Traveling

The Environment

Wyrlde, and Avilon, is not a small place, nor is it well settled and safe. Despite the protestations of many of the Rulers and assorted nobles and even the local folks, The Empire is not civilized, is not a single body, and is still reeling from the catastrophes of the last thousand years or so.

The safest places in the Empire are the Seven Cities themselves – a circumstance that applies well beyond the borders of the Empire. Antilia is said to be somewhat better about monitoring the few established roads it has, but even the Sea Realms are fraught, perhaps with more risk due to Duatian or Thulian Pirates and the many sea monsters of the waters.

After the Cities, the next safest places are the Towns. Indeed, to be recognized as a town, one of the major points is that the place be well fortified, and that said fortification can effectively defend the citizens. Given the rank and responsibility that comes from being a Noble over such a place, there is a good deal of emphasis placed on it.

Villages can be safe at times – it depends on the village – but beyond them safety is what you make it, not that for which you hope. Outside of these things is what everyone calls The Boonies. The Boonies is wilderness. It isn’t possible to call it untamed or uninhabited – it is said there is no place on Wyrlde where someone has not set foot in the distant past – and some of it still bears the scars of prior presence. Sometime shortly after the God’s War, people began to refer to it by the ancient term Boonies, and that stuck and continues to stick, even though in some cases it was never a word added to the languages.

By its nature, adventuring involves delving into places that are dark, dangerous, and full of mysteries to be explored. The rules in this section cover some of the most important ways in which adventurers interact with the environment in such places.

Patrols

Most Nobles will set up some form of Patrol, employing paid soldiers, often recruited from a Ward guild in a city or town. Organized as a military unit, there will always be at least three shifts, and a typical shifts will have at least a squad on patrol at any time, making a series of rounds and riding out or marching out to determine and ensure that Crofters and other folks are safe from the assorted predations of the Boonies.

While a Steading may only have volunteers as part of a militia, from a Hamlet to a Village to a Town to a City, the size of this force will be determined by the cost of the soldiers and the spread of local farms, which are usually the highest priority, even more than grazing fields.

The established standard from the Conclave is that these patrols should extend out at least 30 miles from any given settlement, which for most of the smaller locales is nearly impossible, though obviously the Cities and Towns have little trouble. Using a standard clockface, they will patrol a wedge-shaped area once every ten days in a pattern determined by the Local Lord that is intentionally varied even despite natural variance from staffing and related issues.

These patrols may be mounted (the preferred), but mounted patrols cost more money, so many are still on foot, especially in the smaller regions. As every settlement has at the least a Keep or Manor in which the local Nobility resides (or their Castellans), this is where the patrols are quartered.

The patrols are part of the Allegiance owed to the Nobles Liege – it is a condition of their remaining nobility and holding onto their position, as well as a wise move to protect their own fields, orchards, mines, and herds and other functions hat come from their position.

An additional requirement is that they ensure that there is a safe space for all the members of their community – a challenge since there is not always a lot of ability to control the growth of a community. This is usually accomplished thorough a fortified building in the town, as well as through wooden walls and barricades and other measures.

Beyond the limits of the Patrols is the Boonies. While 15 miles out is usually the true limit of a patrol without an Outpost established to support new mounts, that second half can be a point of risk, and the well cared for Imperial Roads that exist between the Cities and Towns are about the only places where such outposts may exist.

So, while Lyonese and Durango may both claim large areas, they generally do not have control over those areas, merely a strong influence over the people that live there, particularly culturally.

The rest of the world, be it the Bright lands or some other place, is subject to the presence of critters and creatures of all manner and kind, from miniature elephants to giant boulder sized field mice. Dreadnaughts still roam, and Corsairs may lead a crew of Bandits from some base established beyond the reach of the law. Brigands – desperate people fallen on desperate times – are not uncommon, even along the Imperial Roads, and of course there are still the bands of marauding Lemurians (mostly Goblins, but not exclusively) inland and Thyrs upon the shores.

In short, Wyrlde is not a safe place to travel, and as a result those who do for any reason are eyed with both envy and mistrust, for they can see the world beyond the walls, and partake of the riches that always seem to lie somewhere other than where you are.

Travel

The Boonies is the uncivilized realms of the planet, the lands that are not patrolled by official people armed to the teeth. The Boonies is untamed, untouched, uncaring, unspoiled. It is the world after a cataclysm, the varied and assorted toys of the Powers That Be left to roam and wander and fend for themselves. It is the world off the roads, where nymphs and naiads frolic, and satyrs lure women to bowers of leaves.

The safest way to travel is by Skyship. The chances of an encounter in those circumstances are around 5%. An aerial encounter is normally less dangerous in general, and then one factors in the Mages that are employed as Skywards to protect and defend the skyship, as well as the weaponry of the vessel. It is exceedingly rare for the nearly mythical dragon kin to attack one, and even rarer for it to be reported. When they do happen, it is usually in the far east or northeast of the Empire. Unfortunately, skyships are slow, expensive, and you have to deal with the darn Wizards and Wardens of Akadia, which is often reason alone to avoid it.

The next safest way to travel is by Train. The Train, thankfully, does not travel to Akadia, although it also does not travel down into Aztlan quite yet (but soon, I hear). Tracing a route that is mostly slightly inland and follows along the Seven Seas from Dorado to Sibola, with several stops along the way. It is the fastest way to travel, expensive, and while the train may encounter a problem, to date nothing has ever withstood the Enjin or been able to pierce the Cabins, and so it is also very safe from critters and creatures – but Brigands and Bandits are well schooled in avoiding the Greymen who guard the train and will rob unwary passengers without much concern. Corsairs don’t care that they are moving faster than birds can fly — they care about risk and reward.

Obviously, both of these methods are used mostly by the Nobility and the wealthiest of peoples, as the typical man on the street not only cannot afford them, they often have challenges getting to where their Stations and Gantries are located.

As a result, the vast bulk of travel is done overland or on the water, about equally, both for trade and for travel in general.

Going overland or over sea all but guarantees at least one encounter, each time. In any given Shift (two Bells, 8 hours), there is a 33% chance of a random encounter if one is within a Civilized area, and a 66% chance of an encounter in the Boonies.

All chances of an encounter are checked on a per hour basis – in some cases, it may be every two, on others every 90 minutes, but there is always a constant possibility because Wyrlde is teeming with life and its related forms.

Rangers

Within the wider world, the ability of the local Nobles to ensure the safety of folks is still limited, and mostly concerned with the fields and homes of those they are Liege for. At most, they can reach 30 miles, and the second half of that is questionable at best.

Between those places and spaces there are the Rangers, who adopt the task of trying to push back the horrors and dangers on their own, often living for months at a time without contact with other people, surviving in the wilds while they unearth warrens, drive out Trollkin, and mark safe passages and find paths.

Travel

Swimming across a rushing river, sneaking down a dungeon corridor, scaling a treacherous mountain slope—all sorts of movement play a key role in an open world setting such as Wyrlde.

The DM can summarize the adventurers’ movement when it isn’t key to the play without figuring out exact distance or travel time. An example:

“You travel through the forest and find the dungeon entrance late in the evening of the third day.”

Or:

“After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient Dwarfin stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch.”

On Wyrlde, it is important to know how long it takes to get from one spot to another, whether the answer is in rounds, minutes, hours or days. In the Boonies (anywhere 30 miles out from a settled area), it is usually important to know because they will pass through regions and have a good chance of running into something out there…

The rules for determining travel time depend on two factors: the speed and travel pace of the creatures moving and the terrain they’re moving over.

Travel Pace

While traveling, a group can move at a Stealthy, Slow, Normal, Quick, or Fast pace, as shown on the Travel Pace table. The table shows whether the pace has any effect. A faster pace makes characters less perceptive, while a slower pace makes it possible to sneak around and to search an area more carefully. Difficult terrain reduces speed by half (2 to 1), with the same effects. Unstable terrain reduces speed to one quarter (4 to1), with the same effects.

Travel Pace Table

Pace	Speed	Effect	Notes
Stealthy	Quarter (0.25)	+5 to Perception Checks	Able to use stealth
Slow	Half (0.5)	+3 to Perception Checks	Typical Travel Pace, avoids fatigue of teams
Normal	Normal (1)		Standard trave pace.
Quick	Rushed (1.5)	-3 to Perception checks	Teams suffer 1 point of fatigue per hour
Fast	Double (2)	-5 to Perception checks	Teams suffer 2 points of fatigue per hour, Individuals suffer 1 per hour

The Speed of travel is based on the Speed of the way traveled – a Wagon Speed is going to vary by wagon, an airship or train will vary by that. The Speed rating of a vehicle, Mount, or individual determines the distance traveled in a Round, Minute, Hour, or Day.

Terrain impacts speed, type of Speed impacts it, and there are reasons not to tire people and mounts out or push them too hard. Travel is a common challenge, and is fairly uncommon among most of the population, which tends to remain within a given area for most of their lives.

The Speed and Distance Table shows how far something can travel in a span of time (minutes, hours, days) based on speed score (using standard speed unit of 1 = 10 feet in six seconds). This takes into account time spent resting teams and crews, minor disturbances, and the like. When using a vehicle, Handling can impact the distance and speed, especially during maneuvers, which are also more challenging at higher speeds.

A day of travel is 8 hours of time.

Speed & Distance Table

Speed	Distance Traveled			Notes	Speed	Distance Traveled			Notes
	Minute (ft.)	Hour (mi)	Day (mi)			Minute (ft.)	Hour (mi)	Day (mi)
1	10	0.2	1.6		325	3250	37	296
5	50	0.5	4		350	3500	40	320
10	100	1	8		375	3750	43	344
15	150	1.5	12		400	4000	45	360
20	200	2	16	Foot	425	4250	47	376
25	250	3	24	Cart	450	4500	50	400
30	300	3.5	28	Horse	475	4750	53	424
35	350	4	32		500	5000	55	440
40	400	4.5	36	Wagon	525	5250	57	456
45	450	5	40		550	5500	63	500
50	500	5.5	44		575	5750	65	520	Train
55	550	6	48	Skyship	600	6000	68	544
60	600	6.5	52		625	6250	71	568
65	650	7	56		650	6500	74	592
70	700	7.5	60		675	6750	77	616
75	750	8	64		700	7000	79	632
80	800	8.5	68		725	7250	82	656
85	850	9	72		750	7500	85	680
90	900	10	80		775	7750	88	704
95	950	11	88		800	8000	91	728
100	1000	12	96	Barge	825	8250	94	752
125	1250	14	112		850	8500	97	776
150	1500	18	144		875	8750	99	792	Dragon
175	1750	19	152		900	9000	102	816
200	2000	22	176		925	9250	105	840
225	2250	25	200	Ship	950	9500	108	864
250	2500	28	224		975	9750	111	888
275	2750	31	248		1000	10000	114	912
300	3000	35	280		1100	11000	125	1000

Forced March. The tables above presume that characters travel for 8 hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion.

For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover the distance shown in the Hour column for their pace, and each character must make a CON save 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 fatigue.

Mounts. For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than people.

A mounted character can ride at a gallop for 1 hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace. If fresh mounts are available every 5 to 10 miles, characters can cover larger distances at this pace, but this is very rare except in densely populated areas.

Mounts which move at this double speed must make a Con check every hour or suffer a point of fatigue.

Vehicles. 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. Vessels can slow down or speed up in some circumstances, depending on their method of movement, but altering speed has the effects outlined above. Note that unless visibility is impacted, waterborne vehicles move in stealth closer than 2 miles to the target.

Characters in a flying 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. Vessels can slow down or speed up in some circumstances, depending on their method of movement, but altering speed has the effects outlined above.

Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, vehicles might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day. This requires a vessel with shifts, or the crew begins to suffer from fatigue.

Certain special mounts, such as a pegasus or griffon, or special vehicles, such as a carpet of flying, allow you to travel more swiftly.

True Speeds

This table gives the precise speed versus miles per hour using standard Speed units.

It is provided for reference.

Speed Equivalents
Speed	.88	2.2	4.4	8.8	17.6	26.4	35.2	44	52.8	61.6	70.4	79.2	88
Mph	.1	.25	.5	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Speed	132	176	220	264	352	440	528	616	660	704	792	880	968
Mph	15	20	25	30	40	50	60	70	75	80	90	100	110

Difficult Terrain

The travel speeds above assume relatively simple terrain: roads, open plains, and dry packed soil. But adventurers often face dense forests, deep swamps, rubble-filled ruins, steep mountains, and ice-covered ground—all considered difficult terrain.

You move at half speed in 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.

Unstable Terrain

The travel speeds above assume relatively simple terrain that remains pretty much where it is. But adventurers often face situations and experiences where the terrain is moving, roiling, or disturbed and broken far more than with difficult terrain—all considered unstable terrain.

You move at quarter speed in unstable terrain— moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 4 feet of speed—so you can cover only a quarter the normal distance in a minute, an hour, or a day.

Special Types Of Movement

Movement through dangerous dungeons or wilderness areas often involves more than simply walking. Adventurers might have to climb, crawl, swim, or jump to get where they need to go.

Burrowing

Burrowing costs 10 feet of Speed per 1 foot of directional movement unless the character has a Burrowing Speed.

Packed earth adds 5 feet, Rubble adds 10 feet, Stone adds 20 feet.

Climbing

While climbing each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain, 3 extra feet in unstable terrain), unless a creature has a climbing speed.

Climbing a slippery vertical surface or one with few handholds requires a successful Strength (Athletics) check.

Swimming

While swimming, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in choppy water, 3 extra feet in low swells, 5 extra feet in high swells, 6 extra feet plus Athletics check in rough water), unless a creature has a climbing or swimming speed.

Gaining distance forward in rough water requires a successful Strength (Athletics) check to use 5 feet of Speed to move 1 foot of distance.

Jumping

Your Strength determines how far you can jump.

Long Jump. When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feet up to your Strength score if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing long jump, you can leap only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump both vertically (up to a maximum number of feet equal to 3 + your Strength modifier plus your Athletics skill) and horizontally costs a foot of movement.

You must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear a low obstacle (no taller than a quarter of the jump’s distance), such as a hedge or low wall. Otherwise, you hit it.

When you land in difficult terrain, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on your feet. Otherwise, you land prone.

High Jump. When you make a high jump, you leap into the air a number of feet equal to 3 + your Strength modifier if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing high jump, you can jump only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear (vertically and horizontally) on the jump costs a foot of movement. In some circumstances, you can make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than you normally can.

You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach above you a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times your height.

Falling

A fall from a great height is one of the most common hazards facing an adventurer. At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. The creature lands prone unless it avoids taking damage from the fall.

A fall takes 1 round for every 60 feet fallen.

Falling into water

Falling into water has a chance of rendering a character unconscious. A Con check with a DC of 10 plus 1 for every 10 feet fallen needs to be made. Unconscious characters may suffocate.

Additionally, a character will travel 1 foot into the water for every 10 feet fallen, and if the depth of the water is less than that number, will take an additional 1d6 damage from collision with the bottom.

Suffocating

A creature can hold its breath for a number of minutes equal to 1 + its Constitution modifier (minimum of 30 seconds).

When a creature runs out of breath or is choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round). At the start of its next turn, it drops to 0 hit points and is dying, and it can’t regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again.

For example, a creature with a Constitution of 14 can hold its breath for 3 minutes. If it starts suffocating, it has 2 rounds to reach air before it drops to 0 hit points.

Encounters

Wilderness encounters can vary tremendously. The type of terrain one is passing through has the most direct and immediate effect on this. The Biome, or kind of natural area, being passed through determines the overall encounter types, and influences the kinds of challenges that are faced.

Generally, there is a 35% chance of an encounter in a given 4 hour period during a day (12 hours) and then a 30% chance of a single encounter at night. This is 3 possible encounters during a day, and a fourth possible at night.

It should be noted that an encounter in the wilderness may not be something that can be managed by a party of any size. Often, the best course of action when faced with deeply dangerous foes is to avoid or retreat before an encounter has happened and evolved into combat.

Often, wilderness encounters may result in simply meeting something. The actions you take will determine the outcome of that meeting in many cases – but not all.

Wyrlde has an abundance of common wildlife, and that wildlife can be of many different sizes. There are giant mice and miniature elephants, there are animals that seems to be a mix of two others, and there are, of course, the monsters. All these kinds of critters are only some of the things that can be met.

Bandits, Pirates, Brigands, Lemurian raiding parties, local Patrols, dreadnaughts, merchants, regular folk – the kinds of things you can meet are unending.