helsmuth

One of the things that clearly distinguishes life in the Wild West from the "default setting" of D&D is the availability of rail transportation ... and the unavailability of magical transportation. For those who can afford it, a 9th level sellspell would charge 450gp to teleport  3 passengers up to 900 miles in the blink of an eye. In a small city (population > 5000) there is an 86% chance of at least one 9th or 10th level wizard, or 10th level sorcerer (3.5ed DMG, p139). Of course, there's also the chance of a teleportation mishap, but every mode of transport has its downsides. For everyone else, wagon trains and riverboats are still the norm. A long-haul stagecoach can cover from 70 up to 120 miles per day over well-maintained roads. Charles O. Paullin (1932) Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States , the University of Michigan. Michael Graham Richard (2012)  How fast could you travel across the U.S. in the 1800s?