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croiduire:game_mechanics:cross-country_movement

Cross-Country 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 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 2.5 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 Constitution check. Large parties (such as army units) make the check at the average Constitution 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 Constitution 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. However, even if the Constitution check fails, the character can continue overland movement at his normal movement 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.

Terrain Costs for Overland Movement

Terrain Type Movement 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

Stacking with these costs are…

Terrain Obstacles and Hindrances

The movement point costs given in the table 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 travelling conditions do occur, and when they do travel is slowed. The next table lists a few of the obstacles and situations most likely to occur in this game 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.

Situation Modifier
Extreme cold +1
Gale-force winds +2
Ice storm +2
Ravine
Ridge +1
Snow, blizzard x4
Snow, normal x2

To all that I add my own modifiers based on player reactions, the most important of which is the Adrenaline Factor. This is the extremely variable force (with both positive and negative vectors) that (at one end) allows a 100 pound mommy to lift a Buick up to free her trapped child or (at the other) locks Our Hero in a shady hammock with a case of good beer in the cooler beside him, a portable TV balanced on his belly and a f-all attitude toward the many things he really should be doing. Analysis Paralysis and Panic also take their toll.

When in danger,
When in doubt,
Run in circles,
Scream and shout!

croiduire/game_mechanics/cross-country_movement.txt · Last modified: 2014/11/07 11:40 by Croi Duire