Survival/Resource Management rules?

GlassJaw · Jun 30, 2018

I'm starting to brainstorm on a possible new campaign and I've been toying with themes that are more survival-based (and potentially lowerish magic). The basic premise is that resources (water, food, healing, precious metals, etc.) are scarce, or at least harder to come by than the assumed 5E economy. Think settings like Dark Sun, Conan, Lankhmar, Middle-Earth, etc.

Unfortunately, tracking resources typically isn't fun at the table during the play, and can be somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming, at least using the standard gear rules.

What I'd like is a set of rules that abstracts (and ideally replaces) the character sheet accounting. One idea I've been working on is a system that uses physical "props" at the table (like poker chips) to represent the amount or days of food and water. Players then "spend" them to ensure they don't succumb to hunger or thirst. This system would also be accompanied with downtime rules that allow for resource gathering checks or harsher requirements for resting if a character is exhausted due to hunger or thirst.

So I'm curious if a) anyone has done something similar, or b) if a product like this might exist. I'm also open to products on DMs Guild. Thanks!

pogre · Jun 30, 2018

Not exactly what you are looking for iserith's post on using phases to force decisions might spur some thoughts for you on this:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?647365-iserith-s-Sunless-Citadel

dregntael · Jun 30, 2018

Do you know the usage die mechanic from the black hack? Basically, every resource is represented by a die (d4/d6/d8/d10/d12) that you roll every time you use it, and when you roll a 1-2 the die degrades by one step. If you roll a 1-2 on a d4 the resource is depleted. I usually don't keep track of resources in my campaigns, but if I did I would use something like that.

Satyrn · Jul 1, 2018

I tied the fundamental resource spending - food and water - to rests. A character who wants to get any benefit from a short rest must eat a ration and drink a pint of water. Double that for a long rest. (A character who doesn't need the benefit of rest when his party takes one doesn't have to use anything, so the players get some control over their resource spending, giving them a bit of a sense of stretching out what they have)

Spending hit dice during a rest also requires being treated with a healer's kit (and healing on a long rest requires spending hit dice, too)

Li Shenron · Jul 1, 2018

GlassJaw said:
What I'd like is a set of rules that abstracts (and ideally replaces) the character sheet accounting. One idea I've been working on is a system that uses physical "props" at the table (like poker chips) to represent the amount or days of food and water. Players then "spend" them to ensure they don't succumb to hunger or thirst. This system would also be accompanied with downtime rules that allow for resource gathering checks or harsher requirements for resting if a character is exhausted due to hunger or thirst.

I was going to suggest to just design yourself a better character sheet

Well the official character sheet is just USELESS for tracking equipment. I use a whole page divided into a few sections, you can see my custom character sheets here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1415

But if you don't want to use pen & paper at all for this, "props" do sound like a nice idea. You could use Lego bricks for example

Make sure that every player gets a container to store the props between sessions, for example a small fridge food box that can be closed. The only problem with props might be if you really need a lot of them... rations and tools are ok, but ammunition is not (I don't think you really want to have a token for each arrow in the quiver). For money, you could use notes from Monopoly and coins from another game, but personally I would just write those down in any cases.

77IM · Jul 2, 2018

dregntael said:
Do you know the usage die mechanic from the black hack? Basically, every resource is represented by a die (d4/d6/d8/d10/d12) that you roll every time you use it, and when you roll a 1-2 the die degrades by one step. If you roll a 1-2 on a d4 the resource is depleted. I usually don't keep track of resources in my campaigns, but if I did I would use something like that.

I came here to say this... but I saw it as a rule in Forbidden Lands. I'm guessing they got it from the Black Hack.

I'd also suggest you look at the encumbrance system for Mutant: Year Zero if you get a chance. I think it's it one of the early chapters that is available as a free download. Basically, your Strength determines how many lines of equipment you can fill in, and the size/weight of an item determines how many lines it takes up. For example, I think a day's worth of food is 1/4 of a line, and a day's water is 1/2 a line, and "average" Strength gets you around 6 lines in your inventory. I like it because it forces you to think holistically about your encumbrance, but doesn't require you to add up a lot of weights.

davout1805 · Jan 24, 2019

I use wooden cube tokens: red for ammo, brown for food, green for healing kits. Works pretty well as long as you bag them & store them at the end of session before a giant beast (my cat) decides to play with them.

toucanbuzz · Jan 24, 2019

Go with the poker chips visual, no need to get fancier than that. Gave XP to davout1805 because he's doing what I plan on doing in a future Dark Sun 5E campaign. I plan on having a bowl with large blue beads for each gallon of water, and brown or green for food. At the end of each day, we'll remove what we use. That's a LOT better than everyone forgetting to track their own supplies like every campaign I've ever run, and it's a great visual when that water supply gets dangerously low. I wouldn't come up with any more fancy of a system than what the rules already have for daily consumption of water, though I'd tinker the starvation rules (they can be abused in an unrealistic way to eat only a few times a month).

You already have rules on scavenging (Survival, DC15 for plentiful areas, DC20 for scarce, and perhaps there's none at all to be found), and since that's a skill check, you're in big trouble if you have one level of exhaustion. I'd get creative with food. It's amazing what you'll eat when starving. As to resting, you still need a full serving of food and water to remove that exhaustion, so I'd leave it at that. It's a nasty (and great) mechanic that can quickly cascade with just a level or two.

Next, you'll need to make sure resources count. Remove food and water creation spells from your game. Goodberry doesn't exist in Dark Sun (I don't think mistletoe does either), and that single spell takes away all the anxiety of foraging. Combine that with a bucket and Create Water and your survival game is over. If it were that easy, the world wouldn't be what it is.

In Dark Sun, survival challenges are just as dangerous as monsters and should be a big deal. Sandstorms, dangerous plants (that might contain lifegiving water or toxins), dehydration, foraging, protection from extreme heat, all are in the game and all come into play.

Satyrn · Jan 24, 2019

GlassJaw said:
What I'd like is a set of rules that abstracts (and ideally replaces) the character sheet accounting. One idea I've been working on is a system that uses physical "props" at the table (like poker chips) to represent the amount or days of food and water. Players then "spend" them to ensure they don't succumb to hunger or thirst.

The poker chip thing is cool. I don't do it, but I do make my players track food and water. I have them spend the rations in a different way than normal.

In order to gain the benefit of a short rest, they must consume one ration of water and one ration of food. To gain the benefit of a long rest, they must spend two rations of each. If they don't have the rations to spend (or don't want to) they can substitute a level of exhaustion to gain the benefits of their rest.

What this results in has proven pretty cool. I as DM am never telling them "a day had passed, spend a ration." Instead, the players control it entirely, and each player eats and drinks at their own pace, reflecting their own exertion through the day. A player can feel like he's stretching his rations by foregoing a rest that the rest of the party is taking.

And if they're out of rations they can choose to push themselves to the limit by refusing to rest for days on end, or take the exhaustion and succumb to their hunger and thirst.

Satyrn · Jan 24, 2019

Oh. I already posted that.

Survival/Resource Management rules?

GlassJaw

Hero

pogre

Legend

dregntael

Explorer

Satyrn

First Post

Li Shenron

Legend

77IM

Explorer!!!

davout1805

Explorer

toucanbuzz

No rule is inviolate

Satyrn

First Post

Satyrn

First Post

Similar Threads