I walked 24 miles to see if D&D Travel is REALISTIC

[@BobWorldBuilder]

🌟 Walk with adventuring gear UNLOCKED! Stay tuned! 📜 dScryb: dscryb.com/?aff=267 💥 Save 10% on dScryb with promo code: BOB ▶️ D&D IRL playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL1lMCvJ_l52XB_2Scg4M4cQwcJTklisNt

[@silversheep7369]

Only need

[@TDeck1]

Looking forward to that video. What armors will you be wearing?

[@frederickayer3602]

Make the armor ac per 1k likes in 24hr. Plate mail for 8k likes!

[@SCwirlify]

I am a new DM. We are moving into chapter 2 in Rime of the Frost maiden. The issue of traveling is pertinent for me as a DM right now. Tho this video is kind of LOL, it helped me! - Thanks!

[@chillman2011]

2.6k as of now lol

[@TheGreatDayne1983]

I can’t believe that you didn’t go into that abandoned building The GM obviously had a storyhook in there.

[@FluffyTheGryphon]

As a DM, I feel this in my soul. "You're not gonna go in there? Seriously? K.... :( "

[@mrbidwell]

That abandoned building is obviously for higher level characters

[@joshuasinger4649]

@@FluffyTheGryphon I once had a dungeon for my players inside a sealed well. I showed them tracks to the well, they skipped it. They camped and I showed them a guy coming out of it, and running when he saw them. They didn't do anything. They came back for a spot to camp again so I showed them the well unsealed. They still didn't go in. I had an npc say they heard the bad guys talking about a well. They still didn't go in.

[@BrendanDonnelly51395]

Ikr! I instantly was like oh cool an irl dungeon

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Saving it for a dungeon delve! Haha

[@jaketionary2543]

I'd like to point out that we've also learned about the value of bards: road trip songs! Someone to keep the party's spirits up, and their minds off the burning in their legs, can help get them over that last hill, especially on longer trips

[@96Logan]

I have taken long walks at night around my neighborhood with close friends and we end up talking about d&d, mtg, video games, ect. Sometimes we've walked several miles over that time and it's completely on accident. We are so invested in the conversation that the fatigue doesn't register...

[@BobWorldBuilder]

So true! Morale played a big role in this trip, and certainly would day after day of walking!

[@timkramar9729]

In my case, it was my feet that got very sore after 20 something miles walking. Think it took me closer to 12 though. Walked faster in the beginning, but easy terrain and very flat land.

[@timothymason7008]

Yo Bob you should have been using that awesome singing voice of yours in this video to get you through it 😁

[@rabenfuerst7332]

that's only true if your bard is good - 8 hours of him singing Justin Biber stuff, and the world would have one bard less...

[@razbuten]

Make sure that in the next one you also hire folks to come out and attack you at various spots.

[@Hellion232Z]

And make sure to bring a full set of adventuring gear. But don't carry it yourself, pay 2 silver pieces and have a hireling carry it for you.

[@irregularassassin6380]

@@Hellion232Z I am going to drive my DM nuts with that the next campaign we play.

[@natesturm448]

No thanks, did that in Afghanistan.

[@HighmageDerin]

indeed, some larp battles every 5 hours or so would show just how realistic travle times are. Id say down to 10 miles in a day of walking. and we could see if Disadvantage on attack rolls is a good rule because your tired from all that walking!

[@Quandry1]

Before he stages attacks. He needs to get used to making the trip. He wouldn't have the burn or be as nearly worn out as he was in this video. Which would be more representative of a real adventurer.

[@bigbrowntau]

DM: "As you continue to walk, just beyond where you're familiar with, a grey blocky building, weathered from disuse comes into view. It's easy to see the door is unlocked and ajar, almost inviting you to explore. What do you decide to do?" Players: "Oh, we'll just keep walking." DM to self: (Arrrrgh! I was up all night putting that encounter together!) DM: "Ah ok...you walk a little further, when suddenly out of nowhere, a freak storm blows in. You need to seek shelter..."

[@damienamarty]

"We circle back to the abandoned building and-" DM: "It's locked, as a group of goblins seeking refuge from the storm beat you to it. It seems heavily defended at a glance, but the goblins seem nervous about getting into the rain to confront you outside. Roll initiave."

[@Arkylie]

That would be my friend who prepped a fancy encounter with some sort of dinosaur-like herd, and when the group looked down on the dinosaurs and collectively decided to avoid them by taking the long route around the ridge, he described the next section as identical to the last section except no easy way around 😂

[@cardboardbox191]

I remember a hamlet we weren't allowed in with our weapons. I still don't know if it was a trap.

[@craig5322]

D&D: "You can go 24 miles a day" Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli: "So anyway, I started running..."

[@OldBearby]

They legit didn't need mounts. Just ran across Middle-earth like "mad lads."

[@Quandry1]

@@OldBearby Well Just imagine your moving several miles every day. The burn goes away after a couple weeks. The time improves, the pace becomes more relaxing to upkeep. And the ability to burst adrenaline becomes more and more plausible, All without going to any real extreme strength or endurance wise.

[@Phyllion-]

@@Quandry1 That's really not how exhaustion works lol. Your body needs some actual resting time and spending your whole day running like they do every day without any break, besides fighting, which isn't exactly a break. Otherwise, you'll end up with major pains and your muscles will give up on you. There's a reason why you're sometimes out for days after major efforts, imagine constantly putting your body under that kind of stress.

[@Quandry1]

@@Phyllion- Your misrepresenting the situation. They do not spend the entire day running as adventurer's. They don't even come close to this and Bob World Builder Proved that it doesn't take running or even to be particularly in shape to accomplish it. And it's not without breaks. He took several breaks and still managed to make the time. And there is a such thing as conditioning that your ignoring quite a lot. Also. Hate to tell you this. But I did work that was basically straining day in and day out. I know what it is like to do it and what it's like to actually get worn down from it. You can adjust to a lot of it, and wearing down is not going to happen immediately unless you are woefully out of shape, otherwise it takes something particularly extreme that is above and beyond 8 hours of walking and a few periods of strenuous physical activity. You may be out for days after a major effort but I am not. And I am not particularly physically built so you can't make the excuse that it is because of that. People used to put their body under that kind of stress all the time. They used to work heavily for much longer periods than what most people do now adays without experiencing these quick breakdowns that you are proclaiming. There are jobs even today that buck the natural trend and work different types of schedules that could be akin to the type that an adventurer would do with little serious effect. Your Over simplifying it and then deeming it some kind of universal law. Yes you can break down after a certain point but it is not at the point that your claiming that it is. It takes either something extreme or something requiring very long periods of repeatedly doing it over extended time frames without deviation. (akin to months effectively, which Adventurer's don't actually do. They repeatedly downtime in different towns and stuff all throughout most adventure campaigns.)

[@Phyllion-]

@@Quandry1 While what you say is true under real circumstances, that was more about the initial joke of them spending their time running non-stop. Obviously the movies are exaggerating on the running to cut off the time the spent in the books detailing all sorts of events, talks, etc... The books rarely mentions them running after all, outside a few times when they're really in a hurry. The point was that if you really spent all your days running without breaks like the movies make it look like (cause yes there are lots of physically taxing jobs, but you still have days off and week ends to rest up physically and mentally) your body would just eventually break down eventually. Not to mention that 24 miles a day is DnD, who knows how much Aragorn and the gang did (I don't even remember if the actual distance of their numerous travels is ever said)

[@robertkendzie3]

Before you get all gung-ho about long distance horse travel, you should really do a video where you ride a horse for 8 hours and see how your butt feels at the end of that day. :D

[@candiedginger8729]

I agree, riding a horse is far more of a full body workout than walking is.

[@claressadubs]

Would actually love to see this too! =D

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha okay yeah that sounds terrible

[@matthewryall167]

They say if your riding a horse 🐎 and it dosn't hurt, then you're not doing it right

[@ambiej123]

I think both don’t factor in life that is unused to cars. A vehicle free society, 1-2 mile walks are normal. Travel based on constitution makes sense. Or travel based on level would work too, as a character becomes more and more used to walking/jogging/riding.

[@andrewshandle]

You could argue that the characters are used to the walks so they'd be "better" at it than you are. You, yourself said the most you have ever done is 13 miles, but in a world where the primary means of transportation is walking, even people in below average shape would be able to walk further.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

No need to argue that point- you’re absolutely correct!

[@andrewshandle]

@@BobWorldBuilder Weird coincidence, I saw an article a few months ago that compared the distance people would walk in a given day on average in each generation but can't seem to find it, I was hoping to post an edit with the data. Oh well. ;)

[@fredericleclerc9037]

DEPENDS on the characters... your Wizard that spent the last 10 years in a tower studying magic would be WORST ;) Stats matters, skills matters, Race matters, encumbrance matters, Terrain matters... so... yeah :P // ''Even people in below average shape would be able to walk further.'' No... that's what bellow average shape means (I bring back that Wizard) BUT if they did have to travel alot by foot (which I don't see happening) then they AREN'T below average shape. I think most family would have a horse (not one per person) just like today most have a car. Fantasy settings are rarely taking place in world where peasants own nothing. Also considering the danger of travel... you wouldn't do it on foot UNLESS in a big group to be able to defend yourself. And since traveling can be dangerous... people would be breading horses A LOT... making them very common hence affordable.

[@andrewshandle]

​@@fredericleclerc9037 So first off, it's all a fake world, but the idea that people are literally trapped in a tower their entire life studying magic is a bit silly, they'd still need to walk to basically get _anything_ (like spell components and food), and unlike today where they could just hop in the car or take public transportation and head to the local store, they'd have to walk everywhere back then. Most everyone wouldn't have horses for daily travel either, they're expensive a lot of work to house, feed and maintain. On my family farm back in the day, they had two horses that were used for farming and to get all the kids to school in the winter when there was snow (they had a sleigh), but otherwise they had to walk everywhere, and this was just a century ago. The way muscles and the human body work is that they adapt to how they are used, even if someone isn't physically very strong, if they walk long distances every day, they can still be very good and efficient at walking those distances and still not be good at anything else. That's why a 70 year old man named Vinod Bajaj who is in not in particularly good shape (Google his pictures) and has only been "walking" for 4 years can walk over 30 miles day every day of COVID lockdown and walk the circumference of the earth. That's almost 25,000 miles in 16 months! It's also why the one day record for walking is just shy of 143 miles in a single 24 hour period by a guy named Jesse Castaneda who continued to "long walk" well into his late 70s. And if you want to see the inverse, look at Astronauts who suffer massive muscle decay once they get into space because our bodies react to the stimulus we feed it and the environment we live in. Put it this way, I think Bob would say he's not in particular good shape (no offense), but if he walked a few miles a day, and once a week did a "long" walk in just a few months he'd easily be able to do the walk he struggle with a bit today simply because his body would adapt to walking.

[@rkstevenson5448]

@@fredericleclerc9037 I think the point was that even people in a fantasy setting who are below average in physical health would still be able to walk farther than someone in average physical shape in the real world. I'm not sure where you have the notion that most fantasy settings include peasants that own horses and the like. It seems like you're painting a very wide swath based solely on your personal experience (which I do not share; most games I've played in and run, commoners do not have the kind of wealth necessary to own and care for a horse). Regardless, it remains true that people who primarily travel by foot are going to have a better ability to do so than people who do not, even if the latter people are generally in better physical condition. Being physically fit does not automatically make you better at every physical task. It takes repetition. It's why we do practice road marches in the military. Even though we're doing PT five days a week, that doesn't immediately translate to being good at walking long distances carrying a lot of gear. You have to get your body accustomed to that.

[@stephenwells2464]

He actually had full adventuring gear with him it was just in the drawstring bag of holding

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha dang that’s what I should have said

[@stoatystoat174]

@@BobWorldBuilder And inside the bag looked a lot like the inside of a car

[@nicolrb2210]

Like a true D&D adventurer, he’s passing by ancient ruins as he walks

[@quentindaniel9541]

I'll say this about the leg burning and stuff like that, I walk about 14 miles a shift while also lifting hundreds and thousands of bags of dog food and other goods like cat litter and such that weigh about 50ish pounds, you get used to that constant stress on your body so adventurers wouldn't have much of a challenge once this becomes their life. I'm not even in great shape right now I just am used to doing this work but when I first started my feet and calves and thighs hurt all the time because I'm always moving. But now it's easy.

[@hahaureadmyname]

would you consider yourself pretty strong?

[@Quandry1]

I went through the same kind of thing, Both as a cart pusher and as an unloader for one of the big chain stores. I'm far from what could be called particularly strong. But it's the type of work the average villager or farmer would be doing every day of their lives just as a necessity for living themselves.

[@wickjezek1101]

@@Quandry1 yeah most people may not realize what the life of the average peasant is like. Just farming, animals, clothing, you have to work hard to just survive.

[@fishman241]

So, seems pretty reasonable that adventurers which are at peak physical fitness within their limitations and walk distances like this on the regular can 100% keep up a 24 mile per 8 hour pace. That said, you have also discovered why no party which can teleport chooses to walk anywhere.

[@NovaGirl8]

or have flying equipment. My last party bemoaned travelling

[@jagoob]

This is why no dumps their con score.

[@adamhbrennan]

But what about all the armor and gear?

[@richthomas4363]

You also have to remember that the PCs live in a quasi medieval world where for most people walking for miles is a normal daily activity.

[@albertoa.r.5886]

@@adamhbrennan followers/pack animals/slaves/magic...

[@scottwoods9071]

Hey Bob, I was in the Army and we had to "road march" 35 miles. Most of it was more dirt trail than road and we did it in 15 hours with 10 min breaks every hour and full gear.

[@kellyweaver8422]

What was the weight of that gear if you don't mind Scott?

[@logannichols5848]

I was a pog, and we did 65 lb. I rucked it every Saturday with 80 - 90.

[@scottwoods9071]

@@kellyweaver8422 I honestly can't remember the rucksack weight but the 81mm mortar tube I carried weighed 28 lbs. and the base plate another person carried weighed 25 lbs. and the bi-pod weighed 40 lbs. I had a 9mm Beretta and the other two had m-16A2s witch weighed 7 lbs. Plus our k-pots, web gear, boots and the rucksacks.

[@kellyweaver8422]

@@scottwoods9071 we didn't "road march" in the Navy. All my gear was stowed under my bunk.

[@nat1baby]

Sorry to hear this

[@toofuairi]

A follow up on how you felt the day after would be neat. A lot of people don't know how taxing long distance multiple day foot travel can be.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

It wasn’t as sore as I thought, but walking a full second day (or more repeatedly) would have been very very difficult!

[@CaedenV]

@@BobWorldBuilder Actually the soreness is an acid build-up in your legs. If you keep moving like you did, then it works its way out of your muscles, and it really doesn't hurt as much. After a few days it really wouldn't hurt much at all. That isn't to say that your feet or joints would not be dying in pain, or that you would not have fatigue and be clumsy and more prone to hurt yourself, but muscle pain would not likely be one of your problems after 2-3 days of long walks like that lol.

[@melissaharris3389]

@@BobWorldBuilder most people, thus characters, can push themselves to do 24m in 8hr it's doing it consecutively for many days that will kill you!

[@_motho_]

@@CaedenV that’s just misinformation lmao. The burn in your muscles is lactic acid, yes, but the lingering soreness is the result of micro-tears in the muscle. These are actually good though, because when your body repairs these tears, it builds them back stronger.

[@THEMRB2100]

@@_motho_ it’s not really misinformation, yes there are muscular tears from the exertion, but it’s also a very low stress activity. It’s not going to have the same impact as say, lifting at 85-90% of your maximum lifts for a gym session. Speaking from experience, the other guy is right. I found after doing 15-20 miles for 2 or 3 days with different loads of 60-90lbs that the day of is worse unless I moved a lot, but hiking again the next day felt the same as the first day. If it’s someone who never walks/runs/works out then yes, it’ll hurt because they don’t have built up muscle, but for the average person they’ll be fine within a day in my un-medically and in no way certified opinion.

[@TheRubberDuck77]

One thing to remember with walking in DnD, it is based on a time where yes you COULD go by horse, but horses are expensive to buy and maintain so most people DO walk EVERYwhere. Most people, myself for sure included, don't walk or stay on their feet as much. Even tho I am on my feet for 8 hours a day in retail its not all walking, and that does make a difference. So there is something to be said about bodies being used to doing it.

[@nickschuyler]

Horses were expensive? Maybe you should read some Viking history. There's a HUGE REASON why everyone lived near the water - regardless of the horse thing, it was the basic travel thing - walking with a backpack is about 1.8 MPH - while wearing Chain mail in the heat of summer, reduce results by about 85%

[@sandpiperr]

I don't know about you but standing still on my feet for long periods hurts a lot more than walking long distances for me!

[@zacharylavoie6889]

Setting up a 24 mile dnd-themed group hike sounds like an amazing idea...

[@thehiddendwarf7313]

The nature/survival checks are on point boi. And imagine sitting just next to an abandoned building what the DM obviously set up and just resting there DM:"b...but...it dungeon....there loot....me work hard...agh fine"

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha “we just want to get to the town!!”

[@fredericleclerc9037]

You would have a ''semi'' abandonned building like that every 8 hours along the road, maybe even more often... serving as a travelers resting spot. On every important road you'd have those along the way... with maybe a small shrine to some local divinity, a travel divinity or whatever divinity the ''sponsor'' of the cabin prefer. So you'd have camping spot that are more or less always the same along the road. And these would get occupied by bandits from time to time... nice mini quest there. GM should really more often describe old camping sites of other travelers... it bring life to the world.

[@thehiddendwarf7313]

@@fredericleclerc9037 I'll take these notes to heart my good man, many thanks

[@nebuloushammer8773]

I'm thinking I'll make a revenge binder for just these situations. Just wait until they meet "Qu the quiet", who never shuts up and is constantly talking about fishing and repeating the same 2 stories over and over again. May or may not be based on an actual uncle Mike.

[@thehiddendwarf7313]

@@nebuloushammer8773 he was also cursed by an old Sea king fish that if he were to die his spirit would haunt those who have taken it and keep hearing the stories till their last breath. There, muderhobo proof

[@TheGray524]

Can we award inspiration points to DMs? If so, each of us needs to give Bob one or two for doing this.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks Gray! :)

[@jackielinde7568]

To quote Matt Mercer during his Exandria Unlimited playthrough: "No!No!No!No! Don't do that!"

[@brothertaddeus]

As someone who has gone on multiple 20+ mile rucks with ~150 pounds of gear (including armor), I feel like the D&D travel rules are pretty realistic.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Sounds like you’re a real hero!

[@pwnerman1717]

Yup, it's definitely doable with training. Speaking from experience. In U.S. Army basic training you are required to complete a weighted ruck march of 12 miles in under 3 hours. The weighted load is to simulate a fighting load which is about 70 pounds usually, unless you are part of a 2 man machine gun team then you are probably pushing 85-90 between weapon and/or ammo depending on if you are the gunner or feeding the ammo. The D&D rules are definitely realistic considering that your adventurers are probably in damn good shape.

[@benwagner5089]

The adventurer is in good shape, yes, but not necessarily Army Ranger good shape. Some of these guys may be fighters used to the hard travel on untamed lands. The bards carrying their instruments just starting their adventuring life wouldn't be used to that yet, nor would the old wizard that's on his final trip. 20 miles makes for easy math, but 15 miles might be kinder on those with less Constitution. I would definitely have their walking endurance be based on their Constitution score.

[@pwnerman1717]

@@benwagner5089 doesn't have to be a ranger lol. I wasn't in great shape when I joined the army. I got to the point where I was able to do that 12 mile march with ease. It occured at the end of week 8 of basic. So only 8 weeks of morning pt and marching with a fighting load's worth of weight everyday got me to that point. The point about some of the softer classes not having to the stamina at the start of a campaign is legitimate though. I still think they could power through a long walk.

[@benwagner5089]

@@pwnerman1717 But as Bob experienced when he came back to the "goblin ambush," after walking for so long he wouldn't have been in good condition to fight them off. Especially since the boss fights typically occur at the end of a long trek of fighting smaller skirmishes.

[@Portablesounds]

I actually did a third of the AT in 2017! As you point out earlier in the video, elevation makes a huge difference. The AT is surprisingly the steepest of the long trails in the USA, so if an AT hiker were on just flat ground, they'd likely cover something around 24 miles!

[@emory5533]

That's awesome! I really want to try thru hiking the AT before I die

[@karora]

I think it's reasonable to expect that an adventurer is used to walking. I typically walk 10km for enjoyment and exercise most days, and on weekends I regularly walk 25km or more. When I started this walking regime (at the age of 58 - I'm 63 now) I found it strenuous to walk even 5km, especially if hills were involved, whereas now I think nothing of a 15km round trip walk where most people in my city would use a car. Where I walk we participate in competitions called "Marchathon" and "Walktober", so in those months I walk a lot further, averaging over 20k steps for March, including several days where I walked more than 40km. So I would challenge you to spend a month gradually increasing your walking distance (perhaps even with a small backpack) and *then* do another test for 24miles and see how much easier it becomes. Also: it's a great way to get to know more of the world around you!

[@pdubb9754]

The comment that if goblins attacked they would wreck you reminded me how I’ve felt towards the end of a long hike. Perhaps a required con save or suffer exhaustion at the 2/3 mark is in order for grittier realism. This has been my favorite of the realism in frpg series but am looking forward to more world building and game management stuff.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks! Yeah trying to defend myself at all would have been near impossible at that point. More topics to come!

[@Sceptile29]

Adrenaline is a hell of a drug

[@showalk]

Adrenaline saves lives. Also, these adventures are presumably incredibly fit, at least compared to the average citizen.

[@dkman123]

Conditioning is a huge part of being able to do it without exhaustion. Instead of going straight to exhaustion I'd home brew a -1 to AC and maybe a -1 to hit rolls. At the end of travel or right before rest you would be the most vulnerable.

[@pdubb9754]

@@dkman123 The constitution saves I mentioned accounted for conditioning, to my way of thinking. You can set the DC based on how gritty you want your game to be, accounting for highly conditioned athletes or the norm. But the game is infinitely customizable. Many ways to skin a character... er... I mean skin a cat.

[@kaninom_KAS]

This was great. "Nature check" would be a great name for a walking series

[@KalonOrdona2]

Nailed it! Especially when you consider: 1. we're all level zero, basically -- just stats and an intelligence mod's worth of skill ranks (like Nature). a proper adventurer would be much more acclimated, as... 2. would basically anyone without cars and tv (and youtube... drat) 3. you would have more gear, but also more motivation, more practice, and more company. Great video! :D

[@nowthenzen]

don't know about you, but pretty sure I have a hold person spell, so ..

[@connorhill6520]

@@nowthenzen 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨

[@panhandlersparadise1733]

At around 2:40 You make a good point, but let me point out a few things. It's D&D, sometimes we average things out instead of roleplaying. Yes, in theory you can walk for 16 hours, eat while you walk, and sleep for 8. BUT! That's if your friend picks you up in an RV at the end of your walk. In reality, you have to set up camp, purify water to refill, take the breaks you mentioned, you might stop at a farmer's house or roadside inn for several hours, and of course you have to use the restroom. Which has to be buried. Otherwise it's not a random encounter with a wandering monster, something will catch your scent, track you, and attack at the most inopportune time. In other words, there's other stuff going on. If the quest is time dependent, I let the players move further in a day without exhaustion penalties. Just not every day, and if they choose to do so I leave out background information because they didn't stop to talk to other people, and I'll increase the odds of random encounters because they were going faster and not paying as much attention to their surroundings.

[@ezrarichardson279]

As someone who’s done a 30miler in less then 8 hours it’s definitely pretty realistic. Even with a backpack with 6-9kg in it it would be feasible (but without training it would be extremely hard). I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure that D&D characters seem pretty fit in general (or atleast used to walking long distances).

[@ekrotte8714]

Typical DnD backpacks should weigh multiples of your suggested weight. Some classes are doing these distances in plate armour even.

[@ezrarichardson279]

@@ekrotte8714 I still think it's doable (for a day or two). But they all have to be pretty fit and eat a lot. Usually when your doing long hikes multiple days in a row it gets harder and harder so they couldn't necessarily maintain it.

[@4200Felix]

@@ezrarichardson279 I mean, raw an average strenght DND character can carry 75 ~ kg when doing this. Even with the encumberance rules, encumberance doesn't slow you overland speed (RAW). Even if it did, it would still be possible carrying 25 kg~. In 5e.

[@ezrarichardson279]

@@4200Felix That's not very realistic! I would love to meet an "average" person who could carry 75kgs 24miles in a day let alone lots of days in a row. Even with no bag at all a 20 miler isn't easy by any means (although very doable).

[@brohvakiindova4452]

@@ezrarichardson279 So I googled a bit and the best I could find was about a notorious hiker on the apalachian trail called "uhaul" if it's true he actually carried about 75kg and would make 6-8 miles a day and based on a guy who met him once 5 miles in 4 hours he was also described as having "mike tyson physique" I think 24 miles with 75kg a day would be stuff for professional strongmen on amphetamine xD

[@astarfling5908]

Bob - “I don’t know what’s in there” God - “roll for initiative”

[@benjaminsiera1691]

hahahaha

[@321Isotope]

Bob - “I got a three” God - “K, the hillbilly-crackheads go first.” Bob - “…Wut?”

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Best Bob video ever! I just wrapped a hexcrawl video where I remarked a fully armored character trying to walk 24 hours in a day is ridiculous. Roman Legions wore armor and 80 lbs of equipment--the closest thing to a D&D character, but would only march 8-11 miles per day. If you attempt such a task, may I recommend a new sponsor? Manscaped Crop Preserver. Prevents chafing. Highly recommended.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Hahah thanks for watching, Professor! I hope you wore your +1 (or +2) vest of protection because there are apparently a lot of experienced walkers in these comments!

[@scollyb]

The Roman torn down and built a fortified camp every day on the march. The last soldiers in the legion would leave hours after the first. According to Vegetius the standard required was 20 miles (18 modern) in 5 summer daylight hours (6 modern) at standard step and 24 miles (22 modern). Looking at modern soldiers 24 miles on a good road with an 80lb pack is tough but achievable.

[@Naeron66]

French Foreign Legion Recruits during pre-selection must march 19 miles in 4 hours in kit with a 50lb pack as well. Roman Legionaries were stated as being able to march at least 20 miles a day in formation (armies march slower than small groups). Vegetius specifically mentions training marches of 10 miles from the Camp and then returning in one day. On campaign they probably marched a shorter distance each day as they had to set up camp for the night and had more supplies so would be limited to the speed of their supply animals or carts. Do not judge the endurance of people who walked everywhere every day by modern people who don't.

[@alistairgrey5089]

You also have to keep in mind that adventurers are likely walking this much every day for weeks or months on end. The pain in your legs is likely because they aren't used to it. Whereas an adventurer's legs would be very accustomed to walking long distances.

[@snagsTS]

I used to work in construction. Building roads, developing new neighbourhoods etc. There were days where I walked between 30-40kms a day. The first few weeks I suffered. My legs ached, my feet ached, come to think of it, everything started to ache. After about two weeks my body started getting used to it and I actually started feeling good so your statement checks out.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

The whole walking without a pack is probably pretty realistic actualy, historically you'd travel with pack animals. Walking solo with all your gear on you is fairly modern.

[@icannotchoose]

But also adventurers in dnd don't typically bring animals with them for some silly reason

[@gutter-core]

to be fair 9 times out of 10 whenever one of my D&D groups tries to bring animals along (either as pack animals or transportation) they end up meeting an untimely death so I get why going solo might be better in a world with monsters and such 😅

[@tylerian4648]

@@gutter-core A former DM for our group would always kill our horses if we invested in them.

[@icannotchoose]

@@gutter-core I've noticed that too and it's a bit of pet peeve because it breaks immersion for me. How did anyone ever travel with an domesticate these animals if they are almost guaranteed to die on the trip? Making it more dangerous off-road is fine, but on trade routes? There should be like a 1/100 chance! Or at least there should be some precaution one can take.

[@gutter-core]

@@icannotchoose Oh yeah, I 100% agree with you. When I DM my own games I try to keep stuff like that in mind when making encounter tables and keeping roadside threats a little more mundane.

[@TheTipsyTrope]

"If there were goblins here I would be wrecked right now" I literally LOL'ed. Great video, next time take some Lembas Bread

[@ElizabethJimenezNowButler]

Dude, I section hiked the Appalachian trail, and it took a couple of weeks to build up to 15 mile days on average. I think 18 miles was our record day and it was gnarly. Might be something to consider for more realism that higher level characters can move faster or go farther than lower level characters in a campaign

[@chriswilliamson9993]

Haven't been to Appalcha, but isn't it supposed to be full of hills? I'm guessing the trail isn't flat, whilst the 24 milles per day travel rate is based on flat terrain. As someone who hiked the South Downs Way as a teenager, 24 miles per day sounds pretty realistic.

[@marthachampagne316]

lvl 0 character over difficult terrain, you clearly took a forced march. lol

[@w0ykj]

@@chriswilliamson9993 Yes the Appalachians are an ancient mountain range so the trail goes through quite a bit of steep elevation changes

[@critsandgiggles5342]

Love how excited you get from all the things you're seeing on the walk. You can really see the joy you have making theses videos. Thanks for sharing, have an awesome day Bob!! To all the lovely people who read this comment, you are amazing as well and I hope you have an awesome day too!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks! Love your positivity!

[@Unsensitive]

Other considerations • Terrain: Hilly vs Flat vs Mountain vs Marsh • Old vs New Growth forests • Trail vs Road vs neither • Weather And leat we forget... Armor.. omg doing this in full plate? LOL Imagine even a heavy gambison & ring maille armor.. so much overheating

[@chrisflanagan7564]

@Yam Samam wearing armour is easier than carrying it, because the weight is better distributed... Well not really, but that's the conceit ;)

[@Unsensitive]

@@chrisflanagan7564 This is why you had an armor bearer. Otherwise, I'd wager anyone traveling wore lighter armor.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

We have another video for difficult terrain lol

[@Unsensitive]

@@BobWorldBuilder That was an interesting one as well. I didn't recall comments regarding overland travel time and difficult terrain, But it is possible I missed it.

[@robertmasengale9366]

@@chrisflanagan7564 It is easier than carrying it in your pack because of the weight distribution. Having 40 EXTRA pounds on your back, dangling from your shoulders is different than wearing it wrapped around you... That said, heat exhaustion is more likely if you are wearing it.

[@themercer4972]

After I did a similar hiking experiment years ago, I started placing bandit & goblin ambushes near the end of a journey, say about 1 hour away from a town or inn, to catch the travelers when they were most tired. The players became more alert at these times, but the characters still suffered the fatigue penalties going into the fight. Also crossing a small river can be a lot more trouble than you expect. Not deadly but inconvenient, as you will go to some length to avoid getting wet. Another good ambush situation.

[@Quandry1]

Rivers are rarely represented as the traveling bane that they really are. There are times that crossing one could count as a days journey all on it's own but it's never reflected. Whether that's having to travel up and down it's length to find a spot fit for crossing, the effort it takes to stay dry, the effort it takes to fight the current to cross it, Finding a place to cross that's actually big enough for your wagon, or whatever else it might take. yes a few rivers might have bridges over them. But plenty of others won't, and even if they do, it might be a decent length out of the parties way to use it.

[@GeorgisTrying]

Seriously *great* editing. Good cuts and the audio is so sharp for an outdoor shoot :) better than most KZbinrs at a desk 😂

[@JChaseFilms]

I absolutely love the chill vibes your videos have, and with this one reaching toward that "vlog with an actual purpose" vibe I LOVED this video. Keep it up Bob! This stuff is breath of fresh air among d&d youtubers.

[@vanivanov9571]

I'd be interested in a game that got the details of pathfinding and camping right. With some time management, making use of rivers and terrain, trying to maintain a sense of direction, producing stuff in camp so you don't need to carry it, etc..

[@thesteeleisreal]

Check out the Dolmenwood Hexcrawl & Camping systems for Old School Essentials. They show up in the Wormskin magazines, vols. 5 & 8 I think.

[@vanivanov9571]

@@thesteeleisreal Thanks.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah it could be a whole game system in itself!

[@vanivanov9571]

@@BobWorldBuilder It really could. Combat could potentially be simplified to a couple of rolls, based off stats that include fatigue/energy from if you're well rested, and health/strength for if you're well fed, as well as the quality of your ambush.

[@NovaGirl8]

Maybe a westmarch campaign?

[@treyellis3]

As a house rules idea if you're going for a more gritty feel, maybe have the players roll a constitution save after walking 8hrs nonstop, if they fail impose disadvantage on con checks and reduce speed by 1d4.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

Except...as Bob noted stops can make it worse too...

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah there’s definitely more room for grittier mechanics!

[@treyellis3]

@@benjaminkowal7310 true it does suck to stop and stand still but it's more of a mental thing really, if you stop for like 5 minutes to drop your pack, sit down and air out your feet it'll make you feel a whole lot better and help you hike a little further. Taking a short rest (≥1hr) would be even better obviously because it would give you time to eat and hydrate.

[@robertmasengale9366]

@@BobWorldBuilder I would adjust the mechanics to give you your first check for exhaustion *AT* 8 hours, then check again every 30 minutes (not every hour). Anyone that is far more used to foot/horse travel as being a primary means of transportation would be used to traveling to the level that that 24 mile distance is reasonable, but tiring. One major impact on your approach is starting out too quickly. It makes a much bigger difference than you think it does. In running it's just as true. I don't know how many people I would outpace in the 2 mile run for the Army because I started at a pace I knew I could keep for 3 miles until the last 1/2-1/4 mile, when I increased my pace while they jumped out the gate at full speed and got slower over time.

[@eldritchminion1480]

@@treyellis3 It's not entirely mental; stopping gives your body permission to work out the lactic acid you've worked up, and that hurts.

[@MiketehTV]

When building my characters I almost always go for a horse and cart. One of my favorite things to do is to play a crafter that sells stuff out of his cart, turning it into a market stall in towns and selling wares right out of it. The downside of cart travel is having to stick to roads and paths wide enough for a cart, though. I did make a self propelled flying cart in one campaign.

[@spacerx]

Keep in mind that the Appalachian Trail is the shorter of the three major trails. The pace on the Continental Divide Trail is usually over 20 miles a day, AND the terrain is more wild. The Appalachian Trail is famous for having a town that you pass through every few days.

[@liamflynn1120]

3:15 when the players ignore the DM's roadside ruin encounter even though they spent 4 hours designing it

[@yuki97kira]

DM, sadly putting aside the map.. And the story part on there: *sad DM noises*

[@sw33n3yto00]

Working security, I often cover sixteen to twenty miles a shift with gear. Yes, you get exhausted, but recover quickly, as in the ride home, to play with the kids.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

So, for a regular backpacker, on easy terrain, 24 miles is quite doable. If terrain or weather isn't conducive (varied elevation, trail or no trail, undergrowth, rain, etc.) Then that is what difficult terrain is used for. (Half speed) hence why through hikers average less as much of the trail would count as difficult terrain. You can get it done in 8 hours, but again, it's something you have to get used to. I miss backpacking...

[@soundrogue4472]

Bob: "I'm not going down this path because of poison ivy" Also Bob: 5:54 *Proceeds to sit next to poison Ivy*

[@BionicleFreek99]

I've walked 20 miles in a day before, and I know it's very possible even for an amateur hiker, given breaks like you mentioned. I had blisters and callouses all over my feet by the end, but I had only been on 12-17 increasingly bigger hikes before that point, I think that I reasonably trained or battle-worn individual like a DnD adventurer would have a much easier time at it, especially being constantly pumped with healing magic every few hours after combat :P .

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

I'm pretty sure that about how much I walk during a day at Cedar Point (or your preferred theme park)

[@istrysii]

then you take a leather armor on or a chainmail with you ... load up your backpack and the gear on you ... a oki heavy weapon on your side ... and do it agian ...

[@BionicleFreek99]

@@istrysii I did have a pack of gear with my you goober. It literally took all day, we needed to be able to eat somehow.

[@rbach2]

"but i had only been on 12-17 increasingly bigger hikes" gives me so much information about what kind of person you are :)

[@istrysii]

@@rbach2 i do midt evil Show, and i ahve done Full contact in full armour with real weapons ... i know how heavy a chain armor or a plate armour is ... and it is not just something to throw in a backpack and walk with ... with all the other things you having with you ... when you take all your normal gear for a hike ... then you load 99.21 lb exter gear onto that and do the same walk ... and thats a LIGHT load ..

[@VaughnRipley]

Great video, Bob! Good points throughout. But don't forget that today's man (and woman) are much less hearty when it comes to things like hiking with weight on your back. Even the most avid hiker doesn't have the hardman-like skills and physiques of folks from yesteryear. In a D&D setting, all players walk (or ride) everywhere. Their bodies have adapted. I have a feeling if you did a video where you do the same trek distance on horseback you will find your back, calves, and butt broken (and that's with a modern/comfortable saddle)..... It's great to see these videos where you do the actual "thing" and discuss valid points and idea. Please keep up the excellent work and videos! Roll on...

[@dreaming-of-spots6805]

24 miles on a horse actually isn't that bad as long as you stretch your knees and ankles out every so often- that's a fairly normal and average distance for an endurance rider to cover, and there are a *lot* of said endurance riders. The high-level rides can be up to 100 miles.

[@VaughnRipley]

Very true. I was taking about Bob. I imagine it would be fairly tough on his nether regions... hehe

[@dreaming-of-spots6805]

@@VaughnRipley oh absolutely! If you're not used to riding those distances, the first few days are torture, lol. Saddle sores galore.

[@zakosist]

24 miles (38 kilometers) is actually slightly shorter than a marathon, which is about 26 miles (42 kilometers). As a kid I once went on a forest trip with my dad where we walked about 20 kilometers in a day. So its realistic but still exhausting to travel that far in a day if you really want to

[@IndigoIndustrial]

I've run a few marathons. Without the volunteers giving out drinks and food every few km it would be less fun.

[@Fabiundso]

@@IndigoIndustrial Implying that running for 4 hours straight is fun to begin with. :D But to each their own. Good for you. :)

[@IndigoIndustrial]

@@Fabiundso You have a good point.

[@Aleksandrus12]

From my experience: for an average human without any physical preparations for travel, 18 miles in 8 hours with 60 pounds of stuff are really reasonable. But if you had workout and travelled all of your life, I see that's possible to walk 24 miles with heavier backpack in 8 hours. Also whether completely changes your walking speed and comfort, as Bob said, but very hot sunny day is much more preferable than any rainy day. For example, after all day walk in the rain, you'll get many corns and have your feet skinned, so the very next day you will walk slower and surely less comfortable. EDIT: Thanks to @pawakin and @Eric Taysom I realized that I made a mistake. I forgot that we're getting up earlier and for sure it was 12 hours per day. Also I could overestimate heaviness of the backpack because simply I tried to remember what I had and quickly add up masses. It could be around 40 pounds or maybe even less. Sorry for my mistakes. Now 24 miles in 8 hours seems much more unrealistic.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Ohh great point. I didn’t think about how the moisture would really wreck your feet. Dry socks forever!

[@Aleksandrus12]

@@BobWorldBuilder Yeah and there're a lot more of downsides of rain. Wet clothes, how to keep stuff in your backpack dry, putting up tent in the rain, camping on wet dirt and much more xD Normally I hate scorching sun but while traveling on foot, it's a blessing!

[@robertmasengale9366]

@@BobWorldBuilder It's important to change your socks regularly. Ask anyone who has been in the military. We had to change our socks a couple of times a day and we definitely did this "forced march" with gear.

[@ostrowulf]

@@robertmasengale9366 Always had extra socks, and for years would buy new socks for every three week ex., because there are few joys like putting on a nice pair of dry clean socks. I also packed a pair of gortex socks, so if I ended up soaking my boots, I could take them off, but on dry socks, then put on the gortex ones as a layer between dry socks and wet boots.

[@ostrowulf]

@@BobWorldBuilder Also why taking off your boots to cross a stream can be a good idea.

[@Xion_Toshiro]

The whole tine I'm listening; I'm mentally rooting for your success

[@Alkis05]

3:05 I can almost hear god thinking: "Damn, he is not even going to check out what is in there? I had planned a whole encounter there..."

[@danacoleman4007]

Nice!

[@thenagazai]

Excellent video as usual. What I want you to do, is go to a gym, and find some buffy exercise guys, there's always a nerd among them, and ask them to do those tests. That would be fun

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha yep I would love to know the STR scores of some “regular” people who actually weight train

[@brandonpohl2633]

I once spent two weeks walking across Michigan, and this pretty much mirrors my experience. I was carrying probably an average weight of 50lb (which includes food and water weight) during my trip. I could manage 20 miles a day easy enough, but trying to do much more than that quickly became miserable. By far the worst part was my feet, the blisters were awful, and as soon as one healed, another would open up on a different part of my foot. One thing I would give to D&D characters is that they are probably much more conditioned for walking long distances compared to modern humans. People on the Appalachian trail find this as well. Starting out, most people average around 5-10 miles per day, but by the end, many can do 20+ miles a day, and that is with major elevation changes.

[@ajuc005]

This year I walked 20-30km almost every weekend to lose weight. I started with 130 kg and now I'm around 96 kg. My average speed was about 4km/h at the start and about 5km/h now. But I wouldn't walk for 8 hours straight if I have any choice, legs start to ache and you run a risk of a small injury that will only slow you down(happened to me several times, mostly went away next weekend). Much better to walk for 2-3hours, stop for 1 hour, go again, etc.

[@annslow41]

Thanks for doing this video! As a novice outdoorsman, I've only done a hike like this a handful of times, and you pretty much nailed the feeling of "the suck" toward the end: everything feels like lead weights and your lower half feels completely disassociated and just pain. What's even worse is that D&D adventures and backpackers alike typically spend days upon days at this pace, which you can only imagine how waking up the next morning just to do it again feels like

[@matthewfennell8283]

The nature checks were hilarious. I used to run a nature lodge at a summer camp, was fun making use of my proficincy bonus.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

I use a d6 weather die for weather prompts when I dm. Great little prompt. Favorite tool.

[@claressadubs]

That's a fun idea, gonna have to use that! :D

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Very nice idea!

[@brendanmckenna7613]

When are you going to do the "Just how dangerous is Curse of Strahd's Death House?" in that house on the trail?

[@danaspoerl]

The path suggested to be run off or a bike path is a deer path. The dung is raccoon dung and it's black color suggests it had too many berries, (mulberries in the area) these little guys LOVE em). And the wood sorrel you found, in my area it's called sourdock! It gets cute little yellow flowers sometimes.

[@GeekGilink]

Just got here while looking for some tools for d&ding on discord and Pc with my friends aaaaaand you got a new subscriber! Excelent vídeo. I made some rules out of it: When players start travelling I roll a "weather dice" the weather can be "nice" "harsh" and "good" when "good" no modifiers. When nice you got a bonus of +2 to all checks related to moving or dealing with nature and combat during travel. When " harsh" same but a -2 is applied. Or instead o bonus add advantage roll or disadvantage rolls

[@blackbarnz]

Never dare this dude.That's commitment right there. Earned my sub.Kudos!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha much appreciated :)

[@darthvegan]

By the time you finish these tests, you'll transform from commoner to heroic adventurer! I used to do quite a bit of long distance running. And sitting was considered a "runner's death". If we had to stop and rest we would either stand or lie down.

[@swagaw3some546]

You did amazing hope when you do the full armor and gear test you don't die. As you were doing this in my mind I got Ranger in my head your just missing the bow lol.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah the “gear” test will probably be a good amount of weight and some cumbersome items to represent it. But we’ll see what sort of ranger gear I can find! :)

[@nynkeandreae7008]

@@BobWorldBuilder ranger gear is probably not as heavy either. Little to no armor and a bow doesn't weight as much as sword.

[@Ashtor1337]

You shouldnt go alone. Please take someone with you.

[@AJPickett]

Halfling scat? How dare you sir! ( 🤣 )

[@avenger86avenger86]

I love your super unique take on D&D related KZbin content. Helpful and genuinely interesting stuff.

[@NisGaarde]

Ah, pooping on trails... Halflings will be halflings

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Gotta love em!

[@luisaymerich9675]

It's for marking the way back. It works better than breadcrumbs. Hansel and Gretel were not halflings. 😄

[@Lindzolt]

This is my first watch of yours, but definitely won’t be my last. Very informative and well delivered! I’ve got some ideas for my party

[@magiv4205]

My ttrpg group decided to start playing with carryweight and realistic travel, and I have a little story to share. After two full campaigns of MOSTLY (there were exceptions and many slower travel segments but it was all pretty standard with encounters and often skipping the boring parts) handwaving travel, carryweight and exhaustion, we were the equivalent of level 17 characters, renowned heroes in many parts of the world, decorated war veterans of a three year civil war between three would be emperors, all that stuff. With that renown came alot of unresolved interpersonal trauma though, and our bond at the start of the next campaign was pretty much at an all time low. After a year apart and not really speaking to eachother, in some cases actively avoiding eachother, one of our characters, the paladin, contacted the others to help him as his religious order was planning a crusade into the undead infested Dead Lands to finally liberate them from demonic opression. He was going to join regardless, and left it up to us to come with him or stay home. Not on the best of terms, but still not wanting to send our friend (?) out to die alone in that place, we accepted. The DM chose this to be the moment where he'd humble us a bit, and where he'd finally make carry weight, travel and exhaustion MATTER. And he couldn't have chosen better. All that was left of the heroical whimsy and grandstanding of the first two campaigns quickly drained away to reveal the cold, withered, rainy and cruel reality of the Dead Lands, a place where generations of a bitter stalemate war between necromances, dark mages and demon lords and servants of the "good" Gods had literally left the earth itself corrupted and the poor people inhabiting it willing to do anything to do anything and bow to any lord, god or archdemon or otherwise, just to survive another day. The paladin lost many a childhood friend in his order in that time, and we all made many aquaintances and friendships that were tragically cut short. Whoever couldn't be buried in a hallowed grave had to be burned, as any unburnt or unrecoverable corpses would just rise again to fuel the necromancer's warmachine. Days, then weeks and eventually months were spent on slow, grueling marches through often rough terrain, near constant rain and cold, depressingly starless nights. In many instances, we had to leave our horses behind and continue on foot, and that was when we really learned to appreciate them. Without them, and without all the gear we were forced to leave behind if we wanted to get anywhere and still be able to lift our arms and fight afterwards, all our previous achievements meant little. The plant- and wildlife was feral, often inedible and corrupted, traveling at night was a death wish. If we gained too much exhaustion in a day and weren't able to recover at night, it cascaded and we were fucked. If we didn't roll high enough to find a good campsite away from danger and comfortable enough to get at least a somewhat decent regeneration, we were fucked. The normal rules of this game system were already the equivalent of gritty realism in DnD where you only regain a small part of your magica and health each night, so go figure. If we got ambushed by ghouls, bitten and didn't have luck or an antidote on hand, we. Were. Fucked. We played out travel time, and each rest at the campfire gave us plenty to think and talk about. Through slowing down for once and surviving together, one day at a time, it allowed us to finally repair at least some of the cracks in our broken relationship, but it also caused some new ones. We really started to feel the full weight of the ten years we'd known eachother (irl, we've been continuously playing those characters for over two years) and it's shaping up to be a very emotional and probably utterly heartbreaking finale, after which we'll finally lay our heroes to rest - hopefully after a long and peaceful retirement, gods know they deserve it. What I'm trying to say with this long ass tangent is that I really, really recommend realism rules in your tabletop games. True, it doesn't fit EVERY type of game, but I believe such rules enhance most types of games alot with very little effort. They add additional stakes, so if you feel like your party is just cutting through even the toughest obstacles like butter, instead of just giving the enemy more hitpoints or attacks, try adding some rules like this and watch as they suddenly can't throw all of their most overpowered abilities at one fight anymore because they now have to ration their health, spells and abilities or risk getting caught with their pants down by the next batch of easy enemies or a sudden environmental hazard. Awesome fights will still happen, and going all out will become alot more daunting, but also rewarding. If the system you're playing with doesn't have good realism rules, I think it's rather easy to homebrew a handful of them and see how everyone likes it, you can always change them later if it doesn't feel right, the game suddenly becomes TOO slow or makes certain character types noticeably weaker (or OP).

[@Th3D3vilishBoy]

So you're going to post this incredible LOTR-esque story of the near end of a campaign, and *not* have some kind of link to a set of rules or something? This sounds incredible!

[@Quandry1]

Another way to put that realism on Long standing characters that have had a long time. Dig out and start using Aging Rules. A lot of characters start finding that they are more understanding of the world (better mental stats) but they just can't physically exert themselves like they used to (their physical stats slowly lower). You'd think this would favor spell casters. But when many systems these days link spell casting to things like Stamina and their spells start getting interrupted more despite having Vastly more magical power on top of finding it harder to just carry their usually light and meager equipment that they never had to worry about the weight of even in many campaigns that worried about such things. They usually start to feel the strain just as much if not more than the physical characters.

[@Arghmyliver]

As someone who has been on the AT (my grandmother section-hiked the trail), it's worth pointing out that terrain is a huge part of it. There are flat stretches where you can easily do 20-30 miles in a day, but then there are also places where you'll be lucky to get 10 due to elevation change, trail conditions, etc. Not only is it harder to hike up/downhill, you also end up hiking much further to cover the same distance as the crow flies. There is something called the Four State Challenge where people try to hike from VA to PA (through WV and MD - a total of 43.5 mi) in under 24 hours! Keep the vids filming and the dice rolling!

[@pontusvongeijer1240]

Loving these videos! I hope you keep this up. :) Something Id be very interested to see is an experiment where you combine a couple of things. You have examined jumping, or one round of movement, or one round of carrying a certain weight, but all of these have been one isolated aspect of the rules, when characters do stuff they tend to combine several of these at once. So an example of something a character in one of your games has actually done. Most DnD players have at some point fought of a goblin ambush. You abviously cant emulate a full fight, but in a goblin ambush a character would most likely carry a carry a certain amount of equipment, while also moving, perhaps jumping over something, and more likely for something like 3-4 rounds rather than 1 round. So some kind of test that combines several things to emulate situations characters you have played have actually done in an adventure. What would happen if you stuffed a backpack with an equal weight of whatever one of your charcter sheets youve played with say and then do some combined tests over a couple of rounds rather than just one?

[@sirforcer]

As someone who has done a number of long hikes (both backpacking where I carried my gear and day hikes with no gear as shown in the video) I don't find the pace that bad. Especially if you are a fit adventurer who is traveling often. If you work your way up to it, its surprisingly doable. I used to do this annual 50 mile hike, where basically in the months leading up to it we would do practice hikes starting at 10mi and going up by 5mi every hike up to 25mi for the final practice hike. We would stop every few hours for 30 minutes at a time to snack and rest our legs, which meant the longer hikes definitely filled the whole day. Those were without any gear, so with gear I would agree with the 18mi per day speed making sense for a fully geared adventurer assuming they are walking often and are used to this kind of travel (and likely stronger/more in shape than me)

[@Aligariusful]

I did a 24 mile walk when I was a teenager, walking in the Midwest. Definitely picked up some levels of exhaustion on that one.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I guess the real question is: how much xp do we earn from these walks??

[@Aligariusful]

@@BobWorldBuilder Definitely enough to take a level in Ranger

[@ianthevedge]

Hey, professional landscaper here, that’s a “mock strawberry”, potentilla indica. Still edible, but usually described as tasting like water

[@iPyromantic]

I was gonna say that! I wasn't 100% sure, but the way the berry was growing gave me pause.

[@blipblap614]

10:50

[@V1ctoria00]

about 5 minutes in i panicked thinking i had potentially clicked on an 8 hour video.

[@aslanenlisted]

This is the first video of yours that I have seen, and I really enjoyed it. You have a brilliant narrative voice and an easy charm. Brilliant!

[@Centaur255]

Great point about having a mount - I always buy one for my character, my party thinks I'm odd (and taking up more food usage), but gosh darnit if you're carrying anything remotely close to a lot of gear and don't want to arrive tired to a location a horse is a must!

[@russneversleeps8258]

Nature check: that was bear scat, the strawberry was the kind that doesn't taste good anyway (cinquefoil), good call on the wood sorrel.

[@elizabethlowes6501]

It has the same texture as bear, but it looked too small to me. I'd lean more towards a smaller omnivore, like a racoon, but by the same token, you get smaller bears!

[@logannichols5848]

There were lots of seeds in, I've seen coyote state like that when there wasn't much in the way of other food.

[@dragongirl5661]

Yeah I was going to say as much too. Those were not strawberries, I've seen and had wild strawberries, and that's not what they look like

[@russneversleeps8258]

@@logannichols5848 interesting. I've always considered this type to bears. I didn't know other animals had similar looking scat.

[@russneversleeps8258]

@@elizabethlowes6501 I've always considered this type to bears. I didn't know other animals had similar looking scat. But I guess it makes sense. Racoons do eat a similar diet to black bears.

[@dudeist_priest]

My understanding is that riding a horse long distance isn't that easy, either. I wouldn't know, I've only taken short rides on a camel and an elephant, but maybe that's something you could look into for a video

[@TouchOfTemperament]

Lol excellent point. Especially for people not accustomed to long hours in the saddle. They'll be hurting after a few hours.

[@chrisflanagan7564]

Yeah, it's not like sitting in a car, but you can get off the horse and walk for a bit while the horse carries your stuff, which gives the horse a little rest, as now they aren't carrying you, and your legs and behind get little rest. In a "A change is as good as a rest" sense

[@BobWorldBuilder]

You're probably right! I really don't know either

[@jameskilbride107]

@@BobWorldBuilder He is right. I've done day long horseback rides and your legs will kill you afterwards. The image of the person barely able to move if they are not used to it. Absolutely true.

[@NazFXStudios]

@@TouchOfTemperament yes even for experienced riders, spending all day in the saddle will make you feel pain in muscles you didn’t know you had once you get off.

[@twylanaythias]

A good comparison is the 12 Mile Ruck - a US soldier is expected to march twelve miles in three hours, carrying a backpack loaded with 50 pounds (22.7kg) of gear, regardless of weather conditions. Factor for two such marches per day, taking a two-hour break midday to rest and eat, this is twenty-four miles over the course of eight hours. As some others have commented, this is a world where people are accustomed to walking (or running) virtually everywhere so the comparison is apt. By 3.5e standards (not aware of a comparable table in 5e), this is an average "medium load" for a character of average Strength (10-11). Though, to be fair, most active-duty military personnel are slightly above average in strength - 12-15 for most women and 14-17 for most men. This makes soldiers comparable to (IMHO) the 'heavy' martial classes (Paladin, Fighter, Ranger, and Barbarian) with typical loadouts (100-150 pounds; 45-68kg). Light martial characters (Monks, Rogues, and Bards) tend to be around average Strength (10-11) but they also carry considerably less weight; lighter weapons, armor weighs 1/2 to 1/4 as much, etc. Casters (Druids, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards) carry even less; no armor, typically only a staff or dagger, and their personal effects. Clerics are sort of the odd duck in this affair, as they vary in builds from traditional casters to near-Paladins - still, their Strength tends to correlate to their subclass and is usually consistent for their loadouts. In my younger days, I was active in several LARPs and tended to be a stickler for 'authentic' equipment - surely not as well-crafted as by medieval artisans, I made and wore various armors of comparable effect. Chain mail (made from 12ga galvanized steel wire) is heavy, yes, but virtually unnoticeable once you become accustomed to wearing it for prolonged periods; so too with scale mail and plate. Oddly leather and padded armors were the outliers, mainly because they're insulative and can quickly become debilitating in warmer weather. While never 'buff', I was well-accustomed to getting around under my own power - walking, running, or cycling - and people tended to be shocked that I've never been able to run worth crap but I could walk at a brisk pace (around 6mph) seemingly forever. I would regularly trek 15-20 miles a day across a college campus while carrying a large backpack full of textbooks and supplies and, on several occasions, travel as much as 50 miles in 10-12 hours with a lighter (±20lb, ±9kg) burden. So, yes - 24 miles in 8 hours is entirely realistic.

[@danielsmith5088]

The training aspect of simple things is often overlooked. Great job showing the feasibility of unencumbered travel that was right in line with the game standards. As many others with military experience have pointed out, with constant training, you could do the same thing carrying a considerable amount of weight. With enough training in the right conditions, this is even possible across very difficult terrain. Having been stationed in a 'high desert' environment, we occasionally did 15-20 mile marches in full gear (50-60 lbs) not only through loose sand but also up and down sandy mountainous terrain, while still keeping in line with those D&D travel standards.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

Awesome video! It is worth it to invest in comfortable equipment for sure. I imagine full plate would chaff something awful.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah I don’t even want to think about what full plate would feel like!

[@zreyon]

You sang, here's your comment as a prize. I feel like traveling distance in RPGs should be derived from your CON, as any "endure the pain" check does. That would give a decision to players who can't travel far enough: do you travel some more and gain an exhaustion level or risk getting there too late?

[@robertmasengale9366]

It's technically factored in to the forced march, but not in a way I like. The 24 miles in a day involves 8 hours of travel. Up until that point, you don't need to roll. After that, every hour is a con check to suffer a level of exhaustion (DC 10+number of hours beyond 8). The "Fast" pace (30 miles per day) is nearly/effectively jogging the vast majority of the time (hence the disadvantage on perception). Difficult terrain halves your speed. That would include basically anything that isn't roads, open plains, or clear dungeon corridors. Climbing, swimming, and crawling are effectively at half speed from whatever pace you're already traveling at. These changes are done to be simple, not necessarily accurate. A sparse forest is going to hamper you less than a dense forest, and creature size/speed isn't factored in... A halfling or an armored knight should travel at one speed category lower without assistance, and the "Fast" pace should be a DC 10+2*hours spent traveling counting every hour after the fourth.

[@necrogoblin]

An experiment I would like seen done is the how far the distance of battle sound travels. Overland and especially in a dungeon.

[@lookwhatsnext]

I would often pull 24 in a day on the Appalachian, sometimes more. We have a challenge to do the 42 miles in Maryland in 24 hours and I have done it a few times but it is kinda nuts. Glad you are so dedicated!

[@cameronh901]

I've been traveling to a state park for fitness and fun for the warmer months, and there's absolutely a spot that makes a great goblin ambush spot that I clock every single time I hike through! Always fun finding that inspiration.

[@matteoboldizzoni9870]

Probably in D&D it's the DM that should determine how much a party walks on a given day, considering terrain, gear, encounters etc.

[@jaquecole5196]

Its really funny, I just read about how Czar Nicholas II tested the russian army uniform by making a 25 mile forced march into the forest with just the uniform and regulation rations. He was able to return to his palace between 8 or 9 hours. So if the Czar nobleman could do a forced march anyone could do it.

[@kana22693]

It's hard to tell if Czar Nicholas II had any muscle on him due to his baggy clothes but he certainly wasn't overweight like most first world people are today, I'd argue that an average nobleman from back then it's healthier and stronger than an average commoner from today.

[@DavlinViari]

Amazing video! Be careful about the „wild strawberry“ though, that looked more like a mock strawberry to me and they should not be eaten Other than that, keep on with the great work! I love your content

[@yuki97kira]

Hope he roll a high con if he ever eat the strawberry

[@Danikk]

Exactly that. I'm also pretty sure it is a mock strawberry here.

[@VMSelvaggio]

Hey Bob! The Road is an amazing read! I'm happy to see that it gets mentioned here! -- Kind of heart-wrenching in places, kind of like "I Am Legend."

[@zackgeldhof1206]

Another thing to consider (pardon me if it has been said already) is that the adventurers doing the walking are usually... Well I won't say "better shape" because you seem to be in very fine shape. But they are very used to walking everywhere and with things on their backs. So their endurance is probably really good. We are talking about the heroic adventurers vs. common townfolk. Regardless, it shows that it can be done to an extent, and this really helped me sort out exactly how big my map for my homebrew is, so thank you very much for doing this! I enjoyed watching!

[@abelcheng2073]

Whenever I hear forced march, that usually means a 15 minute pace or faster on a 12 mile ruck.

[@ccityplanner1217]

Travelling works very differently in practice to in theory. Last summer I cycled from London to the border with Wales to see how fast I could travel under my own power (y'know, in-case civilisation falls apart overnight). I averaged 50 miles a day, & it took about 2½ days. Google Maps, on the other hand, says that that journey is possible in 12 hours, i.e. 1½ days.

[@DungeonMasterpiece]

Random encounter dungeon with unlocked door!!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha still have to go back and check! :P

[@cedarmint7308]

now i would never ask bob to disclose his location, but i wouldnt be surprised if it was somewhere in the southern usa, as all his outdoor videos make me insanely nostalgic for my childhood running around in missouri wilderness. its super comforting honestly

[@duwanglover3424]

One of the things I love to do as a player is to buy a wagon or a cart to travel in. Allows for a “little home” to return to after solving a story arc in a city, a place to keep our stuff before we get a bag of holding, and nice RP reason to why we travel as far as we do in a day

[@massconnect9329]

"I'm trying to minimize variables." Jokes on you: youtuber gear is equivalent adventurer gear anyway :3

[@BobWorldBuilder]

It was more than I would normally carry on a hike! Haha

[@timkramar9729]

I don't see any water.

[@CaptainFrost32]

@@timkramar9729 He had one water bottle on the trail, more in the car.

[@alvinastahl]

One has to remember that most of these DND settings are in the middle ages and during this time a lot of people traveled by foot so they were very accustomed to walking long distances.

[@AbWischBar]

Wanted to say exactly that. There are some pretty cool videos about the training of the roman army and they would - as modern armies do - have their troups walk these distances regularly. It is all about the right shoes and your muscles, joints and soles getting used to it.

[@GeanAmiraku]

10:48 Looks like a mock strawberry to me. We've got a lot of wild strawberries growing around where I live, but I've never seen a wild strawberry like this, with seeds being the same colour as the berry and sticking "outside" the berry like that. At least, from what I googled, mock strawberries are not poisonous, just not very tasty as well :D

[@jerkjerkington3874]

Incidentally, the strawberries we eat today are actually a hybrid between North American strawberries and South American strawberries. European strawberries were cultivated to some extent by the French and Bretons, but the fruit were never really large or sweet enough to be worth much. If I recall the story correctly, North American strawberries were very similar to their European cousins, but South American strawberries had been bred to produce only male flowers with no female flowers. This meant that they didn't produce any fruit. (I assume they must have accomplished this by propagating runners. It is possible for plants to mutate even when they're reproducing clonally. That's why Red Delicious apples don't taste the same as they used to even though they're technically all cuttings from the same tree.) Eventually, some French ornamental gardeners planted both North American and South American strawberries in the same bed, and they accidentally hybridized to create the delicious, modern domestic strawberry. Although I'm sure they still weren't anything like the refined breeds we have today. So, in a sense, you could say that domestic strawberries are the real mock strawberries. A mockery of nature. But they sure do taste good.

[@jeremyh9033]

Yeah, definitely a false strawberry, aka indian strawberry. I've eaten them before. They don't have a ton of flavor. Just very watery.

[@GeanAmiraku]

​@@jerkjerkington3874 Had to google what red delicious apple is xD I now know that I've seen them in shops here in Russia, but they look deformed to me, so I'm not sure I've ever tried those %) But hey, it's pretty cool to know, thank you for this piece of information! Not sure I know what kind of domestic strawberry you're talking about though, there're so many of them as well (half of them are ginormous and look deformed too, even though, yeah, tasty). Is it how the original domestic strawberry happened?

[@jerkjerkington3874]

​@@GeanAmiraku Haha, yeah, definitely don't buy them these days. They used to actually be delicious when my dad was a kid, but over the years apple producers kept selecting the branches that produced apples with thicker skin and longer shelf life and growing the cuttings from them. Now most people agree that red delicious is the worst apple on the market. Interestingly enough, the original red delicious tree is still alive in Ohio. The farmer who first grew it called it "hawkeye". It's actually possible to buy cuttings from the original hawkeye tree so you can know what it tasted like back in 1872. I've heard it genuinely is delicious. As far as I know, all domestic strawberries are an interspecies hybrid. There are dozens of species of wild strawberries around the world, but the only one that was ever cultivated was the woodland strawberry in France, but that was back in the Renaissance Era. If you buy a strawberry from the store or a strawberry plant from the nursery, it's going to be a hybrid between Virginia strawberries and Chilean strawberries. Over the years, they've bred a bunch of different varieties, but they're still all descended from the original interspecies hybrid.

[@JLandroid]

Just discovered your channel this week, add love the variety of content, but I especially love the spirit of videos like this. Keep it up!

[@the1band1wagon]

This was so good. I've got a homebrew fantasy/steampunk Australia and I really wanna make it believable how far away some of the towns are to walk. There is also options for trains and airships and probably mounts I can work in there.