Movement
2023-10-09
It’s easy to get confused playing a game as to how much you can move. It’s supposed to be simple! Well yes, but also no. The true issue is that when creating a feeling of verisimilitude there are different levels of abstraction utilized. These abstractions being the close combat level (combat), the long-form level (Downtime or Travelling), and mid-level actions (Chases, Dangerous Travel, or Scavenging). Or at least those are the ones I use when I’m running the game. So to explain movement I’ll break it down by these different abstractions, but first I’ll list some basic types of combat which can be utilized in a variety of situations. Finally, remember all units utilize meters and kilometers.
Movement Speed - This is normally based on your Ancestry but can be modified by a variety of circumstances, the most common of which are Class Features such as the Monk’s Unarmored Movement or Spells such as Longstrider. For most Ancestries this is 10m but for small or stout ones it’s normally 8m. This value represents the distance a character can cover in a single Movement Action, which is a burst of all-out movement in a life threatening situation.
Climbing/Swimming and Flying/Tunneling - When Climbing or Swimming a character’s Movement Speed is halved as it is effectively a type of Difficult Terrain. However, this restriction can be removed when gaining a Climbing Speed or a Swimming Speed such as via the Fighter’s Light Traveler Fighting Style or via some Ancestry Features such the Water Genasi’s Swimming Speed. In the same manner some characters can gain the ability to Fly or Tunnel with Spells or certain Ancestries.
Finally, if a character is walking crouched or low to the ground (such as when traveling Stealthily) they move at half their normal Movement Speed. While if they are prone their speed is halved again.
Jumping - This represents the full jump at a character’s full strength, though it can also be modified by Spells such as Jump or abilities found in some Monster stat blocks. The math to calculate a character’s jump is as follows…
Long Jump - The distance you can cover jumping forward is equal to 1+ 2x your Strength Modifier when you move at least 3m before jumping, so a Fighter with a strength of 18 (a +4 modifier) can make a Long Jump of 9m. Without the 3m run up you can only jump a number of meters equal to 1+ your Strength Modifier. One complication is if there is an obstacle for this jump, such as a gate across a chasm or caltrops across a river, a DC10 Acrobatics roll might be required to avoid it.
High Jump - A basic jump with all of a character’s strength, the character makes a run up of 3m then can jump your Strength Modifier in meters. However without a run up you only jump ½ your Strength Modifier. In addition, you gain additional distance when using your arms to reach (such as to grab a ledge) equal to ½ your height
Finally, if a Character has a negative Strength Modifier they can jump half a meter if they attempt it.
The easiest to extrapolate to a gameboard is combat, there are tiles with specified distances and easy for a player to visualize. Here the most common form of Movement is the Movement Action, which every character gets per turn, allowing them to move a number of tiles up to their Movement Speed. From there Characters can utilize their Action to take the Dash Action, moving up to the same distance. Additional options include Jumping, Disengaging Stepping, or Shoving
From there the next simplest form of Movement is the long form Travel, which normally takes place during extended periods of walking between settlements. The pace set by a party can be seen below, for which the party is assumed to be traveling on a paved road for 8 Hours per day. However this can be extended if time is of vital importance. In doing so every Character must make a Forced March Saving Throw. This is a Constitution Saving Throw with a DC of 12 + the number of Hours after 8, and on a Failure a Character gains 1 Level of Exhaustion. Finally, if a Character gets a Critical Failure they gain 2 Levels of Exhaustion, and Failing the Save by 10 or more also results in a Critical Failure.
Walking
Fast - 8 kph, Stealth Disallowed, Passive Perception Only (with a -5 Penalty), Disadvantage on Forced March Save
Normal - 5 kph, Disadvantage on Stealth
Slow - 2 kph, Stealth Checks Normal, Advantage on Perception checks
Mounts and Vehicles (If in good working order)
Mounts - 8 kph, Triples the party’s Maximum Carry Capacity, can utilize carts and wagons, and a Fast Pace increases to 12 kph but the Mounts must make Forced March Saves after 4 Hours of this pace at the regular DC.
Attaching Vehicles (Carts and Wagons) reduces the pace back to 5 kph and prevents the use of a Fast Pace for anything more than 1 Hour. However this also increases the Carry Capacity from 3x to 10x your normal Party Maximum
Ship - 20 kph, 20x load, most ships are 40 person ships but can carry up to 60 in an emergency
Note, this faster speed isn’t actually faster, it just cuts through hills and ignores difficult roads when in easily accessible bodies of water such as a clear coastline or river. This is reduced severely if in difficult waters or difficult to navigate rivers.
Flying (via Fly Spell) - 40m per round [Flying Speed, or 4m per second] which = 22 kph
The effective time reduction is double this if considering the skipping over of difficult terrain such as a forest
Finally, the least rules-heavy form of movement is the mid-level of movement, an abstraction of minutes or hours dedicated to an activity. This form of travel normally takes the form of Scavenging or Chasing, with can either be handled by Skill Checks or can utilize Skill Challenges for longer sequences
