Need advice- Monster hunting skill system


Advice


Basically the idea is to allow the party to hunt monsters in the area, since these creatures in the local are low Cr not even worth a actual encounter I figured the party could roll a survival check and the results can determine how effective there hunt was.

something like

1 = Utter failure, not only did they not get any loot of note but a random character in the group must roll for a random negative effect.
Make a small chart with chance for a random character to have contracted a disease, or managed to get poisons, perhaps a random piece of loot was stolen or lost. basically a list of stuff though pretty rare even a Cr 1/4 encounter could possibly cause it be it natural terrain mishap or some super lucky monsters attack.

2-19 = tally results and figure out how much gold was earned, Add the Cr of the creatures in the area to the results and tally similar to a craft/profession check for loot earned

20 = Lucky hunt, basically they manage to find a dead NPC or some creature with worthy loot, They get treasure as if they had actually fought a worth encounter of the Cr for encounters in the area. Perhaps gaining a few heal potions or some minor magical item ect. This gain is however added to the normal gains for the check.

This allows a quick system and resolves the question of well why can't we go back to area X and slaughter some more of those goblins, there swords might sell for a ok amount if we slaughtered a few villages ect ect, a way of allowing players to hunt down monsters in a area without running the encounters, could also be used to determine what kinda loot the party might encounter if traveling for a while threw a area with a buncha weaker monsters, that's if the party is actually trying to kill any monsters they find along the way. I mean since LVLs can't be seen it makes sense that if band A would attack that group of LVL 1 adventurers they would likely try to attack the same group if they where lvl 20, least until there recognized the party or realized they bit off more then they can chew

What do you guys think? think this sort of system might work well? anyone got better idea?


Not bad, make a more detailed chart, put a number on the chart where the pcs find some kind of personal item that they can turn in for in town fame. Or they turn up a tidbit that leads to a side quest. The more detail you put into it, the more fun you will get out of it.


do you think using the craft skill as a base for what kinda cash they make is a good option, should maybe they earn more or less?


Byrdology wrote:
Not bad, make a more detailed chart, put a number on the chart where the pcs find some kind of personal item that they can turn in for in town fame. Or they turn up a tidbit that leads to a side quest. The more detail you put into it, the more fun you will get out of it.

Hmm good Idea perhaps a Natural 19 they find something special of DM choice, this gives options for fame type loot or quest hooks and junk.

Then maybe on a 2 they run into a encounter of note meaning a encounter of there CR +2 or 3 (after all they will likely only have the 1 that day)

The notable encounter could be prepped and kept aside, perhaps even have a larger chance of happening the more days they spend hunting, could be good plot hook or just a fun encounter.

Any other ideas?


any other thoughts/ideas


I would add party level instead of a survival check. I would limit the number of additional modifiers to that. Maybe a +2 for good intelligence on an area, or for more difficult challenges (offset of course by a greater chance for the setback you listed above).


I was thinking survival since that's whats used for tracking, perhaps a +2 modifier for each char in the hunt who has 5+ ranks in survival and maybe another +2 modifier for those like rangers and such who are extra good at navigating the forest? The increased results I believe just increase the income gained for the week and I would like it to be a touch better then craft since it has more risk


I really like this idea. I has good potential for a group that doesn't want to have to sit around for a week while they wait on things to develop in the campaign. I agree that it should be based on a Survival check. I like the bonus for characters with high ranks in Survival and for rangers and druids. This is definitely something I could see using in my campaign, since my players get bored very quickly if they don't have something exciting going on.


There are other ways to find monsters, such as divination magic, using diplomacy to gather information, knowledge skills to learn about their habits, flight to search from above, using perception to find clues, or paying for information. My point is that a group of clever players will use other means at their disposal, even if they can't track.


I created a pickpocket table a long while back to help the rogue pass time while everyone else was doing something else in town. It consisted of a d20 roll to determine the mark, a DC and a loot column. One entry was an undercover guard, one was a thieves guild recruiter, one was an NPC adventurer, there was a noble, a peasant, and a few other random instances.

What you are doing seems similar, but for the whole party, right? Is it just to kill down time, or to build party funds? If its just for extra loot, why don't you use the performance rules?


It's partially to grab a few extra fund, in large so when they wanna hunt / help clear a area of weak monsters partialy just for fun.

Basically for a lot of reasons but mainly because there's no system for this, shy of running the encounters and junk and I really dislike hand-waving it.

I like the idea of a larger variety of effects, perhaps I will need to use % and make a larger chart, allows a survival check modded by anything they do to aid there hunts +2 to the check per extra thing they do to aid there chances maybe a larger plus if they do something extra effective. On a side note I love the idea of a pickpocketing chart I can recall a few times where the player wanted to go around town and just steal stuff to gather coins just because he could.


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Just know that if you farm the area too much, you will either run out of mobs, or invoke the wrath of a horde. That may actually work for you, but if its just extra funds you are after; tell your players to get a job. This gives them ties to the community, helps them build contacts, gives them something worth fighting for, opens more side quests, and last but not least, gives you the DM ways to bring emotional turmoil to the players characters...

Think about it for a while, let it set in and gestate for a while... Then do the evil arch-villain laugh to yourself... Or out loud... Or at random times in front of your group... But not in a way that will get you checked into a mental health facility... The food isn't really all that good... But the other patients can make for a good group of role-players... Although you have to make sure they don't take it too far and try to slay you irl because they think you are actually the monsters that you run as the DM... Cause that would suck... And hurt... And I think I'm done here.


the party owns a stronghold in the area in my current game, along with a decent number of troops to defend the walls, pluss of cource with stuff more then 4 CR below the group it's going to have to be one hell of a large hoared to threaten them much though perhaps this could develope in a difrent game. I mainly wanted the system in place for those times when they desire to go out and hunt junk, for the most part it shouldn't stir things more then the pats from any small settlement since there basicaly doing the same thing.


Ok, that makes sense then. You could have an influx of refugees because they hear about how safe you keep your lands. Then you can put a tax on people and possibly end up in a territory dispute with a neighboring lord... Sorry, I'm in plot mode today.

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