In Chapter 1 of the Payer's Handbook (5.5), the section on travel lists various speeds and distances. The line for "Fast" pace lists a speed of about 4 miles per hour, but then states that this would result in 30 instead of 32 miles in one day (despite the DMG making it clear that the core assumption is for 8 hours of travel per day) - I think this may have been a hold-over from the identical 2014 table? I'm not sure if there's some hidden assumption that Fast pace requires an additional 30 minutes of rest per day, or whether it was initially done to make the differences in paces all equal to 6 miles (which might be beneficial for traditional 24-mile and 6-mile hexes, but means that the maths is incorrect for more free-form travel). The miles per hour is actually, if anything, a slightly underestimate of total speed, as travelling at 400 feet per minute (which is identical to travelling 40 feet every "round") is a speed of over 4.5 mph, but I think it's reasonable to round down to 4mph as you might take the odd breather etc. Similarly, the daily total for Slow pace is 18 miles, instead of 8 hours travelling at 2 miles per hour which should give 16 miles (however travelling exactly 20 feet per minute for a full 60 minutes, and then multiplying that distance by 8 *before* rounding, does give a total distance of just over 18 miles). Again, I suspect this was done to make all of the total distances vary by 6 miles, but it makes it look like either a) there are errors in the calculations or b) there's a whole extra series of hidden assumptions about what proportion of the "8 hours" are you actually moving depending on your pace.
The above Fast and Slow Travel daily distances also contradict the guidance set out in the DMG, which gives explicit formulas for working out speeds for any other reason, which otherwise agree with the whole table: Miles per hour = Speed ÷ 10 Miles per day (Normal pace) = Miles per hour × number of hours traveled (typically 8) Fast pace = Miles per day × 1⅓ (round down) Slow pace = Miles per day × 2/3 (round down).
(I also think there's a typo in the DMG with "traveled") Whilst I appreciate varying all of the daily distances by 6 miles does specifically make 6-mile hexes easier, it still seems like it's just messing up the otherwise fairly neat calculations that could otherwise be done?
(On a related note, I do think that sometimes there are hidden assumption with speeds - the Phantom Steed spell creates a mount which has a Speed of 100 feet but is later stated to travel at "13 miles in an hour" - initially I thought they'd done the above calculations wrong as it seems like it should be 10mph, but I believe there is a hidden assumption that the Phantom Steed over any non-battlefield distance will be able to sustain a "Fast" pace and therefore will travel at 13mph, not 10.)
I acknowledge that this is an unbelievably niche area to delve into, but I just thought I'd see if anyone can offer any further insight.
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In Chapter 1 of the Payer's Handbook (5.5), the section on travel lists various speeds and distances. The line for "Fast" pace lists a speed of about 4 miles per hour, but then states that this would result in 30 instead of 32 miles in one day (despite the DMG making it clear that the core assumption is for 8 hours of travel per day) - I think this may have been a hold-over from the identical 2014 table?
I'm not sure if there's some hidden assumption that Fast pace requires an additional 30 minutes of rest per day, or whether it was initially done to make the differences in paces all equal to 6 miles (which might be beneficial for traditional 24-mile and 6-mile hexes, but means that the maths is incorrect for more free-form travel). The miles per hour is actually, if anything, a slightly underestimate of total speed, as travelling at 400 feet per minute (which is identical to travelling 40 feet every "round") is a speed of over 4.5 mph, but I think it's reasonable to round down to 4mph as you might take the odd breather etc.
Similarly, the daily total for Slow pace is 18 miles, instead of 8 hours travelling at 2 miles per hour which should give 16 miles (however travelling exactly 20 feet per minute for a full 60 minutes, and then multiplying that distance by 8 *before* rounding, does give a total distance of just over 18 miles). Again, I suspect this was done to make all of the total distances vary by 6 miles, but it makes it look like either a) there are errors in the calculations or b) there's a whole extra series of hidden assumptions about what proportion of the "8 hours" are you actually moving depending on your pace.
The above Fast and Slow Travel daily distances also contradict the guidance set out in the DMG, which gives explicit formulas for working out speeds for any other reason, which otherwise agree with the whole table:
Miles per hour = Speed ÷ 10
Miles per day (Normal pace) = Miles per hour × number of hours traveled (typically 8)
Fast pace = Miles per day × 1⅓ (round down)
Slow pace = Miles per day × 2/3 (round down).
(I also think there's a typo in the DMG with "traveled")
Whilst I appreciate varying all of the daily distances by 6 miles does specifically make 6-mile hexes easier, it still seems like it's just messing up the otherwise fairly neat calculations that could otherwise be done?
(On a related note, I do think that sometimes there are hidden assumption with speeds - the Phantom Steed spell creates a mount which has a Speed of 100 feet but is later stated to travel at "13 miles in an hour" - initially I thought they'd done the above calculations wrong as it seems like it should be 10mph, but I believe there is a hidden assumption that the Phantom Steed over any non-battlefield distance will be able to sustain a "Fast" pace and therefore will travel at 13mph, not 10.)
I acknowledge that this is an unbelievably niche area to delve into, but I just thought I'd see if anyone can offer any further insight.