Travel and Exploration
While traveling, a group of adventurers can move at a slow, normal, or fast pace, or not move at all, as shown on the Travel Pace table. The table states how far the party moves every day at that pace. A fast pace restricts characters into doing less, as they are spending most of their energy moving, while a slow pace allows characters to spend more time attending to the party.
Before traveling, the GM should choose the scope of the travel. The scope of travel is a measure of how detailed the travel is, based on what length of time is described. For example, traveling through a dangerous swamp should have a scope of 8 hours (A single day of travel), because each day presents new challenges. However, traveling on a safe road, or high level characters traveling through that same swamp might have a larger scope. The most common scopes are an hour, a day, a week, and a month. A week is commonly 7 or 10 days, and a month is commonly around 30 days.
Once the scope, travel pace and destination is chosen, the GM should note down the distance in miles to the chosen destination. This will be used to determine how long travel takes.
Travel Pace
| Speed | Distance per Day | Actions per Scope Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Stopped | 0 miles | 4 |
| Slow | 18 miles | 3 |
| Normal | 24 miles | 2 |
| Fast | 30 miles | 1 |
Travel is broken up into rounds based on the Action per Scope Duration column of the Travel Pace table and the scope. Rounds take an amount of time equal to the scope divided by the Actions per Scope Duration. A slow pace is split into three rounds, a normal pace into two, and a fast pace has one round. At the beginning of each round, adventurers choose and perform one travel action. Each member of the traveling party can perform one action per round. For example, with a scope of 7 days at a normal travel pace, each party member gets to perform one action over the first 3 days, and a second action over the next 4 days. Each action takes the duration of the round to complete, as these actions are continual and are not completed in a set amount of time.
Travel Actions
Below are some of the actions PCs can take while Traveling. Each action below is an automatic 5 if no creature takes it.
Search and Track
Each party member who chooses to find tracks and watch for hazards rolls a Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Investigation) check. The highest check among the party is the searching and tracking roll for the whole party. If a party member took this action last round, they may have the same roll they did for the last round for the current round.
Hunt and Gather
A party member who chooses to find game and water rolls a Wisdom (Survival), Intelligence (Nature) or Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, every day in the round they find or capture one ration of food and find water. If the round is less than a day, instead they find one ration of food, or find water. If a party member took this action last round, they may have the same roll they did for the last round for the current round.
Stealth / Tread Lightly
This option is only available if the party travels at a slow or normal pace. Each party member who chooses to cover the party's tracks rolls a Dexterity (Stealth) or Wisdom (Survival) check, with disadvantage at a normal pace. Subtract half the number of creatures in the party (rounded down) from the roll. The highest check among the party is the stealth roll for the whole party. The party may be attacked if they roll low.
Lookout
Each party member who chooses to watch their surroundings rolls a Wisdom (Perception) check. This roll is at disadvantage if they are moving at a fast pace. The highest check among the party is the lookout roll for the whole party. Lookouts help defend against ambushes and locate important landmarks along the way.
Make Camp
Each party member who chooses to find a safe place to rest rolls a Wisdom (Survival) or Intelligence (Nature) check. A creature who has traveled the path before automatically succeeds. The highest check among the party is the camping roll for the whole party. On a success, the party finds a safe spot to take a short and long rest each day.
Other
Each party member who wishes to do something else while traveling may do so with the GM's approval. They may perform this action multiple times in one round if what they wish to do takes less time than the round, but they may not take other travel actions.
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Marching Order
An optional rule is establishing a marching order. A marching order makes it easier to determine which characters are affected by traps, which ones can spot hidden enemies, and which ones are the closest to those enemies when a fight breaks out. Each traveling action requires the creature taking the action to be at a certain rank in the order. A character might occupy the front rank, one of the middle ranks, or the back rank. Any number of creatures can be in each rank, unless the area being transversed has a width restriction. For example, in a 10 foot corridor only two medium or small creatures can be in each rank.
Front Rank. Navigating, Searching and Tracking, Hunting and Gathering, Stealth, Lookout, Camping
Middle Rank. Navigating, Hunting and Gathering, Camping
Back Rank. Navigating, Hunting and Gathering, Stealth, Lookout, Camping
Mapping
If a party member has Cartographer's tools and is proficient with them, they may draw up a map as they go as their Travel action.
If the party has a map, either drawn by the party or bought in advance, navigating paths and finding camping spots that the map marks out is done with advantage. Maps drawn by creatures who are not proficient with cartographer's tools are only for reference and give no benefit.
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Difficult Terrain
The travel speeds given in the Travel Pace table assumes the party is on the road. Moving through terrain that is not a road and is not easily transversable is considered moving through difficult terrain. You move at half speed on difficult terrain — moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed — so you can cover only half the normal distance in a minute, an hour, or a day.
Mounts and Vehicles
For short spans of time (up to an hour each day), 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.
Galloping each day during a round increases the speed of travel by 6 miles a day, and at least one member of the group should spend their travel action caring for the mounts. If multiple characters take this action, they can each care for different mounts. Caring for mounts takes a Wisdom (Animal Handling) check, the DC being 9 + 1 for every mount being cared for by that character. On a fail, the mounts being cared by the character who failed cannot gallop during the next round. If no characters take this action, all mounts who galloped cannot gallop next round.
This same system is used for land vehicles, except vehicles will list at what speed they travel. The same action is required each round for vehicles, except the roll is an Intelligence (Tinker's Tools) check. On a fail, one vehicle is lightly damaged, and travel via that vehicle cannot continue until it is repaired.
Forced March
The Travel Pace table assumes that characters travel for 8 hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion.
The party can travel beyond 8 hours each day within a round. For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the round or day, whichever comes last. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours traveled each day. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of exhaustion. This exhaustion cannot be removed except by taking a number of long rests equal to the number of days in the round (minimum of 1).
For each additional hour of travel done each day, the miles covered each day increases by 3.
Encountering Creatures
If the DM determines that the adventurers encounter other creatures while they’re traveling, it’s up to both groups to decide what happens next. Either group might decide to attack, initiate a conversation, run away, or wait to see what the other group does.
Surprising Foes and being Surprised
If the adventurers encounter a hostile creature or group, the DM determines whether the adventurers or their foes are surprised when combat erupts. If the party took the Stealth action, they may be able to surprise their foes. If the party has rolled low on the lookout action, their foes may be able to surprise them. See chapter 9 for more about surprise.
Weather
Based on the weather, the DM may give the party disadvantage on some actions, such as navigation and tracking, lookout, and hunting and gathering. Weather might also give advantage on some actions, like stealth.
The exhausted condition might no be removed while resting if the weather is too cold or the party does not find safe shelter in a storm. A lit fire can counteract cold weather, but will be snuffed out by rain if lit in unprotected unsafe shelter.
Certain weather conditions can destroy tracks, and so even if the party was given hints to the next track's locations, they might be gone by that time.
Food and Water
Characters who don't eat or drink suffer the effects of exhaustion. Exhaustion caused by lack of food or water can't be removed until the character eats and drinks the full required amount.
Food
A character needs one pound of food per day. A character can make food last longer by subsisting on half rations. Eating half a pound of food in a day counts as half a day without food, but gives you one level of exhaustion if you have no levels of exhaustion.
A character can go without food for a number of days equal to 3 + their Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond that limit, a character automatically suffers one level of exhaustion. A normal day of eating resets the count of days without food to zero.
Water
A character needs one gallon of water per day, or two gallons per day if the weather is hot. A character who drinks only half that much water must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion at the end of the day. A character with access to even less water automatically suffers one level of exhaustion at the end of the day.
If the character already has one or more levels of exhaustion, the character takes two levels in either case.
Exhaustion
Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect's description.
Exhaustion
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Disadvantage on ability checks |
| 2 | Speed halved |
| 3 | Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws |
| 4 | Hit point maximum halved |
| 5 | Speed reduced to 0 |
| 6 | Death |
If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect's description.
A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect's description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature's exhaustion level is reduced below 1.
Finishing a long rest reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.
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DM Travel and Exploration
Building a Region
A region is an area of homogeneous continuous terrain. An area can be the size of a continent or of a small town, and they are useful for simulating travel and rests, but not downtime.
DCs
Each region will have a set of Difficulty Classes to allow players to interact with the land. Each travel action players can take (besides stealth) should have four DCs, which allows for variable success. The DCs increase from major failures to minor failures, minor successes and finally major successes. There is a set of DCs for the Navigate, Search and Track, Hunt and Gather, Lookout, and Make Camp travel actions.
To create a set of DCs for an action, choose a DC to represent the difficulty of achieving a minor success. For example, in an area with a clear road and open plains, the navigation minor success would be 5. In a dark swamp, it might be 15. To determine the major success DC, add 5 to the minor success DC. To determine the minor failure DC, subtract 5 from the minor success DC. Alternatively you can set the major success and minor success DCs to whatever you like, but we recommend starting with this method.
If a PC rolls equal or higher than a DC, they gain the effect of the highest DC they rolled higher than. If they roll lower than the minor failure DC, they get a major failure.
Below is aan example travel DC table for open plains with a clear road.
Plains Trading Route
| Action | Minor Failure | Minor Success | Major Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| Navigate | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| Hunt | 7 | 12 | 17 |
| Search | 2 | 7 | 12 |
| Lookout | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| Camp | 8 | 13 | 18 |
Encounters
Each region has its dangers. You will have to choose the likely hood of an encounter happening in your region, as well as making an encounter table for it. Encounter chance is based of a d20 roll each round, so choose a number from 1 to 20 to represent the likely hood of encounters for the region, 1 being impossible and 20 being almost certain. When rolling for to determine if their could be an encounter, if you roll equal to or higher than the chosen number, no encounter will happen. Otherwise, an encounter is closing in on the party.
An encounter table is often a d100 table with a varied selection of combat, puzzle and trap encounters. You can make your own, or use others. Often, encounter tables are geared towards certain party levels. Consider balancing any encounter tables around the allowed XP per day of your party. Always include some easy encounters and some deadly encounters, but remember that not all encounters with creatures require combat, instead they can be chase sequences. For encounters that are puzzles and traps, remember to always put a Search and Track DC or Lookout DC next to them, which will help determine if the party falls prey to them or if they manage to pass by them without issue.
Your region's encounter table is its dangers, but also part of its personality. Use it to flesh out the narrative and character of the region. If you use encounter tables from other sources, keep in mind that many encounter tables combine landmarks and encounters. Consider reworking and entries in an encounter table that seems like a landmark into some sort of puzzle or trap.
Landmarks
Landmarks are special locations, objects, and events that fill your region. These can range from a small village, to a mysterious and perhaps magical rock, to a passing merchant caravan. Landmarks are often created in a similar manner to encounters, on a d100 table. Fill your landmark table with all the parts of your region that are not outwardly dangerous.
While traveling through your region, consider combining landmarks and other rolls. If they party gets and encounter and a location landmark, combat could happen in the provided location. Or if the party navigates quickly during the round, it could because of a landmark event or a location that acts as a shortcut.
Weather and other Special Features
Every 2d4 hours, roll a d4. On a 1, subtract 1 from the current weather score. On a 2, subtract 2. On a 3, add 1. On a 4, add 2. The weather score cannot go below 1 or above 10.
Weather
| Score | Weather |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hot and sunny, everyone needs twice the water. |
| 2-3 | Clear and Breezy |
| 4-5 | Clear |
| 6-7 | Cloudy |
| 8 | Cloudy and Breezy |
| 9 | Raining, -1 to encounter. Disadvantage navigation, hunting, and lookout. |
| 10 | Thunderstorm, -3 to encounter. Disadvantage navigation, hunting, and lookout. Advantage Stealth. |
Running an Region
Actions
If they roll lower than the minor failure DC, they get a major failure. A natural 20 is an automatic major success, while a natural 1 is an automatic major failure.
Search and Track
- Major Failure. The party finds meaningless tracks they believe to be real, or spot traps that are not there.
- Minor Failure. No tracks or traps are found.
- Minor Success. Tracks are found. Simple traps are spotted.
- Major Success. Tracks are found. You also learn what type of creature, their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area. Simple and complex traps are spotted.
Hunt and Gather
- Major Failure. You get the party caught in an encounter with local game. The enemies get a surprise round, and provide no rations when defeated.
- Minor Failure. No food or water is procured.
- Minor Success. One ration of food and/or a source of water is gained for each day in the round (minimum of one).
- Major Success. Large game is tracked, and sources of water are found. The party can get a surprise round on the game. If defeated, provides two rations of food for every day in the round.
Lookout
- Major Failure. A false landmark is spotted. Encounters in the area have a +5 to not being spotted by the party.
- Minor Failure. No landmarks are found.
- Minor Success. An interesting landmark or location is spotted.
- Major Success. An hidden landmark or location is spotted. Creatures who visiting it can gain a reward.
Make Camp
- Major Failure. You find no good places to rest. All creatures traveling must make a constitution saving throw, the DC equal to 10 + the number of creatures in the party. On a fail, they gain a point of exhaustion for the next round.
- Minor Failure. You find a place to rest, but it takes effort. The party's speed is reduced by 3 miles per day during the round.
- Minor Success. You find good places to rest along the way.
- Major Success. You find excellent places to rest. All creatures gain a reward at the end of the round.
Encounters
Each round, determine if the party is in danger of facing an encounter based on the area the are traveling Encounter Chance. If there is an encounter, this means there is a potential threat in the area the party is traveling through, and based on stealth and lookout an encounter might occur. Roll a Dexterity (Stealth) or Wisdom (Survival) check for the enemy's stealth roll and a Wisdom (Perception) check for their perception roll. Roll one for only the creature with the highest CR in the encounter. Creatureles encounters will list their Lookout or Search and Track DC. If the party got lower than that DC during the round, the encounter is sprung on them.
Being Ambushed
If at any time in the round the enemy's perception check is higher than the parties stealth and the enemy's stealth is higher than the party's perception, the enemies ambush the party with a surprise round.
Equal Footing
If at any time the enemy's perception is higher than the party's stealth but the parties perception is higher than the enemy's stealth, the encounter begins but neither group is surprised.
Ambushing
If at any time the party's stealth is higher than the enemy's perception and the party's perception is higher than the enemy's stealth, the party can ambush the enemies with a surprise round.
Missed Opportunity
Otherwise, during the round if both the enemy's stealth is higher than the party's perception check and the party's stealth check is higher than the enemy's perception check, they miss each other and no encounter occurs.
Mapping and getting Lost
If a party gets a major failure to navigate while traveling, instead of traveling to the end of their round, they get lost, and cannot locate themselves on a map. Their speed for the round is considered 0, and the chance of an encounter doubles for the round.
Weather
Every 2d4 hours, roll a d4. On a 1, subtract 1 from the current weather score. On a 2, subtract 2. On a 3, add 1. On a 4, add 2. The weather score cannot go below 1 or above 10.
Weather
| Score | Weather |
|---|---|
| 1 | Hot and sunny, everyone needs twice the water. |
| 2-3 | Clear and Breezy |
| 4-5 | Clear |
| 6-7 | Cloudy |
| 8 | Cloudy and Breezy |
| 9 | Raining, -1 to encounter. Disadvantage navigation, hunting, and lookout. |
| 10 | Thunderstorm, -3 to encounter. Disadvantage navigation, hunting, and lookout. Advantage Stealth. |
Landmarks
Each hex contains one landmark that the party can find if they want. Certain hexes contain specific landmarks, others do not and must be randomly generated if the party finds a landmark in that hex. A party can always find a landmark in a hex that they have already located.
Resting
Heroic though they might be, adventurers can't spend every hour of the day in the thick of exploration and combat. They need rest — time to sleep and eat, tend their wounds, refresh their minds and spirits for spellcasting, and brace themselves for further adventure. A character must finish a long rest every 24 hours or experience a level of exhaustion. A character can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.
Location
Taking a rest requires choosing a place to rest. Adventurers may rest anywhere, but a safe camping spot requires the camping action. Taking the camping action on a road is an automatic success. Resting in the forest is different. If you find a safe place to rest in the forest, there is almost no chance of being attacked. Otherwise, there is a chance that your party will be ambushed by beasts or other wandering partys while resting.
Campfires
During a rest, the party can choose either to light a fire, or not to. Without a fire, food that was caught cannot be cooked, and uncooked food can cause disease. Lighting a fire keeps the party warm in a storm, food can be cooked, and lookout is easier, but a fire calls attention and raises the chance of an attempted ambush.
Shifts
While resting, to combat possible ambushes, you may have any number of party members take the lookout action in shifts. During a shift, the adventurers taking the shift may take a travel action, which lasts until the end of that shift. Travel actions take 2 hours while not traveling.
The party collectively chooses who takes the first shift. When finishing a shift, each adventurer finishing their shift may choose any number of adventurers to wake. Any awoken adventurers may choose to begin a shift.
Short Rest
A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds. The party can take a short rest almost anywhere.
Long Rest
A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or taking a lookout shift. If the rest is interrupted by a period of strenuous activity like fighting, casting spells, at least 1 hour of walking, or similar adventuring activity — the characters must begin the rest again to gain any benefit from it.
Downtime
Between adventures, the DM might ask you what your character is doing during his or her downtime. Periods of downtime can vary in duration. You can perform travel action every two hours during downtime. Downtime activity are different, and require a certain number of days to complete before you gain any benefit, and at least 8 hours of each day must be spent on the downtime activity for the day to count. The days do not need to be consecutive. If you have more than the minimum amount of days to spend, you can keep doing the same thing for a longer period of time, or switch to a new downtime activity.
Downtime activities other than the ones presented below are possible. If you want your character to spend his or her downtime performing an activity not covered here, discuss it with your DM.
Crafting
You can craft non-magical objects, including adventuring equipment and works of art. You must be proficient with tools related to the object you are trying to create (typically artisan's tools). You might also need access to special materials or locations necessary to create it. For example, someone proficient with smith's tools needs a forge in order to craft a sword or suit of armor.
For every day of downtime you spend crafting, you can craft one or more items with a total market value not exceeding 5 gp, and you must expend raw materials worth half the total market value. If something you want to craft has a market value greater than 5 gp, you make progress every day in 5-gp increments until you reach the market value of the item.
Multiple characters can combine their efforts toward the crafting of a single item, provided that the characters all have proficiency with the requisite tools and are working together in the same place.
Recuperating
You can use downtime between adventures to recover from a debilitating injury, disease, or poison.
After three days of downtime spent recuperating, you can make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a successful save, you can choose one of the following results:
End one effect on you that prevents you from regaining hit points. For the next 24 hours, gain advantage on saving throws against one disease or poison currently affecting you.
Training
Given enough free time and the services of an instructor, a character can learn a language or pick up proficiency with a tool or weapon.
Receiving training in a language tool or weapon typically takes at least 10 workweeks, but this time is reduced by a number of workweeks equal to the character’s Intelligence modifier (an Intelligence penalty doesn’t increase the time needed). Training costs 1 gp per day.
You have disadvantage on all charisma checks speaking a language you were trained in, and disadvantage on all ability checks and attacks made with tools or weapons you were trained in. This disadvantage goes away once you succeed an ability check or attack with the language, tool, or weapon at least once a day for 20 days.