Hi all!
tldr: I want a very open, travel/exploration based medieval "frontier" kind of game. I want advice on how to capture that feeling, and on some mechanics like "fast-travelling" and resource gathering hooks.
The Long of It:
I am building a new campaign, with the feel of the campaign inspired by the Borderlands game series. The basic idea will be a wild, frontier-like setting with few scattered pockets of civilization and lots of land filled with bandits and monsters. The general plot hasn't been decided yet, exactly, but the general mechanics will revolve around the party exploring, searching out ancient portals that need to be activated, and gathering resources for personal gain and to activate the portals.
The game will be very open. The players will map as they go, and each region will have its own specific terrain challenges and creatures. As they level and progress they will be required (or choose to) go back to same regions many times (each region will be rich in some particular resource) and the enemies will always be similar, but more powerful versions will emerge (Borderlands equivalent of "Bad Ass" and elemental forms, etc).
Due to the open nature of the game, and encouragement for the players to travel a lot, I want to incorporate a travel mechanic (besides, but also including, the portals). I was thinking something like, per day of travel, they roll percent and the result determines if they are attacked. For example, less than 25% is no attack, 25-50% is a weak attack, 50-75% is a normal attack, 75-90% is hard, and 90-100% is epic. But perhaps I should make it one roll per week? Trying to think of a way to incorporate terrain challenges, maybe a second percent roll? Any other ideas here? And what about portal travel? Once they have some activated, should they just work, or should they need fuel/power each time? Can using them also be dangerous?
Finally, I want some really good reasons to need to return to areas. Think resource gathering. But what resources? Why do they need them? Fueling the portals seems a good way. Personal gain, loot, experience, etc seems another obvious choice. Perhaps I will add a crafting system that requires resources? Thoughts?
I want any thoughts and advice you have for this idea. Mainly, if you are a Borderlands fan, I want advice on how to capture that Borderlands feel and any ideas that come to mind. Note: this isn't a port of the game into Pathfinder, merely a Borderlands inspired campaign. So I want the general feel of Borderlands but I'm not worried about having guns or psychos or corporations or anything like that.
Thanks in advance!
If you want the random encounters to be memorable, I'd make them challenging or it will likely just be a waste of time. Easy random encounters might be cool every now and then to let the players revel in their power, but it will likely distract from the other aspects of the game.
Terrain challenges makes me think of Skill Challenges... where is that at... HERE!
If they make the checks, perhaps they find some hidden loot cache, monster nest, bandit hideout. If they don't do so well, they get ambushed, suffer injuries/disease/poison, or perhaps something else.
As far as portals go, there are lots of options here, especially story elements.
Returning to areas: Just make sure every now and then they see something that is beyond their abilities to handle at the time. Extremely high CR monster, vault with a mechanism they cannot disengage without a 'key'.
What I would do: Very infrequent random encounters with the majority being extremely difficult encounters. Fleeing is an option.
Skill Challenges for discovering secrets and hidden caches. Not all of them accessible when they find it.
Portals that serve as expedient means of travelling, but the PCs find vaults over there journey that hint at much greater potential when utilized and fueled with rare materials.
I'd probably include lots of nearly insane bandits, unscrupulous mercenary forces, and just enough pockets of civilization to make you remember that there are sane people on the planet as well.