Long Distance Roads or Travel by Ship

[smcc360]

That's a keen idea. Did you write them up like a faction, with hierarchy and goals and the like? I can see that being pretty interesting as well.

I'm in New York, so I based them--loosely--on the NY State Police. Squads of Wardens (6-8) commanded by Sergeants, are organized into Troops (4-6 squads) commanded by Lieutenants. Two or three Troops form a Barracks, responsible for a Region, and commanded by a Captain. Funded by the Merchants' Guilds and the various duchies and baronies through which the roads run, their goal is to protect travelers and keep the trade routes open.

Since they're chronically understaffed, they're usually willing to recruit PCs for short or long-term employment.

 

[Fenris-77]

Yup, that's cool. Sounds like a great organization to run a smuggling operation through. What's your level of corruption like?

 

[smcc360]

Yup, that's cool. Sounds like a great organization to run a smuggling operation through. What's your level of corruption like?

About halfway between 'nonexistant' and 'rampant.'

 

[Hriston]

Yes, my current campaign is set in a city that is connected to the rest of the world by a single road that is known to be dangerous as is the surrounding countryside, which is a vast bog full of monsters.

 

[aco175]

I broadly assume that the price of goods is baked into the cost in the PHB. This takes into account the travel distance of goods. I tried to set up some ideas of where goods are manufactured vs where they are sold to give discounts to close area vs far areas, but I kind of let it play out as long as the players are cool with things.

Roads are dangerous from monsters and bandits. I tend to have towns placed a day's ride apart so that there is a relatively safe place to rest. The farther away from large cities, the more spaced out the villages and crossroad shrines / roadside inns become. The large cities send patrols for a few days along the roads and some even have crews to maintain the roads. Some of these areas have tolls to collect taxes to maintain the roads and pay for the guards.

 

[GMMichael]

Was thinking this morning of how impossible it would be for a long distance road to be safely maintained with all the creatures running around in D&D.

Like the ever-fearsome Asphalt Devourer?

Then my mind shifted to how much safer ship travel would be... and it seemed safe for awhile... then merrow, merfolk and sahuagin sprung to mind. And I thought, how the heck is anyone travelling out there?

Don't forget storms, scurvy, mutiny, and LEVIATHAN!

In my Greyhawk campaign, about 95% of people never go further than a few miles of their home because of the danger involved, leaving merchants, soldiers, and the ever foolish adventurers.

That, and 95% of people can't afford horses, and they're not about to walk off the lord's land and deal with another lord. Or worse, highlanders...

Generally, I handle it by most roads being along the farmed belt. The farmers tend to have a village every 3-6 miles (half a day's walk). Monsters generally stay away from civ.

Those are some impressive farmers, repelling monsters! I guess pitchforks and torches really work!

My explanation is that a monster manual has the same effect as the syndicated evening news: it puts all the problems right in your face, that aren't really local or realistic problems.

 

[Dioltach]

PCs are like lightning rods for monsters, bandits and other hazards. The principal job of city guards is to decide whether that harmless-seeming band of wandering minstrels are what they appear to be, or adventurers who need to be kept outside the city walls.

 

[Tonguez]

Real world roads were pretty dangerous too, hence the many stories we get of bandits and highwaymen. Even the whole rise of Banking and Bills of Exchange so that Merchants didnt have to carry raidable gold.

So yes I assume
1. That settled areas have regular outpost/villages that help patrol the roads
(Genghis Khan instituted the Yam system along the Silk Road as a series of relay stations spaced at every 40miles or so (the distance a fast horse could travel) which provided food, shelter for merchants and spare horses for official messengers (who could cover almost 200 miles per day). The Yam systems helped make the Silk Road one of the safest trade routes of the era.

2. Yes merchant caravans going outside settled areas hire mercenary Adventurers to protect them from threats

3. Yes ships and rivers are used alot

 

[Tonguez]

I introduced Road Wardens, like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying had. Underfunded and overworked, they're always willing to hire some adventurous mercenaries willing to clear out a bandit-infested wood, or a gang of toll-extorting trolls camped under a bridge.

so if the city can run toll gates, why arent the trolls allowed to run a tollgate on their bridge too? Seems a little unfair

 

[Bawylie]

That’s what rangers and low-to-mid-level adventurers are for.