Lost in the Wilderness

[Elephant]

I was running my 3.5 Eberron game tonight, and the party ended up getting lost in the Talenta Plains. They had a crude map showing Gatherhold and a cave where they could find some monsters to smite, and they struck off into the plains.

Not bothering to hire a guide, of course.

Three days (and Survival checks under 10) later, the party realizes that they're lost. Cue another couple of days of wandering and hunting (I asked "How much food do you guys have?" on day 4 - answer: One ration, according to equipment lists).

Currently, they're about 40 miles from their objective, but they don't know exactly which direction to go in order to reach either Gatherhold or the monster cavern. If they choose poorly, they could end up wandering hundreds of miles across the plains!

Hopefully they'll find their way in the next session...but in the meantime, I'm trying to brainstorm some interesting "lost in the plains" encounters.

Got any ideas? I figure that EVENTUALLY, they'll either stumble upon a landmark that tells them where they are or run into some halfling tribesmen who can guide them...but in the meantime, I'd like to have a little more to go on than "You're lost in the wilderness for [n] days until some halflings approach you."

[Nightson]

You can determine direction with a stick and fifteen minutes easily if you have one sun.

Any high trees in the area could be climbed to hopefully get one's bearings.

[Elephant]

I think you misunderstand, Nightson - I'm the DM in this game, not a lost PC trying to game my way out of needing to make a Survival check.

Besides, knowing which way is north doesn't help you if you don't recognize any landmarks.

[Nyeshet]

I'm not too familiar with Eberron, but my first thought for wilderness situations on a plain involve burrows.

Are their any dire prairie dogs in the area? Do you allow them to collect parts from animals? Maybe they come upon a monster whose hide, blood, bone, scale, fur, etc is rare and valuable? Maybe they find a half-eaten carcass or a dessicated carcass - and realize either that a dangerous creature is present or that resources in the area are scarce. Either way could lead to interesting decisions.

What about semi-ancient ruins - small settlements long covered by dirt, now the rotted roof collapsing as a PC walks over it - 5 to 10 ft drop, perhaps slowed by falling through a barely holding together wooden table? Maybe some interesting items are in the room? A small catch of a couple dozen silver or golden coins of unknown nationality?

Or perhaps there is a hidden entrance into the hollow, and a local robber that has long preyed upon the local town has used it as a cache for ill gotten loot (albeit minor in value by PC standards). Or perhaps the crook was caught and executed a few years ago and his loot was never found / recovered. Even if it is not worth much, not only could there be rewards, it could help cement the reputation of the group to the local town (by finding and returning the items).

Also, aren't there dino-horses on those plains? Surely not all of them are under halfling control? A small herd of a 3 or 4 of these small wild dinos comes upon the group. Do they attack or attempt to capture them? Maybe they are escaped from a halfling group that was beset by monsters or bandits - one or two might have a saddle with an identifying mark upon it or a pack whose items within would identify the person or at least the clan they came from.

What are the plains truly like? Few trees or miles of no trees? Relatively flat land to the horizon, or rolling irregular hills and vales? Caves exist nearby, so it is likely karst landscape. Could they perhaps find a cave, think it is the right cave, but it turns out to be another - with different monsters than what they expected? Perhaps using it as a landmark will cause them to move further off course, eventually leading them to another town? What else is in the (wrong) cave? Is it used by outlaws or monsters or both? Does it have loot? Does it connect to other nearby caves - or to some buried ruins?

All sorts of ideas come to mind, but then I prefer wilderness campaigns to the typical pattern of dungeon style ones. Urban campaigns are not too bad either, but then the city is often compared to a jungle for a reason. (ie: "Its a jungle out there.")

[rgard]

I like Nyeshet's suggestions.

This one popped into my mind...maybe they come across a town that appears one day in the PC's time every hundred years. The townsfolk have no idea their town skips ahead in time.

You could allow the party to replenish supplies and buy a map...a map that is of course at least centuries old. The natural landmarks would be right, but anything man made on the map would now be a ruin and everything current (PC's time) doesn't yet exist on the map.

I wouldn't let on to the PCs that something is amiss with the flow of time in the village. Let them figure it out as they go to the next town on the map and find that barely recognizable ruins are all that is left. If they go back to the village the next day...it is of course gone and will appear again in 100 years.

This is inspired by Brigadoon.

Thanks,
Rich

[Elephant]

Thanks for the ideas, guys. I'll post an update after the next game session.

[genshou]

/me tosses the Elephant a large bag of peanuts.

Originally Posted by Nightson

You can determine direction with a stick and fifteen minutes easily if you have one sun.

Any high trees in the area could be climbed to hopefully get one's bearings.

Knowledge of these things would already be represented by Survival skill bonus. Because the PCs rolled poorly, either they didn't think to use these methods, or the information wasn't enough to help regain their bearings without the use of other observations.

Originally Posted by Elephant

I think you misunderstand, Nightson - I'm the DM in this game, not a lost PC trying to game my way out of needing to make a Survival check.

Besides, knowing which way is north doesn't help you if you don't recognize any landmarks.

You're absolutely right--the danger of "getting lost" as written in the DMG represents more than just not knowing which way is north--the PCs might be heading in a generally western direction, but fail to realize they have strayed a significant number of degrees to one side or the other.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the LDS church's First Presidency (a former aviator and airline executive) spoke during a general priesthood broadcast for his church in April 2008 of such a situation. The relevant story is not inherently religious and is quoted from the church's website below (source link). Please note that because this is a talk given in a religious broadcast, the external link in the previous sentence is NOT written with EN World's no-religion policy in mind. If you do not wish to peruse such material, the relevant non-religious sections are quoted below.

In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km) to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m).

As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the ground was rising fast toward them, it was too late. The airplane crashed into the side of the volcano, killing everyone on board.

It was a terrible tragedy brought on by a minor error—a matter of only a few degrees.
[...]
Let me share with you how I taught the same principle to young pilots.

Suppose you were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circumnavigate the globe, but your course was off by just one degree. By the time you returned to the same longitude, how far off course would you be? A few miles? A hundred miles? The answer might surprise you. An error of only one degree would put you almost 500 miles (800 km) off course, or one hour of flight for a jet.

Alternatively, they may get so hopelessly lost that they end up going entirely the wrong way.

Originally Posted by Nyeshet

I'm not too familiar with Eberron, but my first thought for wilderness situations on a plain involve burrows.

Are their any dire prairie dogs in the area? Do you allow them to collect parts from animals? Maybe they come upon a monster whose hide, blood, bone, scale, fur, etc is rare and valuable? Maybe they find a half-eaten carcass or a dessicated carcass - and realize either that a dangerous creature is present or that resources in the area are scarce. Either way could lead to interesting decisions.

What about semi-ancient ruins - small settlements long covered by dirt, now the rotted roof collapsing as a PC walks over it - 5 to 10 ft drop, perhaps slowed by falling through a barely holding together wooden table? Maybe some interesting items are in the room? A small catch of a couple dozen silver or golden coins of unknown nationality?

Or perhaps there is a hidden entrance into the hollow, and a local robber that has long preyed upon the local town has used it as a cache for ill gotten loot (albeit minor in value by PC standards). Or perhaps the crook was caught and executed a few years ago and his loot was never found / recovered. Even if it is not worth much, not only could there be rewards, it could help cement the reputation of the group to the local town (by finding and returning the items).

Also, aren't there dino-horses on those plains? Surely not all of them are under halfling control? A small herd of a 3 or 4 of these small wild dinos comes upon the group. Do they attack or attempt to capture them? Maybe they are escaped from a halfling group that was beset by monsters or bandits - one or two might have a saddle with an identifying mark upon it or a pack whose items within would identify the person or at least the clan they came from.

What are the plains truly like? Few trees or miles of no trees? Relatively flat land to the horizon, or rolling irregular hills and vales? Caves exist nearby, so it is likely karst landscape. Could they perhaps find a cave, think it is the right cave, but it turns out to be another - with different monsters than what they expected? Perhaps using it as a landmark will cause them to move further off course, eventually leading them to another town? What else is in the (wrong) cave? Is it used by outlaws or monsters or both? Does it have loot? Does it connect to other nearby caves - or to some buried ruins?

All sorts of ideas come to mind, but then I prefer wilderness campaigns to the typical pattern of dungeon style ones. Urban campaigns are not too bad either, but then the city is often compared to a jungle for a reason. (ie: "Its a jungle out there.")

VERY good ideas here. You also caused me to learn a new geographical term (see emphasis in the quote), so you just earned exp. I only wish I could award it twice.

[hopeless]

Originally Posted by Elephant

I was running my 3.5 Eberron game tonight, and the party ended up getting lost in the Talenta Plains. They had a crude map showing Gatherhold and a cave where they could find some monsters to smite, and they struck off into the plains.

Not bothering to hire a guide, of course.

Three days (and Survival checks under 10) later, the party realizes that they're lost. Cue another couple of days of wandering and hunting (I asked "How much food do you guys have?" on day 4 - answer: One ration, according to equipment lists).

Currently, they're about 40 miles from their objective, but they don't know exactly which direction to go in order to reach either Gatherhold or the monster cavern. If they choose poorly, they could end up wandering hundreds of miles across the plains!

Hopefully they'll find their way in the next session...but in the meantime, I'm trying to brainstorm some interesting "lost in the plains" encounters.

Got any ideas? I figure that EVENTUALLY, they'll either stumble upon a landmark that tells them where they are or run into some halfling tribesmen who can guide them...but in the meantime, I'd like to have a little more to go on than "You're lost in the wilderness for [n] days until some halflings approach you."

Run an encounter where they get the chance to save a local and in return the local guides them to where they want to go along with a couple of rumours you want to pass on before they get there.

If they refuse to save the local then just have them ambushed by a band of Valenar raiders who have a captive of their own who if released will help them go where they want to go but if even this fails you might want to simply have them free themselves only to stumble into the site by accident and have to hide from their pursuers...

[Elephant]

Originally Posted by rgard

I like Nyeshet's suggestions.

This one popped into my mind...maybe they come across a town that appears one day in the PC's time every hundred years. The townsfolk have no idea their town skips ahead in time.

You could allow the party to replenish supplies and buy a map...a map that is of course at least centuries old. The natural landmarks would be right, but anything man made on the map would now be a ruin and everything current (PC's time) doesn't yet exist on the map.

I wouldn't let on to the PCs that something is amiss with the flow of time in the village. Let them figure it out as they go to the next town on the map and find that barely recognizable ruins are all that is left. If they go back to the village the next day...it is of course gone and will appear again in 100 years.

This is inspired by Brigadoon.

Thanks,
Rich

I ended up going with this scenario. The party met with a sage in the "ghost town" and got a map...which didn't show Gatherhold (the town they wandered out of). It DID show the lake near Gatherhold, though, so it helped their navigation (+2 on Survival checks to avoid getting lost).

While they were waiting for the map to be copied, they saved a little boy who fell down into a cave...a cave that turned out to be an ancient bronze ruin (I drew on an episode of Stargate Atlantis for that one). The party fell in after him and spent about half the session dealing with the bronze-walled room after they killed the choker that was about to eat the boy.

Inside the room, they DID find some treasure:

A magical dagger
A vial of magical fluid
A small magical gemstone

They identified the dagger (total +6 equivalent, I don't recall the specific mods offhand), but the other two items required something...stronger. The party will be getting the full story on those two items tonight!

After the PCs returned to the ghost-town, they got their map and were given very fine rooms for the night. They had a very restful sleep and woke up ... on an empty field (cue spooky episode-ending music).