Request for help: If your PC had to spend 2 years in the wild, how would he survive?

[EsperDerek]

I gotta say, it feels like that DM has stacked the deck against you. Just what is forcing you to stay in this glade for two years straight? As RingXero said, maybe you can use it to your advantage somehow, even if it's to get the hell out of there. A level 1 Wizard has absolutely no place in a forest without any real protection and limited supplies for two years. A Druid or a Ranger could do it, or maybe even a Sorceror, but Wizards belong more in the city. However, with that said, there's a few things you can do.

Remember that animals generally will leave you alone unless they're hungry or you're interfering with their territory. If they do attack, that Sleep spell is your best friend. If faced against stronger humanoids or monsters, it might be able to put them to sleep long enough to CDG them. And then, hey, you have a source of meat.

Shelter. You need shelter, especally when it gets cold. Make like a mole and dig a hole.

Those flasks of oil will be helpful, as most things are deterred by fire. And, hey, if worse comes to worse, you can always light the whole damn forest on fire, and hope that it burns down to the ground. That'll attract some attention.

As others have said, make friends if you can. Fey, while fickle, can make good friends. And, hey, if a troop of orcs or other humanoids pass by, maybe you can get yourself captured. Escaping from a camp of orcs would be alot easier than surviving in a glade for two years.

As others have said, Multi-class if you can. Even if you don't want to steer away from the spellcasting classes, Sorcerors make things alot easier, with their automatic spell-learning. Besides, it has a not-half-bad reason for happening-the stresses of surviving ignite the magic in your soul. For added benefit, make most of the spells nature spells.

But really, it feels like the DM has stacked the deck against you for some unknown reason. Maybe it WOULD be best to commit seppuku.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!
I appreciate the advice, and I'll act on it.

You know, I was thinking ... and it seems to me that if my 1st level wizard is wounded, he is in deep doo-doo.

After all, he is not skilled in healing or herbalogy (well, he is skilled in wizard herbalogy, but not healing herbalogy specifically.)

If he is wounded, there is no druid or cleric around to heal the wound.

Thus, we have a problem, Houston.

How does (and how did) a wounded man survive without antiseptics or even alcohol (in this case, beer or wine) to kill infections?
The infection could, I suppose, be burned out ... then there is the small matter of surviving the burn injury and perhaps shock as well.
I cannot see anyone amputating a limb on their body by themselves ... nobody is that tough (heck, even Bubba the Barbarian isn't THAT tough!)

And wounds are likely.
There is, inevitably, going to be an encounter.
Some encounters can be avoided by hiding.
Some encounters you can run from (in this case, ANY encounter that can be avoided by running, WILL be avoided by running.)
And yes, some encounters can be friendly, and others you can talk your way out of.

But an encounter where you must fight is almost a given, especially considering the time involved, and the fact the character ... is ... stuck in the glade and the general vicinity.

I would like to say that the idea given above - to destroy the local area to attract adventurers - is quite a novel approach.
Risky, but novel.
It might work.
It might bring a group of good or neutral adventurers who could be talked to, and who might help this wizard.
But it also might bring an evil party, or attract the local humanoids, or bring a mob of angry fey or even an angry treant.

Is it an idea worth trying? I'm thinking on that one.

My DM is very demanding on this.
He will not have it any other way but that the (unfortunate) character must spend those 2 years in (or around) that glade.
I do not wish to have a dead character at the end of that time ... there must be a way for this character to survive.

I like the idea of digging tunnels.
It was one of my first ideas.
But how do you dig tunnels with a sword? A hand axe? A dagger?
I mean, I know you could throw up a lot of dirt by digging by hand, and with the sword and axe, yes, but a tunnel? Could it be done?

I think hiding up in a tree is a very good idea. Especially if you can do that, then branchalate (however long it takes) to trees some distance away.
That way, when the bear or the orcs smell or track their way to the tree you climbed, they will find nothing.
And the trail will be old in any case ... they are most likely to think the person (or whatever it was) long gone.

I even think a treehouse might be a good idea, at least during the months in which the nighttime temperature does not drop below freezing.
I suppose that if one could be quiet enough, and careful enough, one could stay up in the shielding boughs of a large tree for a long time.
Not a ... comfortable ... way of making a living, but better uncomfortable than dead.

The problem is ... how to obtain food? This character is no elf - he cannot branchalate to the low branches for berries, and he cannot drop to the ground without leaving some sort of scent and/or tracks.
If he Magic Missiles prey, they will fall to the ground ... how to get them without leaving telltale signs?
And how to cook them? Can a man survive eating raw meat (yeah, I know, they do it in the sci-fi books. But eating raw meat is ... very ... dangerous, from everything I've heard.)

I welcome any thoughts concerning this.
What do you'all think?

I mean, I have heard (and appreciate) you saying a wizard simply could not make it for those 2 years ... but my DM has laid out the conditions, and he isn't budging from them.

I have also learned that my character MAY NOT change classes during this time.
He can advance as a wizard (and he gains 2 spells per level advanced, too ... the spells appear magically in his book), but he may not multiclass or start over in another class.

A king sized problem for me. It's an impossible situation, really.
That's why I came and asked you people for answers.
Gamers tend to be very creative and intelligent people, and often have answers for such impossible situations as this one ...

 

[Westwind]

Well, aside from the entire "can he survive" question, I admit I am curious as to why your DM is forcing you to tough it out in the woods for 2 years of game time, since it clearly isn't in your character concept at, at 1st level, you haven't had the chance to screw up totally and get stranded in a hostile environment. It makes logical sense that you would multiclass to ranger or druid asap, but you can't. Why?

Are you somehow held within the glade? You can walk a long way in 2 years (although this would mean leaving whatever you have built). Maybe try to collect as much food as possible and make some winter clothes and head south in hopes of runnining into a river (tons of small settlements on rivers) or a road.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

Edena, if I was in your place, this would be about the time I started vociferously complaining to the DM. He's put your 1st level character into an untenable position, and hobbling him in such a manner as to make the situation practically unsurvivable. Your character will most likely die without you ever really having a chance to play him.

I'd say that your DM needs to come up with a pretty damn good reason for doing this to you. Otherwise, a gaming group Coup d'etat may be in order.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Various uses for the spells your character will have at hand:

Burning Hands: Cooks meat REALLY good, lights fires, AND it makes a good combat spell.

Magic Missile: Really good spell for killing things, like food.

Sleep: For BBEGs, like dire bears and that pesky troop of orcs.

Expeditious Retreat: Good for a quick escape...but, oh yeah, you cna't leave your glade...



I would say you could probably use a handaxe or a knife to dig a hole enough to sleep in...

A screw it...Here's the lowdown:

Your character is most certainly screwed. If you can't take a level of ranger or druid, then your character is pretty much dead.

You can play out the scenario if you want, but I almost guarantee you your character will die if he can't move around or multiclass.

It seems fairly illogical anyway - TWO YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS and you can't take a single level of druid?

I think what you've got is a REALLY BAD DM and there's no way you can change that.

 

[Broken Fang]

Do you have access to all the cantrips in your book? If so then you could use Mage Hand to pick up food that you have shot down with MM. You might even use it often to retrieve things after you have built your hidey-hole.

Is there a reason you are out there and can't leave the area?

How long do you have to survive before going up to 2nd level Wizard? The added spells could be a huge help...but you have a good chane of getting killed in any combat encounter. Will you be able to level up by avoiding encounters and surviving for x amount of time? If so plan on hiding and running!

I think I would try to leave as little possible change to the terrain as possible. The more traps you have the more likely you trigger an encounter. Don't dig/build your home near the water...to much has to go there to drink and you increase your chances of being found.

What other skills do you have and how much leeway will your GM give you for using INT when coming up with ideas?

 

[BlackMoria]

Sounds to me like your DM is hosing you. It looks like a no win situation no matter what you do.

This is what I would do (and I am serious - I would do this)

I would tear my character sheet in pieces and hand them to the DM. I would explain that since the DM is so fired hot to off my character, that I will save everyone the time and trouble. I would tell the DM that 'he wins' and let's move on. New character. Hopefully new campaign and new outlook by the DM.

I play the game to have fun or its not worth my time to play.

 

[Amator]

If you can, get a familiar. A hawk would probably be best, as it can hunt and retrieve things on the ground for you. Alertness will come in handy for suprise attacks as well.

Your wizard should be a smart guy, and you said he had previous experience in the wilds. Your task is to basically become MacGuyver.

Need to dig out a tunnel? Cut down a tree and use controlled fire or a stone tool to form a shovel.

Your DM should let you figure out how to build basic pit traps and dead falls. Have an obvious door to this tunnel(hopefully covered in animal hide to keep out wind and rain) with several boobytraps, but also try to have a more or less hidden escape root that is under a shrub of some sort. A basic treehouse would also serve you well. Find a forked limb large enough to rest comfortably in, and put some skins for comfort(after curing the skins in your fire and washing them so they don't retain animal scents), some dried food, and a stone dagger or two.

Build lots of boobytraps. Spiked bamboo(or limbs if no bamboo is around) smeared with feces is a good way to give an orc with a good nose a bad day.

A few ideas if you make it long enough to reach 2nd level:

Obscuring Mists - If you're surrounded by foes, this should give you an advantage as you should know your glade intimately well after a few days, and foes stumbling around in mists are pretty likely to meet your boobytraps.

True Strike - Works well with your bow, especially if you're in a tree and have time to cast it again before they can get to you.

Spider Climb - Works very well in the forest.

Be smart and ADAPT. There are ways to avoid nearly any method of detection. If you're worried about your scent you can either mask it or find something stronger. Pray for a skunk. Leave meat with nasty things inside for track dogs to digest. If you're stuck with a particular problem, do a search on a survivalist website. These guys spend hours everyday worrying about the problems your character will have. Make good use of the Alchemy skill.

 

[Sejs]

In addition to the point about DC 10 wilderness lore checks and taking 10, that was mentioned above you also have access to the cantrips Mage Hand and Prestidigitation (wizards start play with all cantrips in their spell books. At your GMs discretion this can also include .. and probably should.. the cantips from Tome and Blood, and Magic of Faerun).


Mage Hand allows you to telekinetically manipulate (move, more or less) any object weighing 5lbs or less, at ranges of 25ft at 1st level. This will come in very handy for basic gathering tasks.. gathering nuts out of trees you can't climb, or berries out of bushes that have thorns in them, etc.

Prestidigitation is the bigger kicker. Each casting lasts for 1 hour. With it you can telekinetically manipulate (slowly) objects weighing 1lb or less, you can chill, warm or flavor 1lb of non living material, etc. You can create tinkling etherial music and dancing lights (useful to impress those Fey you mentioned that may be in the area... faeries have pretty much always been written as being lovers of music and the like.), you can use it to cover tracks you may leave in an area, flavor food, use it to heat up water, etc.

Other suggestions ~

As a 1st level wizard, you can get a familiar. Do this asap. A local creature that you are bonded to would be invaluable. While at your current level they can't speak with their master yet, they can impart empathic advice. A feeling of warning if you wander into a dangerous creature's area, etc. Hell, if you have a burrowing creature you could use it's supervision on making a burrow of your own. Keep an ear to it's feelings about what you're doing. If it sends a sense of approval, you're doing it right, if it sends disapproval, try something else. You have months before winter. You have time to get used to this sort of communication

Shelter. You need a burrow, and no foolin. A hole in the ground, covered by the surrounding terrain.. bushes, fallen trees, rocks, what have you.. that you sleep in. This is what will keep you alive in the winter, and largely safe from predation, humanoid or otherwise, the rest of the time.

The cantip Mending (again, you should have access to all the cantips, as listed in the PHB, page 54. "a wizard beings play with a spellbook containing all 0th level spells, and three 1st level spells of the players choice. For each point of intelligence bonus the wizard has, the book contains an additional 1st level spell") can, and should be used to keep your clothing, knife, hand axe, rope, spellbook, and waterskin in good repair. the sword, bow, and arrows are much less useful. You want to survive, not win a war.

Use your tinder box and oil very sparingly. Fire isn't easy to comeby in the wilds. Also ask your GM if you can use prestidigitation to make a spark.. enough to start a campfire, but still within the limits of the spell.

You should, at the minimum have access to one more 1st level spell (assuming the wizard in question has an int of 10-11). I would very very much so recomment getting Unseen Servant. Anything that can help you in preforming your various survival tasks if very good. And the material component is a bit of string and a small peice of wood. Both of which you shouldn't have any problems getting ahold of.

You mentioned that the character has access to the Profession (Herbalist) skill, or something to that effect, but then went on to mention that it's wizard's herbalism, and not healer's herbalism. To respond - there's no difference. Profession (Herbalist) is Profession (Herbalist). This would allow you to identify herbs and know how to prepare things that would help stave off the danger of infection. All in all, Profession (Herbalist) is a crude form of pharmacy. You can make medicines, don't let that go to waste if the need arrives.

As for the risk of disease, it's not as high as you might think. A burrow for shelter, keep clean via the nearby stream, and your cantrips, and be careful about what you eat. Disease-wise you should be just fine.

 

[Anabstercorian]

Yeah, you're cool

First off - ALWAYS HAVE A PRESTIDIGITATION AND A MENDING MEMORIZED, ALWAYS. This way, if your Spellbook takes damage or gets wet, you can repair the damage. Without your spellbook, you are screwed.

Second, you can use Prestidigitation to start a fire at will. No fear of cold in winter, merely starvation. Ray of Frost should keep your food fresh indefinitely if you zap it three times a day.

Remember this and always run from random encounters and you should be cool. Try to make friends with one of the local fey for company.