Point-based system for hypothermia / extreme heat?


Homebrew and House Rules

Liberty's Edge

Has anyone made a homebrew system for hypothermia that doesn't require rolling at least 24 d20s every day the party hangs out in kinda chilly weather? I was envisioning some sort of resource pool that ticks down when the character is exposed to cold, with warm clothing being able to reduce the amount by which the pool decreases per hour.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Making such a mundane thing as extreme weather actually fun is challenging IMO. After all, this is a game (hence primarily about fun) and not a simulation (which would be primarily about realism). If you want a game feature to be engaging and motivating, it needs:

1) Interesting ways to interact with. Just casting the right spell™ or equipping the right clothing to ignore weather is trivial, hence not interesting.

2) A chance for rewards. If weather just makes you fatigued or deals nonlethal damage to you, it's purely annoying. The only little satisfaction comes from finally overcoming it, but this doesn't compensate for the annoyance before.

Weather might be interesting if it also affects players' opponents. Imagine a race to some ruins where you have to think twice when to walk, when to hustle and when to rest. But then it needs to be obvious that the others are suffering from the extreme weather, too. And it works only on very low level where PCs can't trivialize weather with the right spell™.

So, if you still want to make up this point-based system, provide several ways to increase and decrease points. Offer some trade-offs in the adventure, like walking in the heat of noon, with monsters being in their dens but additional exhaustion from weather - so your players can make interesting choices. Finally, there should be at least one reward for suffering through all the weather - but you will be better off with many rewards, in different shapes and sizes. Can be as small as a NPC cheering them to get to the ruins first.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Homebrew and House Rules / Point-based system for hypothermia / extreme heat? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Homebrew and House Rules