Is the DC for the first hour of a forced march 10 or 12?

Question

The Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 rules state:

A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required.

Does this mean that the check for the first hour is DC 10, the check for the second hour DC 12, etc? Or does it mean that first hour is DC 12, then DC 14, and so on? (That is, does the first hour count as an "extra hour" for the sake of the +2 to DC?)

Answer 1

After 8 hours and 1 second of walking, you roll a first DC10 Constitution check. If you fail, you take 1d6 of non-lethal damage and feel fatigue if they take that damage. If you decide to go beyond that, for each additional hour of walking, you need to roll again vs DC12, then DC14 etc.

Notice the absence of equation in the statement. It's not DC10 +2 per extra hour. It's DC10, +2 per extra hour.

Also notice that it's per extra hour. So the first 59 mins of walking beyond the 8 hours fall under the DC10 Con check.

Answer 2

Yes, the first hour over 8 counts as an extra hour.

The way that the forced march rules are worded can be a little confusing, but the DC is 10 + 2 for every hour after 8, not 10 + 2 for every hour after 9. The DC for marching 9 hours is 12.