Foraging
2024 Rules
Characters [and animals!] without water and Rations can stave off dehydration and malnutrition by gathering food and water as they travel. A foraging character makes a Survival check once per journey stage (or once per day if a stage is shorter than a day). The DC is determined by the abundance of food and water in the region, as shown in the Foraging DC column of the Travel Terrain table. If multiple characters forage, each character makes a separate check.
A foraging character finds nothing on a failed check. On a successful check, roll 1d6 and add the character's Wisdom modifier to determine how much food (in pounds) the character finds per day of the journey stage, then repeat the roll for water (in gallons).
Travel Terrain
| Terrain | Maximum Pace | Encounter Distance | Foraging DC | Navigation DC | Search DC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic | Fast* | 6d6 × 10 feet | 20 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coastal | Normal | 2d10 × 10 feet | 10 | 5 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Desert | Normal | 6d6 × 10 feet | 20 | 10 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forest | Normal | 2d8 × 10 feet | 10 | 15 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grassland | Fast | 6d6 × 10 feet | 15 | 5 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hill | Normal | 2d10 × 10 feet | 15 | 10 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mountain | Slow | 4d10 × 10 feet | 20 | 15 | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Swamp | Slow | 2d8 × 10 feet | 10 | 15 | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Underdark | Normal | 2d6 × 10 feet | 20 | 10 | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Urban | Normal | 2d6 × 10 feet | 20 | 15 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Waterborne | Special† | 6d6 × 10 feet | 15 | 10 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Appropriate equipment (such as skis) is necessary to keep up a Fast pace in Arctic terrain. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Characters' rate of travel while waterborne depends on the vehicle carrying them; see "Vehicles." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dehydration
A creature requires an amount of water per day based on its size, as shown in the Water Needs per Day table. [Water needs are doubled if the weather is hot.] A creature that drinks less than half the required water for a day gains 1 Exhaustion level at the day's end. Exhaustion caused by dehydration can't be removed until the creature drinks the full amount of water required for a day.
| Size | Water |
|---|---|
| Tiny | 1/4 gallon |
| Small | 1 gallon |
| Medium | 1 gallon |
| Large | 4 gallons |
| Huge | 16 gallons |
| Gargantuan | 64 gallons |
Malnutrition
A creature needs an amount of food per day based on its size, as shown in the Food Needs per Day table. A creature that eats but consumes less than half the required food for a day must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain 1 Exhaustion level at the day's end. A creature that eats nothing for 5 days automatically gains 1 Exhaustion level at the end of the fifth day as well as an additional level at the end of each subsequent day without food. Exhaustion caused by malnutrition can't be removed until the creature eats the full amount of food required for a day.
| Size | Food |
|---|---|
| Tiny | 1/4 pound |
| Small | 1 pound |
| Medium | 1 pound |
| Large | 4 pounds |
| Huge | 16 pounds |
| Gargantuan | 64 pounds |
New Rules
Finding Ingredients
Any character who forages can make the appropriate check. The DC of the check is determined by the table below. Not all ingredients show up in each region with the same frequency. Trying to find multiple ingredients at the same time increases the DC by 2 per extra ingredient.
| Ingredients Foraged | Suggested DC |
|---|---|
| Common ingredients native to area | 10-15 |
| Uncommon ingredients native to area & common ingredients not native to area | 16-20 |
| Uncommon ingredients not native to area | 21-25 |