machineelf
Explorer
I feel like the rules in the DMG about extreme weather are somewhat lacking. For example, with extreme cold, it's only a problem if you don't have cold-weather gear. But if you just spend a couple of minutes and a few gold to get cold-weather gear, you have nothing to worry about (and thus no conflict to add to or drive the story related to the brutal environment). I wanted to add to the rules in my own house-rules. I also wanted to make sleeping in heavy armor a consideration, as well as make certain items like tents and sleeping pads actually useful in terms of crunch. So here are my house-rules. Feel free to tell me what you think.
Sleeping: A character cannot easily sleep outdoors in armor and get a good night’s rest. Sleeping outdoors in cloth or no armor requires a DC 5 con saving throw. light armor requires a DC 10 con saving throw. Medium armor requires a DC 12 con saving throw. Heavy armor requires a DC 15 con saving throw. Failing the save results in a fitful night and waking up with a level of exhaustion. A tent or some kind of shelter from the elements gives you a +2 to the saving throw. A bedroll gives you a +3 to the saving throw.
Extreme Cold: Surviving in extremely cold or hot places, like arctic or desert climates, can be a challenge. If you are in an arctic climate and have no cold-weather gear on, you are going to slowly freeze to death. You must succeed on a DC 10 Con saving throw each hour or suffer a level of exhaustion. At nighttime it becomes a DC 15 Con saving throw every hour. If you have cold weather gear on (thick coat, gloves, boots, head covering), then you automatically succeed on the saving throw during the daytime. But at nighttime, you make a single DC 15 Con saving throw for the whole night if you don’t have shelter. If you do have shelter (a tent, or using your survival skill to make a snow shelter), it becomes a DC 10 Con saving throw. If you can make a campfire near where you are sleeping, you get a +3 to the saving throw. And of course if you can use magic to keep yourself and your co-adventurers warm, you can bypass the problem.
You can decrease your exhaustion level from the cold by one level for every 4 hours you spend completely warmed by being out of the elements or warmed through magical means.
Extreme Heat: If you are in an extremely hot place, like a desert, you will need to consume twice the amount of water that you normally require. If you don’t have access to drinkable water, you must make a DC 5 Con saving throw for the first hour, or suffer a level of exhaustion. The DC increases by 1 every additional hour. Characters who are wearing medium or heavy armor have disadvantage on the roll. Characters who have drinkable water but are wearing medium or heavy armor must still make a DC 5 Con saving throw, increasing by 1 every hour, but they don’t have to make it with disadvantage if they have sufficient water. If you only have half the needed water, you start making saving throws after four hours of being in the heat.
Sleeping: A character cannot easily sleep outdoors in armor and get a good night’s rest. Sleeping outdoors in cloth or no armor requires a DC 5 con saving throw. light armor requires a DC 10 con saving throw. Medium armor requires a DC 12 con saving throw. Heavy armor requires a DC 15 con saving throw. Failing the save results in a fitful night and waking up with a level of exhaustion. A tent or some kind of shelter from the elements gives you a +2 to the saving throw. A bedroll gives you a +3 to the saving throw.
Extreme Cold: Surviving in extremely cold or hot places, like arctic or desert climates, can be a challenge. If you are in an arctic climate and have no cold-weather gear on, you are going to slowly freeze to death. You must succeed on a DC 10 Con saving throw each hour or suffer a level of exhaustion. At nighttime it becomes a DC 15 Con saving throw every hour. If you have cold weather gear on (thick coat, gloves, boots, head covering), then you automatically succeed on the saving throw during the daytime. But at nighttime, you make a single DC 15 Con saving throw for the whole night if you don’t have shelter. If you do have shelter (a tent, or using your survival skill to make a snow shelter), it becomes a DC 10 Con saving throw. If you can make a campfire near where you are sleeping, you get a +3 to the saving throw. And of course if you can use magic to keep yourself and your co-adventurers warm, you can bypass the problem.
You can decrease your exhaustion level from the cold by one level for every 4 hours you spend completely warmed by being out of the elements or warmed through magical means.
Extreme Heat: If you are in an extremely hot place, like a desert, you will need to consume twice the amount of water that you normally require. If you don’t have access to drinkable water, you must make a DC 5 Con saving throw for the first hour, or suffer a level of exhaustion. The DC increases by 1 every additional hour. Characters who are wearing medium or heavy armor have disadvantage on the roll. Characters who have drinkable water but are wearing medium or heavy armor must still make a DC 5 Con saving throw, increasing by 1 every hour, but they don’t have to make it with disadvantage if they have sufficient water. If you only have half the needed water, you start making saving throws after four hours of being in the heat.
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