Hey guys. In my next campaign, I plan on opening it by having the player characters be completely destitute, pretty much without any possessions. The first section of the campaign is going to be all about survival and setting themselves up to take on the main quest of the campaign. Right now, I'm planning to be super stingy with giving them money, and having NPCs be generally unfriendly towards them (which will make sense in the context of the campaign), plus making them think about stuff like food/water/shelter, which I previously haven't done. Does anyone have any suggestions for other ways in which I can put more emphasis on the survival aspects of the game?
so one of the things you can do is at rests require food or water to be consumed.. prolonged time with out can result in tempt change in stats like str or con. these can force players to have to consume food or water should they choose not to do so during times of rest.. perhaps regaining hp's depends on if they eat or drink also..
D&D isn't very well-suited to survival-style play. Here's a couple adjustments you may need to make right away.
There are several low-level spells that will undermine survival-based challenges. For example, create or destroy water, goodberry, and purify food and drink all trivialize the challenge of finding fresh food and/or water. Consider banning or limiting these spells in some way.
Foraging can be very effective. A character who succeeds on their Survival check will often find enough food for the entire party. The Ranger's Natural Explorer makes this even more likely by doubling the amount of food from foraging. Consider altering this so that successful foraging finds enough food and water for one person (or two at most).
Since these spells/abilities are primarily available to Clerics, Druids, and Rangers, you can also avoid these issues by steering your players toward other classes. Beyond these immediate challenges, here are some other considerations.
Use the environment. Surviving under sunny skies in a verdant meadow isn't very challenging. Use the weather and the terrain to make survival more difficult. Use extreme cold and extreme heat if it's setting-appropriate. Damp weather can also lead to spoilage or sickness, and hot weather will force the PCs to find more water.
Consider the effects of shelter. This has no specific effects in the base rules. You might need to add some penalties for resting in less than ideal conditions, and possibly some benefits for being warm and cozy, to encourage the PCs to seek shelter.
Use encumbrance. Make sure the players account for everything their characters are carrying, including food and water.
Consider a grittier rest mechanic. By default, a short rest is 1 hour and a long rest is 8 hours. The gritty variant from the DMG is 8 hours for a short rest and 7 days for a long rest. You could use that (or perhaps something more in-between) to create a situation where the PCs must carefully ration their resources.
Exhaustion levels are the primary mechanic for most environmental effects and survival-based hazards, but disease, poison, and even curses can provide another source of tension that fits well with a survival campaign.
My other key piece of advice is to use the survival play as a scaffold for creating interesting scenarios and choices. You want it to be more than just a slog; use it to tell a story. Make use of the risk vs. reward dynamic as much as possible. When the PCs have so little, every decision they make should be fraught. Here are some further examples.
Introduce harrowing obstacles. Raging rivers, blasted wastelands, etc. Complex scenarios that help build tension.
Use risky and morally ambiguous opportunities. Maybe a large source of fresh food or water is guarded by a terrible monster. Or maybe it requires stealing from a hapless merchant.
Add unexpected discoveries. Maybe the PCs find a place of incredible natural beauty as they are out exploring the wilderness. Or an abandoned ruin full of mystery and danger.
Introduce some potential help from NPCs. Maybe a farmer will give the PCs food, water, and shelter in exchange for some chores. Or maybe the PCs accept a job to do something sinister just to get by.
I also strongly suggest you take a look at this article. It's more focused on travel, but it provides some valuable advice on survival rules as well.
Hey guys. In my next campaign, I plan on opening it by having the player characters be completely destitute, pretty much without any possessions. The first section of the campaign is going to be all about survival and setting themselves up to take on the main quest of the campaign. Right now, I'm planning to be super stingy with giving them money, and having NPCs be generally unfriendly towards them (which will make sense in the context of the campaign), plus making them think about stuff like food/water/shelter, which I previously haven't done. Does anyone have any suggestions for other ways in which I can put more emphasis on the survival aspects of the game?
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Use Gritty Realism, and interrupt their long rests. Several times.
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so one of the things you can do is at rests require food or water to be consumed.. prolonged time with out can result in tempt change in stats like str or con. these can force players to have to consume food or water should they choose not to do so during times of rest.. perhaps regaining hp's depends on if they eat or drink also..
D&D isn't very well-suited to survival-style play. Here's a couple adjustments you may need to make right away.
Since these spells/abilities are primarily available to Clerics, Druids, and Rangers, you can also avoid these issues by steering your players toward other classes. Beyond these immediate challenges, here are some other considerations.
My other key piece of advice is to use the survival play as a scaffold for creating interesting scenarios and choices. You want it to be more than just a slog; use it to tell a story. Make use of the risk vs. reward dynamic as much as possible. When the PCs have so little, every decision they make should be fraught. Here are some further examples.
I also strongly suggest you take a look at this article. It's more focused on travel, but it provides some valuable advice on survival rules as well.