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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    Nikushimi's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2019

    Default Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    I am currently running a game in 2nd edition on an island. The party has recently gotten to a Desert that is extremely hot during the day and extremely freezing at night.

    Like, almost scalding and the ground literally freezes at night. This is due to lore reasons of the issues going on in the land.

    So, my question is...how does lack of water effect people in 2nd edition?

    In 5e it's easy to just use exhaustion, but in 2nd edition I can't exactly find anything that speaks about ill effects from the environment.

    What does it do if you have no water for a day or more in such an environment?

    Just negatives to attack or what?

    Thanks for the input! Much appreciate!

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Ogre in the Playground
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    Apr 2011
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    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    If memory serves, there was no official rule for hunger and thirst in 2nd ed. It was pretty much up to the DM to craft his own mechanic. Even with the introduction of Al Qadim, which was set primarily in a desert setting, they never really bothered...most clerics could memorize "create food and drink" so the danger of running out of either was slim to none.
    "Sleeping late might not be a virtue, but it sure aint no vice. The old saw about the early bird and the worm just goes to show that the worm should have stayed in bed."

    - L. Long

    I think, therefore I get really, really annoyed at people who won't.

    "A plucky band of renegade short-order cooks fighting the Empire with the power of cheap, delicious food and a side order of whup-ass."

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Telok's Avatar

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    Mar 2005
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    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    Quote Originally Posted by Nikushimi View Post
    So, my question is...how does lack of water effect people in 2nd edition?
    You want to dig up a copy of the Wilderness Survival Guide. It's quite comprehensive.

    There is a personal temperature adjustment for armor. Personal temps above 80 F inflict penalties to strength, dexterity, constitution, movement rate, and attack rolls.

    Lack of food and water depends on a character's combined strength and dexterity to determine a tolerance level, that being the number of days they can go without. After going that long without and every 12 hours after that check the higher of strength or constitution with a cumulative +1 penalty. Failures progress you through weakened-distressed-incapacitated statuses. These add stacking penalties to attacks and some saves, then limits on how long you can perform strenuous activity without adding exhaustion and fatigue, and then incapacitated characters start losing hit points after 12 hours.

    There's even a section titled "Water in the Desert"

  4. - Top - End - #4
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

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    Aug 2013
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    A Digital Forest
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    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    The Original Dark Sun boxed set (2e) gives rules for dehydration. The revised boxed set (also 2e) adds the effects of dehydration on animals (but is otherwise the same as the original boxed set).
    "Its amazing how hostile people can get about an entirely optional campaign setting that they werent forced to play."

    -Weasel Fierce (of Dragonsfoot)-

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Apr 2017
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    Durham, NC
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    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    Look up the "Desert of Desolation" 1e module. It's a 5-module compilation which includes notes on desert travel, water, mounts, and a long list of random encounters that are desert-specific.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    BardGuy

    Join Date
    Nov 2017

    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    As above there were several subsystem approaches to choose from, some more setting based vs. generic (e.g. Create Water is not available in Dark Sun 1e). I personally enjoy 5e's simplicity here for new players, but Wilderness Guide is a lot of fun justifying weather coherent dress and armament albeit more involved tabulation. If your group enjoys encumbrance, and especially variant 5e encumbrance, I would give DnD 1e WG a whirl -- as long as there is not too much climate hopping for continuous retabulation.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Orc in the Playground
     
    PirateCaptain

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    Jul 2019
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    Delawhere?

    Default Re: Rules for travelling in a Desert?

    Coming late to the party, but... there was also an expansion set for the Great Glacier, which had rules for the other end of the spectrum: extreme cold. I have it somewhere but I can't recall the name. I think it's just the Great Glacier or something else obvious.

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