

Traveling at night uses the declared environmental profile unless the party has sufficient light and conditions allow cohesive movement. Apply the appropriate visibility distance modifier; the GM may call for navigation checks more often. Active light sources make remaining unnoticed difficult by default. A campfire improves local visibility but increases the chance of being spotted at distance.

Lighting in Exploration Time

In Low, searching is slower and less reliable.
In Poor, searching by sight is difficult without a light source.
In None, searching by sight is impossible.

The GM may increase CMs, require additional Adventuring Turns, or rule that only tactile inspection is possible. In Poor or None, fast movement is dangerous — the GM may impose penalties or call for checks to avoid injury, separation, or mishap.

Optional Contrast Rule

If a character is looking from within a bright light into darkness, treat targets just beyond the light's edge as one tier worse (Clear→Low, Low→Poor, Poor→None). Reflects glare and contrast without adding math.

Terrain

The following pages describe the nine terrain types of Dyrhal. Each page covers movement rates by condition, scouting and foraging difficulty, camp and watch challenge marks, encounter step, hard failure consequences, and a brief journal entry placing the terrain in the world.

Terrain pages are reference material — designed to be consulted during play, not read in sequence. When the party enters a new terrain type, find the relevant page and use it as the ground truth for that stretch of road or wilderness.

While these nine types cover the major categories of Dyrhal's landscape, the world does not sort itself neatly. A GM running a party through logged hillside should not feel bound to choose between Hills and Forest — use the closer match, adjust a CM or two, and move on. The terrain pages are a starting point, not a cage. Conditions blend, seasons change, and the same ground that is passable in summer may be impassable in spring thaw. Judgment is always the final modifier.

Roads and rivers are not terrain types in themselves. A road speeds travel and is noted as a universal modifier, but roads also attract traffic. Other travelers, patrols, toll collectors, bandits, and anyone with an interest in who is moving through the region will be found on roads before they are found anywhere else. A party that wants speed takes the road. A party that wants to go unnoticed weighs that choice carefully. Rivers follow the same logic — they mark boundaries, draw settlements, and move people. Crossing one may be simple or impossible depending on season and location, and the approaches to crossings are among the most watched ground in Dyrhal.

All terrain pages assume universal modifiers apply — road bonus, encumbrance penalties, winter foraging penalty. These are not repeated on each page.

Open Fields

Beyond the managed rings of cultivation, Dyrhal opens into broad exposed ground — rough grassland, wind-scoured meadow, abandoned clearings, and the unworked margins between one barony's reach and the next. Open fields offer no concealment and little shelter. You can see a long way. So can everything else.

Condition	Mi
Clear	4
Overcast / Light Rain	3
Heavy Rain / Fog	2
Night, Light Source	2
Night, No Light	1

Road +1. Encumbrance applies normally.

Encounter StepStandard (CM 10) — Patrols, lone travelers, animal herds, distant smoke. Open ground is dangerous to bandits and predators alike — but so is the party. Scouting CM8 (12 in poor visibility — scouting range collapses to the immediate area) Foraging CM12 · Hunt Yield · CM 1 ration · CM 10 Camp CM8 (exposed — no natural windbreak or cover) Watch CM8

Hard failures — Scouting: misread distance or ground, lose 1 Travel Segment. Camp: exposed position draws attention, Encounter Step one step more dangerous.

Special — Exposure: A party camping in open fields without a tent during rain or cold makes a CM 10 Toughness check at the end of the Sleep Segment. Failure adds +1 Lingering Fatigue from wind, wet, and cold.

Three days out of Kalz and nothing but grass and wind. You can see everything and there is nothing to see. The road helps — it at least tells you someone came this way before you and survived it. Without the road you are just walking toward the horizon hoping the horizon eventually has something on it.— Kesta, Fighter

Farmland

The cultivated ring around every settlement — tilled fields, pasture, drainage cuts, hedgerows, and worked roads under human oversight. You are not in the wild here. You are in someone's territory, and there are eyes on the road.

Condition	Mi
Clear	4
Overcast / Light Rain	3
Heavy Rain / Fog	2
Night, Light Source	2
Night, No Light	1

Road +1. Well-maintained near settlements, rough toward margins.

Encounter StepLow (CM 8) — Rarely hostile. Patrols, landowners, laborers, merchants, traveling priests. Scouting CM8 (10 near fortified holdings) Foraging CM10 · Hunt Yield · CM 1 ration · CM 12 Camp CM8 (6 with available shelter) Watch CM8

Hard failures — Scouting: questioned by locals, lose 1 Travel Segment. Foraging/Hunting: caught or observed, formal accusation possible. Camp: discovered, Encounter Step one step more dangerous.

Special — Working Land: Foraging or Hunting in farmland triggers a secondary Encounter Check at one step more dangerous than normal, regardless of the roll's outcome. Food here belongs to someone.

The fields between Durnov and the next holding look peaceful enough. They are not. Every hedge has a family name. Every drainage cut marks a line somebody will fight over. Smile at the farmers. Keep moving.— Petra Voss, Courier, Barony of Durnov

Hills

Old ground — broken, folded, and unforgiving underfoot. Visibility is unpredictable: you crest a rise and see for miles, then drop into a vale and see nothing beyond fifty yards. The hills punish careless travel reliably.

Condition	Mi
Clear	3
Overcast / Light Rain	2
Heavy Rain / Fog	2
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Switchbacks and ridge paths add distance but save effort.

Encounter StepStandard (CM 10) — Herders, travelers, bandits on ridge paths, occasional military patrols. Scouting CM8 clear (12 in fog or heavy rain) Foraging CM11 · Hunt Yield · CM 2 rations · CM 9 Camp CM9 Watch CM9

Hard failures — Scouting: dead-end vale, lose 1 segment. Hunting: prey spooked, +1 Lingering Fatigue. Camp: poor ground, Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue.

Special — River Crossings: Where hill travel crosses a watercourse, Survival check CM 8 (CM 12 in flood or fast water) to find a safe crossing. Failure costs 1 Travel Segment. Hard failure may endanger gear or characters.

Hills look gentle from a distance. They are not. The ground shifts under you, the vales trap weather, and every ridge you climb costs something you cannot get back until you sleep. The view from the top is worth it. The climb up the next one is not.— Aldric Svensson, Man-at-Arms, Barony of Kalz

Mountains

Not scenic. Obstacles — cold, steep, and indifferent to the people crossing them. The passes are known but not safe. The altitude thins the air and slows everything. A party that arrives without planning for the crossing deserves what it gets.

Condition	Mi
Clear	2
Overcast / Light Rain	1
Heavy Rain / Fog	1
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Off-road travel may reduce movement to 1 mile regardless of conditions.

Encounter StepStandard (CM 10) — Infrequent but rarely casual — smugglers, desperate travelers, predators, military scouts. Scouting CM9 (11 in cloud, fog, or heavy snow) Foraging CM13 · Hunt Yield · CM 1 ration · CM 11 Camp CM11 (9 with natural shelter) Watch CM10

Hard failures — Scouting: impassable approach, lose 2 segments. Hunting: +1 Lingering Fatigue and 1 ration consumed. Camp: +1 Lingering Fatigue to all characters at start of next Action Segment.

Special — Altitude and Forced March: Forced Marches in mountain terrain cost +1 additional Lingering Fatigue beyond the standard penalty. The thin air and demanding ground take more from the body than comparable effort at lower elevation.

There are two ways to cross the Kolvast range. The long way, which takes four days and does not try to kill you. And the short way, which takes two days and tries every hour. I have taken both. The short way is faster. I do not recommend it.— Henryk Broz, Merchant-Guard, Independent

Forest

Managed and semi-managed woodland covers much of Dyrhal's interior. Forest travel is slower than open ground but offers cover, resources, and concealment that open terrain cannot. The trees make everything harder to see, which cuts both ways.

Condition	Mi
Clear	3
Overcast / Light Rain	2
Heavy Rain / Fog	2
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Forest roads are often old and poorly maintained — faster than cross-country but may branch unexpectedly.

Encounter StepStandard (CM 10) — Frequent and varied. Trees provide cover to everything — travelers, bandits, animals. Scouting CM10 (12 at night) Foraging CM9 · Hunt Yield · CM 2 rations · CM 8 Camp CM8 Watch CM10

Hard failures — Scouting: trail lost, −1 mile next Travel Segment, Encounter Step one step more dangerous. Foraging: bad mushroom, CM 10 Toughness or 1 Fatigue. Hunting: prey lost, blood trail may attract predators. Camp: damp ground, Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue.

Forest travel is comfortable enough until it is not. The trees are your friends until something is moving through them. I have made camp in good forest a hundred times and slept well. I have also woken to sounds I could not place and spent the rest of the night with my spear across my lap. The forest does not care either way.— Freyja, Fighter, Barony of Kalz

Heavy Forest

Old growth, dense secondary growth, or thick wilderness untouched by managed use — the kind of woodland where light barely reaches the floor and undergrowth tangles every step. Dyrhal's heavy forests are not neutral ground. They belong to what lives in them.

Condition	Mi
Clear	2
Overcast / Light Rain	1
Heavy Rain / Fog	1
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Maintained roads through heavy forest are rare. Trails require a successful Scout to follow without losing time.

Encounter StepDangerous (CM 12) — Frequent and close. By the time something is detectable it is often already near. Predators and hostile groups share the same cover advantage. Scouting CM12 (14 at night or in heavy rain) Foraging CM9 · Hunt Yield · CM 2 rations · CM 9 Camp CM10 Watch CM12

Hard failures — Scouting: impassable ground, lose 1 segment, Encounter Step one step more dangerous. Foraging: bad find, CM 10 Toughness or 1 Fatigue and illness. Hunting: noise, Encounter Step one step more dangerous. Camp: damp roots, Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue.

I have been in heavy forest three times in my life. The first two times I had a guide who knew the ground. The third time I did not. I found my way out after two days I do not like to think about. I have not gone back without a guide since and I do not intend to.— Maren Holt, Scout, Barony of Omsk

Swamp / Fen

The fens and marshes of Dyrhal are not dramatic. They are grinding. The ground does not support weight reliably. Every step must be tested. Progress is measured in yards, not miles, and exhaustion accumulates before the party has gone anywhere worth going.

Condition	Mi
Clear	2
Overcast / Light Rain	1
Heavy Rain / Fog	1
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Fen roads are raised causeways — the only reliable way to make real time. Off-road movement may drop to 1 mile or halt at GM discretion.

Encounter StepDangerous (CM 12) — Encounters happen at close range, often without warning. The terrain favors ambush. What lives in the fen knows the ground. Scouting CM12 Foraging CM10 · Hunt Yield · CM 2 rations (waterfowl, fish) · CM 10 Camp CM12 (10 with a known dry rise or structure) Watch CM11

Hard failures — Scouting: unstable ground, Laden/Overloaded characters CM 10 Toughness or lose gear. Hunting: hunter mired, +1 Lingering Fatigue. Camp: wet camp, Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue, all characters +1 Lingering Fatigue next Action Segment.

Special — Lingering Damp: After any Sleep Segment in swamp terrain without a successful Comfort camp benefit, all characters make a CM 8 Toughness check. Failure: +1 Lingering Fatigue from cold and damp that does not clear until a dry camp is made.

The fen does not attack you. It just costs you. Every hour in it costs something — a boot seal, a dry night's sleep, a day's rations to the mud. You come out of the fen lighter than you went in, and not in the way that feels good.— Doran Kessler, Hired Blade, Barony of Nimr

Coastal

The coasts of Dyrhal are working ground — fishing villages, small harbors, coastal trade routes, and the long exposed stretches between them where the sea wind comes in cold off the water. The Skeljari know this ground. Others learn it the hard way.

Condition	Mi
Clear	4
Overcast / Light Rain	3
Heavy Rain / Fog	2
Night, Light Source	2
Night, No Light	1

Road +1. Rocky cliff sections and tidal flats may be impassable at high tide — GM adjudicates passage timing.

Encounter StepLow (CM 8) — Fishing vessels, traders, beachcombers, Skeljari raiders in unsettled times, coastal patrols, occasional wreck. Scouting CM8 (12 in fog or sea-haar) Foraging CM9 (shellfish, edible shore plants) · Hunt Yield · CM 1 ration · CM 11 Camp CM9 (7 near a fishing settlement or known shelter) Watch CM9 (12 in sea-fog)

Hard failures — Scouting: tidal misread, impassable section, lose 1 segment. Camp: tidal surprise or wind exposure, Encounter Step one step more dangerous, all characters +1 Lingering Fatigue from cold and exposure.

The coast is honest ground. The tide tells you what it is going to do and then does it. The sea tells you when weather is coming if you know how to read it. Most people do not know how to read it and that is why they die wet.— Sigrid Ulfhaven, Skeljari, Southwestern Jarldoms

Ruins

Dyrhal is full of the dead weight of older civilizations. Ruins are not neutral ground. They attract things — looters, bandits, predators who find the broken walls useful, and occasionally something older that was here before the ruin was a ruin.

Condition	Mi
Clear	2
Overcast / Light Rain	2
Heavy Rain / Fog	1
Night, Light Source	1
Night, No Light	Halt

Road +1. Old roads may still be passable — or may be blocked, collapsed, or overgrown. GM determines condition on arrival.

Encounter StepStandard (CM 10) — Looters, historians, cultists, desperate shelter-seekers, predators. Encounters are often stranger than open terrain. Scouting CM10 (12 in rain or at night when structural hazards multiply) Foraging CM12 (food) · 10 (salvage) · Hunt Yield · CM 1 ration · CM 11 Camp CM9 (7 with defensible, sheltered structure secured) Watch CM11

Hard failures — Scouting: structural hazard, CM 10 Prowess or 1 Fatigue, Encounter Step one step more dangerous. Hunting: prey leads into dangerous section, Encounter Step one step more dangerous. Camp: prior occupants or unstable structure, Encounter Step one step more dangerous.

Special — What the Ruins Remember: When the party enters a significant ruin, the GM may call for a Lore check (CM 10) for any character with Lore Trained or higher. Success: the character knows something useful about what this place was, who built it, and why it was abandoned.

Aurikronton ruins make me uncomfortable and I have been working them for fifteen years. It is not the ghosts. I do not believe in ghosts. It is the scale. They built things to last ten generations and then they stopped. Whatever ended them, it ended them completely. I find that more frightening than anything I have found inside the walls.— Vasek Drel, Antiquarian, Free City of Strandholdt

Settlement

A settlement in Dyrhal is not safety. It is a different kind of danger — social, political, and structured. Gates, guards, watch rotations, guild interests, lord's men, and a hundred eyes that notice a stranger. The rules that govern wilderness travel do not apply. The rules that govern people do.

Condition	Mi
Within settlement	Narrative
To/from settlement	Surrounding terrain
Detailed scenes	Adventuring Turns

Settlements are not traversed by Travel Segments. Movement within is handled narratively.

Encounter StepLow (CM 8) · Standard in hostile settlements — Social, political, transactional. A lord's man, a guild representative, a pickpocket, a creditor. Violence carries consequences — arrest, blood feud, or forced departure. Scouting CM10 (8 with established contacts) Foraging CMN/A — purchase, earn, or steal · Hunt Yield · CM N/A · CM N/A Camp CM8 (6 with coin · 12 for destitute or hunted) Watch CM8

Hard failures — Scouting: bad information, GM introduces one significant complication. Camp: no shelter secured, Sleep Segment does not remove Lingering Fatigue, Encounter Step one step more dangerous.

Special — Arms in Public: Bearing visible martial weapons in a settlement signals intent and invites scrutiny. The GM may increase the Encounter Step by one level for a heavily armed party without established patronage or recognizable affiliation.

Every settlement has a logic to it. Find the logic and you can move freely. The logic is usually simple: who owns what, who owes whom, and who is watching the gate tonight. Spend one hour in the market and one hour in the cheapest tavern and you will know enough to get by. Spend less than that and you will be surprised by something preventable.— Akbar al-Rashid, Merchant of Keshar

Chapter VII — Quick References

Typical Day Structure

Action · Action (morning travel or tasks)
Rest (midday — clears Fatigue)
Action · Action (afternoon travel or tasks)
Rest (before camp — clears Fatigue)
Action (make camp)
Sleep · Sleep · Sleep · Sleep (night — one watch per person)

3rd+ consecutive Action: Forced March (+1/+2/+3 Lingering Fatigue)

Encounter Step Ladder

Safe	CM 6 — Settled, patrolled roads
Low	CM 8 — Farmland, coastal, settled wilderness
Standard	CM 10 — Open forest, hills, typical wilderness
Dangerous	CM 12 — Heavy forest, swamp, contested ground
Hostile	CM 14 — Deep wilderness, war zones

Roll 2d6 each segment. Meet or exceed CM — no encounter. Fall short — something is out there.

Terrain Quick Reference

Terrain	Clear	Rain	Night+Light	Encounter	Scout	Forage	Hunt	Camp	Watch
Open Fields	4	3	2	10	8	12	10	8	8
Farmland	4	3	2	8	8	10	12	8	8
Hills	3	2	1	10	8	11	9	9	9
Mountains	2	1	1	10	9	13	11	11	10
Forest	3	2	1	10	10	9	8	8	10
Heavy Forest	2	1	1	12	12	9	9	10	12
Swamp / Fen	2	1	1	12	12	10	10	12	11
Coastal	4	3	2	8	8	9	11	9	9
Ruins	2	2	1	10	10	12	11	9	11
Settlement	—	—	—	8	10	—	—	8	8

Road +1 mile to any condition. Encumbrance: Burdened −1 · Laden −2 · Overloaded −3 or halt (min 1 mile for Burdened/Laden). Winter: Forage and Hunt CMs +2.

Chapter Seven — Example

A Day on the Forest Road

This example walks through a full travel day. All rolls are shown. Decisions and outcomes reflect one possible path — your table will vary.

The Setup

Freyja and Viktor are three days out of the last settlement, moving through managed forest on an established road. Both carry full travel kit. Freyja wears mail and gambeson; Viktor travels lighter, conserving his Strain for when it matters.

Current state: Both Burdened (−1 mile per segment). No Fatigue. No Lingering Fatigue. Road present. Terrain: Forest, Encounter Step Standard (CM 10).

Action Segment 1 — Travel (Dawn)

Forest road, clear morning. 3 miles (forest, clear) +1 road −1 Burdened = 3 miles.

Encounter Check: 2d6 (4+4) +5 = 13 vs CM 10. No encounter.

Action Segment 2 — Travel (Mid-Morning)

Overcast, light rain beginning. 2 miles +1 road −1 Burdened = 2 miles. 5 miles total.

Encounter Check: 8 vs CM 10. Encounter — a woodcutter's cart, same direction, no threat. He gets a good look at them.

Rest Segment — Midday

They stop, eat, and recover. Both remove accumulated Fatigue. The next Action Segment does not cost Lingering Fatigue.

Action Segment 3 — Scout + Forage (Midday)

Viktor scouts. Freyja forages. The rest came first — no Lingering Fatigue cost.

Viktor rolls Scout: 3+4+2 = 9 vs Scout CM 10. Margin −1. Failure — nothing useful learned about the road ahead.

Freyja rolls Forage: 5+4+1 = 10 vs Forage CM 9. Margin +1. Success — choose 1 benefit. Freyja takes Provisions. 1 ration found.

Encounter Check: 11 vs CM 10. No encounter.

Action Segment 4 — Travel (Afternoon)

Rain cleared. 3 miles +1 road −1 Burdened = 3 miles. 8 miles total.

Encounter Check: 12 vs CM 10. No encounter.

Rest Segment — Afternoon

Water, food, two hours off the road. Two consecutive Action Segments — the rest breaks the chain.

Action Segment 5 — Travel (Late Afternoon)

They identify a campsite — a slight rise off the road, dense canopy, dry ground. 11 miles total for the day. Reasonable for a burdened party on a forest road in mixed weather.

Encounter Check: 9 vs CM 10. Encounter — a lone traveler on the road below, doesn't stop, doesn't look up. The woodcutter's description has been passed along.

Rest Segment — Before Camp

Brief stop. Fatigue cleared.

Action Segment 6 — Camp

Freyja makes camp. Viktor holds his Strain for what might come in the night.

Freyja rolls Camp: 4+3+1 = 8 vs Camp CM 8. Margin 0. Success — choose 1 benefit. Freyja takes Security. If attacked during a watched segment, the party is not surprised and all defenders act in the first round.

No Lingering Fatigue carried into the night. The day was managed well.

Sleep Segment 1 — Viktor Watches, Freyja Sleeps

Viktor rolls Watch: 2+3+2 = 7 vs Watch CM 10. Failure. The forest has gone quiet. He does not wake Freyja. He should have.

Encounter Check: 7 vs CM 10. Encounter — three bandits tracking since the woodcutter's report. Viktor failed his Watch — they are inside the perimeter before he registers the movement.

However — Freyja's Security camp benefit holds. The party is not surprised. Both act in the first round.

The Fight

The fight is not shown in full here — see Chapter IV for combat procedure. The outcome: two bandits flee, one is down. Viktor spends Strain on a working that turns the fight. The camp fire is doused in the struggle.

After the fight:

Freyja: +1 Fatigue from the fight. Health reduced from axe hits. Armor held but she felt every blow.
Viktor: Strain spent on the working that turned the fight. Pale. The casting cost him.
Sleep Segment 1 is over. It did not complete cleanly for either of them.

Sleep Segments 2 and 3 — Unwatched

It is past midnight. Two bandits are in the forest. Segment 1 was consumed by the fight — only three segments remain in the night. With three segments and two people, continuous watch is not possible. Each person needs at least two true Sleep Segments plus one Watch Segment to meet their requirement. That means two segments where nobody is watching.

No Watch roll is possible during unwatched segments. If an encounter occurs, they are caught flat — no warning, no preparation action, Surprised.

GM rolls Encounter Checks for both segments. Segment 2: Result 9 vs CM 10. No encounter. Segment 3: Result 8 vs CM 10. No encounter. The bandits are out there but they do not come back tonight.

Both sleep through Segments 2 and 3. Sleep Segments clear Fatigue — Freyja's +1 Fatigue from the fight clears during Segment 2. No Lingering Fatigue was accumulated during the day, so none applies.

Sleep Segment 4 — Freyja Watches, Viktor Sleeps

Viktor gets his final sleep segment. Freyja watches in the cold.

Freyja rolls Watch: 4+5+1 = 10 vs Watch CM 10. Success — margin 0. She detects nothing. The forest is quiet now. Whatever was out there has moved on.

Both wake at dawn. The night is over.

Dawn — The Decision

They take stock. The camp is known. Twelve miles to the next settlement.

Current state:

Freyja: No Fatigue. No Lingering Fatigue. Health reduced from the fight. Functional.
Viktor: No Fatigue. No Lingering Fatigue. Strain spent — low on magical resources.
The road is present. The bandits know this camp.

Option 1 — Move now, push hard. Take the road. Four Travel Segments covers twelve miles at their pace — arrival before dark, inside walls tonight. If they push a fifth segment without rest that is a Forced March — +3 Lingering Fatigue, automatic, no roll. The cost is real but the walls are worth it.

Option 2 — Rest another day, move tomorrow. Another full day in a compromised camp. The bandits may regroup. Two more unwatched Sleep Segments tonight. The Encounter Step is now one step more dangerous — the camp location is known.

Neither option is clean. The road is twelve miles of forest with two men in it who know their faces. The settlement is twelve miles of road that ends inside walls.

"We should move," Freyja said. "Before something smells this."

That is Dyrhal.

The combat that follows is resolved in Chapter IV. The decision between forced march and rest is yours.