Taiga (RWG)

Taiga-based environments are vast wooded landscapes that blanket the northern regions of the world, distinguished by a dense canopy of coniferous trees. Beneath the trees lies a somewhat barren undergrowth consisting of a thick layer of decomposing pine needles and leaves. Amidst this carpet are some low-lying bushes and ferns that provide less forage than is typical. The taiga experiences harsh weather conditions, including cold winters with heavy snowfall. Navigating through deep snowdrifts can be physically demanding and exhausting. Additionally, the weather can change rapidly, increasing the risk of exposure to the elements. Winters are long and brutally cold, with sometime temperatures that amount to polar conditions as cold as the heart of Antarctica.

Happenstance Table

result	terrain relief
	flat	low hills	middle hills	low mts.	high mts.
animal sign	01-06	01-08	01-07	01-03	01-02
animal trail	07-11	09-13	08-10	04	—
bog	12-17	14-16	11-12	05	—
dungeon	18	17	13-14	06-07	03-05
encampment	19	18	15	—	—
fishing	20-25	19-23	16-18	08	—
footpath	26-27	24	—	—	—
forage	28-37	25-29	19-20	09	—
fresh water	38-40	30-34	21-23	10-11	06-07
friend	41-42	35	24	12	—
game	43-45	36-38	25-28	13-15	08
grazer	46-55	39-43	29	16	—
hazard	56-57	44-48	30-35	17-25	09-25
monster	58	49-51	36-39	26-30	26-29
next hex	59-66	52-63	40-52	31-53	30-57
orientation	67-74	64-73	53-76	54-83	58-91
predator	75-79	74-80	77-85	84-89	92
sacred place	80	81	86	—	—
shelter	—	82-83	87-88	90-92	93-96
tool use	81-84	84-86	89-91	93-94	97
waterway	85-99	87-99	92-99	95-99	98-00
wildfire	00	00	00	00	—

Wilderness

Characters who find themselves in the taiga's wilderness, where no formal infrastructure exists, would do best to have certain skills such as foraging, hunting, pathfinding and catch fishing in their arsenal, for the distances between civilised parts are quite far. The isolation and emptiness of untamed taiga mean that any journey requires careful preparation and a keen sense of the right things to do and in what order. Before stumbling across an actual community or even a lone trapper, it's more likely the players might find themselves in a "hinterland," a transition zone between a true wilderness and a marginally settled area.

Happenstance

Regardless of what the characters may wish to accomplish, they must submit to a random roll upon the happenstance table shown, which dictates that the characters must be evaluating their immediate surroundings, within about 800 yards, even if they've chosen to stay put. Results may threaten or provide benefits for the characters, including the possibility of their getting lost or killed by various means. Some degree of interpretation must be employed by the dungeon master, as the world is complex and in some cases, it may not be easy to explain why a particular creature, place or thing has appeared for the players at this moment. Guidelines to help with this are provided below.

Animal sign. This is evidence of a natural-animal presence, including indicators such as tracks, droppings, nests, burrows, claw marks on trees, feeding marks on plants, fur caught on or the distant sound of the animal. The specific animal can be rolled for on those tables provided below, but unless the characters have knowledge of that animal, it would be impossible for them to definitely identify it from its tracks. Those skilled in tracking can make use of this skill, while hunters receive a +6% bonus if trying to locate (see "agency," below).