Foraging, Knave style

Slot-based and maths-free.

I’ve never played a D&D game where foraging rules were a valuable addition. In many games, it boils down to spending a travel turn, rolling a die, doing a bit of math, and receiving rations. This is how it’s done (more or less) in B/X, 5e, Knave 2e, OSE… The list goes on. Hypothetically this could be fun: You’re out of food, so have to forage, which slows you down in some impactful way.

However, I can’t help but feel that foraging gets left by the wayside. Receiving rations usually has minimal impact; most parties pack enough rations before they leave town. Many groups don’t even track rations, because it becomes a math puzzle that nobody enjoys. Not to mention that some games make it a fair bit of work for the DM. ‘Modify their foraging roll based on the weather, terrain etc…’ Um, no thank you. As a DM, I’m allergic to superfluous arithmetic.

I can’t help but dream about foraging being fun. So here’s what I did.

Me, searching for a way to make foraging impactful

A slot-based tangent

Slot-based encumbrance has become commonplace in the OSR. I first saw it here, but it was probably done even earlier. I like it; less math than other encumbrance systems, and players like drawing stuff in boxes. Knave, by Ben Milton, evolved that into slots-as-class-features. Wanna be a fighter? Carry a sword. I think it’s a neat idea, but I’m a bit too attached to B/X’s classes to use it wholesale.

I do, however, think it could be useful to allow players to add extra ‘class features’ to their characters in a minor way. B/X already has this to a degree; magic swords are how fighters can access extra abilities, etc. To me, foraging seems like something that could be a class feature; it takes specialised knowledge to be able to identify that red-spotted blue mushrooms are deadly, while blue-spotted red mushrooms are delicious. So let’s make foraging a slot-based class feature!

If not rations, then what?

Rations as a reward still suck, but I think the solution is easy. Use some of Dwiz’s Potent Potables! Or, come up with a bunch of new potables because just using Dwiz’s work without contributing something felt cheap. Which is what I did. When in doubt, I assume a potion lasts 8 hours, and any stat changes (+1/-1) are to the adjustment (reaction rolls/to hit etc.) rather than to the stat itself.

I took this opportunity to add in a few items mentioned in B/X’s monster section, like garlic or wolfsbane. For others, I pinched some inspiration from fantasy media.

I also decided to keep rations, mostly because I think they act as a great alternative to ‘you find nothing’. I didn’t use Dwiz’s original potables, so you could easily replace them if you wanted to.

The Forager’s Almanac

Forager’s Almanac: A leather-bound book covered in stains and dirt, detailing a variety of useable plants that can be collected across the realm, as well as how to prepare and use them. Some can be turned into potions using a cauldron. 1 slot, worth 1000g.

A player with a forager’s almanac may roll on the following tables each time they enter or search a hex. Each type of terrain has its own table. Assume they find 1 slot worth of whatever they find.

Advice

Don’t allow players to forage without an almanac. Make almanacs rare, similar to a magic item; maybe you can make a deal with a witch for one, but you certainly shouldn't be able to buy them at the general store. Give the player with the almanac the sheet of tables; let them read about what they can find in different terrain types, and obviously make them do the rolling.

Why I love it

• Weird shit is fun.

• It can drive exploration.

• It doesn’t slow the party down.

• It’s math-free.

• It’s player-facing.

• It’s opt in.

• It provides a way for players to obtain garlic and wolfsbane, both of which are mentioned in B/X’s monster stat blocks.

So there you go folks. Sally forth and scour the lands.

On a side note, this is my first blog post! I’m hoping to put out something each month.