I traveled home yesterday by car, about 8 hours of driving from south central Illinois to south of Kalamazoo. It was interstate and highway all the way. I took a couple US and state highways for a bit to go around/avoid construction. I got to thinking about a journey of that distance in D&D.

I think it was like 350 miles or so, maybe closer to 400. At ten miles a day, walking would take 40 days! If you have ever walked 10 plus miles in a day you know how sore your feet are, if you are not used to it. If you carry a pack or any gear, you know how tired you are. Imaging doing that all the time.

When characters are walking for miles on end, we need to keep in mind the need for them to stop and rest, to avoid exhaustion. We should also keep in mind that a character with a lower constitution might have trouble staying awake for a watch. Lack of enough food and water can make one weak and more prone to dozing off as the body conserves energy.

I’m not arguing for complicated rules and tables to track this, just keep in mind if there is an encounter while traveling and it happens before they can take their next rest during their daily travel, they might be exhausted sooner. Of course, if they have enough food and water and are not injured, sick, or exhausted for some reason, such as running, they will have a natural resistance to being worn out. However, any characters with a low constitution would be hard pressed to maintain a normal/standard pace.

Age also has an effect. When I was a teenager I used to mow lawns in the high heat and humidity of Missouri summers. I would mow on days it wasn’t really safe to do so, and as long as I drank enough water, I was fine. Now, 30+ years later, I mow my yard and on hot days, I am spent if I don’t take it slow and stop to get plenty of water and a snack to keep me going.

Again I think these don’t need complicated mechanics. Just keep these in mind, for those times it makes sense. If the party has no random encounters and plenty of food and water, and gets enough rest, it won’t be an issue. Just apply the effects if they are short or out of supplies, injured, running for their lives, or short on rest.