This may well be covered in the DMG but I'm not familiar with the section if it is. So looking for thoughts.
So after some developmental sessions, one of parties are basically "treasure hunters," and see their ideal adventures involving perhaps literally digging up lost lore and artifacts of civilizations loss to millennia. Main motive is basically "for the story" in that on the civilized world side of things they're a traveling band and their exploits help inform their roadshow's spread of wonder (one outlier character is basically a deep cover military intelligence operative tasked by his nation to assay magical weapons capabilities in the present and past, but he's the outlier).
I'm wondering how to make "there's something precious metal and inscripted in the rubble, but it'll take some work to get it", or "unsurprisingly the entrance is collapsed and would require some shoring up if you want use this as your main access from basecamp" interesting beyond traps and magical guardians. So does anyone have house rules, legacy rules from other editions ported to 5e, or aware of resources for things like shoring up weak ceilings and walls, digging through different types or rubble, heck even digging up a grave. I'm open to exhaustion mechanics, potential literal pitfalls or other hazards, etc. My players enjoy puzzles and creative problem solving, I'm looking for mechanical options that will meet their creativity instead of me sort of winging it until we came to realize we'd like "excavations" broadly construed to be a part of the game (maybe even eventually captioning the game by having the characters lead a literal excavation of some sort of long buried superstructure equivalent of a great pyramid or the like).
EDIT: I mentioned "active" adventuring, because I could foresee race against time scenarios where either an impending phenomenon (say glacial melt pending collapse of an ice shelf) or hostile (rival treasure hunters or local guardians wishing to keep the secrets buried) may put time limitations on how far the party may go in its digs or delving.
Old schoolers may appreciate I fully intend to use the A Team "welding montage" music when the party gets up to this stuff.
For travel I have used a method where every party member has to contribute a skill check based on an activity they are carrying out to contribute to the task at hand. There is a then a limit of successes that have to be achieved for the overall task to be completed and when people fail they have to roll on a random event table.
There are some rules for this in a few different published adventures, largely the clearing of collapsed passageways etc.
Generally a time can be set where by characters working continuously can clear the rubble as a standard. So for instance 8 hours to clear the rubble from a collapsed passageway. generally the idea of shoring up and supporting the structure would be assumed but, you could define the following in your own adventures.
Working carefully and within the bounds of there abilities, taking it in shifts to clear with others taking short rests to recover from lifting and carrying you could simply define a time to clear an area, this is assuming the players are being careful about how they shore up the ceiling, support the walls and work to clear the rubble, they can then make a simple combined Strength check, and those who are in charge of the mental aspects (deciding how to support etc) make a combined Intelligence check. So get everyone to roll, they are not helping each other so no advantage for this. You then count up how many beat the DC and if more then half beat it then they pass, if they fail then you can decide, maybe it takes longer to move the rubble as one or 2 of them get tired out, or maybe the supports are a little weaker and so there is a % chance of a collapse at some point.
Now the players have a choice, much like travel, thet can go slower, and so have a lower DC to beat, indicating they are taking things more carefully, or they can try and rush it, in which case you raise the DC and make it harder to complete without accidents.
The more you want to roleplay out the actual dig activities the more skill checks you get the players to make.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
This may well be covered in the DMG but I'm not familiar with the section if it is. So looking for thoughts.
So after some developmental sessions, one of parties are basically "treasure hunters," and see their ideal adventures involving perhaps literally digging up lost lore and artifacts of civilizations loss to millennia. Main motive is basically "for the story" in that on the civilized world side of things they're a traveling band and their exploits help inform their roadshow's spread of wonder (one outlier character is basically a deep cover military intelligence operative tasked by his nation to assay magical weapons capabilities in the present and past, but he's the outlier).
I'm wondering how to make "there's something precious metal and inscripted in the rubble, but it'll take some work to get it", or "unsurprisingly the entrance is collapsed and would require some shoring up if you want use this as your main access from basecamp" interesting beyond traps and magical guardians. So does anyone have house rules, legacy rules from other editions ported to 5e, or aware of resources for things like shoring up weak ceilings and walls, digging through different types or rubble, heck even digging up a grave. I'm open to exhaustion mechanics, potential literal pitfalls or other hazards, etc. My players enjoy puzzles and creative problem solving, I'm looking for mechanical options that will meet their creativity instead of me sort of winging it until we came to realize we'd like "excavations" broadly construed to be a part of the game (maybe even eventually captioning the game by having the characters lead a literal excavation of some sort of long buried superstructure equivalent of a great pyramid or the like).
EDIT: I mentioned "active" adventuring, because I could foresee race against time scenarios where either an impending phenomenon (say glacial melt pending collapse of an ice shelf) or hostile (rival treasure hunters or local guardians wishing to keep the secrets buried) may put time limitations on how far the party may go in its digs or delving.
Old schoolers may appreciate I fully intend to use the A Team "welding montage" music when the party gets up to this stuff.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
For travel I have used a method where every party member has to contribute a skill check based on an activity they are carrying out to contribute to the task at hand. There is a then a limit of successes that have to be achieved for the overall task to be completed and when people fail they have to roll on a random event table.
There are some rules for this in a few different published adventures, largely the clearing of collapsed passageways etc.
Generally a time can be set where by characters working continuously can clear the rubble as a standard. So for instance 8 hours to clear the rubble from a collapsed passageway. generally the idea of shoring up and supporting the structure would be assumed but, you could define the following in your own adventures.
Working carefully and within the bounds of there abilities, taking it in shifts to clear with others taking short rests to recover from lifting and carrying you could simply define a time to clear an area, this is assuming the players are being careful about how they shore up the ceiling, support the walls and work to clear the rubble, they can then make a simple combined Strength check, and those who are in charge of the mental aspects (deciding how to support etc) make a combined Intelligence check. So get everyone to roll, they are not helping each other so no advantage for this. You then count up how many beat the DC and if more then half beat it then they pass, if they fail then you can decide, maybe it takes longer to move the rubble as one or 2 of them get tired out, or maybe the supports are a little weaker and so there is a % chance of a collapse at some point.
Now the players have a choice, much like travel, thet can go slower, and so have a lower DC to beat, indicating they are taking things more carefully, or they can try and rush it, in which case you raise the DC and make it harder to complete without accidents.
The more you want to roleplay out the actual dig activities the more skill checks you get the players to make.