long distance move rates?

[The Sigil]

What would be realistic for long distance travel time - say, a journey of 1,000 miles by foot? (or, around 1,600km to you non-Americans) I don't recall it in the DMG, but it's Monday morning and my caffeine hasn't kicked in yet.

You're looking for "overland movement." Not sure of the DMG reference (you can probably use the index) but here's the SRD Reference/link: http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/v35/CarryingandExploration.rtf

A journey of 1,000 miles by foot for a human (assuming walking and no terrain difficulty, since you would be hard-pressed to go on a forced march of 1,000 miles) would take... 1000 miles/24 miles/day = 41.67 days.

In 2E days, if the party normally moved at 12" a round, you would make that 24 miles a day, making a 1,000 mile journey a 42 day trip, not counting rough terrain, encounters or anything else.

However, is it realistic to walk every day for 42 straight days, or would a party of adventurers need an occasional day off?

Assuming you have enough food and water, I don't think it's unrealsitic. The SRD states the movement rates shown assume 8 hours of travel - Walk: A character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem. Walking for longer than that can wear him or her out (see Forced March, below). - most of us today can work/stay on our feet for 8 hours... and most of us are not exactly in "adventuring shape," I'll wager.

Also, how much of a difference would a horse make, and how often would the horse need a break - i.e., a day off, new horseshoes, etc. I am assuming a horse would be about twice as fast in distance covered per day, but may require a bit more 'down time' in regards to horse shoes, the burden of carrying armored adventurers, etc.

Horses have an overland speed of 48 miles (compare with human with a Tactical speed of 30 going 24 miles per day) so you would be correct that horses would be twice as fast. Analagous to humans, the horse is only going 8 hours per day and probably would not need a day off; horseshoes, etc. are probably like 'sharpening swords' and 'repairing armor' - it's assumed to take place "off camera."

--The Sigil

 

[Talvisota]

The real benefit with long-distance travelling with horses (or mules, donkeys, tauntauns, whatever) is not speed or comfort but carrying capacity. With minimal effort, mounts can be used to carry necessary supplies over long distances without encumbering their owners.