A Farming Issue

[Hida Bukkorosu]

you should have them roll Profession (farmer) checks and incorporate the results somehow...

 

[CyberSpyder]

Besides, I thought "Peasant: the Subsistance" was kind of funny. So nyah.

On this, at the very least, you are correct.

 

[Silveras]

Wow! That last website was good!
But being that english isn't my native language I don't understand what a "bu." is...
And maybe I should consider giving them more land (since there are 7 grown adults living off the land and trying to make some profit)

"bu." is an abbreviation for "bushel", an archaic unit measure.

[Edit: And yes, that web site is quite good.]

 

[caudor]

Who says farming is risk-free in a fantasy world? Where there is easy food for the picking, there may be also burrowing Land Sharks, angry river druids, greedy tax collectors, or hungry Goblins to tend to as well. Maybe some evil one decides to animate the scarecrow to get even. Maybe the site they choose is an ancient burial ground.

I'd keep them so busy defending the crop that they would not have time to live a farmer's life. Heroes tend to attract trouble

 

[Ottergame]

There's a reason there's no wealthy farmed in D&D modules. Even if you own massive ammounts of land to grow on, you need so many workers, livestock, and storage areas that you still don't make as much money as a single adventure could net in. Even at 12 acres, you'll make enough food to feed your own party if they really manage the land painfully closely. It'll be more trouble than it's worth, and will never make more than a few gold a year.

 

[Tonguez]

Okay using the figures in the article I'd work a arvest DC using the following

Expected Yield / Labour = Harvest DC where Expected Yeild is Crop/season x Area

So Wheat has a Crop of 8 per Acre
Beef a Crop of 2 per Acre
Grass Crop of 50

With your 12 acres planted in Wheat we get an Expected Yeild of 96/Season
to be Harvested by our 7 agrarian heroes

96/7 = 14 (13.7)

So Farmer Joe and the boys rolls Prof:Farmer check with DC 14 and successfully brings in a good harvest to be divided amongst themselves.

Add whatever modifiers for weather, rivers, irrigation systems, crop rotation techniques, disease, insects, or raids you like

However I'd probably not go do to the level of specific crops though and probably go for something like an Average 'Fertility' modified for Terrain and Climate

(eg say Temperate Hills = Fertility 3/acre for Food (regardless of if its Wheat, Fish or Purple worm jerky) but Desert Hills has Fertility of 0.25/acre (ie it takes 4 acres to produce 1 food unit)

So 20 acres in Temperate hills -> expected yield 60 food
& 20 acres of Desert Hills -> expected yeild 5 food