S
Sunseeker
Guest
Nobody's going to be traveling 40 miles a day without the very whips of the devil on their back.
How many miles can one travel in a day?
- Thread starter arbados
- Start date
Wik
First Post
Exactly. I remember in the book band of brothers, the entire regiment did a forced march over three days, and it was something like 117 miles - a record for unit movement that still stood as of the day the book was written.
And while individuals can (and have) gone faster, I find it improbable for a group to move 40 miles a day. Especially because your average adventurer is lacking in a lot of the lightweight foods and supplies that backpackers have.
GreyLord
Legend
Sorry to disappoint, but I've done 50 miles in a DAY, and that wasn't even a day that I went from beginning to end (that would be more of a 12 hour hike per day). I've gone for a week hiking as well...but then, I suppose I'm more experienced then anyone here. Wouldn't call myself an adventurer.
I HAVE done quite a bit of hiking in my younger days however...that's since died out, that stuff's for the young...but then, maybe I was in better shape then some here as well, back in my youth.
That's with ALL living supplies on my back that I'll live off of for at least a week, plus mountain climbing equipment.
I could be happy to say they could go 25 miles a day on foot.
On horse, it probably would be higher if they weren't rushing at breakneck speed (for example the Pony Express went through 4 horses, but in the time period of 24 hours I think they went about 240 miles...A DAY...they allowed 60 miles per leg of 6 hours...and then would change up horses and riders).
These slow speeds of hiking are ridiculous overall...coming from someone who's done quite a bit...IF they are going along trails which are actually quite easy hiking.
ON the otherhand, with scouts, I doubt I'd do anything over a 10 mile hike if I didn't have too. They don't seem to go that fast or hard...but they do have fun. 10 miles could take all day. I remember one that we were going up a trail in Utah...I think it was Zions...it was a trail going up for about a mile and they were all dying. It was interesting...took us half a day just to hike 5 miles...and an hour to come back down the next day. We did stop at Angels Landing...but that was to let the other boys actually catch up.
The worst was a 50 mile hike...but I wasn't over that one. That was my dad...and he forced hiked those scouts 25 miles a day. They were one tired bunch of kids...but did the 50 miles over a weekend.
Of course my Dad was the one who thought that we should be able to do a 5 mile hike in the scout hour...and that after all the other stuff...we did it in the last 45 minutes. That turned out to be more of jog/run...if you think I am terrible with my estimates you should see what my dad.
If you are comparing that (younger or inexperienced hikes) to what serious hikers and serious climbers can do...your estimates of what full time adventurers (who should be used to going off on the trails and wildlands) I think your estimates are waaaay off. Which is where the mile per hour comes from?
I don't consider myself, even when I was younger, in the shape an adventurer from an RPG would be in...so my expectations of what adventurers should be able to do is probably higher than yours.
I HAVE done quite a bit of hiking in my younger days however...that's since died out, that stuff's for the young...but then, maybe I was in better shape then some here as well, back in my youth.
That's with ALL living supplies on my back that I'll live off of for at least a week, plus mountain climbing equipment.
I could be happy to say they could go 25 miles a day on foot.
On horse, it probably would be higher if they weren't rushing at breakneck speed (for example the Pony Express went through 4 horses, but in the time period of 24 hours I think they went about 240 miles...A DAY...they allowed 60 miles per leg of 6 hours...and then would change up horses and riders).
These slow speeds of hiking are ridiculous overall...coming from someone who's done quite a bit...IF they are going along trails which are actually quite easy hiking.
ON the otherhand, with scouts, I doubt I'd do anything over a 10 mile hike if I didn't have too. They don't seem to go that fast or hard...but they do have fun. 10 miles could take all day. I remember one that we were going up a trail in Utah...I think it was Zions...it was a trail going up for about a mile and they were all dying. It was interesting...took us half a day just to hike 5 miles...and an hour to come back down the next day. We did stop at Angels Landing...but that was to let the other boys actually catch up.
The worst was a 50 mile hike...but I wasn't over that one. That was my dad...and he forced hiked those scouts 25 miles a day. They were one tired bunch of kids...but did the 50 miles over a weekend.
Of course my Dad was the one who thought that we should be able to do a 5 mile hike in the scout hour...and that after all the other stuff...we did it in the last 45 minutes. That turned out to be more of jog/run...if you think I am terrible with my estimates you should see what my dad.
If you are comparing that (younger or inexperienced hikes) to what serious hikers and serious climbers can do...your estimates of what full time adventurers (who should be used to going off on the trails and wildlands) I think your estimates are waaaay off. Which is where the mile per hour comes from?
I don't consider myself, even when I was younger, in the shape an adventurer from an RPG would be in...so my expectations of what adventurers should be able to do is probably higher than yours.
Crothian
First Post
Back to the RPG then. If ever character in the party has a 14+ con and the endurance feat then sure. But they don't. We have one character with a 14, one with a 12, and the other 2 have 10's. They are not in great shape as most of them are average or a little above.
But It's nice to see my point in my post proven so perfectly. It just depends on a lot of factors and situations one of those defiantly being what kind of shape the characters are in. I don't see adventures in great shape, I see them buying horses.
if you're walking to get somwhere, you should be able to go 3-4 miles an hour. That's at most, a brisk walk. Not power walking. Just walking to get somewhere.
I'm not sure if some folks realize just how slow 1-2 mph is. If I was carrying a pack, and somebody was going that slow, I'd still be going faster. Because barring an exceptionally heavy pack, it HURTS to move that slow. It's easier on the body to keep it moving, and thus shifting the weight.
Not having a car when I was growing up and living in the country, I walked to plenty of places.
Going down game trails doesn't slow you down that much either (assuming you're not going slow on purpose, to be quiet or spot something).
the only peoplee going 1-2 MPH ought to be sneaking, trailblazing or in poor health. All it takes is working legs and not being overweight. It's not like you gotta be a pro-athlete to walk for an hour or two.
Put it this way, you're driving through BFE. Your car runs out of gas. There's no cell reception. Start walking. If you got some place to be, you'll be going 3-4 MPH, because a slower pace is ridiculous, and a faster pace is tiring.
I'm not sure if some folks realize just how slow 1-2 mph is. If I was carrying a pack, and somebody was going that slow, I'd still be going faster. Because barring an exceptionally heavy pack, it HURTS to move that slow. It's easier on the body to keep it moving, and thus shifting the weight.
Not having a car when I was growing up and living in the country, I walked to plenty of places.
Going down game trails doesn't slow you down that much either (assuming you're not going slow on purpose, to be quiet or spot something).
the only peoplee going 1-2 MPH ought to be sneaking, trailblazing or in poor health. All it takes is working legs and not being overweight. It's not like you gotta be a pro-athlete to walk for an hour or two.
Put it this way, you're driving through BFE. Your car runs out of gas. There's no cell reception. Start walking. If you got some place to be, you'll be going 3-4 MPH, because a slower pace is ridiculous, and a faster pace is tiring.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
Historically, a League was a unit of measure equal to the average distance a person or horse could walk in one hour. In Ancient Rome it was equal to about 1.5 miles. In medieval England/Europe and later, a league was equal to 3 miles. I assume ancient Romans had shorter legs...
Average walking speed for an average person over even/easy terrain is 3 miles/hour, or 1 mile every 20 minutes. A persons level of fitness determines how much cumulative time they can walk in a day. But even a person with poor endurance can easily walk at a pace of three miles/hour...they just can't do it for as long as someone with greater endurance (unless they are significantly overweight, have an injury, are older or younger, etc. - basically not an average person).
Average walking speed for an average person over even/easy terrain is 3 miles/hour, or 1 mile every 20 minutes. A persons level of fitness determines how much cumulative time they can walk in a day. But even a person with poor endurance can easily walk at a pace of three miles/hour...they just can't do it for as long as someone with greater endurance (unless they are significantly overweight, have an injury, are older or younger, etc. - basically not an average person).
IronWolf
blank
Yeah, it will certainly vary depending on character I would think. As another person that used to backpack frequently in rather difficult terrain on many occasions I could certainly see adventurers able to cover a fair amount of distance even with decent sized packs and such. I know I had times when I was "trail tough" and able to cover difficult terrain quite quickly - even with a pack.
But really, adventurers are likely to go the horse route as you mentioned anyways. It just makes more sense in a lot of cases. Travel even further distances and leave yourself fresher for those orc ambushes.
evildmguy
Explorer
No one has mentioned footwear.
I spent several weekends at Ren Faires in costume with correct boots. Not rubber bottoms but leather and no padding. OUCH! The first day isn't bad. It's not until that next day that you realize how much it hurts. Modern sneakers are awesome and they would have had nothing like it back then.
I've also worn replica roman sandals. Not bad for a few hours but then they start to hurt. Barefoot felt better!
My point is that, as many have mentioned, there are a lot of factors to this. Take a bookworm (wizard) who doesn't walk much and then ask him to walk 30 miles in a day? I don't think he would be happy, unless he had a fly or the like spell ready!
Healing would help with that somewhat, and go for the drama of course instead of a detail like this, but I think the movement rates in the book are good guidelines. And the shoes good reason for horses!
I spent several weekends at Ren Faires in costume with correct boots. Not rubber bottoms but leather and no padding. OUCH! The first day isn't bad. It's not until that next day that you realize how much it hurts. Modern sneakers are awesome and they would have had nothing like it back then.
I've also worn replica roman sandals. Not bad for a few hours but then they start to hurt. Barefoot felt better!
My point is that, as many have mentioned, there are a lot of factors to this. Take a bookworm (wizard) who doesn't walk much and then ask him to walk 30 miles in a day? I don't think he would be happy, unless he had a fly or the like spell ready!
Healing would help with that somewhat, and go for the drama of course instead of a detail like this, but I think the movement rates in the book are good guidelines. And the shoes good reason for horses!
delericho
Legend
It's probably a bit of a stretch to call any adventuring wizard "a bookworm who doesn't walk much". By the time characters have a few adventures under their belts, they're really not going to fit that mould - they've been travelling around, enduring all sorts of extreme conditions for some time now!
evildmguy
Explorer
I'm not arguing that for the adventurers, this shouldn't be an issue. I, as a DM, wouldn't make it an issue other than mention that they are a bit sore after a long trek or horse ride or whatever they just did that wasn't usual for them.
I have had campaigns that took place entirely in a city. So, for me, I can see that if those adventurers went on a wilderness hike, while they are still in shape, they are going to be stiff and sore from the exertion. Or they only used horses to get around and the first time they have to walk, it's tough on them. I'm not advocating a penalty or anything. I'm merely saying that the first time they do something that is not what they normally do, it's going to be tougher than if they did it all the time. Again, I would mention they were sore but that would be about it.
This is a "hey, get your reality out of my gaming" moment.
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