Overland Movement
A normal day's marching lasts for 10 hours, including reasonable stops for rest and meals. Under normal conditions, a character can walk twice his normal movement rate in miles in those 10 hours. Thus, an unencumbered man can walk 24 miles across clear terrain.
Characters can also force march, intentionally hurrying along, at the risk of exhaustion. Force marching enables a character to travel 2 1/2 times his movement rate in miles (thus, a normal man could force march 30 miles in a day). At the end of each day of the march, the character or creature must roll a Fitness check. Large parties (such as army units) make the check at the average Fitness of the group (weaker members are supported, encouraged, and goaded by their peers). Creatures must roll a saving throw vs. death at the end of each day's force marching (since they lack Fitness scores). A -1 penalty is applied to the check for each consecutive day spent force marching. If the check is passed, the force marching pace can be continued the next day. If the check fails, no more force marching attempts can be made until the characters have completely recovered from the ordeal. Recovery requires half a day per day of force marching.
Even if the Fitness check fails, the character can continue overland movement at his normal rate.
One drawback of force marching is that each day of force marching results in a -1 penalty to all attack rolls. This modifier is cumulative. Half a day's rest is required to remove one day's worth of force marching penalty. Characters who have managed to force march for eight straight days suffer a -8 penalty to their attack rolls; it takes four days of rest to return to no attack roll penalty.
Overland movement rates can be increased or decreased by many factors. Terrain can speed or slow movement. Well-tended roads allow faster marching, while trackless mountains slow marches to a snail's pace. Lack of food, water, and sleep weaken characters. Poor weather slows their pace.
Mounted Overland Movement
Mounted movement cross-country is affected by a number of factors. The two principal ones are the movement rate of the mount and the type of terrain traversed. Under normal conditions, all mounts are able to move a number of miles per day equal to their movement rate. Terrain, such as roads or mountains, can alter this rate.
Advantages of Mounted Movement
When determining overland movement rates, remember that most riders spend as much time walking their mounts as they do riding them. The real advantage of riding is in the extra gear the mount can carry and its usefulness in combat.
Thus, while an unencumbered man can go about the same distance as a heavy warhorse across clear terrain (24 miles as opposed to 30), the man must travel with virtually no gear to move at that rate. Were he to carry an assortment of arms, a suit of chain mail armor, and his personal items, he would find it impossible to keep up with a mounted man similarly encumbered.
Increasing Overland Speed
A mount can be pushed to double its normal daily movement rate, but only at the risk of lameness and exhaustion. Any creature moving overland at double speed (or any fraction thereof) must make a saving throw vs. death.
If the saving throw is successful, the creature is unaffected. If the saving throw is failed, the creature is lame or spent; it can't travel any farther that day. Thereafter, it can move only at its normal movement rate until it is rested for at least one day. For each successive day a horse is ridden at double movement, a -1 penalty is applied to the saving throw.
Overland movement can be increased to triple the normal rate, although the risks to the animal are even greater. When moving at triple the normal rate, a saving throw vs. death must be made with a -3 penalty applied to the die roll. If the saving throw is failed, the creature collapses from exhaustion and dies. If the saving throw succeeds, the creature is merely spent and must be rested—not ridden at all—for 1d3 days.
When a creature goes lame, exhausts itself, or is ridden too hard, there is no way of knowing just when the creature will collapse. Player characters can't be certain of traveling the full double or triple distance. The DM will determine where and when the creature collapses.
Care of Animals
Although player characters should not be forced into the role of grooms, all animals do have some basic needs that must be provided for. However, each animal is different, so the requirements for each are listed separately.
Horses: While strong and fast, horses are not the hardiest creatures for traveling. Horses need around ten pounds of forage and fodder a day. Furthermore, good quality mounts should be fed grain, such as oats. A heavy war horse can't survive the rigors of travel by grazing on grass. Characters who can't provide enough food of high enough quality will watch their horses weaken and die. Horses must also have water every day. This can become particularly difficult in the desert.
During daily travel, horses must be allowed to stop and rest with regular frequency. During these stops the mount should be unsaddled or all packs removed. If this isn't done, little profit is gained from the rest. At night horses should be hobbled or tethered on a long rope so they can graze. If one or two are tied, the others will generally not wander off. Horses need not be shod, unless they walk mostly on hard-surfaced roads or rocky ground. Horseshoes should be replaced about once a month.
Ponies, Donkeys, and Mules: These animals have much the same needs as the horse. One of their main advantages is their ability to survive by grazing. Well accustomed to grass, there is no need to provide them with separate fodder. Their happiness is such that saving throws vs. death made for double movement gain a +2 bonus. This does not apply to triple movement.
The other great advantage of these creatures is their sure footedness. They can travel through rugged terrain at one less than the normal movement cost. Thus, low mountains cost only three movement points.
Dogs: Particularly tough breeds can be used to pull sleds and sledges. Some are suited to cold weather and will withstand a great deal of hardship. They require at least a pound of meat a day, so characters should pack dried meat for the dogs. If necessary, one dog can be killed to feed the others, but this is not recommended. Beyond the needs of feeding, sled dogs tend to care for themselves fairly well, although the characters may have to keep certain animals separated to prevent fighting.
| Carrying Capacities of Animals | ||||
| Base | 2/3 | 1/3 | ||
| Mount | Move | Move | Move | |
| Dog | 0-15 lbs. | 16-20 lbs. | 21-30 lbs. | |
| Horse, draft | 0-260 lbs. | 261-390 lbs. | 391-520 lbs. | |
| Horse, heavy | 0-260 lbs. | 261-390 lbs. | 391-520 lbs. | |
| Horse, light | 0-170 lbs. | 171-255 lbs. | 256-340 lbs. | |
| Horse, medium | 0-220 lbs. | 221-330 lbs. | 331-440 lbs. | |
| Horse, riding | 0-180 lbs. | 181-270 lbs. | 271-360 lbs. | |
| Mule | 0-250 lbs. | 251-375 lbs. | 376-500 lbs. | |
| Ox | 0-220 lbs. | 221-330 lbs. | 331-440 lbs. | |
Vehicles
While animals are useful for getting around in the wilderness, they are seriously limited by the size of the load they can carry. Peasants and merchants often use wagons and carts for trade in civilized areas. Chariots are favored by the wealthy and in times of war, but are not normally used for long-distance travel. Sledges and dog sleds are handy in snow and ice-bound regions. Player characters may find all these vehicles necessary during the course of their adventures.
Carts are small two-wheeled affairs. They can be pulled by one or two animals, but no more than this. Wagons are four-wheeled and can hitch anywhere from two to 12 (or even more!).
The movement rate of a horse or other animal is automatically reduced by half when hitched. Additional animals do not increase the speed. However, the standard load the beast can carry is tripled. The weight of the cart or wagon and driver is not considered for this, only the cargo. Each additional animal adds its tripled capacity to the total load hauled. Thus, a wagon pulled by eight draft horses could carry 6,420 lbs., or slightly over three tons worth of cargo (260 x 3 x 8). Of course, traveling will be slow—only 12 miles a day on a level road.
Chariots are intended more for speed, comfort, and their usefulness in warfare, than for their ability to haul loads. Chariots can hitch one to four horses (or other creatures), but no more than this. A horse can pull its normal load (the weight of the chariot not included) at its normal movement rate.
Each additional horse in the hitch either increases the cargo limit by the horse's standard load or increases the movement rate by a factor of 1. The chariot can't have more movement points than the creatures pulling it would normally have. A chariot pulled by four medium war horses could have a movement rate of 15 or pull 880 lbs., enough for four large or armored men. It could also have some combination of the two (movement rate of 13 and a cargo of 660 in the above example).
Terrain and Vehicles
The greatest limitation on all these vehicles is terrain. Wagons, carts, and chariots are restricted to level or open ground unless traveling on a road or the best trails. While a wagon can cross a mountain range by staying to the open valleys and passes, it just can't make good progress in a thick forest. This problem generally restricts wagons to travel between settlements, where roads and paths are common.
Sledges and dog sleds can be used only in snow-covered or ice-coated lands. Sledges (pulled by horses or the like) are roughly equivalent to carts. No more than two horses can be hooked to a sledge. Horse-drawn sledges are effective only on hard-packed snows and ice and can ignore the penalties for these. Deep snow merely causes the horse to flounder and the runners of the sledge to sink, so no benefit is gained in these conditions.
Dog sleds are normally pulled by seven to 11 dogs. When hitched, a sled dog's movement is reduced by ½. However, each additional dog adds one movement factor to the sledge, up to the maximum of movement of the animal. Thus a dog sled with seven dogs would have a movement of 13½. Each dog can pull 80 lbs., not including the weight of the sledge. Due to their lighter weight and the sledge design, dog sleds can cross all types of snow and ice without penalty.
Terrain Effects on Movement
Terrain, or the nature of the ground, has little effect on short-term movement. A character running pell-mell across a meadow can do about the same speed in the desert, or on a sandy beach. Only the most extreme terrain hinders short term movement.
These extreme conditions are listed given on this table as reductions of movement rate. The reduction applies to all movement for a single round. When a character is in two different types of terrain during the same round, use the worst (i.e., most difficult) adjustment.
Terrain Effects on Movement
| Move Rate | |
| Condition | Reduced by: |
| Darkness | 1/31 |
| Heavy brush or forest | 2/3 |
| Ice or slippery footing | 1/31 |
| Rugged or rocky ground | 1/2 |
| Soft sand or snow, knee-deep | 1/3 |
| Water or snow, waist-deep | 1/2 |
| Water or snow, shoulder-deep | 2/3 |
1 - Faster movement is possible.
Darkness and Ice
The movement adjustments given for both darkness and ice assume reasonable safety for the characters. At these speeds characters will have no more than normal chances of slipping or falling. However, characters can move at faster than safe speeds under these conditions.
If characters choose to move more quickly (up to their normal movement rate), they must roll a Dexterity check each round. If the check is passed, nothing happens. If the check is failed, the character has tripped over some unseen obstacle or sprawled out from an unexpected slide.
In perfect darkness the character can't be certain that he is walking in the right direction unless he has spells or other assistance. Assuming the character is on his own, the DM can choose what happens or he can determine randomly by rolling 1d12. On a 1-4 the character maintains the desired course. On a 5-8 he veers to the right and on a 9-12 he goes to the left. The consequences of such course changes depends entirely on the DM and his map.
Terrain Modifiers In Overland Movement
Overland movement is much more affected by terrain than single-round movement. Thus, a wide variety of terrain types slow or, on very rare occasions, increases the character's rate of movement.
Overland movement is measured in miles. It is possible for characters to cross several different types of terrain in a single day. To say that characters must take the worst terrain modifier for all movement is ridiculous. Imagine telling players they have to travel at the mountain movement rate when they are crossing the plains just because they spent their first hour in the mountains!
Furthermore, in round movement the DM can see where a character will be at the end of the round and what terrain he had to cross to get there. In overland movement, it is very hard to predict all the different terrain types characters will enter during the course of a day.
This table lists the effects of different terrain. These are listed as points of movement spent per mile of travel through that terrain type. When a character or creature moves through the listed terrain, that number is subtracted from the total movement available to the character or creature that day.
Terrain Costs for Overland Movement
| Movement | |
| Terrain Type | Cost |
| Barren, wasteland | 2 |
| Clear, farmland | ½ |
| Desert, rocky | 2 |
| Desert, sand | 3 |
| Forest, heavy | 4 |
| Forest, light | 2 |
| Forest, medium | 3 |
| Glacier | 2 |
| Hills, rolling | 2 |
| Hills, steep (foothills) | 4 |
| Jungle, heavy | 8 |
| Jungle, medium | 6 |
| Marsh, swamp | 8 |
| Moor | 4 |
| Mountains, high | 8 |
| Mountains, low | 4 |
| Mountains, medium | 6 |
| Untraveled plains, | |
| Grassland, heath | 1 |
| Scrub, brushland | 2 |
| Tundra | 3 |
Roads and Trails
The main purpose of roads and trails is to provide a clear route for wagons, carts, and other forms of heavy transport. It is impossible for such vehicles to cross any terrain that has a movement point cost greater than 1 unless they are following a road or trail. In addition, roads and trails normally go somewhere, so it is hard (but not impossible) for characters to get lost while following them.
Trails are by far the most common cleared track found in AD&D game worlds. Often little more than narrow game trails, they are the natural result of traffic moving from one point to another. Though not roads (in that they are not maintained), they tend to be fairly open pathways. Still, characters may have to see to the removal of fallen trees and stones or the clearing of brush—all things that can be accomplished by the occasional traveler.
Trails normally follow the path of least resistance, avoiding difficult obstacles such as chasms, cliffs, and unfordable rivers. While this may increase the distance characters must travel, it usually results in an overall saving of time and effort.
When traveling along a trail, the movement point cost is half normal for the terrain type traversed by the trail. Following a trail through the heavy forest, for example (movement cost of four), costs only 2 movement points per mile. An unencumbered man on foot would be able to march 12 miles through such terrain without exerting himself. Trails through settled farmland offer no improvement, since these areas are easy to travel through already.
Roads are costly to build and maintain. Only the largest and best organized empires can undertake such ambitious construction programs.
In areas of level or rolling ground, such as forests and plains, roads reduce the movement cost to one-half point per mile. In areas of mountainous ground, roads are no better than trails and reduce movement costs accordingly. A road traveling through high mountains is only four movement points per mile.
Terrain Obstacles and Hindrances
The movement point costs given above assume the best of conditions even in the worst of terrain. The mountains are assumed to be free of cliffs; the woods have no high-banked streams; rains haven't turned the plains to mud; the tundra hasn't been blanketed in snow. However, poor traveling conditions do occur, and when they do travel is slowed. Table 75 lists common obstacles and situations that slow movement. The modifiers for these are listed as either additional movement point costs or multipliers.
When additional movement costs are listed, these are added to the cost of the surrounding terrain. Thus, crossing a ridge in the high mountains costs nine movement points for that mile instead of the normal eight.
Multipliers increase the movement cost by the amount listed. Snow, for example, doubles the cost of crossing the plains. Indeed, severe weather or torrential rains—can actually bring all travel to a halt.
Terrain Modifiers
| Situation | Modifier |
| Chasm1 | +3 |
| Cliff1 | +3 |
| Duststorm, sandstorm | x3 |
| Freezing cold2 | +1 |
| Gale-force winds | +2 |
| Heavy fog | +1 |
| Ice storm | +2 |
| Mud | x2 |
| Rain, heavy | x2 |
| Rain, light | +1 |
| Rain, torrential | x3 |
| Ravine | +½ |
| Ridge | +1 |
| River3 | +1 |
| Scorching heat2 | +1 |
| Snow, blizzard | x4 |
| Snow, normal | x2 |
| Stream3 | +½ |
1 - These assume the player characters find a route around the obstacle. Alternatively, the DM can require the characters to scale or span the obstacle, playing out this encounter.
2 - These extremes must be in excess of the norm expected of the character or creature. Thus, a camel is relatively unaffected by the scorching heat of a desert and a yak barely notices the cold of high mountains.
3 - This cost is negated by the presence of a bridge or ford.
