Game in the Brain

• Hexes and Revealing. Fog of war can be created by Painting an acetate or plastic sheet over the map and erasing to reveal the terrain in the hex (or some similar technique).
• Time and Maximum Endurance. Increments of time are 15min increments. This is because characters can Double time and spend half the amount of time or slowed down eating 50% (45mins) to doubling the amount of time they would spend (1hour). Given that normal human high range performance is at 1liter or quart per hour of heavy exertion characters can tire very quickly (B426 under dehyration and Starvation) AND double the servings of rations. Realistically a GM can impose unrecoverable FP penalty when these energy requirements are not met. This stress Strategic thinking severely. Consider a Cut-off or Exit strategy when things are going no where.
• Behind the GM’s screen. Imagine this kind of Wilderness encounter where there are other scouts, forces, or monsters moving along the hexes. The GM has his own map and moves units on macro time (30min increments).
• Distances of 1KM hexes. At these distances only very few and tiny clues can give away what is happening in the other hex. Wind Direction, Observation of Animal Behavior (birds taken to flight, circling birds, wild animals, unusual animal behavior, etc.) and reactions (Survival check), Dust Clouds etc. (examples of these can be found in Sun Tzu’s Art of War).
• Ideal Tools. Google Earth will be a very useful cheat for this. Slap on a hex and draw over the villages and other locations and your pretty much set.

• Temperature. beyond the <1c>26C (B430 and B435). Dont forget Wind Chill that reduce the temperature further and Humidity that Increases the heat factor up to +10C. From experience, shade can mean lasting 2 to 10x longer in some cases.
• Fit, Unfit, Very Fit, or Very Unfit. These all work well with the 15min increments.
• HT based skills. Haviing good HT matters even more! The penalties of low FP are very bad B426. Realistically

• DX. checks, balance and footing… Unskilled, emphasis on athletics can be enforced by making all tasks that fall under a skill considered default.
• HT. energy to shrug and flexibility… Like DX, HT rolls where which a skill covers should be at a default penalty.
• Flexibility. A character who is more fit, can have joints take more punishment. Tasksthat require reach, odd feats of balance, and using weaker muscles mean rolling HT or sprain, pull or twist a joint or muscle. Carefull characters with experience will be trained to stop, fall or react in a way they hurt something less important.
• Climbing DX or HT. When hands come into the picture, it becomes climbing. If it is an obstacle that doesn’t need any hands, it is an Acrobatics (Parkour).
• Stealth DX or HT. Moving Stealthily takes effort, if you read up on the methods of sneaking: Apache Spirit Walk, Ninja Stealth step and Ghost Walking these are all tiring and hard. They are more HT than DX when you are doing them for the long minutes leading up to an encounter.
• Acrobatics DX or HT. Parkour! The practicalities of Parkour is being able to travers difficult terrain at near or AT Running Speed. A cinematic take on the Mexican tribe Tarahumara are a precedent of Acrobatics (Parkour).
• Jumping DX or HT. Note the Jumping Stats, and consider the extra effort
• Running DX or HT. Running on Flat, level and firm ground needs no DX checks, unless for added feats like stopping abruptly. Flat/Open, level, and firm terrain is DX-based at +5. The BEST Pre-Modern (like roman roads) or Manicured Pitches are TDM of +0 to Run on. Cleared fields and most heavily used trails (which are packed earth) are TDM-1 to Run DX. It is really easy it is to twist an ankle or knee when running at full speed, especially when encumbered (add encumbrance penalty to checks).
• Tracking Per or Int. Finding tracks are Per, Identifying or processing the clues uses IQ.
• Search Per or Int. Searching is Observation in the immediate very narrow area. A small burroughs, mixed into a dirt patch, in the tall grass of your intimidate area.
• Navigation (Land) IQ or Per. Finding old, hidden, faint paths is a Perception-Based Task. Imagine broken and unused paths and how there are so far apart and are counter-intuitive.

• Puzzles are Tracks, Old Trails, Camp Leavings, Forensics etc. I admit it is a bit CSI but if you imagine a scene as vividly enough and get what happened there straight the clues are easier to figure out or extrapolate.
• Corridors and Hallways are Paths of Least Resistance. In the wilderness almost any direction can be taken, its just depends on the work you are able to afford.
• Traps are Natural Hazards, Natural hazards are anything that would force the party to linger too long, give away their position, or be in tactically unsound location when an enemy is encountered. They are just as difficult to judge and deceptive as any Fantasy Dungeon trap. You never know if the ground can support your weight, the same way even arborial monkeys never know if a branch can support their weight.
• Treasure can be found in every area. Treasure can be information, water, forage, or valuable remains. It depends in your framing.

• Sharp Edges and Pitfalls. There are a lot of sharp edges and pitfalls in the wilderness. The more wilderness you see, the more you realize how dangerous it really is. In natural terrain, what can be so mundane like a rocky outcropping, strewn jagged rocks, and grass hidden earth can be very dangerous when forced to run or move quickly. Shallow Pitfalls in a run, slip, or fall can cause one to fall, injure a joint, or trigger a set of consequences that add up to a very bad accident. Sharp edges can cut tough fabric, flesh and bone all by accident. Plants and erosion change the landscape and hide many of these natural hazards.
• Thorns. Thorns are natural plant and animal defenses. Some can only scratch you or damage protective clothing, while others can grow large enough to stab through a limb or torso and damage vital organs or arteries. .
• Allergens and Toxins. Spores, Pollen, Dust, and other Invisible and Toxic substances can cause allergies, rashes, paralysis or death. Even terrible smells can cause nausea, irritate eyes, nose and mouth, give problems eating and penalize concentration and alertness.
• Parasites. Insects, Viruses, some plants, critters and small animals can act as parasites. They can directly draw nutrients from the characters, from their supplies, or add to the discomfort that prevents them from resting or recuperating. They can penalize the characters in alertness and concentration, fatigue, or worse drain them of life or kill them outright.
• Mimics. Things that appear not like something else happens in nature a lot. They can be as subtle as mimicking a kind of wild forage, herb, or water source. More insidious are mimicks that throw off pathfinding, survival and tracking skills. Most mimics, would be traps that lure something, which can be the players or something very dangerous into the area of the PCs. Some mimics, use PCs as a tool for reproduction carrying seeds, pollen or microbes to either attract something.
• Dangerous Ground. Most often, the terrain will be disadvantageous for the PCs if enemies were to push them against them, entrap them, or push them where they will have a harder time surviving or defending themselves. This is not just Humanoids who are able to exploit Dangerous Ground, hunting packs, predators, and monsters can be the easily have the natural cunning to draw PCs into these situations.
• Fauna and Foliage. Then there are the Direct Threats, some creature of some form that is dangerous to the player. It can be a simple and direct as a pack of wolves.

ST Ratio Rules.

Take the Obstacle ST requirement and compare them to the Character Strength. Divide the larger ST by the smaller ST, this is the percentile difference. Then divide this percentile difference by 5%. If the Character has the higher ST, he gets the resulting value as HT bonus to the roll, if he/she is the lower stat it is an HT penalty.

Taken further. use this system when Making Wrestling or Judo Checks against characters when they are trying to overpower each other. It just represents who was quicker in bringing the necessary energy to bear. This is done in lieu of opposed ST checks.

So Incredibly Fit ST10 joe with HT15, is quick to apply necessary leverage on his stronger opponent’s limbs.