Means of Transport

 

Depending on where you're going, there many be many different options for how to get there. Surely if you need to cross a sea or an ocean to a different continent you will need to travel by sailing ship, but when travelling over land, you may have many other options.

Sailing Ship

Aside from magical means, travel by sailing ship is the only way to travel from one continent to another. Sailing the high seas requires large, expensive, seaworthy vessels crewed by skilled, experienced professionals. The costs and expertise required to own and operate a private sailing ship generally preclude this as an option for small groups of adventurers, therefore crossing a sea or ocean usually means booking passage on a ship.

On Tear, the vast majority of seafaring vessels are engaged in the transportation of cargo. Ships that exclusively or principally carry passengers are extremely rare and limited only to a few highly travelled routes between major cities, or to a few short ferry crossings connecting major land routes. Aside from these rare passenger vessels, sea travel is normally arranged by booking passage in a berth on cargo vessels that usually set aside a small amount of space for passenger berths. The advantage of this is that there are often ships with available berths coming and going from major ports every day - the disadvantage is that space on each ship is limited - usually to a maximum of either two high berths, four mid berths, or six low berths - find a cargo ship that can take more than six passengers is very rare.

A sailing ship at sea travels at an average of 175km per day. This is only an average, and will vary depending on the type of vessel, the weather, and the experience and capability of the captain and crew.

Riverboat

Trade along rivers is very efficient, and riverboat crews can be very small compared to the crews needed for ocean-going ships. Along well travelled rivers, travel by riverboat is very convenient and at a river port there will be multiple departures daily heading up and down river, and many different options for berths. There are many different sizes and types of riverboat. Some are operated by oars and sails, some are punted along by poles, some are pulled by animals from the riverbanks, and some have paddlewheels operated by workers or by animals. The type and size of riverboat will always depend on the nature of the river being navigated.

Speed of riverboat travel is heavily dependent on the strength of the river's current. Practically speaking, there are six levels of river current, from 0 to 5, with level 0 being a lazy river that is almost stagnant, and 5 being a river that moves too rapidly to safely navigate by riverboat. Average travel speed on a river is 30km per day, +/- 5km times the river's current depending on whether you are going upstream or downstream. For example, a level 3 river can be navigated downstream at 45km/day, but only 15km/day upstream.

Hotel Coach

Hotel coaches are four-horse drawn covered carriages that provide a fast and efficient way to travel between settlements, and every significant settlement will be connected to its neighboring settlements by roads that can handle them. Most vehicles on the roads are not hotel coaches, but are simple carriages and wagons operated for trade purposes, but even small and remote villages will still see a hotel coach once every few days. Larger villages and towns will have hotel coaches passing through at least daily. Significant towns, or any settlement on a major route between cities will have multiple hotel coaches coming in and out daily, with other vehicle traffic moving up and down the roads fairly constantly.

Hotel coaches travel fixed routes, and stop at pre-determined locations where travellers can take room and board at flophouses, bunkhouse, inns or hotels. These lodgings must be paid for separately by the travellers, and it is up to the travellers to get to the coach stand on time before it departs the next morning. Passengers in hotel coaches do not pay road or bridge tolls, as these are included in the cost of the trip.

A standard hotel coaches has room for 6 passengers inside and two more on the roof. Under certain circumstances, it might be possible to squeeze a couple more in (though this will be very uncomfortable and more expensive). For those who want more comfort, space or privacy, they can buy up more seats - coaches drivers are happy to accept the same amount of money to carry fewer passengers. Often, passengers inside the coach will buy up the seats on the roof to transport equipment or belongings. If coaches along a given route are chronically under-occupied, drivers may raise prices at their discretion to cover costs.

Travel by hotel coach can be dangerous, particularly on less travelled routes to more remote destinations. Bandits are always a threat to travellers, and hotel coaches with regular, posted schedules make for easy targets. It is generally impractical for coach services to charge higher rates for travel along riskier routes as normally the travellers of these routes are less affluent, but it is not uncommon for the drivers of such routes to be combat veterans, or for one or both of the rooftop seats to be reserved for security.

Caravan

Caravans are ad hoc collectives of carriages, coaches, carts, wagons and pack animals that move in a mass from one location to another, usually for the purpose of trade or pilgrimage. Generally, most people travelling in a caravan are working; merchants, teamsters, porters, and the labourers who support the caravan itself. In addition, caravans will often include many individuals who are only along for the ride, and are thus paying their way instead of working. While caravans are loosely structured the merchants who usually organize them are responsible for road and bridge tools, which they pay in advance with a reduced rate for the entire group.

Travelling by caravan has many advantages; mainly in cost and security. Caravans are cheaper than coaches simply because caravaners camp nightly outside of towns and villages or in caravanserai where travellers can rest safely, and share resources to feed the entire group for a low cost. Camping outdoors each night is free - this is usually done in fields set aside outside of towns and villages for the express purpose of welcoming caravans. Entry to a caravanserai is free if you are with a recognized caravan, and a place to set up a tent in the common yard is also free. Bunks in large shared rooms, or beds in smaller private rooms are also available for reasonable prices, though these are limited in number, and listed prices may be inflated if wealthier merchants start bidding for the rooms.

Caravans typically range is size from a few dozen to couple of hundred individuals. Given the size of the groups, caravans are generally safe from bandit or monster attack as a direct attack is reckless even for an organized and well-equipped group. Furthermore, capturing a caravan for its valuables or to kidnap its travellers for ransom is a significant enough act to bring a large scale military response.

While the risks of significant overt violence while travelling via caravan are very small, the risks of petty theft or bodily harm targetting individuals still remains. While bandits will not risk direct assault, they will certainly follow caravans, looking for ways to sneak into their camps at night to steal valuables, or kidnap stragglers for ransom. Additionally, criminals and spies love to travel with caravans, which give them an opportunity to hide within a crowd and potentially to escape the authorities in a given location where they may be wanted for crimes.

The major disadvantage of travelling via caravan is that the pace is slower, and delays are common. Organizing a hundred or more travellers each day takes time. If one animal gets sick or one vehicle breaks down or gets stuck, the entire caravan will be delayed, so setting-up and stiking camp, ensuring everyone is fed and that animals are taken care of and vehicles properly maintained is an enormous effort that cannot be neglected.

Road Travel

Mounted or foot travel by road is by far the most common form of overland travel, as it gives individuals or small groups the greatest freedom to chart their own route, keep their own pace, and manage their own expenses. Roads are constructed by states over common lands that connect settlements, and travellers must pay road and bridge tools to travel using them. Travelling off the roads through the common lands in an attempt to avoid tolls is a crime. The more well-travelled a route is, the more heavily it will be patrolled by security forces. On more remote routes, there will be fewer travellers and less security. Outside the commons is the lawless wilderness, where the terrain is highly variable and travellers are on their own. There are no tolls for travelling through the wilderness, but no roads or bridges either - and there are also no guards and no hope of rescue if things go bad.

Bandits are common along the more remote routes where travellers and security forces are thin. On major routes, bandits are uncommon, and attacks on travellers are usually directed against small groups at night who are foolish enough to think they will save money by sleeping rough alongside the road, outside of a settlement. In the wilderness, bandits are even more rare, as there are very few victims for them to waylay, and many of those are seasoned adventurers who may be as numerous, well-trained and well-equipped as the bandits themselves. In the wilderness, threats to travellers come more often from the animals, creatures and monsters that stalk the wilds.

Cabs and Carriages

Cabs and carriages are smaller vehicles used exclusively for travel within cities and their immediate environs, usually limited to within the city proper and any immediate extensions of the urban space that continue out to a maximum of about 10km (and usually less). Cabs and carriages are generally hired at cab stands located on major squares or junctions. They can also simply be waved down on the street if any empty one is passing by. Large cities will typically have multiple independent business operating entire fleets of cabs and carriages for hire.