Mon 25 Nov 2024, 01:31
And finally, what happens if the party, with few remaining supplies, decides to send one of their own only back for help (or escape in a hopeless situation). Again, the idea of supplies fir a party of 3 vs 4 vs 6 with some splitting is a complicated game, but best if it has some sensible rules.
What happens if one dies? Does it increase supply capacity of does it not affect it at all? Because supplies is a group thing the maths of it becomes bad when the number of explorers change. Really bad. It is a mess.
I think for these very complicated reasons, and for reasons of tension, that having a system similar to alien makes more sense with air water food energy etc. It is also very tense, and make for cinematic and specific problems that you can create. Energy could be related to light sources as well as powering certain systems in suit and armour, possibly even blight protection. You could also use sustenance for food+water. And oxygen. 3 categories. Different suits have different capacities as well. As long as players can make rolls to help each other one is low it succeeds with what you are doing without the above maths being problematic.
This system works really well for specific moral issues of sustenance or oxygen or energy (maybe you need to use energy for a machine in the scenario as well). Maybe certain equipment is more energy hungry. Also it is roleplaying friendly and vivid compared to the abstract supplies.
On a delve table, the results could state if sustenance, oxygen or energy is lost (or all three), while also having an additional event as per your design. I’m sure you can find better suggestions using that than what I suggest of course.
And on the way back, you could have an easy test for each depending on about how deep they are and the difficulty of the climb, a test of each value. Each success or failure brings down each category a step. And if anyone reaches zero, and if no one can help, there is damage or even death awaiting.
Now, a player character leaving the rest of the group, with extra supplies, has clear roleplaying friendly rules. And if they are a party of how many matters little.