Copyright © 2005 Chris Gonnerman
Distributed under the Open Content License version 1.0

The "world" is called the Island of Eo. Eo is roughly circular (but somewhat rough-edged) and mostly covered in forest. In the center is the lake Shandra, from which the river Eridane flows in a snaking course to the sea, coming out around the 7 o'clock position in a place called Argent Bay... but you can't find the Eridane on the map, because the island is geographically unstable. King Argent claims to rule the island from his castle on Argent Bay.

At the 12 o'clock position is the castle of Kestrel the Sorceress, who also claims to rule Eo. At the 3 o'clock position (the eastern side of the island) is the Tower of Morning, where a powerful dragon is said to live. At the 9 o'clock position is the Cairn, a mysterious pile of stones near the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.

Beside the lake called Shandra there is a small house that belongs to the most powerful wizard in Eo. Other than the settlements around the castles of Kestrel and Argent there are two or three other inland villages.

There are two ways to navigate Eo: on the river Eridane, or on the road Kingshighway. Both go about everywhere on the island, except that neither one passes near the Cairn. But you can't put them on a map because their courses change magically all the time. There is only one crossroad, where Kingshighway crosses itself.

When wandering around Eo, you keep in mind where you want to go and you generally arrive there, but in between you encounter a small random number of the other locales first. Other than the locales I've described, there are numerous bridges where Kingshighway crosses Eridane, which are around 50% infested with trolls.

"Eo has but one road, called Kingshighway, meandering from the King's castle to the castle of the Sorceress. You can reach any place on the island by following it. There is but one crossroad, where Kingshighway crosses itself, so you needn't fear a wrong turn."

"Eo has but one river, called the Eridane. It wanders from the lake called Shandra over most of the island, emptying into the ocean at Argent Bay. You can reach most places on the island by following it."

The magical confusion mentioned above is a problem for anyone traveling on the island. There are several ways to go: following the road, following the river, sailing or walking around the coast, walking through the forest, or possibly flying (with appropriate magic). Regardless of how this travel is accomplished, the same procedure applies:

A deck of travel cards is normally used (look for a PDF download soon). Assuming that the travelers are trying to go somewhere specific, 1d6 is rolled; the result is the number of "other" locales that will be passed before the destination is reached. The GM shuffles the cards and starts turning them over, out of sight of the player(s); each card turned over represents one locale reached. The following table indicates the travel time per "segment," that is, the amount of time the travelers will travel between locales.

Mode of Travel Hours per Segment Forest, or River, Afoot   4d6 Road or Coast, Afoot   3d6 Road or Coast, on Horseback   2d6 River or Coast, in a Boat   2d6 Flying 1d6

If the mode of travel changes (from river to road, for instance, if the boat should sink), the GM should reroll the 1d6 (for number of locales) and reshuffle the cards; do likewise if the travelers change direction, i.e. reverse course.

Not all locales can be reached by all methods; the Cairn, for instance, cannot be reached by road or river, but can be reached by coast, forest or flying. If such a card is turned over, the GM simply ignores it and turns over the next card. Also, if the desired destination's card is turned over before it is time, the GM ignores it also. Finally, if the locale the characters originally left from is turned over, the GM may ignore it except if the cards have been reshuffled for any reason. This is why the cards are turned where the player(s) can't see them.

Some locales have special travel rules; the travel cards will explain these cases. In particular, the Crossroad is special because it forces a reshuffling of the cards.

Sometimes characters may choose to "wander;" this is done in much the same way, except the original 1d6 is not rolled. The GM just turns over cards and deals with the results.