Here is an elaboration on how these Wilderness tiles can work in play. Their use adds a puzzle element as Heroes create, and find the best paths to each of their destinations. I still have to decide the appropriate ratio of tiles however.
In addition to the tiles, I feel 2 decks of cards, a Settlement deck, and a Wilderness deck, with no more than 24 cards in each, will need to be added to create the thematic feel of traveling over land. Also, I decided to replace the large compass rose starting tile with a tile representing an Inn at a crossroads, and call it "Ye Olde Inn"
So here goes:
Wilderness Rules
At the Beginning of a Quest, each player places their figure on the large “Ye Olde Inn” tile. It is up to the Evil Wizard player how much of the Quest script can be shared at this time to encourage the Heroes to seek out the unknown location of the Quest, however, if the Quest contains surprise elements, save some of the Quest script details for when the Heroes actually reach the Quest location. The Evil Wizard player then places 8 random wilderness tiles adjacent to the Ye Olde Inn tile, with two tiles on each of its four sides.
The Wilderness tiles are: Plains, Desert, Forest, Swamp, Hills and Mountains.
As usual, a Hero may move, perform an action, or perform an action, then move. The following actions are available while in the Wilderness: Attack, Cast a Spell, Change Equipment, Run, Camp, Explore Wilderness (while on a wilderness tile), Visit the Armory (while in a settlement), Explore Settlement (while in a settlement), Seek Lodging (While in a settlement or Ye Olde Inn). There are no traps or secret doors the Heroes can search for in the Wilderness.
Each Hero rolls their red movement dice, and may move onto any adjacent wilderness tile.
Each wilderness tile is marked with a number; Plains = 1; Desert = 2; Forest = 3; Swamp = 4; Hills = 5; Mountains = 6.
Moving past a wilderness tile subtracts that number from the Hero’s movement roll. A Hero may pass horizontally or vertically through a wilderness tile. If no tile exists in the direction they are moving, the Hero places a random tile in the empty space. The Hero may continue to move through as many tiles, and place as many new tiles as their movement roll allows.
While a Hero is on a wilderness tile, on their turn, they may perform one of following actions:
1) Explore Wilderness. Draw one random card from the wilderness deck. (The wilderness deck contains 18-24 cards.)
2) Camp. The Hero can attempt to rest in the wilderness, restoring 1 lost Body Point and 1 lost Mind Points, however camping leaves a Hero more vulnerable to wandering monsters.
When a Hero ends their turn on a wilderness tile, they roll one combat die. A black skull means a wandering monster appears adjacent and attacks immediately. If the Hero is camping, rolling a white skull means a wandering monster appears adjacent and attacks immediately.
Each wilderness terrain type has a corresponding wandering monster: Plains = Goblin; Desert = Mummy; Forest = Skeleton; Swamp = Fimir; Hills = Zombie; Mountains = Orc.
Settlement tiles, and Quest tiles have a * indicating the movement needed to pass through them. This is determined by rolling a red die each time before the Hero rolls movement.
If a Hero end their turn on a settlement tile, no wandering monster appears. The Hero enters the settlement, and is removed from the board until they exit the settlement. An unlimited number of Heroes may enter a settlement at once. While a Hero is in a settlement, on their turn, they may perform one of the following actions:
1) Visit the Armory. Purchase and/or sell a number of items at the armory.
2) Explore Settlement. Draw one random card from the Settlement deck
3) Seek Lodging. For 25 gold coins, the Hero recovers all lost Body and Mind Points. A Hero may also seek lodging at Ye Old Inn.
If a Hero end their turn on a Quest tile, that Hero enters the Quest, and is removed from the board until they exit the Quest. However, nothing is placed on the game board, and the Quest does begin until all Heroes enter the Quest. At that time, the players place their figures at the starting point of the Quest, and listen to the Quest script as usual. The Quest now resumes according to the usual rules.
After the Heroes exit the Quest, and all return to Ye Old Inn, the Quest is then complete. Tiles are shuffled for the next Quest.