D&D 5E A brief rant about Rime of the Frost Maiden, farming, logistics, and ecology

[Mallus]

Where does the ton of firewood needed to heat and cook for every single inhabitant each year come from?

Couldn't the small, declining population just chop down the dead/dying tress until they ran out?

 

[Shardstone]

Couldn't the small, declining population just chop down the dead/dying tress until they ran out?

Druids are actively hunting people in the wilderness, so unlikely that'd go well.

Cool idea for an adventure or one-shot thought!

 

[Jd Smith1]

This is true, and this thread proves it. Why go over the top and shoot for the stars with quality when people don't care so long as its enough? The wonders of creative capitalism I guess?

WOTC is the low-end fast food of RPGs. Quick simple slop served to people who demand nothing more.

It used to be cheap, but that ship sailed.

The thing is, they could be great, but they choose not to bother.

 

[Guest User]

Well-written, but you've skipped over a very important issue: the fact that most GMs will have shelled out $30, only to get a product whose writers couldn't be bothered to fact-check at all

Virtual Architecture and Quantum Physics seem to share certain design features, when something is not being rendered "on screen", that something is compressed, until it does take center stage.

I don't need a module to detail a new "Firewood Gathering" subsystem.
most players with access to XGE are going to take the Create Bonfire Cantrip.

If a game contains a player, like yourself, that has knowledge about cold weather and demands a high degree of verisimilitude, then as I DM I just need to talk to the player.

RPG design should be less Wikipedia...more good maps, scenarios and NPC.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Couldn't the small, declining population just chop down the dead/dying tress until they ran out?

Remember the extensive predators? They would harvest from the edges inward, because that is most efficient and safe.

And the population would certainly not be declining; the scenario has a steady supply of cheap food through the use of 'Crops o' plenty' magic.

And what happens when you have surplus population and a shortage of jobs? You go to war! Clear out the close-by, infested woods to keep the population working.

 

[Raunalyn]

I haven't read through the entire thread yet, but I really like your reasoning.

One thought I had (and this is a pretty grim thought) is that the lottery that some of the towns are having to appease Auril could serve another purpose...food.

I know, the thought of cannibalism is pretty unsettling for many people, but the theme around RotFM is horror, paranoia, isolation.

 

[Jd Smith1]

RPG design should be less Wikipedia...more good maps, scenarios and NPC.

Good scenarios require good plots. And withy Wiki and Google, no GM has an excuse not to get the basics right.

However, I only GM. But my players would never let something as lame as the scenario described pass. I can't think of any group I've run that would stand for something that silly.

 

[Mallus]

Not really. They work for those willing to accept that level of material.

Being a bit of a snob, eh?

My experience with running complex plots in D&D is they work when they are developed organically and are explicitly tailored for a particular group, where the DM knows the amount of buy-in they can expect and what the players overall expectations are. They're not the sort of thing you can easily bake into a published adventure meant for the widest possible audience.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Being a bit of a snob, eh?

My experience with running complex plots in D&D is they work when they are developed organically and are explicitly tailored for a particular group, where the DM knows the amount of buy-in they can expect and what the players overall expectation are. They're not the sort of thing you can easily bake into a published adventure meant for the widest possible audience.

Well, as the song says, it's hard to be humble...

Speaking of which, the guy that sang that just passed away.

 

[Shardstone]

Virtual Architecture and Quantum Physics seem to share certain design features, when something is not being rendered "on screen", that something is compressed, until it does take center stage.

I don't need a module to detail a new "Firewood Gathering" subsystem.
most players with access to XGE are going to take the Create Bonfire Cantrip.

If a game contains a player, like yourself, that has knowledge about cold weather and demands a high degree of verisimilitude, then as I DM I just need to talk to the player.

RPG design should be less Wikipedia...more good maps, scenarios and NPC.

I find it hilarious how you boil our arguments down to Firewood Gathering. At least try to argue in good faith.