Into the Veldwood

I have been working on an abstract method for a "quest" based adventure using the WarpQuest rules as inspiration. I like abstract adventures and quick methods to develop adventure ideas.

I began with a scenario idea - A party is exploring an ancient, dark forest for a forgotten temple that is rumoured to contain vast treasures. The forest itself is meant for low level parties.

I then developed a template based on the WarpQuest track and room for random tables.

Here is what I came up with for The Veldwood. Note that this is just for exploring the forest. The monsters were actually randomly rolled from the B/X Wandering Monster tables, Wilderness Encounter tables and from the Monster & Treasure Assortment.

An example of how it can be used:

The party buys provisions and heads into the Veldwood in search of the forgotten temple. I decided that we will start at #15 on the In Track.

Day 1: Roll to see if they become lost. Result is "4" so they find their way as intended.
Roll d6 to see how many spaces they move on the In Track. Result is "5" so they move 5 spaces to space #10 on the In Track.
Roll d6 to see what they encounter. Result is "5" so they don't encounter anything during the first day in the forest. Day ends.

Day 2: Roll to see if they become lost. Result is "6" so they find their way as intended.
Roll d6 to see how many spaces they move on the In Track. Result is "1" so they move 1 space to space #9 on the In Track.
Roll d6 to see what they encounter. Result is "5" so they don't encounter anything. Day ends.

Day 3: Roll to see if they become lost. Result is "3" so they find their way as intended.
Roll d6 to see how many spaces they move on the In Track. Result is "4" so they move 4 spaces to space #5 on the In Track.
Roll d6 to see what they encounter. Result is "4" so they have a "Special" Encounter. A d8 roll (a "7") results in the party coming across a creek. Fortunately they still have lots of provisions so do not drink the water. Day ends.

Day 4: Roll to see if they become lost. Result is "1" so they move back to the closest undetermined space - back to space #6 on the In Track.
Roll d6 to see what they encounter. Result is "2" so they encounter a Monster. Rolling a d12 results in the party stumbling across Ghouls in a graveyard (a result of "4"). Along with the graveyard a few rolls on the Terrain Features table results in the graveyard being next to a pond and surrounded by thick forest. Rolling for treasure results in the Ghouls having 3 gems (treasure #5). Day ends. I like this one - they become lost in the dark forest and stumble upon a cursed graveyard inhabited by ghouls - sweet!

Day 5: The party had a tough fight against the ghouls but decide to keep looking for the temple.
Roll to see if they become lost. Result is "6" so they find their way as intended.
Roll d6 to see how many spaces they move on the In Track. Result is "4" so they move space to space #2 on the In Track.
Roll d6 to see what they encounter. Result is "1" so they encounter a Monster. Rolling a d12 results in the party encountering a group of Warriors sworn to protect the forest and rid it of orcs. Unfortunately, the reaction roll goes poorly and the party is in another fight. Rolling for Terrain results in the fight happening around a ravine surrounded by forest. Rolling for treasure shows that the Warriors were likely just on patrol as they have no treasure. Day ends.

Day 6: The party has to decide if they continue or turn back. If they continue, they are close to the temple and will likely find it. If they turn back they will work their way back down the Out Track using the same methodology.

Of course, this process could be deviated from at any point. For instance, if the reaction roll with the Warriors had gone well they may have been able to show the party the way to the temple in return for helping them fight the orcs.

Also, one reason why I like a random process such as this is it gives me quick results and lots of opportunities to use my imagination for "what if" ideas. For instance, what if one of the ghouls was a former cleric of a nature god? Maybe the god is now angry that the former servant has been destroyed or maybe they are happy that the foul abomination has been removed from the forest. Or what if the ghouls were former priests at the forgotten temple? Maybe they have something that could be helpful when the party finds the temple.

Of course, this same process could be used with a hexmap but I wanted to try something different.