The Surrounding Dream

Beyond the major hubs of the Dream, an ordered chaos prevails. The paths a traveler might walk differ entirely depending on who walks them and the Muses’ whims. The landmarks, vistas, dangers, and wonders in the wilderness can completely shift from one person to another, while remaining more or less consistent to those who walk that path a second time. Even on repeated journeys, it’s unwise to relax. The only certain thing about the undefined features of the Dream is that they’re unpredictable.

Rivers of Stone, Roads of Running Water

Great marble roads have been carved across the Dream, rising up into arboreal canopies, rising up from ruins in the brackish muck, melting snows that fail to bury them as they cut over or through mountains. Every few day’s travel, a waystation and garrison provides safe shelter for rest and resupply. These imperial toll roads are stable, consistent, and relatively safe. In the wake of a recent war waged across these marble roads by the fallen emperor, reparation taxes and bad memories make this path expensive.

The halfling Families and a few other independent guides are more than willing to take advantage of this instability by taking travelers and their cargo down the many “river roads” that can lead to many places. To those who know the ways and show the proper respect, a river will go where it’s asked - but roads of flowing water are more vulnerable to the wend and weave of dramatic reality. (See river singing below.)

River Singing
2nd level conjuration (Ritual)
Casting Time: 10 minutes Range: 1 vessel Components: V, S, M (A river-worthy vessel with a name and a successful voyage under its name; a small gift to the river per passenger equal to 10 gp in value, a day’s labor, or an item of personal significance which is consumed by the river) Duration: Up to 7 days You sing a song of communion with the coursing river, not demanding that it leads you where you wish, but requesting that it get you there in its own good time. Upon casting, roll 3d6. Each result is a potential encounter you’ll face along the way. You may choose your preference of at least one. Your total travel time to reach your destination is equal to the die result you choose, plus 1 day.

Wayfinding

Forging a path for the first time is always an adventure. As travelers progress on their journeys, they’ll find themselves passing through a number of landmarks. There are four types of these landmarks: large city hubs, smaller communities, impressive vistas, and deadly haunts. Once a traveler knows a path from one landmark to another, they may use that same path again, but this doesn’t fully erase the risks. It just makes those risks easier to anticipate.

Hubs. The major cities and population centers of a region often range as neutral to friendly to outsiders by their natures. Centers of trade, politics, and opportunity, routes between hubs are of very high value.

Communities. From towns and villages to nomadic camps, these islands of relative stability serve as home to a group of people. Their views and openness to outsiders can vary wildly, so be on guard.

Vistas. Breathtaking natural features, stately old ruins, massive elder trees, long-forgotten statue memorials, and other oddities worth marking on a map fall into this category. Anything can happen.

Haunts. From beast warrens and bandit dens to the twisted lairs of clever monsters, haunts are the territory of hostile creatures. At best, they may demand a service or bribe. At worst? They see you first.

Wayfinding Landmarks

Roll Result	Next Landmark
1	Hostile haunt or community
2-3	Hostile vista; neutral haunt or community with demands or in peril
4-5	Neutral vista, community, or hub; neutral haunt open to (polite) visitors
6	Friendly vista, community, or hub

Forging the Path

When setting out on a journey, roll 1d6 and refer to the wayfinding landmarks table for the outcome. For those cutting their own path instead of following given directions, an appointed guide may attempt an ability check to navigate to safer landmarks. If successful, roll 2d6 and choose the die you prefer. On a failure, roll 2d6 and the DM chooses the die they prefer for the sake of engaging obstacles or saved time.

Proficiencies relevant to wayfinding vary by situation, but overland travel generally relies on Wisdom (Survival), Intelligence (Nature), and Intelligence (cartographer’s tools). Sea or river travel requires Intelligence (navigator’s tools), Wisdom (Perception), and Strength or Dexterity(water vehicles). The DC of the wayfinding check starts at 10, but will vary based on terrain, weather, visibility, and local politics.

Add the totals of the d6s used together and multiple the result by 20 to determine how many miles the journey will take to complete within the same region. A traveling party cannot travel from one type of landmark to another of the same type - even the smallest journey through unfamiliar territory includes some risk of an 'adventure'. One cannot travel from one community to another without first passing through a vista or haunt. Likewise, one cannot travel from one regional hub to another adjacent region’s hub without passing through at least one community (and thus, at least two other landmarks) in between. Getting to distant regions involves hopping from community to hub to community, and so on.

Oddly enough, less prepared paths have a chance of being shorter in miles traveled, but the risks can be absolutely deadly. More dangerous paths are faster, but the risks and necessary rests may outweigh the benefits.

Regions, Adjacency, and Hubs

Region	Adjacent Regions	Hub(s)
The Heartland	The Bones (northeast), Lion's Fall (east), the Delta (south), the Steppes (west)	The Capital
Lion's Fall	The Bones (north), The Old Wilds (east), the Delta (south), the Heartland (west)	Braddock Garrison
The Bones	The Old Wilds (southeast), Lion's Fall (south), the Heartland (southwest), the Steppes (west)	Ven Draria, Highrock
The Delta	The Heartland (north), Lion's Fall (north), the Old Wilds (northeast), the Scarlet Coast (south)	Centerley
The Old Wilds	The Bones (north), The Ramparts (south), the Scarlet Coast (south), the Delta (southwest), Lion's Fall (west)	Mithrallir
The Ramparts	The Old Wilds (north), the Scarlet Coast (west to northeast), the Sea (south)	The Gray Blocks
The Scarlet Coast	The Delta (north), the Old Wilds (northeast), the Ramparts (east), the Sea (south)	The Tooth
The Sea	The Scarlet Coast (north), The Ramparts (north)	The Eye
The Steppes	The Bones (northeast), The Heartland (east)	Prince's Promise

Allies with useful skills, relevant knowledge on the region, or other insights towards the journey may aid a leader, granting advantage to the lead wayfinder’s check similar to the Help action. If multiple actors would like to roll instead, the roll favors the players’ collective best or preferred choice if they accrue more successes than failures, and favors the DM’s choice otherwise, with each check adding a die to the pool.

Travelers familiar with a forged path own a valuable resource as a future guide. When repeating a journey or returning along the same path, roll 2d6 and take your preferred result. You may also attempt a wayfinding check to further refine your route, adding another d6 if you succeed. If you fail, the choice falls back to the DM’s hands as you’ve creatively reinterpreted the old directions. With cartographer’s tools or other means of making a route clear to future followers, safe paths can be sold in towns for at least 10 gp per safe landmark or potentially more depending on the dangers bypassed and time saved by effective wayfinding.

The occasional charlatan will offer maps or guidance along partial or false paths, leading the foolish to ambushes or deadly surprises. These paths will be cheaper, more convenient, and always on offer, and impose disadvantage on the necessary wayfinding checks that follow.

Imperial Highways and Sold Routes

The system of Imperial Highways run between hubs, stopping at communities along the way. These roads are the golden standard of security and have a cost to match. While these roads are relatively short and require no wayfinding checks, they’re treated as if a 6 were used on the wayfinding results for each stage of travel. As such, going from one regional hub to the adjacent region’s hub would involve 240 miles, at a cost of 1 silver piece per mile per person, and 1 gold per wagonload besides.(from the first hub to a border community, then to the neighboring hub - 6 and 6 times 20.) One final danger to note in recent times is that imperial highways in the Bones, the Steppes, and through Lion’s Fall still have a 10% chance of leading to a hostile haunt or community, as a waystation is overrun by local dangers.

To compare, a safe route can be sold to guides and cartographers for 5 gold pieces per mile traveled - for each landmark that may be rendered safer (tips to avoid or placate the denizens of a haunt, recommendations to pack ropes for a difficult climb, etc) add 25 gold pieces per landmark.

Wayfinding Beyond the Wild

The Dream is an ephemeral place at the best of times, and wherever ambiguity reigns? Opportunity follows. Wayfinding can be used for more than just overland travel by setting different wayfinding proficiencies. City slums may require Stealth, Investigation, or Persuasion to safely navigate, while finding the guest you’re after in a crowded masquerade ball might call for Deception, Insight, and History to recognize the cues, hold the right conversations, and manage not to embarrass yourself before enemies. As always, consider factors that might make wayfinding more difficult, from riots to the wrong outfits. Even dungeons could be run using wayfinding, with a handful of prepared scenarios characters may face.

Border Marches and Beyond

The farther from the great hubs and smaller communities a person travels, the more likely they are to end up among the Marches. Most sensible folk avoid the uncharted expanses, but those with reasons to avoid the strictures of civilization - pastoral peoples, rebels, refugees, and those with more unique needs - brave the dangers. They’re far from alone. Forgotten outposts and sealed tombs are as likely as running into the camps of the Orc and their many client races, scattered by war or stranger tides. The edge of the Dream is rarely kind and even less clear. Every fever dream, half-thought, and nightmare has a chance of coming true. Wandering through any part of the magic-scarred Lion's Fall bears similar risks of danger.

When ranging into uncharted territory, reduce the rolled result on the Wayfinding chart that are not a 6 by 1. Any roll that’s less than a 6 must also check for Mishaps based on the guide’s familiarity with their destination, as listed in the teleport spell. Even on a 6, even safe landmarks ought to be eerie, unusual, or unsettling. Sometimes, the friends you encounter are not the friends you’d ever choose. Should the result be a 1, roll percentile dice. On a result of 1-10, the lost souls leave the Dream entirely. They find themselves at a door to Sigil, a rift to another plane, or even in one of the wilderness regions of Faerun.

Who knows?