Traveling as a party

[Dousedinoil]

I apologize as this seems like a pretty basic question but one that probably has a wide range of answers. How do you travel as a party? Until recently, my group of 4 has been traveling by foot to go from city to city. Now, as everyone knows, you only travel as fast as your slowest member. Given that I'm walking around in full plate, I thought it would be best if I grabbed a horse/carriage/cart to make us go faster. Now, do most people travel in a carriage to get to places faster or does everyone travel on their own horse? If they do, do you just leave your horse unaccompanied and waiting for you when you go off-road or into a dungeon? Isn't someone going to come along and steal it?

Also, the world we are in has a real mix of geography. For a while we were at sea between smaller islands, sometimes on the main going city to city and sometimes we are in the mountains or lost in a forest.

What does your D&D group usually do?

[Palanan]

My group is going through Rise of the Runelords right now, and we've been on horses for a good while now. This involved having them hoisted aboard a river-boat for several days' journey upriver, then mainly on horseback afterward, apart from a few side trips into swamps, underwater, etc.

As for what happens to the horses when we're otherwise occupied, we usually have several men-at-arms whose job it is to chase down the horses once they've inevitably bolted from the forest drakes or Thassilonian lions or whatever's just attacked us.

Sadly, after an encounter with several wraiths we now have fewer men-at-arms. We also had some GM crankiness after that session in particular, since some players aren't very good at mentioning when or if they dismount to fight on foot.

In a different campaign, the party hired a coach and four to make a long journey. Other campaigns have been almost entirely foot-based, while still others have involved carts and wagons. It really depends on the GM, the players and the storyline.

[Bullet06320]

it verys campaign to campaign, feet, wagons, horseback, boats, carried by undead giants, spelljammers, teleportation, etc etc, but my most memoriable form of travel was via barge with a horse drawn chevy silverado on it. long story but it started as a modern campaign that got brought to the Forgotten Realms while the party was driving, and the truck died, so we turned it into a wagon, ended up in shadowdale, and borrowed a barge to float down the ashaba river with the truck, lol

[Dousedinoil]

The problem I've noticed with going on foot is that if an enemy runs away on horseback, were pretty much screwed as a party. If we do a carriage it would be hard to chase people down. So I was thinking 4 horses as the best option. That was until I started thinking about dungeons. It would be sweet to have a mule packed in the back of a cart so that we can bring it with us in a dungeon while not suffering from its low movement speed.

Also we are only lvl 5 so it's not like we are good enough to be traveling around on dragons or teleporting everywhere.

[Crake]

The problem I've noticed with going on foot is that if an enemy runs away on horseback, were pretty much screwed as a party.

To be fair, expeditious retreat, a level 1 spell, lets a human keep up with a horse for a minute/level, which should be more than enough time to kill the horse and/or it's rider. At level 5, you have access to the fly spell, which by default has the same speed as a horse, plus you get the vertical advantage over the horse, being able to ignore any terrain difficulties.

[Dousedinoil]

To be fair, expeditious retreat, a level 1 spell, lets a human keep up with a horse for a minute/level, which should be more than enough time to kill the horse and/or it's rider. At level 5, you have access to the fly spell, which by default has the same speed as a horse, plus you get the vertical advantage over the horse, being able to ignore any terrain difficulties.

Yeah but that's only one member. Unfortunately, we don't have a sorc/wizard in the party but soon I can do it as a cleric. Last time we tried that, our druid caught up to the group but got the crap beaten out of him. I guess we could always buy a wand to do that for everyone.

Is their any spell that lasts a significant time that would help hide the horses/cart?

[DrMotives]

Problem with a spell that hides large objects is that those spells are all illusions, and thus the province of wizards & sorcerers. I suppose a beguiler can use those too, but otherwise you're asking for character niche your party lacks. The druid can do a little bit with calm / charm / hide from animals spells, but again at level 5, you don't have great options. Probably best just to pay for coach passage, and arrange a return trip if you that's at all feasible.

[(Un)Inspired]

Is their any spell that lasts a significant time that would help hide the horses/cart?

Plane Shift

[nedz]

Are you trying to move quickly or just stop people running away from you ?

If the latter then just hit them with some battlefield control spells to slow them down.

[Nifft]

At low levels, a cart and two horses. The melee types might have their own horses, so they can race ahead of the cart and stab goblins in the face. Also, if one of the cart-horses gets eaten by a dragon, one of the melee-guy horses could be harnessed to replace it.

Carts are very important for those levels where you lack access to Portable Holes and other such convenient wealth transport devices.

Wealth is bulky, and the PCs will have a lot of it.

[Dousedinoil]

Are you trying to move quickly or just stop people running away from you ?

If the latter then just hit them with some battlefield control spells to slow them down.

I'm going for both. At first I thought it's best to grab 4 light horses because they have the highest movement speed. They can travel 48 miles in a day. That's when I noticed that a cart/wagon can only go 16 miles in a day. IMO that seems pretty low for a wagon being pulled by two light horses. Am I mis-reading this? I wanted to have a donkey on the back of a wagon so that we could still take it down into the depth of a dungeon. It doesn't make any sense if the wagon is slower than the donkey though.

In our last dungeon, we came across all sorts of "valuables" that we couldn't carry. This was just natural resources like raw iron or an entire storage room full of mediocre stuff. The DM hinted that their might be some very expensive dragon scales hiding around and I want to make sure we can carry them back.

[Bonzai]

On foot, then by horse, and then by Teleport when we reach higher levels. Never seems to be much of a problem.

[smcmike]

Gotta have horses (unless you have something better).

[nedz]

At very low levels Horses can provide a tanking function since you can use them for cover and they have a few HD. At mid to high levels though: they just die. They can be quite expensive at the point where they are still useful, also everyone has to have one — more or less.

Whether they are useful depends upon the campaign.
What is the terrain like ?
Do you always travel at the speed of plot anyway ? This is not true in my games, but it is a common trope.

For carrying loot out of a dungeon I'd normally go for a Mule.

[Dousedinoil]

At very low levels Horses can provide a tanking function since you can use them for cover and they have a few HD. At mid to high levels though: they just die. They can be quite expensive at the point where they are still useful, also everyone has to have one — more or less.

Whether they are useful depends upon the campaign.
What is the terrain like ?
Do you always travel at the speed of plot anyway ? This is not true in my games, but it is a common trope.

For carrying loot out of a dungeon I'd normally go for a Mule.

Yeah barding a chain shirt didn't seem like it was worth the money. That x4 for four horses seems pretty pricey for a horse that's only worth 75gp. If the horse runs away, killed or stolen with that armor it would set us back quite a bit. I'd rather just replace it lol.

I want a mule as well but that means we are stuck walking at 20 feet per round instead of 60. I guess that's the biggest problem I'm having. I want to be able to travel faster while still being able to carry hevay loads. Im going to see if my DM will house rule the wagon speed. Page 164 of the PHB clearly says 16 miles in a day but that seems way to low for me.

Oh and the terrain is all over the place. The main city is on a big island with some fields, forests and mountains. Their are trails and paths to other cities on the island. I'm prepping because it looks like we will be traveling from the most northern city to the most southern city soon.

[Broken Crown]

The wagon/no wagon question really depends on the terrain. If you've got good roads, or are traveling across flat, firm ground, a wagon is very useful: It lets you carry a lot of stuff, and needs fewer horses than if you were riding, so feeding them will also be easier. It also makes a decent makeshift fort if you're attacked, giving you elevation and cover.

If you're journeying through mountains, forest, or marshes, though, a wagon is worse than useless. (Unless your party is bringing a cannon or something that they otherwise can't move at all, in which case a wagon is marginally better than useless, but still a gigantic nuisance.)

In general a horse (or two) for everyone is a good idea, if you can afford it. Horses can go nearly anywhere people can go (for those rare exceptions, use camels). And realistically, no one ever traveled on foot in full armour if they had any alternative.

As for horses and wagons being stolen, this falls into the broader issue of establishing a secure base camp when you get to your destination. Someone should be looking after the camp at all times, be it a follower, or a hireling, or a familiar, or just an alarm spell. In my games, it was generally the character of whichever player wasn't able to show up for that session, but that obviously depends on your gaming group. In any case, your base camp shouldn't be so far from where you're exploring that you can't get back to it quickly if the need arises.

As for horses dying quickly at higher levels, ask your DM if you can get better horses. Many animals advance by hit dice; horses, officially, don't, but there's no reason why they couldn't. Alternatively, buy a couple of trained elephants.

The best non-magical means of long-distance travel is generally by water. If you have a ship or a big river-boat, you are bringing your base camp with you. You can generally travel 24 hours a day, and rest while you're doing it. You can carry literally tons of equipment (and goods for trade, so you can sometimes make money just by traveling). Many land-based enemies can't get at you if you're on a river. You will, of course, need a crew, which means either a large party who have all got Profession (sailor), or hirelings you can trust not to make off with the ship the moment you step ashore.

All this presupposes, of course, that you're traveling to and from places that are accessible by water. If you're on a coast or a major river, you're golden. If not, well, there are horses.

[Jowgen]

Talisman of the Disk (MIC). See the relevant (hereby shamelessly plugged) handbook in my sig for details. :smallsmile:

[KingSmitty]

Usually use the bard's wagon...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMR5JVo21wQ

[JW86]

Common methods have been Teleport, Magic Carpet, Horse-drawn Cart, Horses.

My favourite mode of transportation would be Owlbear. Only a real adventurer has the chance of taiming an owlbear.

[Blackhawk748]

Usually use the bard's wagon...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMR5JVo21wQ

Chant of the Long Road right here.

My group generally uses a cart, but thats mostly to haul stuff. Since im usually the bruiser im generally the slowest...at 30ft, as i hate losing land speed.

[nedz]

Yeah barding a chain shirt didn't seem like it was worth the money. That x4 for four horses seems pretty pricey for a horse that's only worth 75gp. If the horse runs away, killed or stolen with that armor it would set us back quite a bit. I'd rather just replace it lol.

No no, Barding is only for Special Mounts etc.

My point was that if you are level 1 and can "persuade" a dumb monster to attack your mount instead of you, well even a light riding horse has 22 HP. This is only relevant at very low levels but is an interesting tactic.

[mostholycerebus]

The problem I've noticed with going on foot is that if an enemy runs away on horseback, were pretty much screwed as a party. If we do a carriage it would be hard to chase people down. So I was thinking 4 horses as the best option.

Are your level 5 guys even going to make the Ride check to chase someone down? Dont forget the ACP.

[Dousedinoil]

Talisman of the Disk (MIC). See the relevant (hereby shamelessly plugged) handbook in my sig for details. :smallsmile:

My god that screams broken. I'm pretty sure my DM would house rule against that. Pretty cool though.

I think I'll just settle for the wagon and be at the mercy of my DM to let it move after than 16 miles in a day. What I might do is scout ahead with our carriage or horses (traveling at a regular horses speed) and then have our men-at-arms protect our wagon further back.

[Umbranar]

If I play an arcane caster, mount is one of the spells I pick.
On other occasions we get horses for the party (sometimes 2 people per horse to reduce costs) and tie our horses to a rope so they can roam a bit when we go in a dungeon/cave/whatever and basically take a gamble on whether or not the horses are still alive when we return.

[Milo v3]

My current party travels by semi-magic modern train and semi-magic modern car.

[Red Fel]

My favorite was a salvaged gnome-designed submarine. The fact that it required multiple people operating power generators that were effectively elliptical exercise machines was easily resolved with liberal application of the Unseen Servant and later Control Undead spells.

Other than that, Greater Teleport. Because... Why travel when you can simply be someplace?

[Milo v3]

Because... Why travel when you can simply be someplace?
That emphasis made me think of a teleporting mishap that turned you into a genius loci :smalleek:

[Knaight]

It depends. With that said, I generally GM and have a soft spot for archipelagos, coastlines, islands, swamps, and rivers. Boats end up really common as a result.

[Flickerdart]

Horses are boring. Get flying mounts ASAP. Pegasi are excellent value for overland mounts due to their 120ft flight speed. Their eggs (apparently winged horses hatch from eggs) are only 2000gp apiece, and as intelligent creatures they do not actually need to be trained despite having a listed price for it.

[Nibbens]

Personally, I prefer greater teleport as it makes life for the party so much easier.

Once I received a "broken" wand of mount. It was cursed. Every use summoned a horse for 4 hours, but that horse was covered in fecal matter. It couldn't be washed off and if anyone rode it, the smell lingered with them for 24 hours granting a -2 to all diplomacy checks or anything that a horrible smell might effect.

I used all 49 remaining charges of that wand before the campaigns end.

[Dousedinoil]

Horses are boring. Get flying mounts ASAP. Pegasi are excellent value for overland mounts due to their 120ft flight speed. Their eggs (apparently winged horses hatch from eggs) are only 2000gp apiece, and as intelligent creatures they do not actually need to be trained despite having a listed price for it.

This is a great idea! Thanks :)