What is the farthest someone can travel in 8 hours without teleporting?

Question

This question asks about the highest speed someone can go, so it is about maximizing burst speed. However, being able to travel 600 mph isn't really useful in combat. Perhaps it's useful in short 10-minute bursts, but it is less sustainable for overland travel.

One use of high speeds, though, is overland travel. You care more about your speed when you actually want to go to a far away place. But here, a character follows different rules that rely only on speed, and not action economy:

• In 1 minute, you can move a number of feet equal to your speed times 10.

• In 1 hour, you can move a number of miles equal to your speed divided by 10.

Given the following parameters:

• No teleportation

• Regular (not difficult) terrain

• The character level cannot be above level 12 (at level 13, casters gain teleportation magic, so this question becomes less relevant above level 12)

• Consumables (spells, potions, etc) are allowed, but minimize the use of consumables; ie, between two answers giving the same distance traveled, if one uses less consumables, that one is the better answer

• Magic items are allowed

• Help from others is allowed (buffs, spells, items, etc) as long as those others are themselves at most level 12

What is the farthest someone can travel in 8 hours?

Answer 1

I can improve on markovchain's answer by swapping a phantom steed for the wild-shaped druid. The phantom steed has a speed of 100 feet; we can improve this using the usual tricks (longstrider, transmuter stone, horseshoes of speed) to 150 feet, which means 15 miles per hour.

Like all creatures, the phantom steed can travel at +33% speed for a "fast pace" (this is what the line "or 13 miles at a fast pace" in the spell text means). This gives 20mph. markovchain offers two innovations: (1) an Elk Totem Barbarian can double this, and (2) the creature can "gallop" for one hour, which doubles this again. This gives 80mph.

Our phantom steed can gallop for only an hour, so we need eight phantom steeds to do this properly. If the DM rules that a horseshoes of speed can be reapplied to a new phantom steed very quickly, then our Elk Barbarian 6 can multiclass and take five levels of Transmuter Wizard, which will let her read the phantom steed spells from scrolls. She would need one scroll of longstrider and six scrolls of phantom steed in addition to her spell slots.

It's likely that the DM will rule that horseshoes of speed take significant time to put on a horse. (See: How long does your farrier take to shoe one horse?) If that's the case, then we need to assume the existence of courier stops, spaced every 80 miles along the route. Each courier stop would have a fresh phantom steed mount with the horseshoes already applied. Presumably a fifth-level wizard would supply the magic for each one.

80mph times eight hours gives 640 miles.

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The above is a good practical solution. For completeness, I should note there are less practical solutions which are faster -- for example, with a line of friendly wizards, spaced 500 feet apart, with readied actions to cast dimension door on you, you can move arbitrarily far in one turn. There's also cheese involving fast mounting and dismounting, or even just a line of Giants with readied actions to pass you from one to the next.

Answer 2

You can reach 1280 miles in 8 hours (160 mph) with the following technique:

The Party

Kobolds are selected since they weigh only 25 lbs

Barry is a Kobold Barbarian 6 for these features:

• Path of the Totem Warrior
• Aspect of the Beast: Elk

Palode is a Kobold Paladin 7 for these features:

• Oath of Glory
• Aura of Alacrity

Warforsh is a guild of 6 Kobold Monks 10/Druids 2 for these features:

• Mobile feat
• Unarmored Movement (Level 10)
• Wild Shape

Hastert is a guild of 41 Kobold Sorcerers 11/Wizard 1 led by Strido for these features:

• Font of Magic
• enhance ability spell
• Metamagic
• Extended Spell
• haste spell

Strida and her husband Strido are both Kobold Sorcerers 6/Wizards 6 for these features:

• Font of Magic
• Metamagic
• Twinned Spell
• longstrider spell
• School of Transumation
• Trasmuter's Stone

The Gear

• 16 sets of Horseshoes of Speed
• A Huge-sized wagon
• 40 Rings of Spell Storing with haste stored

The Journey

• At any given time two Warforsh are Wild Shaped as warhorses and pulling the wagon.
• They then gallop for an hour.
• As the next hour approaches, the next two Warforshed use Wild Shape and some of the kobolds gear them up with the Horseshoes of Speed.
• When the Warhorses can no longer gallop, they switch off (passing the Transmuter's Stones between them) with the newly equipped warhorses giving the others a chance to rest.

Strido

Strido's job is to concentrate on the enhance ability spell for Bull's Strength the entire journey so that two warhorses can carry the number of kobolds in the wagon.

To get all 8 spell slots and 16 sorcery points for Twinned enhance ability, Strido uses Font of Magic throughout the journey.

• 3 level 2 spell slots from Spellcasting
• 11 sorcery points from Font of Magic
• 3 level 3 spell slots are converted to sorcery points and then to level 2 spell slots
• 6 sorcery points are converted to level 2 spell slots
• 1 level 5 and 1 level 6 spell slots are converted to sorcery points

Strida

Strida's job is to keep longstrider on the warhorses pulling the wagon.

She needs 8 level 1 spell slots and 8 sorcery points for Twinned longstrider. Some necessary spell slots and sorcery points are acquired from Font of Magic.

• 4 level 1 spell slots from Spellcasting
• 6 sorcery points from Font of Magic
• 8 sorcery points converted to level 1 spell slots
• 1 level 4 spell slot converted to sorcery points

Hastert

The Hastert guild are tasked with taking shifts to concentrate on the haste spell throughout the journey (2 at a time with Extended Spell). This involves 480 castings of Extended haste divided among the 40 kobolds for 12 castings each.

Each of the members needs 8 level 3 spell slots and 24 sorcery points.

• 8 level 3-5 spell slots from Spellcasting
• 11 sorcery points from Font of Magic
• all other spell slots are converted to sorcery points for 27 total
• 3 level 3 slots are created leaving 12 sorcery points left over

Each member casts 1 haste spells from the Rings of Spell Storing they are attuned to.

Speed of the Wagon

The base speed of the wagon is calculated...

• Warhorse walking speed is 60 feet
• Unarmored Movement increases by 20 feet
• Mobile feat increases by 10 feet
• Horseshoes of Speed increases by 30 feet
• Aura of Alacrity increases by 10 feet
• Transmuter's Stone increases by 10 feet
• longstrider increases by 10 feet
• haste spell doubles
• Base Speed = (60+20+10+30+10+10+10)×2 = 300 feet or 30 mph

The Travel Pace is modified by...

• Fast Pace = × 1.333
• Galloping = × 2
• Aspect of the Beast: Elk = × 2
• Travel Pace is 160 mph which totals over 8 hours to 1280 miles

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Do all the kobolds fit?

Kobolds are small so they can squeeze in a space 2.5 × 2.5 feet. A Huge-size wagon is 15 × 15 feet, so as long as some of the kobolds are on top of the wagon, they fit easily.

Are they too heavy?

The maximum capacity for the wagon is 5× the capacity of the warhorses pulling, which is 540 lbs. for each horse, doubled from enhance ability, or 2160 lbs.

There are 49 kobolds in or on the wagon at any time totalling 25 × 49 or 1250 lbs., meaning even if you double the weight of the wagon (400 lbs. base) for being Huge-size, everything comes out fine.

Answer 3

320+ miles with Wind Walk. Possibly a little more if you were really, really dedicated. (Assuming you aren't going for a Peasant Railgun-style hunk of cheese here)

This 6th level spell gives a cluster of characters a 300' flight speed for 8 hours, no Concentration.

Looking at the DMG, page 242, we see that you can convert a character's Speed to how fast they can travel in an hour by dividing their speed by 10. Then, to get an 8-hour trek, we simply multiply that value by 8. And, for characters moving at a 'Fast Pace' we can increase the rate of travel by 1/3. The example of Wind Walk is explicitly called out in the DMG, where it has already done the math for us.

We see that Wind Walk (300' speed) gives us a speed of 30mph. In an 8 hour day, that translates to a 'normal' rate of 240 miles per day. But if we travel at a Fast Pace, that increases by 1/3, and becomes 320 miles per day.

Given the wording of Wind Walk, it is highly doubtful that this stacks with any persistent movement enhancing abilities. Hence me not including them. Any intermittent speed boosts don't last long enough to meaningfully contribute to your overland rate.

In theory, with a massively coordinated effort, we could exceed this pace, but it would require you to cast Haste a ludicrous number of times (as it only lasts for 1 minute). Each casting of Haste will increase the distance covered in a day by about 0.6 miles (though you'll stop every 60 seconds for 6 seconds as a result of the aftereffects of this spell. I rounded the value down to try to account for this). This is, really, the only way you can meaningfully increase your sustained speed beyond what Wind Walk already gives you. At peak, if Haste is cast on you 480 times throughout the day, you will double your speed and cover a little less than 640 miles.

If you want maximum cheese and severely questionable rule exploitation that no sane DM will ever permit at their table, get a line of Giants as long as possible, and have them pass you down the line. Per the rules as written, passing objects from one creature to another is an Item Interaction and can be done for free on a turn. This means that if the Giants all ready their Action to pass you to the next giant the moment they receive you...per the rules as written, you can travel a theoretically infinite distance in a single round. But again...the former option is the only one a sane DM would permit. (See also: The Peasant Railgun)

Answer 4

What is the farthest someone can travel in 8 hours?

Outside the box? Almost 1,000 miles, if they're falling the entire time. Terminal velocity for a human (and, therefore, a humanoid PC) is about 120 mph. Absent travel to the Plane of Air or subterranean bridges guarded by Balrogs, it's unlikely you'll find a way to fall such a distance, of course.

Otherwise, your answers are essentially identical to those on the other question since wind walk is only 6th level and it's virtually impossible to reach a sustained move speed of 300 otherwise, so the answer is 240 miles unless your DM rules effects can modify the speed granted by the spell. All you need to do is look at the answers on that question and eliminate the movement from bonus actions, Dash actions, effects which last less than an hour, etc.

Magical movement forms can be increased by fast pace according to the DMG p242, so you can fast pace travel with this spell to gain +33% distance for a total of 320 miles.

Ignoring wind walk:

Wood Elf: 35
Monk 6: +15
Barbarian 5: +10
borrowed Transmuter's Stone: +10
Mobile feat: +10
Longstrider from potion, wand, etc.: +10

That's a move of 90, so 72 miles.

However, that's the same movement as a Riding Horse with Horseshoes of Speed (60 + 30). A Druid 5 could add longstrider to that to get to move 100, or 10 miles in an hour. If 8 such mounts are available, such a character could ride all 8 hours at a fast pace, which allows you to cover double the distance, or 20 miles an hour. That's 160 miles.

Realistically, the phantom steed spell is probably the most practical method of travel. It's a ritual, and creates a mount with speed 100 for 1 hour that can travel at a fast pace of 13 miles (it's not made clear why it's 13 miles and not 20). That's 91 miles, assuming you spend spell slots three times and use 55 minutes to cast the ritual version 5 times. Or, if your DM rules you can cast the ritual from horseback, that would be 104 miles. Potentially more if your DM rules the steed can be a target of longstrider (+10) or benefit from Horseshoes of Speed (+30).

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Interestingly, it's actually difficult to say what the movement here does if our monk/barbarian above drops the Transmuter's stone and the longstrider effect or just climbs onto a riding horse. The rule of thumb given (1 mph per ever 10 feet of movement) is the special travel pace, and the +33% movement bonus is the fast special travel pace. The PHB says, "Certain special mounts, such as a pegasus or griffon, or special vehicles, such as a carpet of flying, allow you to travel more swiftly. [See the special pace rules in the DMG.]" The DMG then says:

The rules on travel pace in the Player's Handbook assume that a group of travelers adopts a pace that, over time, is unaffected by the individual members' walking speeds. The difference between walking speeds can be significant during combat, but during an overland journey, the difference vanishes as travelers pause to catch their breath, the faster ones wait for the slower ones, and one traveler's quickness is matched by another traveler's endurance.

A character bestride a phantom steed, soaring through the air on a carpet of flying, or riding a sailboat or a steam-powered gnomish contraption doesn't travel at a normal rate, since the magic, engine, or wind doesn't tire the way a creature does and the air doesn't contain the types of obstructions found on land. When a creature is traveling with a flying speed or with a speed granted by magic, an engine, or a natural force (such as wind or a water current), translate that speed into travel rates using [10' movement = 1 mph, fast pace is 133%, slow pace is 66%, et al].

--DMG p242

It's possible that this rule is meant to include anything that travels at a rate other than 30, but it's certainly not that clear. It actually sounds like the game assumes you will travel at a rate of 30 regardless of what you do unless you have some means of magically enhancing travel. You could have a party or Wood Elves outfitted with riding horses, and they'd move just as fast as a party of Halflings in full plate. In the real world, when travelling long distance by horse it's common to either move at a walking pace or alternate riding and walking to spare the animal, so perhaps this is what is intended. Still, it's strange that just casting longstrider on your horse changes you from 3-4 mph (6 mph for 1 hour) to 7-10 mph simply because you get to employ special travel pace rules.

Answer 5

Realistically attainable: 384 miles

Maximum given the constraints: 853.3 miles

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The Pledge

You can travel a distance of 384 miles in 8 hours using only:

• 1x Barbarian 6 (Elk Totem)

• 2x Druid 4, with Mobile feat

• 1x Transmuter's Stone

• 1x set of Horseshoes of Speed

The Turn

The first Druid uses Wild Shape to become a Warhorse, with a speed of 70ft (60ft + 10ft due to the Mobile feat). The Barbarian and Druid ride the Warhorse, with the Barbarian taking the reigns.

Using a single charge of Wild Shape, this form can be maintained for 2 hours. Afterwards, the second Druid will assume the Warhorse form as the first Druid's Wild Shape runs out.

Another 2 hours pass, and the second Druid's Wild Shape will run out. The first Druid, having "rested," assumes Warhorse form again. Then, 2 hours follow, and the Druids swap again.

On every swap, the following is done

• The Barbarian and other Druid attach the Horseshoes of Speed onto the Warhorse (+30ft)

• They give the Warhorse a transmuter's stone (+10ft).

• The "resting" Druid casts longstrider onto the Warhorse, for another +10ft.

The total speed of the Warhorse is 120ft. This establishes a normal travel pace of 12mph, and a fast travel pace of 16mph.

The Prestige

From PHB 181:

Mounts and Vehicles. For short spans of time (up to an hour), many animals move much faster than humanoids. A mounted character can ride at a gallop for about an hour, covering twice the usual distance for a fast pace.

From SCAG 122:

Elk. Whether mounted or on foot, your travel pace is doubled, as is the travel pace of up to ten companions while they're within 60 feet of you and you're not incapacitated

This establishes a doubled fast travel pace of 32mph due to the Elk totem.

Every even-numbered hour, since the Druids swap places, there is a new "fresh horse." This means, the Warhorses can move at a gallop, covering twice what they would normally cover: 64 miles in an hour.

Every odd-numbered hour, they can move at a "regular" fast pace, covering 32 miles in those hours.

This means the horses cover the following distances hourly: 64 miles, 32 miles, 64 miles, 32 miles, 64 miles, 32 miles, 64 miles, 32 miles. This totals 384 miles in all.

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^{* Both Druids could MC into Barbarian 5/Monk 2 to gain an extra +20ft of speed, and this would bring up the normal pace to 14mph. The total distance traveled here is 448 miles.}

^{* Carrying along an extra two Druids and a carriage allows one new Druid to Wild Shape every hour, allowing a sustained gallop pace for 8 hours. This brings up the total distance traveled to 512 miles.}

^{* Combining the above two raises the distance to 597.33 miles.}

^{* Allowing impracticality to affect the answer, a further +60ft speed can be earned by attuning 3 artifacts with a Major Beneficial property of +10 speed to each Druid; as well as having each Druid receive a Boon of Speed for the remaining +30ft. All in all, this produces a base speed of 200ft, or a normal pace of 20mph. The total distance traveled, combining all of the above, becomes 853.3 miles.}

Answer 6

I ask similar question:

ON foot:

RAW: ONE 30 mile travel distance at fast pace, taking 8 hours per long rest (& 1 long rest per day). there fore: 30 miles a day, regardless (unless see below)

Unless its powered by an engine, magic or some other non-biological means.

Increase from XGtE pg 80: cobblers tools > maintain shoes allows up to 10 hours travel (or a normal day's distance PLUS 4 miles per hour at fast pace, for 2 additional hours, 8 miles more), for a total of 38

MAX 38 miles in a day, RAW (for up to 6 creatures in footwear per "cobbler")

Unless you "push it" with "forced march"

Answer 7

(I made up this ability, but without an account I cannot delete this post) I have an answer that I think counts, but it might not be valid, be a warforged. warforged don’t get tired ever, meaning that a lenient DM would allow you to ignore travel pace and move at your max speed all the time.

the character would be a warforged druid/rogue (11 druid 2 rogue) or (10 druid 2 rogue with a scroll of windwalk). The warforged would cast windwalk on my themselves, and use 2 dash actions a round. That gives you 900 feet per round or 150 feet per second. 150 feet per second translates to 102.273 miles per hour or: 818.184 Miles in 8 hours