As I mentioned in the Council thread, I've changed my mind about the Journey rules. I think they are totally fine...for when the LM has nothing prepared and just wants to resolve something with dice rolls.I am not sure though how easy would be to come up with a satisfying event that does not becomes a main scene (especially if you need to think it on the spot)
What I intend to do, however, is have some thematically appropriate (to the adventure) Events planned out, with meaningful decision-making.
Examples (I'm including the Role and Event Type from the rules, but really prepared Events don't have to map to those rules):
Hunter/Shortcut: While stalking (animal) you notice what could be a hidden path through the (terrain). If you go back to tell the company you will lose your game. If you chase your game and come back later you might not find it. What do you do?
Mechanically it's an Explore test to find it again, or a Hunting test to avoid giving everybody Fatigue
Scout/Terrible Misfortune: The path over the (danger) is doable but risky. You can search for safer crossings, but there is a chance you will yourself have a mishap. What do you do?
Mechanics: the Scout can make an explore test. Any extra successes means that a better crossing has been found, and all companions will get +d6 equal to those successes. But a failure means (something bad) and a failure with an eye means (something really bad). This can be repeated as many times as the Scout wishes.
EDIT: Left out that all companions will have to make an Athletics test to safely pass; the Scout is looking for an easier one, represented by those +d6's.
Lookout/Despair: Something spooky happens during the night. You can wake your companions and face it together, or let them sleep and face your fears alone. What do you do?
Mechanics: a Shadow test that gets easier if you have friends to share it with, but everybody awake must make the same test.
How I like to implement these sorts of things at the table is to not tell the player(s) what the options are, but to let them first describe a possible course of action and then tell them what the mechanics are. So in the first example a player might say, "Will I be able to find the path again if I continue chasing the deer?" And I'll say, "It would take an Explore check." And the player says, "How plentiful is the game around here?" And I'll say, "This was the only thing worth chasing you've seen in the last two days. If you let this one go it will take a Hunting check, or everybody gets 1 Fatigue." (Or whatever.).
I do want them to make an informed decision (knowing what skill will be used, and what the consequences of failure are), but I don't want to constrain their solution to the options I thought of. And although I might make some notes about obvious solutions, a clever solution I didn't think of might result in not having to roll any dice or make any trade-offs.
Yes, in the supplements they always provided some more extended example of hazards linked to the region. Some offered a choice, others did not
E.g. Fatigue hazard (Add Fatigue again, twice on an Sauron)
The Huntsman spots a wild boar crashing through the swamp. If they choose not to hunt the beast, the company goes hungry tonight, and everyone adds 1 Fatigue.
If the Huntsman pursues the quarry, the animal blunders into a pool of sucking mud and starts to drown. Recovering the beast from the mud requires an Athletics test. Fail, and the hunter adds Fatigue again (twice with an Sauron) from the effort of trying to rescue the animal. Succeed, and the company eat well tonight!
Note: According to the Core rules a Hunter test should have been hunting, here was athletics. Their 2E "more flexible" system was already in place long ago