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Alright so my group just finished book two and are now. . .
Going to get on their way heading to turtleback ferry to investigate what they learned about Lucrecia from the crumpled up note in Xanesha's base.
I am wondering how other GM's handled the travel and what other groups did. I see it as really being two main options:
1) They can hard travel with horses across the plains and stopping at Galduria take a ferry across the lake and use the Sanos Forest trail or. . .
2) Take a Keelboat/ferry leaving from Magnimar and traveling up that winding river and all the way up to Turtleback ferry.
My concerns are, I mapped out the traveling in miles, going by horses across the plains it'll take about 12 days of travel but going by keelboat/ferry up the river from Magnimar it'll take about 42 days. How does this period of time affect the situation in Turtleback Ferry? If they choose to take the safer route and go by boat, how does 42 days of in-game time effect Lucrecia's plans?
If they do it in 12 days, will Lucrecia have even heard of her sister's death in that amount of time?
My players ousted Justice Ironbriar and revealed his corruption so I am sure word would travel that a cult of murders was headed by a Justice and that could tip Lucrecia off that Xanesha either failed or is dead but how much preparing would Lucrecia do to anticipate the adventurer's coming for her?
Sorry there is like 10 questions in there, just looking for feedback on how other GM's handled this transition.
They travel at the speed of plot. So does news of [someone]'s death.
Just have it so nothing in TBF happens until they get there, ez pz.
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On page 131 of the Anniversary Edition it says...
"By foot at a speed of 30 feet, this amounts to a 2 week journey, while on horseback at a speed of 60 feet it's only a week long trip. Alternatively, the PCs can take one of the many river barges that ply the Yondabakari and Skull rivers from Magnimar all the way to Turtleback Ferry (at a total cost of 50g per person - with a DC20 diplomacy check, the lord-mayor agrees to pay the party's passage), in which case the journey also takes a week"
This had me puzzled too, given the core rulebook says a barge does a lowly 5 miles per day and a keelboat (rowed) does 10 miles per day.
Assuming the distance from Magnimar to Turtleback ferry is about 400 miles or so.
Light horse = 48 miles / day = 8 days.
Barge = 5 miles / day = 90 days!!!
A sailing ship does 48 miles per day, same as a light horse. Seems like the Anniversary Edition text is assuming that the players can take a sailing ship rather than a barge.
My solution is to have the Yondakabari a wide river that is easy to sail using drop-keel sailing barges, similar to the traditional dutch sailing barges:
These are flat bottomed boats that can navigate shallow inland waterways. With deeper water, such as a larger river, lake or sea, they drop a side-keel and can get up to a good speed as long as they don't have to sail too 'close hauled' into the wind.
With reasonable winds and sailing at night these ships should easily be able to make the distance in that time. I have the ships operated by Varisians but using a half elf or half orc helmsman at night to be able to navigate safely in the dark. This gives 24 hours / day sailing: and only needing to average 2 mph. Even against the stream and with variable winds and stops this is a reasonable speed.
The boats run the risk of river pirates, as well as boggards and even marsh giants from the mushfens to the south of the river.
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Ah I can't believe I missed that bit of information, I was just basing it off the Varisian map I have from the players guide and then using the transportation rules.
I like that, I'll make it so they have the choice of using a sailing barge or doing it by horseback, it'll take the same amount of time but they'll encounter different enemies depending on which they take.
It doesn't make a big difference which way they take and I could just waive the time into oblivion and have time stand still till they get there but I feel like its important to have a dynamic world going on around them.
I had the swallowtail festival happen at the fall equinox so the more time that passes the more we are moving into winter in Varisia.
I think I'll have a River drake or something attack them. Thanks for the advice guys.
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My players went by barge and I followed the advice in the AE regarding how long it would take. There didn't seem to be any reason to over-complicate it. I also didn't roll random encounters because I wanted to move the plot forward and random encounters only succeed in slowing things down (with no story-driven purpose).
-Skeld
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My party traveled overland, mainly because they wanted to take their horses. I had them have a combat encounter with some ankhegs, and a few role playing encounters. I ended up ad-libbing a female gnome ranger named Flijit Frothelthimble that they hired as a guide to lead them through the Sanos Forest.
The travel took two weeks of game time, and one play session.
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My party has just finished Chapter Two as well. I like to use the periods between chapters to take the adventure off the rails. I have two differing plans for the trip from Magnimar to Turtleback Ferry.
1. Incorporating bits of Tales from the Old Margreve into the Sanos Forest -- too good to pass up.
2. Running the party through the Pathfinder-ized Expedition to Barrier Peaks -- though crashed into whatever terrain is handy rather than into the mountains.
I hadn't read that the journey from Magnimar to TBF only took 1 week by boat -- and my calculations according to the travel rules were somewhat different.
I gave the party four options:
1. The Scarlet Lamprey. Owned and operated by Captain Eismarche Oman (CN, Male Human), the “Lampy” is a narrow, shallow-drafted steam-powered river boat. An alchemical engine drives a stern-mounted paddlewheel at a rate of up to 30 miles a day (depending on the force of the downstream current) – for a roughly six day journey to Wartle. She is a fast boat and her crew is capable, however she doesn’t have nearly the room to accommodate any sort of large beast. The alchemical engine that drives the Lampy is also a bit finicky. The crew of the Lampy is experienced and well equipped in dealing with hazards along the Yondabakari.
2. The Rambling Bee. The “Bee” is a more typical river trader, operated by Captain Iva Stoneroller (LN, Female Dwarf) for the <insert trade company>. She is a shallow-drafted keel boat drawn upriver by a team of oxen, or by pole & paddle in some areas. A small square sail provides some additional propulsion. The Bee has cargo space and deck space enough to accommodate several large beasts (cost of transporting a beast is 250gp, not including fodder or care – though an experienced stock keeper can be hired for 1gp/day + Low Passage).
3. The Dry Way. The most commonly used overland route from Magnimar to Turtleback Ferry is the Dry Way which runs along the northern bank of the Yondabakari River. The Dry Way stretches from Magnimar to Ilsurian (360 miles). For the most part the road lives up to its name – it is dry. But for a goodly portion of the year (any time but summer), portions of the road are flooded or mired in mud.
4. Sanos Trails. It is possible to take the Dry Way overland from Magnimar to Wartle and then follow the New and Old Sanos Trails northward through the fringes of the Sanos Forest to Turtleback Ferry. The Sanos Trails are less likely to be encumbered by mud or flooding though there are other hazards. The usual chance for bad roads along the Dry Way are still in play.
I also calculated the distances and rates of travel along the way:
Magnimar to Wartle (182 miles)
Wartle to Whistledown (113 miles)
Whistledown to Ilsurian (64 miles)
Ilsurian to Turtleback Ferry (82 miles)
Scarlet Lamprey -- base speed: 30 miles per day. Cost: 200gp per person for Medium Passage. Total time from Magnimar to TBF: 14 1/2 days.
Rambling Bee -- base speed: 10 miles per day. Cost: 50gp per person for Low Passage. Total time from Magnimar to TBF: 43 - 56 days.
The Dry Way -- base speed: 28 miles per day. Cost: varies. Total time from Magnimar to TBF: 15 1/2 days.
The Dry Way to Wartle and then New & Old Sanos Trails to TBF: 13 1/2 days.
I also detailed out various interesting bits along the way.
As the party wants to take their horses and doesn't want to spend a month and a half -- they are opting for the overland route to Wartle along the Dry Way and then cutting northeast on the Sanos Trails to TBF.
CJ