Anyone else think food upkeep is tedious?

[Dr. NRG]

Characters can also suffer grave results from failing to evacuate their bowels, but, like eating food, we don't take a lot of time to roleplay that activity. For most, gaming time is limited and valuable. Unless there is a darn good reason, things like keeping track of food and feces fall way down the list.

NRG

 

[Tonguez]

Surviving in the wild is mainly about finding drinkable water. Now in a desert this might be an issue but for the average 'temperate' climes water shopuld be readily available in streams, ponds and even puddles.
Food is simply an issue of finding a bug or spearing a trout from the local stream.

We need to remember that in most of the socieities where our roleplay is set, the concepts and skills involved in 'living off the land' and gathering your own food are ingrained. It is in fact the idea of the general store providing everything that is an anomaly. Perhaps a wealthy urbanite who has never had to gather food might be in trouble but IMHO the average Adventurer be they fighter or wizard at least knows enough to catch a fish or gather a few wild mushrooms to survive on.

Rangers make sure everyone eats well, but noone is going to starve unless they happen to be in a desert, or a waterless plain unprepared.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

I only ever bother when it is the point of an adventure like, say, crossing the everswept desert. Or the party is entombed.

Otherwise I use the monthly upkeep only.

 

[Fenes 2]

However, I can't stand it when I'm forced to "know" things I don't. Like, how to take care of a horse on a winter hike up a mountain. I, the player, don't know anything about horses, but I'm sure my Ranger/Cleric knew a thing about taking care of animals. Of course, I made a point out of this, and the DM killed my horse. Whatcha gonna do? You can't role-play knowledge you don't have.

Amen to that! Far too many force players to anti-metagame like that. As if a PC that lived 20 years in a city would forget about the name of the king just because the player did not read the sourcebook, or as if a fighter with years of experience would sheath his blade with blood on it and let it rust just because the player did not know about metal and blood.

What do I do? As I DM I just give the players the neccessary information. Their PCs, if of appropriate background, know how to build a fire in the wilderness, know how to prevent their horses from drinking too much cold water too fast, and know how to check for scorpions before putting on their boots.

As a player I would not put up with a DM that limits my PC to my own knowledge.

 

[dave_o]

!

Then again, food upkeep and the act of eating can be a huge story enhancement. You can totally add to the atmosphere of a place by the food it offers.

Like, perhaps, in a particularly Necromatic city a delicacy could be a stuffed pig that walks up onto your table, before finding it's final death. Mm, negative energy.

And food can also be shown in an incredibly positive light, like in the Redwall series. I would always get SO hungry while reading those books: buttered scones, rasberry jams, meadowcream (what the hell is meadowcream, anyway?!) - mm.

So don't overlook one of the biggest pleasure centers of being a human.

 

[Pielorinho]

It is also why there was a lot of sailors with hooks and peg legs, they called it long pork and would draw straws to see who would add to the stew.

Can you point me to a cite on that? I have a hard time believing that this is more than a legend.

Thanks!
Daniel

 

[Creamsteak]

Amen to that! Far too many force players to anti-metagame like that. As if a PC that lived 20 years in a city would forget about the name of the king just because the player did not read the sourcebook, or as if a fighter with years of experience would sheath his blade with blood on it and let it rust just because the player did not know about metal and blood.

What do I do? As I DM I just give the players the neccessary information. Their PCs, if of appropriate background, know how to build a fire in the wilderness, know how to prevent their horses from drinking too much cold water too fast, and know how to check for scorpions before putting on their boots.

As a player I would not put up with a DM that limits my PC to my own knowledge.

Yep, I'm pretty sure most of the good DMs understand that not everyone knows how to adventure. It's just those select few DMs that think you should actually research this stuff in order to play these characters. I should start a DM review website or some such, because I've played with at least 9 different local DMs, and I've learned a lot from the general problems/benefits that arrise from different play styles. This point in particular is pretty clear, a good DM knows where to draw the line between character knowledge and player knowledge on both sides (meta gaming, and whatever the phrase for anti-metagaming would be).

 

[Buttercup]

I just use the monthly upkeep rules unless food or water is an essential part of the adventure. I would rather spend time on more interesting stuff.

 

[Paradoxish]

I run more gritty, realistic games so yeah - I take time to track it, but I don't bother the players with it.

If my players are going to spend time in a city they'll go ahead and let me know where they'll be staying and eating regularly since they enjoy roleplaying out these aspects. If they didn't, I'd probably just give them a few options and then we'd ignore it for the rest of the adventure as I would just assume their characters are going back to whatever inn or tavern they chose.

On the other hand, if the players are travelling in the wilderness they'll usually buy some rations before they leave town. I have a 'day tracker' sheet that I use to keep track of time, so I just keep the party's total rations on that sheet. Each time I check off a new day, I check off a day's worth of rations. I don't slow the game down by forcing the players to tell me they're eating (unless, of course, they want to for some reason) as it's just something I assume they do when they 'rest' or have downtime. If the players are in a situation where they're not resting I'll casually mention that they're feeling hungry or tired and won't make a big deal out of it unless it comes to a point where they've been going for a week with no rest or food.

Personally, I think it's an important aspect to the game. It adds another challenge that the players have to consider, and since when are challenges bad?

As if a PC that lived 20 years in a city would forget about the name of the king just because the player did not read the sourcebook, or as if a fighter with years of experience would sheath his blade with blood on it and let it rust just because the player did not know about metal and blood.

It's not really the topic at hand, but I just thought I'd mention that you're commenting on two way different things here. It's assumed a fighter knows to clean his sword because it makes sense that someone who's been fighting for however long has learned better. OTOH, constantly reminding a player what the name of a King is becomes an annoyance. Maybe I'm just bitter, but if a DM has to do all of the creation work in the first place he shouldn't also have to repeat every little detail twenty times.

 

[ForceUser]

Paradoxish -

What about the encumbrance generated by carrying all the extra food? My players are gathering provisions before setting off into a wilderness, and marking off both daily rations and pounds of weight as they go. And it has made a difference regarding encumbrance and movement in combat from time to time. Low-strength characters like wizards tend to ask fighters to carry their provisions for themm and fighters then become aware of their encumbrance enough to know whether it is prudent to shuck a backpack before combat or strenuous climbs and such. All in all I guess I don't mind the mechanic, it's just a hassle to track sometimes. The earlier point about Frodo and Sam is quite right though - facing starvation, they braved the plains of Gorograth anyway, knowing it was a one-way trip because even if they succeeded in their mission, they didn't have enough water or food to make it out of Mordor. That, of course, made their heroism and sacrifice all the more valiant.