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Swimming across a rushing river, sneaking down a dungeon corridor, scaling a treacherous mountain slope—all sorts of movement play a key role in fantasy gaming adventures. The GM can summarize the adventurers’ movement without calculating exact distances or travel times: “You travel through the forest and find the dungeon entrance late in the evening of the third day.” Even in a dungeon, particularly a large dungeon or a cave network, the GM can summarize movement between encounters: “After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch.” Sometimes it’s important, though, to know how long it takes to get from one spot to another, whether the answer is in days, hours, or minutes. The rules for determining travel time depend on two factors: the speed and travel pace of the creatures moving and the terrain they’re moving over.

Travel Pace

Difficult terrain, special types of movement, climbing, swimming, and crawling.

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Travel and Pace

Travel and pacing.

Other movement penalties may apply, if the party has some movement restrictions (due to swimming, climbing, crawling and difficult terrain)

Travel (Map Pace)

Pace modifiers.

Climbing , Swimming and Crawling are at half speed (quarter for difficult terrain). Might require Str (Athletic) or Dex (Acrobatics) checks.

Forced March : Traveling more than 8 hrs in day risks Exhaustion. Each character must make a Con save throw at the end of each additional hr. DC 10+1 for each hr past 8 hrs. On a failed save, a character suffers one level of Exhaustion.

Mounts : Double travel distance for one hour (or more if fresh mounts available every 10 miles).

Vehicles : Wagons and carriages move at normal pace. Waterborne vessel have their own speed, and don't suffer pace penalties/benefits. Depending on a vessel (and crew), ships may be able to travel 24 hours a day.

Activities While Traveling : Characters performing activities while traveling (such as navigating, drawing a map, tracking or foraging) do not get a Passive Perception check.

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*Days assume characters travel for eight (8) hours. See Forced March rules in the PHB for longer travel periods.

D&D 5e Movement Speed

D&d movement speed to mph calculator, 5e travel speed, dnd speed chart, horse travel speed 5e, d&d travel time by horse, breakneck speeds.

All characters and monsters in Dungeons & Dragons receive a specific speed defined as the distance the creature can move in a single round, or what most consider to be around six seconds of in-game time. These designated speeds represent quick, spirited bursts of movement often spurred on by the threat of potential harm, generally during combat. Within D&D, a typical human has a speed of 30 feet, which may initially appear surprisingly high. However, the fastest people in the real world can run at speed nearly seven times that at a full sprint—though admittedly without a complete set of gear. Still, considering how powerful player characters become, 30 feet in six seconds may feel almost ordinary.

Though it may be arguably more fun, there's more to speed and travel than crossing a castle courtyard to punch a spider-horse in the kneecap. During campaigns, players may traverse boundless cities, sprawling nations, or clear across the world, and they're certainly not doing so 30 feet at a time. The basic rules provide a Travel Pace table for more extended expeditions. However, Fifth Edition established this table very early, before many of the expansions we know today. Due to this, it may not accurately consider your party's diverse races and abilities or various alternative methods of travel.

Players who journey longer distances can decide to move at a slow, normal, or fast pace. A slower pace allows the group to use stealth to help prevent detection or tracking, but they lose around a third of the distance they would normally travel. A faster rate will increase the traversed distance by thirty-three percent, but each party member will suffer a negative five penalty to their passive perception. Despite the group's choice, dungeon masters may also enforce travel exhaustion rules. When implemented, characters who continuously travel beyond eight hours per day must make a Constitution saving throw. The DC is ten plus the number of hours beyond eight, and characters suffer one level of exhaustion if failed.

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And here I am, using my legs like a sucker.

Travel is not limited to the strict bipedal efforts of player characters. While a giddy romp through the countryside has merits, those with a long expedition ahead and a coin to spare can invest in a good mount. There are many different types of mounts throughout Toril, able to traverse all manner of terrain. In most instances, these beasts readily outpace a typical humanoid. At a fast pace, a mounted character can often cover twice the distance of their standard speed, providing they allow the creature a brief rest every hour or so.

Characters may also travel by wagon, carriage, or other vehicles. Though typically powered by a mountable creature, a vehicle's size, weight, and capability often limit its overall speed, restricting the pace to normal. Waterborne vessels, flying ships, and other atypical travel methods may also have alternative benefits or limitations outlined in their descriptions. Regardless of the party's choice, vehicles may not initially seem worth the investment unless they decide to transport cargo. However, one particular advantage is freeing players' hands and minds to participate in more beneficial activities.

Having one or more team members keep watch as you travel is essential, but less observant members might be better suited to alternative tasks. With the dungeon master's permission, those players could help navigate to prevent getting lost, draw a map to record the group's position, track a creature they may be pursuing, or forage for passing food and water sources. Depending on the adventuring party's specific needs, these activities can be massively beneficial and would be far more difficult on the back of a galloping creature.

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Movement In D&D 5e Explained

Posted by Joab | Jan 17, 2021 | For Players | 5

It’s easy to overlook the importance of movement in D&D 5e.

But games, particularly those using miniatures and battle maps, rely heavily on characters’ positioning and movement speed. After all, it’s important to know how quickly you can close the gap between your character and the enemy (or get away if things are going bad!)

While spells, weapons, and armor tend to get the glory in combat, movement is the fine line between life and death for adventurers!

In addition to offensive uses, some types of movement also serve as defensive tactics. Flying and burrowing speeds open up entirely different dimensions of mobility for characters and monsters alike.

So today we’re going to take a look at movement in D&D 5e.

Table of Contents

Types of Movement in D&D 5e

We’ll start with the basic movement in D&D 5e.

The average character has a standard movement speed of 30 feet. Smaller races like gnomes and halflings typically have a movement speed of 25 feet.

This speed represents a character’s standard movement and is how far they can move in a single turn without taking the Dash action.

(You can learn more about the Dash action in our article that covers actions in combat )

It’s difficult to overstate how useful flying is!

It’s usually a quick and safe way of getting to where you’re going. Flying is a great way to avoid dangers and obstacles while also having tactical use in combat.

Flying can be a little tricky, but it fundamentally changes how everyone at the table is viewing the combat scenario. Rather than looking at the scene horizontally, everyone must now consider the vertical elements at play.

If used correctly, flying creatures’ mobility helps them hit way above their CR. They can keep out of range of melee attacks and may even be able to quickly get out of the range of many spells!

Creatures with flying speeds are able to engage or escape quickly. Because they would be clever enough to use their extra mobility to their advantage, they also get a major leg up in combat.

This is especially true if they have the “ flyby ” trait that allows them to not provoke opportunity attacks when leaving a character’s reach.

Looking over the Monster Manual , you may have seen creatures like the Beholder or Flameskull that have a hover speed. In a creature’s stat block, it would look like “fly 40ft (hover)” in the Speed section.

Hovering a defensive ability for these flying creatures.

Typically, a flying creature that is knocked prone, has its movement speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise unable to move will begin to fall.

This is obviously very bad for the creature. They lose their positioning, very likely take falling damage, and are probably getting dogpiled by the party.

If a creature has the ability to hover, however, they have considerably less to worry about. Finding themselves in such a situation, they are able to still hover in place until the effect in question ends. This means that they keep their positioning and avoid taking falling damage.

Some creatures in D&D 5e have a burrowing speed. Some common examples of creatures with the ability to burrow are bullettes, badgers, and umber hulks .

This type of movement speed can be very useful for getting around obstacles, surprising enemies, or making a getaway.

Because creatures that are burrowing can’t be seen, they can be very difficult to pin down. Spells and attacks that require the attacker to see the enemy are useless in these situations.

While larger creatures like Purple Worms may leave a tunnel that’s big enough to be ventured into, that’s still a very dangerous idea!

Burrowing may not be as fast as standard movement, but being able to dig through the ground opens up a whole world of creative and tactical uses!

Creatures with a climbing speed don’t need to make athletics checks for climbing surfaces. They can just do it!

A normal creature or character attempting to climb something would need to make an athletics check to do so. On a success, they climb at half of their movement speed.

Climbing is something that I personally feel is horribly underused in combat.

Giant spiders, most oozes, and more can be used to terrifying effect by using vertical elements in the terrain.

A spider might shoot its web from the top of the 15 ft tunnel to restrain a character before dropping down to bite it.

A black pudding ooze may lurk above the party to drop down on a straggling party member. When hurt, it may attempt to climb away out of reach to make an escape.

Much like how flying fundamentally changes how combat is being viewed, swimming is the same way. Rather than looking at the scene horizontally, we now have to also consider height and depth.

Like Climbing speed, creatures with a swimming speed do not have to make an athletics check to swim. They simply swim at the speed indicated on their stat block.

Creatures without a swim speed will need to make an athletics check. When swimming, creatures that do not have a swim speed travel at half of their normal movement speed.

I feel like underwater combat deserves its own article because there is so much that goes into it. I’ll write that up soon.

As it relates to movement, a character without a swimming speed treats water as difficult terrain.

Mixing Up Your Movement in D&D 5e

Using different movement speeds.

So what happens if a character or creature has multiple movement speeds?

It is possible to mix up your movement using whichever speeds are appropriate given the circumstance.

In this case, subtract the distance that you have already moved from the new movement’s speed and continue on. The difference is how far you can continue to move with the new movement. If the result is 0 or less, you cannot use the new movement speed this turn.  

I admit that this can get a bit confusing, but let’s use an example!

The Players Handbook mentions this with the example of a wizard casting the Fly spell on your character.

Let’s assume that your character has a movement speed of 30ft plus their newly-acquired flying speed of 60 ft.

In this case, you might choose to fly 20 feet to get to the top of a wall where your ally is fighting some hobgoblins. You land on the wall and run 10 feet forward to attack a hobgoblin, striking it down.

Because you flew 20 feet and walked 10, that is subtracted from your fly speed of 60 feet granted by the Fly spell.

Upon slaying the hobgoblin, you can take back to the air with another 30 feet of flying movement.

Moving Between Attacks

Your movement is not a distinct phase of your turn. Rather, it represents the maximum amount that your character is able to move throughout their turn.

Because of this, characters can absolutely choose to break up their movement throughout their turn.

A character might move 10 feet forward and use their first attack on Goblin A. Slaying Goblin A, the character then moves an extra 20 feet forward and attacks Goblin B.

Conclusion – Movement in D&D 5e

Movement is such a vital part of combat and exploration in D&D.

You want to make sure that you’re aware of all of the options available to you when it comes to how you move and position yourself.

For Dungeon Masters, understanding these different movements is particularly important.

Not only do you want to be able to clarify the mechanics for your players, but how creatures move should certainly be a major consideration when planning an encounter!

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Part-time Druid, Full-time Hobo. Obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons and a close personal friend of Pocket (an interdimensional teleporting ferret).

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That is a bit of bullshit. Why can’t you have small creatures that are fast? They do exist in real life. Not having this means you cannot have conditions where you have to fight large mobs of weak but fast creatures. Think 5000 rats each dealing 1 damage and die as soon as you hit them, but they move 5 times faster than you and can atack 100 at the same time. That would be a real challenge and a TPK for any group with AOE magic no matter how strong or tanky.

Hi Ciprian!

Most smaller characters are limited to 25 feet of movement, but monsters/enemies can be all over the place!

One of my favorite enemies to throw against players is the Quickling. They’re tiny creatures with a CRAZY movement speed of 120 feet!

A type of mega-swarm of rats like you mentioned could make for a very interesting encounter. The standard rat swarm moves 30 feet, but as a DM you’re always able to make changes to creatures’ stat blocks that you feel are appropriate for the encounter you’re creating.

Challenges like you mentioned where the party has to outrun and outwit enemies instead of just doing the most damage can be a great way to add variety and tension to the game! 🙂

I’m not sure if i understand the logic behind switching movement type. If a monster has a walk speed of 30ft and burrowing of 5ft, it can burrow 5ft then walk 25ft, but if instead it walks 5ft first then it can no longer burrow at all for the round and can only walk with the remaining 25ft?

Hi Alexandre!

It’s less dependent on the order of movement types. Of its 30 feet of total movement, 5 feet of that can be burrowing.

So a creature could walk 25 feet then burrow 5 feet or it could burrow up 5 feet from the ground then walk 25 feet.

For example, let’s say the party’s Wizard casts Fly on the Paladin. The Paladin now has a flight speed of 60 feet. Of this 60 feet of movement, 30 can be walking.

The Paladin can run 30 feet and then take to the air for the remaining 30. Or they could fly 30 feet then run the next 30 if they needed. If they’re just being silly, they could alternate between flying and running in 10 feet increments until they’ve moved the total of 60 feet.

Hope this helps! 🙂

I think you are wrong, IF fly grants you 60 feet and you can walk 30 then you are moving at 2 to 1 while flying, so in your instance if you flew 20 feet you can still walk 10 feet and then you can only still fly 20 feet afterwards. if i mathed correctly. As for the burrow speed that is your max burrow, you can’t dig 5 feet and walk 25. burrow is 1/6 your speed so you burrow 5 you can’t move afterwards.

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Movement – How to Play DnD 5e – RPGBOT

• Introduction

Dungeons and Dragons is fundamentally a game about adventuring, and adventuring typically requires movement from time to time. Even if your campaign takes place in a relatively small area, you will need to move about between various points of interest.

Table of Contents

Travel scale, tactical scale, movement types, mixing movement types, difficult terrain, marching order.

While these terms of not used in the official text, I find it helpful to think of movement on two scales: travel scale, and tactical scale. These are useful for conceptually separating movement across scales where distance doesn’t need to be precisely measured (Travel Scale) and a scale where precise location is often important for the purposes of traps, enemies, and other dangers.

Travel scale is useful for handling movement across areas larger than a room or a small building. Even if you’re just going across the street, it’s often faster and just as effective to track movement on a broader, less-specific scale. Much like Narrative Time, Travel Scale can often be abstractly tracked or tracked by measures large enough that minor amounts aren’t important. For example: If you’re travelling 10 miles, a distance of a few hundred feet isn’t important enough to track. If you’re walking from one side of a castle to the other, it will probably take a few minutes and tracking your foot-by-foot movement is both tedious and rarely important. Even if you’re just crossing a 10 by 10 room, you can often track movement on “Travel Scale” so long as there’s no chance of anything violent or dangerous happening.

Tactical Scale is typically used for combat or for exploring dangerous areas like dungeons where any given 5-foot square might set off a trap or someother hazard, and where your precise position is important in the event that you stumble upon a hostile creature and combat breaks out. At this scale movement is often slow in real-world time, but this is a scale at which you should move cautiously and deliberately, watching your surroundings constantly for signs of danger.

Nearly every creature (with some very unusual exceptions) has a Speed. This measures the creature’s ability to move during a single turn in combat, and Speed is always measured in feet at 5-foot steps, so a creature might have a Speed of 30 ft. or 35 ft., but you will never see a creature with a speed of 32 ft. or any other amount that can’t be evenly divided by 5.

Dungeons and Dragons presents four types of movement, each of which work a little bit differently, but the primary difference is how they allow a creature to move. All creatures have a land speed listed in their stat blocks, but creatures without the ability to move on land (like fish) typically have a listed land speed of 0 ft.

Land Speed is the most common type, and represents walking, crawling, slithering, or any other type of movement which takes place on a mostly horizontal surface. Humans have a land speed of 30 ft.

In many cases the official rules text will specify “speed” without specifying a type, which is often confusing. In general, if something gives you a speed (such as your character’s race) without specifying a type, it’s a land speed. If an effect modifies your existing speed (such as the haste spell or the Barian’s and Monk’s speed bonuses) it applies to any movement type which your character has naturally (such as land speed for a human or swim speed for a fish), but not to any additional movement types which you might have (such as a fly speed granted by a spell).

Burrow Speed represents a creature’s ability to move quickly underground by burrowing. This is typically limited to moving through “loose earth” such as sand or dirt, but creature’s can’t burrow through solid stone without an ability which specifically allows them to do so such as the Earth Elemental’s Earth Glide ability. Moving this way does not leave a tunnel or other passage unless the creature has an ability which causes it to do so, such as the Purple Worm’s Tunneler ability.

For more on Burrow speeds, see page 8 of the Monster Manual.

Climb Speed represents a creature’s ability to climb vertical surfaces. While nearly all creatures can climb, creatures with a climb speed are abnormally good at it. For these creatures, moving up a wall is as easy as it is for a human to walk on even ground. These creatures include creatures like monkeys and spiders.

Some creatures also have the ability to climb upside down on horizontal surfaces. This usually comes from the Spider Climb ability or from the spider climb spell.

Even if you don’t have a climb speed (most Player Characters won’t), you can still climb most of the time. Doing so costs 2 ft. of movement for each 1 ft. moved, which essentially means that you move at half of your speed while climbing. If the surface is difficult to climb, the Dungeon Master may require a Strength (Athletics) check to climb the surface. If a surface is impossible for you to climb, such as a perfectly smooth wall, the DM may simply disallow climbing it.

For more on climbing, see page 182 of the Player’s Handbook. For more on Climb speeds, see page 8 of the Monster Manual.

Fly Speed represents a creature’s ability to move through the air, by either mundane wings like wings or by magical means like spells. Creatures are free to move up or down, to change directions in place, and to hover in place regardless of real-world physical complications like momentum and thrust.

Despite the clear advantages of flight, it also has some risks: If a creature’s fly speed is reduced to 0 (such as if the creature is grappled, restrained, or paralyzed) or if it is otherwise unable to move, it falls unless it has the “Hover” ability or it flies magically. If a creature has a fly speed and the Hover ability, “(Hover)” will be displayed following the creature’s fly speed. For more on falling, see Falling, below.

For more on fly speeds, see page 191 of the Player’s Handbook and page 8 of the Monster Manual.

Swim Speed represents a creature’s ability to swim through water and other liquids. While nearly all creatures can swim, creatures with a swim speed are abnormally good at it. For these creatures, moving through water is as easy as it is for a human to walk across even ground. These creatures include creatures like fish, whales, and tritons.

Even if you don’t have a swim speed, you can still swim most of the time. Doing so costs 2 ft. of movement for each 1 ft. moved, which essentially means that you can move at half your speed while swimming. If the liquid is difficult to swim through, such as a fast-moving river, the Dungeon Master may require a Strength (Athletics) check to swim safely.

For more on swimming, see page 182 of the Player’s Handbook. For more on swim speeds, see page 8 of the Monster Manual.

Creatures with multiple movement types can use any number of them during their turn. However you’re moving, you deduct the distance of each part of your move from your speed until it is used up or until you are done moving.

If you have multiple movement types, some may allow you to move different amounts. In this case, movement of any type is still subtracted from all of your movement speeds. For example: the giant badger has 30 ft. speed and a 10 ft. burrow speed. If a giant badger walks 10 feet on its turn, it can no longer use its burrow speed, but could walk another 20 feet. If it instead burrowed 10 feet, it could then walk another 20 feet before expending its movement for the turn.

In many cases, you will encounter “difficult terrain”. Diffcult terrain costs 2 ft. of movement for every 1 ft. that you travel through it, effectively meaning that you move at half speed through difficult terrain.

Difficult terrain can take a variety of forms. At Tactical Scale, this typically means rubble, uneven ground, heavy foliage, or some other impediment which you can’t simply walk or run through. At Travel Scale, this might be marching through a forest or through rocky terrain with frequent elevation changes.

Moving long distances between locations requires travel of one kind or another. Though walking overland is common, you might also ride on horseback, in a wagon, or aboard a ship. At higher levels you might gain the ability to fly overland using spells like air walk , magic items like a flying carpet, or special mounts like griffons or pegasi.

The minutiae of traveling long distances are covered on page 181-182 of the Player’s Handbook under “Travel Pace”. You don’t need to know these rules off the top of your head, but you’ll want to reference that section whenever you’re traveling long distances. The official text also covers the mechanics for things like foraging, drawing a map as you travel, navigating to avoid getting lost.

One important things that may be helpful to know off the top of your head: all creatures travel at roughly the same pace, regardless of their speed. This requires some suspension of disbelief since creatures with 5 ft. speed move as fast as a horse as the rules are written, but it also makes it much easier for halflings in your party to keep up with everyone else.

When moving between locations, it can be helpful to establish a “Marching Order”. This is helpful for the Dungeon Master to know roughly where everyone in the party is positioned in the event of an ambush, a trap, or another hazard.

This could easily be called a “formation”, but the term “Marching Order” dates back to Dungeons and Dragons’ earliest days, where marching single-file through narrow dungeon corridors was the defining mode of travel. Now adventures take place in more diverse locales, but the term “Marching Order” has stood the test of time.

A marching order is divided into one or more “ranks”. The front and back ranks can hold as many members as can fit side-by-side, while middle ranks can fit as many members as you like. If you only have two ranks, they are by definition front and back ranks.

While you’re traveling in open areas like along a road or through a field, you have plenty of room to freely form your Marching Order, so you might choose to have a dozen characters in the front rank while leaving just one in each of several other ranks. In a narrow dungeon corridor, you are much more restricted: you might even be forced to march single-file, putting one character in the front, another in the back, and the rest of the party in any number of middle ranks.

When deciding who to place in each rank, it’s helpful to consider two factors: The characters’ Passive Perception, and their ability to survive unexpected hazards like a sudden monster attack or an unnoticed trap. Noticing a problem before it affects you can prevent a lot of trouble, but if you don’t see something coming you want whoever is in the front and back ranks to survive whatever hits them. Frail characters who have low HP or poor AC should typically be placed in the relative safety of the middle ranks.

If you’re having trouble visualising marching order, consider a group of people walking on a sidewalk. A small group may be able to stand side-by-side, forming a single rank. However, if the sidewalk is too narrow, the group may split up into multiple ranks of people standing alongside each other. A few people might form a front rank, typically choosing the direction of the group as a whole. Depending on the size of the group, one or more groups of people might form middle ranks. Finally, one or more people will form the back rank, marking the rear of the group.

You may perform either a high jump or a long jump. You may perform a long jump to move horizontally a number of feet equal to your Strength score, and you may perform a high jump to move a number of feet equal to three plus your Strength modifier (not your Strength score), provided that you move 10 ft. along the ground immediately before performing either kind of jump. If you perform a standing jump, these distances are halved.

There are some additional specifics to the rules for jumping, so if you need to know things like how high you can reach with a high jump or how high you jump with a long jump, see page 182 of the Player’s Handbook.

While in combat, you may jump as part of your normal movement during a turn. Any horizontal distance that you travel while jumping counts against your movement for the turn just like walking would. If you attempt to jump and run out of movement, your jump ends at the limit of your movement. For example, if you have a speed of 30 ft. and a Strength of 10, you can jump 10 ft. following moving 10 ft. on the ground. If you moved 25 ft. before jumping, you could only jump 5 ft. before exhausting your 30 ft. of movement. However, if you take the Dash action to gain additional movement (giving you a total of 60 ft. of movement for the turn), your jump could continue and you would still have 25 ft. of your 60 ft. of movement for the turn. You probably even have enough room to get another 10 ft. running start before performing another jump, provided that the terrain cooperates.

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About The Author

T.E. "RPGBOT" Kamstra

Tyler "RPGBOT" Kamstra has been the author of RPGBOT.net since 2013. Tyler began playing tabletop RPGs with 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons over 20 years ago. Tyler has a long-standing love for building characters and for game mechanics, and brings that enthusiasm to everything he creates.

Travel Calculator

The party can travel up to 40 miles per day.

Remember...

With a forced march, you can travel an additional 5 miles per hour.

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Speed in DnD 5e: How to find and improve your Speed

In Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition , your ability to move around the battlefield is the first thing you need to know. Speed is the measurement of said ability and is one of the most important things to know about your character. Thankfully, once you find it the first time, it’s a piece of cake to find it again.

Speed is the number of feet (or meters) that a character is able to move in a single-move action in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It is an approximation of how far a character can move in around two seconds of action when in a fight.

Because speed is often conflated with combat, we will reference “squares” of movement in this guide. A single square of movement is equivalent to five feet (or 1.5 meters) of distance. In 5E , diagonal movement does not cost additional squares, meaning that for every five feet of speed a character has, they can move in any direction by one square.

Table of contents

Different types of speed

Classes that improve speed, feats that improve speed, magic for speed improvements, how to debuff enemy speed in 5e, how to find my speed in dnd 5e.

Your speed is an aspect of your race in Dungeons & Dragons 5E . When you select a race, under ability scores, you will see a size and speed category. That is what your speed is with no other modifiers, such as armor, magical spells, or class features. You will also want to keep note of any alternative types of speed that a race may have.

Let’s take the Custom Lineage option from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything as an example. That race has 30 feet of speed (or six squares), which is the standard among races. Most races start with this much movement speed, with a few marked exceptions. Mainly:

• A few races, such as the Wood Elf , Wood Half-Elf , or Dhampir have a speed of 35 feet. The Centaur race has a base speed of 40 feet.

• Several races feature a speed of 25 feet, including Dwarves, Gnomes, and Halflings. This is to represent the fact that they have shorter legs or have a harder time moving from one place to another. Aarakocra , from the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion, use their wings more than their legs and thus have a lower walking speed by default.

On a given turn, a member of a race may walk their speed as part of their move action and may do so again by taking the dash action. This number represents the number of squares they may move across the ground while unhindered and encountering no obstacles.

Difficult terrain, which is any square that has a significant obstacle (such as brambles, gusts of wind, or muddy ground), is the primary obstacle for movement. If a creature moves through difficult terrain, they must spend double the amount of speed per square they move through—usually 10 feet. This only lasts while the target is in the difficult terrain, so they’ll get their normal speed back once they’re out of said terrain.

Some races have alternative types of speed other than walking. These races will have a second number for their speed and reference either climb, fly, or swim in the entry. They will also commonly have a listing in their racial features describing under what circumstances that movement speed applies.

A climb speed means that a creature may move along walls without need for purchase, as long as those walls are realistically climbable, and do not need to roll ability checks to do so. For example, the Tabaxi has a climb speed of 20 feet. That means when they are next to a wall, they may move along that wall as if it were a floor. This does not mean they can climb on surfaces designed to not be penetrated by claws, such as a waterfall. They still need purchase.

A fly speed means that a creature may move through the air at will. An Aarakocra has a fly speed of 50 feet, as long as they are not wearing medium or heavy armor. That means they can move in any direction through the air as if it were the ground. They can alternatively move upwards or downwards—and diagonally upwards or downwards—by spending five feet of fly speed.

A swim speed means that a creature may move through water freely, without ability checks. A Lizardfolk, for example, has 30 feet of swim speed. That means, in the water, they can move horizontally in any direction just like they were walking. They may also swim underwater in any direction—upwards, downwards, horizontally, and diagonally in every way—by spending five feet of movement.

If your race has an alternative speed, that speed is not separate from their walking speed. For example, a Lizardfolk may not swim 30 feet and then walk 30 feet. Instead, it is designed to be portioned out.

For instance, a Tabaxi may walk 15 feet and then climb 10 feet—they have used half of their walking speed and half of their climbing speed. That is their full movement available to them, so they would have to dash if they wanted to climb more.

Your movement speed does not affect how quickly you perform overland travel. A party of dwarves and a party of centaurs, by default, can travel at the same speed using the default travel pace rules.

This ruling can differ from DM to DM. As the rulebook suggests, however, everyone moves at a 300 feet-per-minute, three-mile-per-hour pace when traveling normally. They can up this to 400 feet per minute, but they will then take a minus-five to passive Perception DCs . They can alternatively downgrade it to 200 feet per minute to use stealth.

How to improve my speed in 5E

Thankfully, after you select your race, you still can get abilities that can further improve your speed. These normally will come from classes, feats, or spells that apply movement speed bonuses.

The Barbarian and Monk each have the ability to naturally boost movement speed. The Barbarian gets a +10 to speed at level five, while the Monk gains a +10-30 to their speed from levels two to 18. The Barbarian cannot be wearing heavy armor—and the Monk can’t wear any armor—to benefit from their movement speed bonuses. Several subclasses, such as the Gloomstalker , gain additional speed bonuses in specific circumstances.

Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Ranger build in BG3

By default, if a feature talks about increasing speed, it refers to all speed types that the character has access to. For instance, a Lizardfolk Barbarian who reaches level five improves both walking speed and swim speed to 40 feet. A level 18 Monk who has the Fly spell cast on them receives that +30 bonus to their magical flight speed.

Some subclasses will specify what type of speed it improves, however. For example, the Scout Rogue gains a walking, climbing, or swimming speed buff of +10 feet. They cannot apply it to a fly speed if they were to receive one.

The following subclasses have ways to buff their own speed or their ally’s speed.

• Alchemists and Armorer Artificers
• Beast and Totem Warrior Barbarians
• Swords and Spirit Bards
• Psi Warrior Fighters
• Drunken Master Monks
• Glory Paladins
• Gloomstalker Rangers
• Scout Rogues
• Bladesinging, Graviturgy, and Transmutation Wizards

Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Best Wizard subclass in BG3

This list does not include subclasses that have features that allow a character to move as a reaction or bonus action. These all can provide numerical bonuses to speed at some point in their feature progression.

There are two feats that buff speed in 5E . They are Mobile and Squat Nimbleness.

The Mobile feat is the only one in 5E that actively provides a strict bonus to speed with no caveats. That feat improves your speed by +10, allows you to ignore difficult terrain when you dash, and lets you avoid opportunity attacks from a creature you attack.

The Squat Nimbleness feat improves the speed of Dwarves and Small races by five feet. It has the additional bonuses of proficiency in athletics or acrobatics, advantage to escape being grappled, and a plus-one to Strength or Dexterity.

Spells are a common way to improve the speed of your allies, either by giving them superior speed options or by buffing the speed they already have. The following spells are useful for making party members go farther.

• Ashardalon’s Stride for a +20 to speed.
• Draconic Transformation , Fly, and Investiture of Wind give 60 feet of flight.
• Haste doubles the speed of your target.
• Longstrider improves speed by 10 feet.
• Spider Climb gives a climb speed.
• Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise gives 40 feet of flight.
• Wind Walk gives a flying speed of 300 feet, though restricts combat actions to dashing.

Debuffing enemy speed can be somewhat easier than buffing your own. Classes, feats, and magic alike can have abilities that debuff enemy speed.

• The Arcane Archer’s Grasping Arrow slows down the target by 10 feet.
• The Storm Herald Barbarian can activate their Tundra feature to reduce their target’s speed by zero within their storm aura.
• The Slow spell, for example, halves movement speed.
• Rime’s Binding Ice reduces speed to zero for any target in its cone.
• However, spells like Sleet Storm can apply difficult terrain to the area it is in.
• The Slasher feat, one of our favorites , reduces the hit target’s speed by 10 feet.
• The new Fury of the Frost Giant and Soul of the Storm Giant feats also reduce speed through hits or auras.
• The Sentinel feat reduces enemy speed to zero when hitting with opportunity attacks.

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Travel Calculator

Use this tool to quickly find out how long it will take your 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons party to travel a given distance, depending on their pace and other factors. Simply provide the distance to travel below, and we'll do the math for you.

Keepers can also specify terrain, mounts, vehicles, spell effects (Wind Walk, anyone?), activities/conditions, and ranger favored terrains to get more precise results.

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Special Types of Movement

Swimming across a rushing river, sneaking down a dungeon corridor, scaling a treacherous mountain slope--all sorts of movement play a key role in fantasy gaming adventures.

The GM can summarize the adventurers' movement without calculating exact distances or travel times: "You travel through the forest and find the dungeon entrance late in the evening of the third day." Even in a dungeon, particularly a large dungeon or a cave network, the GM can summarize movement between encounters: "After killing the guardian at the entrance to the ancient dwarven stronghold, you consult your map, which leads you through miles of echoing corridors to a chasm bridged by a narrow stone arch."

Sometimes it's important, though, to know how long it takes to get from one spot to another, whether the answer is in days, hours, or minutes. The rules for determining travel time depend on two factors: the speed and travel pace of the creatures moving and the terrain they're moving over.

Every character and monster has a speed, which is the distance in feet that the character or monster can walk in 1 round. This number assumes short bursts of energetic movement in the midst of a life-threatening situation. The following rules determine how far a character or monster can move in a minute, an hour, or a day.

Travel Pace

While traveling, a group of adventurers can move at a normal, fast, or slow pace, as shown on the Travel Pace table. The table states how far the party can move in a period of time and whether the pace has any effect. A fast pace makes characters less perceptive, while a slow pace makes it possible to sneak around and to search an area more carefully.

Forced March. The Travel Pace table assumes that characters travel for 8 hours in day. They can push on beyond that limit, at the risk of exhaustion.

For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, the characters cover the distance shown in the Hour column for their pace, and each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of exhaustion.

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. If fresh mounts are available every 8 to 10 miles, characters can cover larger distances at this pace, but this is very rare except in densely populated areas.

Characters in wagons, carriages, or other land vehicles choose a pace as normal. Characters in a waterborne vessel are limited to the speed of the vessel, and they don't suffer penalties for a fast pace or gain benefits from a slow pace. Depending on the vessel and the size of the crew, ships might be able to travel for up to 24 hours per day.

Certain special mounts, such as a pegasus or griffon, or special vehicles, such as a carpet of flying , allow you to travel more swiftly.

Difficult Terrain

The travel speeds given in the Travel Pace table assume relatively simple terrain: roads, open plains, or clear dungeon corridors. But adventurers often face dense forests, deep swamps, rubble-filled ruins, steep mountains, and ice-covered ground--all considered difficult terrain.

You move at half speed in difficult terrain--moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed--so you can cover only half the normal distance in a minute, an hour, or a day.

Movement through dangerous dungeons or wilderness areas often involves more than simply walking. Adventurers might have to climb, crawl, swim, or jump to get where they need to go.

Climbing, Swimming, and Crawling

While climbing or swimming, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in difficult terrain), unless a creature has a climbing or swimming speed. At the GM’s option, climbing a slippery vertical surface or one with few handholds requires a successful Strength (Athletics) check. Similarly, gaining any distance in rough water might require a successful Strength (Athletics) check.

Your Strength determines how far you can jump.

Long Jump. When you make a long jump, you cover a number of feet up to your Strength score if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing long jump, you can leap only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement.

This rule assumes that the height of your jump doesn't matter, such as a jump across a stream or chasm. At your GM's option, you must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear a low obstacle (no taller than a quarter of the jump's distance), such as a hedge or low wall. Otherwise, you hit it.

When you land in difficult terrain, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to land on your feet. Otherwise, you land prone.

High Jump. When you make a high jump, you leap into the air a number of feet equal to 3 + your Strength modifier if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing high jump, you can jump only half that distance. Either way, each foot you clear on the jump costs a foot of movement. In some circumstances, your GM might allow you to make a Strength (Athletics) check to jump higher than you normally can.

You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach above you a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1 1/2 times your height.

D&D 5e Travel Time Calculator

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There are three movement scales, as follows.

• Tactical, for combat, measured in feet (or squares) per round.
• Local, for exploring an area, measured in feet per minute.
• Overland, for getting from place to place, measured in miles per hour or miles per day.

Modes of Movement

While moving at the different movement scales, creatures generally walk, hustle, or run.

A walk represents unhurried but purposeful movement at 3 miles per hour for an unencumbered human.

A hustle is a jog at about 6 miles per hour for an unencumbered human. A character moving his or her speed twice in a single round, or moving that speed in the same round that he or she performs a standard action or another move action is hustling when he or she moves.

Run (×3)

Moving three times speed is a running pace for a character in heavy armor. It represents about 7 miles per hour for a human in full plate.

Run (×4)

Moving four times speed is a running pace for a character in light, medium, or no armor. It represents about 14 miles per hour for an unencumbered human, or 10 miles per hour for a human in chainmail.

Tactical Movement

Use tactical movement for combat. Characters generally don’t walk during combat—they hustle or run. A character who moves his or her speed and takes some action is hustling for about half the round and doing something else the other half.

Hampered Movement

Difficult terrain, obstacles, or poor visibility can hamper movement. When movement is hampered, each square moved into usually counts as two squares, effectively reducing the distance that a character can cover in a move.

If more than one condition applies, multiply together all additional costs that apply. (This is a specific exception to the normal rule for doubling)

In some situations, your movement may be so hampered that you don’t have sufficient speed even to move 5 feet (1 square). In such a case, you may use a full-round action to move 5 feet (1 square) in any direction, even diagonally. Even though this looks like a 5-foot step, it’s not, and thus it provokes attacks of opportunity normally. (You can’t take advantage of this rule to move through impassable terrain or to move when all movement is prohibited to you.)

You can’t run or charge through any square that would hamper your movement.

Local Movement

Characters exploring an area use local movement, measured in feet per minute.

A character can walk without a problem on the local scale.

A character can hustle without a problem on the local scale. See Overland Movement, below, for movement measured in miles per hour.

A character with a Constitution score of 9 or higher can run for a minute without a problem. Generally, a character can run for a minute or two before having to rest for a minute.

Overland Movement

Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. Overland movement is measured in miles per hour or miles per day. A day represents 8 hours of actual travel time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing ship, it represents 24 hours.

A character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem. Walking for longer than that can wear him or her out (see Forced March , below).

A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage , and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued .

A fatigued character can’t run or charge and takes a penalty of -2 to Strength and Dexterity. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue.

A character can’t run for an extended period of time.

Attempts to run and rest in cycles effectively work out to a hustle.

The terrain through which a character travels affects how much distance he or she can cover in an hour or a day (see Table: Terrain and Overland Movement ). A highway is a straight, major, paved road. A road is typically a dirt track. A trail is like a road, except that it allows only single-file travel and does not benefit a party traveling with vehicles. Trackless terrain is a wild area with no paths.

Forced March

In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The rest of the daylight time is spent making and breaking camp, resting, and eating.

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. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage . A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued . Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It’s possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.

Mounted Movement

A mount bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage it takes when doing so, however, is lethal damage, not nonlethal damage . The creature can also be ridden in a forced march , but its Constitution checks automatically fail, and, again, the damage it takes is lethal damage. Mounts also become fatigued when they take any damage from hustling or forced marches.

See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for mounted speeds and speeds for vehicles pulled by draft animals.

Waterborne Movement

See Table: Mounts and Vehicles for speeds for water vehicles.

Moving In Three Dimensions

Tactical aerial movement.

Once movement becomes three-dimensional and involves turning in midair and maintaining a minimum velocity to stay aloft, it gets more complicated. Most flying creatures have to slow down at least a little to make a turn, and many are limited to fairly wide turns and must maintain a minimum forward speed. Each flying creature has a maneuverability, as shown on Table: Maneuverability . The entries on the table are defined below.

Minimum Forward Speed

If a flying creature fails to maintain its minimum forward speed, it must land at the end of its movement. If it is too high above the ground to land, it falls straight down, descending 150 feet in the first round of falling. If this distance brings it to the ground, it takes falling damage. If the fall doesn’t bring the creature to the ground, it must spend its next turn recovering from the stall. It must succeed on a DC 20 Reflex save to recover. Otherwise it falls another 300 feet. If it hits the ground, it takes falling damage. Otherwise, it has another chance to recover on its next turn.

The ability to stay in one place while airborne.

Move Backward

The ability to move backward without turning around.

A creature with good maneuverability uses up 5 feet of its speed to start flying backward.

How much the creature can turn after covering the stated distance.

Turn in Place

A creature with good or average maneuverability can use some of its speed to turn in place.

Maximum Turn

How much the creature can turn in any one space.

The angle at which the creature can climb.

How fast the creature can climb.

The angle at which the creature can descend.

A flying creature can fly down at twice its normal flying speed.

Between Down and Up

An average, poor, or clumsy flier must fly level for a minimum distance after descending and before climbing. Any flier can begin descending after a climb without an intervening distance of level flight.

Evasion And Pursuit

In round-by-round movement, simply counting off squares, it’s impossible for a slow character to get away from a determined fast character without mitigating circumstances. Likewise, it’s no problem for a fast character to get away from a slower one.

When the speeds of the two concerned characters are equal, there’s a simple way to resolve a chase: If one creature is pursuing another, both are moving at the same speed, and the chase continues for at least a few rounds, have them make opposed Dexterity checks to see who is the faster over those rounds. If the creature being chased wins, it escapes. If the pursuer wins, it catches the fleeing creature.

Sometimes a chase occurs overland and could last all day, with the two sides only occasionally getting glimpses of each other at a distance. In the case of a long chase, an opposed Constitution check made by all parties determines which can keep pace the longest. If the creature being chased rolls the highest, it gets away. If not, the chaser runs down its prey, outlasting it with stamina.

Moving Around In Squares

In general, when the characters aren’t engaged in round-by-round combat, they should be able to move anywhere and in any manner that you can imagine real people could. A 5-foot square, for instance, can hold several characters; they just can’t all fight effectively in that small space. The rules for movement are important for combat, but outside combat they can impose unnecessary hindrances on character activities.

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• How to Make a North Beach Cooler, the Devastatingly Tasty Tequila Cocktail

An ode to the ground-breaking bartending competition Speed Rack.

Jason o'bryan, jason o'bryan's most recent stories.

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“Speed Rack,” the book begins, “is a great many things to a great many people.” And while this is a cliche, in this case, it is also undeniably true. What is Speed Rack? That depends on who you are.

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If you’re in or around the bar industry, Speed Rack is a blast—part sporting event, part performance recital, it’s a sweaty, raucous, hot-pink frenzy of booze and fun. Competitions are held all over (up to 12 a year) and they’re a chance to scream for your friend or coworker, to catch up with old friends, and to affirm the sense of community that is so pervasive throughout the cocktail world.

The recipes are great, and we could’ve picked any one of them to feature, but for seasonality, ease of creation, and honestly for sheer deliciousness, we kept coming back to the North Beach Cooler, from Melbourne bartender Priscilla Leong, made of tequila , lime, Campari, dry vermouth, and soda. It’s a cross between a  Siesta  and a  Rome with a View , leveraging tequila ’s affection for Campari and Campari’s affection for dry vermouth into a devastatingly tasty little thrupple. 

More than that, it’s not just that the flavors work (though they do) or that it’s easy and refreshing, (though it is) but the North Beach Cooler’s unique magic is to make a low-ABV cocktail that doesn’t taste low-ABV. It is exquisitely balanced, going high and low at the same time, the herbaceousness of the dry vermouth and Campari anchoring the brighter tequila and lime, with the tequila’s vegetal bite and the Campari’s herbal bitterness keeping the whole project forceful and compelling. Priscilla says one of her specialties is lower proof drinks that “still deliver a huge flavor punch” and is, under the circumstances, an understatement. Combine that magic trick with the fact that Leong won the Australian Speed Rack championships in 2018, and you can also start to see Speed Rack as yet another thing, a kind of spotlight, illuminating the talent that is already there.

North Beach Cooler 

Recipe by Priscilla Leong, reprinted from A Quick Drink

• 0.75 oz. blanco tequila 
• 0.75 oz. dry vermouth 
• 0.5 oz. Campari 
• 0.75 oz. lime juice 
• 0.5 oz. simple syrup
• 2 oz. soda water 

Add all ingredients except for soda to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake good and hard for six to eight seconds, and garnish with a basil leaf and/or a lime wedge.

NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

Tequila:  The recipe specifically calls for blanco tequila, which will deliver the bright vegetal bite that the cocktail needs. A reposado will still taste good, but it replaces part of that bite with softer vanilla/spice notes that attenuate the final product. 

Dry Vermouth:  I tried three different versions with three different dry vermouths and could barely tell the difference. The vermouth is important to that balance I talked about earlier, but insofar as brands, use the one that’s physically closest to your pouring hand.

Simple Syrup:  Combine equal parts sugar and water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Use hot water and it’ll happen in about 30 seconds. Use room temperature water and it might take as many as 3 minutes.

Garnish:  Leong calls for a basil or mint sprig. Of the two I personally preferred the basil, and if you have some give it a shot—it leans in to the herbaceousness, obviously—but when I make these for myself moving forward (and I will), I think I’ll be skipping the herbs entirely, which every-so gently distract me from what is otherwise a dynamite front palate.

Jason O'Bryan

O'Bryan has set up a professional life at the intersection of writing and cocktails. He's been managing cocktail bars for the last twelve years, first in Boston and now in San Diego, where he's been…

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