My idea for simplification of "food rules"

[Neowolf]

I've always found it somewhat cumbersome to have to keep up with the amount of rations and waterskins that players have to carry in order to stay well-fed and hydrated on their adventures. To the end of simplifying this, I've started working on an alternate point-based mechanic.

Rather than having a specific number of rations and waterskins, the party will have a pool of points (let's call them food points, or fp for short) to represent their provisions, which will encompass both food and water.

Each day, the characters will consume a number of fp determined by this formula:

3 + Con Modifier + Racial Modifier + DM's Modifier

The first two factors are fairly straight-forward, but I feel a bit of explanation may be in order for the second two. The racial modifier assumes that members of different races would require slightly different amounts of food:

Humans, Dwarves, Half-Elves: +1
Half-Orcs: +2
Elves, Halflings, Gnomes: +0

The DM's modifier fills a variety of different roles. In situations where the PCs are involved in more strenuous activity, or are spending time in less hospitable environments (the desert, for example), the DM may choose to add an extra fp or two to each player's daily consumption.

As for transporting all this food, I've got this in mind:

Backpack: carries 50 fp
Pony: carries 200 fp
Wagon: carries 500 fp

Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Anubis]

My players usually just invest in Rings of Sustenance, or items with a similar function that require no space.

Other than that, you have a good system. Actually, I would make it simply by just assuming one unit of food is enough for one medium-size person to eat/drink for one day, and have a unit of food cost as normal for trail rations. (Waterskins assume the water consumption, and Create Water can easily refill those contains as a 0-level spell. Create Food and Water also works for a 3rd-level spell.)

Any which way, that's the system I use for the most part. I keep a "party supply", and at Level 5 and above, it's a moot point.

 

[nsruf]

I don't even like keeping track of mundane equipment like bedrolls or torches. So my players either have light or heavy baggage, which includes clothing and stuff from the general equipment list in reasonable quantities. Weapons, armor, tools and magical gear are tracked separately.

Light baggage weighs 10 lb. (5 lb. for small characters) and includes everything you need in a civilized area, say strolling through a town. Heavy baggage weighs 30 lb. (15 lb. for small characters) and includes camping gear and stuff for overland travel. The weights may be a little on the low side, but I do not want to penalize low Str characters too much - and I don't care for any more realism than that, anyway.

As long as the PCs stay in inhabited lands, they do not run out of provisions (I use upkeep rules for the costs of living). In wilderness areas, heavy baggage contains 1 week worth of provisions (but not water). So detailed planning of sorts is only necessary for really long trips through uninhabited areas, and it really boild down to "buy two donkeys and XXX gp worth of food for that trip".

 

[nsruf]

But you asked for comments on your own system, so here you go:

Each day, the characters will consume a number of fp determined by this formula:

3 + Con Modifier + Racial Modifier + DM's Modifier

There is still a lot of detail involved here. Why not base food consumption on size only, e.g. medium-size characters need 1 unit per day and each size step halves/doubles the amount?

If you stay with a detaiied system, I would use Str and not Con to measure food requirement. High Con should let you go without food longer, but keeping a muscular body in shape requires more calories.

The DM's modifier fills a variety of different roles. In situations where the PCs are involved in more strenuous activity, or are spending time in less hospitable environments (the desert, for example), the DM may choose to add an extra fp or two to each player's daily consumption.

That's reasonable, if you want that level of detail.

As for transporting all this food, I've got this in mind:

As encumbrance/carrying capacity is usually expressed in terms of weight, it would make more sense IMO to assign a weight per unit of food/water, e.g. 4 lb. per day.

 

[Anubis]

Light baggage weighs 10 lb. (5 lb. for small characters) and includes everything you need in a civilized area, say strolling through a town. Heavy baggage weighs 30 lb. (15 lb. for small characters) and includes camping gear and stuff for overland travel. The weights may be a little on the low side, but I do not want to penalize low Str characters too much - and I don't care for any more realism than that, anyway.

Actually, those weights are quite a bit on the high side, not the low side. Basics for surviving in a wilderness area is, simply put, clothes. (This is usually around 8 lbs.) For surviving in the wilderness for enough food for a week would mean clothes, backpack, sacks (I go with one sack per fifty pounds able to be carried over 100, so a character who can carry 200 pounds gets two sacks.), waterskin, bedroll, and seven trail rations. (This usually weighs about 27 pounds stright, less than that depending on how many clerics or rangers are in the party. Rangers can hunt for food, making is unnecessary to carry as much, and clerics of Level 5 or above can create all the food and water as is needed, negating the use of having trail rations.) Rings of Sustenance go even further.

I know this because I DO keep track of individual supplies. It not as much of a pain as you would think, not if you use a computer during gameplay. I keep a list of how much food the party has and divide the weight up amongst the members, and everything else is written on the character sheets.

I could reveal the format for this is anyone is interested in detail without trouble. Just my thoughts on it, it's how I run my games, by the book but without the trouble.

 

[Corlon]

could you post or send me the format?

lemursofrohan@yahoo.com

thanks

 

[nsruf]

Actually, those weights are quite a bit on the high side, not the low side.

I also assume that the party has among them useful things like ropes, a pickaxe, tents, torches and other mundane stuff that is boring to keep track of. If you figure that in, I don't think the numbers are too high.

 

[Jeph]

I, personally, tend to ignore rations until someone points out that I'm ignoring rations, at wich point I make a big show of not ignoring them, and then go back to treating them as usual for a couple of minutes.

Basically, these rules are unneeded for cinematic / high action campaigns, but make a nice addition to "gritty" or "realistic" campaigns.

 

[dvvega]

IMC I use a very simple system ... the monthly expenditure table in the DMG.

I use this to represent all basic necessities ... keeping equipment in good condition, keeping packs filled with the ORIGINAL equipment list (a PC consumes 3 torches out of 6 during an adventure, on the next adventure they will have 6 again) - this only goes for basic equipment.

It also includes food/water. If they stay in town for a month then they don't have to pay for food/drinks/lodging. If they want to splurge and buy a round for the house, that's extra and is normal expenditure.

If they go on adventure out of the town, then they take their monthly food as rations (it's paid for, they just need to calculate weight). One weeks rations weighs 7 lbs (in a standard 7 day week) ... so all players have to do is write down the number of weeks rations (in one week blocks) that they're carrying and we're done. Waterskins holds 1/2 gallon, so as long as they can refill daily (at a river or well etc) then no worrying about it.
SIDE NOTE: has anyone noted that a waterskin weighs 4lbs in the equipment list, but in the carrying capacity table it states 1/2 gallon has weight not worth noting?

No calculation of how much they have, how much to use etc. If they feed a wild animal to get it's attention, then they decide how much to give ... and it removes it from their rations.

I don't think anyone needs an elaborate system. The tools are all there already.

 

[MerakSpielman]

My players and I have a really cool system that seems to work great. We ignore food and water completely. I mean, when you're raking in thousands of GP, how much of an impact does food and water really have on your finances? I assume that all characters stock up on food, water and basic ammuntition every time they are in town and just don't worry about them running out. They never spend more than a couple weeks away from civilization anyway, and if they need to they can teleport now.

It's just too much of a hassle for absolutely no benefit. We only get to play once a week, why waste our little time together worrying about rations?