A question regarding tents

[Fjolnir]

How much canvas would I need to be able to make a makeshift tent or shelter half? Canvas is 1 gp a square yard and 1 lb/sq yd, rope is 1 gp for 50 feet/ 10lbs of hemp rope? would it cost more than a 20 gp tent to make one yourself? would it weigh less than 10lbs after you sectioned the rope you need specifically for the tent? My character is just over 6 ft tall, so I assume a minimum of 3 square yards of canvas.

[TheStranger]

Depends how good a tent you want, I suppose. Do you just want to stay dry? Do you want to trap some body heat in cold weather? Do you want something between you and ground-dwelling spiders?

If you really just want a one-man shelter and you're not too picky about comfort, I'd go with something like a bivy sack. Which is basically a sleeping bag, so you're down to a few square yards of canvas and no rope. I've also slept dry in wet weather with nothing more than a black plastic trash bag, a few pieces of string, and a ground cloth, but that may have also entailed a successful survival check. You can scale up from there, depending on how comfortable you want to be.

[Slipperychicken]

How much canvas would I need to be able to make a makeshift tent or shelter half? Canvas is 1 gp a square yard and 1 lb/sq yd, rope is 1 gp for 50 feet/ 10lbs of hemp rope? would it cost more than a 20 gp tent to make one yourself? would it weigh less than 10lbs after you sectioned the rope you need specifically for the tent? My character is just over 6 ft tall, so I assume a minimum of 3 square yards of canvas.

You'd use the appropriate Craft skill (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/craft.htm). Crafting ordinary nonmamgical items costs 1/3 the total cost in materials.

Your 20gp tent would cost 20/3 = 6.67 gold (or 6 gold + 6 silver + 7 copper) in materials. Of course, you also need to hit the craft DC, and if you fail by 5 or more you waste half your materials.

[Gildedragon]

Slipperychicken is not responsible for ludicrous results like the 1/3 of cost of the tent being able to buy several square acres of cloth, or the like. (doubtful in the case of 6 gold, but there's some weird RAW interactions)

[Slipperychicken]

Slipperychicken is not responsible for ludicrous results like the 1/3 of cost of the tent being able to buy several square acres of cloth, or the like.

Presumably the 6.67 gold includes things like spikes to hold it down, rope of the appropriate specifications, poles and such to hold the whole thing up, any buckles or metal bits to keep the cloth on the rope, and so on.

[Lightlawbliss]

Presumably the 6.67 gold includes things like spikes to hold it down, rope of the appropriate specifications, poles and such to hold the whole thing up, any buckles or metal bits to keep the cloth on the rope, and so on.

this is what I visualize as the tent they give in the PH. (potentially different scale)http://overthemoontents.com/wp-content/uploads/tents/grand_round_tent_02.jpg
you could get something to keep you dry for a lot less, especially if your going one man and don't care about standing up in it. A man just under 6 ft tall could use 1.5x2 yrds (3 sq yrds) plus a few sticks and maby 6 yrds of rope (leaving plenty for knots and having to stake faraway from you at times) and be in great shape for a little one man, crawl in tent.
edit: (so maby 1gp)

[Rhynn]

I'm thinking zero gp (http://cdn-www.trails.com/imagecache/articles/295x195/shelter-wilderness-295x195.png) and a Survival check.

[Jeff the Green]

I'm thinking zero gp (http://cdn-www.trails.com/imagecache/articles/295x195/shelter-wilderness-295x195.png) and a Survival check.

And if you're in the middle of a savannah when the thunderstorm's approaching? Or going hiking across a tundra? Or backpacking across a desert? Or the local dryads will get pissy if you start using their trees to build shelter? Or you don't have time to spend finding the stuff you need to build a shelter?

If you know you're going to be outside and can't afford more fancy or secure shelter, a tent is a damn good bargain.

[Slipperychicken]

I'm thinking zero gp (http://cdn-www.trails.com/imagecache/articles/295x195/shelter-wilderness-295x195.png) and a Survival check.

That's not a tent.

[Kelb_Panthera]

this is what I visualize as the tent they give in the PH. (potentially different scale)http://overthemoontents.com/wp-content/uploads/tents/grand_round_tent_02.jpg
you could get something to keep you dry for a lot less, especially if your going one man and don't care about standing up in it. A man just under 6 ft tall could use 1.5x2 yrds (3 sq yrds) plus a few sticks and maby 6 yrds of rope (leaving plenty for knots and having to stake faraway from you at times) and be in great shape for a little one man, crawl in tent.
edit: (so maby 1gp)

Wow no.

That's at least a 4 man tent. Honestly though, it's more of a very small pavillion than a particularly large tent.

As for a 4.5' X 6' canvas, that's more of a blanket than the canvas portion of a tent.

I'd suggest no less than a 5'X8' sheet. Call it 5' X 9' just to make the math easier by making it an even 5 square yards.

Honestly though, the arms and equipment guide has a one-man tent for 5gp and it only weighs ten pounds. Done and done, no math required.

[Ashtagon]

http://doc-0g-8g-3dwarehouse.googleusercontent.com/3dwarehouse/secure/hhulr73hmmak89paul31eote4ben7ngk/4gom56in02k4rdan166g5jcht4pviu9r/1371794400000/lt/*/ec426af097f646ada8a47208722b4993?ts=1202488803000&ctyp=other

That's more like a basic 2-man tent.

[Lightlawbliss]

Wow no.

That's at least a 4 man tent. Honestly though, it's more of a very small pavillion than a particularly large tent.

As for a 4.5' X 6' canvas, that's more of a blanket than the canvas portion of a tent.

I'd suggest no less than a 5'X8' sheet. Call it 5' X 9' just to make the math easier by making it an even 5 square yards.

Honestly though, the arms and equipment guide has a one-man tent for 5gp and it only weighs ten pounds. Done and done, no math required.

you realize they divided the cost by two to half the volume when all the cost is in the sides. correct me if i'm wrong but wouldn't half the volume removed result in less then half in the surface area being removed.

the people here are trying to be thrifty and the books aren't exactly supporting that.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Cutting the volume in half wouldn't appreciably shrink the tent.

Take, for example a cube 4ft on a side. It's volume is 4X4X4=64ft3. If we halve that volume to 32ft3 we get a cube that is approximately 3.17ft on a side. Since the surface area of a 4ft cube is 42X6=96ft2 and a 3.17ft cube's surface area is 3.172X6=60.29ft2 this is only a loss of about 37% to the surface area.

In halving the materials they'd cut the total volume by 8 fold. Without knowing the shape of the tent, it's not possible to accurately estimate its surface area since surface area does show a bit of variation depending on the shape of the object.

In any case, 5 square yards of canvas, as I suggested, costs 5sp and weighs 5lbs but doesn't account for the rope/poles to hold it up or the stakes to hold it down. Add 4 pitons (nearest tent-stake equivalent I could find), 10ft of hempen rope, and three feet off of a slightly carved up ten foot pole to add a little over 7sp and a little over 6 pounds for a make-shift tent that costs a little over a gold piece and a bit more than 11 pounds.

Since it's the same weight and a pittance of a difference in gold, I'd rather just take the tent out of A&EG.

[Lightlawbliss]

to each his own. personally, the first change I would make to your tent is to not use a ten foot pole as a base, I'd just grab some sticks and cut to length. spend nothing to get the same thing your spending silver for. add in the fact that some sharpened sticks can work great for stakes. oh look, I'm already saving significant money with free stuff off the ground and a few minutes with a dagger. You could even use the daggers you are already carrying to be stakes themselves. Also, full on rope isn't required for a tent. you could get some simple cord or just use yarn or some sticks. the "rope" and stakes are just there to redirect some of the energy and apply a bit more force down on the pole at the opening (or poles over the opening, or both, depending on the design).

[drack]

I'm thinking zero gp (http://cdn-www.trails.com/imagecache/articles/295x195/shelter-wilderness-295x195.png) and a Survival check.


That's not a tent.

Yay, a bush for the hedge knight! :smallbiggrin:

Anywho depends, small or medium. could always get 1 yard and try your best to curl up under it, but assuming you mean to fold t in half above you and hold it with something, that's 4-8 depending on how much pace you need to move. :smalltongue: