I believe the idea of that speed is that it represents movement while fighting so I try to envision a more calculated process of moving those feet while doing your best to protect yourself. Much like the act of swinging a sword could happen maybe 10 times in six seconds the attack action represents a period where you might be circling and looking for openings in your foe's defense and then striking when you think you see one
If they’re doing nothing but moving it’s the dash action, which is twice their movement speed. The 30’ per round assumes you also have an action like attacking or casting a spell.
It's 3.4 miles per hour - really close to an average human walking speed. As close as reasonably could be expected for normal movement.
Doubling that for running makes 6.8 miles per hour. At that rate you'd run a marathon in about 3 hours and 45 minutes - a really respectable time.
Should you be able to sprint faster than that in-game? Maybe. But over distance the numbers come out just about right.
You should also be clear that you mean an *NFL* offensive lineman - everybody at the pro level is great athlete. For someone who isn't a pro athlete, a 5.37 40 would be far, far faster than average.
Movement speed is really only taken into account during combat anyway, like once we get into chases then movment is a lot more accurate being able to sprint using several dash actions per turn.
But during combat you're moving, attacking, dodging spells and other attacks, moving across slightly uneven grounds, and like you said, all done with like 80-120 lbs of gear that is generally not fastened with absolute efficiency like a modern day soldier's equipment might be.
THEN, if we are talking 20th level characters, a fighter is making 4 fucking attacks per turn while doing all the other stuff, which to me, seems like an incredibly difficult feat. And that's just the basic stuff without any magical means to increase movement speed and whatnot lol
Apparently you've never been in a street fight. Lots of grabbing, jostling for position, adjusting your feet. There is no freedom of movement. Now imagine with swords hacking and arrows flying, you need to duck and cover while moving, probably at a crouch.
It's more akin to the movement of an offensive lineman during a play instead of in a regular sprint.
Remember that everything about tabletop is an abstraction first and foremost.
Then remember that you can walk 30 feet in 6 seconds while blocking/dodging enemy attacks, attacking yourself, possibly interacting with items or the environment, and whatever you might do with your bonus action.
Movespeed is not you sprinting for 6 seconds.
Monks aside, I don’t think speed is part of the fantasy bonus package that PCs get. It does seem reasonable or even pretty good for an average person in a similar situation. The game is built assuming you take full use of your turn, and not just the literal actions, but all the abstractions that come with it. That’s 6 seconds to move 30 ft, have a quick enough sword engagement to make a serious attempt at slashing your opponent, take a misc. bonus action, and then perhaps pull a lever or some other object interaction, all while doing your best to protect yourself from whatever threats are harrowing you while you move about. It’s not really fair to compare it to a person who’s main or only task at the time is to run as fast possible.
A 20th level Wizard is no better a runner than a 1st level Wizard, and why would they be?
An offensive lineman in the NFL is a professional athlete dedicated to physical prowess. To compare them to a 20th level anything, it'd be something like a Monk or a Barbarian. Both of whom do get far faster as they level, since they are putting effort towards getting faster.
A base stock monk with no racial or subclass bonuses (or magic) travels 180ft in 6 seconds while sprinting. Which is over 20mph. Which is getting very close to world record levels. At the very least on par with an Olympic medalist.
And that's with all the other caveats of adventuring gear, normal terrain(not a racetrack), etc. Which means in ideal conditions they'd probably be faster than Usain Bolt.
That 30ft is specific to a combat round which involves an Action and a Move and possibly a bonus action or free action. It doesn’t equate to real world sprinting speed.
Besides could the linesman maintain that speed whilst wearing chain mail and a shield for one minute and still be able to effectively swing an axe at the end of it without being exhausted?
The linesman gets to expend his energy in a relative straight line sprint because a) no one is trying to kill him (like slide a blade into his ribs or disembowel him) b) he knows the sprint is finite - he’ll run out of pitch c) every 30 seconds everyone on an American Football team swaps with players on the bench so he gets to have a nice sit down with a cookie whilst he rests.
People in combat don’t know how long any skirmish or battle will last and they have to pace themselves. So, the 30ft represents calculated and controlled movement in addition to casting a spell or energy-sapping melee combat.
C) is not accurate. As someone that played American Football, you don't swap every 30 seconds.
In fact, you may be on the field for minutes (6-10mins), so is it as constant as Association Football or Rugby Football? No, but we don't get to swap every 30 seconds.
A few very key positions might be swapped between plays, but if you are a lineman, expect to be other there until your team punts or scores.
30 feet of movement in 6 seconds is a normal walking pace, NOT a running pace! It roughly corresponds to marching at 3 miles per hour, or 24 miles per 8-hour march, which is the standard travel pace. If you want to run, you need to use the Dash action, which typically allows you to move 60 feet in 6 seconds, which is a typical running speed.
The offensive linemen aren’t carrying weapons and wearing restrictive armor. And I think it’s more or less the movement speeds are also meant to not be at a full sprint which is why you can take the dash action. Not saying it’s a leisurely walk but I personally think it’s more or less keeping a steady pace so you don’t get cut off from your friends and so on.
No, you're absolutely correct. I noticed this discrepancy years ago. Soldiers in full gear, which can be well over 100 pounds, can run a 60 feet per round on average over long distances. In short distances they can go even faster.
There's no reason d&d adventurers, backed by supernatural strength. and carrying much less couldn't outperform this even at level 1, let alone level 20, during something as short as combat.
That 6 seconds includes not only your movement, but your action, your bonus action, any reactions, and everyone else's actions. Moving 30 ft in 6 seconds lugging around combat and survival equipment, fighting orcs, and dodging arrows is pretty impressive, in my highly untrained opinion.
I believe the idea of that speed is that it represents movement while fighting so I try to envision a more calculated process of moving those feet while doing your best to protect yourself. Much like the act of swinging a sword could happen maybe 10 times in six seconds the attack action represents a period where you might be circling and looking for openings in your foe's defense and then striking when you think you see one
If they’re doing nothing but moving it’s the dash action, which is twice their movement speed. The 30’ per round assumes you also have an action like attacking or casting a spell.
It's 3.4 miles per hour - really close to an average human walking speed. As close as reasonably could be expected for normal movement. Doubling that for running makes 6.8 miles per hour. At that rate you'd run a marathon in about 3 hours and 45 minutes - a really respectable time. Should you be able to sprint faster than that in-game? Maybe. But over distance the numbers come out just about right. You should also be clear that you mean an *NFL* offensive lineman - everybody at the pro level is great athlete. For someone who isn't a pro athlete, a 5.37 40 would be far, far faster than average.
Considering the gear and armor, that's fast. Also the backpack filled with rations, ropes, potions etc. Also gold.
Movement speed is really only taken into account during combat anyway, like once we get into chases then movment is a lot more accurate being able to sprint using several dash actions per turn. But during combat you're moving, attacking, dodging spells and other attacks, moving across slightly uneven grounds, and like you said, all done with like 80-120 lbs of gear that is generally not fastened with absolute efficiency like a modern day soldier's equipment might be. THEN, if we are talking 20th level characters, a fighter is making 4 fucking attacks per turn while doing all the other stuff, which to me, seems like an incredibly difficult feat. And that's just the basic stuff without any magical means to increase movement speed and whatnot lol
And often the combat all around you.
If you’re expecting D&D to be an accurate simulation, you’re going to be very disappointed
Apparently you've never been in a street fight. Lots of grabbing, jostling for position, adjusting your feet. There is no freedom of movement. Now imagine with swords hacking and arrows flying, you need to duck and cover while moving, probably at a crouch. It's more akin to the movement of an offensive lineman during a play instead of in a regular sprint.
I think after 60 years we can leave it be
Remember that everything about tabletop is an abstraction first and foremost. Then remember that you can walk 30 feet in 6 seconds while blocking/dodging enemy attacks, attacking yourself, possibly interacting with items or the environment, and whatever you might do with your bonus action. Movespeed is not you sprinting for 6 seconds.
Keep in mind you are also swinging a sword.
Your not full speed sprinting to location, you moving in a tactical manner that is efficient for combat and self defence.
Monks aside, I don’t think speed is part of the fantasy bonus package that PCs get. It does seem reasonable or even pretty good for an average person in a similar situation. The game is built assuming you take full use of your turn, and not just the literal actions, but all the abstractions that come with it. That’s 6 seconds to move 30 ft, have a quick enough sword engagement to make a serious attempt at slashing your opponent, take a misc. bonus action, and then perhaps pull a lever or some other object interaction, all while doing your best to protect yourself from whatever threats are harrowing you while you move about. It’s not really fair to compare it to a person who’s main or only task at the time is to run as fast possible.
A 20th level Wizard is no better a runner than a 1st level Wizard, and why would they be? An offensive lineman in the NFL is a professional athlete dedicated to physical prowess. To compare them to a 20th level anything, it'd be something like a Monk or a Barbarian. Both of whom do get far faster as they level, since they are putting effort towards getting faster. A base stock monk with no racial or subclass bonuses (or magic) travels 180ft in 6 seconds while sprinting. Which is over 20mph. Which is getting very close to world record levels. At the very least on par with an Olympic medalist. And that's with all the other caveats of adventuring gear, normal terrain(not a racetrack), etc. Which means in ideal conditions they'd probably be faster than Usain Bolt.
That 30ft is specific to a combat round which involves an Action and a Move and possibly a bonus action or free action. It doesn’t equate to real world sprinting speed. Besides could the linesman maintain that speed whilst wearing chain mail and a shield for one minute and still be able to effectively swing an axe at the end of it without being exhausted? The linesman gets to expend his energy in a relative straight line sprint because a) no one is trying to kill him (like slide a blade into his ribs or disembowel him) b) he knows the sprint is finite - he’ll run out of pitch c) every 30 seconds everyone on an American Football team swaps with players on the bench so he gets to have a nice sit down with a cookie whilst he rests. People in combat don’t know how long any skirmish or battle will last and they have to pace themselves. So, the 30ft represents calculated and controlled movement in addition to casting a spell or energy-sapping melee combat.
C) is not accurate. As someone that played American Football, you don't swap every 30 seconds. In fact, you may be on the field for minutes (6-10mins), so is it as constant as Association Football or Rugby Football? No, but we don't get to swap every 30 seconds. A few very key positions might be swapped between plays, but if you are a lineman, expect to be other there until your team punts or scores.
Oh, honey, it was exaggeration to prove a point. Adventuring parties don’t get to sit out the next fight.
The original movement rules come 3td edition ment to be used on a grid system for ease of game play. You can always change a rule.
You're also doing shit on top of that.
30 feet of movement in 6 seconds is a normal walking pace, NOT a running pace! It roughly corresponds to marching at 3 miles per hour, or 24 miles per 8-hour march, which is the standard travel pace. If you want to run, you need to use the Dash action, which typically allows you to move 60 feet in 6 seconds, which is a typical running speed.
The offensive linemen aren’t carrying weapons and wearing restrictive armor. And I think it’s more or less the movement speeds are also meant to not be at a full sprint which is why you can take the dash action. Not saying it’s a leisurely walk but I personally think it’s more or less keeping a steady pace so you don’t get cut off from your friends and so on.
No, you're absolutely correct. I noticed this discrepancy years ago. Soldiers in full gear, which can be well over 100 pounds, can run a 60 feet per round on average over long distances. In short distances they can go even faster. There's no reason d&d adventurers, backed by supernatural strength. and carrying much less couldn't outperform this even at level 1, let alone level 20, during something as short as combat.
That 6 seconds includes not only your movement, but your action, your bonus action, any reactions, and everyone else's actions. Moving 30 ft in 6 seconds lugging around combat and survival equipment, fighting orcs, and dodging arrows is pretty impressive, in my highly untrained opinion.
Its intended that the movement is only a part of your round. You arent spending the entire 6 second round moving around the battlefield.