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I'm aware that, in the grim darkness of the far future, the journey of a thousand miles may take 0.37 seconds due to time-dilating warp effects, and that in general starships move at the Speed of Plot -- but are there any rough guidelines for how long travel normally takes between different points?

I'm particularly interested in travel between the Adepta Sororitas's two novitiate training centers -- Earth and Ophelia -- because of a story I'm writing as a sequel to the Novice Ginevra stories; anything about "travel within the Segmentum Solar" could give me a good start on that one.

If I remember correctly the Rogue Trader RPG book from FFG* has a fair slab of info on starships & warp-travel (more than Dark Hersey, at least). You may be able to divine some numbers from there. I'll take a look at my copy next chance I get, and see what I can rustle up.

* Though as always with FFG, YMMV.

According to most of the fluff I've read, it varies greatly depending on Warp currents. At one point, it may take 3 months to travel between Earth and Ophelia. The next, it could take 3 weeks, or even 3 years.

In most of the books I've read Warp travel generally seems to take between a couple weeks and a year.

 SisterSydney wrote:
I'm aware that, in the grim darkness of the far future, the journey of a thousand miles may take 0.37 seconds due to time-dilating warp effects, and that in general starships move at the Speed of Plot -- but are there any rough guidelines for how long travel normally takes between different points?

I'm particularly interested in travel between the Adepta Sororitas's two novitiate training centers -- Earth and Ophelia -- because of a story I'm writing as a sequel to the Novice Ginevra stories; anything about "travel within the Segmentum Solar" could give me a good start on that one.

Varies completely, and any chart on the subject is a complete lie. While there are stable warp "lanes" that are fairly stable and calm-ish compared to the raging inferno the warp suffers in other locations, it's all randoms. Your normal route from planet X-Y may become embroiled in a nasty warp storm due to some battle between demigods in the warp which bleeds over into the lane. Maybe even going so far as to daemons ransacking ships. It also depends too on if you're a Chaos Space Marine with a Sorcerer, who generally can handle tumultuous warp lanes better than normal navigators or warp storms.

Way back in 2nd Edition, the IG codex listed the average response time from a planet requesting help to an IG regiment showing up overhead was 30 to 90 days. That was how long the PDF was supposed to be able to hold out: 30 to 90 days. Given that initial IG recruitment is listed at being limited to worlds within 10,000 light years of the target planet, it is safe to assume that ships can traverse 10,000 light years in something like 30 to 90 days (with 30 being a close planet or an uneventful trip with the Warp equivalent of a tail wind and 90 days being a storm-wracked journey that mimics the Atlantic crossing circa 1600 AD). Of course, some of that 30-90 days timeline includes the beauracratic mess of actually recruiting and mobilizing the regiment (training takes place in transit).

 SisterSydney wrote:
I'm aware that, in the grim darkness of the far future, the journey of a thousand miles may take 0.37 seconds due to time-dilating warp effects, and that in general starships move at the Speed of Plot -- but are there any rough guidelines for how long travel normally takes between different points?

I'm particularly interested in travel between the Adepta Sororitas's two novitiate training centers -- Earth and Ophelia -- because of a story I'm writing as a sequel to the Novice Ginevra stories; anything about "travel within the Segmentum Solar" could give me a good start on that one.

FFG's Rogue Trader game gives general approximations, and notes that, barring unforeseen difficulties or accidents, it would take two years (iirc) to travel, via the Warp, from one end of the Imperium to the other.

In most cases, travel between two star-systems within the same sub-sector is a journey of days to weeks (depending on specific distances), while travel within the same sector (so from one sub-sector to another) can be weeks to a month or so.

Ok, FFG's Rogue Trader - talks about Warp Travel for pages 310 to 312, but is pretty vague.

It takes an example of a typical journey where it says that ships have to spend a certain amount of time ("several weeks") traveling to the edges of a system before dropping into the Warp 'safely'. I then talks about the 'jump' taking "almost 2 weeks", in the Warp, and "over a year" in real space, and covering a distance of up to 5000 light years. Then a similar amount of time getting from when they drop out of warp space to any planetary destination. Stressing of course that this whole thing can vary a great deal.

Which completely flies in the face of this:

squidhills wrote:
Way back in 2nd Edition, the IG codex . . . it is safe to assume that ships can traverse 10,000 light years in something like 30 to 90 days . . .

Which would have to be real space time.

So; given the general lack of had numbers and the obvious disagreement of sources; I'd say you have a lot of leeway as an author to have things work whatever way works for your story.

PS; Haven't read all your stuff, but want I have read I enjoyed. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! I think at this point it's simpler to relocate scenes so everything happens on Earth, rather than even touch the maddening issue of travel times....