Making camp, sleep, and waking

Vaxalon

First Post
SLEEP AND WAKING RULES

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My players just have their characters flop down on the ground for the night, no bedroll, no tent, because there doesn't seem to be any rules that give any penalty for not using them. These rules are an attempt to fill that gap with something fairly quick and easy.


FINDING A CAMPSITE
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Finding a good campsite, and setting it up properly, is a Wilderness Lore skill check. The base DC is 10, so most parties can set up a basic campsite with little difficulty. If the roll is failed, then the campsite is unfavorable in some way; generally speaking this can be simulated by giving a +5 to sleep check DC's (see below). Because there's less time for finding it, there is a -2 to the skill roll for each hour spent in forced march.

Setting up a really GOOD campsite, however, requires more skill. For each 5 points by which the DC is beaten, one of the following qualities may be chosen, depending on terrain:

HIDDEN - Not available in plains or desert
The campsite is not easy to see from a distance, and it is not located on or near common travel routes for local wildlife. Encounters while encamped are half as likely.

DRY - Not available in plains or desert
The campsite is sheltered from precipitation. Sleeping conditions are "dry" in normal precipitation, and only "damp" in storm conditions.

WARM - Not available in arctic or desert
A ready source of fuel allows for an all-night campfire. This converts "frigid" conditions to "cold", or negates cold. Encounter chances are doubled.

SECURE -
The campsite has a good vantage point, allowing for spotting approaching encounters further away. Spotting distance (DMG 60) is rolled twice, and the longer distance is used.

COMFORTABLE - Not available in mountains
Instead of using the "bare ground" sleep check DC of 10, more comfortable conditions pertain. This may be chosen once for DC 5 or twice for DC 0.

COOL - Not available in deserts
Improved air flow, shade, and access to water converts SWELTERING conditions to HOT, or negates HOT conditions while encamped.

SLEEPING
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If you don't get a good night's sleep, you suffer a -2 to strength and dexterity, cannot charge or run, and may not refresh arcane spell slots. In addition, the character may not claim the healing bonus for complete bed rest that day.

Getting a good night's sleep is a fortitude save that allows "take 10' - tough characters can handle uncomfortable situations better.

Conditions-----------------------------------------------DC
A soft surface such as a bed or a patch of moss...........0
A hard, flat surface such as a pallet or a camp bed.......5
A soft, lumpy surface such as bare ground................10
A truly uncomfortable surface such as rocky ground.......15
A deliberately tortuous surface such as a pile of rocks..20

Difficulty modifiers (add to difficulty)-----------------mod
Cold, Hot, or Damp*.......................................+2
Frigid, Sweltering, or Wet................................+5
Sitting up................................................+2
Standing, or in a precarious position such as in a tree...+5
Interrupted sleep.........................................+2
Daytime (or nighttime for nocturnal creatures)............+2

Die roll modifiers --------------------------------------mod
Bedroll (standing up is a full round action)..............+2
Tent (-2 to listen checks)................................+2
Light Sleeper.............................................-2
Deep Sleeper..............................................+2
Weapon under pillow/weapon IS pillow
.....one or more sizes smaller............................-1
.....same size............................................-3
.....one size larger......................................-6
Wounded, ability damaged, or ability drained..............-2
Disabled, energy drained, or diseased.....................-5
Wearing Armor............................armor check penalty

WAKING UP
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In order to wake up in a dangerous situation, the character must recieve some sort of stimulus. Shaking someone (a full-round action) will be assured of doing it, as will any injury. Hearing a shout or the sounds of battle will also work. Such noises have a DC of -5, though particularly noisy events such as a lightning bolt will have a DC of -10. Ordinary sleepers recieve a -20 to these listen rolls, light sleepers recieve a -10, and deep sleepers recieve a -30.

Upon waking, the character must make a will save at DC 15 to attain full consciousness. If he fails, he is slowed, and may save again to recover at the beginning of the next round.

A light sleeper gets a +2 to this save, and a deep sleeper gets a -2.
 

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Very nicely done Vaxalon.
I think i will use a modified version of it in my campaign.

Been silently grumbling about my players lack of concern about taking proper time and care, finding an suitable campsite.

I like the options that you can choose for every five points you exceed the DC, a neat way to let the players choose what to prioritice in choosing a campsite.
 



How would you handle it, kreynolds? Would you simply impose ad-hoc penalties for improper preparation? That was the other option I was considering.
 

a bit complicated.

But I can empathize with the annoyance of having parties who always want to sleep in full armor on rocky ground in the middle of winter and look at you blankly if you ask "did anyone think to buy a TENT?!"

I will adopt the "finding a campsite" section though because that's up to the players. If the players say "OK, we want a good vantage point for our campsite." or if the weather is bad and they say "we camp out of the elements" then I can figure out a DC and they can make a check.

Good rules!
 



I haven't time to read this post entirely, but I think something's missing. How much time does the Wilderness Lore check to find a good campsite take? You should give a duration so that we know how long it takes if the players want to take 20 on the roll... This rule wouldn't be used on an everyday basis, but if the party decides to settle for some time, they might want to find a really good spot and thus take 20 to find the best place...
 

I like the idea. IMC, we're a lot less formal about it, but we pay attention to this, too.

(Everybody around here knows that fires lead to more random encounters, bad campsites lead to fatigue, etc. :) ).
 

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