Travel Day & Base Speed
Every day of travel is split into 6
4-hour Watches. To determine how fast a group can walk, look at the member with the lowest speed, and then refer to the table below. The speed listed is the character's base movement speed on their character sheet. For example, if the slowest character is a Dwarf, then take the speed from the 20-25ft. column.
A standard day's march takes 3 Watches when including breaks and meals and a Long Rest takes another 2 Watches leaving 1 Watch for foraging, hunting, setting up camp, maintaining equipment, and the like. Generally, there are 3 Watches of Daylight and 3 Watches of Darkness though this varies based on the season.
1 hex = 6 miles.
| On Foot |
10 ft. |
15 ft. |
20 - 25 ft. |
30 - 35 ft. |
40+ ft. |
| 1 Hour |
0.75 miles |
1.5 miles |
2 miles |
3 miles |
4 miles |
| 1 Watch (4 hours) |
0.5 hex |
1 hex |
1.5 hexes |
2 hexes |
2.5 hexes |
| 1 March (2 Watches, 8 hours) |
1 hex |
2 hexes |
3 hexes |
4 hexes |
5 hexes |
| 1 Forced March (3 Watches, 12 hours) |
2 hexes |
3 hexes |
5 hexes |
6 hexes |
7 hexes |
| Mounts and Vehicles |
Per Hour |
Per Watch (4 hours) |
Per March (8 hours) |
| Mule |
3 miles |
2 hexes |
4 hexes |
| Horse, Draft |
5 miles |
3.5 hexes |
7 hexes |
| Horse, Light |
6 miles |
4 hexes |
8 hexes |
| Warhorse, Medium |
5 miles |
3.5 hexes |
7 hexes |
| Warhorse, Heavy |
5 miles |
3.5 hexes |
7 hexes |
| Riding Dog |
4 miles |
2.5 hexes |
5 hexes |
| . |
|
|
|
| Cart / Wagon |
3 miles |
2 hexes |
4 hexes |
| Raft / Small Boat |
1 mile |
0.5 hexes |
1 hex |
Under normal conditions, an 8-hour march is possible but fatiguing. A
Forced March requires a
DC 10 CON Save or the player gains a level of
Exhaustion even after a successful rest (or more if lacking a decent rest). Each consecutive day of
Forced Marches adds
+2 to the DC of the
CON Save. Note that on failure a riding animal, like a horse, will die or become lame.
Modes of Travel
Modes of travel can be changed per Watch. Any modifications affect that Watch of travel only.
Normal
Move at a normal, sustainable rate.
No modifiers
Fast
The characters are "hustling" - moving at a hurried rate, paying less attention to their surroundings, and unable to move quietly.
Movement: 1.5x (round down)
Modifiers: Disadvantage on Perception and related skill-checks, Disadvantage on Survival and related checks, no Stealth possible, pursuers have Advantage to track you. Navigation DCs increase by +4 while moving
Fast. After traveling for the Watch at a
Fast pace, make a
DC 10 CON Save or gain a level of
Exhaustion. For each
consecutive Watch at Fast speed, add a
+2 to the DC of the
CON Save. If you are moving
Fast and at a
Force March the penalties are cumulative.
Cautious
While moving cautiously, characters are purposely being careful. The chance for any non-exploratory encounter is halved.
Movement: 0.75x (round down)
Modifiers: Advantage on Perception checks and related skill-checks, Advantage on Stealth checks, pursuers have Disadvantage to track you if you are actively trying to Stealth or hide your tracks. Navigation DC checks are reduced by -4 while moving cautiously.
Exploring
While exploring, characters are assumed to be trying out side-trails, examining objects of interest, and so forth. The chances of coming across new trails and other points of interest doubles.
Movement: 0.5x (round down)
Note: It is possible to move cautiously while exploring, giving the benefits of both. However, it also factors in the movement scaling of both (0.75 * 0.5 = 0.375).
Terrain
The terrain type modifies the travel speed and determines how hard or easy it is to forage for food and water.
- Highway: A highway is a major, paved road.
- Road: A dirt track or similar causeway.
- Trail: A small, single-file road. A trail in poor repair requires a DC 12 navigation check to follow.
- Trackless: Trackless terrain is a wild area with no paths. +2 to Navigation DCs.
| Terrain |
Highway |
Road/Trail |
Trackless |
Navigation DC |
Forage DC |
| Desert |
x1 |
x0.5 |
x0.5 |
12 |
20 |
| Forest (sparse) |
x1 |
x1 |
x0.75 |
14 |
14 |
| Forest (medium) |
x1 |
x1 |
x0.5 |
16 |
14 |
| Forest (dense) |
x1 |
x1 |
x0.5 |
18 |
14 |
| Hills |
x1 |
x0.75 |
x0.5 |
14 |
12 |
| Jungle |
x1 |
x0.75 |
x0.25 |
16 |
14 |
| Moor |
x1 |
x1 |
x0.75 |
14 |
16 |
| Mountains |
x1 |
x0.75 |
x0.5 |
16 |
18 |
| Plains |
x1 |
x1 |
x0.75 |
12 |
12 |
| Swamp |
x1 |
x0.75 |
x0.5 |
15 |
16 |
| Tundra, frozen |
x1 |
x0.75 |
x0.75 |
12 |
18 |
Conditions
Extreme conditions can also affect movement speed when traveling. Poor visibility increases the DC of
navigation checks by +4 and
foraging checks by +2.
| Condition |
Speed Modifier |
| Extreme Cold or Hot Climate |
x0.75 |
| Giant Terrain |
x0.75 |
| Hurricane |
x0.10 |
| Leading Mount |
x0.75 |
| Poor visibility (fog, darkness) |
x0.5 |
| River crossing |
x0.75 |
| Snow cover |
x0.5 |
| Snow cover, heavy |
x0.25 |
| Storm |
x0.75 |
| Storm, powerful |
x0.5 |
