Hunger and starvation

Gunton The Terrible · Jul 28, 2008

So what are the effects of hunger?

The PH and DMG seem to have conflicting ways of handling hunger/starvation. Under the Endurance skill it refers you to chapter 3 of the DMG, but there is nothing about hunger there.

The DMG has the rule of three in chapter nine, but it seems a bit extreme. The characters basically wait three weeks to make an endurance roll at DC 20.

On the other hand the Endurance skill in the PH mentions a roll of 10 + 2 per day, but doesn't mention when you start making that roll or the consequences of missing it.

Have they answered this elsewhere?

Kordeth · Jul 28, 2008

What I find more interesting is that D&D characters can never actually starve to death or die of thirst. The DMG says that you don't regain healing surges when you rest if you're suffering from deprivation, but says nothing about regaining all your hit points when you rest. Since the most damage you can take per day is 30, there's effectively no way to starve to death!

Hmm...unless "and must continue making checks" is meant in the sense of "make a new check every round until one succeeds."

But anyways, to address your point, I'd probably just apply a condition to any characters currently short of healing surges due to hunger or thirst (maybe weakened), and use the PHB Endurance DC to let them shake off that effect for the day.

For example: Davros has been without food in the jungle for 25 days. He failed an Endurance check on the 23rd day and is now down one healing surge. Unless he makes a DC 16 Endurance check (he's been suffering from starvation for two days now) when he gets up from an extended rest, he is weakened for the entire day. After his next extended rest, he needs to make a DC 45 Endurance check to avoid losing another healing surge, and a DC 18 check to stave of the weakened condition.

Gunton The Terrible · Jul 28, 2008

If we follow the DMG you could bring 10 days of rations with you and survive for 230 days without suffering any ill effects by eating once every 21 days.
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
1 day on
20 days off
--------------
230 days

Goumindong · Jul 28, 2008

Gunton The Terrible said:
So what are the effects of hunger?

The PH and DMG seem to have conflicting ways of handling hunger/starvation. Under the Endurance skill it refers you to chapter 3 of the DMG, but there is nothing about hunger there.

The DMG has the rule of three in chapter nine, but it seems a bit extreme. The characters basically wait three weeks to make an endurance roll at DC 20.

On the other hand the Endurance skill in the PH mentions a roll of 10 + 2 per day, but doesn't mention when you start making that roll or the consequences of missing it.

Have they answered this elsewhere?

Make it a level appropriate skill challenge and then gloss over the details. Players gain no benefit from an extended rest during the time they are "surviving".

Its actually a pretty clever mechanic to deal with traveling. Since most of the time people travel is kinda boring and you might get a random encounter if the DM decides to run like that. Course a single random encounter on a travel is worthless, the players rest after each one since its a day.

Threat the entire travel like a single day and say you cant get the benefit of an extended rest when traveling without taking a week off(or something). The survival part is an endurance/perception/nature skill challenge(dungeoneering if the travel happens underground), the overland parts are athletics/endurance, combat is combat, covering tracks is nature/dungeoneering etc.

I should write up something about that.

Hunger and starvation

Gunton The Terrible

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Kordeth

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Gunton The Terrible

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Goumindong

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