Source GM Core pg. 36

Long journeys are staples of both the sci-fi and fantasy genres, but they take work to be fun in play, especially if the timeline the PCs are on isn't urgent. Vehicles, public transportation, and starships are all commonplace throughout the galaxy, making the physical act of travel simple, reliable, and quick. If the PCs oversee their own journey, you might want to ask for a quick check at the start of the trip to Navigate, Plot Course, or Sense Direction. Use encounters and special scenes only if there's something compelling to cover. It's perfectly fine to fast-forward through exploration to get to the next stage of an adventure. That said, if any players have invested in exploration-themed abilities for their characters, those abilities should still matter.

For survival-themed adventures, or for adventures that focus on exploring newly discovered planets or low-tech worlds, you can lean heavier into the details of overland trips. You might want to have the group Analyze their Environment, Navigate or Sense Direction daily, or Subsist if they run out of food or water.

Starship Travel Times

Starship travel is measured in hours or days. Standard starship engines can be used to go into orbit or land, travel point-to-point on a planet, travel to a planet's satellites and moons, and travel within a system. Rift Engines enable hyperspace travel via the Rift and are used to travel within a system, or between distant systems. Using Rift engines, travel time is based on the region of space you wish to travel to: Near Space or the Vast. A planet is classified into these interstellar regions not by location, but by the number of Metronomes in the vicinity.

Riftgates lanes were discovered relatively early in the history of space travel. Riftgates are essentially attunement funnels that help ships arrive at their intended location. They connect two locations in a chain and can't be used to rapidly reach other regions of space not on the chain, nor can they be entered at other locations. A starship that purposefully flies out of, or is knocked out of, a Gate lane is deposited in a random location in the Rift and must begin to Plot a Course through the Rift, as normal.

Typical travel times using standard engines, Rift Engines, and Riftgates are noted on the Starship Travel Time table below. These travel times are further modified by the result of a PC's check to Plot Course.

Starship Travel Time

Encounters During Travel

Source GM Core pg. 37

You might want to include some encounters if the PCs are in a dangerous area, especially if they travel for a long time. For these encounters, choose creatures and characters that live in that type of environment. Remember that not all creatures attack on sight. An interactive scene with curious creatures, friendly travelers, or cautious locals all work well as travel encounters.

Travel Speed