Travel and Exploration: A Guide to Dying Far From Home

Why Staying Home is the Smart Choice

The Old World: Where Every Road Leads to Danger

Travel in the Old World isn't a vacation—it's a survival horror experience. Between the bandits, beastmen, bad weather, and worse roads, leaving your village is essentially signing up for a death lottery. Think of it as a road trip where the GPS is trying to kill you, the rest stops are haunted, and your car is a mule with attitude problems.

graph TD A[Reasons to Travel] --> B[Fleeing Something Worse] A --> C[Hired to Deliver Something] A --> D[Following Plot Hook] A --> E[Poor Life Choices] B --> F[Usually Witch Hunters] C --> G[Package is Probably Cursed] D --> H[GM is Smiling] E --> I[Most Common Reason] H --> J[You're Doomed]

Travel Methods: Pick Your Poison

Daily Travel Distances: Managing Expectations

Daily Travel Distances Good: road, daylight, fair weather • On foot: 20-25 miles • Mounted: 30-40 miles • Coach: 30-35 miles Average: trail, some weather • On foot: 15-20 miles • Mounted: 20-30 miles • Coach: Not advisable Poor: wilderness, storms, night • On foot: 5-10 miles (if lucky) • Mounted: 10-15 miles (horse may not survive) • Coach: Crashed in ditch Reality Check These assume: • No combat encounters • No getting lost • No equipment failures • No plague checkpoints • No bridge trolls Actual distance: Half this

Random Encounters: The Spice of Death

Navigation: Getting Lost with Style

graph TD A[Navigation Check] --> B{Have a Map?} B -->|Yes| C[Is it Accurate?] B -->|No| D[Use Landmarks] C -->|Yes| E[+20 to Navigation] C -->|No| F[−20 to Navigation] D --> G[Hope They Exist] E --> H{Pass Test?} F --> H G --> H H -->|Yes| I[Right Direction] H -->|No| J[Lost] J --> K[GM Decides How Lost] K --> L[Usually Bad]

Roadside Inns: Shelter or Slaughterhouse?

Inn Quality (d10, house table) 1-2: Flophouse • Straw on floor: a few pennies • Fleas guaranteed • Robbery more likely than not 3-5: Common Inn • Shared room: pennies • Edible food (mostly) • Robbery only occasionally 6-8: Coaching Inn • Private room: shillings • Hot meals, decent ale • Roadwardens sometimes present 9: Quality Establishment • Clean sheets: more shillings • Good food and wine • May not admit rat catchers 10: It's a Trap! • Run by cultists/bandits/worse • That's not beef in the stew • Check-out is murder Standard Inn Features Suspicious locals | Watered ale | Mysterious stains | Creaky floors | Rats | More rats

Wilderness Survival: Nature Wants You Dead

Rivers and Waterways: Wet and Dangerous

River Travel Considerations:

  • Advantages: No bandits (usually), faster than walking, can sleep on boat
  • Disadvantages: River pirates, limited routes, can't run away easily
  • Cost: shillings per person per day; more for a cabin
  • Speed: Downstream 3-4 mph, Upstream 1-2 mph
  • Hazards: Rapids, river trolls, nixies, sudden storms

Pro tip: Never lean over the side. River creatures are always hungry.

Essential Travel Gear: Don't Leave Home Without

The Experienced Traveler's Checklist:

  • ✓ Rope (at least 20 yards)
  • ✓ Torches or lantern
  • ✓ Flint and steel
  • ✓ Bedroll (or freeze)
  • ✓ Rations (1 week minimum)
  • ✓ Waterskin (2 if possible)
  • ✓ Map (even if wrong)
  • ✓ Compass (if rich)
  • ✓ First aid supplies
  • ✓ Spare boots
  • ✓ Rain cloak
  • ✓ Small shovel (for burying companions)

Total cost: More than you have

Travel Complications: Because It's Never Simple

Broken wheel Lame horse Bridge out Customs stop Wrong turn Bad weather Blocked road Equipment lost DELAYS

Real Travel Example

Journey from Altdorf to Middenheim (a long road north):

Day 1: Leave Altdorf on foot. Make 20 miles. Sleep in haystack.

Day 2: Rain starts. Make 12 miles. Boots ruined. Find expensive inn.

Day 3: Bandits attack! Lose fight, lose money. Walk 15 miles in underwear.

Day 4: Find merchant caravan. Work as guard for food. Make 18 miles.

Day 5: Caravan attacked by beastmen. Barely survive. 10 miles.

Day 6-8: Hide in woods. Eat berries. Probably poisonous. 5 miles/day.

Day 9: Find road again. Roadwardens suspicious. Detained 1 day.

Day 10-15: Actually make progress. 20 miles/day.

Day 16: Reach Middenheim. Denied entry (look like vagrant).

Total: 16 days, over 200 miles, lost everything, gained the Bloody Flux.

"They say travel broadens the mind. In my experience,
it mainly broadens the collection of scars."
- Karl the Well-Traveled (missing three fingers and one ear)

© 2026 Ray de la Paz. The Warhammer Fantasy RPG Guide. All rights reserved. · Ray's House of Fun
Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay are trademarks of Games Workshop; the 4th edition is published by Cubicle 7. This guide is an unofficial fan resource.