Dungeons have lots of procedures that make exploring them interesting: random encounters, torch usage, constrained movement, an inability to safely heal, etc. Overland travel has some of these features, but they tend to feel much looser, and so it is often the case that overland travel is breezed past instead of being an interesting aspect of exploration in its own right. Sometimes that is warranted (travelling between well patrolled towns for example), but it is worth having some tools in your belt for when you want to up the stakes. I’ll skip over random encounters since that will work much the same way if on a different time scale compared to dungeon exploration, but there are other features of dungeon exploration that can be transposed to overland travel.

Resource Exhaustion

By default the only cost to overland travel is the consumption of rations. Since in many settings rations tend to be cheap relative to the amount of wealth accumulation by a party this isn’t a very interesting mechanic, and instead becomes a piece of bookkeeping that slows down the pace of play without adding any value. An easy solution to this is to simply constrain the amount of stuff a party can carry. Inventory slot mechanics that only allow a player to carry x number of items tends to force the player to have to make tough decisions about what to bring, and what to leave behind, and how much space to leave for potential finds.

It is also worth considering other types of resources that get exhausted. If travelling at night, for example, that will require torches/lighting. Travelling through particularly challenging types of terrain and/or weather conditions can also exhaust other resources.

Put the Players on a Timer

Being outside of a safe biome should create a time pressure. Extreme heat or cold are some obvious examples where the longer PCs are out in these conditions the worse their overall stats and abilities are, but also the likelihood of diseases, or being pursued by the local apex predator(s) of the region. Communicate these long-term risks to your players so they can make informed decisions about travel. Suddenly passing through an area that has some dangerous threat might be worth doing if it shaves time off on their travel.

Some notes on extreme weather conditions. Snow, mud, and ice all slow down travel, and in some cases increase risks of injury. Extreme cold makes it harder to use objects easily (speaking from personal experience coming back home when I lived in Chicago and it was -30F, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get myself into my house because my hands were so cold I struggled to use the key to unlock the door to get inside). If you don’t have proper clothing all the worse. Extreme heat makes it easier to pass out, and in general saps your energy. Being stuck in heavy rain can increase the chance of contracting illness. Walking in boots becomes challenging when water gets inside. In case of floods walking becomes impossible by the time it reaches knee length. Strong winds increase the risk of falling objects.

Note on Getting Lost

I generally don’t use getting lost mechanics as they aren’t very fun or interesting. On the other hand, if a party chooses to travel in weather conditions where visibility is especially bad (heavy fog, sandstorms, etc.) it makes sense to have an x-in-6 chance of getting lost. You can use the die roll to also use whatever unit of time is appropriate to detemine how long it will take to get back on track.

Add Traps/Puzzles

Traps shouldn’t be limited to dungeons! Crossing a river, scaling a mountain, or moving through a dense forest all come with their set of specific challenges and potential dangers. Like a classic OSR trap, this should be telegraphed in advance, not have an obvious solution, but also be open-ended enough to allow for multiple solutions.

Secret Routes and Safe Havens

As a corollary to all this danger we are throwing on top of overland travel we also want to reward players for exploration. Finding safe places to rest & recover, and uncovering shortcuts that allow for quicker travel will counterbalance the increased risk of travel, and should be made available through clever play and good exploration.