How do you deal with traveling in your games?

[Viking Bastard]

As I like to repeat ad infinitum, I've recently returned to gaming after a nearly decade long hiatus. I'm quite rusty and DMing a group of newbies.

One of the things that I just don't remember how I used to deal with is traveling from one location to another; going from the city to a village, from the village up to the mountains etc.

So far, once the players decide to go somewhere, they just kind of 'pop' from one location to another, with a little dry commentary from me ("The trip took the better part of the day and when you get there it's well into the evening. You might consider looking for a place to stay for the night"). This leaves me a little dissatisfied and seems to disrupt the flow of the game, but on the other hand I don't want to spend too much time and energy whenever the PCs decide to take on a short trip.

How is it dealt with in your games?

 

[Umbran]

Unless something particularly interesting is going to happen during that travel, I gloss over it much like you do.

I don't use "wandering" encounters much. There may be consequences of actions that will catch PCs en route, or there may be planted plot hooks for them to find. But, if not, then the time passes uneventfully, and we "cut to the chase" so to speak.

 

[Mort]

As I like to repeat ad infinitum, I've recently returned to gaming after a nearly decade long hiatus. I'm quite rusty and DMing a group of newbies.

One of the things that I just don't remember how I used to deal with is traveling from one location to another; going from the city to a village, from the village up to the mountains etc.

So far, once the players decide to go somewhere, they just kind of 'pop' from one location to another, with a little dry commentary from me ("The trip took the better part of the day and when you get there it's well into the evening. You might consider looking for a place to stay for the night"). This leaves me a little dissatisfied and seems to disrupt the flow of the game, but on the other hand I don't want to spend too much time and energy whenever the PCs decide to take on a short trip.

How is it dealt with in your games?

In my current campaign, I've been doing my best to make the journey incorporate into the adventuring. There have been ambushes along the road, stops to help people along the way to where the group was going - things like that. Of course, in the case of my group they are members of the Church of the Silver Flame, people see them and tend to request/expect help.

That said, I'm finding it a lot of fun, not taking the journey itself for granted and I think my players are enjoying the added adventure opportunities (feels much more authentic from a sandbox point of view).

In the (hopefuly not so distant) future, the group will be taking the lightning rail to Sharn. Now (in Eberron) the lighting rail is owned by House Orien. What do you think will happen when the group takes a long journey on the Orien Express?

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I usually start off with a, "You are on the road to Kragfordvilleton. The packed earth beneath your feet has a layer of slippery mud from recent rains, and the overcast sky threatens more of the same." This sets the overall tone for the trip with a few sentences and gives the players an opportunity to interact with one another for a bit.

After that, I'll throw in one or two encounters, depending on how long the trip is supposed to be / whether or not the environment is a factor / if I want to make the area seem dangerous in general etc. These encounters are planned, but can contain some randomness (such as a fight with ambushing bandits possibly attracting the attention of some other critter).

And then I describe the rest of the trip, "after dispatching several more unnatural creatures, you emerge from the blight swamp a little dirtier and a little hungrier than you entered it. The lights of the village of hamletsburgh can be seen in the distance."

 

[Crothian]

Sometimes we just summarizes what happens and when this is done it just isn't the DM. Occasionally we'll have one of the players summarize the events of the travel for a change of pace. Other times if the journey is the adventure then we play it out and do encounters and everything. Most of the time I like to establish travel and then when it becomes more routine we gloss over it.

 

[Holy Bovine]

As I like to repeat ad infinitum, I've recently returned to gaming after a nearly decade long hiatus. I'm quite rusty and DMing a group of newbies.

One of the things that I just don't remember how I used to deal with is traveling from one location to another; going from the city to a village, from the village up to the mountains etc.

So far, once the players decide to go somewhere, they just kind of 'pop' from one location to another, with a little dry commentary from me ("The trip took the better part of the day and when you get there it's well into the evening. You might consider looking for a place to stay for the night"). This leaves me a little dissatisfied and seems to disrupt the flow of the game, but on the other hand I don't want to spend too much time and energy whenever the PCs decide to take on a short trip.

How is it dealt with in your games?

I have tried letting the players tell me how they get from place to place. In a campaign i was running the PCs needed to get to a huge market/festival that was taking place deep within a nearby desert. They were in the last town before entering the desert and wanted to see what transportation was available. I had the typical 'caravan guard' jobs and even taking a ride in a covered wagon train thing. I also, for a laugh, stuck in some crazy 'Sand Skiffs' magical boats that could move across the desert. The party was divided on what mode to take and, after a lengthy discussion and tons of RP-ing they decided to take the (very expensive) Sand Skiffs....


...which I was totally unprepared for! The skiff ride cost over 100gp each (a lot for 5th level characters who have been keep cash poor but magic item rich) and I honestly didn't think they would pony up 600gp for the 6 of them (that was over half the money they had on them!) but they did! Fortunately it was the end of the session and I had a week to plan out what could happen. The resulting adventure lasted 4 sessions, had dopplegangers, assassins, saboteurs, plays, love affairs and even fireworks! The finale had the PCs racing against the clock to escape the the quickly exploding sand skiff!

Those were some of the most entertaining sessions I have ever run - all because I let the players tell me where they wanted to go!

 

[ExploderWizard]

It really depends on where and when the party is traveling. If the area they are passing through is tame and settled then the trip might be handwaved as taking X amount of time along with descriptions of any interesting things along the way.

If the party is trekking through dangerous turf then encounters are rolled for normally.

 

[IronWolf]

A lot of our travel is glossed over. X number of days pass and possibly even saying you fend off attacking wolves one night with ease, but not actually play out the encounter - just paint the picture that it wasn't a walk in the park.

I tried to play out travel in one of my early games back DM'ing. It seemed to fall to monotony rather quickly despite my interest being to make travel mean something. That didn't go as well as planned so I tend to gloss over the travel in a few sentences and the passage of in-game time.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Sometimes we just summarizes what happens and when this is done it just isn't the DM. Occasionally we'll have one of the players summarize the events of the travel for a change of pace.

This approach intrigues me and I wonder how I could get my players to do that.

 

[Crothian]

This approach intrigues me and I wonder how I could get my players to do that.

It usually goes something like this but I haven't done this in years.

DM: You are traveling in early spring from Thesdon down to Montinelle. Fred, tell us how it goes.

Fred: Huh?

DM: Describe the journey the party takes between the two cities.

Fred: Well, I guess we travel by horse. So it goes well?

DM: Nothing interesting happens? And don't ask me, tell me.

Fred: Well, it goes fine. My character did find that sword +4 in that hidden hole though.

DM: You're first level; you don't find a sword+4.

Fred: You told me to tell you what happens and that was what happened.

DM: Just summarize it up. Make a little story, make it funny or interesting or something. But not an adventure and no treasure.

Fred: Fine, we ride down through the orchard lined roads. Along the way the way we ask the peasants from the small towns if they have have any rumors of the vile former duke Greenwood and his hidden hideout. Oh, and Josh's character get thrown from his horse into the poison ivy and is miserable the whole time. That's for taking the elven boots I wanted!

Josh: What? No, it's my character he can't do that. Besides you can't wear two pairs of boots at the same time. We talked about this!

DM: It's his story. So, you all arrive in Montinelle. You do hear some rumors of the former Duke and I'll get to those in a minute. Josh, you've had a miserable time being all itchy but on arriving to the city your fame makes it so that you are recognized and a few young maidens are happy to spread ointment all of your itchy skin.

This is basically a true story, names are changed