Prohibition-Style Adventure: Drinking Rules Needed

[Hawke]

Initial world outline - big empires for the most part, the players live in a kingdom run by Eladrin who are essentially the upper class/caste and all other races present are the lowly farmers. Eladrin castles and cities are strict and segregated - you wont see other races there. The countryside is dotted with cities of the common workers and each may have a small regiment of Eladrin soldiers w/ Warforged brutes to keep the peace and ensure that the taxes are paid.

The big issue of the day is alcohol and prohibition. To ensure high productivity, the Eladrin rulers have outlawed alcohol. So the players during heroic tier will take on the role as local heroes... one part one runner, one part robin hood. They'll be good characters fighting against an oppressive government and dealing with a seedy underworld. They'll be loved by some for the alcohol part, and loved by most for the poking their rulers, though hated by some locals who've embraced the prohibition mantle.

So here are some things I'd love some help with:

1) Rules for running a rum smuggling business - I'd like some kind of nice macro resource management thing that they can run on the side to consider that 95% of the business isn't very eventful and only run the encounters for eventful stuff.

2) The alcohol itself- any cool names? What about effects for being drunk? Seems to me that dealing with others and gaining their trust will involve some drinking skill challenges and such. I'd like known drinking effects of the moonshine so that if there's an ambush after each character has had several shots they'll be hindered a bit (but not too crazy, just enough to make it fun)

And finally, is there anything similar I can look to for thoughts or ideas? My brother has the FRCS so if any specific region in there might be a good "setting" for this (though it will not be an FR campaign) or any other suggestions for source material would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: I'm looking for a player-available god that may be on the side of the rulers and their stance against alcohol that will stand as a non-rulers problem for the players. Any suggestions?

 

[Hawke]

I took a few and tried to throw down some notes about the initial skill challenges involved in running the business. No detailed numbers yet, but I think the ideas are there. In the end, once they're established they'll have a few buyers and sellers they can go to/from and that'll make the challenges shorter... and as they get involved with the law establishment I wont necessarily use the "caught" challenges but will run cool combat encounters as needed.

Get some ale				
	Insight	To get contact		
	Streetwise	To get contact		
	Diplomacy	To establish prices		
	Bluff	To establish prices	* penalty on fail	
	Perception	+2 on rolls		
	Thievery	Steal it	*special separate skill challenge	
	Intimidate	To establish prices	*penalty on fail	

Smuggle ale				
	Insight	Bonus on rolls		
	Perception	Bonus on rolls		
	Nature	Go through woods		
	Endurance	Take rough stuff		
	Stealth	Try to sneak it through		
				
Caught! 				
	Acrobatics	Ditch & get away		
	Athletics	Ditch & get away		
	Endurance	Ditch & get away		
	Stealth	Avoid being ID'd		
	Combat 	Each player gets one at-will combat roll		
		Each enemy gets one, too 		
		Hits disable player		
	Heal	Reenambles 		
	Streetwise	Where to hide cargo		
	Insight	Where to hide cargo		
	Nature	Where to hide cargo		
				
Sell some ale				
	Insight	To get contact		
	Streetwise	To get contact		
	Diplomacy	To establish prices		
	Bluff	To establish prices	* penalty on fail	
	Perception	+2 on rolls

Again, once established I'll have a better plot and more consistent business... but as they come up and meet NPCs we'll roleplay this as the overall structure of the game.

Now for drinking rule ideas...

 

[Kzach]

I made some quick and dirty drinking rules which nobody cared about and so are buried somewhere in this forum.

But just for you...

For every standard drink, you burn one healing surge.

After 1/4 of your healing surges have been burned from drinking, you are slowed.

After half your healing surges have been burned from drinking, you are dazed.

Once you reach zero healing surges, you are immobilised and must make a saving throw against poison to remain conscious every round.

For every hour spent not drinking, the character can make a saving throw against poison to negate one of the effects on them.

Anyone who gets to zero healing surges through drinking, will wake up dazed and cannot reverse this effect until at least half a day afterwards, at which time they can make a saving throw against poison every hour to fully sober up.

 

[FireLance]

I think someone once suggested using the disease track for tracking how drunk the characters get. Off the top of my head:

1. Each time a character takes a drink, he makes an Endurance check. The DC of the check depends on the potency of the drink, as set by the DM. Regular beer should probably be around DC 10 or so.

2. Each time a character fails an Endurance check, he moves one step down on the following track:

Normal ->
Inebriated (-2 to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks) ->
Woozy (slowed and -4 to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks) ->
Drunk (dazed, slowed and -6 to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks) ->
Passed Out (unconscious)​

3. Once per day, a character may spend a healing surge and move one step up the track instead of recovering hit points.

4. The character recovers fully after an extended rest. Alternate hangover rule: a character who was Drunk or Passed Out takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks and ability checks until he takes another extended rest. A character may spend a healing surge and remove this penalty instead of recovering hit points.

 

[Hawke]

Great thoughts... I can't wait to run a scenario where there's some drinking to be done to gain the graces of a local criminal only to have the party raided by the authorities. It'll be great to see em drunkenly fight. I never though I'd have any use for these rules, but it's definitely a necessity if my players plan on hanging around speakeasys

 

[RangerWickett]

Ah, this is just what I needed. Thanks!

 

[Hawke]

Update, I used these rules for a fun bar fight to begin the campaign. The players ended up deciding against spending too much time doing the business end, giving it off to an NPC to fund a revolution. The drinking stuff was pretty neat, I imagine I'll use it again later in the campaign =)

 

[Plane Sailing]

I made some quick and dirty drinking rules which nobody cared about and so are buried somewhere in this forum.

But just for you...

For every standard drink, you burn one healing surge.

After 1/4 of your healing surges have been burned from drinking, you are slowed.

After half your healing surges have been burned from drinking, you are dazed.

Once you reach zero healing surges, you are immobilised and must make a saving throw against poison to remain conscious every round.

For every hour spent not drinking, the character can make a saving throw against poison to negate one of the effects on them.

Anyone who gets to zero healing surges through drinking, will wake up dazed and cannot reverse this effect until at least half a day afterwards, at which time they can make a saving throw against poison every hour to fully sober up.

Do you not think these would be improved by integrating the Endurance skill somehow? It sees precious other love, but this does seem a rather good candidate.

Also, unlike anything else, a purely healing-surge based approach means that characters get no better at holding their drink at paragon or epic levels (barring perhaps 1 or 2 healing surges if their Con happens to go up).

I'm not dissing your approach, just wondering if there are ways to refine it by including some use of Endurance.

Cheers