inside of my campaign, the map is a bit larger/spaced out than i expected to be tbh, and im wondering if taking 5/6 days to travel to the closest kingdom (not including other towns, cities, etc:) is too long of a travel for players when they will likely be moving kingdom to kingdom frequently and if i should change it, or if it is a somewhat normal distance.
and if you would like, you could also add your way for measuring a good distance between locations. (this is a new dm here so please give constructive criticism and tips)
It’s the kind of thing that matters as much as you want it to. Just keep it in mind when you’re planning things that if you have a ticking clock scenario, you give enough time for the party to have a chance at success.
And you’ve done yourself a favor, really. Blank spots on the map give you space to improvise. If you suddenly need a village in the woods, you can throw it in without confusing anything.
And I usually measure large distances in time as opposed to miles. For one, depending on the conditions— flat clear road or overgrown jungle, or what have you — distance doesn’t usually give a clear indication. And for two, time is usually the more relevant measure. And for three, if you do it in time, it’s easier to allow the party to move at the speed of plot.
The only way I've found that it matters in how much effort you're going to need to put into those travel sections. Travel and Hex Crawls just aren't my thing. I really dislike the lack of consideration in 5e for travel beyond just random encounters. I tend to end up montaging it all. I'll get players to roll for random encounters (social, environmental, and even combat), but beyond that we'll stop only for campfire scenes. So for me, travel can be a little 'meh'. I do know both players and GMs who live for the hex crawl however.
inside of my campaign, the map is a bit larger/spaced out than i expected to be tbh, and im wondering if taking 5/6 days to travel to the closest kingdom (not including other towns, cities, etc:) is too long of a travel for players when they will likely be moving kingdom to kingdom frequently and if i should change it, or if it is a somewhat normal distance.
and if you would like, you could also add your way for measuring a good distance between locations. (this is a new dm here so please give constructive criticism and tips)
It should probably take at least 5-6 days to get from town to town. The actual distance doesn't really matter unless you are rolling for random encounters every single day. If you are rolling random encounters, I would probably roll until get a random encounter and then simply don't have another random encounter. I would still make them roll during watch to see if they notice anything.
Another thing you can do is have them roll once for watch and use that result for most of the trip.
I mean, just thinking about the practicality of rulers interacting - it kind of depends on the size of their influence. If they are only a day apart, then they rule a very small patch, like a mayor. If you are thinking of a kingdom including multiple cities or towns then they'd really have to be that 5-6 days apart at least; you wouldn't want your neighboring army right next to you etc.
The way to solve the drudge of travel time is to give them the gift of fast travel (or alternately, to basically make it a montage, it's just now 6 days later). Fast travel seems to feel better, and you can give it via NPCs or a magic item, maybe one that can only be used at intervals of your choosing. As your characters get more powerful, they can make their own fast travel.
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inside of my campaign, the map is a bit larger/spaced out than i expected to be tbh, and im wondering if taking 5/6 days to travel to the closest kingdom (not including other towns, cities, etc:) is too long of a travel for players when they will likely be moving kingdom to kingdom frequently and if i should change it, or if it is a somewhat normal distance.
and if you would like, you could also add your way for measuring a good distance between locations. (this is a new dm here so please give constructive criticism and tips)
It’s the kind of thing that matters as much as you want it to. Just keep it in mind when you’re planning things that if you have a ticking clock scenario, you give enough time for the party to have a chance at success.
And you’ve done yourself a favor, really. Blank spots on the map give you space to improvise. If you suddenly need a village in the woods, you can throw it in without confusing anything.
And I usually measure large distances in time as opposed to miles. For one, depending on the conditions— flat clear road or overgrown jungle, or what have you — distance doesn’t usually give a clear indication. And for two, time is usually the more relevant measure. And for three, if you do it in time, it’s easier to allow the party to move at the speed of plot.
The only way I've found that it matters in how much effort you're going to need to put into those travel sections. Travel and Hex Crawls just aren't my thing. I really dislike the lack of consideration in 5e for travel beyond just random encounters. I tend to end up montaging it all. I'll get players to roll for random encounters (social, environmental, and even combat), but beyond that we'll stop only for campfire scenes. So for me, travel can be a little 'meh'. I do know both players and GMs who live for the hex crawl however.
Sly Flourish's Website has some great things on hex crawls: Running Hex Crawls for D&D, 5e, or Shadowdark: SlyFlourish.com
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It should probably take at least 5-6 days to get from town to town. The actual distance doesn't really matter unless you are rolling for random encounters every single day. If you are rolling random encounters, I would probably roll until get a random encounter and then simply don't have another random encounter. I would still make them roll during watch to see if they notice anything.
Another thing you can do is have them roll once for watch and use that result for most of the trip.
I mean, just thinking about the practicality of rulers interacting - it kind of depends on the size of their influence. If they are only a day apart, then they rule a very small patch, like a mayor. If you are thinking of a kingdom including multiple cities or towns then they'd really have to be that 5-6 days apart at least; you wouldn't want your neighboring army right next to you etc.
The way to solve the drudge of travel time is to give them the gift of fast travel (or alternately, to basically make it a montage, it's just now 6 days later). Fast travel seems to feel better, and you can give it via NPCs or a magic item, maybe one that can only be used at intervals of your choosing. As your characters get more powerful, they can make their own fast travel.