Each hex on the map of the Stolen Lands is 12 miles across (between opposite corners) and covers just under 150 square miles of area. These hexes are provided not only as a way to help define the land (and eventually aid in defining the territory of the kingdom the PCs are destined to rule), but also as an aid in tracking travel through the Stolen Lands. In Chapter 7 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, Tables 7–6 and 7–8 on page 172 list how long it takes for a person to travel through various terrains. In this Adventure Path, though, characters will also be taking time to fully explore hexes on the map—doing so takes much longer than simply walking through a hex. To determine how long it takes the PCs to travel through a hex or to fully explore it, determine the group’s speed (which is set by the slowest member of the group) and consult the tables below. For traveling, the amount of time it takes to cross one hex is listed. For exploring, the amount of time listed is to fully investigate the hex. Until the PCs spend money to create trails and roads, all of the Stolen Lands are considered to be trackless. In some hexes, more than one terrain is present in a hex. In such cases, calculate that hex’s effect on travel as if it were a hex of the dominant terrain type.
Traveling (Time to cross 1 hex)
Party Speed | Plains | All Other Terrains |
15 feet | 11 hours | 16 hours |
20 feet | 8 hours | 12 hours |
30 feet | 5 hours | 8 hours |
40 feet | 4 hours | 6 hours |
50 feet | 3 hours | 5 hours |
Exploring (Time to fully explore 1 hex)
Party Speed | Plains | Forest or Hill or Swamp | Mountain |
15 feet | 3 days | 4 days | 5 days |
20 feet | 2 days | 3 days | 4 days |
30 feet | 1 day | 2 days | 3 days |
40 feet | 1 day | 1 day | 2 days |
50 feet | 1 day | 1 day | 1 day |
Travelling by road or river
| By Road | Rowed | Sailed |
0 Hex/Day | | Coracle, Flatboat | |
1 Hex/Day | Ox Train, Caravan, Dwarf (20) | Skiff, Row Boat, Dinghy, Voyaging boat, Shallop | |
2 Hex/Day | Mule Train, Mule, Pony, Human (30), | Launch | Row boat |
3 Hex/Day | Horse, | | Dinghy, Fishing Boat, Shallop |
4 Hex/Day | | | Lugger, Keeler, Sailing barge |
5 Hex/Day | | | River Boat |
Forests: The forests of the Stolen Lands are densely vegetated, but generally crisscrossed with game trails and numerous clearings. The trees here typically consist of oaks, beech, rushleaf, and smaller scrub.
Beech -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech
Oak -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak#Genus_Quercus
Rushleaf -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_mangium
Wet Swampy areas of Forests: The tree canopy is lower here, with a few willows among the swamp oaks, cattails, rushes and reeds. The Scrub Cherry bushes are in flower, which will later produce a sharp sour fruit. However, they only ever grow well in wet, shaded areas like this.
Hills: The rolling hills of the Stolen Lands are often pocked by small caves, twisting valleys, and small woodlands that crown hilltops or nestle in clefts. Now there is scrubland and high moors – gorse, ferns with the the occasional boggy area. While crops will grow, it is more suited to livestock such as sheep and ponies.
Heath /Moorland = Rocks, Coarse Grass, Heather, Gorse, ferns, Boggy bits.
Scrub = Tangled bushes, briars some small trees. Harder to cross that moorland.
Copse / Thicket = The thickets, themselves, are generally composed of small gnarled trees birch, willow and rowan, with the occasional crab apple or wild plum – and the ubiquitous blackberry brambles.
Mountains: Although mountains in the Stolen Lands are relatively low in elevation (rarely rising more than 1,000 feet), they are often quite rugged and sheer, forcing travelers to follow old riverbeds, gorges, and twisting trails.
Plains: The grasslands and moors of the Stolen Lands vary from relatively open plains to swaths of tall grass that grows up to 3 feet high in places. Small copses / thickets of two to six trees are not uncommon.
Marshes & Wetlands: Swamps are a confounding mix of soggy ground, partially dry hummocks, tangled undergrowth, and deep
pools of murky water. Travel in a straight line is impossible, requiring constant course adjustments.
Water: A river varies from 50 to 500 feet in width. Infrequent bridges and fords that allow a river to be crossed are indicated on the map where they appear, but in most cases, travel across a river requires swimming or boating. If the PCs wish to try swimming, all members of the group must make DC 15 Swim checks. If all members (and all mounts) make the check, then that particular river crossing doesn't impact travel time through the hex. Otherwise, add 1 hour to the amount of time spent travelling for each failed Swim check. Lakes are calmer than rivers and may be navigated with a DC 10 Swim check, but their larger size makes swimming across them dangerous—as a general rule, if the PCs lack boats or actual swim speeds, it’s best to simply treat lakes as barriers to travel and force the travellers to circumnavigate the edges.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:07, Tue 05 July 2022.