Dying of Thirst

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As If

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Dying of Thirst
« on: March 04, 2014, 09:48:23 AM »
The human body requires roughly 1 liter of water a day to survive.  The average person can survive three to five days without water.  Our heroes, of course, are not average people, but we don't want to throw all verisimilitude out the window.  Therefore I propose for your consideration:

DYING OF THIRST RULES

For each day you go without food and water, you suffer 1 harm.  Your mouth is dry and your eyes are sunken.

When you have gone three full days without food and water, you begin dying of thirst.  You have stopped urinating.  You are lethargic and irritable.  Roll +hard every day when you wake up.  On a 10+ you keep it together by sheer will.  On a 7-9, choose one Thirst Symptom and the MC holds it to be played as the next Hard Move if you fail another roll within the next 24 hours.

When you've gone five full days without food and water, you really don't feel like moving.  All stats except weird are -1.  Continue to roll +hard every day when you wake up, but the results are different now:  On a 10+ you keep it together by sheer will.  On a 7-9, choose one Thirst Symptom and the MC will hold it to be played at any time within the next 24 hours.  On a fail, in addition to the resulting Hard Move, the MC will choose a Thirst Symptom and hold it to be played at any time within the next 24 hours.

THIRST SYMPTOMS:
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Fainting
  • Dizziness
  • Minor Heart Attack

REHYDRATION:
Consumption of 1 liter of water will remove all harm and symptoms caused by thirst.  This takes only a few minutes.

FOOD BUT NO WATER

Water is extracted from food during digestion, so if the character is eating food but not getting water, the rules are different:

For every 48 hours you get food but no water, you suffer 1 harm.

When you have gone six full days in this condition, you are lethargic and irritable.  Roll +hard every day when you wake up.  On a 10+ you keep it together by sheer will.  On a 7-9, choose one symptom and the MC holds it to be played as the next Hard Move if you fail another roll within the next 24 hours.

When you've gone ten full days in this condition, you really don't feel like moving.  All stats except weird are -1.  Roll +hard every day when you wake up.  On a 10+ you keep it together by sheer will.  On a 7-9, choose one symptom and the MC will hold it to be played at any time within the next 24 hours.  On a fail, in addition to the resulting Hard Move, the MC will choose a symptom and hold it to be played at any time within the next 24 hours.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2014, 10:31:57 AM by As If »

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Re: Dying of Thirst
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2014, 10:50:18 AM »
Those seem solid, but I prefer a much more handwavey apocalypse at my table. Like, "oh shit, you haven't had water in like days, right? You're all woozy and it's acting under fire if you're gonna run for it."

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As If

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Re: Dying of Thirst
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2014, 11:06:38 AM »
Definitely an optional rule, and probably locational as well.  It was suggested by a question at rpg.stackexchange.
http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/34485/a-system-that-allows-for-a-gritty-fast-simple-post-apocalyptic-setting

Living in Las Vegas, it's one aspect of the post-collapse my players and I happen to think about a lot.
« Last Edit: March 04, 2014, 11:16:33 AM by As If »