Available now on DrivethruRPG is Treasure Hunter Adventures 6: Expeditions & Excavations. This supplement presents advanced statistics for scout characters; a new archetype, the Technician; rules for drones and other gear; suggestions for adapting the 7 Ps of plot design for long-term treasure hunts; a new adventure location, the dig site; four new hazards; and four destinations that are prizes in and of themselves.
-Nate
THA6: Expeditions & Excavations
Here are rules for mudslides and avalanches, one of four new hazards presented in Treasure Hunter Adventures 6: Expeditions & Excavations.
-Nate
Avalanche/Landslide/Mudslide
These might be caused by an accumulation of snow that has piled up in a precarious way, or when heavy rain or an earthquake or volcanic eruption shakes loose dirt and rocks. However it happens, heroes caught in this predicament can take the following actions.
When this event occurs, there's no real choice but to be carried away by it.
After things have settled, the heroes must make Survival or Smarts in order to regain their orientation—that is, to figure out which direction is up.
With that in mind, the heroes must then make Athletics checks to dig out from it, with a -2 penalty for mud or dirt and rocks. This can be handled like a dramatic task (SWADE pages 122-3), with suffocation being the result if they are not successful.
Of course, other heroes can assist, as long as they were not themselves caught up in the hazard. In such a case, they should be handled as if they are working on their own dramatic task, with Notice checks to find the victim being the first necessary step.
As the first preview for Treasure Hunter Adventures 6: Expeditions & Excavations, here is a relic, the Fountain of Youth. This touches on the fact that prizes for undertakings of this nature--ones that require longterm treks through the wilderness, or extended exploration of specific sites--are often the locations themselves.
-Nate
The Fountain of Youth
Throughout history there have been several legends regarding magic waters that could restore youth to a person, mentioned by authors such as Herodotus (484-425 BCE) and Sir John de Mandeville (died 1383 CE). Perhaps the most famous involves the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, who first visited the Americas with the second expedition of Christopher Columbus (1493 CE). He heard rumors of a spring with such waters, and based on them led expeditions into what is now southern Florida. At first these focused on exploration (1513), but eventually the goal became establishing a settlement (1521). It was during this last expedition that the Spaniards ran afoul of the native Calusa people; during one battle, Ponce de Leon was injured and later died. He was buried in Puerto Rico.
Game Information
The Fountain of Youth has the following attributes.
Drinking the waters of the Fountain remove the Elderly (Major) Hindrance.
At the GM's discretion, the water could also remove conditions that are caused by old injuries, such as those from the Injury Table (SWADE 95).
There's now a scenario available on D&D Beyond that acts as a preview for the new Spelljammer book; it's called Spelljammer Academy.
-Nate
Here's another novel that could inspire adventures in a supernatural world of the late 1880s.
-Nate
Fury from the Tomb
This novel was a surprise discovery during a visit to my local library; it has been withdrawn from circulation, and therefore added to the shelf of books that are for sale. The title caught my eye, so I skimmed it and was immediately hooked. In fact, it provides a great example of a globe-trotting adventure that starts in Egypt and ends up in the Wild West, and thus is quite right for inspiring adventures in the world of The Sixth Gun and Shadow Roads.
In previous posts I mentioned that the language in Territory was highly formal, while in Dr. Potter's Medicine Show it was downright vulgar. This novel's tone finds a nice middle ground, being generally formal with intermittent color from the bounty hunter.
I like the characters in this novel, too. They have their flaws, of course, but in the end they are all likable. In fact, I look forward to seeing more of them in the sequel, The Beast of Nightfall Lodge, and I wonder if there will be more in the series.
The plot feels in may ways like it was planned for a series of RPG sessions. There are some great set-piece encounters, including ones in an Egyptian tomb, aboard a train, in a desert monastery, and eventually in a mine wrongfully believed to be abandoned.
S.A. Sidor, the author, does a great job of creating atmosphere in those scenes. The descriptions are vivid, and I can imagine being the player who hears them and then needs to decide how my character will react to them.
