Expeditions in the Land of the Dead (IC)
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2026 10:22 pm
The Land of the Dead is filled with bounteous wealth, and you can only gather a fraction of it from the comparative safety of your outposts. Finding more will require you to embark on expeditions, brave natural and unnatural hazards, or perhaps interact with your neighbours, as allies or targets.
Recounted here are the tales of expeditions in the Land of the Dead, quests to gain wealth for your outpost and nation. They conclude each month, with your acquired resources determined by the action taken using the below rules, though you are of course free to write posts of expeditions for other purposes, such as mapping, historical study or diplomacy! However, each month a hazard will erupt in the Land of the Dead, and your expeditions cannot overcome them without your input.
Each tile of your outpost on the map contains one branch of that outpost, and provides you with a resource. You can find the resources, which ones your nation has access to within its outpost, examples of what you can turn them into, and what your nation has in its stockpile here. If you have multiple branches of a resource, you can label them A, B etcetera.
Each month you will have the opportunity for each of your branches to Gather, Venture, Search, or Raid, described below:
Hazards have been mentioned at numerous points in these rules. They are the natural and unnatural threats and disasters that arise each month, from sandstorms and heat waves to restless spirits and Deathshroud attacks. At the start of the month an official post will be made, covering resources gained, outposts in lockdown, and the monthly hazard, with a brief description and a list of expedition types affected.
A listed expedition type will require a RP post describing how your expedition overcomes the hazard, which may come in the form of something as simple as a report:
Or something as involved as a prose account:
Recounted here are the tales of expeditions in the Land of the Dead, quests to gain wealth for your outpost and nation. They conclude each month, with your acquired resources determined by the action taken using the below rules, though you are of course free to write posts of expeditions for other purposes, such as mapping, historical study or diplomacy! However, each month a hazard will erupt in the Land of the Dead, and your expeditions cannot overcome them without your input.
Each tile of your outpost on the map contains one branch of that outpost, and provides you with a resource. You can find the resources, which ones your nation has access to within its outpost, examples of what you can turn them into, and what your nation has in its stockpile here. If you have multiple branches of a resource, you can label them A, B etcetera.
Each month you will have the opportunity for each of your branches to Gather, Venture, Search, or Raid, described below:
- Gather: The branch gathers its determined resource. This is the default, and only requires a RP post if there is a hazard that directly threatens your outpost, such as a Deathshroud Assault.
If you choose to write it out, you would say "(Resource) branch gathers its resource", e.g. "Ink branch gathers its resource" or "Ink Branch A gathers its resource". - Venture: The branch goes out to see what it can find, returning with spoils - if it can. You choose a zone from Central, Coastal, or Inland, and at the end of the month the branch returns one random resource from that zone. This will often require a RP post describing the adventure and how it overcomes the month's hazard.
To assign a branch to this purpose, you would write it like this: "(Resource) branch embarks on a (Central/Coastal/Inland) venture", e.g. "Ink branch embarks on an Inland venture". - Search: Two branches collaborate to find a particular resource. You choose any resource from the list, and at the end of the month the two branches return one unit of that resource between them. This will always require an RP post, describing in rough or specific terms how the expedition tracks down the resource, overcoming the month's hazard.
To assign a branch to this purpose, you would write it like this: "(Resource) and (Resource) branches search for (Chosen Resource)", e.g. "Ink and Sapphire branches search for Iron", or "Ink branches A and B search for Salt". - Raid: The branch attempts to loot another outpost for its resources. You choose another nation, and at the end of the month the branch returns one of that nation's stockpiled resources at random, with resources they have greater stock of being more likely to be acquired. This is more complex than the other three options, and thus has additional rules. This always requires a RP post - if the chosen nation does not have an outpost description, the post only needs to describe how your expedition gets to the target, which will require obeying the laws of the realm (e.g. no bringing greater technology to a lower technology zone, an acknowledgement of the swift deterioration of materials brought from your nation rather than gathered within the Land of the Dead, etcetera). If the nation does have an outpost description (e.g. Guhrayen's), the RP post will additionally be required to detail how your nation overcomes its defences, paying proper respect and attention to the nation targeted. If you want to create defences for your outpost, create an outpost description thread, and if you want ideas for obstacles, you can always check out our Dungeon Delver contest!
To assign a branch to this purpose, you would write it like this: "(Resource) branch raids (target nation)", e.g. "Ink branch raids Tethys 13".
If you want to opt out of participating in raids between outposts, you can write "(your nation)'s outpost enters lockdown", e.g. "Tethys 13's outpost enters lockdown". You will be unable to raid other outposts or have yours raided starting the following month, until you choose to have it lifted by writing "(your nation)'s outpost exits lockdown", which will end the lockdown starting the following month, preventing raiding the same month your outpost exits lockdown.
Hazards have been mentioned at numerous points in these rules. They are the natural and unnatural threats and disasters that arise each month, from sandstorms and heat waves to restless spirits and Deathshroud attacks. At the start of the month an official post will be made, covering resources gained, outposts in lockdown, and the monthly hazard, with a brief description and a list of expedition types affected.
A listed expedition type will require a RP post describing how your expedition overcomes the hazard, which may come in the form of something as simple as a report:
Example
The expeditioners evaded the Deathshrouds by posing as corpses themselves, remaining still until they passed by...
Example
Murp Milquetoast held their breath, remaining absolutely still in the broken grave beside the bones of its occupant. They heard the prowling, awkward gait of the monsters move past, talons clicking on stone and bandages flapping in the dry wind. Slowly, the horrible sounds began to fade, and Murp seized the opportunity to escape the tomb and go, seeing their comrades breaking from their own cover to follow, leaving the nightmarish Deathshrouds to their morbid patrol...