“Into the Open” on Sale

A thunderstorm approaching across the plains

As the hot sun of August beats down on the rolling fields, we have a question: as a Game Master, what do you do when your player characters spend days riding (or walking) through miles of ‘open terrain’? Do you just skip over it because “there’s really nothing there” or do you give them the feel of those wide open spaces?

To help liven that travel, check out “Bits of the Wilderness: Into the Open” by Tabletop Adventures. This book has over 180 descriptions of grasslands and rolling hills and can show the player characters (and the GM) that the terrain may be ‘open’ but it isn’t empty!

So many covered wagons traveled across the plains in the same tracks, that their marks are still visible on the prairie over 150 years later.

Also included is an article by a professor of ecology who is also a roleplayer, on different types of grassland and how the plains of North America are similar to and different from (for example) the savannas of Africa.

Not only is the writing good, but this concentration on sensory descriptions was a fairly new concept when “Into the Open” was published. In fact, it was nominated for an ENnie Award in the category “Best Electronic Book” in that year!

Sun and clouds in the sky.