Topic: Travel times/speeds

[roger12a34@hotmail.com]

I would be grateful for some assistance.

Could someone direct me to a resource (within RM publications or not) which sets out average travel times and speeds of various forms of pre-industrial transportation.  I would be keen to see data showing the average distance that can be travelled per day where, for example:

• an average man is travelling on foot for most of his waking hours, stopping only to eat, sleep etc.;
• a man is riding a single horse in the most efficient way (walking, trotting, cantering, with appropriate rest and feeding breaks?), to maintain the health of the animal while at the same time covering the greatest distance in the shortest time; or
• a man is able to regularly change horses every few hours so as to maximise his speed of travel.

Travel times and speeds for other modes of transport would also be useful to know: e.g. the speed of a boat going down a river, or a sail ship with reasonable winds behind it etc.  Obviously factors such as the state of roads, the terrain (flat, hilly or mountainous etc.), available food, forage, river current, wind speed etc. will need to be factored into any consideration of how fast a particular person might travel using a particular mode of transportation and for how long he/she might maintain a certain speed.  I am just trying to gather some "rule of thumb" estimates for travel times and speeds which will be useful in campaign world development.

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions or pointers.

[providence13]

STRATEGIC MOVEMENT RATE TABLE T-5.2 pg 120 RMSS and pg 67 RMFRP.

Not sure about boats. Maybe And a 10ft Pole or GM Law..

[markc]

First Welcome to the ICE Forums:


 As Providence 13 posted above I think the basic book has good info on travel times (that I think are based some what in reality).
 Historical data I think can be drawn from Roman times and how far towns are from one another in some areas. ie in civilized areas towns are basically a day apart, but this also takes into account the terrain of the countryside so strait distance is not such a good measure.


 MDC

[roger12a34@hotmail.com]

Thank you both.

The strategic movement rate table referenced by providence13 is the kind of resource I need. 

Sea Law provides stats for ocean ship movement (see table T-4.6) but this data is expressed in the movement point units adopted in that book and so will require conversion.

[GrumpyOldFart]

Sea Law provides stats for ocean ship movement (see table T-4.6) but this data is expressed in the movement point units adopted in that book and so will require conversion.

Also before the advent of motorized (steam or later) watercraft, speed of any given type of boat or ship is extremely variable according to wind and sea conditions.

[providence13]

When you get Sea Law movement points converted, post it for the rest of us.