Adventuring Basics

Outside of combat, your adventure unfolds in a more flexible timeline.

Time Scales

• Round: 6 seconds during combat.
• Minutes or hours: Exploring dungeons, traveling roads, or interacting in towns.
• Days: Long journeys across the wilderness.

Movement

Your speed determines how far you can move:

• In combat: Your speed in feet per round (usually 30 feet).
• Traveling: Your travel pace determines daily distance.
  • Fast pace: 400 ft/minute, 4 mi/hour, 30 mi/day (harder to notice threats).
  • Normal pace: 300 ft/minute, 3 mi/hour, 24 mi/day.
  • Slow pace: 200 ft/minute, 2 mi/hour, 18 mi/day (can move stealthily).

Difficult terrain (rubble, thick undergrowth, steep stairs) halves your speed.

Tip: Use the jump calculator to determine how far you can leap based on your Strength score.

Light and Vision

Light conditions affect what you can see:

• Bright light: Normal vision, like daylight or within torch radius.
• Dim light: Disadvantage on Perception checks, like twilight or edge of torchlight.
• Darkness: Can't see without darkvision or a light source like a torch or lantern.

Staying Alive

Your character needs basic sustenance:

• Food: About 1lb per day.
• Water: 1gal per day (2gal in hot weather).

Going without food or water for multiple days causes exhaustion - a stacking condition that can eventually kill you.

See food, drink, and lodging for costs.

Resting

Resting lets you recover from injuries:

• Short rest: At least 1 hour of rest. Spend Hit Dice to regain hit points.
• Long rest: At least 8 hours of sleep. Regain all hit points and half your maximum Hit Dice.

You can't benefit from more than one long rest in 24 hours.

Back to basics: Review What Is D&D? to refresh on the core concepts.