Food and Water

[JoeBlank]

Am I missing something or are there no specific 3.5 rules for what happens if you go without food and water?

I have started my online group in the World's Largest Dungeon, and I want to stress the fact that they are trapped in the dungeon and must learn to survive until they can find a way out. They brought a minimal supply of trail rations and water, but it won't last long. Soon I expect they will start spending time on hunting and looking for water, and eventually the cleric will probably burn spells to create food and water.

This could of course be too much of a nitpicking detail for some players, and if that turns out to be the case then we will come up with an easy solution before it makes the game unfun. But for now, in addition to including XP totals in my emails post-session, I am including entries like this:

Time elapsed:
Session: 1 day
Total: 1 day

Provisions:
Rations, starting: 15 days
Rations, ending: 12 days
Water, starting: 2 skins
Water, ending: 0 skins

I am presuming that a waterskin holds a one-day supply of water, but perhaps I should allow for more. Rations are already purchased "per day", so that is easy.

As far as going without food and water, for now I am using this rule: If you go a whole day without either food or water you become fatigued. If you go a second day without either food or water you become exhausted.

Hopefully we won't have to much past a second day, as they will obviously be looking to remedy the problem.

Questions:

1. Anyone know of published rules for the effects of going without food and/or water (and how much a waterskin holds)?

2. Suggestions and opinions on the methods I am using so far?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Rkhet]

SRD:

STARVATION AND THIRST

Characters might find themselves without food or water and with no means to obtain them. In normal climates, Medium characters need at least a gallon of fluids and about a pound of decent food per day to avoid starvation. (Small characters need half as much.) In very hot climates, characters need two or three times as much water to avoid dehydration.

A character can go without water for 1 day plus a number of hours equal to his Constitution score. After this time, the character must make a Constitution check each hour (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.

A character can go without food for 3 days, in growing discomfort. After this time, the character must make a Constitution check each day (DC 10, +1 for each previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.

Characters who have taken nonlethal damage from lack of food or water are fatigued. Nonlethal damage from thirst or starvation cannot be recovered until the character gets food or water, as needed—not even magic that restores hit points heals this damage.

 

[Rkhet]

Trail rations for small characters weigh only 1/4 of a pound, interestingly enough. By the RAW that means they need to eat two of them per day. I think someone screwed up.

 

[JoeBlank]

Dang, I must be finally evolving into a RBDM. I was being pretty harsh.

Thanks for the help, Rkhet. Wonder why I couldn't find that info in the SRD, PHB or DMG.

I note that the rules say you need a gallon of water per day, but does not indicate how much a waterskin holds (unless I am missing that too). I'm just going to presume a waterskin holds a gallon, which will make it easier to keep up with.

Has anyone else had experience keeping up with food and water in this sort of situation?

 

[dcollins]

Waterskin holds a half-gallon. You can see this in 3.0 PHB p. 110 (deleted from 3.5). Or, just take into account the fact that 1 gallon of water = 8 pounds.

 

[JoeBlank]

Thanks, dcollins. I did manage to refresh my memory (thanks to google) that a gallon of water weighs a little over 8 pounds, and thought it was strange that a waterskin is listed at 4 pounds. Seems inefficient for adventurers to need to stop and refill their waterskins twice per day.

I'm already being anal enough about this in my WLD game, so I'm just going to assume that a waterskin holds a day's worth of water.

 

[jgsugden]

A suggestion: Don't let the struggle to find food and water last too long. It gets a bit ... boring. Establish it as a problem that the PCs need to overcome. Then ive them a few ways to beat it.

You might place a few food stocks and water sources in the first fwe sessions of adventure, but by the fourth or 5th session, the PCs really should have a renewable set of resources, either magical or mundance.

 

[feydras]

I would appreciate the challenge this provides as a player. It makes you think, act creatively and searching for food could be an interesting diversion from hack and slash > collect loot. But then i'm a player who always figures out my encumbrance.

- feydras

 

[Warehouse23]

I've got to side with JGS. There are better things to do in the WLD than hunt and peck for food and water. That being said, the search for reliable supplies of of food and drink makes for an excellent "encounter" early on and adds to feelings of being trapped. Later in the dungeon, you could mention that certain techniques are no longer working, or that the food caches have become more few and far between. Nothing makes good roleplayers take a risk than the gnawing of hunger or thirst (i.e., there's a well in such and such a room but it is being guarded by your worst nightmare, because, get this, YWN also needs to drink).

Oh, and about the trail rations 1/4 lb vs. 1/2 lb. I would house rule that "trail rations" count double towards the "1 lb of decent food" required per day. You can cram a lot of calories into old-school pemican. It might taste like fat, nuts, and tar, but it keeps you going,

 

[JoeBlank]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm expecting the hunt for food and water will get old pretty soon, but I figured stressing it at first would heighten the feeling of being trapped. I like the idea that there are no trips "back to town" to buy and sell items and restock supplies.

Plus, there is not much treasure in the early regions of WLD, especially in Region A. This way the players are reminded of the value of even the most mundane items.