Food?

[G33k613]

Is it necessary to eat in the game? Cause i can´t find anything about the use of food. Can someone please explain it to me?

Thanks in advance!

[ThrorII]

Food is covered under encumbrance. Your traveling encumbrance is considered to include 1 week of rations. After 1 week, it is suggested you need to hunt (i.e.- a successful hunting roll; and I'd think 1 day of non-travel to dress/smoke the animal).

I would rule that special rations such as cram, honey cakes, or lembas do not take as much space, therefore you could carry many weeks worth of them for the same encumbrance. Cram is covered in the Lake-town sourcebook, Honey cakes in the Adventurer's book.

[Treadwell]

I keep it arbitary in my games - Honey cakes and cram aside, I assume everyone has sufficient food unless the hunter fails his roll and triggers a hazard episode. Beyond that I just use the description of food to enhance the mood I want. Roasting venison off the bone, for instance, if things are going well. Everyone eating a few hazel nuts insufficient to fulfil an appatite if the company are in peril. I want an epic feel to journeys, and to much dwelling on the mechanics of feeding oneself starts to make a journey in the wild sound like a trip to the supermarket!

[ThrorII]

Page 76 of the Adventurer's Book, under Travelling Gear: "Both sets (summer & spring; autumn & winter) of travelling gear include food supplies for one week of travelling (if the journey is going to last more than a week, the companions will generally have to rely on their skills as hunters)."

I consider standard rations to be things like bread, salted pork, dried fruits, dried vegetables, etc.

Journey's longer than a week require hunting from the group to feed themselves. I generally rule that a failed hunting roll in this situation increases the parties Fatigue by 1.

My players have taken to hunting in the middle of a trip (while their supplies are good) and spending a day dressing out and cooking game. Because of that, I now grant them relief from 1 Fatigue point when the do, as the fresh meat raises their spirits.

Besides their Travel bonuses, I feel that food that does not spoil, and has a lighter load (Cram, Lembas, Honeycakes) can be carried in larger bulk, and therefore bypasses the need to hunt for food. (They still hunt when carrying cram and the like, because nothing is better than meat on a stick!!!)

[doctheweasel]

I've always just assumed that the hunter was doing his/her job the entire journey, just as everyone else is.

[Gweinel]

For long journeys they players must hunt. For instance when they travelled from Esgaroth to Beorn's House and they passed through the forest they have to relly mostly on their hunting skills. And they got hungry! But in the end they managed it.