Overland Travel in Cimmeria

[Yogah of Yag]

I am conducting a cartographic experiment regarding overland travel through Cimmeria, choosing two arbitrary points and attempting to ascertain how long it would take PCs to travel between two said points in terms of days and/or months.

The two points I have selected are Venarium and Mt. Crom, and the line connecting them being as straight as possible.

If one or more PCs are undertaking such a journey they would, most likely have to pass through the Goralian Hills and then several tributaries of the Valkia river, not to mention other possible hindrances or obstructions before arriving at the foot of the Sacred Mount.

I have assumed the majority of Cimmeria to be overwhelmingly hilly and thickly forested (coniferous, so perhaps fir, spruce, cedar) so this would obviously affect one's estimate.

Using the map of Cimmeria from The Road of Kings, I would like to know what your estimates are for travel between these two places in terms of days or months.

 

[VincentDarlage]

1. Why?

2. Are the characters using established trails (game trails and the like), or just going across country in as straight of a line as possible?

3. Are the characters on foot? If mounted, how will you deal with feeding the mounts (foraging enough to feed a horse takes a lot of time)?

4. Are the characters pulling anything, or carrying anything weighty?

5. Are you including the time to diplomatically deal with all the potentially hostile Cimmerians en route... or deal with the resulting raids because of the lack of diplomacy and/or trading?

6. What kind of weather is expected during this trip?

7. Will the characters be bringing food or will they have to take time to hunt? Or will they trade with Cimmerians for food? If so, what are they bringing for potential trade?

 

[The King]

I believe the elevation in inner Cimmeria is not very high though the ground is probably forested and hilly. 6-10 miles a day should be reasonnable for travellers on foot.

 

[argo]

Just slapping down a ruler on the map in RoK says the distance from Venarium to Mt. Crom is approximately 1100 miles (personally I suspect the the projection on the map in RoK is severly flawed, the real distance is probably significantly shorter).

Characters on foot have a base overland speed of 24 miles per day. Cimmeria has no highways so in this particular case it doesn't matter if we decide that the land is "hilly" or "mountains" because they both have the same modifier for trails (3/4 speed) and trackless (1/2 speed).

So thats a travel time of 61 days on roads/trails and 92 days across trackless terrian. That sum should account for natural obstacles, normal animal encounters, foraging for food, "normal" mishaps and normal weather but not account for encounters with natives, monsters, exceptional weather/natural hazards and other "adventures".

A high level border with the Guide ability can increase the groups speed and therefore decrease travle time appropriately. The speed listed above assumes a martching time of 8 hours/day, using the forced march (hooray for endurance! ) rules you could add extra hours of march and therefore increase the base speed. You may also consider rulling that successful survival, kn[geography], kn[local] or kn[nature] skill checks may reduce travel time.

Once again though, I believe the projection on the map in RoK is flawed. Cimmeria just shouldn't be that large.


Now all that said .... why in the world would you want to go through all that every time your players go on a road trip? This is a Conan game my friend! As far as I'm concerned travel happens at the speed of plot! 8)

Hope that helps.

 

[urdinaran]

Good work on the stats Argo.

Also, assuming that it will be mostly trackless (92 days), the PCs will not be able to march for that long un-interupted. So that 3 month journey will take nearly 4 months. Add to that the fact that they will probably not have an accurate map available, now it becomes even longer; not to mention lots of back-tracking due to swamps/marshes/impassable terrain. We haven't even begun to talk about all the tribes of Cimmerians they will run into (Diplomacy checks, etc.) and the time that will take.

 

[Yogah of Yag]

Thanks for all the info, guys. This was an experiment, a hypothetical scenario, only for the purpose of testing out ideas concerning overland travel and terrain. I agree with you that the PCs shouldn't be burdened with travelling. In medias res is the best rule of thumb for Howardesque excitement! 8)

Maybe my figures were horribly off, but I came up with the following estimates:


From Venarium to the foot of Mount Crom (Ben Morgh):
• a medium-sized PC, human, unencumbered moving at 30 ft., can cover 24 miles in a day, without any difficult or hard-going terrain.
• dist. betw. Venarium and Mr. Crom (very approximate): 1415.4 miles~1424.5 miles
• if no rough terrain, no encumbrances..58.97 ~ 59.35 days.
• but...trackless, forested and hills: x4...

=236 to 237 days (nearly 8 months)!

assuming no delays in weather, conflict with natives, &c.

If not entire distance was hilly nor forested, and the traveller(s) had especially fortunate circumstances...the journey may take at best 220 days. Use of mounts may accerate travel, but mounts must be able to handle the rocky, treacherous terrain...

If passage required through hostile territories...
• may need to ritually exchange hostages to ensure safe passage (cf. Caesaris de Bello Gallico, re: obsides)

* * * * *
Suggested Weather Modifiers:
• late fall (rain, sleet): x1/2
• winter weather cost: x1/4

 

[Maximo]

Yogah of Yag wrote:

I am conducting a cartographic experiment regarding overland travel through Cimmeria

I would like to know what your estimates are for travel between these two places in terms of days or months.

My estimate is just two weeks to get killed in a Cimmerian raid :twisted: :lol:

236 to 237 days (nearly 8 months)!

That's a lot of time... Which remembers me one of the main reason to try to locate the adventures near the characters in order to avoid them to waste years of their lives going from Hyperborea to Darfar and then to Gunderland.

 

[urdinaran]

Given the type of culture Cimmerians have, count on the whole way at best being trackless. Any track or trails that exist through Cimmeria will meader and may only be know to the locals.

I spent almost 10 years in the Army and let me tell you, 12-mile marches suck (3-4 hours, 50 lbs. in your rucksack). Usually done on an unimproved road (packed dirt) or on the gravel shoulder of a paved one. In a wilderness like Cimmeria, you would probably have to stop frequently to get your bearings, ensure there isn't an ambush ahead, etc.

Realistically, you're looking at 8-12 miles a day at best; and 1-2 days a week of rest and foraging.

 

[argo]

Good work on the stats Argo.

Also, assuming that it will be mostly trackless (92 days), the PCs will not be able to march for that long un-interupted. So that 3 month journey will take nearly 4 months. Add to that the fact that they will probably not have an accurate map available, now it becomes even longer; not to mention lots of back-tracking due to swamps/marshes/impassable terrain. We haven't even begun to talk about all the tribes of Cimmerians they will run into (Diplomacy checks, etc.) and the time that will take.

The terrain modifiers should already account for "interuptions" such as back-tracking, poor weather, etc. Basically anything that doesn't rise to the level of an "encounter" ought to be already accounted for (some encounters might include monsterous animals, dealing with the locals and environmental hazards like avalanches, landslides etc).

Getting lost is covered under the Survival skill. Actually posessing a (accurate) map might cut a few days off of travel time for being able to find the best mountain passes etc.

If we were talking about the characters traversing the mountains of Corinthia instead of Cimmeria would 3-4 months seem right? Does it take steely thewed men of the Hyborian age that long to finish a road trip?

Speed of plot baby ...