Travel as ROOM

25 Jul, 2026

This post suggests running travel as a ROOM.¹

Please note I'm going for the soggiest framework possible (as opposed to crunchy).

0.

5 years ago, Dael Kingsmill made a video on the difference between travel and exploration in TTRPGs. I'll reframe it slightly for the purposes of this post:

• To travel: to go from point A to point B.
  • Even when the exact destination is unknown, PCs know the general area they must poke about in.
• To roam: to search an area, looking for discoveries.

Let's focus on travel for now.

1.

If a journey is safe and uninteresting, there is nothing wrong with narrating it before placing the characters in front of a dungeon.

You wade through deep snow in the Valley of the Elders, a cold and arid region. Rocky mountains surround you, and for a few hours a day you see the sun shining a little brighter in this part of the world.
It's been four days, but you've made it to the Gates of the Ice Giant's Fortress...

Passing grade, but it does the job. In terms of ROOM structure, it has a name (Valley of the Elders), a general descriptor (cold and arid) and a detail (brighter sun). The exit is the transition to the next room, the entrance of the dungeon.

2.

But we can add some interactables to this.

These are elements encountered at some point throughout the journey. The order in which the interactables are presented or dealt with is not chronological.

You wade through deep snow in the Valley of the Elders, a cold and arid region. Rocky mountains surround you, and for a few hours a day you see the sun shining a little brighter in this part of the world.

Throughout your journey you've spotted several watchtowers built into the mountains.

You've also discovered that an ice cliff blocks your way. The climb is steep and dangerous. You could go around it, but it would cost you a day's journey.

For days you've known a huge humanoid figure stalks you from a distance. You've heard its roar. The primitive message gets across: "Out of my valley".

Do you press on, or stop somewhere?

3.

The travel-room template:

• Description (general + detail).
• 0—3 interactables
   - opportunity
   - obstacle/hazard
   - encounter

Here's what I like about this:

• Since the really good stuff is the journey destination, we keep the resolution of each interactable short.
• We can establish different categories for these interactables:
  • Push-your luck side-tracks (like the watchtowers, these offer rewards at a cost)
  • Navigational dilemmas
  • Open-ended obstacles and hazards
  • Encounters (social, hostile or TBD)
  • ... and more?
• It requires prep, but way less than a hex- or pointcrawl.

4.

I should say, I've recently adopted this premise: rather than tracking all consumables, the players have a wagon that carries as much as they need for the journey.

Whatever rations and torches they carry themselves are extra- the delving equipment to be used upon arrival to the dungeon. This is what we can tax during travel.

Reach out

#rooms