[PF] Skill Checks to escape an island? (think Castaway)

[JonathanPDX]

I'm preparing for this week's session and one very likely outcome is the party being stranded on an uninhabited island. They're in the ocean with no sense of direction or how near any major land mass is. They have simple magic items like a Traveler's Any Tool but no spells above 2nd level or any spectacular items or abilities. Some of them have survival skill but no crafting, and I can't remember if anyone even has has knowledge: engineering.

Here are my questions:
1. How do you determine the Crafting DC and modifiers to build a raft or boat? I assume the most basic form would be a raft of logs or boards lashed together with rope or vine (like Castaway) and wooden oars.
1a. Are there any modifiers you would use for having all 4 characters involved in the construction? -2 for not having tools is the only one I can think of.
1b. How long does it take to build, or how long per failed attempt?
1c. How would you address the crafting check if they intended to build something more complicated, like an actual boat with a hull? Is that even possible with no training?

2. What rules would you use to determine their time at sea and odds of reaching land or even washing back up on the same island? Do you take the narrative arc over the dice in this scenario, or roll to determine how successful their floundering voyage is?

3. I can make survival checks for fishing and enduring weather, but what other checks might be involved in floating around at sea on a tiny raft?

4. This whole situation is a worst case scenario as the result of many poor choices. What kind of repercussions would you consider for an adventuring party floating around on a raft? Items could be lost or damaged (It's hard to keep your backpack full of gear secure during a storm) and they are going to look quite awful to anyone who comes across them after the voyage. On the flip side, I could also see giving them a permanent +1 competence bonus to crafting (boat) and survival as a result of this wild adventure.

Any other suggestions or rules to make this a memorable adventure would be welcome. Thanks!

[Geddy2112]

A traveler's any tool is a masterwork tool for just about anything, including a saw to cut lumber. They won't be without tools, and they can use the any tool to make other stone/wood tools.

Even with second level spells, a 3rd level cleric/druid or 4th level ranger will come and make them a raft by preparing floatsam vessel (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/flotsam-vessel/) although the duration won't be long enough to get off the island most likely. It would be a good impromptu backup and with enough casters and prepping nothing but this spell in 2nd level slots it is basically all day.


1. How do you determine the Crafting DC and modifiers to build a raft or boat? I assume the most basic form would be a raft of logs or boards lashed together with rope or vine (like Castaway) and wooden oars.
A wooden spoon has a craft DC of 5. Oars are not exactly all that complicated and with enough time and abundance of wood I would say no more than 10. if you are just cutting logs and tying them together, I would say the DC is no more than 20 for "a complex or superior item"

1a. Are there any modifiers you would use for having all 4 characters involved in the construction? -2 for not having tools is the only one I can think of. They should not have tools, and you could have them all make craft checks added together to determine the time and any progress they make.

1b. How long does it take to build, or how long per failed attempt?
Whatever a raft or whatever boat they are making costs in silver is the total amount of progress they have to make. A check is a weeks worth of work. Say the raft is 50 gold, and a craft DC of 15. Each character would have to roll a 15 to make any progress, and a 9 or less ruins the material they were making. The result of the check is multiplied by the DC, so a 15 DCx15 craft check is 225. A 50 gold raft or boat would need a 500(price in silver) to be made, so it would be a little under half. This is a weeks work of course-if they all got a 225it would be a 900, reducing the time by about half(3.5 days of crafting)

1c. How would you address the crafting check if they intended to build something more complicated, like an actual boat with a hull? Is that even possible with no training?
Yes. a raft would have no more than a 5 or 10. A DC of 15 or 20 is hard/near impossible to hit without training or a very high intelligence score.
Here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/craft/) are the crafting rules.


2. What rules would you use to determine their time at sea and odds of reaching land or even washing back up on the same island? Do you take the narrative arc over the dice in this scenario, or roll to determine how successful their floundering voyage is? You built the ocean-what are the currents like? How far are they away from anything? Are they on your world's equivalent of Easter island? Part of a larger island chain? Just over the horizon from mainland? Assuming they have a sail or can row enough to power their boat in a direction, it would depend.


3. I can make survival checks for fishing and enduring weather, but what other checks might be involved in floating around at sea on a tiny raft?
Forced rowing would be a constitution check like a forced march (endurance feat would apply). Geography is generally the knowledge used to tell where you are using sun/stars as a guide. Anyone with ranks in survival automatically knows which way is north. Profession (sailor) would be very useful. Swim might come up if they are thrown from the raft in rough water.


4. This whole situation is a worst case scenario as the result of many poor choices. What kind of repercussions would you consider for an adventuring party floating around on a raft? Items could be lost or damaged (It's hard to keep your backpack full of gear secure during a storm) and they are going to look quite awful to anyone who comes across them after the voyage. On the flip side, I could also see giving them a permanent +1 competence bonus to crafting (boat) and survival as a result of this wild adventure.
Saltwater ruins things by getting them wet and covered in salt that corrodes metal. Obviously they could starve or run out of water, but so long as a divine caster breathes they have create water and survival will get them fish. Storms could take their stuff, or if they are bad enough pull them under and drown them. The worst would be being found by sharks or magical evil sea monsters that try to kill them.

[JonathanPDX]

Thank you for all the information, that is very helpful!