Do druids and rangers make the wilderness too freindly?

[Janx]

If you drive your truck up to the campsite, unload your supplies, and go for a hike, sure, it's fun. If you're trekking cross-country with all your food and gear on your back -- all your pre-modern food and gear -- and the weather changes, or you get lost, you could easily die out there. Or be miserable for a long time before getting back to food, shelter, and a chance to rest.

I go camping with a tarp and a blanket, but that's just me taking advantage of modern convenience.

bad weather doesn't happen that often.

getting lost, doesn't happen that often. The sun works pretty well for most people most of the time.

Maybe it's my country upbringing and survival training, but I don't find nature all that intimidating.

Not that nature couldn't get me killed. but we don't have rockslides and storms killing people everybody who happen to be in the wilderness. And out of each event that somebody does die, it turns out there were plenty more people outdoors that same day who did just fine.

throw a Ranger in the mix, and do what he says, and you'll be fine in most normal situations.

Hence, most of the time, the party trekking from point A to point B are uneventul walks in the woods.

The OP's question was about the wilderness being too friendly.

I don't find the real wilderness all that unfriendly in the first place. Sure, you're climbing mountains you could fall off. If you're walking around bogs or frozen lakes you could drop in and not get out. If you're walking in the desert and aren't prepared, you're probably dried toast. But fields and forests are pretty safe. Which is where most people trying to get from place to place will be.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I have a friend who ran a one-shot, where the party was supposed to go into the moors and kill some trolls. Easy, simple, hack-and-slash.

Then he cracked out the random weather chart.

A week later three of us had died from hypothermia after being lost in the foggy moors and caught in an early snowstorm. One of the two survivors failed a Fortitude save trying to drink brackish water, and the last survivor abandoned him and managed to crawl back to civilization.

I can't say the session was particularly 'fun,' but it was damned memorable.

Where did these rules (not just random weather, but hypothermia, getting lost, grodalated water) come from? I'd very much like to unleash them on an unsuspecting group of players.

 

[possum]

I have a friend who ran a one-shot, where the party was supposed to go into the moors and kill some trolls. Easy, simple, hack-and-slash.

Then he cracked out the random weather chart.

A week later three of us had died from hypothermia after being lost in the foggy moors and caught in an early snowstorm. One of the two survivors failed a Fortitude save trying to drink brackish water, and the last survivor abandoned him and managed to crawl back to civilization.

I can't say the session was particularly 'fun,' but it was damned memorable.

Wow, that certainly does sound memorable indeed.

 

[Wiseblood]

I go camping with a tarp and a blanket, but that's just me taking advantage of modern convenience.

bad weather doesn't happen that often.

getting lost, doesn't happen that often. The sun works pretty well for most people most of the time.

Maybe it's my country upbringing and survival training, but I don't find nature all that intimidating.

Not that nature couldn't get me killed. but we don't have rockslides and storms killing people everybody who happen to be in the wilderness. And out of each event that somebody does die, it turns out there were plenty more people outdoors that same day who did just fine.

throw a Ranger in the mix, and do what he says, and you'll be fine in most normal situations.

Hence, most of the time, the party trekking from point A to point B are uneventul walks in the woods.

The OP's question was about the wilderness being too friendly.

I don't find the real wilderness all that unfriendly in the first place. Sure, you're climbing mountains you could fall off. If you're walking around bogs or frozen lakes you could drop in and not get out. If you're walking in the desert and aren't prepared, you're probably dried toast. But fields and forests are pretty safe. Which is where most people trying to get from place to place will be.

I'm not talking about a nature walk in rural North America. I was actually referring to a cross country trek in a world where a plethora of creatures view us as an easy meal. (much like the open ocean) I just think being able to find tracks, identify plants and pass through brambles doesn't change the nature of the wilderness. It only alleviates some of the less urgent problems. To illustrate my point, at the end of a day you will probably have someone keeping watch. Even highly trained and experienced people suffer from mishaps on the trail.

 

[Elf Witch]

I think some folks make too much of the wilderness. It's plants and trees and animals that want nothing to do with you. Sure, I've almost stepped on a few deer, but most folks make too darn much ruckus long before they get to the animals. I've never known anybody who got attacked by an animal. So animal combat encounters are virtually out.

Note: in Colorado, or whatever place has all the dang bears that maul people, you'll note that the head count is high, and the people have food. that's a special situation. I've seen two bears or so. Once in a field, from the window of my house, and once in a car on my way home from prom. they ain't exactly common.

I'm not even a huge wilderness guy. Put a ranger in the party, and we're about as safe as can be, like quickleaf says.

I wouldn't discount that there can be some dangerous PLACES, where heat, cold, lack of resources, or collapsing terrain could do you some trouble. But animals? meh.

Note: In Texas, assume every spider or snake can kill you. There's only really 2 of each, but if you can't tell them apart.... Also, I suspect animals in North America are downright tame. In Australia, every other animal is poisonous. Africa has lions and tigers which are pretty tough as well.

I still suspect that the standard D&D party wearing the standard gear would clunk around and scare off most of the mundane animals and be pretty safe from them.

You are talking about modern North America it was a much different story before deforestation and the near extinction of many animals. In the dark ages in Britain wolves were a big danger to travelers.

In Africa crocs have been known to tree people and wait for them ,they have found people dead in the trees from exposure.

And in a magical world with magical critters it is that much worse Stumble upon a pack of blink hounds with pups or dire wolves or owl bears.

Getting lost can be bad with our modern technology people get lost and die.

I think it can add threat to the game not everything should be easy. Environment itself can be a challenge to be overcome the same way as any other encounter.

 

[Razjah]

I'm not talking about a nature walk in rural North America. I was actually referring to a cross country trek in a world where a plethora of creatures view us as an easy meal. (much like the open ocean) I just think being able to find tracks, identify plants and pass through brambles doesn't change the nature of the wilderness. It only alleviates some of the less urgent problems. To illustrate my point, at the end of a day you will probably have someone keeping watch. Even highly trained and experienced people suffer from mishaps on the trail.

You speak the truth. Problems happen, the world is out to get adventurers, and here be monsters- not just animals.

 

[Janx]

You speak the truth. Problems happen, the world is out to get adventurers, and here be monsters- not just animals.

And monsters are the part of the equation that D&D is about.

monster encounters are the real dangers a party of armed PCs are going to run into.

An african croc or a pack of european wolves is just spare XP to a D&D party.

exposure shouldn't kill any prepared D&D party unless it's winter or they're in a desert. (remember, I am from Minnesota, and statistically, we are heartier than most of you humans, so our idea of exposure may differ from yours)

anyway, my main point was: Monsters bad. Animals too scared of humans. D&D wilderness adventuring should have more monsters, less animal encounters.

 

[mmadsen]

bad weather doesn't happen that often.

Bad weather doesn't happen that often? Or, you don't go camping when the weather's expected to be bad?

getting lost, doesn't happen that often. The sun works pretty well for most people most of the time.

Yeah, if you're in open country, and you want to get back to your camp site, and the sun's still out, you're not too likely to get lost. If you're in the woods, blazing a trail, after the sun's gone down, you're quite likely to get lost.

I don't find the real wilderness all that unfriendly in the first place.

My understanding is that most people -- farmers who work outdoors, not just city folk -- have always considered the wilderness scary and dangerous.

 

[Janx]

Bad weather doesn't happen that often? Or, you don't go camping when the weather's expected to be bad?

Pick a year and a place. go look up the weather. Then pick a 2 week period that your party might be making a trek that ain't in the winter when anybody with brains knows not to travel. Now, what's the weather like? You may have some rain, but you ain't facing surprise storms and floods every other day. the probability of bad weather happening frequently is low.

Yeah, if you're in open country, and you want to get back to your camp site, and the sun's still out, you're not too likely to get lost. If you're in the woods, blazing a trail, after the sun's gone down, you're quite likely to get lost.

trail blazing is by definition, making a trail. Any idiot who loses site of the trail they just made is either blind or a lousy trail maker.

Furthermore, when you can't see, you stay put. Except in the desert, night time is for resting. Day time is for moving.

My understanding is that most people -- farmers who work outdoors, not just city folk -- have always considered the wilderness scary and dangerous.

I never met any country folk who were scared of nature or afraid to go walking about in it. they respect nature, and don't antagonize it. But they know most animals will avoid them, and they know to avoid the animals that won't. Making most wilderness jaunts by country people an uneventful, but pleasant experience. Which is why they live there.

 

[Elf Witch]

Pick a year and a place. go look up the weather. Then pick a 2 week period that your party might be making a trek that ain't in the winter when anybody with brains knows not to travel. Now, what's the weather like? You may have some rain, but you ain't facing surprise storms and floods every other day. the probability of bad weather happening frequently is low.



trail blazing is by definition, making a trail. Any idiot who loses site of the trail they just made is either blind or a lousy trail maker.

Furthermore, when you can't see, you stay put. Except in the desert, night time is for resting. Day time is for moving.




I never met any country folk who were scared of nature or afraid to go walking about in it. they respect nature, and don't antagonize it. But they know most animals will avoid them, and they know to avoid the animals that won't. Making most wilderness jaunts by country people an uneventful, but pleasant experience. Which is why they live there.

People die all the time when a storm catches them unawares, And without modern technology how is a parry supposed to know if that is a thunderstorm brewing or a full fledged hurricane. Or is just a snow storm or blizzard.

Lighting strikes kill many people. Now granted in DnD because of the way hit points are done a high level PC would just stand there and giggle over being struck by lighting.

Even experienced hikers get lost and there are different kinds of wilderness a jungle is going to be a lot tougher to make it through because of the heat and the thickness of the vegetation. There is also dangers of thick mud, quicksand. The animals are often more dangerous and it is very easy to get lost.

Animals can be a serious threat to lower level PCs we had an encounter with a croc who killed a party member he got hold the dwarf grappled him dragged him underwater and he drowned and he lost his leg. We got his body back minus the leg which he didn't really mind because he decided he was going to have someone make him a peg leg with expeditious retreat cast on it.After we got him raised.

I have a lot of country folk in my family a lot of hunters and they respect nature they don't fear it but they do know that it can turn on you and bite you in the rear if you are not prepared. One of my cousins is forest ranger and every season there is always some city person who gets in trouble and in over their head.

Now in most of my games the rogues, mages, cleric, fighters usually come from more urban areas and don't tend to have that kind of experience and if they don't take precautions like hiring a guide or learning what they need to do to make the journey safely I use it against them the same way I would if they took on a monster in his lair without bothering to do any prep.