Jungle Elves of Davania

source

Physical description: 

Jungle elves are darker skinned than elves of Brun and a bit shorter. Their hair is naturally black or dark brown but they sometimes either dye or bleach it. They tend to wear deep green leather and cotton as camouflage while hunting but can wear bright colours while relaxing or for ceremonies. Their equipment is nearly always made from materials found in the forest, so metal items are few and treasured.

Characters: 

Jungle Elf NPCs are mostly elven rangers (60%), some are spellswords (30%), and more elven druids than in Brun (10%) since jungle elves don’t have many metal items so forsaking metal equipment for druid spells is less of a sacrifice. 

The spellswords (standard elf class from B/X rules) are more like sorcerers than wizards - their magic seems more intuitive than learned and their spell preparation involves ritualistic chanting. 

Language is basically the same elvish as used in Brun but with an accent and some new words for things in the jungle. There are no game-rules changes between jungle elves and elves from other lands. 

Villages and Society

Jungle Elves often dwell in the extensive boughs and canopies of massive jungle trees where it is safer than on the ground. Such tree houses need to be at least 30ft up, away from the reach of the tallest dinosaurs. Their villages will typically consist of several large treehouses  connected by rope bridges. Village populations typically range from 50 to 200 elves. 

Villages known to the Thyatians in Cittinova include

• Macaw Roost
• Verdant Horizon
• Gray Moon
• Raptor Watch
• Hollow Trunk
• Mahogany Fort
• Ivory Bow

The jungle elves of the Davanian jungle do not form a coherent nation but more of a network of villages, a loose coalition, with large stretches of harsh rainforests separating them. Conflict between elven villages is very rare - most of the time they are aware that other elves are the least of their problems and although contact between villages is infrequent, they also realise that other jungle elves are their most reliable allies. 

Source

 Jungle elves have a Neutral attitude towards foreigners including humans, perhaps a bit better towards foreign elves. They are wary of rakastas but most of the time they leave each other alone. Jungle elves are hostile towards minotaurs, bugbears and araneas who have always treated the elves as at best competition and at worst as food. 

Economy

Food is either hunted or gathered from the canopy - Davania does not lend itself to conventional agriculture. Nonetheless there are often favoured fruit trees that each village will guard, and since different jungle trees produce fruit or nuts at different times of the year, a range of selected trees should provide a village with enough food year round. Hunted animals are usually the smaller vertebrates such as iguanas, babirusa (treat as wild boar) and small deer (herd animals, 1HD). However, every now and then the elves will take on a more dangerous prey such as the large herbivorous dinosaurs such as stegosaurus or brontosaurus (see X1: Isle of Dread for stats). Such a kill can feed a village for a week, unless the elves are driven off from the carcass by a large scavenging dinosaur such as an Allosaurus or a pack of Deinonychuses. 

Trading is generally a matter of barter. Trade between elven villages is infrequent usually because of the dangers of travelling through the jungle from one village to another, but some trades are worth the risk. Recently the elves around the Thyatian settlements have started trade with the humans there. Again they generally barter and often are not interested in silver or gold. The elves provide jungle fruits, high quality longbows, dinosaur hide and other goods gathered from the forest, and in return they enjoy the range of fabrics and clothing the Thyatians offer, and also metal weapons which are more durable and stay sharper than the bone and hardwood weapons made by the elves. 

 

A Journey from Karameikos to Ylaruam

Cartography by Mark Howard (source)

Revisiting the Rules for Overland Travel

It is possible to hand-wave journeys from one nation to another, and DMs are entitled to do so. One session the PCs are finishing their adventures around Castellan Keep and the Caves of Chaos, and the next session they have arrived at Cinsa-Men-Noo.  However, in many epic quests in legend, film and literature the journey is the bulk of the adventure. The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Odyssey, King Solomon’s Mines, Apocalypse Now and others have travel to a destination as most of the story. These are good for world-building and verisimilitude - making the campaign world seem more real, with geography, inhabitants and events going on around the PCs.  

Traditionally the idea is that Basic adventures (levels 1-3) happen around the dungeon, while Expert adventures (levels 4-13) involve venturing out into the wilderness. The X-series of modules (X1: The Isle of Dread etc) often have large sections of wilderness with dungeons often taking a secondary role. And so wilderness travel is principally addressed in the Expert rulebook. 

If the PCs stick to roads, I don’t bother with chances of getting lost and journey time is improved, as well as the reduced likelihood of hostile encounters.  If they decide to go off the beaten path , then things become more difficult and risky, and the rules for checking if the PCs get lost will apply. 

This particular journey from Karameikos to Ylaruam is more of an example than a concrete event that must happen. It is my way of considering how such expeditions might take place and how the DM can approach them. 

Motive & Hooks

The meta-reason for getting PCs from Karameikos is because I have envisioned Karameikos hosting low-level, Basic adventures - once the PCs reach 4th level or more they can venture further afield, either south into the Sea of Dread (which inevitably involves ship journeys) or staying on land they can travel to Darokin or Ylaruam. If the DM is happy with a true sandbox campaign, the PCs can venture anywhere they want, if they have the means and the motivation, but as a DM I find it better to prepare adventures in geographical clusters (e.g. northern Ylaruam or north coast of Norwold’s Great Bay) and to guide PCs towards that area if not towards a specific adventure. But of course trying to explain this to players might break the mood - why would their PCs, brave adventures in search of fame and fortune, want to travel to a far-off land like the Emirates of Ylaruam?  

• Treasure: Gnarl Vorggonson from far-off Ostland talks to the PCs in a tavern about the Emirates of Ylaruam. There are great pyramidal tombs filled with the burial treasures of the ancients. Whatever the risks of whatever guards it, the rewards are certainly worth while. The following morning Gnarl is found dead with a Ylari dagger in his back. The Holy Killers of the Eternal Secret have struck again. 
• Employment: A new notice is pinned on a wall of the inn at Castellan Keep: “ Caravan Guards wanted for journey northwards. Some combat experience preferable, payment is reasonable. See Beldorphix the Dwarf Merchant at the Griffon Shield Inn in Penhaligon”. 
• Magic Items: Zashell of the Magician’s Guild in Specularum has come across old papyrus scrolls inscribed with spells not seen in centuries. After investigating their provenance, she is sure there are more such scrolls in the ancient ruins of northern Ylaruam and she is willing to pay well for them if brought to her intact.   
• Academic Study: Ganahellion, an elf associated with Specularum College of Sages, wants to investigate the stories of ancient civilizations that once dominated northern Ylaruam. But he needs bodyguards as he has heard the land can be quite dangerous. 
• Entrepreneurial Trade: The garrison at Duke’s Road Keep has run out of oil for both lighting and for pouring on besiegers (after a recent and brutal battle). Anyone who brings five large barrels from Tel Al Kebir will be well paid. 
• Religion and Philosophy: Sister Alpadina, a junior cleric in the Order of the Griffon, has been asked by her superiors in Kelvin to see if there are suitable allies against the forces of Chaos in other lands. The Order has heard of the Eternal Truth and its followers but don’t know much about it. They know even less about the mysterious dervishes that inhabit the deserts of Ylaruam but Sister Alpadina wants to investigate, though she cannot do it alone. 
• Pursuit of Justice: The chaotic priest who has infiltrated Castellan Keep has fled after adventurers find evidence implicating him on his colleague in the Caves of Chaos. Will he take a riskier route into the wilderness or will he flee by safer though more circuitous roads and trails? PCs who pursue him may need to investigate and ask questions at the various settlements he might have passed through. 

Route and Distances

Here the hex maps I have used in these blog posts become really useful. The one at the top of this post was chosen because it shows the entirety of the journey as I expect it, with Karameikos in the southwest quarter and the Emirates of Ylaruam in the northeast quarter, with Cinsa-Men-Noo near the northern edge of the map. At 8 miles per hex it is simply a matter of counting the number of hexes between points and multiplying by 8 to get the distance in miles. It could be argued that the town, castle or village featured in a hex actually only takes up a small proportion of what is inside a hex (an 8 mile hex is actually 55 square miles in area) and thus distance may not be an exact multiple of 8, but I don't feel the need to be that accurate. 

My suggestion for this would be:

• Penhaligon to Duke's Road Keep: 7 hexes or 56 miles by road
• Duke's Road Keep to Reedle: 4 hexes or 32 miles by road
• Reedle to Selenica: 5 hexes or 40 miles by road
• Selenica to Parsa: 15 hexes or 120 miles by road
• Parsa to Sulba: 8 hexes or 64 miles by trail
• Sulba to Ylaruam City: 7 hexes or 56 miles by trail
• Ylaruam City to Cinsa-Men-Noo: 9 hexes or 72 miles by road

This gives a grand total of 55 hexes or 440 miles if the PCs stick to the main roads and trails. Whether or not the PCs stop at the various locations for rest and resupply is up to them. Generally speaking a travellers' inn, even a poor quality one, is better and safer than camping out on the side of the trail. These locations could well have their own adventures, side treks and NPC schemes going on as the PCs pass through. 

Speed of Travel

This one is explained in the Expert Rulebook and is the group's slowest traveler's movement per turn divided by five as miles per day. This is then further modified by what terrain they are travelling through although trails and roads cancel out any hinderance from terrain. I understand that this results in a daily distance that is only rarely divisible by 8, so it won't be a convenient matter of treating hexes as simple discrete stepping stones - we will be dealing in fractions of hexes (although probably not fractions of miles). 

If the slowest member of the party is travelling at 60ft/turn in a dungeon then they are travelling at 12 miles per day in the wilderness, assuming they are on relatively open and easy terrain, including trails. In fact if on roads the speed is increased by 3/2, so that character can travel at 18 miles per day on road. Such a character could therefore theoretically complete the route given above in  28 days (320 miles by road / 18 miles per day on roads = 17.8) + (120 miles by trail / 12 miles per day = 10 days).  Even a party riding mules will travel twice as fast as that (mules have a base speed of 120ft/turn) and could ideally complete the journey in 14 days. 

Random Encounters

I'm okay with random encounters as long as DM discretion applies both with regard to challenging the party and also whether it makes sense within the campaign world. Also remember that encounters need not be violent - either side may wish to parlay or avoid the other altogether. For some civilised encounters they are simply passing each other on their respective ways. Page X57 in the Cook rules gives guidelines for how often for each type of terrain random encounters are met. The number of checks per day is not entirely clear but I would suggest 2 - one during the day (presumably while travelling) and again at night (while camped) but I understand if the DM would rather keep it to just once per day. 

If the DM has enough time and motivation then custom random encounter tables are a great way to keep PCs on their toes - otherwise the encounter tables in the Expert Rulebook should be fine, especially with a bit of DM discretion. 

Weather

Weather is not actually addressed in the Expert rulebook but DMs can still make rulings about it. Harsh weather including hailstorms, downpours, blizzards and sandstorms can all hamper a party's movement and possibly get them lost if they insist on pushing on along a poorly marked trail. If already off-road, it is very difficult to navigate when the sun and stars are obscured by storm clouds. Actually damaging  weather such as lightning storms, tornadoes and the like should be rare and perhaps not random (i.e. only occuring when the DM needs the PCs to take shelter).  

The seasons will be important as well: winter travel in subarctic climes (such as Norwold) is not to be taken lightly. Similarly in hot deserts (such as Ylaruam and the Great Waste) the summer months can be unbearable.  

Provisions

Assuming the PCs have no magical way of creating food and drink, they will have to bring their own. Travelling along a river at least provides plenty of water and in temperate climes water should not be too scarce but in deserts such as Ylaruam it is a precious commodity. Since the B/X rules do not have classes dedicated to the wilderness, foraging is difficult and by no means reliable (although if using expanded rules, druids and elven rangers could be useful in this regard). Food and water for mounts may be necessary as well, especially in deserts and barren lands. The Rules Cyclopedia does offer guidelines on foraging in p89. 

Interestingly neither Moldvay Basic nor Cook Expert rules give the encumbrance for normal or iron rations. It's all lumped together with other miscellaneous equipment as 80cn/8lb. However, the Rules Cyclopedia is much more specific - a pack of one week's normal rations is 200cn and a week's iron rations are 70cn. A full waterskin (a quart) is 30cn and is probably going to last a day of travelling, two days if strictly rationed. 

As far as B/X rules are concerned there are no specific consequences for hunger, thirst or exhaustion. I would suggest for every 2 days without food or half day without water each PC suffers -1 to Str and Con (temporary - lost point are restored at 2 points per day once the character can eat and drink). If either score drops below 3 they are incapacitated (cannot move or fight and are barely conscious), and if either score drops to 0 they die. Clearly this is not scientifically accurate - most humans cannot survive more than 3 days without water to drink, even less in hot deserts - but I think it is sufficient for my purposes. If you prefer to work out your own rules for hunger and thirst, go for it. There is a brief section on p32 of Gaz2 Emirates of Ylaruam about heat exhaustion, but this is not really the same as dehydration. 

Left brain/Right brain gaming

There are a wide range of gaming styles and gamers out there. One particular way I tend to categorise games is how emotional or how logical is the approach.  This ties in to the old idea (maybe with scientific validity) of the right side of the brain being involved in emotion, intuition and social interaction, and the left side of the brain being used for logic, analyis and spatial awareness. 

The old school were definitely veering towards the left side. They came from wargamers where there was no social interaction on the battlefield, only tactics, troop statistics and resource managment. This carried on into the dungeon where a lot of the action was focused on resource management - rations, torches, arrows, memorised spells, hit points, time itself, treasure (the whole point of the exercise and the main way one gained XP and therefore levels) were all expected to be tracked carefully. 

You didn't get too attached to your character, at least not to start with, as their life expectancy was short. Character quirks and background were often ignored. You only bothered with that sort of stuff after a few levels of play, and it was often emergent, ideas about one's character coming as a result of interaction in game. 

Mapping was a major part of dungeon exploration which partially explains the slightly weird designs of some early dungeons such as B1: In Search of the Unknown. Without VTTs, dungeons were verbally described by the DM and the players would try to map their way - vital if the adventurers needed to exit the dungeon in a hurry. 

But as D&D grew more popular the possibilities opened up. Although many would cite the Hickmans with both their Ravenloft and Dragonlance modules as a shift in AD&D in the early 80s, it could be argued that Gary Gygax also took a more right-brained approach in D1-3 (I watched a rather good video about this on Daddy Rolled a 1 on Youtube). In those modules the adventurers' interactions with both the Kuo-Toa and the various drow houses in D2 & D3 are not expected to be hack and slash. 

Of course, I1 Ravenloft with its plot-based structure and its charismatic and interactive villain who was more than just combat stats was a landmark in adventure design and approaching play. These days purely map-based dungeon-crawls and hex-crawls are relatively rare: there is nearly always some plot or storyline the PCs are expected to follow. I think one big sign of the changes is how XP is given out. It used to be it was almost all about the treasure, with monster xp a small side dish. Now XP awards are for completing goals which may have nothing to do with monsters or treasure, or even better, XP is ignored in favour of levelling up when the DM (or adventure author) feels like it. One less resource to keep track of! 

These days I feel a lot of folks who would have got into the left-side logical analytical side of RPGs find their fix in computer games where a lot of the maths is automated. The Diablo series really has translated the hack and slash approach into a computer game, while World of Warcraft is a little more interactive - having a lot of other players in the same gaming environment encourages at least conversations and connections between players, particularly within guilds. Min-maxing becomes a lot more clear when dealing with computer rules rather than printed rules. 

I wouldn't say current D&D has completely switched over to the right side of the brain and become a Ren-fair soap opera - the 5E and 5.5E games I've been running still have plenty of combat, navigation and problem solving. But also since the 2000s WotC has realised that they need to offer a table-top experience that computer games currently struggle to convey - that means the human element, the non-game-mechanical interactions. I do wonder whether AI will be able to run NPCs as effectively as a human DM - just look at the constant development of chatbots. And this is more likely to be in an MMORPG environment than a virtual tabletop. 

Where Am I in all of this?

I definitely lean toward the left hand of this scale, though not at the far end. Looking through my blog articles, a lot of them are monsters, spells and map-based (rather than plot-based) adventures. There are relatively few stories and the NPCs I introduce are generally not particularly deep in terms of personality and motivations. I am sometimes baffled by some of the D&D posts on Tumblr about anime-inspired OCs (Original Characters) who are often dressed more for a stroll along a Victorian promenade than into the Temple of Elemental Evil. And the idea that a player's character ought to follow a particular arc seems to clash with my ideas of emergent stories from game play. If you have already decided what is going to happen to your character, write a book rather than expecting the rest of a gaming group to go along with your preconceived story. I think it’s interesting (at least to myself) that the one time I tried writing a blog post from a character’s point of view,  Tilphon’s Journal of the Shadowdeep, was intended to be a series. I have not posted the second one - not because I can’t write about the Shadowdeep, but because I find it difficult writing from a character’s point of view. 

This fits in with my preferences outside of TTRPGs. I've always preferred documentaries to dramas on TV, and in film I am far more interested in action and science fiction than romance. I have interests in dinosaurs, computing, space exploration and military tactics and equipment. I am not interested in celebrity gossip. I have never watched an episode of Love Island. I'm not even particularly good at distinguishing good acting from bad acting. I suspect there might be a bit of neuro-divergence going on there. 

However, I do not tell anybody they are doing it wrong. This is purely a matter of taste and personality, not correctness. Finding the fellow gamers and the right DM who are where you at in this matter is a factor in whether you are enjoying your D&D. I might not get what other folks are doing in D&D but I don't feel the need to tell them (except perhaps in this blog post...).