Your party is in Stygia, looking for a crucial clue to solve one leg of the campaign. They get the clue, and they’re headed for the Necropolis of Chicago. So, how are they getting there?

In many campaigns I’ve been in (and run), said party goes to the nearest Ferryman, pays a few oboli, and gets ferried straight to their destination, perhaps with a few Tempest encounters along the way. Yay.

By ignoring the journey within a campaign, a Storyteller is missing out on a big opportunity for adventure. A wraithly road trip might be a bit overwhelming for newbies, but for seasoned vets, it can become an adventure of its own. Storytellers can create suspense, gather a party, or create opportunity for player characters. An entire character could even be based on a mode of transportation. There’s certainly no shortage of transportation in the underworld, but it would appear few people make use of it. The core rule book mentions cars are in use in the Shadowlands. And what about the Midnight Express? Agatha Christie set an entire suspense book on a train…why can’t the Storyteller set a chapter of a campaign?

Let’s take a look at getting around in the Shadowlands, and how it can add punch to a story.

When you say “River of Death,” most everyone thinks of the mythological Charon, not to be confused with the wraith Charon. An ancient, skeletal old man in a black robe, holding out a decaying hand for coins to pay the fare. He then pushes off the bank, and slowly guides the tiny boat deep into the thick fog. Spectres howl around the boat, occasionally lunging at the people aboard...

Been there, done that. There’s a lot more than just ferries drifting through the waterways, folks. The Haunts book gives an excellent case for trade ships, pleasure cruisers, and pirates moving about the Sunless Seas. Why can’t a party stow away in the Skeletal Lord’s private yacht to get to their destination, only for it to be keel hauled by pirates? Maybe one of your party members owns a supply boat, and needs to make a delivery on time before one of his fetters is crushed into nothingness; the only thing between him and a Harrowing is a brewing Maelstrom.

Perhaps there’s even a few wraith cruise ships. What wraith wouldn’t save up their oboli for a trip on the recently “restored” Titanic? Perhaps a cruise ship gets caught in the middle of two warships that act like drones, perpetually re-enacting a battle. There’s more to danger in the Tempest than Spectres.

Rivers are not the only way from one Necropolis to another. The core book also mentions stable pathways going through the Tempest. If there can be a stable pathway, why can’t there be a stable highway? What about an Underworld Freeway System, linking city to city? Drive is one of a character’s basic abilities, but how often do you really use it? Here’s your chance! Characters can steal or restore a car and take a pleasant drive in the Tempest to their destination. And who knows what they’ll see along the way! Hokey roadside attractions turned relics, a small diner that exists as the secret meeting place of a Renegade group, or a maze of exits nearly impossible to navigate that could send a driver into the Labyrinth with a wrong turn are all possibilities.

Again, shipping routes come into play. Your party could be a group of outlaws raiding trucks that ship Stygian steel to other cities. They could be truckers themselves, smuggling illegal goods for favors. Wraiths could work as construction workers as a way to work through Thralldom, but watch out for errant Spectres who threaten the workers on the unfinished, unprotected highway.

And don’t get me started on the possibilities for car chases, spectacular crashes, and traffic jams caused by a Kraken eating the highway. Traveling by car can be extremely flexible for you and your players. Just put on your relic shades, turn on the Legion Classic Rock station, and start screaming down the highway...so to speak.

Page 40 of the core book also presents the possibility of travel by train. There has also been a complete guide to the Midnight Express published by White Wolf that might be worth picking up if you develop more intrest in the idea. The Midnight Express also figures heavily in the "Last Dance Macabre" campaign featured in Ends of Empire. The Midnight Express can be both a method of travel and a plot point for unwary players. Trains have long been associated with adventure, mystery, and romance, so who’s to say you can’t do the same? Escapades on a train can run from an old-fashioned murder case to an old west style shootout with a rival on the roof to an opportunity to sing with hobos in a boxcar. But watch out for tunnels, conductors, and wandering Spectres!

You probably have the idea now. Transportation can and should be more than moving characters from point A to point B. They can serve as plot points in and of themselves, as a means of plot convenience, or as a fun little side jaunt in a major chronicle. What you do with your trips are up to you and your players. Just remember to stop for bathroom breaks and souvenirs.