Unless you are lucky enough to be travelling on well-maintained roads and have the services of a caravan to ease the misery of the march then the party needs to do all the hard work themselves. Individuals can choose to look after their own things and depend only on their own feet, but travel can be made much faster and safer if people adopt individual roles such as the Scout, Scavenger, Cook, and Pack Mule.
Each day the DM rolls 2d6 to determine what the weather is like or chooses it, which affects the collective DC required for checks made by the party. On a successful roll, the party is able to march at their chosen pace (PHB p181).
| 2d6 | Weather / Terrain | Clear Road | Flat Sparse Vegetation | Rocky / Patchy Vegetation | Steep / Dense Vegetation / Slightly boggy | Mountainous / Overgrown Vegetation / Swampy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Clear / Cloudy | trivial | trivial | trivial | 10 | 15 |
| 4-6 | Fog / Dust | trivial | trivial | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| 7-9 | Light Rain / Chills | trivial | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| 10-11 | Stormy / Heatwave | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| 12 | Hurricane / Blizzard / Sandstorm | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
To succeed on a roll, the majority of party members must succeed on their skill check. By default, the role of an individual is Marcher, unless they have someone else who can carry them or their equipment (such as a porter or mount), which frees them up to undertake more dynamic roles. Proficiency with certain tools such as the Carpenter’s or Cobbler’s Tools are particularly useful for overland travel, but are usually required for specific encounters or skill checks. Certain background or class features may also grant advantage to travel checks, or even allow individuals to succeed at them automatically if the conditions are right.
Travelling at a slow pace grants advantage on the travel check, whereas travelling at a fast pace inflicts disadvantage.
Once a player rolls, they can choose to roll again to aim for a better result. If they do so they gain 1 point of exhaustion the following day. A person can re-roll multiple times per day with the caveat that cannot do so if it would kill them.
If a vehicle with sufficient room (not just a mount) is available a person may choose to rest on a day instead of work. In that case they are able to recover points of exhaustion.
| Role | Description | Base Skill | Relevant Proficiencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcher | The default role, you are focused primarily on carrying yourself and your equipment. | STR/CON | Athletics (Acrobatics if climbing down) |
| Porter | Those with a STR of 16 can carry the equipment of 1 other person. Those with a STR of 18 can carry 2 loads of equipment. Those with a STR of 20+ can carry 3 loads of equipment. | STR | Athletics (Acrobatics if climbing down) |
| Shepherd / Driver | Keeps control of pack mounts or other animals in the party. | WIS | Animal Handling, Land Vehicles (if applicable) |
| Guide | Ensures that the party travels the right direction. | INT | History, Navigator’s Tools, Cartographer’s Tools |
| Scout | Scouts ahead to look for potential threats such as beasts or ambushes. Use of a spyglass or binoculars grants advantage. | WIS | Perception |
| Tracker / Survivalist | Moves ahead to find tracks of quarries, potential dangerous beasts, or finds the best path through terrain. | WIS | Survival, Nature |
| Masker | Lags behind the party, erasing or confounding tracks. | WIS/DEX | Stealth, Survival |
| Cook | Keeps spirits high by ensuring good invigorating food and drink is ready for each meal. | CON/WIS | Medicine, Cook’s Utensils, Brewers Supplies |
| Hunter/ Gatherer | Harvests, hunts and forages from Nature as the party goes. | INT/WIS | Nature, Herbalism Kit, Survival |
| Conversationalist | Keeps the mood in the party high with marching tunes, encouragement, and pleasant anecdotes | CHA | Performance, Persuasion, Deception |
| Pace-setter | Keeps people for dragging their feet by constantly lashing the verbal whip. | CHA | Intimidation |
| Chaplain | Prays and makes offerings to the Gods of Travel and Nature to keep the paths clear and the weather fair. | WIS | Religion or Levels in Cleric / Druid |
If an individual fails their travel check they must choose between:
If the party fails the overall travel check, they must choose between:
Mounts with 2 points of exhaustion will travel but will not carry a rider, equipment or draw a vehicle. Mounts with 3 or more points of exhaustion will not travel at all until rested.