D&D 5E Camping is dangerous (how can it be made safer?)

[Zaruthustran]

Note that I'm also not saying it's impossible to fall asleep in armour; just that you presumably don't get a good night's rest (again, I stress that I'm not talking about modern armour, but historical chain or plate). If there was no significant downside to keeping the armour on, historical warriors would have slept in their armour; those guys were not stupid.

I hear you. I think we're talking about different scale, though.

At army-level scale (in terms of both size/number of individuals, and timeframe/weeks on campaign trail) then I totally agree with you: sleeping in plate armor isn't feasible.

However, on adventuring-party scale--2 or 3 people in heavy armor, camping for a single night, with maybe a stretch of 2-3 nights in a row--I maintain that sleeping in armor is feasible. Uncomfortable, yes. But feasible.

Particularly with chain. Several of us in this thread have slept in chainmail. While I prefer flannel, I certainly got a decent rest out of it. Plate is less comfortable.

It's reasonable to disagree though. Really what you're advocating is giving a mechanical penalty to the characters who choose heavy armor. What I'm advocating is for that penalty to kick in only after successive nights, and for it not to be automatic.

In detail, what I propose is:
Sleeping in armor: make a con check after a certain number of nights of sleeping in armor. Add your proficiency bonus if proficient in the armor. Success = benefit from long rest. Fail = benefit from long rest but suffer 2 levels of exhaustion (a net cumulative 1 level of exhaustion for each failure). Note that being exhausted gives disadvantage on ability checks. The rules for exhaustion say you die after accumulating 6 levels of exhaustion, but I'd say you can't die as a result of failing this check.

Light armor: Easy Con check for 4th night sleeping in armor. Hard Con check for 5th & successive nights.
Medium armor: Easy Con check for 2nd night sleeping in armor. Hard Con check for 3rd & successive nights.
Heavy armor: Easy Con check for 1st night sleeping in armor. Hard con check for 2nd & successive nights.

Special: Miserable conditions (wet, dirty, etc.) or rigid armor (breastplate, half plate, splint, plate) imposes disadvantage to this check.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I like the idea behind Zaruthustran's proposal here; I think it can be made simpler.

I think the anecdotes presented in this thread are sufficient that we shouldn't practically be distinguishing between light and heavy armours. Sure, Chain might be easy to sleep in, but overall, I think that *whatever-it-is-we're-attempting-to-define is not (or should not be) for heavy armours only.

Earlier I proposed that someone sleeping in armour not get the benefits of a long rest, only a short rest. That still makes sense to me, but it may be a better rule to allow that only to kick in after a number of nights equal to your CON bonus. So someone with a 14 CON can go two nights in heavy armour, but won't get the benefit of a long rest on the third night.

That means that hardy heroes can go without penalty, while still recognizing that historically the practice of armoured soldiers has been not to sleep in armour.

 

[Zaruthustran]

Makes sense to me, Kobold Stew. I like the simplicity. This doesn't need its own subsystem, any more than there needs to be a cooking check.

In actual practice, I bet most games treat this issue the same they treat ammunition. It doesn't really matter, until it does. And when it does matter, your DM will tell you.

 

[Grainger]

Lots of stuff to ponder there.

The one thing I'd quibble* about is the notion that the DM is penalising the armour-wearers (this notion comes up earlier in the thread, too). He/she is penalising the whole party, rather than individual PCs. So it's not really a question of balance between PCs (if that was what was meant), but how prepared the whole party is. As a DM, I scale any night-time attacks on the party with this in mind, so it doesn't make the game unduly deadly, or less fair; it just makes it more realistic (or not, if you disagree with my prohibition on sleeping in armour).

Anyway, I'll consider the sleeping issue. It is very confusing, though. There are other forums where SCA members claim that you definitely can't get a good night's sleep in chain mail, and they know because they have tried! Maybe I will try it for myself one day!

That all said, thanks to everyone for some interesting points.


*I don't get to use this word often enough.

 

[Zaruthustran]

There are other forums where SCA members claim that you definitely can't get a good night's sleep in chain mail, and they know because they have tried! Maybe I will try it for myself one day!

Different folks have different experiences. I'm SCA, I've slept in chainmail (too tired to take it off). But again: other folks certainly have had different experiences.

And you should totally try it some day. That's what's so great about this modern era: chain is readily available on the Internet at "within reasonable splurge for a hobby" prices. And there are a bunch of weekend events all over the country for folks who like to camp with armor.

 

[aramis erak]

Different folks have different experiences. I'm SCA, I've slept in chainmail (too tired to take it off). But again: other folks certainly have had different experiences.

And you should totally try it some day. That's what's so great about this modern era: chain is readily available on the Internet at "within reasonable splurge for a hobby" prices. And there are a bunch of weekend events all over the country for folks who like to camp with armor.

It's also worth noting that the guys sleeping soundly in armor are usually experienced fighters, used to both the feel and the weight. Some, like the late Viscount Sir Kylson Skyfire, generally arrived unarmored and went home unarmored to/from practice. Viscount Sir Donnan, however road his motocycle in his armor, but with a proper cycle helmet, to and from practice. The late Count Sir Nicholaus Barchitov, as well, at least, back when he was just a squire in Oertha. I've driven home from fencing practice in my kit, as well, sans mask. It was just too late to take it off and make it home before bedtime for the kid. (I had a roughly 60 mile each way trip to/from Schola practice.) I've seen several other SCA knights ride in their armor, and literally dozens of non-knights.

In other words, they're proficient in the armor they're wearing.