RULES > TRAVEL
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TRAVEL

HIS section deals with all aspects of overland and sea travel using the maps shown in the LANDS section, all distances and directions being measured on the maps using hexes. The most important distinction between the two types of travel is is that overland travel is made in blocks of daylight (8 - 16Hrs) whereas sea travel is continuous (24 Hrs). Most of the travel that occurs will be in non-game time between scenarios. However, when situations such as a pusuit or a rendezvous at a certain place or time, DM's may require players to plan routes and estimate times. To do this characters may make checks against the skills riding or sailing depending on the circumstances.

OVERLAND TRAVEL

ACH hex of overland travel is the equivalent to one days (8hrs) unladen horse ride (ie: horse is not carrying a load greater than it's BODY*50 lbs) at trekking speed (ie: the speed which a horse can maintain without the need for either rest stops or changing horses). Some animals have evolved biological aids to moving in certain terrain types. E.g the camel has a foot which spreads out on loose surfaces like sand,giving it a larger surface contact area and negating the terrain modifier for desert. Any such advantages and the bonuses they give will be detailed in that creatures DENIZENS listing.

1 HEX TIME = 8 Hrs x WALK SPEED MOD + TERRAIN MOD + WEATHER MOD + SPECIAL MOD

N.B. ALL NUMBERS ARE ROUNDED UP TO THE NEXT WHOLE NUMBER WHEN PERFORMING THE CALCULATION

WALK SPEED: TIME x 2 (A humanoid leading animals, walks comfortably at this speed for 8 hours)

TREK SPEED: NO MOVE MODIFIER - Humanoids running at this speed must make BODY checks (Effect 6 + 1 per extra hour travelled without 1 hour rest) every hour or be forced to stop through fatigue.

RUN SPEED: 1/2 TIME- Animals travelling at this speed must make BODY checks (Effect 6 + 1 per extra hour travelled without 30 minutes rest) every hour or be forced to stop through fatigue.

GALLOP SPEED: 1/4 TIME - Animals travelling at this speed must make BODY checks (Effect 8 + 1 per extra hour travelled without 1 hour rest) every hour or be forced to stop through fatigue

TERRAIN MODIFIERS WEATHER MODIFIERS SPECIAL MODIFIERS
FLAT & LEVEL NO MODIFIER CLEAR & DRY NO MODIFIER ROPING [1] + 2 Hours
HILLS + 1/4 MOVE LIGHT RAIN + 1/4 MOVE RAFTING [2] + 4 Hours
DESERT + 1/4 MOVE DRIVING RAIN + 1/2 MOVE ROPE BRIDGE [3] +1 Hour
MARSH + 1/4 MOVE MONSOON + 3/4 MOVE UNLADEN [4] No Modifier
SWAMP + 1/2 MOVE SNOW OR SLEET + 1/4 MOVE LIGHT LOAD [5] + 1/2 MOVE
MOUNTAINS + 1/2 MOVE HAIL + 1/2 MOVE HEAVY LOAD [6] + 1/4 MOVE
DRIFTED SNOW + 1/2 MOVE BLIZZARD + 3/4 MOVE DARKNESS  

NOTES:

[1] Roping involves a rope being stretched across a river and used as a guide for other characters following with animals.
[2] Rafting involves cutting down suitable trees and lashing them together to make a raft then crossing the river.
[3] Animals crossing rope bridges must do so 1 at a time. N.B. some loads, like a horse drawn cart, will be too large or heavy to cross by rope bridge.
[4] Animal is carrying upto it's BODY x 50lbs.
[5} Animal is carrying upto it's BODY x 70lbs.
[6] Animal is carrying upto it's BODY x 100lbs.

Example 1: A group of characters wants to get themselves and their pack animals to a town 1 hex away, they are moving at trekking speed, lightly loaded and moving through hills and light rain.

8 Hours SPEED MOD TERRAIN MOD WEATHER MOD SPECIAL 1 HEX
TIME
TREK SPEED
(NO MODIFIER)		 HILLS
(+1/4 SPEED)		 LIGHT.RAIN
(+ 1/4 SPEED)		 Light Load
(+1/4 SPEED)
8 10 Hours 12 Hours 14 Hours 14 Hours

Example 2: A group of characters wants to get themselves and their pack animals to a town 1 hex away, they are moving at Run speed, lightly loaded and moving through hills and light rain.

8 Hours SPEED MOD TERRAIN MOD WEATHER MOD SPECIAL 1 HEX
TIME
RUN SPEED
(1/2 TIME)		 HILLS
(+1/4 SPEED)		 LIGHT.RAIN
(+ 1/4 SPEED)		 Light Load
(+1/4 SPEED)
4 5 Hours 6 Hours 7 Hours 7 Hours


However as the characters are moving at run speed each animal must make a BODY check (Effect 6 + 1 per extra Hour travelled without rest), in otherwords the animals would have to make the following rolls:

1st HOUR 2nd HOUR 3rd HOUR 4th HOUR 5th HOUR 6th HOUR 7th HOUR
No Roll Required BODY vs 7 BODY vs 8 BODY vs 9 BODY vs 10 BODY vs 11 BODY vs 12

Example 3: A group of characters wants to get themselves and their pack animals to a town 1 hex away, they are moving at gallop speed, lightly loaded and moving through hills and light rain.

8 Hours SPEED MOD TERRAIN MOD WEATHER MOD SPECIAL 1 HEX
TIME
GALLOP SPEED
(1/4 TIME)		 HILLS
(+1/4 SPEED)		 LIGHT.RAIN
(+ 1/4 SPEED)		 Light Load
(+1/4 SPEED)
2 3 Hours 4 Hours 5 Hours 5 Hours


However as the characters are moving at gallop speed each animal must make a BODY check (Effect 8 + 1 per extra Hour travelled without rest), in otherwords the animals would have to make the following rolls:

1st HOUR 2nd HOUR 3rd HOUR 4th HOUR 5th HOUR
No Roll Required BODY vs 9 BODY vs 10 BODY vs 11 BODY vs 12

TRAVEL AT SEA

HE success of any journey at sea depends on a series of factors such as SHIP TYPE (Sail or Oars, Hull Type ,Seaworthiness), WEATHER (Strength, Direction, Storms) and CREW SKILL (Captaincy,Navigation,Sailoring). The number of hexes a ship can move in any day (24Hrs) is defined by making an opposed sailing check as follows:

SHIP TYPE + CREW SKILL vs WEATHER TYPE

If successfull a ship will travel a ship will travel a number of hexes equivalent to the target number less the score on the attacking roll dice. For an explanation see the examples at the bottom of this page.

SHIP TYPE

HULL TYPE SHIP TYPE IN VARIOUS SEA CONDITIONS DESCRIPTION
BECALMED [1] MILD HEAVY SEAS
CORRACLE
OR DINGHY		 1 1 0 This category covers all small (5 - 15ft long and 5ft wide) rowing boats, 1 to 8 crew depending on size. Used for harbour and shorework. Cargo carrying is limited to about 1/2 a ton for the largest of these.
LONGBOAT 2 1 1 Typically 20 - 25ft long and 5 - 6ft wide and equipped with between 8 and 10 oars they are often deployed from larger deep drafted ships such as cogs for shore landings and are favoured by whalers.
SMALL TRADER
(Coaster)		 0 2 2 A small merchant ship typically 70ft long by 20ft wide with a rudder that hangs from one side. Fitted with two masts and triangular sails it has a crew of between 20 and 30 and can carry about 100 tons of cargo.
LARGE TRADER
(Cog)		 0 4 4 A larger version of the coaster it is typically 75 to 90ft long and 20ft wide, fitted with two masts and square sails. It often has small fore and sterncastles and can carry between 100 and 200 tons of cargo.
LONGSHIP
(Knarr)		 2 5 2 A small coastal longship used in many areas where there is a need for a shallow draught flatbottomed boat. Typically 75ft long and 15 to 20ft wide it has one mast fitted with a square sail. When becalmed 8 - 10 oars can be deployed.
LARGE LONGSHIP 3 4 3 The standard warship variant of the longship, these are typically 75ft long and 20 ft with 20 to 25 pairs of oars crewed by 45 to 55 men. They are also fitted with a single square sail. Capable of carrying between 100 to 120 additional men or 50 tons of cargo. They do not have any spare space for crew sleeping space or stores and therefore often put to shore at night and to avoid rough weather.
GREAT LONGSHIP 2 4 1 The largest of the longships they are approximately 100ft long and 25ft wide and fitted with a single square sail and approximately 30 to 40 pairs of oars. They have a crew of 5 in addition to rowers and can carry roughly 160 additional men or 100 tons of cargo, although due to the cost involved in building such a ship they are rarely used to carry cargo as they often perform flagship duties.
GALLEY 4 4 1 Typically 130 to 175ft long and 15ft wide and equipped with two masts and triangular sails. It is also equipped with 50 pairs of oars divided into 2 banks per side with one rower per oar on the lower banks and upto three on the upper bank. Primarily designed for naval warfare they are often fitted with rams below the waterline, they are not designed for open sea travel and must put into shore every night.
GREAT GALLEY 5 5 2 Perversely smaller than it's cousing the galley, the great galley is about 130ft long and 20 feet wide, but fitted with 3 masts and square sails. Fitted with between 60 and 70 oars per side one man per oar in 2 banks. It is slightly more seaworthy and is favoured by traders plying coastal regions or island hopping and can carry about 150 tons of cargo.
SKIFF 1 3 2 A light all purpose sailing craft approximately 35ft in length and 10ft wide with a mast and triangular sail. It can be crewed by 6 with upto 4 rowers and can carry about 2 tons of cargo.

CREW SKILL

REW skill is an average of each crewmembers Sailor skill from the captain right down to the cabin boy. This becomes important when characters with no previous experience are required to becoming members of a ships company. In this circumstance depending on the number of crew on the ship there will be different levels of experience and skill starting with the highest, the following table gives typical skill values for each of the stereotypes characters may meet in harbours or on board a ship.

TYPICAL SEAFARING STEREOTYPE SAILOR SKILL VALUES

CREW NOVICE EXPERIENCED PIRATE VETERAN NAVY NAVY
VETERAN
CAPTAIN [1] 4 6 +3 9 10 11
FIRST OFFICER [2] 3 5 +2 8 9 10
BOSUN [3] 2 4 +3 7 8 9
NAVIGATOR [4] 1 3 +2 6 7 8
SAILOR [5] 1 2 +1 4 4 5
OARSMEN [6] - 2 - 2 3 3

When characters are hiring or travelling on NPC boats, DMs should use the following table as a guide to typical NPC crews skill:

TYPICAL NPC CREW'S SKILL

CREW NOVICE EXPERIENCED PIRATE VETERAN NAVY NAVY VETERAN
SKILL 2 3 4 5 6 7

EATHER is a far more complex beast to simulate than can possibly be done in a game system (after all if the weathermen and their supercomputers can't get it right what chance do I have). For seatravel purposes the most important factors are sea conditions, wind strength and direction each one adds a cumulative difficulty effect.

WIND SEAS SPECIAL
LIGHT +1 CALM -1 LIGHT FOG +1
MILD 0 CHOPPY +1 HEAVY FOG +2
STRONG +2 ROUGH +2 MILD CURRENT +1
GALE FORCE +4 HEAVY +3 STRONG CURRENT +3
HURRICANE FORCE +6 STORM +4    
WITH WIND -2        
AGAINST WIND +1        

Example 1: A longship (2) with experienced crew (3), is sailing with(-2) strong winds (+2) on a rough sea (+2) with a mild current ( +1). This gives the following opposed check:

SHIP + CREW SKILL (5) vs WEATHER (3) = TARGET NUMBER OF (9)

The DM rolls 2d6 scoring 6 (9 - 6) = 3 Hexes of movement

Example 1: A Great Galley (2) with veteran crew (5), is sailing against(+1) strong winds (+2) on a rough sea (+2) with a light fog ( +1). This gives the following opposed check:

SHIP + CREW SKILL (7) vs WEATHER (6) = TARGET NUMBER OF (8)

The DM rolls 2d6 scoring 6 (8 - 6) = 2 Hexes of movement

FAILING A SAILING CHECK

HOULD a ship fail it's sailig check the DM should decide the ship's fate, depending on how serious the failure. Of course a lot of journey's will be required to satisfy certain plot hooks, but in realtime situations the results of such failures may lead to other interesting possibilities. A DM's guide for such situations is given below:

FAILED BY RESULT
1 Ship blown off course (randomise direction taking into account wind direction) 1 hex
2 Ship blown off course (randomise direction taking into account wind direction) 2 hex
3 Ship blown off course (randomise direction taking into account wind direction) 3 hex and takes mild damage requiring 3 days dry dock time (if ship has more than reduce all ship scores by 1 until repair is made) [1]
4 Ship blown off course (randomise direction taking into account wind direction) 4 hex and takes heavy damage requiring 1 weeks dry dock time (if ship has more than reduce all ship scores by 2 until repair is made) [1]
5+ Ship blown off course (randomise direction taking into account wind direction) 4 hex and takes critical damage requiring 2 weeks dry dock time (if ship has more than reduce all ship scores by 3 until repair is made) [1]
CRITICAL MISS Ship sinks
Notes:

[1] If damage is more than ships current score for sea conditions then ship sinks.

 
RULES > TRAVEL
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