The characters are being transported to a prison. While deep into one of the worst parts of that transport, a frozen wasteland type place, an npc being transported with them wakes up from a long sleep he started during the ride. He does something, idk what yet, and end up killing the guards and horses. The players are knocked unconscious. When they awake, they're alone in this freezing and barren hell. They need to get out, find their way somewhere else. I wanna make hunger, heat, and encumbrance important. Not satisfying one of them gives penalties to ability scores or max hp, speed, things lie that. How should I go about it, and what should I do once they get out?
Immediately get rid of Goodberry, or make it so they have to find the sprig of mistletoe each time they cast it. Goodberry is a very quick and easy way to just throw the hunger aspect of a survival game out the window since it's a single level 1 slot, that has no consumed components, per day. Depending on where they travel through, be sure to keep in mind the type of predators they can run into, exposure, shade, etc. Even keep in mind scavengers like raccoons, squirrels, birds, etc which could steal food and other things from the players. Water cleanliness could also be part of it. You can't just dunk your face in a river and suck water down, typically. Same with how they prepare food. Think about how well and thoroughly they cook stuff. Diarrhea, food poisoning, poisonous flora are all things that could lead to disaster. This makes spells like purify food and drink actually viable and needed, but not as survival aspect ruining as Goodberry, since it would be needed multiple times a day. As for once they're in the clear, that really depends on the story leading up to their arrest. Were some of them framed? Were they committing crimes to pay off a debt, to provide for their families, maybe they just can't control themselves? They don't all need to be the same, and they don't all have to have a common immediate goal. Maybe they're so far from home at this point they need to stick together to make it through. They could go after the guy, see why he was captured and what he did to break them out. Just don't push in one direction too hard.
Make sure you check the PC's backgrounds: the Wanderer feature from the Outlander background flat-out says "you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth." I wouldn't disallow the feature, but depending on party size, as long as one person has the feature, then you might need to lean on other aspects, like encumbrance (watch out for races that let you double your carrying capacity), or throwing the occasional wrench into the plan, like scavengers, as mentioned above.
Also, why were your players headed to prison? Are they actually guilty of something? Do they know each other and are willing to get along, or are they competing for resources? If they are, this might also mitigate some of the above.
The characters are being transported to a prison. While deep into one of the worst parts of that transport, a frozen wasteland type place, an npc being transported with them wakes up from a long sleep he started during the ride. He does something, idk what yet, and end up killing the guards and horses. The players are knocked unconscious. When they awake, they're alone in this freezing and barren hell. They need to get out, find their way somewhere else. I wanna make hunger, heat, and encumbrance important. Not satisfying one of them gives penalties to ability scores or max hp, speed, things lie that. How should I go about it, and what should I do once they get out?
Immediately get rid of Goodberry, or make it so they have to find the sprig of mistletoe each time they cast it. Goodberry is a very quick and easy way to just throw the hunger aspect of a survival game out the window since it's a single level 1 slot, that has no consumed components, per day. Depending on where they travel through, be sure to keep in mind the type of predators they can run into, exposure, shade, etc. Even keep in mind scavengers like raccoons, squirrels, birds, etc which could steal food and other things from the players. Water cleanliness could also be part of it. You can't just dunk your face in a river and suck water down, typically. Same with how they prepare food. Think about how well and thoroughly they cook stuff. Diarrhea, food poisoning, poisonous flora are all things that could lead to disaster. This makes spells like purify food and drink actually viable and needed, but not as survival aspect ruining as Goodberry, since it would be needed multiple times a day. As for once they're in the clear, that really depends on the story leading up to their arrest. Were some of them framed? Were they committing crimes to pay off a debt, to provide for their families, maybe they just can't control themselves? They don't all need to be the same, and they don't all have to have a common immediate goal. Maybe they're so far from home at this point they need to stick together to make it through. They could go after the guy, see why he was captured and what he did to break them out. Just don't push in one direction too hard.
Check out the Tomb of Annihilation book. It has some great ideas. I suspect that the recently announced Icewind Dales book will too.
Professional computer geek
Make sure you check the PC's backgrounds: the Wanderer feature from the Outlander background flat-out says "you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth." I wouldn't disallow the feature, but depending on party size, as long as one person has the feature, then you might need to lean on other aspects, like encumbrance (watch out for races that let you double your carrying capacity), or throwing the occasional wrench into the plan, like scavengers, as mentioned above.
Also, why were your players headed to prison? Are they actually guilty of something? Do they know each other and are willing to get along, or are they competing for resources? If they are, this might also mitigate some of the above.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep