Here's the BEST D&D 5e Travel Gameplay
Just Use These 3 Easy Mechanics to Make Travel an Exciting Part of Your Campaign
I'll let you in on a little secret...
Travel CAN be a great part of your Dungeons and Dragons sessions and campaign.
But... both rules-as-written and the ways it is run need to be A LOT better.
Thus, we began a series determined to cover everything necessary to make 5e travel as awesome as possible.
- Post #1 talks about how great travel can be for your adventure... and why it often sucks (read about it here).
- Post #2 provides 5 popular methods TTRPG players use to play travel and 5 suggestions to make each of those methods better (read it here).
However, while all of those methods work fine, we felt they were all missing something important... something absolutely essential to travel.
That is what this post (#3) is about: the "missing travel ingredient" and the 3 mechanics you need to create the best D&D 5e travel gameplay.
Together, they result in travel sessions everyone around the table will legitimately look forward to.
Table of Contents
The Missing Ingredient for 5e Travel
D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 1: Route(s) Q/A
"Wait... How Do I Design a Route?"
D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 2: Player Travel Roles
D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 3: Survival Meter
Why These 3 Mechanics Create the BEST D&D 5e Travel Gameplay
The Missing Ingredient for D&D 5e Travel
As stated in the previous post, there are 5 basic methods a DM can use to travel... each perfect for certain situations.
But all those solutions are missing something REALLY important...
And because of that, none of them are "the best."
None fix travel or elevate it into something truly exciting or delightful... none create great D&D memories.
So, what are all of them missing?
Think about some of your favorite adventures where the heroes travel to distant lands. How many of them have at least one "man vs nature" scene where they are struggling to survive?
I'm not gonna list them because it is... like... a lot.
For some of the best adventure stories, survival is the ENTIRE adventure.
There is no need for additional conflict: struggling to survive is more than enough to capture our attention and imagination.
And yet... this is the stuff that is skipped by D&D tables everywhere, tables who are convinced travel is boring.
Survival is a BIG concern when characters are wandering the wilds. Even traveling along a road puts characters in a vulnerable position. Because, bar minimum, traveling means being away from home... and being away from home means being away from the community, safety net, and comforts you rely on.
Survival scenes put you on the edge of your seat and transform travel into something thrilling.
So many things could go wrong: you could take the wrong route, get lost, get hit with bad weather, be ambushed by thieves, run out of money, fall on back luck... etc. And the distance from your cozy, well-equipped abode amplifies the potential for dire consequences from even the slightest misstep.
© Embracer Group
No wonder Bilbo didn't want to leave.
The point?
Traveling exposes adventurers to DANGER.
The Angry GM (a MUST for any serious Dungeon Master) goes to great lengths to make this point and does it so well I'm just gonna quote him:
And if your character is unable to adapt to the situation, your choices become A) hope for a miracle or B) slowly die from starvation, thirst, or exposure.
So you know something's WRONG with your travel gameplay when your players think traveling is "NBD":
- Their characters should NOT be as comfortable camping out under the stars as they are in their warm bed.
- They would NEVER embark on a journey without carefully considering the great costs/risks.
- They would ALWAYS prefer to rest for several days after travel, rather than running straight into the dragon's lair.
Now, doesn't that sound like a lot more FUN than just skipping travel with "you travel for 5 days"?
However... "5e survival" and "5e TRAVEL survival" are two different things. Just including more survival elements in travel would just involve a lot more tedious ability checks... and that won't make a travel session more fun.
That's why I created a "survival mechanic" for 5e travel.
And when combined with the other two travel mechanics, it makes travel sessions so much more than the sum of their parts.
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D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 1: Route(s) Q/A
Unless you are teleporting, to travel means to follow some sort of path/way/road... a route.
And what separates "fantasy story travel" from "D&D 5e travel" is giving the players different routes/paths to choose from: options to get from point A to point B.
Ya know... shared storytelling... player agency... no railroading... that neat-o stuff.
When their characters need to travel, the players still need to make REAL choices.
However, this brings up two other problems:
- Players need to know about the area in order to make INFORMED choices.
- DMs need to have things in each area so the choices make an IMPACT on the story.
And as stated in a previous post, the "DnD instincts" of players lead them to learn about the routes by A) role-playing with every NPC and B) skill checks.
But these are the very things that make travel time consuming and boring... role-playing would take hours, and players could just roll endless ability checks and learn everything.
So what is to be done?
5 Minute Route Question/Answer Travel Mechanic:
Deep Sea Volcano Lady © Eva Welzbacher
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The DM presents 2-3 standard routes to take players from point A to point B.
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The DM identifies, in general, what terrain the players will go through and how long this will take.
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Each player picks an ability they are proficient in.
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Players ask a number of yes or no questions about the routes that relate to that ability.
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Players must ask their questions and decide on a route in 3-5 minutes (DM discretion).
Is this a little mini-game?
Sorta kinda.
Does it further take players out of immersion?
Definitely.
But it solves SO MANY PROBLEMS.
- Players have to think critically... what they choose will have consequences.
- Players have to be careful... they have limited questions, and these questions will reveal what kind of dangers await them.
- But, they also have to be quick... they are on the clock and can't sit and ponder the PERFECT route forever.
The result: a mundane conversation is transformed into something that feels like it has REALLY high stakes!
Debate Class © Igor Wolski
Types of Questions Players Can Ask:
- Are any of the routes more secret?
- Are any of the routes safer?
- Are the roads patrolled by local authorities?
- Are the roads watched by bandits?
- Are there taverns along the routes?
- Will the weather be good for our journey?
- Are there monsters along the routes?
- Will we be able to reliably hunt/gather from the wilderness?
A way to spice this up even further is to allow the players to role-play one question. Just assume the role of a merchant, local, official, etc. and pose a scene where the party asks follow-up questions.
"Wait... How Do I Design a Route?"
Players can't travel unless the Dungeon Master creates a world they can travel through. And most DMs don't have every square inch of their world planned out... they just have a general sense of what each area is like.
Here are the two methods I rely on to design routes in my own games:
1) Design a Route Like You Would Design a Dungeon
In the same way you would design a dungeon... design a route!
Add monsters, puzzles, traps, discoveries... etc! Just instead of traveling to the next room, players travel further along the route.
Awesome Dice Image
The problem?
Daaaaaaayuuuuuuum it's a lot of work.
Dungeon design is no joke. It takes a lot of thought and creativity to make them really good and not too linear.
While this is the suggestion given by the Dungeon Dudes, they are talking about just ONE route. It is unreasonable to ask DMs to plan 3 distinct and interesting routes this way. They have plenty on their plate.
Which is why, for travel, I usually use the next method.
2) Randomly Roll What is Along the Route
Usually, I do not have time to design a route... hell, a lot of the time, I don't even know the players are planning on traveling at all!
When that happens, we take a 5 minute break and I use my general knowledge of the world to fill it in with some rolls from a random table. I might make some additional rolls based on what questions the players ask to further flesh out the routes.
You can roll for what is along the routes based entirely on the questions they ask, but be careful. While D&D has heavy improv elements, this can create the sense that the whole game is an illusion of choice, which will cause your players to disengage.
But don't forget, it's not just about threats and avoiding risk! The route should have opportunities and rewards you can use to tempt players into taking the more dangerous routes!
D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 2: "Travel Jobs"
Confession time: when I first came up with this idea, I thought I had struck gold: I was in awe of my own brilliance.
Then about six months later I stumbled across Adventures in Middle Earth... and Campfire... and Dungeon Coach.
And... well... I felt a lot less special.
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But while I was a bit embarrassed for thinking I was some sort of genius, I felt validated. Clearly, it is a good idea!
Here is how "Travel Jobs" work:
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Each player picks a unique job for their character for the journey.
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While traveling, any rolls relevant to that job are rolled by only that player.
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Once the travel section/session ends, they no longer play their travel job.
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New jobs are assigned the next time they travel.
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This will help SPEED UP travel gameplay: no more waiting around as EVERY player rolls for everything!
It will also make travel downtime more FUN. When a DM asks "What are you doing as you travel?" ... players now have a framework that boosts creativity rather than open-ended-choice decision paralysis.
It will also add TENSION. I suggest DMs not allow players to perform the same job every single time... meaning, eventually, they will be responsible for a job that does not match their high skills/ability scores.
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You can have as many roles as you want, but the roles I allow my party to choose from are as follows:
- Vanguard: Scouts ahead, looking for ambushes or signs of monsters.
- Navigator: Makes sure the party stays on course and doesn't get lost.
- Quartermaster: Manages and maintains all the supplies for the journey.
- Treasurer: Handles any spending for the party (split evenly).
- Hunter/Gatherer: Responsible for foraging, trapping, and shooting meals.
- Morale Officer: Keeps up everyone's spirits!
- Scholar: Researches the area they are traveling through.
- (Rest): Does nothing. Recovers health and strength at twice the speed.
It is likely that your party will not be able to fill all the jobs... and that is by design! For one, not every journey requires every job. But also, it is another way you are presenting players with consequence-laden choices!
D&D 5e Travel Mechanic 3: Survival Meter
The first two mechanics are primarily about giving the players more agency in travel gameplay.
This mechanic is focused on weaving the missing ingredient of 5e travel—SURVIVAL—into travel.
Here's how it works:
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Depending on their situation, the party starts at a number on the survival meter (ex: 6).
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Each time a player character fails one of their "travel job" checks, takes a significant amount of damage in combat, fails a survival check... or anything else the DM deems threatening to survival... the number goes down by 1.
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Once they reach a lower number (ex: 3) the DM either selects or randomly rolls what goes wrong (the "something wrong" can be anything from lost supplies to spoiled food to frostbite to a wolf pack to a monster encounter).
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The players then begin to role-play the encounter.
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If they fail the encounter and do not raise their survival meter, they begin to take levels of exhaustion.
Indeed, there is a fun, extreme version version of D&D where players are tasked with keeping track of every drop of water, every arrow fired, and every pound of mutton eaten. Where carrying capacity is taken deadly seriously and players spend the bulk of their gold on maintenance.
But the fact of the matter is: the vast majority of D&D players do not want to waste their previous free time on LOGISTICS... most campaigns do not benefit from tedious inventory.
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Those parts of the character sheet have very few eraser marks for a reason.
And yet... supplies and survival go hand in hand... often, survival isn't something bad happening, but a mere lack of supplies!
And that's what makes this mechanic so great:
The survival meter A) gets rid of boring logistics and B) creates survival scenes.
It assumes the player characters are ADVENTURERS who intuitively know how to prepare for a journey and allows players to experience the scene of the story:
- Players prepare for what they know of the journey.
- That tension escalates as they encounter obstacles.
- They feel the dread when they begin to struggle to survive.
- And breathe a sigh of relief when they come out on the other side.
It takes the exploration pillar out of the shadows... gives it some gameplay mechanics that allow it to function as a scene in a story... and lets it SHINE.
It's fun, exciting... and doesn't violate player agency!
Players place THEMSELVES in these life-or-death situations based on the decisions THEY make and rolls THEY fail/succeed.
It is THE key missing ingredient from most travel methods, and yet absolutely essential in making travel a blast and a half for everyone at the table.
Conclusion: skip logistics... focus on high-stakes survival scenes.
Why These 3 Mechanics Create the BEST D&D 5e Travel Gameplay
Together, these three mechanics preserve all the best things about travel (providing adventure, world building, etc.) while also getting rid of its most boring and repetitive aspects.
Routes Q/A, Travel Jobs, and Survival Meter bring several unique improvements to D&D 5e travel:
A) They Create Travel SCENES
Unlike the combat and social pillars, the entire exploration pillar has a problem with scenes. So much so that we posted a while blog about it (read it here). Without scenes, it is difficult for players and DMs to author the plot and there is no story space for the game to inhabit. Exploration is reduced to narration.
That problem is intensified for travel. In movies, travel is almost always a montage of scenes. For example, take the Fellowship leaving Rivendell:
Montage of them traveling... making camp... Saruman's crows find them...
© Embracer Group
More montage... Boromir and the ring... storm at peak...
© Embracer Group
Shots of broken Moria bridge... riddles in front of the door... attacked by the watcher in the water...
© Embracer Group
These mechanics naturally create the scenes that compose a journey.
Rather than some narration montage or meaningless random encounter, the players actually travel in a way that contributes to their character development and the plot of the story.
B) They Create Cooperative Storytelling
I know I'm preaching to the choir... but players are not just actors... they are the fellow authors of your D&D adventure. To be an author, players need agency. They need to have the ability to make meaningful decisions that have all sorts of consequences. This is something that is not only unique to D&D, but also keeps players engaged.
© Patricia Pria
When D&D is at its best and most magical, DMs, players, and dice all tell a story together. These travel mechanics include DMs creating a world, players making meaningful decisions, and then everyone holding their breath as dice are tossed into the air.
They also prevent DMs from railroading, players from over planning, and dice from totally screwing everyone with random, horrible rolls.
C) They Work With Any Travel Distance
No matter what distance you're traveling, these three mechanics will make it better. It all depends on your route design...
If it's a day's journey through some forbidden forest, you could have a (potential) obstacle every HOUR (pg 106 DMG). And with no landmarks or line of sight, whoever has the Navigator travel job is probably going to get the party lost...
If they are traveling along the King's Road to another province, you can design your route to have a (potential) obstacle every DAY. Heavily trafficked roads have taverns to rest at, but are also patrolled by bandits... the player with the Vanguard travel job better be proficient at perception checks...
And if they are sailing across an ocean to the New World, you can design the voyage to have a (potential) obstacle every WEEK. And gosh, with some bad winds, they better hope the character with the Quartermaster travel job rolls high. Otherwise everyone might start getting cabin fever.
© Disney
D) They are SIMPLE
The survival meter is easier than an initiative tracker. The "travel jobs" are assigned to and used by the players. The route Q/A is straightforward and intuitive. And all can be fiddled with to meet any DM's personal taste.
No charts... no extended rules... no complex taking of inventory. Sure, route design comes with some difficulty, but no more than any other amount of design for a session.
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
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Riley Rath
Based out of Spokane, Riley is a freelance copywriter that combines his love of reading, writing, and people into something useful! He is thankful to be applying his passion for imaginative role-playing to help DnD related businesses communicate their value in the best way possible. He's kinda like a bard giving inspiration, except without the annoying pop covers!
