Hunting, Fishing & Foraging

When traveling in an encounter free hex the party will have the opportunity to complete a variety of activities including, but not limited to: *hunting, fishing and foraging*. The Impact of Terrain on Hex Crawling Table on the next page will be used to determine the availability of water sources, wild game, edible plants and the level of difficulty required to conduct proper orienteering across the terrain.

### **Finding Food & Water**

*Characters can only gather food and water in a hex that is deemed safe and free of any random encounters.*

At times it will be necessary for parties to locate water sources and find food while hex crawling as their characters run out of supplies. In order to locate these resources:

* The party must stay in a safe hex (rather than travel through it) when attempting to locate these resources.
* At least one character must spend 4 hours locating water. During this process they have the option to either: *hunt, fish or forage* depending on the enviornment.
* If assisted by 1 or more persons who also have proficiency in Survival, this roll can be made with advantage.
* The DM will call for a Survival check (in the tower) with the DC determined by the abundance of food and water in the region.
* If the Survival check fails the party will first need to move to another hex and determine it is safe before they can repeat the process of locating food and water.

### **Hunting**

*The character must have proficiency in Survival or at least one level of the Ranger class to Hunt.*

* The character must spend 4 hours hunting, during which time the DM will call for a Survival check (in the tower).
* If assisted by 1 or more persons who also has proficiency in Survival this roll can be made with advantage.
* Hunting may require a combat encounter depending on the CR of the prey being hunted. For example, a party of 5 level 5 PCs can safely defeat a pair of elk trotting through the forest, but a party of 5 level 1 PCs must defeat the encounter to harvest any meat or other resources.
* Once the creature is slain the party has the option to harvest food (see the Basic Creature Food Yield Table on page 3) and/or monster parts.
* Any attempt to do either will count as a harvest check regardless of type of creature.

### **Fishing & Trapping**

*The character must have proficiency in Survival, have the Fisher/Marine/Sailor background or have a Fishing Rod/Net/Gear to properly Fish or Trap seafood.*

In order to perform any fishing or trapping activities it is necessary for the characters to be located in a region with access to water. This can include anything from small ponds and lakes to larger river systems and even the open ocean.

#### **Fishing**

The character must spend 4 hours fishing, during which time the DM will call for a Survival check (in the tower). If assisted by 1 or more persons who also have proficiency in Survival, this roll can be made with advantage.

#### **Trapping Seafood**

Harvesting seafood is slightly different compared to fishing. It usually requires placing a trap of some kind and waiting. To harvest seafood you must have a hunting trap (pretend the one in the PHB is appropriate) or construct your own. You can place as many traps as you would like. The final catch will be determined using the following formula: *the quantity/weight of fish in one trap x total # of traps.*

*Note:* You cannot harvest traps until 24 hours have passed.

#### **The Ebb & Flow of the Tides**

Fishing is greatly impacted by weather patterns and seasonal changes. Below are the tables that DMs will use to determine the availability of fish and seafood based on your location, the season and time of day.

##### **Fresh Water Fishing DC Table**

 Summer
 Fall
 Winter

*Note:* -2 to the DC when it's overcast/raining/snowing.

*Note:* +2 to the DC if it's unusually hot.

##### **Saltwater Fishing DC Table Morning**

 2
 3
 4

##### **Impact of Terrain On Hex Crawling Table**

*Note:* +2 to the Food & Navigation DC & -2 to the Water DC when it is overcast/raining/snowing.

### **Foraging**

*The character must meet any of the following criteria in order to Forage for plants: (1) have proficiency in Nature or Survival, (2) have at least one level of Druid or Ranger.*

Contrary to popular belief not every character living a life of adventure is a murderhoboing seal clubbing meat eater. This section provides more information about the foraging of plants, herbs, spices and other less bloody ration alternatives for all of the tree huggers, environmentalists and furry creature loving adventurers out there intent on not slaying every beast they come across while out in the wild.

There is a great deal of difference between hunting/fishing and foraging. Foraging is the act of gathering wild plants and their by-products for consumption (raw or cooked). There are simply too many plants, and especially fungi, that have similar characteristics for anyone without proficiency to forage safely. Therefore,

* The character must spend 4 hours foraging, during which time the DM will call for the appropriate check (in the tower).
* If assisted by a character who also has the same criteria, this roll can be made with advantage.
* The DC for the check will depend on the type of food being foraged and the season.
* You can only search for one type of resource at a time.
* The party will first need to move to another hex before they can look for the same type of resource again.

Below is the chart that will DMs will use to determine the availability of different types of plants that can be foraged.

#### **Foraging Successes**

* If you pass the check, you find 1d3 days of food for 1 person or 1d3 pounds of resources for 1 person.
* If you roll a 20 or higher you will automatically find a unique local plant or flower in addition to the foraged resources.

#### **Foraging Fails**

* If you fail the check, it will be necessary for the DM to roll a percentile (in the tower):

 50-75%
 75-00%

### **Utilizing the Local Flora**

This is a brand new environment to all of the characters in the campaign. There may be various species and sub-species of local flora that they may be unfamiliar with. Characters are encouraged to seek out new plant life, but be weary of their possible side effects. Characters should carefully experiment with these resources to prevent wasting them, as well as any unnecessary sickness and/or death.

#### *Identification*

First, characters will need to identify the plant.

#### *Experimentation*

Second, characters will need to conduct experiements as to the effects of the plant and what conditions it may apply.

#### *Cataloging*

Next, characters should compile a master list of the various plants, and their effects for the entire community to have access to this information.

#### *Implementation*

Finally, it is time to use these new plants to gain the beneficial effects, while out on mission or around camp.