A Closer Look at Travel Events

18 May, 2026

Table of Contents

1. Mundane & Mysterious
2. Levers of Torment
3. Instant Effects
4. Choices
5. Problems
6. Opportunities

Overview

The game His Majesty the Worm, written by Joshua McCrowell AKA RiseUpComus, revolves around the nitty-gritty of dungeon exploration; more than just presenting a list of exploration procedures, the game is designed to evoke the “human element” of delving into depths unknown. While the need for rations and rest are common elements of the dungeon crawl experience, less common are events like getting a rock stuck in your boot or having your pack’s shoulder strap snap.

The main way Wormgame handles events like these is the Travel Event, a type of result on the game’s Meatgrinder Table (drawn from every watch). The following article is an attempt to look at the various archetypes of these Travel Events, and the possible levers a clever GM can use to both torment their players and make the world feel ever more real.

Travel Events are often considered the hardest Meatgrinder result to write, and I’d say that’s for good reason; there are tons of resources on writing interesting encounters, and it’s not hard to write a little flavor for a Curiosity. Travel events are a lot more unique and specific, and require you to write something dangerous but not deadly, impactful but not enough to be a room key. They’re tough!

So, I went ahead and catalogued all of the officially published Travel Events (and then some) in order to break them down into categories (as inspired by the excellent Anatomy of a Wormfiend). My hope is that this helps people out!

Generally, I have organized them by mechanic and type of situation. I try to offer various ideas and guidelines I’ve noticed commonly occurring in each category.

Mundane & Mysterious

Travel Events are best used to explore the experience of being a normal person, or to characterize the mysterious and dangerous elements of the dungeon that those normal people traverse.

Mundane and Plain Events

Mundane events are an excellent inclusion because they are universally applicable; many well-written mundane events could occur in just about any dungeon the guild enters. I like to think of these events as being internal, in the sense that they could happen to anyone, anywhere, rather than being driven solely by the outside magic of the Underworld.

When writing a mundane travel event, excellent sources of inspiration include… well, pretty much every minor discomfort you’ve ever experienced. Especially while taking a long walk (or even better, going for a proper hike).

• A rock in the boot.
• A frayed backpack strap, threatening to snap.
• Accidentally stepping in droppings.
• Your pack feeling poorly organized, one side much heavier than the other.
• Water leaking from your canteen, damaging papers like maps (and losing precious fluids).
• A blister forming where your clothes (heavy armor?) chafe your skin.
• Getting sick of your rations because you’ve been eating nothing but hard-tack (clackclack) for days on end and you really, really miss not having the realm’s driest fucking mouth and please dear god why won’t your buddy just SHUT HIS MOUTH when he CHEWS if he keeps this up you are going to STRAN–

Experiences such as these are important and helpful for immersion; they remind the player that their adventurer is a living, breathing human (or elf, dwarf, etc.) that has similar needs to their own. Far from being a superhuman in a world deeply unlike our own, the adventurer’s worst nightmare (perhaps after a grue, at least) is a wet sock. For a game about exploring strange and dangerous locations, mundane events like these make it feel almost cozy.

Mysterious and Magical Events

Not all events should be mundane, however; this is an adventure! And it should feel like it! And that means encountering things strange and unknown and dangerous. I think of these events as being external, in the sense that they can only really happen in the dungeon (especially that specific dungeon); they draw us out of ourselves and into a world much unlike our own.

When writing a mysterious travel event, the best source of inspiration is what you’ve already worked on: the very character of your dungeon itself, especially your room keys. You know your dungeon better than anyone else, and that means you know what sucks about it. If you know it’s full of toxic plants, then why not add a particularly nasty one as a Travel Event? Make note of every room idea you end up not using; those make perfect travel events!

• Grasping undead hands that want to tear gold from your pack (so they can pay to enter the afterlife).
• Swarms of biting fairies; it hardly hurts, but the rash will be miserable.
• A doorway has come to life and decided that being stepped through is far too intimate if it hasn’t gotten to know you yet.
• An altar with a sign demanding you offer food to the spirits, lest you waste away yourself.
• Toxic miasma fills the room, and those without proper gear (found only in the City or room 417) won’t enjoy how their lungs feel if they hang around.
• Gravity inverts a particular adventurer, who is now stuck to the ceiling. Unfortunate!
• A statue of an imp has a beautiful gem stuck in its throat. The teeth look awfully sharp (and stained quite a rusty color).

Mysterious events like these help sell the atmosphere of your dungeon; it isn’t just a series of rooms with goblins, it’s a reeking goblin warren full of rusty bits of metal. The adventurer is the player’s portal to a world more interesting and exciting than our own, even if it sometimes (often) kinda sucks. The suck is part of the fun!

Levers to Torment The Guild

What I hope you think about as you read this article (and get to the examples) isn't about just stealing the examples directly (though you certainly can and should); instead, try to strip away all of the flavor and look solely at the mechanics and how they interact. What is the difference between a curse that makes the Wounded bleed, and leeches that seek out the already Wounded? Very little, once you get to the mechanics! When in doubt, mechanics first, then flavor.

• Stress: The game’s way of representing unpleasant experiences that don’t hurt. When a character is Stressed, they are required to heal their Stress before they can heal anything else. By itself, Stress is totally harmless, but it makes the act of recovery much harder. Stress is a very common lever, and often the mildest negative effect that can be used. It’s common for Stress to be automatically suffered, and may target any number of adventurers.
  • If you want to make Stress problematic to leave unhealed, you can make an event cause Stress or something worse to the already Stressed.
• Wounds: When hurt, an adventurer can take a Wound (or Notch their armor). A PC can take a total of 5 Wounds before they hit Death’s Door. Wounds immediately alter the character’s future survivability, and they can potentially block the usage of important talents or lead to a future Challenge being much more dangerous. Wound-inflicting events often provide an opportunity to avoid the harm, especially if it targets the entire guild.
  • Piercing Wounds: Completely bypassing armor, Piercing Wounds are instantly dangerous. They generally only target one adventurer, and nigh-always offer an opportunity to avoid the harm (usually with creative play, as a problem).
  • Critical Wounds: Instantly mark the Injured condition, which is essentially a “1 HP remaining” state. Critical wounds are incredibly rare and require heavy warning. A character taking proper precautions should have no risk of a Critical Wound.
• Inventory: An adventurer’s gear is important; they use tools to help exploration, rations to recover when camping, and all sorts of things like medicine or potions to recover or gain special abilities. Bringing harm to an adventurer’s inventory can range from devastating (the last torch) to forgettable (loss of an extra dagger). Automatic loss of an item is relatively common for a single adventurer, while entire guilds usually have opportunities to avoid this.
  • Weapons & Armor: Fundamental for Challenges, a particular lever that can be pulled is a character’s combat gear. A weapon can be lost or Notched, while armor can need a moment to readjust. It’s rare to instantly break armor; more often, armor is Notched.
  • Light: At times, a Travel Event can force a guild’s light source(s) to flicker or otherwise be damaged. To make this more than another “Torches gutter,” this result usually prompts a choice, or rarely costs additional flickers.
  • Freebies: Offer the guild treasure, or item(s) they may want. A nice reprieve best used when the dungeon isn’t too hostile, or when it has several rival guilds that may be stashing supplies.
• Meatgrinder: Pulling on the Meatgrinder once more, perhaps to check for a flicker or encounter. Loud noises, or an opportunity that forces them to take extra time, can be avenues to use the meatgrinder in this way. Naturally, these affect the entire guild when used.
• Resolve / Lore Bids: Resources that are valuable, but don’t harm the guild to lose; these represent a loss of future benefit more than they represent instant trouble. As Resolve requires a burned Bond charge to restore, it is more costly than a lore bid. Relatively few Travel Events interact with these mechanics, but there’s quite a lot of room to experiment with them via choices and opportunities. These generally target one adventurer, and may have room to avoid them (but can just as easily target the entire group or have no way to avoid - rarely both).
• Bonds: These drive Worm’s recovery system; without charged Bonds, it is (mostly) impossible to restore Resolve or heal from Wounds. Bonds are charged and burned, and therefore opportunities with them are two-fold. Adventurers can be allowed to charge Bonds, or have charged Bonds burnt with no return value. These will often target 2 adventurers (as one would expect).
• Navigation Trouble: Interfering with the guild’s ability to navigate freely, be it exploration of the current room, backtracking, or moving into an adjacent room. These are often presented as a problem, but may also exist as an opportunity. A rare (but fun) kind of navigation trouble can be forcible relocation to a different room. By nature, these events tend to target the entire guild. Including a lot of them characterizes your dungeon as difficult to navigate, perhaps having ruined architecture or an obscene number of traps (that aren’t consistently set).
• Narrative: Dungeons often have characters to talk to, factions to interact with, and the adventurers themselves likely have contracts or quests that relate to the dungeon they're exploring. You can always make the consequence totally narrative!
• Boons & Banes: A catch-all term for any lingering effect that isn’t one of the above. More often than not, these tend to be presented as an opportunity or a problem. There is a lot of variety here, but examples include…
  • Gaining favor or disfavor.
  • Suffering a Malediction effect (or god forbid, a Maleficence effect).
  • Interacting with the card stacks - earning a freebie card, shuffling the deck, and so on.
  • Being struck by an affliction
  • Locking off part of the sheet, such as a motif. It must be changed, or completely scratched out for a time.
  • Providing access to a talent (for training or free uses of it), or rarely providing/removing XP (use extremely sparingly; best as Choices).

Types of Travel Event

In many cases, the differing types of Travel Events are defined solely by the harm they cause; this is especially common with things that apply instantly with minimal interaction (such as Stress). I’ve loosely categorized them below in a way that makes sense to me (and hopefully to you)!

Instant Effect

The Instant Effect type of Travel Event is relatively plain, and are briefly described in the paragraph above. An instant effect event immediately causes a specific effect to happen, with minimal direct room for interaction or player creativity. They are mechanically simple and a little boring (but boring can be good at times), and often exist as an “advanced curiosity,” that is essentially unavoidable. The severity of them determines the number of targets, but Stress and Inventory trouble is common enough for groups. Serious harm should rarely be used here.

• Cold water drips from the ceiling down the spine of the adventurer in the front of marching order (become Stressed.)
• The entire guild is swarmed by biting, stinging insects (the entire guild becomes Stressed).
• The guild accidentally trods on sacred art created by the Olmfolk priests; they'll be angered when the guild next encounters their people.
• An adventurer’s pack snagged on a branch several rooms back; they realize they’ve lost a random pack item. Backtracking can recover it.
• Fleeting visions of false realities lead the adventurer with the lowest Cups to suffer headaches and a foggy mind (lose 1 Lore Bid).
• An adventurer's pack keeps getting hung up on random objects; they become Stressed. If already Stressed, they angrily toss an item that keeps getting caught up; they're sick of it!
• If the adventurers have the dungeon's heat set to "High," they all begin to sweat; each has a ration go bad. If it was set to "Low," then all liquid items carried by the guild freeze solid.
  • As you can see, it is possible to have the dungeon's current state factor into the outcome of an event. You could also use Season, Water Level, Holy VS Unholy, or even what the dominant faction is.

Instant Effect (w/ Room to Avoid)

Some instant effect events allow for an opportunity to avoid the harm or discomfort; the exact method may differ. What’s important is that this type of event is essentially binary and provides minimal room for player interactivity; it always happens, and the only outcomes are “you experience it,” or “you don’t experience it (as much).” The more dangerous the poor outcome, the easier the method to avoid it should be (or the fewer adventurers it should target).

Generally, the more specific the trigger for the negative effect, the more likely you should write it to affect the entire guild (if it only affects dwarves, and it randomly selects 1 non-Dwarf member, that can be lame).

Attribute Checks

Attribute checks are especially binary, and can take the form of either a test or checking the attribute’s actual value. I suggest tests be the more common of the two, as checking an attribute directly in this context can feel arbitrary (attributary :^).

• The chandelier hanging above suddenly snaps from the ceiling, shattering when it hits the ground; each guild member must test Pentacles or take 1 Wound.
  • For a single adventurer, perhaps they take 1 Piercing Wound on a failure, and 1 Wound on a successful test (as the glass slices them up anyway).
• A sweet song fills the air, tempting the adventurers to wander towards it. Anyone with Wands 1 or 2 feels Controlled to investigate.
  • A better one may be “anyone with Wands 1 or 2 must test Wands” as it still allows a chance of success.
  • Targeting adventurers specifically on their bad stats can lead to bad feelings at the table if not done carefully. My suggestion is to minimize the serious harm that comes from such things, lest you be picking on someone for a low stat.
• A ridiculously strong wind blows through, threatening to grab the guild and throw them around. The guild must make a group test of Swords (to hold on tight); on a failure, they're thrown to room 117 of the dungeon.
• When a random adventurer next pulls an item from their pack, they are attacked by a weak, pathetic vampire-spawn. Test Swords or take a Wound as they try to dispatch it.
  • This is almost like a Challenge, but the enemy is simply too weak to actually have a whole Challenge phase!

Gear Check

Gear checks look to see what an adventurer is carrying (or isn’t carrying). The binary outcome is determined based on things like the presence of anti-magic armor, holding fragile items such as glass, and so on. Gear checks can make for a good opportunity, by rewarding adventurers who are well-equipped. When it leads to serious harm, however, the threats should be defined by the dungeon itself (providing advance warning).

• An aura of magical hatred washes over the adventurer last in marching order; they become Cursed (as Malediction) if they aren’t wearing metal armor.
  • Alternatively, a heatwave threatens to cook the guild alive. Adventurers who are wearing metal armor become Stressed as they boil in their own suit.
• Dark energies permeate the room from remains of necromantic rituals; characters who aren’t carrying religious paraphernalia must test Wands or uncharge a Bond (as the unholy strains their connections).
  • Alternatively, characters who are carrying religious paraphernalia are compelled to kneel before an idol, burning a candle (or other light source) in the god’s honor.
• A foul-smelling gas begins to pour into the room through a crack in the ground; the adventurer carrying the light source has a moment to snuff the torch or toss it before the flames ignite the gasses (and the adventurer is lit on Fire).
  • Alternatively, spores puff from mushrooms and fill the room. A torch’s flame protects whoever is holding one (though it consumes 2 flickers), while anyone without suffers an affliction.
• The Lair of the Hog God punishes those who dare carry the Holy Parts of Swine; any adventurers carrying Lard immediately suffer from a random Weald maleficence.
• The Holy Citadel of the Forgotten Angel houses a relic of immense magical power, but the dungeon refuses to give it up easily; it is full of warnings about the dangers of taking it. If someone in the guild is carrying the relic, they are smote by holy flame and take a Critical Wound.
  • Alternatively, the relic wants to be freed. If no one is currently holding the relic, it appears on a pedestal in the current room.

Other Ideas

• Kindred Check: Cold iron, anathema to elves, is embedded in the walls of the current room. Any elves in the guild immediately become Stressed.
  • Or all elves must test Swords or take 1 Wound!
  • Alternatively, one random human in the party notices the remains of one of their house members, desecrated and destroyed. They lose 1 Resolve.
• Motif Check: The architecture of this room is horrible. It makes absolutely no sense. Anyone with a motif relating to architecture is overcome by madness trying to understand it, and suffers an affliction.
• Stress Check: A ghost floats through the room, sniffing out the scent of human desperation and fear. Anyone currently Stressed feels it sapping their memories away, stealing away 1 motif until they clear Stressed.
  • Alternatively, it savors the Stressed, and torments the relaxed; anyone who isn’t Stressed suffers 1 Wound.
• Condition Check: The cosmic scale shifts balance in the dungeon; those who are Injured heal that condition, while those who aren't take 1 Piercing Wound.
  • The waters of the room are warm and soothing, and they coaxe out the blood of all who enter it. Anyone already suffering from a Wound must test Swords or take 1 Piercing Wound as their blood floats away.

Choices

Some Travel Events require the guild (or a member of the guild) to make a choice. These events are still (often) binary, but allow for some creativity and decision-making. Because choices allow the adventurer direct control over the situation, they are a fine method of pressuring the guild. While most travel events can prompt a decision, these travel events force a decision to be made.

These are an easy inclusion; you will never suffer from having too many choices on your Meatgrinder table. Instead, you’re free to focus on the variety of choices (rather than the variety of results).

Obvious Choices

Obvious choices are simply choices where the two primary options are clear; these are best used when both options are bad and of relatively equal value. The current circumstance will determine what an adventurer values more (their gear or their health?), leading to a fun and variable dynamic.

• The adventurer in the rear of marching order steps onto a magnetic plate that holds them down; a timer begins to tick down, marking when the magnet disables. They can wait it out (and draw on the Meatgrinder) or strip off all of their metal items to free themselves (and come back for them later).
• A dark cloud floats into the room, settling onto an adventurer who isn’t holding a light source. Another adventurer can burn it away by spending 2 flickers of a torch, or the person can be left with it (and become Exhausted).
• Water rushes into the room, threatening to sweep the guild away. Everyone must test Swords to hold onto something; on a failure, they must choose between being slammed into a wall (and taking 1 Wound) or spending 1 Resolve to summon up the will to hold on tight.
• Clouds of biting insects swarm over the adventurer with the lowest Swords; they’re allergic! They can drop all their items (breaking fragile ones, putting out light sources) to protect themselves, or take a nasty affliction.
• A random adventurer twists their ankle. They can keep walking on it (and be unable to Dash or Dodge in a Challenge), or take a moment to recover (and draw on the Meatgrinder to check if torches gutter).
  • This is essentially a delayed choice, where the choice must be made, but doesn’t have to be made in the moment. These are an interesting way to cause pressure and work well, especially when supplies are dwindling or time is of the essence.
• The adventurer carrying the most items begins to feel something in the pack digging into their back; they suffer disfavor on Cups tests to notice things as the discomfort distracts them (until they decide to stop and spend a watch reorganizing their pack).
• A random adventurer is beginning to get really, really frustrated by their guild; they can either uncharge 1 Bond to take it out on a companion, or become Stressed as they hold it in.
• The way ahead is blocked by a magical darkness that seems to consume light itself. The guild can proceed through it, but only at the cost of 2 flickers.

Some choices can double as an opportunity, but still exist in a binary state like this. In order for the choice to not be obvious, there should be a downside to the opportunity. Alternatively, make them a choice between two opportunities!

• A massive, ugly insect latches onto the leg of a random adventurer. It also happens to be rare and surprisingly easy to sell for a high price. The adventurer can leave it on (and suffer Stressed), or dig it out then and there (and take 1 Wound, ruining the value).
• Any dwarves in the guild have the opportunity to spend time praying to the Shrine of the Holy Boulder (and receive favor on their next test of fate), or earn the boulder’s ire (and be cursed to be pelted by rocks).
• A gnome is chained to the GnomeCrusher9000, and will soon be crushed. If an adventurer sticks their hand into the (obviously plastic) cogs, they'll take 1 Piercing Wound and break the machine, saving the gnome. Or they can just let the gnome be crushed (angering the gnome faction on this floor).
• An adventurer finds they're on the last swigs of their delicious ale; they can savor it themselves (and gain 2 Resolve), or provide it to 1 ally (the two charge their bonds).

Secret Choices

One particular lever that can be interesting to pull here is the unknown. The adventurers do not always need to know they are making a meaningful choice; you present the event as optional to engage with, but refusing to do so leads to a worse punishment. Alternatively, the two choices are obvious, but one of them leads to a positive outcome. I suggest secret choices provide hints if a secret outcome is particularly brutal; proper signposting is key, even if the specifics are hidden.

• A tiny voice sounds out of a little hole in the wall, demanding 1 ration. (And if they don’t feed it, mice burrow into their packs to steal a ration from everyone).
• A stone guardian in the room demands that the guild offer “each a drop of blood, or each knowledge of their names.” Offering blood inflicts 1 Wound, while simply sharing their name actually steals it away; they become nameless.
• The door forward requires an adventurer to stick their hand into a medical device; of the two options, one has a little needle, and one has a huge one dripping green. They deal 1 Wound and 1 Piercing Wound, respectively (but the longer needle has medicine, and that adventurer finds themselves fully healed later).
• A mural of a city (way too familiar, uncomfortably familiar) adorns the wall; anyone in the guild is free to spend a lore bid to check it out. However, doing so inflicts an affliction; they are pulled to that city, and must resist its draw lest they lose themselves to it.
  • Alternatively, anyone who doesn't spend a lore bid takes an affliction, as the absence of knowledge eats away at their brain. If they'd just looked, nothing would have happened!
• The magical tree-heart the guild carries begins to whisper softly to the adventurer who holds it in their pack; no one else can hear it. If they perform a ritual (that'll cost 100g and hurt greatly), they'll unlock the secrets of the Weald (and gain its spellcasting talent as an in-path talent).

Problems

I like to call the more intricate Travel Events problems. They’re puzzles to be solved, more open-ended, and allow the guild to express their creativity. They may begin with an instant effect or require a choice, but then are let loose to solve the problem themselves. Another feature of the problem is that they can be optional; a navigation hazard is a common type of problem. A good method of creating a problem is making sure it finishes off with a question without a binary solution.

In my opinion, problems should be a common type of travel encounter (with more complex or potentially damaging ones being less so). Problems require creativity to solve, and creative problem-solving is as core to the ethos of Wormgame as… uh… nothing? Because creative problem-solving is probably #1. However, overuse of problems can lead to exhaustion; the guild needs easy scenarios too, lest every room become a puzzle to solve.

• If the adventurer in the front fails a test of Cups, they overlook a pit trap and slip inside (taking 1 Piercing Wound from the drop). How do they get back out?
• A dark relic in the room’s center exudes an aura that instantly sickens an adventurer who approaches; they take an affliction. However, the best route forward lies behind it. How does the guild disable the relic (or do they just rush past it)?
  • Alternatively, the guild can just leave the room entirely and try again later. Who said they needed to take the best pathway?
• The guild’s sorcerer notices a golem following them. Every time they cast a spell, it moves closer to them. It moves continuously when they concentrate. How do they avoid this golem? And what happens when it catches up to them?
• Brambles overgrow the path; the guild must each test Pentacles or get caught up in it, their packs being wrapped up in thorns. How do they get their packs out without ripping them open (if anyone even fails)?
• Gravity inverts for the guild; they all hit the ceiling. There appears to be an orb focusing the gravitational magic set in the center of the floor; someone who gets down there will be able to disable it (but everyone still on the ceiling will fall and take 1 Piercing Wound without precautions).
  • Alternatively, maybe they prefer being stuck on the ceiling? Maybe they remember the previous room had gems set in the high, high ceiling?
• The ground shakes, and a chasm splits the cavern ahead in two. How will the guild cross?
• The guild encounters a paradoxically heavy portcullis; that is to say, an adventurer adds the difference between their Swords and 4 to their Swords test to lift it. The weakest find it nigh-effortless. (4 Swords = +0; 1 Swords = +3).
• The adventurer with the lowest Wands must test Wands or become possessed by a hungry ghost and become compelled to EAT EAT EAT. How does the guild exorcise their friend, if they can even find a way to?
• The doors slam shut, and the coils in the walls begin to amp up to their maximum electrical capacity. Hair quickly begins to stand on end, and anyone who remains in metal armor will take a Critical Wound (and others may still get zapped). How do they escape?
• A feeling of fear washes across the guild as they come to realize just how deep in the dark they are, how no one will ever find them if they go missing. Everyone loses 1 Resolve unless they can find a way to keep their spirits up. How do they motivate each other?
• Nailed to the wall is a warning from the faction of akephaloi that populate the dungeon; the guild has angered them, and must present for judgment in room 605. How do they make amends?
• An odd face with a gaping maw sits carved into the stone. There’s no reason to touch it… but if they stick their hand in, it latches on and won’t let go until the guild convinces it to. How do they convince it a hand in the mouth was the polite thing to do?

Opportunities

The final category I’m going to discuss is the opportunity. An opportunity is an event that provides a positive boon to the guild, above all else. Some opportunities happen instantly, while others may require creative thinking. Some may even require the guild make a choice (and perhaps, a choice that seems harmful). Other opportunities may be a ruse and simply lead to harm!

In my personal opinion, opportunities should be the rarest - at least, unless they’re given as part of a complex choice. Too many opportunities can turn the meatgrinder into a meatsoother, and that’s not what adventure is about! It’s about suffering in the pursuit of glory, treasure, and one’s personal goals!

• A deceased adventurer lies clutching their pack, gold visibly glinting in it. The guild is free to retrieve the 100g, should they wish.
  • Alternatively, the gold can be seen glinting in the wounds if the guild looks closely; it’s not coins, it’s mimic-parasites! The coins will burrow in if they take them!
• A sword lies on a pedestal, a magical aura surrounding it. Whispers tell the guild that he who takes the sword will be cursed to die a violent death, but be a champion until he does. Taking it does exactly that.
• The adventurer in the front of marching order can Test Cups; upon a success, they notice that one of the tiles is loose in this hallway. Lifting it reveals a stash of supplies left by a rival guild (such as rations and torches).
• A shrine to the Legendary Larvae of Luck sits in the center of the room, broken down and disheveled. An adventurer who spends a watch (drawing on the Meatgrinder) repairing it can search through the minor arcana discard pile for a face card; they can keep it and replace a future challenge card with it.
• One of the doors in this room is covered in seals blocking off evil. The room is currently safe; you can Camp freely with no risk of encounter, but the door will remain sealed and locked until you force it open.
• The loud buzzing of twinkle-bees alerts the adventurers to the presence of magic honey. While their venom is nasty stuff, their honey is renowned as a panacea for common ailments. Is it worth the possible risks of recovery?
• Holy waters flow into a basin, and a prayer on the side reads “Weakness of the Body is nothing to Strength of the Mind.” Upon drinking, an adventurer suffers -1 to their Swords and +1 to Cups or Wands (their choice). This change is permanent.
• Carved on the wall of this chamber is a map that doesn’t match the guild’s own sketches; in particular, the wall-map has several extra rooms. Perhaps these are secret rooms?
• One adventurer accidentally lets slip an embarrassing detail from their past. Who was it, and what did they do? The 'victim' and the person who had the best idea charge their bonds with each other.
• A skull sits discarded in the corner. If anyone approaches, it comes to “life,” and hops over to the adventurer. It says its name is “Hedley,” and begs to be returned to its body (which is in room 308).
• A sweet smell pervades the room; pretty flowers grow here. If the guild takes the opportunity to Camp right now, they’ll be able to clear Stressed for free.
• Should the guild solve the Riddle of the Moth-Knights, they will be gifted a silken cloak that renders the bearer safe from the Great and Unholy Light.
• As the guild walks through the ruined citadel, the adventurer carrying the most must pass a test of Pentacles. On a failure, they crash through the floor and take 1 Piercing Wound. Though climbing out seems tough, they find a stash of ancient (yet somehow preserved) rations!

Summary of Tips

1. There are more levers than just Stress and Pack Slots; travel events are an opportunity to mix-and-match the game’s mechanics and allow yourself some creativity.
2. Discarded room key ideas (couldn't flesh out enough for a whole room) make for easy travel events! Alternatively... just remove a room key (and make it empty) and use that.
3. More dangerous consequences should allow more room for avoidance, starting with tests and ending with more free-form problem-solving.
4. Choices make for interesting travel events, and Problems for even better ones. A healthy mix of simple events and complex events makes for an engaging meatgrinder.
5. Don’t be afraid to give the guild a boon. They deserve it (sometimes).

With all that said and done, I hope the article is of use to the good Wormers of His Majesty the Worm! Without the excellent travel events written by RiseUpComus and the community as a whole, this post wouldn’t be able to exist.

To leave us off, I write an overly complicated Travel Event:

• The guild encounters a floating book, hovering in the center of the room; any adventurers with Wands 3+ must test Wands to avoid being entranced by it. On a success, they must choose between spending a Resolve from the effort of resisting, or spending a lore bid (should they have a relevant motif) to represent their knowledge of this cursed book. Should they have neither, they become Stressed (and if they're already Stressed, they suffer 1 Piercing Wound). On a failure, the adventurers are Controlled to take hold of the book and spend 1 XP to gain access to the spell component it wishes to teach (but they suffer a Maleficence effect), but they can instead spend an extra XP to avoid the maleficence effect. All other adventurers must sing a song of the GM's choice; alternatively, they may spend 3 flickers each in order to burn their eyebrows off (taking disfavor on checks to make positive impressions) and thereby lose the attention of the book.

Happy Worming, all!

#Analysis #HisMajestytheWorm #TravelEvents