Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Raumz 04-29-07, 01:30 AM	Hi. In my current campaign I want it to be somewhat close to real life. Not in the physics but in the living aspect. Such as the PCs need to eat drink and sleep and they are happy/feel better when they get good food/drink and have a comfortable place to sleep. So far they have done the "We go to town and buy 4 pounds of jerky. We get home, divide it up and eat it." I dont really mind this but I would like to put in some motivation to maybe put a point or two im profession (cook) and buy some more exotic stuff like some veggies and fruits and idffrent types of meat and cook it up. So I was thinking of stat bonuses of somekind for good meals. Also I was trying to think of a way to get them to cough up the 10 or so gold it would take to buy a simple bed so they dont sleep on their bed rolls while they are in the house that I gave them at the start of the campaign. And it would be nice to motivate hte players to keep some of the art object that come up in the loot and put them up around the house. Also I would like to motivate them to do other things people would for relaxation. I realize D&D is about (to some) leveling your character and ever single scrap of loot you find should be sold for the futhurment of your character. But I would like to make this game for lack fo a better terms "Live another life" allbeit another life where you can go out and slaughter a cave full of goblins. And I know there is probably alot of mistake in what I am being but I am a new DM and my group is new to so we are still getting a feel for the game. But anyway, what should I do to motivate my PCs to put some time in the living aspect of D&D? Also what systems should I use for the cooking and stuff besides just "Roll a cook check". Thanks for oyur time and sorry for the rambling.
Stuffburger 04-29-07, 01:50 AM	I wouldn't necessarily offer a bonus for creature comforts, but maybe penalize the players in an RP sense for excessively spartan living arrangements. "Can you believe they sleep on the floor and want to talk to the king?" "Something must be wrong with them, eating trail rations all the time" etc.
daggeroflath 04-29-07, 01:59 AM	In my experience describing a really awesome meal for the players does wonders. But don't do it unless you have plenty of snacks or are willing to cook for the group, because it makes everyone really hungry.
Strudel_Lumpycakes 04-29-07, 02:06 AM	Well, anyone who tries to survive on jerky is going to experience some severe vitamin deficiencies. If the PCs start to develop sores or loose teeth, they might consider seeking out more nourishing vittles.
Raumz 04-29-07, 02:12 AM	I dont really want to penalize them for not eating like wealthy adventurers should but I might just resort to that if need be. I would wrather say "Look you get .... if you have a nice meal where you spend some time cooking and use a few veggies some chicken and some spices. Also if you are good at cooking it will be a better meal so you will get even more of a bonus to ...." I dont really mind them getting some bonuses. Because whatever they are I would put a time limit on them so they wouldnt cook a meal at their house and then sprint to the nearest dungeon to get a +2 to a reflex save to open the door incase of trap. The way I see it there isnt to much damage they can do around town that I couldnt fix some how. So if you have suggestions post them up. Dont really worry about them being balanced or not because I'll refine some sort of system before the next game. I just need some building materials for it. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I might just resort to some of those tactics if my PCs still say "Who need vitamin C" or "Yes I havnt taken a shower in 4 weeks, whats it to you? Now let in to see the king!"
Strudel_Lumpycakes 04-29-07, 03:11 AM	I think getting bonuses for eating nice food is a little strange myself. Rogue: Okay everybody, stand back while I pick this lock. It might be trapped. Fighter: Wait! Eat this chicken wing first! Anyway in a dungeon, where adventures are going to be making most of their die rolls, they won't be too worried about whether their peaches have been suffocated properly. It makes more sense for them to just pack some jerky and a little dry fruit.
Perseus_Stoned 04-29-07, 03:25 AM	This really seems like a joke thread, but if its not please take this piece of advice to heart: If your players do not want to roleplay food, beyond the extent of one sentence briefing you on their actions, please do not make them. It sounds like you have an interesting idea for a "side-section" of the game, but make sure its something they'd want to do first.
Raumz 04-29-07, 03:31 AM	ITs not that they dont want to. They have said they would like this campaign to be a bit closer to 'real life' than normal. But they just dont want to spend gold on meats and stuff that they need to cook if they dont get anything for it. So thats is why I am asking this. I know this sound stupid or whatever but that is my problem to deal with if it is indeed a problem in my campaign. The PCs make alot of their rolls in town. This campaign is about half in town (if not more and half out of town (if not less). So a boost of a diplomacy check when speaking to the noble in charge of a field they want to turn into a farm might be nice. So please do not tell me how much this will slow my game down or how much this wont work, I will deal with that as it comes. All I need is advice on what to do if and when my players decide to have their PCs cook a good meal or buy a nice bed to sleep in or have a bunch of nice pictures and chairs and such around their home.
beezl 04-29-07, 08:06 AM	some might say some of this is off topic, but i bring it up for case examples, so bear w/ me This brings to mind a similar question I had: What if the PC's dont have a bedroll? Do they not sleep? are they not capable of sleeping? No, if you're tired you'll sleep. So in the interest of adding realism and value to the item, if you're in paticularly inhospitible environments w/o the gear to make you reasonibly confortable, you need to make fort saves at a cumulative DC based on the days of sub par sleep. ok, so back to food. In the game Cyberpunk 2020 they have the equivelent of trail rations in a can. Provides all the sustenance for the day, but if one tries to live off it for more than a week, they start feeling weary and fatigued from lack of real food... Now back to the case at hand. I see no reason not to add bonuses, and penalties, for diet. If one tries to live off trail rations indefinately, the will start getting fatigued. Probably not at the same rate one would if they were being forced to march through the night, though still cumulative daily. Inversly, I see no reason not to give Moral Bonuses for eating griffon steak for lunch, or the mango from the Tree of Gaia, or what have you. Even if the bonus is to things like the Fort Save to resist the fatigue effects listed earlier.
Basil_Bottletop 04-29-07, 09:50 AM	I agree with dagger and strudel, the bonuses might be a bit much. The added pieces of food may change the focus of your game, almost to the point of RT hours spent "creating" food instead of moving your story along. However, there is a character in one of my games that has profession cooking, and she just keeps a list of foods and ingredients in her pack. When it's time to rest for the night she starts a fire, cooks, and serves it up. It's realistic without giving rewards for eating. If they want something tangible because they put the effort into eating something other than trail rations tell them they should look into buying one of the Dark Cloud games or more accurately the Sims games.... I do like the idea that the townsfolk start talking about them because they have no furniture, or decor in their house. That would be a good role-playing aspect.
kilmore 04-29-07, 01:24 PM	I think that is a great idea, but it could turn out poorly if you don't implement it correctly. All you have to do is look at what happens in real life and try to translate that into game terms. If you have seen the movie Supersize Me, about the effects of eating only McDonald's food for a month, then you should watch it. Eating non-healthy food, or not getting enough vitamins or whatever should give penalties: perhaps increased susceptibility to sickness and disease. increased chances of being fatigued when you wake up. overall weakness. However, it is important that these penalties feel real, its not like if you have trail rations at lunch you get a -1 penalty to fortitude saves but then you eat a carrot an hour later and the penalty goes away. It should be a very long and gradual process. Perhaps the PC's spend four days out in the wild and only eat jerky: first make them have cravings for vegetables or fruit, but do it subtly. Maybe after another day they start to feel the effects, if it goes on long enough maybe give them scurvy!
Mock26 04-29-07, 07:19 PM	Equivalent of a 2-hour bless spell followingthe consumption of a gourment meal.
bloodtalon 04-29-07, 07:41 PM	to me living off trail rations does nto lower your abilities real world example i lived off M.R.E.'s for 2 years it did nothing to hurt me expext make me love "real" food more and to me trail rations are M.R.E.'s of d&d all trail rations do is to give you all the calories and mineral and vitiems you need to live and nothing for the taste:: real food might not do the same think of it this way what if you eat all the tasty junk food but nothing with the stuff you need and the other guys eat the trail rations which is design to give you waht you will need who will come out ahead?
Neutronium_Dragon 04-29-07, 07:50 PM	You might look at some of the food and drink related items in the Magic Item Compendium and arrange for a few of them to fall into the hands of the PCs. They're generally inexpensive enough that a party of moderate level isn't going to mind the cost, and you can style what they produce easily enough to diversify their diet from a theme standpoint. But really, food isn't meant to be a particularly significant obstacle, especially beyond the first few levels when you don't have magical means to deal with it. If you want to encourage them on that count, consider using the "living expenses" option in the DMG and then they can more or less eat whatever they want without having to worry about the specifics.
Raumz 04-29-07, 08:00 PM	About the MREs, they are made for oyu to live off of. They have all the stuff you need so oyu could take a 10 year supply, go into thw woods and not worry about gathering food. Trail rations however are just that, trail rations. They are made to keep you from being hungry on your way from point A to point B. They dont really have all the stuff you need to live. They are fine for a week or 2 but its nothing to live off of. Atleast thats whatthey are to me.
Mock26 04-29-07, 08:01 PM	to me living off trail rations does nto lower your abilities real world example i lived off M.R.E.'s for 2 years it did nothing to hurt me expext make me love "real" food more and to me trail rations are M.R.E.'s of d&d all trail rations do is to give you all the calories and mineral and vitiems you need to live and nothing for the taste:: real food might not do the same think of it this way what if you eat all the tasty junk food but nothing with the stuff you need and the other guys eat the trail rations which is design to give you waht you will need who will come out ahead? If I lived off of M.R.E.'s for 2 years, and I then had a nice 5-star gourmet meal, I'd be bouncing off the walls with positive energy!
Aliquid 04-29-07, 08:28 PM	real world example i lived off M.R.E.'s for 2 years it did nothing to hurt me expext make me love "real" food more and to me trail rations are M.R.E.'s of d&d all trail rations do is to give you all the calories and mineral and vitiems you need to live and nothing for the taste:: real food might not do the sameI highly doubt that trail rations even come close to having the nutritional diversity of M.R.E.'s. Unless you are using magic to make the trail rations... they will be the same as the sort of crap soldiers ate hundreds of years ago. A real world example I would use would be the rations sailors brought along on long exploration trips back in the days of discovery..... and many of the sailors that ate that stuff for weeks on end got Scurvy. Symptoms of scurvy: Depression, exhaustion, partial immobility... sounds like a Constitution penalty. I wouldn't give bonuses for eating well... but I would give penalties for eating poorly, due to mental and physical exhaustion. Same with bad sleep. Of course I would OK this with the players first.
bloodtalon 04-29-07, 08:35 PM	mainly do military type campains in my games so the trail rations are for the soilders to be able to live instead of raiding form the people they are suppose to protect
Mock26 04-29-07, 09:43 PM	I highly doubt that trail rations even come close to having the nutritional diversity of M.R.E.'s. Unless you are using magic to make the trail rations... they will be the same as the sort of crap soldiers ate hundreds of years ago. A real world example I would use would be the rations sailors brought along on long exploration trips back in the days of discovery..... and many of the sailors that ate that stuff for weeks on end got Scurvy. Symptoms of scurvy: Depression, exhaustion, partial immobility... sounds like a Constitution penalty. I wouldn't give bonuses for eating well... but I would give penalties for eating poorly, due to mental and physical exhaustion. Same with bad sleep. Of course I would OK this with the players first. But scurvy was really only a problem with navies because they were stuck on a ship with no source of food other than the occasional fish that was caught. (Incidentally, the British are known as limeys because some Admiral (Nelson?) figured out that limes prevented scurvy (though technically it was the vitaman C found in a lime and not actually the lime itself). Armies rarely suffered from scurvy. Very few armies subsided solely on the real world equivalent of iron/trail rations. They were fortunate in that they could (and actively did) supplement their rations with food gathered from whatever land they were travelling through. With a few exceptions I imagine that most adventurers can and do supplement their iron/trail rations with fresh veggies and such that they can gather along the way, and a lot of wildly growing veggies have varying levels of vitamin C in them.
SkippyDawg 04-30-07, 12:19 AM	I'm still an inexperienced DM, but here's a few thoughts of mine about bonuses and penalties. 1. Morale bonus for good food. Just think, after eating a delicious turkey seasoned excellently, the troops are ready to fight :D! I'd say +1 morale bonus to attacks, saves, skills, etc. 2. Charisma bonus or penalty for hygiene. Smells bad? -2 diplomacy penalty. Smells NICE?! +2 diplomacy bonus. Sleeping on the floor usually makes your hair look ruffled and unkempt, -1 diplomacy, +1 intimidate. 3. Disease from bad / uncooked food. Cook that pork or it'll be bad. Perhaps the trail rations and jerky around here are messed up with...bird flu (don't ask how)...that makes the players choose something else. 4. Increased weight for bad food. There's a reason why nobody really lives off of jerky; it's unhealthy. And I'm sure your barbarian will look AWESOME as an obese guy..."ROAR...huff huff...cough...Roar...cough huff huff...roar..." 5. Art in the house makes your sims--I mean players feel more fulfilled with life. Whether it's just making the local noble think you're worthy of his time or just making your greedy rogue in the group feel pompous and self centered, people need a certain amount of fulfillment, right? (I suppose that could equal a morale bonus...) 6. If you have wizards in the group, check out the premade adventure "Something's Cooking." Perhaps your summoner wizard might want to learn how to summon a "Calzone Golem" from that game ;). Well, that's my part of help. I hope it...helps or something.
KurenaiYami 04-30-07, 01:35 AM	I think getting bonuses for eating nice food is a little strange myself. Rogue: Okay everybody, stand back while I pick this lock. It might be trapped. Fighter: Wait! Eat this chicken wing first! What's amusing is that example makes sense to me. My hands get shaky when I'm hungry. Having eaten before picking a lock would be a real benefit. I also get headaches when I haven't eaten for a long while.
Aliquid 04-30-07, 01:45 AM	Very few armies subsided solely on the real world equivalent of iron/trail rations.It was a major problem in armies during the 13th Century and earlier. It even was a noticable problem during World War I. With a few exceptions I imagine that most adventurers can and do supplement their iron/trail rations with fresh veggies and such that they can gather along the way, and a lot of wildly growing veggies have varying levels of vitamin C in them.Oh, I'm sure the adventurers could supplement their diet. That's the point of the original post I believe. Giving the players a reason to care what their characters eat. Giving them a reason to eat more than just trail rations. I figure avoiding Scurvy and other malnurishment issues is a good incentive for the characters to watch what they eat.
Geddonight 04-30-07, 03:23 AM	I think I fall into the camp of minimal benefits with greater penalties... poor diet = poor overall performance. maybe a healthy diet could yield a small benefit? +1 or +2 hp recovered every night a good solid meal has been placed in your belly... that could work, eh?