Overland Travel
Clarification: The Overland Travel page does not apply to Downtime. It is strictly for in-session use; for travel outside of games, see Downtime Activities: Travel.
Poor Visibility: If the party is suffering from poor visibility, such as that caused from a blizzard, their overland travel speed is halved.
Difficult Terrain: The parties overland travel speed is halved when traveling off through difficult terrain. This is not applied if a ranger is in the party and possesses the appropriate Favored Terrain or Natural Explorer.
Trackless: The parties overland travel speed is halved when traveling off path through any terrain, this is used to simulate barriers such as ravines, high slopes, and the like that require the party to navigate around these obstacles. Do not apply this if they would not naturally exist in the area, or use Random Encounters for them.
For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover an additional hours distance for their pace, and each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour.
The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of Exhaustion (see Conditions). Mounts and Vehicles: For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace, anything past that hour requires a Forced March check; however, the DC is equal to 10 + 4 for each hour past the first. On a failed saving throw, the mount gains two levels of Exhaustion (see Conditions).
Characters in wagons, carriages, or other Land Vehicles choose a pace as normal. Characters in a waterborne vessel are limited to the speed of the vessel, and they don’t suffer penalties for a fast pace or gain benefits from a slow pace, this is because of the varied nature of travel at sea causing the average to always end up at a medium pace. Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, ships might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day.
Table: Movement and Distance Per Hour by Terrain
While traveling, a group of adventurers can move at a medium, fast, or slow pace, as shown on the table below. The table states how far the party can move in a period of time and whether the pace has any effect. A fast pace makes characters less perceptive, while a slow pace makes it possible to sneak around and to Search an area more carefully. To calculate your travel speed, take the slowest moving creature in the parties base movement speed unmodified from Strength or Dexterity, and compare that row to the appropriate terrain listed on the table below, adjusting for any modifiers.| Terrain Type | 20ft (S/M/F) | 25ft (S/M/F) | 30ft (S/M/F) | 40ft (S/M/F) | 50ft (S/M/F) | 60ft (S/M/F) | 70ft (S/M/F) | 80ft (S/M/F) | 90ft (S/M/F) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal (Highway) | 2 / 4 / 8 | 2.5 / 5 / 10 | 3 / 6 / 12 | 4 / 8 / 16 | 5 / 10 / 20 | 6 / 12 / 24 | 7 / 14 / 28 | 8 / 16 / 32 | 9 / 18 / 36 |
| Normal (Road or Trail) | 1 / 2 / 4 | 1.25 / 2.5 / 5 | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 2 / 4 / 8 | 2.5 / 5 / 10 | 3 / 6 / 12 | 3.5 / 7 / 14 | 4 / 8 / 16 | 4.5 / 9 / 18 |
| Normal (Trackless) | 0.5 / 1 / 2 | 0.75 / 1.25 / 2.5 | 0.75 / 1.5 / 3 | 1 / 2 / 4 | 1.25 / 2.5 / 5 | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 1.75 / 3.5 / 7 | 2 / 4 / 8 | 2.25 / 4.5 / 9 |
| Difficult (Highway) | 1 / 2 / 4 | 1.25 / 2.5 / 5 | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 2 / 4 / 8 | 2.5 / 5 / 10 | 3 / 6 / 12 | 3.5 / 7 / 14 | 4 / 8 / 16 | 4.5 / 9 / 18 |
| Difficult (Road or Trail) | 0.5 / 1 / 2 | 0.625 / 1.25 / 2.5 | 0.75 / 1.5 / 3 | 1 / 2 / 4 | 1.25 / 2.5 / 5 | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 1.75 / 3.5 / 7 | 2 / 4 / 8 | 2.25 / 4.5 / 9 |
| Difficult (Trackless) | 0.25 / 0.5 / 1 | 0.312 / 0.625 / 1.25 | 0.375 / 0.75 / 1.5 | 0.5 / 1 / 2 | 0.625 / 1.25 / 2.5 | 0.75 / 1.5 / 3 | 0.875 / 1.75 / 3.5 | 1 / 2 / 4 | 1.125 / 2.25 / 4.5 |
| Guide (Highway) | 3 / 6 / 12 | 3.75 / 7.5 / 15 | 4.5 / 9 / 18 | 6 / 12 / 24 | 7.5 / 15 / 30 | 9 / 18 / 36 | 10.5 / 21 / 42 | 12 / 24 / 48 | 13,5 / 27 / 54 |
| Guide (Road or Trail) | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 1.875 / 3.75 / 7.5 | 2.25 / 4.5 / 9 | 3 / 6 / 12 | 3.75 / 7.5 / 15 | 4.5 / 9 / 18 | 5.25 / 10.5 / 21 | 6 / 12 / 24 | 6.75 / 13.5 / 27 |
| Guide (Trackless) | 0.75 / 1.5 / 3 | 0.9375 / 1.875 / 3.75 | 1.125 / 2.25 / 4.5 | 1.5 / 3 / 6 | 1.875 / 3.75 / 7.5 | 2.25 / 4.5 / 9 | 2.625 / 5.25 / 10.5 | 3 / 6 / 12 | 3.375 / 6.75 / 13.5 |
Modifiers
Highway: The parties overland travel speed is doubled when traveling on a highway.Poor Visibility: If the party is suffering from poor visibility, such as that caused from a blizzard, their overland travel speed is halved.
Difficult Terrain: The parties overland travel speed is halved when traveling off through difficult terrain. This is not applied if a ranger is in the party and possesses the appropriate Favored Terrain or Natural Explorer.
Trackless: The parties overland travel speed is halved when traveling off path through any terrain, this is used to simulate barriers such as ravines, high slopes, and the like that require the party to navigate around these obstacles. Do not apply this if they would not naturally exist in the area, or use Random Encounters for them.
Travel Pace and Effects
| Pace | Fast |
|---|---|
| Fast | Passive Investigation and Perceptions are reduced by 5, random encounter checks have advantage to cause an encounter. |
| Medium | No benefits or drawbacks at this pace |
| Slow | Passive Investigation and Perceptions are increased by 5, players have the ability to stealth, players may choose to have random encounter checks rolled at disadvantage to cause an encounter. |
Additional Rules
Forced March: Characters can travel for 8 hours in a day without issue, anymore than that and they must push themselves at the risk of Exhaustion, this is known as a forced march.For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover an additional hours distance for their pace, and each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour.
The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of Exhaustion (see Conditions). Mounts and Vehicles: For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace, anything past that hour requires a Forced March check; however, the DC is equal to 10 + 4 for each hour past the first. On a failed saving throw, the mount gains two levels of Exhaustion (see Conditions).
Characters in wagons, carriages, or other Land Vehicles choose a pace as normal. Characters in a waterborne vessel are limited to the speed of the vessel, and they don’t suffer penalties for a fast pace or gain benefits from a slow pace, this is because of the varied nature of travel at sea causing the average to always end up at a medium pace. Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, ships might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day.
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