Just a man and his will to survive

Let me go on a bit of a ramble about Wilderness Survival in the current Edition of the Hobby.

The Exploration pillar gets the least love in the current Edition of the Hobby, much to the Players detriment I say. At worst if the Characters are required to travel somewhere, they will be hand-wave-fast-travelled to their destination in a matter of montaged moments. 

At best the benevolently merciful DM might deign to give them a point crawl. 

And they should be grateful as they are taken on a whistle stop guided tour of the DMs world. Allowing the DM to info dump all over the Players.

[Overland map: Lost Mines of Phandelver]

For example a journey from Neverwinter to Phandalin is roughly 70 miles, or about 3 days journey at a Normal Pace (24 miles/day per PHB - Movement rules). 

Now most of the time this journey is abstracted, the DM might roll a couple of Random Encounters, but mostly you'll be given campfire scenes to get to know the other characters in your group before flash wiping to the big [Ambush!] set piece.

Or even more egregiously you may start right at the set piece, after the DM exposits how the trip there went. 

Which often leads to Players wondering why they should care about the two NPCs they set out with, and who had broken from the caravan to ride ahead so they could deal with some business in the town.

Beside from "Muh Plot" reasons, of course.

If we take the above example, and we treat it as a proper Hex crawl, giving the Exploration pillar its due, we gain three days to build bonds with the NPCs. 

Now 5e suggests checking for Wilderness Encounters twice per day: once during the Day and once during the Night. That's a 40%~ chance per day of travel that something unexpected will occur, and give the Players a chance to interact with the world. 

Expanding their understanding of it without the DMs need to lore dump.

We can start to get the players in the correct mindset, by showing them the reasons for setting Marching Orders and Rotating Watches.

[A far better system from a far better game]

The other aspect that needs to be considered is Food and Water.

A single Medium creature requires 1lb of food per day, though they can subsist on Rations. But, more importantly they must drink a gallon of water a day. Increasing to 2 gallons if the weather is hot.

Two interesting points arise with just this part alone.

1) While Goodberry can stand in for food by "providing enough nourishment to sustain a creature for a day". It can not replace your need to drink, its all empty calories. As seen by the fact that the Bead of Nourishment and Bead of Refreshment are two separate consumable items. 

2) An interesting little bit of implied setting/world building pops up when you look at the volume of water required. 1 gallon per day, is the same as consuming 8 pints of liquid. Which would mean your character would have to carry 2 full 4 pint waterskins on them. Yet all equipment packs, that do, only come with a single waterskin as standard. Simple oversight or was the implication that the Characters would stop off to top up on those long treks through the wilderness?

So back to the Example above. 

We have an adventuring Party of 5 (counting the pre-gens that came with the module), 3 NPCs (the Merchant, his 'Bodyguard', and the Driver), a mule, a warhorse and finally 2 oxen which pull the cart laden with goods bound for Phandalin.

9 gallons of water and 9 lbs of food per day for the Humanoids (plus Mule) (as per the PHB - Food and Water), and a further 12 lbs/12 gallons per day for the Large beasts of burden (including the Warhorse) (as per the DMG - Food and Water).

Our 3 day trip requires provisions in the order of 63gallons of water and 63lbs of food.

Now some of you read this and immediately the wheels began to turn, you were already considering the cost-benefit analysis of hiring a second cart to haul it all.

But, given the original wilderness survival gripe was regarding how frustrating Goodberry made their game, we shall put that to the side for now and say that these 10 'creatures' only require sources of drinkable water during the trip.

Thanks to the DMG - Foraging rules we know that "Characters can gather food and water as the party travels at a normal or slow pace". Once again we see why setting the Marching Order is important, if you spur those Oxen on to rush the journey, you'll miss out on things.

Not to mention that travelling at a Fast pace gives a -5 penalty to Perception checks. A flat penalty which would stack with any source of Disadvantage (exhaustion or adverse weather for example).

And that "if multiple Characters forage, each Character makes a separate check". 

Now the DM only has to decide on the "Level of Availability" on this stretch of grassland, as indicated by the DMG - Foraging rules. As the DC for the subsequent Wisdom (Survival) check required to harvest from the area is set by the Availability Level. 

Given that each Hex on the map above is 5 miles, there may be abundant small streams, brooks or creeks from which to draw from over the course of the day. A successful check allowing a Character to draw [1d6 + Wisdom Modifier] Gallons.

There might even be rest stops or camp grounds set a little ways off the main road, given that this is the main thoroughfare between two of the Regions largest cities: Neverwinter and Waterdeep.

But what if the DM decides this region only has Limited or Very Little, if any sources.

Well that is very different from none. 

They may be difficult to find (given the higher DCs) or they may just be unfit for human consumption. The sources may be stagnant or standing, and the last thing you want to do on the Phandalin trail is die of dysentery.

Well, if it can be stored in some manner a Character with access to Brewer's Supplies (we all know the Dwarf is packing) and enough time can create "Potable Water" as XGE tells us. By purifying otherwise undrinkable water: 6 gallons per Long Rest, or 1 gallon as part of a Short Rest.

It is also thanks to this Proficiency that the Players will be able to "detect poison or impurities in a drink".

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Now lets say we don't have access to the Goodberry spell.

No Druids in the Party, the Ranger is not high enough level to cast spells, and no Variant Humans picked it up via the Magic Initiate feat. 

What now?

Well, as the party travels they can be foraging as they go. Though not all of them as someone should be keeping a look out to Notice Threats (which the PHB - Movement tells us is based on the Characters Passive Perception).

And again, on a successful Survival check they would be able to acquire [1d6 + Wisdom Modifier] in lbs of food.

It is here we can see why some people feel the Outlander background, the Ranger in their Favoured Terrain, or the Combo of these two, can vastly nerf the challenge of overland/wilderness encounters/exploration.

As the Rangers Favoured Terrain, part of their Natural Explorer class feature, allows them to find twice as much food as normal when they forage (which they do with 'expertise'), they can engage in another activity while travelling (such as Foraging) while still remaining alert to danger; while tracking other creatures they are aware of their exact size and number, as well as how long ago they moved through the area.

Additionally, while travelling alone, they can move stealthily while travelling at a normal pace. For others this requires a slow pace.

Damn it Tasha let my Rangers range.

And the Outlanders background feature: Wanderer not only gives them a better spatial awareness, aiding them in not getting lost, they are able to find enough food and fresh water for themselves and up to 5 other people each day. "Provided that the land offers berries, small game, water and so forth".

My reading of it is thusly;

• Regular characters can find 1d6 + Wis lbs/gallons
• The Ranger in their Favoured Terrain can find 2d6 + Wis lbs/gallons
• An Outlander can acquire up to 6lbs and 12gallons (though limited to only people)
• The Outlander Ranger in their Favoured Terrain can scrounge up 12lbs and 24gallons per day. 

With proficiency in Cooks Utensils they can also "make do with ingredients they scavenge that others would be unable to transform into nourishing meals".

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This is not overpowered. 

This is a character being in their element, fulfilling their Role.

We do not criticise the Paladin when they are smiting Fiends. Nor the Cleric when they are Turning Undead. Nor the Druid when they are gathering intel by conversing with all manner of Flora and Fauna. 

This is them in their natural habitat. 

The Ranger should be advancing ahead of the party, lone woodsmen living off the land. Making and breaking trail, scouting for enemies and sighting potential dangers the party may run into.

All the more so if they have acquired proficiency in Cartographer's Tools.

Now regular characters can draw a map while travelling, but that takes their full attention. Those truly skilled in Cartography (XGE - Tool Proficiencies) can also engage in an additional activity while Travelling.

Couple this with the Rangers ability to stay alert while foraging and watch the point men flourish.

Don't worry about splitting the party. 

If the Ranger sets out an hour ahead of the party, given a normal pace (and assuming 30ft movement), they can only be 3 miles ahead. If we assume a normal pace for the party, then even if the Ranger sights danger or trouble, they will most likely be able to get back to the group fairly quickly.

Given that they can travel stealthily at a Normal Pace, while in their favoured terrain difficult terrain doesn't slow them down, and also while in their favoured terrain only magical means can cause them to get lost. So even moving at a Fast Pace doesn't hinder them much.

But what of those back at the wagon.

Won't they get bored while the Ranger is off Bear Grylls'ing their way through the countryside.

The answer is [NO].

They have their own concerns to worry about, not only are they engaging in all the activities hitherto mentioned, but they are also (at least using the Example above) getting to know the NPCs. 

Expanding their understanding of the world.

The Players may not have started out in Neverwinter, their characters spawning in already having been hired on. But the NPCs have certainly been to the big city before. They may have also been to the destination before, and can offer information about it.

A Player may even be driving the cart.

Hopefully, they have proficiency in Vehicles (Land) so that they can pull off those tight turns at high speeds, while also allowing the vehicle to juke or swerve around danger (applying their Proficiency bonus to the Vehicles AC and Saving Throws - as per XGE).

A well made wooden wagon may have an initial AC of 15 and around 27 hp. While its wheels, though still being made of wood, may be a bit more fragile at around 5 hp. Both certainly benefiting from the +2 AC of a competent driver. And an immunity to Poison and Psychic damage will do little to dissuade falling boulders or malicious axes.

There is also the possibility that in the Rangers haste to scout ahead, they missed the sign of some creature. The stealth of the Predators higher than the Passive Perception of the Ranger.

Which means the Party has to deal with it, sans said Ranger.

Or if you have a Ranger as I've described, they may double back alerting the Party to the presence of danger. Allowing ample time to plan how to deal with, avoid or evade it.

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As this post is growing long we should discuss Becoming Lost (as per the Wilderness Survival rules in the DMG).

Which tells us that if they are blazing a trail through the wilderness, and not on a path or something like it, then there is the chance to become lost.

This is based on the terrain being traversed and, in the case of ocean travel (which is a separate beast entirely and will not be covered in this post), whether or not the sky and/or land is visible.

A flat penalty or bonus, determined by current Travel Pace, is also applied to the check.

In the Example above, we normally wouldn't need to make the check as we are following one of the regions main thoroughfares. However, adverse weather conditions or while we travel along the lesser used 'Trail' to our destination, may prompt a check.

Thankfully we are in grasslands so the DC would be 5 (maybe 10 if the weathers bad but driving slowly can reduce that back down to 5).

Of course Outlanders and Cartographers may gain Advantage on the Survival check, and Rangers can't become lost while travelling in their favoured terrain. Unless by magical means. 

Which I take to mean by way of some cunning Suggestion, Hallucinatory Terrain, Barovian Fog or Fey trickery. And in such instances only a Druid may truly be able to Find the Path.

Though they would then gain 'expertise' on any subsequent Survival checks made to navigate through the area.

Now upon becoming lost the Party inadvertently travels in the wrong direction, only being able to repeat the check after they spend 1d6 hours trying to get back on course.

1d6 hours means they could be anywhere between 2 and 24 miles off course depending upon their current pace.

Using our Example, if they miss the turn off on the trail they could easily end up in the woods, the low foothills (neither of which are our theoretical Rangers favoured terrain) or even further up the trail to Conyberry or even Triboar.

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At the end of the journey, we want nothing more then to rest and relax. Which brings us nicely to talking about Exhaustion.

A condition which can be made steadily worse if not dealt with in a timely fashion. There are several ways to gain this condition, and most of them can be found during Travel.

- The Weather: Being exposed to extremes of Heat and Cold requires hourly saves.

- Natural Hazards: Being in Frigid Water for an period longer than the characters Con score in minutes requires a save for every subsequent minute spent immersed.

- Travel Pace: A Forced March requires compounding saves for every hour past the first 8 of regular travel.

- Food and Water: A character can go without food for 3 + their Con Mod Days, but after that they automatically gain one level of exhaustion if they persist.

- Food and Water: Characters with access to only half the required Water must make daily saves, while characters with access to less than that automatically gain a level of exhaustion. 

- Going without a Long Rest: Those who go with out a restful 8hrs begin to make daily compounding saves after the first 24hrs has passed.

Death occurs if you gain 6 levels of exhaustion.

The Conditions page in the PHB tells us that most ill effects from exhaustion can be reduced if not outright removed by finishing a Long Rest, provided that creature has also ingested some food and drink.

And that; "being raised from the dead reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1", for those extreme cases.

However, further reading provides a couple of complicating caveats. 

Bundling up in warm winter clothes can help mitigate any exhaustion brought about by the extreme cold, but only while those clothes stay dry. So be wary of falling through thin ice into frigid waters.

Likewise on days of extreme heat, those with sufficient access to water should be okay. However, the high temperatures will require drinking twice as much as normal.

Exhaustion brought on by starvation or dehydration "cannot be removed until the character eats and drinks the full required amount" (PHB - Food and Water).

A period of downtime for Relaxation and Recuperation may be required after a long journey.

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So lets loop it back and tie it off nicely, by touching on the video that started off this whole tangent in the first place, which led to this separate post.

We've talked about nearly every aspect of Wilderness Survival, which the DM in the video wanted to incorporate into that 'campaign'. And how it was basically ruined by a single spell, which as shown above I don't think works the way they thought it did. 

Here's where I find out this whole post has been build on the sandy foundation of D&D Beyond's stealth edited and errata'd sources.

The thing that the video doesn't touch on, and I can see why as the crux of it was about the Goodberry spell, was the fact the Party was being hunted.

Were they hunted by people who were better equipped, better provisioned, who knew the terrain, and could more easily enter any small isolated settlement? Who knows.

What we do know is that "every hunt or rest they took brought them closer to being arrested or killed", so we can assume the DM/Co-DM had some way of keeping track of how close the pursuers were to the Party.

I would have liked to have heard how the Chase went, and how the Wilderness Chase complications (DMG) affected things. If at all.

'You rest too long in one location and your pursuer is upon you. You manage to get away but they are hot on your heels. Bumbling you take a wrong turn and stumble over [a creature indigenous to the area] which proceeds to also begin chasing after you.'

Good stuff.

There are also no real 'harvesting' mechanics, but in the DMG under Crafting and Harvesting Poison it shows the harvesting requiring time (1d6 minutes) and effort (DC20 Nature check), but it also directs us to use the Crafting Rules from the PHB - Downtime.

Though I am more likely to use the slightly more fleshed out rules for Crafting Items found in XGE: requiring appropriate tool proficiency and a number of 'workweeks' equal to the items cost/50gp.

Which also allows a character to complete multiple items in a workweek provided their combined cost is 50gp or lower.

Leather or Hide armour are 10gp a piece, and would require Leatherworkers Tools.

A simple 10gp 'wooden' shield and Arrows would require Woodcarvers tools.

I don't think this would be Carpenter's tools as those seem to be for larger projects, given they allow you to construct a shelter that can keep you dry for d3 days.

Woodcarver's tools also allow you to repair a damaged wooden object.

And 10gp cold weather clothing may require Weavers tools, Leatherworkers tools, and Woodcarvers tools depending on what part of the clothes you were making.

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And a final side note for those who are curious:

[Quest: You will be paid 10gp each when they deliver the Wagon safely to the Trading Post]

The party:

- Level 1 Dwarven Life domain Cleric (ex-Soldier proficient in Land Vehicles can Purify Food and Drink). 10gp starting wealth

- Level 1 Elven Wizard (Acolyte packing Magic Missile and Sleep, speaks Goblin). 5gp starting wealth

- Level 1 Halfling Rogue (Criminal with a Short bow, proficient with Carpenter's tools). 15gp starting wealth

- Level 1 Human Fighter (Noble). 25gp starting wealth

- Level 1 Human Fighter (local Folk Hero proficient in Survival, Land Vehicles and Carpenters tools). 10gp starting wealth

NPCs:

- Dwarven Merchant who hired them to escort the wagon

- Human Warrior, the Dwarven Merchants escort

- Wagon Driver

Other:

- 2 oxen to pull the wagon

- 2 other mounts (a Mule for the Dwarf and a Warhorse for his escort)

- The wagon is packed full of an assortment of mining supplies and food. This includes a dozen sacks of flour, several casks of salted pork, two kegs of strong ale, shovels, picks, and crowbars (about a dozen each), and five lanterns with a small barrel of oil (about fifty flasks in volume).

- The total value of the cargo is 100gp

- Animal feed per day per mount can be purchased for 5cp and weighs 10lbs

- The 3 NPCs carry with them no water or rations.

I'm curious to see what you come up with in the comments. 

Though I might solo-game this myself at some point.

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