Distances a horse can travel vary depending on the size of the party, mounts, weather, terrain, and condition of the roads. Medieval people traveled with everything they needed following in carts behind them. A train of this sort wouldn't move fast. Mounted knights-- all on well-conditioned destriers or palfreys -- would move fairly fast and cover upwards of 50 or 60 miles per day. However, traveling 20 to 30 miles a day would be considered a good day's journey.

Weapons and Ability Bonuses
Generally, a character may apply his Strength bonuses to any weapon powered by his own muscle. Any hand-held weapon used to slash, bludgeon, or thrust at an enemy certainly counts, but weapons that don't inflict damage or don't have a type don't allow a character to use his attack bonuses. For example, a character's Strength has no effect on the use of a lasso or net.
Characters may use their reaction adjustment for high Dexterity when throwing or firing any kind of missile weapon. However, they do not use their Strength bonuses unless the weapon is thrown and complies with the conditions above. Firearms, bows, slings, and crossbows are not normally affected by a character's Strength.
Bows can be made to take advantage of a character's Strength bonuses, but must be custom-made. Refer to Chapter 6: Money and Equipment in the Player's Handbook.
The 16th-level Dart Specialist: It's ludicrous to allow a high-Strength character the full benefit of his muscular power if he insists on using tiny little weapons such as darts. A good way to address this kind of min-maxing is to limit the damage bonus granted by high Strength to the maximum roll of the weapon's base damage. A dart normally causes 1d3 points of damage against size M targets, so a character with exceptional Strength could gain a total of +3 to his dart's damage—but no more, even if he is normally entitled to a damage bonus of +4 or more.

The Actions
Below are listed each of the actions available to a character and how they are resolved.

Attack
This is the basic action for characters and monsters in a fight. When a character chooses to attack, he makes his normal hand-held weapon attacks. Characters and creatures can make a half-move and attack or they can stand their ground and attack as a no-move action.
Monsters with multiple attacks perform all their attacks on the same phase. If a dragon attacks with average speed, its bite, claws, tail, and wing buffets all take place in the average phase of the combat round. Characters using a weapon in each hand strike in the same fashion, during the action phase of the slower weapon.
Characters who have multiple attacks with the same weapon (such as high-level fighters or weapon specialists) make their first attack normally and then make one attack each phase thereafter until they've resolved all of their multiple attacks. A long sword specialist with two attacks in a round makes his first attack in the average phase and his second in the slow phase of the round.
Normally, a character can combine a move and an attack only by moving first and resolving attacks later. However, a character can choose to attack first and then make a half-move at the end of the round. Note that characters can adjust their position each time they attack, so a hero with multiple attacks could attack several creatures standing apart from each other.
Attacks of opportunity (see Threatening) do not count as a character's attack for the round. It is possible for a creature to get more attacks than normal if its opponent provides it with an opening for an attack of opportunity.
Characters and monsters may choose a number of attack options, such as grab, block, trap, or disarm. The fighter might use his bill-hook to pull a mounted opponent off his horse, or he might try to trip the animal. He could even go on the defensive and try to block his enemy's blow. Refer to Attack Options in Chapter Two for more information about the various alternatives.

Cast a Spell
Wizards and priests may choose to cast spells during combat. All spells are assigned an action phase just as weapons are. The character is considered to begin casting in the very fast phase and to finish in the spell's action phase. If the spellcaster is injured by an attack during the casting, the spell is lost.
Spells and spell-like abilities are assigned action phases based on their casting times:

Casting Time Phase
1–3 Fast
4–6 Average
7–9 Slow
1 round or more Very Slow

When a character casts a spell, she loses any Dexterity benefit to her Armor Class, since she must hold still and concentrate to make the spell work. After the spell has been cast, the mage or priest may apply her Dexterity bonus to her Armor Class again. If the spellcaster doesn't cast a very slow spell, she can take a half-move at the end of the round.
Psionic powers take effect during a randomly determined phase, regardless of the psionic creature's regular Base Phase.

Random Psionic Initiative
d10 roll* Base Phase
1-2 Very Fast
3-4 Fast
5-6 Average
7-8 Slow
9-10 Very Slow

*Add the power's Preparation Time to this roll.

Charge
Characters and monsters can charge to rapidly close for combat and make an attack. Charging is a full-move action, but a charging character may move 11/2 times his base movement when he charges. A knight with a movement of 6 can charge an enemy up to 9 spaces away.
Characters begin their charge on their base initiative, moving up to one-half the distance of the charge. In the following phase, they move the remainder of the distance. Unlike most attack forms, the charge attack is resolved the moment the attacker arrives. If the knight above has a base initiative of fast and an opponent is standing 7 squares away, the knight moves 5 spaces in the fast phase and 2 more in the average phase, at which point he attacks immediately.
Charging (which might more accurately be called the reckless attack) gives characters several advantages but also imposes some penalties. The charging character gains a +2 bonus on his attack roll. Some weapons, such as lances, are suited for charging and inflict double damage when used in a charge.
Because they are so intent on the attack, however, charging characters are at a disadvantage defensively. They lose all Dexterity bonuses to Armor Class and suffer a +1 penalty to AC in addition to that. Guarding characters with weapons longer than the charger's automatically strike first. In addition, characters can set spears (see Guard) against charges.

Cover
A character with a cocked and loaded crossbow, or an arrow nocked and drawn in a bow, can announce that he is covering an opponent within his weapon's short range. The covering character can only choose to cover a single square on the board, as long as that square is within the weapon's short range and in sight. Only characters with a weapon proficiency slot in bow or crossbow can cover someone in this manner. Covering situations usually are created by the circumstances of the initial encounter; for example, an archer may surprise his enemy, cover him, and order him to drop his weapon. Characters can also declare a combat action to cover someone.
Since the arrow or bolt is ready to be fired, the covering character's first shot is fast (or very fast if the character is a specialist.) See Bows and Crossbows in Chapter Seven. The covering character automatically wins initiative against the covered target. It is possible for a very fast creature to beat out the shot of a proficient archer, but even very fast creatures can be covered by a specialist.
The character can hold his cover until later in the round, if he wants to see what his target is going to do. He can fire first in any later phase. After the first shot has been loosed, the covering character can perform the rest of his missile fire at the regular action phase and rate of fire.
The covering shot itself is made with a +2 bonus to the attack roll. Covering is handy for freezing opponents in their tracks, since everybody knows how quickly an arrow or bolt can be released once it is drawn.
Covering can also be used with any hand-held bladed weapon—basically, the character puts her sword to an opponent's throat in a single adjacent square and menaces him. The victim must be stunned, dazed, pinned, unconscious, or surprised for a character to cover him with a melee weapon. As with bows and crossbows, the covering character automatically wins initiative against her target and can attack in the fast phase, or in the very fast phase if she is a specialist. The attack is made with a +2 bonus to hit, and the critical number (see Critical Hits in Chapter Six) drops to a 16.

Fire/Throw Missiles
Firing missiles and throwing hand-held weapons (including splashing holy water or oil) is another basic action that is very common in combat. The character can stand still and attack at his full rate of fire, or he can make a half-move and fire or throw missiles at 1/2 his normal rate.
The one exception to this move-and-fire routine is for missile weapons that have a rate of fire less than 1/round (this includes large crossbows and most firearms). In this case, the character wielding such a weapon can move half his normal rate and still fire the weapon only on the initial discharge of the weapon. The weapon is assumed to be loaded and cocked. After this first shot, the character can only fire the weapon as a no-move action.
Firing or throwing missiles is dangerous when a character is threatened by another creature, since it creates an attack of opportunity. The only exception to this rule is during the same combat round that the threatening creature actually moves up to threaten the character. The character can get his shots in while his enemy closes, but after that he had better switch to a melee weapon.
Characters with multiple missile attacks in the same combat round perform their first attack on the normal action phase, and then follow with one missile per phase until they've completed their full rate of fire. For example, a dart specialist has 3 attacks per round with his darts, a fast weapon. He therefore throws his first dart in the fast phase, the second in the average phase, and the third in the slow phase.
Some monsters, such as manticores, may have multiple missiles that are fired simultaneously. These attacks are all resolved in the same phase.

Guard
When a character guards, she waits for her opponents to come to her. Guarding is a half-move action, or a no-move action if the character stands her ground. A guarding character strikes the moment an attacker moves into the guarding character's threatening squares, regardless of her actual initiative and action phase. The only way an enemy can attack a guarding character first is with a longer-ranged weapon.
If a guarding character is attacked by a charging character, the character that won initiative attacks first (unless one of the characters has a longer-ranged weapon than the other). If both the charging and guarding characters have weapons of equal range, then the character with the larger weapon strikes first. Guarding characters are considered to be set for charge, and spears and spear-like polearms inflict double damage against charging creatures (see Chapter Seven).

For example, Aerwen loses initiative and is armed with a long sword, normally a weapon of average speed. A very fast size M creature takes a half-move to attack her with claws in the fast phase, but since Aerwen is guarding, she attacks first. If the very fast creature were charging, it would attack first since it won initiative for the round. If Aerwen had a long spear (range 2), she would get the first blow despite the creature's charge.

If no one attacks a guarding character,  she can abort to an attack at the end of the round and take a half-move to reach someone.

Move
Moving allows a character to cover a lot of ground without dropping his defenses. Moving is normally a full-move action, but if a character only moves half his maximum move or less, he can consider it a half-move action instead.
Movement normally begins on a character's base initiative, without modifiers for weapon speed. Each half-move a character makes requires one phase, so a fast character does half his move in the fast phase and finishes his move in the average phase.

Parry
Sometimes the best thing to do is take cover and try not to get clobbered. Any character can choose to parry as a combat action. Parrying is a no-move action that is in effect for the entire combat round. If a character parries, he cannot move, attack, or cast spells.
Parrying reduces a nonwarrior character's Armor Class by one-half his level. A 6th-level wizard with an AC of 5 who parries reduces his AC to 2. Warriors who choose to parry reduce their AC by one-half their level, plus one. A 6th-level fighter gets an AC bonus of 4 by parrying.

Run
A character can double his base movement by running. Running is considered a full-move action; the character can't do anything else in the same combat round that he runs. Running on a battlefield is dangerous; the character loses all Dexterity bonuses to his Armor Class and suffers a +1 AC penalty on top of that. In addition, he is considered to be charging if he runs into a square threatened by an opponent with a set spear.
Characters can maintain a run as long as they have the necessary fatigue points (see Fatigue, below). Outside of combat, they can run for a number of rounds equal to their Constitution score. After that, they must stop and rest. See Jogging and Running in the Player's Handbook under Chapter 14: Time and Movement for more information.

Sprint
A character can triple his base movement by sprinting. Like running, sprinting is a full-move action that drops the character's defenses for the round.

Unarmed Combat
Any character may choose to make an unarmed attack instead of attacking with his weapons. There are four basic types of unarmed combat: punching, wrestling, overbearing, and martial arts. Refer to Chapter Five for more information on resolving unarmed attacks.
A character can perform an unarmed attack on his base initiative if he doesn't have to move to reach his target, or he can take a half-move action to close for combat. Attacking armed opponents (including monsters with natural attacks) is dangerous for an unarmed fighter; if the character attacks an armed creature that is threatening him, he suffers an immediate attack of opportunity from his intended victim. The armed defender gains a +4 bonus on his attack roll and his damage roll against an unarmed attacker.
Monsters with natural weaponry almost never make unarmed attacks. However, it is possible for intelligent creatures to "pull in their claws" and try to batter a character into unconsciousness. Monsters without natural attacks may resort to unarmed combat if they are disarmed or want to capture their enemy.

Use A Magical Item
Generally, a character can use a magical item as a fast action or make a half-move and use an item as an average action. Some magical items take more or less time, as noted below:

Item Phase
Potion Average
Scroll Very Slow
Rod, Staff, or Wand Fast
Miscellaneous Magical Item Average

For most magical items with functions that do not emulate combat or spellcasting actions, the magic of the item is activated during the resolution step at the end of the round. In a few cases where powers take an unusual amount of time to activate, the DM is the final arbiter. If an item combines weapon-like characteristics and miscellaneous magic, such as a rod of lordly might, it should be treated as a weapon when being used to attack and as a magical item when its other functions are being used.

Withdraw
Withdrawing is the only safe way to leave a square that is threatened by an opponent. When a character withdraws, he backs carefully away from his opponent without turning his back or creating an attack of opportunity for his opponent.
Withdrawing is a half-move that takes place on the character's base initiative. A withdrawing character cannot attack or cast spells, although he can still get attacks of opportunity.

Ending the Combat Round  After all the combat actions have been resolved, it is time to finish up the round and get ready for the next one. The end of the round is a time to take care of any loose ends or bookkeeping that needs to be looked after. The four major items that are addressed at the end of the round are retreats, fatigue, morale, and status.

Retreats
When one character inflicts melee damage (but not as a result of missile combat) on an enemy without being hit in return, she may force her foe to retreat, driving him back with well-aimed blows. The attacker doesn't have to force her enemy back; she can decide to let him stand fast and not press the advantage. A defender can ignore the requirement to retreat if he is 4 or more levels/Hit Dice higher than the attacker or if he is two sizes larger than the attacker. A retreat cannot occur if the enemy was knocked down during the round.
When a character retreats, he must move backward into one of his rear spaces chosen by the attacker. If there is no place to retreat directly behind him, the attacker must choose one of the retreating character's flank spaces. If the character is unable to retreat into any rear or flank space, he must roll a successful saving throw vs. paralyzation or be knocked down in the space he is in. In some special situations, the DM may allow a retreating character a chance to avoid being forced back. This allows a character with his back to a cliff (for example) to avoid giving ground.
The creature who forces a retreat may follow her retreating enemy, keeping her foe in a threatened square. The attacker can instead choose to back her enemy off and then hold her own position.
Retreats are good for breaking up enemy battle-lines or for maneuvering an enemy into a battlefield hazard. Retreats can also be used to disengage from a threatening creature by driving it back. Retreats don't create attacks of opportunity for the creature forcing the retreat; this is the end of the combat round and everyone is finished attacking for the round. However, the retreating creature may have been pushed into a situation where his rear or flank is exposed to an enemy during the next round of combat.

Combat Rounds and Game Time
Combat rounds replace the one-minute round in normal AD&D combat situations. If you need to keep count, five combat rounds equal one normal round, and 50 equal a full turn.
To make things easy, the DM can rule that a battle, regardless of its actual length, takes one turn. Characters tend to spend several minutes checking on fallen enemies, surveying their own injuries, and making sure that the enemy has abandoned the field before dropping their guard. Unless time is an issue, this is reasonable.

In the standard AD&D game, every character and monster has a base movement rate. Since Player's Option combat rounds are shorter than AD&D rounds, each point of that base movement rate allows a PC, NPC, or creature to move one square per combat round in melee scale. A human fighter with a movement rate of 12 can move 12 squares, or 60 feet, in one combat round. If a character moves diagonally, it costs 3 movement points for each 2 squares, rounded up. If a character moves three squares diagonally, it costs 5 movement points: 3 for the first two squares and 2 for the the third square.
Remember, this is a conservative advance. Figures can exceed their normal movement rates by charging, running, or sprinting (see Attack Options, below). The same human fighter sprints 180 feet in a combat round, which isn't bad for an untrained runner wearing sturdy boots, heavy clothes, and carrying a sword.