The Nature GM

The characters are sneaking through a forest, looking for a band of goblins that are rumored to be in the area. Just as they spot a campfire with several small humanoids around it, a character steps on a stick, alerting the goblins to their presence. You say, “Roll for initiative!” The first player up turns to you and asks,

“How far away are the goblins?”

That is a very good question, and the answer can seem more or less plausible depending on the situation. Here are some guidelines for when your players inevitably ask you how far they are from enemies in the wilderness.

Furthest Visual Range

Let us start by setting the maximum physically possible value. If you, a human, are walking along a flat plain towards the ocean, you will spot the ocean when you are about 3 miles away from it. The ocean is very large and easy to see, but the curve of the earth’s surface prevents it from being visible any sooner.

The ocean is quite a bit larger than, say, bandits who are waiting along a road to ambush unwary travelers. If the bandits are standing up in broad daylight, you might notice them when three miles away. However, odds are good that the land is not flat, the road is not straight, and the bandits have concealed themselves to make their ambush more successful.

What if the bandits are in a forest instead of along a flat road? I could not easily find values of visual distance in a forest, but I did find an eye tracking study that used VR forests to a depth of 30 m (98 ft). This seems to set the outer limits of perception in a forest to around 100 ft.

What distance, then, is reasonable to notice your opponents?

The answer to this question is both a function of the landscape and the way you like to play roleplaying games.

How Starting Distance Impacts Combat

Let us consider how the starting distance impacts combat in tone and strategy.

The average character (and creature) in Fifth Edition has a speed of 30 ft. If you begin combat within 30 ft of your opponents, then any creature on either side can more within melee combat of any other creature. This is good for those that fight with close-range weapons, but the archers and casters may be scrambling to put space between themselves and their opponents. And if the characters are looking for an opponent during a sunny day, would they really not be able to see them until they are within 30 ft?

If you start combat further away, such as 60 ft, it allows the players to be more strategic. Yes, the melee characters might be annoyed that they cannot immediately hit a target. They may be tempted to use their full turn getting close to an opponent, which leaves them open to being piled on by the full group of enemies at once. This could be a valid strategy for a tank who wants to draw enemy fire, but more strategic players will probably allow the ranged attacks to shine for the first round or two while they set themselves up in a more strategic position for close quartered attacks.

If you start combat 10 or 15 ft away because a creature has snuck up on the characters, that effectively eliminates the chance to create space between the creature and the characters. This can create a more intense, desperate situation for the characters to defend themselves. Such a close should be used sparingly, as the players may not feel that they deserved an ambush.

It is possible to begin combat with too much distance between the characters and their opponents, as we discovered in a harpy encounter. As soon as the characters were within range, a pair of harpies attempted to lure them over the edge of a cliff with their song. The range of a harpy’s song is 300 ft. For the characters that failed and continued to fail their saving throw each round, 300 ft was a very long time to shuffle mindlessly towards the cliff. For the characters who were not enchanted but lacked ranged attacks, 300 ft was a long time for the harpies to fly ahead out of reach.

My players have encountered enough flying creatures that even the monk finally purchased ranged weapons. Starting distance can also mean vertical distance.

Three miles would absolutely be too far away for combat to begin. An exception might be if the characters know they are being pursued, and the chance to flee or prepare for battle is part of the drama.

In short, distance matters.

Starting Distances for Different Landscapes

If we take the idea that combat starting distance is most fun when it is in the range of 90-30 ft away, we can set a range of plausible distances at which the characters notice (or are noticed by) their opponents in different landscapes. Why not always use 30 ft if sneaking is involved and 90 ft if it is not regardless of landscape? Because in real life the terrain matters, and a tabletop game has interesting variation when the terrain impacts combat.

I have divided major types of landscapes into four rough categories. Prairies, beaches, and oceans provide very little cover for an opponent’s approach to go unnoticed. There might be some tall grass, sand dunes, or waves and mist to hide behind, but in such a flat and open terrain both sides will see each other fairly quickly. A large river or a road may similarly be open and free of vegetation, but there could be hills or other features that result in bends and blind spots, providing varying amounts of cover. A forest, jungle, and swamp will typically have tall trees and dense vegetation in the form of small trees, shrubs, and vines that provide a fair amount of cover. However, the landscape that I believe has the most potential to conceal an opponent is mountains and canyons. You might notice someone standing behind a tree; you cannot see them if they are behind a boulder. Rocky terrains with narrow twists and turns provide excellent cover for a stealthy approach.

Light is another factor of when an opponent is detectable, so for each landscape group we will consider a maximum and minimum plausible starting distance for day and night. For the night distances we will assume there are no fires or visible light sources.

I will reiterate that these are not literally accurate values but rather guidelines to make the landscape feel meaningful while setting a tone for the encounter.

The Distance Table

Landscape	Day Max	Day Min	Night Max	Night Min
Prairie, Beach, or Ocean	150 ft	90 ft	90 ft	30 ft
River or Road	120 ft	60 ft	60 ft	30 ft
Forest, Jungle, or Swamp	90 ft	30 ft	60 ft	15 ft
Mountain or Canyon	60 ft	15 ft	30 ft	15 ft

Closing Thoughts

If all of your combat encounters have begun 30 or even 50 ft away, I encourage you to try adding more space. This can be somewhat onerous in theater of the mind encounters where the game master is responsible for tracking the location of each combatant; however, I think you will find this manageable if there are eight or fewer total creatures. The benefit is dynamic combat elements and increased opportunities for player strategy and engagement. And as always, the goal is to have more fun.