This is a short example of how a journey works in LU: A5E.
The party of four is traveling from The Shire (a tier 1 Country Shire) to Rivendell (a tier 2 Feywood). Along the way they will need to traverse Bree (a tier 1 Urban Township) and Weathertop (tier 2 Rolling Grasslands). It's a journey of 120 miles overall* through 4 different regions.
The party is traveling on horses, which means they are moving at a Fast pace -- 32 miles per day. That makes it about a 4-day journey.
They stock up on Supply at The Shire. Each can carry an amount of Supply equal to their Strength score, but they don't need that much for 4 days. They each carry 5 Supply for themselves, plus 10 Supply for their mounts, for a total of 60 Supply. They do not anticipate any problems with Supply.
For the first region -- a tier 1 Country Shire -- each adventurer chooses an activity. The rogue decides to Chronicle (making a map and notes so that they have bonuses in the region in future). The ranger Scouts (learning information about adjacent regions). The cleric Prays (giving the party some divine bonuses). And the wizard spends her time Gathering Components for her spells.
In this first region, the Narrator rolls for one encounter. This might end up being a monster, exploration, or social encounter. Each region type (there are 15) has four encounter tables, one for each tier (for a total of 60 possible regions). The Narrator rolls and gets a monster encounter -- unusual in a tier 1 Country Shire, but it occasionally happens. It's goblins! The Narrator quickly grabs the Monstrous Managerie and opens it at the goblins entry. First she rolls for signs: the party finds a looted corpse with a short arrow in it. She rolls for the encounters and gets a lone goblin (there's a table for various goblin encounters in the book). She also rolls for behavior: the goblin is one exiled from its group. Also there's a handy list of goblin names there, so she chooses Flea.
The encounter unfolds, and Flea ends up trading information about its ex-tribe's lair and plans in exchange for its life. The party continues.
They pass through three more regions -- Bree, Weathertop, and Rivendell, each adventurer choosing an activity in each. In Bree they encounter a pickpocket. Weathertop is an exploration challenge -- a horrible storm, during which they lose a lot of their supplies. That will be a problem, as there's no more settlements before Rivendell. And as they approach Rivendell they get a social encounter: a stubborn shepherd whose flock blocks the way.
During the first part of the journey - The Shire - the whole area counts as a safe haven, so there is no danger of fatigue. Bree is a town, where an inn provides a haven. After that, though, the party is in the wild. The events on Weathertop and the lack of a haven mean that as they approach Rivendell, two of the group are suffering from one level of fatigue -- the lost supplies meant somebody had to go without!
So that's a very simple example. What I didn't include was exploration knacks that the party might have used to help them. But I hope it gives an idea of what a journey looks like.
*I'm just making that up. Don't quibble!
The party of four is traveling from The Shire (a tier 1 Country Shire) to Rivendell (a tier 2 Feywood). Along the way they will need to traverse Bree (a tier 1 Urban Township) and Weathertop (tier 2 Rolling Grasslands). It's a journey of 120 miles overall* through 4 different regions.
The party is traveling on horses, which means they are moving at a Fast pace -- 32 miles per day. That makes it about a 4-day journey.
They stock up on Supply at The Shire. Each can carry an amount of Supply equal to their Strength score, but they don't need that much for 4 days. They each carry 5 Supply for themselves, plus 10 Supply for their mounts, for a total of 60 Supply. They do not anticipate any problems with Supply.
For the first region -- a tier 1 Country Shire -- each adventurer chooses an activity. The rogue decides to Chronicle (making a map and notes so that they have bonuses in the region in future). The ranger Scouts (learning information about adjacent regions). The cleric Prays (giving the party some divine bonuses). And the wizard spends her time Gathering Components for her spells.
In this first region, the Narrator rolls for one encounter. This might end up being a monster, exploration, or social encounter. Each region type (there are 15) has four encounter tables, one for each tier (for a total of 60 possible regions). The Narrator rolls and gets a monster encounter -- unusual in a tier 1 Country Shire, but it occasionally happens. It's goblins! The Narrator quickly grabs the Monstrous Managerie and opens it at the goblins entry. First she rolls for signs: the party finds a looted corpse with a short arrow in it. She rolls for the encounters and gets a lone goblin (there's a table for various goblin encounters in the book). She also rolls for behavior: the goblin is one exiled from its group. Also there's a handy list of goblin names there, so she chooses Flea.
The encounter unfolds, and Flea ends up trading information about its ex-tribe's lair and plans in exchange for its life. The party continues.
They pass through three more regions -- Bree, Weathertop, and Rivendell, each adventurer choosing an activity in each. In Bree they encounter a pickpocket. Weathertop is an exploration challenge -- a horrible storm, during which they lose a lot of their supplies. That will be a problem, as there's no more settlements before Rivendell. And as they approach Rivendell they get a social encounter: a stubborn shepherd whose flock blocks the way.
During the first part of the journey - The Shire - the whole area counts as a safe haven, so there is no danger of fatigue. Bree is a town, where an inn provides a haven. After that, though, the party is in the wild. The events on Weathertop and the lack of a haven mean that as they approach Rivendell, two of the group are suffering from one level of fatigue -- the lost supplies meant somebody had to go without!
So that's a very simple example. What I didn't include was exploration knacks that the party might have used to help them. But I hope it gives an idea of what a journey looks like.
*I'm just making that up. Don't quibble!
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