D&D 5E How do societies communicate across distances in your world?

[bedir than]

Magic is the easy answer, especially in Eberron and Ravnica. But in the Realms there's little evidence that Sending Stones are connecting the general populace of Waterdeep and Phandelver for example. So far in 5e there's little discussion of how messages between cities are sent and delivered, outside of knowing that it's done. But who is it done by?
One common quest type is "deliver a message" between two separated locations. This could be a city and an outpost, or two mage towers. Whatever.

Exploring this question took me towards two different backgrounds. In my world animal companions are vital, so one of the two created backgrounds is the Messenger, which has a pigeon or crow or dog or pony. The other is the Far Talker, a person that uses some kind of device to communicate.

How does your world communicate across distance?

 

[Lanefan]

For very long range e.g. across a continent, most often by direct delivery of messages by people with long-range travel capabilities such as Teleport, Wind Walk, Plane Shift (leave from one place on the game world, return to another), and so on. There's a few instances of permanent very-long-range communication setups but these are rare and hella costly; and a few permanent teleport sites that aren't always reliable.

For shorter range e.g. within the same realm it'd be by fast flight effects (e.g. a Druid shapeshifts into a falcon), messenger birds, Skywrite, and sometimes medium-range magic devices that equate to walkie-talkies or radio-telephones good for 20 miles or so. Or good old-fashioned ordinary messengers.

Less common but still out there is telepathy, either by psionics or (more often) device, which works anywhere on the same plane provided both the sender and the receiver somehow have the ability.

Edit to add: this thread really should have the "D&D General" tag rather than 5e, as it's an edition-agnostic question in many ways.

 

[BookTenTiger]

In my campaign worlds, they generally don't!

Towns within the same territory, or neighboring territories, will communicate by humanoid or animal messenger.

Powerful cities will communicate through royal edicts sent by messenger.

But I leave the fancy magic communication to the characters! It makes it feel more special.

 

[Minigiant]

Messenger Guild of low level mages, priest, postmen, and animal trainers.

Common quest is take a message outside of their normal areas or through a dangerous area.

 

[bedir than]

Edit to add: this thread really should have the "D&D General" tag rather than 5e, as it's an edition-agnostic question in many ways.

I linked my very 5e backgrounds so felt that it was a better fit with 5e. I'd also have different answers for a OD&D or 1e game than I would for the much more magical version of the modern era.

 

[DND_Reborn]

How does your world communicate across distance?

Written letters and long journeys?

I don't do "mass magic" like Sending Stones for city patrols or anything like it. There are not dozens of teleportation circles all across my world in major cities, temples, and such.

When magic becomes mundane, it ceases to be magical.

 

[cbwjm]

Regular people will ask the town scribe to write up a letter and have it sent to their cousin a few towns over (literacy is not assumed 100%). The carrier might be a merchant or someone "going that way" and it could takes days or weeks to get where it needs to go as they drop off letters in towns to be picked up by others.

Spellcasters can get some use out of various magical spells and implements. Crystal balls, sending, etc. I could see some areas having an animal messenger network. A county in one of my kingsdoms primarily follows the wyld faith which only has druids as their priests so it would make sense that in that area, squirrels, raccoons, and ravens are running around delivering messages.

Nothing much more than that, though I've been tempted to add the sorcerous news spell from the old Conan RPG into the game which allows tapping into a sorcerous network, though not quite for passing on messages.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I use postal systems a lot (there were some pretty fast methods for conveying messages in pre-modern times: not cell fast but better than one might initially think): combinations of signals, runnings, riders, etc can get messages across distance. Pidgeons are always an option too. I like carrier pigeons.

 

[Bitbrain]

Sending spells, animal messengers, heralds traveling through teleportation circles, or just taking the long way and physically traveling from one city to the other on foot or steed.

 

[cbwjm]

I use postal systems a lot (there were some pretty fast methods for conveying messages in pre-modern times: not cell fast but better than one might initially think): combinations of signals, runnings, riders, etc can get messages across distance. Pidgeons are always an option too. I like carrier pigeons.

Oh yeah, carrier pigeons, I'd kind of forgotten about those. Reminds me of one of those Avengers shorts with Banner and Thor talking to Ironman on the phone and Thor's all "I don't have a phone, send a raven!" Maybe that could become a standard long distance means of communication. Discworld's semaphore towers could also be a thing that some enterprising individual comes up with.