The mathematics of Hiking

[Anders]

According to the basic rules "If a party is traveling together, all must make a Hiking roll in order to get the increased distance." Doesn't this mean that a reasonably large party (say, six people) of master-hikers (skill 14) will only get this bonus about half the time (55%)? And that unless everyone is very very good at hiking, taking the skill is effectively a waste of points unless you are alone? Should other skills, like Leadership or Survival (just spitballing here), be able to assist?

[NineDaysDead]

Originally Posted by Anders

According to the basic rules "If a party is traveling together, all must make a Hiking roll in order to get the increased distance." Doesn't this mean that a reasonably large party (say, six people) of master-hikers (skill 14) will only get this bonus about half the time (55%)? And that unless everyone is very very good at hiking, taking the skill is effectively a waste of points unless you are alone?

No, it isn't, see below:

Originally Posted by Anders

Should other skills, like Leadership or Survival (just spitballing here), be able to assist?

It can help:

Originally Posted by Basic set page 351

A successful roll against Hiking skill (p. 200) increases marching distance by 20%. Roll daily. A group led by someone with Leadership skill at 12+ may make a single roll against the group’s average Hiking skill. (Hiking defaults to HT-5 for those who have not studied it.) Success lets the entire group march 20% farther; failure means the whole group must forgo the bonus.

Leadership assists by allowing you to use the group's average Hiking skill. Someone with a very high skill will boost the group's average Hiking skill.

[Anders]

Grumble, grumble, requiring me to actually read the rules...

[Anthony]

I'd really rather hiking was reversed: you pick an amount by which you're pushing your pace, and then make a Hiking roll to see whether you either (a) arrive fine, (b) arrive exhausted, (c) arrive with minor injuries such as blistering, or (d) collapse part way through.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I'd really rather hiking was reversed: you pick an amount by which you're pushing your pace, and then make a Hiking roll to see whether you either (a) arrive fine, (b) arrive exhausted, (c) arrive with minor injuries such as blistering, or (d) collapse part way through.

It should be possible to make appropriate penalties to change the +20% to something else and choose a target, then roll at the end of the day. Either a single roll for everybody or individual rolls as the case may be.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I'd really rather hiking was reversed: you pick an amount by which you're pushing your pace, and then make a Hiking roll to see whether you either (a) arrive fine, (b) arrive exhausted, (c) arrive with minor injuries such as blistering, or (d) collapse part way through.

That's a good point.

Or instead of allowing characters to pick the pace in a very fine-grained fashion ("I want to travel 1.27% faster than average travel speed"), you can simply define Normal Travel and... I don't know the English word, the Danish word is "il-march", hurried marching, with the hurried version being perhaps 25% longer travelled per day.

For normal travel, you only make the Hiking roll at spaced intervals, e.g. as per my once-a-week suggestion, but for hurried travel, you make it every day (or even every half-day), and at a penalty, and if your roll fails, you'll be entering a world of pain.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I'd really rather hiking was reversed: you pick an amount by which you're pushing your pace, and then make a Hiking roll to see whether you either (a) arrive fine, (b) arrive exhausted, (c) arrive with minor injuries such as blistering, or (d) collapse part way through.

That would likely result in many players ranting that the system doesn't allow experienced hikers to use their knowledge of hiking in order to maintain a sustainable pace as opposed to going all-out if they see they're overexerting themselves.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

That would likely result in many players ranting that the system doesn't allow experienced hikers to use their knowledge of hiking in order to maintain a sustainable pace as opposed to going all-out if they see they're overexerting themselves.

I think what is needed is a system that allows either approach to be taken. give me a moment with some math...

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

That would likely result in many players ranting that the system doesn't allow experienced hikers to use their knowledge of hiking in order to maintain a sustainable pace as opposed to going all-out if they see they're overexerting themselves.

Allow that as an option perhaps, but people who are going long distances really do plan based on "here's my next stopping point".

[Fwibos]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

That would likely result in many players ranting that the system doesn't allow experienced hikers to use their knowledge of hiking in order to maintain a sustainable pace as opposed to going all-out if they see they're overexerting themselves.

I dunno, I think with Hiking 12 you can reasonably say "I can go this much faster" with a little math.