/out/ - Outdoors » Thread #1404262

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Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:22:02 No.1404262 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1404266 >>1404278 >>1404283 >>1404285 >>1404348 >>1404367 >>1404370 >>1404455 >>1404461 >>1404607

'Sup /out/.

I'm a dungeon master from /tg/, looking to improve the way I adjudicate and describe travel and camping outside the bounds of civilization. Could you answer some questions for me, please?

Do the benefits of a campfire at night offset the drawback of being easy to spot at a distance, if dangerous creatures are a concern?

How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet? Can someone feasibly carry around enough dry fuel to keep a fire going?

Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go? Or should you expect that to seriously cut into the distance you'll be able to travel?

And if you're into RPGs, what do players and DMs usually get totally wrong about going innawoods?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:30:54 No.1404266 Report

Quoted By: >>1404286

>>1404262
Real wild animals are all scared of fire.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:41:44 No.1404278 Report

Quoted By: >>1404279 >>1404421 >>1404447

>>1404262
>Do the benefits of a campfire at night offset the drawback of being easy to spot at a distance, if dangerous creatures are a concern?

Animals are drawn to warmth. They see city lights and they're not inclined to come check out. What will attract them is warmth, and food you have when you go to sleep. Best way to avoid them is singing jolly songs, or talking loudly about your D&D sessions. This is sure way to repel animals, and girls.

>How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet? Can someone feasibly carry around enough dry fuel to keep a fire going?

Depends on the rain. Wood isn't wet all the way through, maybe the bark. Camp in somewhere sheltered, do feathering, and slowly burn twigs and shit to build larger bonfire. Then you can drop in even fresh lumber. Or use fucking mage spells you dumb fuck.

>Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go? Or should you expect that to seriously cut into the distance you'll be able to travel?

Hunting with weapons and on a spot is a prehistoric meme that got made into a sport by Renaissance dandies bored with castle amusements. Real hunters did it with traps, what we call illegal hunting today. Place some traps and get yourself some hares. Otherwise get some dogs. Still you gotta train them to find the game.

>And if you're into RPGs, what do players and DMs usually get totally wrong about going innawoods?

Retarded Warhammer derived armor with exotic looks and oversized pauldrons will get you killed in a forest by a rat. You'll be as slow as snail because paths are overgrown or non-existent and you will break legs or bruise ankles because you have no idea where you're landing with feet. Walking in the countryside is completely different than in the city. This is a reason why show like The Walking Dead is impossible. You simply can't walk in the woods, you need to goose step or whatever it's called.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:42:48 No.1404279 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404278
And at the ened, disregard everything because RPGs are fantasy based and no rules apply.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:56:29 No.1404283 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404262
Campfires raise moral
they aren't to be used if your hiding

Splitting the timber lengthways means dry inner timber.

Forage, yes. hunting, maybe a rabbit or wood pigeon/pheasant if your lucky. Not fishing though unless you set traps and return back there.

That theres monsters everywhere, usually its pretty sparsely inhabited

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:58:50 No.1404285 Report

Quoted By: >>1404412

>>1404262
Fuck it, I'll bite. I'm bored anyway
>Do the benefits of a campfire at night offset the drawback of being easy to spot at a distance, if dangerous creatures are a concern? Absolutely. Fire provides warmth, makes the preparation of food easier and allows you to dry wet gear. Wild animals instinctively avoid fire. If your party is worried about detection from human/humanoid eyes, there are ways to make your fire less visible (Google dakota fire hole)

>How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet?
The trick to building a fire with wet wood is to build as much heat as fast as possible (Again, Google dakota fire hole. Very efficient way to burn damp wood) and use that to dry out firewood before putting it on the coal bed.
>Can someone feasibly carry around enough dry fuel to keep a fire going?
That depends entirely on the size of the fire. A small cooking fire for one, probably. A larger fire for a group camp, probably not. They should at least be carrying some dry tinder and kindling though, as this will make it easier to start a hot fire right off the bat to dry out any wet wood they gathered.
>
Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go? Or should you expect that to seriously cut into the distance you'll be able to travel?
Define 'a bit' hunting and gathering takes time and definitely reduces the amount of distance one can travel in a day. If you're supplementing other supplies it won't be so obtrusive. I'd say maybe expect one day of food production for every three days of travel, but that is a very rough estimate depending on terrain, weather and food availability.

>And if you're into RPGs, what do players and DMs usually get totally wrong about going innawoods
Just how long it takes to get somewhere on foot, especially in dense forest or mountainous terrain. There's a reason most humans never traveled farther than 20 miles from home until a few centuries ago.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 08:59:12 No.1404286 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404266
Not owlbears

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 11:53:26 No.1404348 Report

Quoted By: >>1404367

>>1404262
These are used when you need to stay hidden but REQUIRE a fire for some odd reason.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 12:57:35 No.1404367 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404348
>>1404262
Normal fire: People see it and attack. Animals stay away.
Dakota fire: People can't see it and don't attack. Animals may attack since they can't see it.

Smoke levels for each will be a problem with wet food. Smoke attracts people while it dissuades animals. The Dakota fire hole reduces the amount of overall smoke due to the design. Normally, these are shown to be dug under a tree so the branches can disperse the smoke and you don't get detected. However, making a fire under a tree can have disastrous results in regards to forest via via a root fire. This is increased drastically when you actually dig down into the ground and make a fire under ground level.

If someone is pursuing you, making a fire pretty much ensures they will find you. The odor of smoke is readily detected and easily tracked back to the source without much effort. The only time I'd consider making a wood fire while being pursued would be while extremely dehydrated and needing to boil some unfavorable water/snow to consume.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 13:08:55 No.1404370 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404262
>Do the benefits of a campfire at night offset the drawback of being easy to spot at a distance, if dangerous creatures are a concern?

If you are being pursued, don't make a fire. If you are trying to keep animals away, make a visible fire. If you simply don't want to attract too much attention, make a dakota fire hole or build log reflectors to help keep the light contained. Log reflectors help direct some of the heat and help the fire in windier conditions. Smoke odors will always be an issue if you want to stay concealed.

>Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go?

Foraging is pretty easy, there's only so much out there that isn't edible. You just need the proper knowledge of what not to eat and how to prep what to eat. Hunting is something different. Trapping is a better thing to do since you can set up traps, go to sleep, and check traps in the morning. You can still hunt, but that will either be luck as you travel or you'll need 1-2 days to hang around an area to learn the game trails and habits to stalk/hide and kill game.

>How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet?

Stay upwind. Use a tube to blow on the embers to get things going. That can be a campfire bellows from amazon.com or just some plant stalk tubes. That will help keep your face out of the smoke and you can get the fire going much faster.

>Can someone feasibly carry around enough dry fuel to keep a fire going?

I carry enough tinder and kindling with me to start a fire using wet fuel. While the first fire is going, I'll try to dry extra kindling for the next fire. Twigs and such dry pretty quickly.

>what do players and DMs usually get totally wrong about going innawoods?

Everything if they've not done it before or for very long. If you are subsisting exclusively on foraging and hunting, you'll be doing that 99% of the time you are awake until reserves are built up.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 15:50:31 No.1404412 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404285
I'd contribute, but this guy got it right.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 16:02:33 No.1404421 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404278
>You simply can't walk in the woods, you need to goose step or whatever it's called.
Do Americans really?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 16:43:14 No.1404447 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404278
>This is sure way to repel animals, and girls.
>tfw have gf who likes DnD and weeb shit while I go /out/
Feelsgoodman

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 16:57:55 No.1404455 Report

Quoted By: >>1404506

>>1404262
I'll go straight to the last one; the rest already have all the right answers.

-letting the players set up an elaborate camp in complete darkness. This is near impossible do to. Moonlight is enough but thick forest, cloudy night - you need light.
-thinking it is impossible to sleep in negative temps without a tent and fire- proper clothing and blankets as well as ranger knowledge make it possible, although it's not easy.
-making hunting too easy, I know it's supposed to function as a game mechanic, but it's usually not as easy as finding tracks and following them it takes a day at least, making it realistic could be fun.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 17:02:05 No.1404461 Report

Quoted By: >>1404506

>>1404262
>Do the benefits of a campfire at night offset the drawback of being easy to spot at a distance, if dangerous creatures are a concern?
Dude, it's DnD, besides humans, you got a shit ton of humanoid fucks out there, a camp fire usually attracts bandits, kobolds. Usually people cook over a campfire, so even the smell can attract bigger things.

>How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet? Can someone feasibly carry around enough dry fuel to keep a fire going?
You can find dry wood any where if you know how where to look. I camp in a rain forest, it's easy to find dry stuff as the base of bigger trees. Also put wet wood next to the fire to dry out, don't burn green shit.

>Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go? Or should you expect that to seriously cut into the distance you'll be able to travel?
Forage as you walk, shoot smaller game as you come across it. Or get a pack mule to carry food, gear, etc.

>And if you're into RPGs, what do players and DMs usually get totally wrong about going innawoods?
I get nothing wrong. I'm the DM and it's my world. Most people I play with, don't go /out/ so I don't give them shit for a lot.

Don't get hung on all the small details, just makes you stress.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 18:00:03 No.1404506 Report

Quoted By: >>1404522

>>1404455
>making it realistic could be fun.
>>1404461
>Don't get hung on all the small details, just makes you stress.

The small things and details can add a great deal of depth, but only if the group is receptive to it and the DM doesn't have trouble with the added complexity.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 18:23:19 No.1404522 Report

Quoted By: >>1404539 >>1404601

>>1404506
A lot of times that great detail goes un notice, or drags shit out for to long. Given I play and host for larger groups (usually ten people) so you can't go into to much detail, or else by the time you're done doing that, every one is done explaining what they did, 20 mins have passed IRL time, for something as small and minor as setting up a camp.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 18:45:25 No.1404539 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404522
A camp for ten people would take like an hour to set up irl. lol If it took 20mins then they all must have spring loaded tents.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 20:00:00 No.1404601 Report

Quoted By: >>1404605

>>1404522
It all comes down to personal taste. I would say a detailed camp setup is a cool thing to do once but best to just skip it the next time, maybe go into details when conditions differ drastically e.g. in a blizzard when they would have to prepare differently.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 20:02:46 No.1404605 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404601
Those are good suggestions. Kind of like you have a skill set for camp stuff and you can upgrade it through one session of more detailed stuff. Then that will give a roll modifier for later times. If you want a better modifier, you do more details.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 27 Nov 2018 20:08:52 No.1404607 Report

Quoted By:

>>1404262
>How do you build a campfire that doesn't choke you out with smoke if it's rained and all the wood you can find is wet?
wilderness lore dc check 13
>Is it feasible to forage and 'do a bit of hunting' on the go?
dc 20 to hunt/forage at half speed, 25 at normal; speed, 30 at double speed.

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