Last Odyssey

Travel Services

The world of Last Odyssey is vast and dangerous, and there is often demand among its denizens for safer forms of travel than risking a journey on foot. Merchants and suppliers for important settlements will travel together in caravans, and are often willing to hire the Heroes on as protection. People with money and means will often make use of transit services, which will protect their passengers from danger and greatly speed up travel in exchange for a fixed sum of money per ride. GM</abbr>s who want to further fill out the overworld can connect certain nodes together by these additional forms of travel to determine when players are able to make use of them.

Caravans

The economic survival of towns and cities is dependent on traveling merchants. Because of the prevalence of bandits and other dangers, merchants will often band together into caravans that follow fixed routes between major settlements. While Heroes are traveling with a caravan, they will be paid for their services. The salary each Hero collects per path traveled with a caravan is equal to 100 ¤ multiplied by their current tier. Every caravan will also have 1d4 other allies traveling with them that will fight alongside the Heroes during warrior encounters. Heroes interested in linking up with a caravan will find news of them at markets, in taverns, at city gates, and anywhere else that hired swords typically gather.

Each day of travel while the party is following a caravan is represented by a travel round. However, there are a few modifications to each phase. During the Navigation Phase, the players do not have to pathfind. During the Encounter Phase, any natural hazards will be handled by the caravan leaders, and thus will not require the players to spend Supplies in order to cross safely. Finally, during the Camping Phase the players will still be expected to use their own Supplies in order to properly rest. However, they will not have to take the Cook or Shelter actions in order to rest, but are still free to take any other camping actions they’d like to. Camping with a caravan is also a chance for players to Gossip, since caravan leaders will be especially well-versed on the dangers of their particular route.

Traveling with a caravan is highly advantageous. However, the drawback is that valuable goods tend to make an enticing target for roving warriors. While traveling along a path with a given caravan, the danger rating of the path counts as twice the value it would have if the players were to traverse it alone. This can bring the danger rating of the path above 5.

Caravan Creation

To create a caravan, the GM should walk through the following steps:

  1. Determine route. To save money and time, caravans will travel between the most profitable towns. Caravans with very long routes will have at least one designated path they could hire the party to accompany them on in a particular direction.
  2. Calculate the payout. This is equal to the number of paths they will accompany the caravan on multiplied by 100 multiplied by the current tier for each individual Hero. The salary for the players will generally be paid out at the end of each path.
  3. Generate 1d4 allies of the appropriate level. There will be a mix of Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert allies for every caravan.
  4. Outline the personalities and goals of the caravan leaders. Are they hard-bitten, or idealistic? What goods are they taking along with them, and to where? Are they generous when paying the Heroes, or do they need to be reminded?

Transit Services

Long journeys between major settlements or journeys across otherwise impassable regions are handled by transit services, which are vehicles or large creatures owned and operated by companies that take a fixed fee to ferry passengers between nodes. Transit services cover riverboats, airships, marine vessels, and the like. To make use of a transit service, Heroes just need to pay the fee, which depends on the danger rating of the route being followed. Safe passage will cost 500 ¤ per person per ride, while a route with a danger rating of 1 will cost 100 per person per ride and a danger rating of 2 will cost 50 ¤ per person per ride. Danger ratings higher than 2 are unprofitable, and transit services will not be available in this case.

Transit services whose routes take longer than a day will handle all accommodations for the Heroes. Resting during this time counts as resting in a tavern, and players will not need to spend Supplies in order to be fed or properly sheltered. They are also totally unable to take any actions normally associated with a travel round. The only thing the GM needs to do each day is cast the encounter die; if the result corresponds to a warrior encounter based on the danger rating of the path, the players will have to help fend one off. Otherwise, days spend in transit are uneventful, and a good chance for Heroes to Gossip with passengers.

Transit Service Creation

To create a new transit service, the GM should walk through the following steps:

  1. Determine the route the service follows, including how long it will take to ride it. Typical travel times range from 1 day up to a week.
  2. Determine the danger rating and cost of using the service. Service routes with a danger rating higher than 0 are rare, and this is typically due to extenuating circumstances or because the location is particularly remote.
  3. Outline the personalities of the Heroes’ traveling companions. What is the crew of the vehicle like? What about the passengers, and the captain? GMs should also think about what the Heroes’ traveling companions might know in case they decide to Gossip.