Okay Ludwig, you now have a tent. Add it to your character sheet and pay the gp value. (Also, you are at full hit points due to last night’s long rest.)
A note about equipment: I’m not trying to make this game about what equipment your character has or doesn’t have. If there’s a common item that you feel your character would have brought but you forgot to put on your equipment list at the beginning, that’s fine if it gets added as if you had it all along. I’m not being punitive by asking you to add it, and I don’t want to punish you for having forgotten to bring it in the first place. It does start to feel cheesy, though, if equipment lists are retconned too much or too often in response to challenges, so I’d ask that it be kept to a minimum. Also, it shouldn’t contradict any fiction that has already been established. For example, I think it has been established by now that each person only has one waterskin, so I wouldn’t allow anyone to suddenly declare they have two. Ultimately, your equipment list is part of your character, so fleshing it out as we go is fine, within limits like gold and carrying capacity.
Once Syl makes the second roll of his Survival check we can continue...
In the mid-morning, Ludwig’s dousing rods lead the party to a place where, by digging a short way down, a small amount of water can be gathered, enough to quench the thirst everyone still has from the day before, but negligible in terms of the day’s consumption.
Likewise, when the passing clouds begin intermittently to dump rain on you as you travel, Ludwig’s attempts to gather it with his outstretched tent are mistimed, and while successful in gathering some water, it doesn’t produce much more than a trickle.
Ganod’s exhaustion prevents him from being of much use in finding fresh water, his awareness of the surrounding landscape being clouded by the lingering effects of dehydration.
Syl the Wanderer, however, expertly leads the party to green places along the way where abundant water is found, satisfying everyone’s needs for the day and leaving everyone with a full waterskin for tomorrow’s journey. Each waterskin holds only half a gallon, however, and each party member requires a full gallon each day (two in hot weather), so water will still need to be found.
In the early evening, a nearly-full moon rises among the clouds in the eastern sky. The three watches of the night pass without incident, and the air is chilly as the sun rises on the following day. Syl and Ganod’s exhaustion is removed, and the new day covers the sky with thick clouds.
You are four days’ journey east of Harthwaite. The plain stretches out to the limit of your vision on every side. Where will your journey take you today, and what activities will you perform while traveling?
The wind today drops to a moderate level, and the weather is mild under a cloudy sky in which a storm appears to be brewing.
No storm arrives, however, and in the afternoon, the grassy plain gives way to a dry, barren, desert land once again. You can see flashes of lightening away in the West on the plains behind you.
Everything around you is dry as you come to the end of another day’s travel, and the desert dust is borne aloft by the wind. While in the plains, foraging for food and water shouldn’t have been too difficult, but since crossing into the desert, it has become more so.
Syl gathers 8 pounds of food and finds plenty of water along the way, enough for everyone to once again begin the following day with a full waterskin.
The temperature drops precipitously to chilly overnight, but otherwise nothing transpires during your watches.
In the morning, a fresh wind breaks up the clouds in time to reveal the full moon setting in the West and sends dust and tumbleweeds flying through the air.
A barren landscape lies before you. Do you continue your journey eastward, and what do you do as you travel?
Directly to the North and South, Syl can only see miles of flatlands stretching into the distance. But as he scans the horizon, he can just make out the outlines of mountain peaks one range in the Northwest and another in the Southeast, thrown into contrast by the light of the rising sun.
To be clear, knowledge of rumors or points of interest would be part of your backstory, which you are free to reference as you did earlier when you mentioned having read something in a book. What I’m interested in are action declarations. What is your character doing now to test his supposed knowledge?
Did I find the fountain of youth with a 23? :)
DM - Above & Below
Ludwig, please describe how you gather the rainwater.
Survival: 17
Survival: 5
Syl and Ganod, I’m going to need another Wisdom (Survival) check from each of you, so we can use the lower of the two results.
Thanks, Ganod!
I use my tent to catch the rain and pour it into my waterskin.
25
DM - Above & Below
Okay Ludwig, you now have a tent. Add it to your character sheet and pay the gp value. (Also, you are at full hit points due to last night’s long rest.)
A note about equipment: I’m not trying to make this game about what equipment your character has or doesn’t have. If there’s a common item that you feel your character would have brought but you forgot to put on your equipment list at the beginning, that’s fine if it gets added as if you had it all along. I’m not being punitive by asking you to add it, and I don’t want to punish you for having forgotten to bring it in the first place. It does start to feel cheesy, though, if equipment lists are retconned too much or too often in response to challenges, so I’d ask that it be kept to a minimum. Also, it shouldn’t contradict any fiction that has already been established. For example, I think it has been established by now that each person only has one waterskin, so I wouldn’t allow anyone to suddenly declare they have two. Ultimately, your equipment list is part of your character, so fleshing it out as we go is fine, within limits like gold and carrying capacity.
Once Syl makes the second roll of his Survival check we can continue...
(Oops! Cross-posted with Syl above. Nice roll!)
In the mid-morning, Ludwig’s dousing rods lead the party to a place where, by digging a short way down, a small amount of water can be gathered, enough to quench the thirst everyone still has from the day before, but negligible in terms of the day’s consumption.
Likewise, when the passing clouds begin intermittently to dump rain on you as you travel, Ludwig’s attempts to gather it with his outstretched tent are mistimed, and while successful in gathering some water, it doesn’t produce much more than a trickle.
Ganod’s exhaustion prevents him from being of much use in finding fresh water, his awareness of the surrounding landscape being clouded by the lingering effects of dehydration.
Syl the Wanderer, however, expertly leads the party to green places along the way where abundant water is found, satisfying everyone’s needs for the day and leaving everyone with a full waterskin for tomorrow’s journey. Each waterskin holds only half a gallon, however, and each party member requires a full gallon each day (two in hot weather), so water will still need to be found.
In the early evening, a nearly-full moon rises among the clouds in the eastern sky. The three watches of the night pass without incident, and the air is chilly as the sun rises on the following day. Syl and Ganod’s exhaustion is removed, and the new day covers the sky with thick clouds.
You are four days’ journey east of Harthwaite. The plain stretches out to the limit of your vision on every side. Where will your journey take you today, and what activities will you perform while traveling?
Ganod takes his sword and holds it just above the grounds surface, letting it fall in a random direction. 3
"East it is." Ganod will suggest going East.
"No reason to change course now, right?" Syl looks eastward.
Syl will continue to keep watch for water and potential food sources.
DM - Above & Below
Okay, I have Syl foraging for food and water.
I assume Ganod and Ludwig are keeping watch for danger, and that you’re all in agreement about continuing East at a medium pace?
Current marching order seems to be Syl, then Ganod, then Ludwig. Correct?
Continuing on...
The wind today drops to a moderate level, and the weather is mild under a cloudy sky in which a storm appears to be brewing.
No storm arrives, however, and in the afternoon, the grassy plain gives way to a dry, barren, desert land once again. You can see flashes of lightening away in the West on the plains behind you.
Everything around you is dry as you come to the end of another day’s travel, and the desert dust is borne aloft by the wind. While in the plains, foraging for food and water shouldn’t have been too difficult, but since crossing into the desert, it has become more so.
Syl, make a DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check.
18
DM - Above & Below
Syl gathers 8 pounds of food and finds plenty of water along the way, enough for everyone to once again begin the following day with a full waterskin.
The temperature drops precipitously to chilly overnight, but otherwise nothing transpires during your watches.
In the morning, a fresh wind breaks up the clouds in time to reveal the full moon setting in the West and sends dust and tumbleweeds flying through the air.
A barren landscape lies before you. Do you continue your journey eastward, and what do you do as you travel?
"Well, this doesn't look very promising," Syl turns to instead inspect the northern and southern routes, hoping to find more hospitable horizons.
DM - Above & Below
Directly to the North and South, Syl can only see miles of flatlands stretching into the distance. But as he scans the horizon, he can just make out the outlines of mountain peaks one range in the Northwest and another in the Southeast, thrown into contrast by the light of the rising sun.
Do I know of any rumors or points of interest in the area?
Ludwig could know of something like that. What does he do to determine whether he knows of any such things?
To be clear, knowledge of rumors or points of interest would be part of your backstory, which you are free to reference as you did earlier when you mentioned having read something in a book. What I’m interested in are action declarations. What is your character doing now to test his supposed knowledge?
He searches his memory.