Travel
Traveling time is important to give a sense of weight and distance to the world. But, if it becomes too granular, it’s not worth the effort so we’re going to use a simple system that is hex based.
As long as the characters are traveling along a road or river, the border between two different hex types, and/or within sight of a landmark, they don't need to make Checks to get lost. If that's not the case, they're considered "wayfinding", which is covered at the end of this section (along with a few definition clarifications for "different hex types" and "landmarks").
Travel Times
Our basis is that, on a road, a person can travel 20 miles in a day because that gives us a nice, clean number. Here is a handy chart to determine how long it takes to cross 1 hex based on the scale, assuming a 10 hour walking day. The parentheses is to tell you how many hexes would make a day of travel, if applicable.| Hex Scale | Travel Time |
|---|---|
| 2 Miles | .5 hours |
| 6 Miles | 1 hour |
| 10 Miles | 5 hours |
Terrain
But there are other factors to consider, like, what if they’re not on a road?We’re going to handle that simply: we add 1 hex for each thing, with heavy versions (heavy forest or mountains) adding 2 hexes. Normal forest have 1 or 2 trees drawn in the hex, heavy forest has 3 trees.
So, crossing a hex that has no roads and is in the hills is considered 3 hexes. Crossing one that has a road but is in the forest is 2 hexes.
Multiply by the travel time associated with the scale and you’re good to go.
So, you’re using 2-mile hexes and you have to travel 4 hexes from one village to another. It has a road but there’s a river crossing, 2 hexes have hills, 2 have forests, and 1 has a canyon. So, that’s effectively 10 hexes so it’ll take 5 hours to cross those 8 miles.
Mountains
The Middle Realm is a mountainous area and has several variations and are generall an exception to this rule.Single mountains add 5 effective hexes. Triple mountains add 10.
Single, snow-capped mountains add 15 effective hexes and triple, snow-capped mountains are considered impassible.
GMs can run Skill Challenges to get to specific locations within a triple, snow-capped mountain hex from an adjacent non-triple-snow-capped mountain hex.
Pace
Pace has 3 marching speeds: half, full, double. Full is what the players are assumed to be doing unless they say otherwise.Half
Half means that the players are going slow: double the time they take since they’re either not walking most of the day or are taking their time.This allows them to do other things, such as scavenge, heal up, or spend part of the day relaxing.
Full
Full is what the players are assumed to be doing: 10 hours of walking.Double
Double is going as quickly as possible; no healing, no resting, and pushing yourself to the limit, although, point-of-fact, it’s not actually moving at double the rate.For each actual hex you enter, remove 1 effective hex. If there are no effective hexes (like crossing a hex via a road with no terrain), divide it in half. It can’t go lower than that.
Note that, if you have a mount, they’ll take the damage.
Mounts
For each actual hex you enter, remove 1 effective hex. If there are no effective hexes (like crossing a hex via a road with no terrain), divide it in half. It can’t go lower than that. All the members of the company that are traveling with you need to be mounted to gain this bonus.Mounts & Pace
You can quickly figure out the effect of double marching and mounts by subtracting the number of actual hexes from the number of effective hexes.So, continuing above. If all the players are mounted, it lowers the number of hexes to 6, since there are 4 hexes, so traveling takes 3 hours instead.
Skills
Players with applicable Skills can also cut down travel time.So, if we have 5 hexes, the first having forested hills, the second also having forested hills, third has a canyon, the fourth has a road, the fifth has a forest, for a total of 15 effective hexes.
Water Travel
Water travel is simply the number of hexes x the scale’s travel time for down river or across still water but double that going up river. This can't be affected by pace.Food & Water Consumption
Part of traveling is the cost of traveling - this is another thing that impresses on the players that time is passing. Most people would just track ration consumption, but I feel like that’s too much minutiae for too little gain, unless it’s in specific circumstances.So, unless there are specific circumstances, I assume that the players can find lodgings (food included) along the way, starting a 1 sc a day.
For water, again, unless there are specific circumstances, I say that they can find enough water by way of rivers and lakes as they travel.
Now, they could rough it, but that would consume rations, which are far more expensive.
Wayfinding
It doesn't take a master ranger to find your way on the road but, when you leave the safety of that road, you have a chance of going off course or even getting lost. In reality, characters are going to do periods of wayfinding and periods of normal traveling even with in the same journey so don't think that this is necessary a binary.Definitions
As stated, as long as the characters are traveling along a road or river, the border between two different hex types, and/or within sight of a landmark, they don't need to make Checks to get lost. But what are landmarks and what do I mean why I say "different hex types"?Different Hex Types
Hexes are considered to be of different types if their lowest visibility terrain changes between hexes. See Line of Sight below.So, light and heavy forest are considered the same, and forest hills and forests are considered the same as well, however, forest and hills are considered different.
Landmarks
Landmarks, for our purposes, are things that are unique that are smaller than one hex. They are ways to let you know that you're on or off course. This could be a peak, a burnt out tree, a cairn, but not, for example, a forest or mountain range (too large) or a river (too generic).If a landmark is highly visible, travelers can use it to navigate by and prevent getting lost ("The Tree Peak disappeared from view an hour ago: I think we're off course") - these are called Major Landmarks. If not, it could tell the travelers that they are lost ("We should have passed that old bear den an hour ago: we must have gone wrong somewhere") - these are called Minor Landmarks.
Note that a Major Landmark doesn't have to do with the size: it has to do with visiblity so a painted tree can be a Major Landmark on the steppe but a Minor one in the forest.
Finding Landmarks
If the players want, they can find a landmark within a hex that can help them navigate the area quicker later. This is done by the appropriate Check. On a success, the players find a distinct, minor landmark they can anchor off of.Line of Sight
When wayfinding, line of sight is important as it can help you navigate. Traveling across the plains is much easier than traveling through a forest, after all.A character can normally see 6 hexes away, not counting rivers or roads, although weather and terrain can block sight. Terrain higher on the list will block all terrain lower on the list so, when determing if the characters can see past a hex of terrain, simply run down the chart.
| Terrain | Blocks Itself |
|---|---|
| Mountains | Yes |
| Forest | Yes |
| Hills | Yes |
| Plains/Flatland | |
| Swamp | |
| Beach | |
| River/Lakes/etc |
So, swamp will block all water hexes beyond but won't block hills behind it.
Hills will block plains and other hills behind it but won't block forests.
Navigation Checks
The players need to make a Check for each leg of their journey. A "leg" is defined by stretches of time where they're wayfinding (No roads, rivers; no skirting terrain differences and no major landmarks to follow) between landmarks.So, if the players need to get to the Dungeon of the Gray Hand from the village of Ulyst, they need to travel along the river and then travel through the forest, and then, finally, make their way through the foothills.
While traveling along the river, they don't need to make any checks but, while traveling through the forest and foothills they do since there are no roads and visibility is limited.
The difficulty of the Check is determined by the number of effective hexes they have to cross during that leg.
Getting Off-Course & Lost
If the players get lost, they're alerted to that fact if any of the following conditions are met:
Getting lost works much like wayfinding in that the players need to figure out where they are and find a way back on track.
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