How do you place a road?

[atomicfloozy]

I have an upcoming Wandering Encounter where my group is traveling from a town to a village. When generating and placing terrain, I see that there is a road terrain type, but no clear rules on where the road is placed. Is there a general rule of thumb for placing a road in the wilderness?

Also, how do you determine if a road actually exists - perhaps the village is so remote, there's only a goat path to it.

[claudiasboris]

Does the goat path class as a road? By which I mean that the road is the general word used for the medium of travel (or line of communication); it could be a metalled road, a footpath or, as you say, a goat path.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Place as desired as long as it enters from one edge and exits on the opposite edge.

[atomicfloozy]

claudiasboris - the rules only say that a road is "well-maintained" - so a goat path might not qualify as a road as defined in the rules. I think the intention of a "well-maintained" road as a terrain piece is that it increases movement distance without having to do the Fast Move Test. It is also defined as being 4 figures wide.

So after all of the terrain has been rolled for & placed on the table, then if a road is desired it is placed on the table's edge in one section and exits the table edge in the opposite section - I.e. A road starts on the table edge in section 2 exits the table in section 8.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Yes and there are crossroads as well if you have two roads. Rr roads that end in a deadend at the Count's castle where he will...but that's another story. Or make it a dirt road 2 figures wide and count as passing 1d6 on the Fast Move Table.

[atomicfloozy]

Thanks Ed, the party has to travel to a small village looking for a missing dwarf. The village doesn't produce enough trade to warrant a well-maintained road. I like the idea of the narrower dirt roads.

[claudiasboris]

Ah, I see. Sorry. That’ll teach me to actually read the rules.

[jasonatxbs]

If I have a feature like a road or stream, I'll usually place whatever other terrain is required, then let that guide where the linear feature goes. If I deploy two hills, or a hill and a wooded area, often the road will bisect them. If I have a village area on one side of the map, then I'll have the road lead to/through the village, etc. Two hills with an impassible side? Run a ravine between them and add a bridge with a road. That'd make an interesting encounter, and with WH:AT you could actually have a troll under said bridge.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Sept 20, 2021 21:15:48 GMT atomicfloozy said:

Thanks Ed, the party has to travel to a small village looking for a missing dwarf. The village doesn't produce enough trade to warrant a well-maintained road. I like the idea of the narrower dirt roads.

I understand their problem. It's easy to overloof a Dwarf. Ba-dam bum! 

[atomicfloozy]

Ha! ha - reminds me of Moonstar overlooking Wheein and calling her a dwarf.