Bath Imaginable

As I prepare to run my first Electric Bastionland campaign, I look to author/designer Chris McDowell’s follow up game, Mythic Bastionland for travel procedures.

First I designed a small sandbox with a few adventures dropped in. You might recognize some of these locations from pre-written adventure modules.

For car travel, I developed the following rules.

Travel. Measured in Hecksleagues, commonly called Hexes. Travelling consumes a whole Phase of the day and uses one of 3 methods:

Hike. 1 Hex on foot.
Drive. 2 Hex on-road by car. 1 Hex off-road by car; lose d6 HP each Phase.
Speed. 3 Hex on-road by car; lose d6 HP each Phase.

Characters can spend a Phase to perform Minor Repairs and restore d6 HP. At 0 HP, the car is Broken and requires Major Repairs by a Specialist. There is always a cost.

Travel Roll. For each Hex of travel, roll d6.

1 Car Trouble.
2-3 Impending Trouble. If you roll 2–3 again before Car Trouble occurs, treat it as a 1.
4-6 All Good.

Car Trouble d8
1. Engine Seizure (Broken).
2. Hot Engine (if Car Trouble occurs again before a Major Repair the car is Broken).
3. Bad Brakes (-d6 HP each Phase).
4. Electrical Failure (-3 HP each Phase).
5. Dead Battery (Broken after next stop).
6. Flat Tire (-2 HP each Phase).
7. Sticky Leak (-1 HP each Phase).
8. Strange Smell (grows stronger on subsequent Strange Smell rolls and never goes away).

‘47 RG Banshee A2 (Bulky Frame), 10 HP

You might already see a problem with these rules–yes, the players’ car is in a constant battle of attrition against a breakdown. Herein lies the thrill: Random Encounters occur when the characters are broken down and vulnerable, pushing them further into the setting and plot. The need to seek a Specialist for major repairs will have them indebted to key NPCs throughout the campaign.

To offset some of the aches and pains of this system, I’m going introduce a number of charms into the world that the players can hang from their rearview mirror for passive buffs. They’ll start with a set of pink fuzzy Novelty Dice.

Novelty Dice. Once per day, re-roll a Travel Roll and keep the higher result.