D&D General Travel In Medieval Europe

[Hussar]

And yet the FR had the gods physically walk the planet during the Times of Troubles and perform various deeds. Enough spots that warrant a pilgrimage to.

You do realize how tautological this is right? "It is easy to walk around FR because walking is easy, so, it must be easy. If it was difficult, they wouldn't be able to walk around."

The fact that they completely ignore all the bits that would make it difficult to walk around just don't matter? I guess?

Ok, quick question. There's a Trade Way that runs all the way up the coast of the Sword Coast. Which empire built that? Who maintains it? We're talking a road that is several thousand miles long, through some extremely inhospitable areas (Mere of Dead Men for example) yet never needs anyone to maintain it (there are no empires maintaining roads in the Sword Coast) and is apparently passable year round.

That's IMPRESSIVE.

 

[Tonguez]

Ok, quick question. There's a Trade Way that runs all the way up the coast of the Sword Coast. Which empire built that? Who maintains it? We're talking a road that is several thousand miles long, through some extremely inhospitable areas (Mere of Dead Men for example) yet never needs anyone to maintain it (there are no empires maintaining roads in the Sword Coast) and is apparently passable year round.

That's IMPRESSIVE.

Waukeen, the Merchants Friend. Her church was rich and set up to support trade - investing in roads (and toll gates) fits, even if it is a detail most ignore.

(I’m weird though I played in a kingdom level rpg, where my major project was to build a new 1200 mile Kings Road across the savannah from the Western desert to the Eastern border (beyond which lay another nation similar to Ethiopia) - it had to be done in stages and a whole series of adventure hooks spun off that roading project…)

 

[Faolyn]

You do realize how tautological this is right? "It is easy to walk around FR because walking is easy, so, it must be easy. If it was difficult, they wouldn't be able to walk around."

The fact that they completely ignore all the bits that would make it difficult to walk around just don't matter? I guess?

Ok, quick question. There's a Trade Way that runs all the way up the coast of the Sword Coast. Which empire built that? Who maintains it? We're talking a road that is several thousand miles long, through some extremely inhospitable areas (Mere of Dead Men for example) yet never needs anyone to maintain it (there are no empires maintaining roads in the Sword Coast) and is apparently passable year round.

That's IMPRESSIVE.

Presumably you could say that if the Trade Way, or the pilgrimage roads are important, then they would be more heavily patrolled or otherwise protected, meaning they'd be safer to walk on. There doesn't have to be empires maintaining the road. There could be some faction that does it, but they don't get written about in the game books because The Road Builders aren't as interesting or sexy as, say, the Harpers. Actually, in reading about some of the Realms' factions, road maintenance or patrol could be part of the Lord's Alliance, the Order of the Gauntlet, or the Emerald Enclave.

 

[Faolyn]

Waukeen, the Merchants Friend. Her church was rich and set up to support trade - investing in roads (and toll gates) fits, even if it is a detail most ignore.

And Greyhawk has Fharlanghan, the god of travel, who probably does something similar if on a smaller scale.

 

[Tonguez]

And Greyhawk has Fharlanghan, the god of travel, who probably does something similar if on a smaller scale.

Yeah Fharlaghn??was my first thought as ‘god of roads’, but the question was FR so Waukeen took up the slack.

 

[cbwjm]

Yeah Fharlaghn??was my first thought as ‘god of roads’, but the question was FR so Waukeen took up the slack.

Shaundukal was the god of travellers in FR, though I think the church of Waukeen investing in roads to aid commerce makes a lot of sense.

 

[Tonguez]

Shaundukal was the god of travellers in FR, though I think the church of Waukeen investing in roads to aid commerce makes a lot of sense.

Yeah Shaundukal always seemed more a ranger trailblaizing into the the unknown wilderness type ‘wanderer god’ whereas Waukeen in my head fits the more settled civilisation type ’Highway god’

 

[Dioltach]

1mph too fast, at most. The average adult human can comfortably walk 3-4mph. 5mph is a fast pace, but hardly grueling.

Unfortunately, for those of us without 7 League Boots (which is probably pretty much everyone in the world apart from you) normal walking pace is about 3mph (or 5km per hour). If you're travelling from one village to the next, that's the maximum speed you should allow for.

(There's a point where it costs less energy to start running than to keep walking - that's about 4mph, or 6.5km per hour. Next time you're on a treadmill, walk for an hour on that speed setting. Then do an hour at 5mph. Then imagine spending a day walking at that pace.)

 

[Hussar]

So Waukeen or Fharlanghan have the resources to maintain a road several thousand miles long? Through some of the most heavily monster infested lands in Forgotten Realms? Never minding that that's just ONE road and only goes up the Coast. I mean Neverwinter to Athkathla is about 1500 miles. And one church maintains that road?

 

[Dioltach]

So Waukeen or Fharlanghan have the resources to maintain a road several thousand miles long? Through some of the most heavily monster infested lands in Forgotten Realms? Never minding that that's just ONE road and only goes up the Coast. I mean Neverwinter to Athkathla is about 1500 miles. And one church maintains that road?

Obviously they don't need to protect the entire road - just travellers who make the appropriate offerings.