This is a topic many others have tackled. I'm writing mostly to get my own thoughts on the matters sorted. I've come to dislike most of the travel procedures that I stumble across and I wish to delineate why and what I think needs to be done differently.

Many exploration rules only use exploration as an enhancement for the logistics and combat parts of the game. They don't create a framework for exploration that allows for a deep tactical possibility space, much less tactical infinity. In travel rules there is commonly only one right answer, and the rest is a complex procedure for resolving that answer. This produces unengaging gameplay and a lot of wasted time mathing out exact rates of resource drain.

The prototypical 'hexcrawl procedure' consists of rules for:

• Travel distance per X time increment, possibly using hexes for an easy abstraction.
• Attrition of resources.
• Chance of- and specifying of encounters, including weather.

In this system players generally know very little of the surrounding land and thus make uninformed choices of where to go and what path to take. They then spend time resolving whatever attrition mechanics the game comes with and may run into encounters which pull them out of the exploration and into other more well-functioning procedures. A lot of attention is given to getting the minutae of white-room travel speed and food consumption just right.

I think what we want is an exploration system, akin to an open-ended combat system, to tie active gameplay considerations to the act of exploring. What we need is a framework for providing obstacles that contribute to a risk of failure in the exploration itself.

Travel system 0.5

Traveling through one hex takes one Watch (8 hours in my case, since I base my game on Mythic Bastionland rules). You can spend d6 Vigour to run, covering one extra hex, or you can let your horse do it for you. If you ride the mount pays the cost of travel.

Generate a hex map with regions of contiguous zones of singular types of terrain. For each zone, determine a special type of path which is unique to the zone. Stock the hexes with unique interesting features and landmarks.

Each path is a type of terrain or terrain feature, the associated cost to travel (barrier), the associated risks (hazards) and the potential benefits (boons).

Also predetermine rives and major paths which pass through the hexes and mark them on the map.

When the players wish to pass through a hex they either know of a path to follow or they must generate a path. If they do not like the path they have available they must find another path, stay where they are or go back the way they came. To generate a path, either spend 1 CLA to find a path which leads in a desired direction or have the GM roll a random direction which the path exits on a d8 (7-8 means it does not leave the hex and instead leads directly to a hex feature). Then roll a d6 on the Path table associated with the terrain of the hex to determine the specific type of path.

To travel a path, pay the Barrier cost and check if you are subjected to any of the hazards of the path and if you benefit from its boons. If a hex feature is on the path you discover it automatically as you travel. You count as being on the path until you move onto another path in the next phase.

After a path has been generated through a hex the GM makes a note in their hex key about the path type and which faces of the hex it connects. If you note it on your map and if you are not lost then you can re-use the path without needing to find it again.

Path modifiers from weather or roads apply to the individual categories. Where applicable, use the worst statistic.

Premade paths and other modifiers

Modifier	Barrier	Encounter risk	Encounter distance	Campsite	Feature
Dirt road	-	+2/6	Far	+1/6	-
Stone road	-	+2/6	Far	+2/6	-1/6
Stream	Swim: d6 VIG. Rowboat: 1 VIG	+1/6	Far	-	1/6
Frozen water feature	1 VIG to walk, 0 to ski or skate. Accessible to light vehicles	-	Distant	-1/6	-
Snowcover	+1 VIG	-	-	-1/6	-
Storm	+1 VIG	-	Distant	-1/6	+1/6
Downpour	+1 VIG	-	Short	-1/6	+1/6

Example: Forest Path table

Path	Barrier	Encounter risk	Encounter distance	Campsite	Feature
Wild trail + reroll	-	+1/6	Far	+1/6	-1/6
Meadows	Accessible to light vehicles	2/6	Distant	5/6	1/6
Glades	-	1/6	Far	5/6	2/6
Brush	1 VIG. Impassable for horses	1/6	Close	3/6	3/6
Weald	1 VIG	1/6	Short	4/6	3/6
[Other terrain table]	-	-	-	-	-

Example: Forest terrain features

D6	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Blistering ivy	Briarscoffs	Iron coral	Yellow mold	Razorvine	Mandrake roots
2	Fleas	Mosquitoes	Mosquitoes	Ants	Ants	Trap
3	Flooding	Fog	Mud	Pond	Brook	Brook
4	Spring	Boar	Deer	Stag	Dire rats	Ape
5	Wolf	Bear	Corvid	Hogweed	Hogweed	Garlic
6	Garlic	Green mushroom	Flaxwort	Funnelwort	Woundwort	Mirkweed

Optional rule: Navigation competency

If a character is competent at navigation they may reroll the path type when finding a path a number of times equal to their competency rank.

Optional rule: Getting lost

Getting lost happens when you don't know how you current path connects to the way you came from. Mechanically this is represented by you being unable to trace your way back the way you came. If you wish to return to the face through which you entered the hex you must generate a new path to follow. Following the same path you were on will be treated as travelling along a random path in the hex and thus risk depositing you in a random neighboring hex or the same hex; The GM does not need to reveal the result of the roll.

Design notes

The core feature that makes the system work is the possibility of failure. If you run out of vigour then you can't go on at all unless you rest. If you are low on vigour then you risk death or humiliation from any number of hazards and encounters. The weather acts as a random modifier to the difficulty, requiring extra planning or large margins in supply, which competes with goals of efficiency. The season acts as a global difficulty modifier but also uniquely attenuates some hazards, like biting insects not appearing in winter.

The main gameplay comes in the form of choosing what path to take in this particular moment. Because each path comes with both unique detriments and benefits it can be situationally optimal or deleterious, allowing the current state and goals of the party to be the random factor which motivates choosing a particular path. There is system mastery both in learning the tables for particular types of terrain and for learning the particular paths that are present in a specific region of the land.

The system aditionally can interact with keyed features in hexes by tying them to specific paths, allowing for an intuitive mechanic by which hex features are discovered (or passed by). Directions can be given as a mix of mechanical and diagetic information by listing the paths to take: "Follow the ridge east and then pass through the weald to find the hidden shrine".

The system can seamlessly be used to stock hexes with prepared paths, for a more curated experience of exploring a local area.

My houserule is that Vigour is recovered one point per phase of rest, unlike the default rules where a special dwelling giving warm hospitality is required. Clarity meanwhile is recovered as per the base rules. This means that CLA is plentiful and easily restored near civilization and rare and precious far out in the wilderness. This makes the navigation easy close to holdings but risky far out in the wilds where getting lost can cause a significant impediment to your return journey.

There could be specialized feats feats which makes navigation much less costly/more efficient, and allow for a ranger archetype.