How does the party resolve multiple simultaneous encounters triggered by moving into specific hexes, and what is the precedence between quest encounters, town encounters, and overland encounters?
Official Answer
Encounter Precedence and Resolution
When the party ends its movement in a hex, it may trigger multiple possible encounters. The rulebook specifies a clear order of precedence for resolving these encounters:
-
Quest Encounter:
- These are triggered as described by the party’s current quest step in the gazetteer or by a side quest card.
- Quest encounters take precedence over town or overland encounters, meaning you must resolve the quest encounter that day rather than a town or overland encounter.
- If multiple quest encounters would trigger at the same time, guild quest encounters take precedence over side quest encounters.
-
Town Encounter:
- Triggered when the party ends its move in a town’s hex on the overland map.
- Each town is described in its own entry in the gazetteer.
-
Overland Encounter:
- Triggered when the party moves into a hex with a landmark (peaceful, conflict, or unstable).
- The type of overland card drawn depends on the landmark.
Order of Precedence (from highest to lowest):
- Quest Encounter (guild quest > side quest)
- Town Encounter
- Overland Encounter
Resolution:
- Only the highest-precedence encounter is resolved that day. Lower-precedence encounters are not resolved if a higher-precedence encounter is triggered.
Source
This answer is based on the rules found on page 34:
"Quest encounters take precedence over town or overland encounters, meaning that you must resolve the quest encounter that day rather than a town or overland encounter. If multiple quest encounters would trigger at the same time, guild quest encounters take precedence over side quest encounters."
"Town Encounter ( ): These are triggered when the party ends its move in a town’s hex on the overland map... Overland Encounter: These are triggered when the party moves into a hex with a landmark..."
Summary
- Resolve only the highest-precedence encounter when multiple are triggered.
- Precedence order: Quest (guild > side) > Town > Overland.
Source: page 34.
Source: Core Rulebook (pp. 34, 36, 38, 41, 46)