D&D: Cubicle 7’s ‘Uncharted Journeys’ Wants Your Party to Get Lost
Exploration is one of the least supported elements in D&D, that’s something Uncharted Journeys, Cubicle 7’s new splatbook, hopes to fix.
One of the hardest things to run in D&D is getting from place to place. Which is ironic, considering that epic journeys are part and parcel of fantasy stories. One does not simply walk into Mordor, sure. But one does simply walk everywhere in Lord of the Rings. And in countless other fantasy stories.
Whether it’s epic sea voyages, long rides, or wagon caravans fantasy is full of opportunities to go on journeys. But so often, in RPGs, these moments fall into the old pattern of “and you’re walking, and you’re walking, and you’re walking…” with the only consequence being checking to see if you brought enough rations to eventually get where you wanted to go.
Cubicle 7’s newest book hopes to change all that. Uncharted Journeys for 5E promises a detailed set of travel rules, as well as guidelines for making it about the journey as well as the destination.
Cubicle 7: Uncharted Journeys for 5E
Uncharted Journeys comes from the same team that designed Doctors and Daleks as well as Adventures in Middle-earth, so little wonder that there’s a focus on journeys. Adventures in Middle-earth was all about 5E Lord of the Rings type campaigns, and featured its own rules for undertaking those treks across the familiar worlds of Middle-earth.
But what does all that translate to here? Cubicle 7 hopes to help your characters blaze trails as they set off on new adventures in uncharted lands. This means new rules for figuring out where you’re going, forging a path through potentially hostile terrain, and in general encountering amazing things along the way.
To this end, the book introduces four key “roles” for each journey. While journeys themselves are broken up into three different steps. Here’s a sampling of what you might find:
Easy to understand rules for journeys and exploration: Set the Route to your destination and determine how long (and how dangerous) the journey will be; Prepare by gathering supplies, securing mounts, and resting before the long road ahead; and finally, Make the Journey and experience strange and unique encounters along the way, and be forever changed by your experiences.
Rules for four key Roles required for a successful journey: the Outrider, the Quartermaster, the Sentry, and the Leader. Each Role has a unique ability that can be the difference between success and failure on the treacherous paths you travel.
New ways to create unique and interesting travellers you meet on the road: Where and when do you meet them? Are they friend or foe? Where are they going? Why are they travelling? What do they want?
AdvertisementRules for creating countless ancient ruins that your party can discover: who built them, how old are they, and who lurks there now? Is it an archive containing forgotten elven lore, or was it created by an ancient civilisation for some sinister purpose?
Almost 2,000 Journey Encounters across 16 different regions, including huge cities teeming with people, thick jungle overrun by beasts, haunted lands ruled by a malicious Vampire Lord, and scorched hellscapes ruled by demons and monstrosities.
All this awaits in Cubicle 7’s Uncharted Journeys.
