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gibbo88
2011-02-20, 03:41 AM
Is it worth the money or should I be using the 2000gp on something else?

senrath
2011-02-20, 03:44 AM
It can be, depending on the game you're in. Especially if you're not a caster, since then you just need 2 hours rest each night. Casters, unfortunately, still require 8 hours of rest to get their spells, even with the ring.

gibbo88
2011-02-20, 03:45 AM
It's for a ranger/barbarian in an evil campaign. Was basically thinking the not-needing-to-eat thing as well as well as less sleeping = more time someone good at it is on watch.

senrath
2011-02-20, 03:48 AM
The other considerations are really what other rings you might want to wear (given that you can only have two active at once, without working at it), and will it be easy to get food and water.

MeeposFire
2011-02-20, 03:58 AM
If you are in a campaign similar to Dark Sun then yes get it and never look back.

In most campaigns and most DMs no it is not worth buying. If your DM likes survival based adventuring such as Dark Sun based adventures then you want it badly.

jpreem
2011-02-20, 04:35 AM
Hmm I just begun to wonder - how does the ring of sustenance work on elves. ( They don't sleep but have to meditate for 4 hours to gain teh effect of 8 hours of sleep)
So do they not gain any bonus sleep-wise from ring of sustenance ( other ones get from 8 hours of slpeet to only two, and they still have to meditate four hours)

Edhelras
2011-02-20, 04:43 AM
If you are, or have in your party, a Ranger, then the food thing about the Ring of Sustenance becomes less important. Even without a Ranger per se, I think having someone with skills in Survival (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/survival.htm) should be mandatory, at least in anything other than strictly urbane adventures.
If you have some ranks in Survival, a DC10 check will provide you with sufficient food and water for yourself, and with a result of 16 (+2 to the DC for every other person) you can sustain the entire party, provided you move at half speed while moving overland in any non-urban environment. 5 ranks in some knowledge skills can improve your Surival check further.

I guess there are some circumstances, though, where the ability to survive indefinetely, even when cut off from food and water, is useful. For instance if you're caught in a cave-in, imprisoned (and manages to keep your Ring, by swallowing it, for instance...? yuck).

But the most important aspect of the Ring, IMO, is the reduced requirement for sleep. I like resting to be realistic, and to have a real chance for surprise attacks during night. Moreover, I like to have real penalties to those who forgo sleep, for instance in order to stand watch (see this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164416) for a discussion).
In that setting, having someone with who don't need to sleep in order to regain spells, and often with at least some skills in Spot and Listen and also the ability to handle initial melée (i.e. having a decent AC without buffs) is very useful. In particular, if your character is armor-based (not DEX-based), using heavy armor, the dramatic reduction in need for sleep will reduce the time that he has to spend without his best armor. So even if he's not actually doing guard duty, he will be better prepared if a surprise attack should occur.

Noneoyabizzness
2011-02-20, 09:18 AM
the questions one must ask about how valuable the ring can be:
how often does the amount of food you cary matter in a game?
how often do you sleep unsecured or with minimal security?
is it urban?
does you dm like to poison tavern food/drink?

consider these answers and you'll see if the ring is right for you