In a game I'm planning out, we're going to incorporate some sandbox elements for survival – including the PCs needing to find food and water. My goal here is to make it so these are downtime/gap-filler activities that provide an immersion challenge without it becoming a chore. Their world will have different biomes with correspondingly different expectations for foraging, hunting prey, and finding water.
I'm going to work with my players to make it fun, and it can either go simple with a single survival DC or complex with separate DCs for food, hunting, fishing, and water and/or dX rolls for how many pounds of something is found.
When constructing a makeshift bridge to cross a raging river, the party was asked to roll seperate DCs: Strength to pull the pointed logs making a palisade out of the ground; Intelligence to figure out the best way to put the rope around them; Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) to fasten rope and twine around the logs; and finally a Wisdom check to see if it would hold. The construction was a disaster, and it was rather frustrating to begin with, but in hindsight it was pretty funny.
With the night's rest , sure, have people assigned to different things to ensure they can use their proficiencies in a way that benefits the party. As an Artificer player in the above-mentioned scenario, I can attest to beaming with joy when there's a challenge that my character can use their proficiency in solving. It's also a great roleplay opportunity: how'd they learn to cook (or is this their first time? Did they go fishing as a pastime, alone or with someone close to them? Do they hunt with a spear, blowgun, or bow? How'd they learn to build traps? There's further questions such as what fish are they going to try and get, and when it arrives in camp how is the party chef going to cook it? How do poisons affect the meat, do the berries make a good sauce or would they be better for a juice?
I got these ideas from Pathfinder: Kingmaker's campfire chatter, where NPCs have different preferences for being on watch, cooking, foraging and so forth. In doing so they can provide bonuses to success, and two characters will indulge in conversation (Harrim FTW).
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Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
The core problem with survival scenarios is they are likely to involve doing the same basic thing again and again, and too much repetition of anything turns boring.
I like using Skill Checks for things like this, especially in survivor games. I'm inspired by the rules from Forbidden Empires (an unrelated fantasy RPG) as they give people 'jobs' that they perform during travel and this maps over nicely to Skill Checks in D&D.
When they are going to travel into the unknown, I ask the players to divide their characters into the following roles:
Navigator: This person makes a Survival check to see how well they get to their intended location and/or stay the course if trying to "Travel East to the mountains."
Hunter: This person makes a Survival check to forage for food and good water. The better they do, the more people can skip on rations and live off the land.
Naturalist: This person makes a Nature check to determine if anything is out of order in the land and the weather.
Watcher / Scout: This person makes a Perception check to keep an eye out for ambushes, hidden dangers in the terrain, etc.
You can mix in or out skills, but the basic idea (for me) is that this gives the characters something to do that can impact the travel for better or worse. If they roll poorly, they get lost, need to eat rations as the hunting and water is bad, get caught out in the open during a storm, walk into an ambush, etc.
As a DM I have a few planned 'failure moments' in a region so I can use those as a response to bad roles, I can also reward major successes with similar prepared elements.
This is a work in progress for me, but really helps with these ideas. I think there is a version of this for urban environments too, I just haven't sat down to do it. (Trader, Socializer, etc).
I like using Skill Checks for things like this, especially in survivor games. I'm inspired by the rules from Forbidden Empires (an unrelated fantasy RPG) as they give people 'jobs' that they perform during travel and this maps over nicely to Skill Checks in D&D.
When they are going to travel into the unknown, I ask the players to divide their characters into the following roles:
Navigator: This person makes a Survival check to see how well they get to their intended location and/or stay the course if trying to "Travel East to the mountains."
Hunter: This person makes a Survival check to forage for food and good water. The better they do, the more people can skip on rations and live off the land.
Naturalist: This person makes a Nature check to determine if anything is out of order in the land and the weather.
Watcher / Scout: This person makes a Perception check to keep an eye out for ambushes, hidden dangers in the terrain, etc.
You can mix in or out skills, but the basic idea (for me) is that this gives the characters something to do that can impact the travel for better or worse. If they roll poorly, they get lost, need to eat rations as the hunting and water is bad, get caught out in the open during a storm, walk into an ambush, etc.
As a DM I have a few planned 'failure moments' in a region so I can use those as a response to bad roles, I can also reward major successes with similar prepared elements.
This is a work in progress for me, but really helps with these ideas. I think there is a version of this for urban environments too, I just haven't sat down to do it. (Trader, Socializer, etc).
That's a good idea, giving more structure than a "someone give me a survival roll to see if you find a trail."
The idea I'm thinking of having is that while a low look-around roll might mean they find nothing, a "you found something" roll could lead to encounters. Especially if they're spending a lot of time doing an activity, and/or carrying a lot of meat with them.
What’s the party composition? Anyone have goodberry that will just cancel it out? Or a ranger in their favored territory?
If they want to use their spell slot this way (goodberry) they're free to do so. We haven't had a session 0 yet and who exactly is playing what isn't clear (and as they level someone might multiclass of course).
I like using Skill Checks for things like this, especially in survivor games. I'm inspired by the rules from Forbidden Empires (an unrelated fantasy RPG) as they give people 'jobs' that they perform during travel and this maps over nicely to Skill Checks in D&D.
When they are going to travel into the unknown, I ask the players to divide their characters into the following roles:
Navigator: This person makes a Survival check to see how well they get to their intended location and/or stay the course if trying to "Travel East to the mountains."
Hunter: This person makes a Survival check to forage for food and good water. The better they do, the more people can skip on rations and live off the land.
Naturalist: This person makes a Nature check to determine if anything is out of order in the land and the weather.
Watcher / Scout: This person makes a Perception check to keep an eye out for ambushes, hidden dangers in the terrain, etc.
You can mix in or out skills, but the basic idea (for me) is that this gives the characters something to do that can impact the travel for better or worse. If they roll poorly, they get lost, need to eat rations as the hunting and water is bad, get caught out in the open during a storm, walk into an ambush, etc.
As a DM I have a few planned 'failure moments' in a region so I can use those as a response to bad roles, I can also reward major successes with similar prepared elements.
This is a work in progress for me, but really helps with these ideas. I think there is a version of this for urban environments too, I just haven't sat down to do it. (Trader, Socializer, etc).
That's a good idea, giving more structure than a "someone give me a survival roll to see if you find a trail."
The idea I'm thinking of having is that while a low look-around roll might mean they find nothing, a "you found something" roll could lead to encounters. Especially if they're spending a lot of time doing an activity, and/or carrying a lot of meat with them.
Thank you, I'm nowhere near 'done' with it but I think the approach has value because it gives characters more ways to shine and makes overland travel more interesting without roleplaying every single momento n the trail.
I totally agree that it could lead to encounters, the discovery of lost places, and more. Especially in the context of a campaign. As the DM we can have planned results as a response to good rolls, and bad ones, that further the story but don't have to be used.
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In a game I'm planning out, we're going to incorporate some sandbox elements for survival – including the PCs needing to find food and water. My goal here is to make it so these are downtime/gap-filler activities that provide an immersion challenge without it becoming a chore. Their world will have different biomes with correspondingly different expectations for foraging, hunting prey, and finding water.
I know there's some guidance in XGtE and DMG for this, and folks online have put together homebrews or tips (https://blackcitadelrpg.com/foraging-5e/ and https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-M89qsqPy-Vcukn_tfZX). Has anyone run with this mechanic, either from one of these rule sets or one they made up themselves?
I'm going to work with my players to make it fun, and it can either go simple with a single survival DC or complex with separate DCs for food, hunting, fishing, and water and/or dX rolls for how many pounds of something is found.
What’s the party composition? Anyone have goodberry that will just cancel it out? Or a ranger in their favored territory?
When constructing a makeshift bridge to cross a raging river, the party was asked to roll seperate DCs: Strength to pull the pointed logs making a palisade out of the ground; Intelligence to figure out the best way to put the rope around them; Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) to fasten rope and twine around the logs; and finally a Wisdom check to see if it would hold. The construction was a disaster, and it was rather frustrating to begin with, but in hindsight it was pretty funny.
With the night's rest , sure, have people assigned to different things to ensure they can use their proficiencies in a way that benefits the party. As an Artificer player in the above-mentioned scenario, I can attest to beaming with joy when there's a challenge that my character can use their proficiency in solving. It's also a great roleplay opportunity: how'd they learn to cook (or is this their first time? Did they go fishing as a pastime, alone or with someone close to them? Do they hunt with a spear, blowgun, or bow? How'd they learn to build traps? There's further questions such as what fish are they going to try and get, and when it arrives in camp how is the party chef going to cook it? How do poisons affect the meat, do the berries make a good sauce or would they be better for a juice?
I got these ideas from Pathfinder: Kingmaker's campfire chatter, where NPCs have different preferences for being on watch, cooking, foraging and so forth. In doing so they can provide bonuses to success, and two characters will indulge in conversation (Harrim FTW).
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
The core problem with survival scenarios is they are likely to involve doing the same basic thing again and again, and too much repetition of anything turns boring.
I like using Skill Checks for things like this, especially in survivor games. I'm inspired by the rules from Forbidden Empires (an unrelated fantasy RPG) as they give people 'jobs' that they perform during travel and this maps over nicely to Skill Checks in D&D.
When they are going to travel into the unknown, I ask the players to divide their characters into the following roles:
You can mix in or out skills, but the basic idea (for me) is that this gives the characters something to do that can impact the travel for better or worse. If they roll poorly, they get lost, need to eat rations as the hunting and water is bad, get caught out in the open during a storm, walk into an ambush, etc.
As a DM I have a few planned 'failure moments' in a region so I can use those as a response to bad roles, I can also reward major successes with similar prepared elements.
This is a work in progress for me, but really helps with these ideas. I think there is a version of this for urban environments too, I just haven't sat down to do it. (Trader, Socializer, etc).
That's a good idea, giving more structure than a "someone give me a survival roll to see if you find a trail."
The idea I'm thinking of having is that while a low look-around roll might mean they find nothing, a "you found something" roll could lead to encounters. Especially if they're spending a lot of time doing an activity, and/or carrying a lot of meat with them.
If they want to use their spell slot this way (goodberry) they're free to do so. We haven't had a session 0 yet and who exactly is playing what isn't clear (and as they level someone might multiclass of course).
But I want to be prepared in any event.
Thank you, I'm nowhere near 'done' with it but I think the approach has value because it gives characters more ways to shine and makes overland travel more interesting without roleplaying every single momento n the trail.
I totally agree that it could lead to encounters, the discovery of lost places, and more. Especially in the context of a campaign. As the DM we can have planned results as a response to good rolls, and bad ones, that further the story but don't have to be used.