Terrain represents the different land features and barriers inside expedition maps. Passable terrains deplete sanity to travel across: more difficult or treacherous terrain costs more sanity. Any travel leg has a base cost of 5 sanity (on standard difficulty) plus the costs associated with each hex's terrain type. Hovering over terrain reveals its type, and potential routes display their costs when charting course.
Tools & Expertise[]
Some items and perks can stack effects to greatly reduce the sanity travel cost for certain terrains. The following table indicates these particular terrains and the items/perks that affect their cost.
| Terrain | Item | Perk |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Snow | Snowshoes | Arctic Explorer |
| Desert | Water | Desert Explorer |
| Hills & Plateaus | Climbing Gear | Climber |
| Shallow River | N/A | Waterproof |
| Sulfur Swamp | Rope | Waterproof |
| Swamp | Rope | Waterproof |
| Thick Jungle | Machete | Jungle Explorer |
Passable Terrain[]
| Image | Terrain | Travel Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Beach | 1 |
|
Bushes | 1 |
|
Cactus Forest | 3 |
|
Crystal Forest | 4 |
|
Deep Snow* | 10 |
|
Desert* | 10 |
|
Drylands | 1 |
|
Frozen Plains | 2 |
|
Giant Mushrooms | 2 |
|
Giant Skeleton | |
|
Grasslands | 1 |
|
Hills* | 15 |
|
Light Jungle | 2 |
|
Pack Ice | 4 |
|
Plateau* | 25 |
|
Scorched Earth | 3 |
|
Shallow River | 4 |
|
Snow Forest | 3 |
|
Stone Forest | 3 |
|
Stone Forest (Desert) | 4 |
|
Sulfur Lake (Shallow) | 4 |
|
Sulfur Swamp* | 10 |
|
Swamps* | 10 |
|
Thick Jungle* | 8 |
*cost may be reduced by terrain-specific item or perk.
Hazardous Terrain[]
| Image | Terrain | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
|
Fire | Each hex of fire traveled on costs 10 Sanity, and has a 1-in-7 chance of killing a companion. If a companion dies, there is a 25% chance another companion will get the pyromaniac ailment. If your explorer is alone, (s)he will be killed and the game will end. |
|
Fumarole Gas | Each hex of gas traveled on reduces each of your characters' health points by 2. While not immediately deadly, this will often cause infected wounds. |
|
|
Geyser Water | All shallow water surrounding a geyser will periodically be drowned, potentially "washing away" the group, which will be moved to the nearest land and lose several items or a companion (your explorer will always survive, even if alone). |
|
Mosquito | Afflicts one humanoid companion with malaria (80% chance) or jungle fever (20% chance). Explorers and non-humanoid companions are immune. |
  |
Sand Storm | Disrupts travel and transports the group a few hexes away. Adds ~3 days to the journey. |
Note: The spreading effects such as fire and gas are also known as "sprawls".
Impassable Terrain[]
| Image | Terrain | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
|
Arctic Sea | Swallows up Pack Ice after the party travels across. Travelling in the dog sled prevents this. |
|
Chasm | The chasm shrine curse will expand outward, instantly killing the party if they don't flee fast enough. |
|
Fumarole | Periodically erupts, engulfing the surrounding area in toxic fumes that can poison the group, stealing sanity and potentially wounding or even killing companions. |
|
Geyser | Periodically erupts, drowning the surrounding Shallow Water and potentially "washing away" the group, losing sanity and items. |
|
Mountain | The mountain shrine curse will sprout dozens of impassable mountains, potentially blocking routes and even destroying locations. Can be blown up with dynamite (costs -1 Standing) |
|
Mountain Face | The mountains with a face carved on them may be hidding temples behind that you can discover by blowing up the mountain with dynamite. If you are carrying a temple pendulum, it will vibrate if there is indeed a temple inside the mountain face. |
|
Magnetic Mountain | Causes the compass to point towards it instead of the pyramid if the party travels close enough. Can be blown up with dynamite, eliminating its effect. (costs -1 Standing) |
|
River | The river shrine curse will spread outward, following the group for several days. Permanently impassable and has the same effect as geyser water if it catches the party (see above). |
|
Sulfur Lake | Always impassable. Cannot be removed. |
|
Void | The void shrine curse will spread slowly but endlessly outward, eventually swallowing the entire map and potentially killing the group. |
|
Volcano | Periodically erupts, engulfing the surrounding area in fire that steals sanity, items and can wound and even kill companions. |
Tips[]
- Plateaus and hills have the highest base sanity cost, but only to climb up them. It costs only 1 sanity per hex to travel along their peaks.
- The Impetus perk reduces the base travel cost of all travel legs by 25%
- Remember that the effects of items and perks can stack to reduce even more travel cost.
- Fire does not appear to spread onto hill terrains. This can mean traveling onto hills while a fire is actively spreading around you may buy you time.