Journeying v0.4.0 #
Moving and Units #
These rules refer to the distance that a group of Creatures can travel per day as; “Units”. Whether your travel uses Hexes, Squares, or some other such system to govern and track distance covered throughout a journey these references should be sufficient, but if not, feel free to adjust them as needed.
Means of Travel #
These rules assume that the Party is traveling by foot to reach their destination, if this is not the case then the first thing that will change will be the speed, traveling via mount is significantly faster than traveling by foot, while traveling via carriage might be similar to foot speeds, however, carriage travel allows less work (and thus resting time) so you can travel for extended periods resulting in further travel, lastly traveling by vehicle is meaningfully faster, so much so that it could likely use its own rules section.
Running out of Supplies #
Traveling without Food and Water is possible for a short period of time, but very quickly these circumstances will overwhelm the body and mind. For every day traveled without Food a Creature gains one Level of Exhaustion (See: Conditions). For every day traveled without Water, a Creature gains two Levels of Exhaustion.
Traveling Known Areas #
The Party must chart their planned course, marking a destination, or the area with which they will begin further exploration.
- A journey ends when the Party reaches their destination, or if they begin further exploration of an Unknown area.
- If the Party’s journey will take eight days or longer, then every eight days of their journey will be considered a new “Leg” of their journey.
The Party must manage their own Food and Water, however, Hirelings, and other such Followers manage their own supplies and are not otherwise governed by these rules (they simply follow the Party’s lead).
PCs will decide on the pace of their journey each leg:
Journey Pace #
| Pace | Effects |
|---|---|
| Fast | For every two units moved, you can move an additional one unit. You suffer a -5 to passive Wisdom (Perception) scores. Disadvantage on Stealth checks. The Party gains +1 Level of Exhaustion (See: Conditions). |
| Average | — |
| Slow | You can move only half as many units per move as your average pace would allow. You gain advantage on: Group Stealth checks, and Pathfinding (or Survival if not applicable) checks. Grazing Animals consume food at half their normal rate. |
| Stopped | You cannot move any units. but if the location you are stopped in is safe and secure (such that you won’t need to fight, cast spells, or otherwise disrupt your Rest) then you can Long Rest in that location. Food consumption on Grazing Animals reduced to a quarter of their normal rate. |
Travel Roles #
PCs may elect to choose Travel Roles for the journey which puts them in-charge of that role during their journey:
- Travel Roles are optional and none of them are required to carry out a party’s journey.
- The party does not gain the benefit of Roles they did not select.
- Limited Skills are only usable if the journey has more than one leg.
Travel Roles Table #
| Role Name | Passive Skill | Limited Skill |
|---|---|---|
| Scout | Sharp Eye. You may use your Passive Perception instead of making an active Perception check when looking for ambushes, traps, & other dangers during your journey. | Surveillance. Once per journey you can attempt to find a point of significant vantage, make a DC 10 Survivalism Check, on a success you may double the area with which you can see for a day. For every 5 points above the DC that you roll you may increase the area with which you can see for the day by one unit. |
| Navigator | Recall. You make note of landmarks during your journey, your party cannot become lost by non-magical means. | Strider. Once per journey you can attempt to find shortcuts in your route, make a Pathfinding (or Survival if not applicable) Check. Your Party can move at double speed one move for every 10 points rolled. |
| Survivalist | Roughing It. You and your allies cannot be surprised within shelter’s you discover/create. | Hunt. Once per journey you can attempt to hunt game within the area, make a Tracking (or Survival if not applicable) Check. For every 5 points rolled you gain 4 days worth of rations. |
| Advisor | Guiding Hand. Your allies during your journey gain a bonus to their Passive and Limited Skills equal to your Charisma Modifier (Minimum of 0). | Instructed Relief. Once per journey you can decrease the exhaustion of your party members by 1. |
| Artisan | Inspiring Bond. At the start of every journey leg past the first, you can give your party inspiration. | Respite’s Muse. Once per journey you can attempt to create a work to commemorate your journey and bring levity to your allies, make a Performance Check, you have advantage on this check if you use Artisan’s Tools with which you are proficient, on a DC of 10 you rejuvenate your allies, allowing them to regain two spent Hit Dice, additionally your allies regain one another spent Hit Die for every 5 points above the DC that you roll. |
| Planner | Tool Expert. You and your allies have advantage on Ability Checks using Adventuring Gear such as Crowbars, Climber’s Kits, Rope, Poles, etcetera. | Inspired Ingenuity. Once per journey you can attempt a rush job to heavily fortify your camp. Before Combat Starts make a Survivalism (or Survival if not applicable) Check. For every 5 points rolled you gain one point that you can spend to create a camp effect. For one point you can create two points of Half-Cover, or a Makeshift Trap. For two points you can create one point of Total Cover. For four points you can allow party members to regain a number of spent Hit Dice equal to your Proficiency Bonus. |
Party Actions #
During a Party’s journey there are certain special group actions PCs can take that have associated costs.
- Hunker Down. This Party Action can only be taken during a journey at the Stopped Pace, allowing the Party to fortify shelter, develop land, or begin construction of a Stronghold.
- For Stronghold construction rules (See: Strongholds, Hubs, and Headquarters).
Exploring the Unknown #
When you reach the end of Known, Explored, or otherwise Charted territory your days become less safe, encounters with nature in its many forms becomes far more likely, and survival becomes less assured.
Journey Legs are still measured in eight day intervals, and thus travel pace is the same, however if the party transitions to exploration instead of journeying they will begin a new journey when they switch back.
Additional Notes on Travel:
Hex Crawling is very tough to pull off well especially at a large scale, make sure you have Points of Interest and lots of interesting locales for your Players to discover
Rolling on Generic Tables feels bad, so instead make the encounters relevant to the party or the locale.
It seems like it will be better to have players plan out their journey ahead of time
Players can then plan how much supplies they'll need during their journey
Travel should cover the portions of the PC's journey where they are actively moving from one location to a new destination for long periods of time (i.e., several days to weeks and longer).
As noted in Conversation the fun part of travelling in real life is seeing things, perhaps planning viewable vistas or scenes could be a worth while endeavour.