[Mechanics] [System] Epicurean Harvesting!: Outdoor Field Guide

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Epicurean Harvesting!

An Outdoor Field Guide

In the beginning people could do nothing else but rely on the fruits of nature. There were no farmers with the knowledge of tilling the land, no machines with the ability to chop wood. It was a simpler time, and much of the world was simpler for it. But though times have changed and people are always making some new creature comfort to make everyone's lives easier, the need to rely on the bounty of the natural world remains. A smith can't bend steel without ore, an alchemist needs herbs and crystals to make their potions, and, perhaps most importantly, chefs need all sorts of ingredients to prepare the best dishes.

In times of need, these and many more turn to the skills of the Forager, who is adept at finding and plucking the fruits of the wilds, whether they come in the form of plants, wild game, or the treasures of the earth. Some, in fact, are even adept at harvesting the past!

Though anyone can go out into the wilderness to try and scrounge up ingredients or materials, the Forager is so skilled and experienced in doing so that it becomes something of an art form, and they bond with the land itself in a way that others can only imagine. Foragers see things that others miss, learn to appreciate what they are given by nature, and by respecting the needs of the forest, help maintain the balance of their ecosystems. And in doing so, they are rewarded in the form of 🍀 (luck or karma).

In Epicurean, 🍀 is a resource granted only to Foragers, and they learn to use it in order to find more of what they're looking for, improving the quality of their finds, and learning more about the environment and what is available to them. A Forager can even use 🍀 to improve the environment they are in so as to increase future bounties, thereby making it a currency that may be gathered, spend, and invested, perhaps in a way that is more valuable even than gold!

Role-Playing the Art of Harvesting

Exploration is the bread and butter of adventurers, but it can often seem like a dull, repetitive affair if all you're doing is looking around and making Perception checks. Ergo, part of the work involved in being a Forager, or just going out and gathering in general, is to add something to scene and connect your character with the world around them.

If you're playing a Forager, think about the sights and sounds you might hear when you're in an environment. This about what animals or creatures might be prevalent, and what sorts of signs they might leave behind that could add a bit of flair to your experience. And most of all, consider the character's feelings as they take in their surroundings.

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Locales

What wonderous ways do you wander?

Foragers rely heavily on their environments to provide for their needs, but in order to truly connect with a locale, they need to spend time in it, plumbing its secrets and relating to its history. By doing so, a Forager accumulates 🍀, a resource they can use to harvest the bounty of the wilds, as well as unlock new, more uncommon finds.

Each Locale is separate and specific, usually a unique part of a greater area, such as a small part of a larger forest, or a notable place that surrounds a prominent landmark. And while each Locale might initially look unremarkable at first, there are always new and interesting things to glean from exploring it.

Locale Traits

A Locale is effectively a recipe for what you can find in a given place. While some resources can be obtained with just a simple expenditure of 🍀, others require time and effort to obtain, as well as a strong understanding of the locale in question!

When you encounter a new Locale, they'll have many of the following traits:

Prosperity: A Locale's level of Prosperity defines how abundant its resources are. When purchasing resources, you gain an amount equal to the resource's base Take, multiplied by its Prosperity score! Prosperity will decrease over time as 🍀 is spent to harvest resources from it, but it can also be reinfused with an expenditure of 🍀 as well. In addition, tugging on certain Threads may also lead to Prosperity boosts!

Terrain: How difficult a Locale is to traverse is defined by its Terrain. Terrain factors in regularly when exploring a new Environ for the first time, and is often modified by other factors such as the Weather and certain Points of Interest, such as rivers, rocky outcroppings, and so forth.

Scale: Scale is a representation of a Locale's size, and defines how many Environs it has.

Environs: Each Locale is comprised of a number of smaller Environs, each centered around one or more defining landmark or Point of Interest. It takes a Travel check to traverse between Environs, however, once all Environs have been explored successfully, Foragers can move between Environs without such checks. Exploring Environs are covered in a later section.

Biome: Each Environ is ascribed a Biome, which defines what sorts of resources one is likely to find in it.

Environ Traits: In some cases, an Environ might have additional traits that further modify some of its statistics. The Tourism trait, for instance, means that the Environ in question attracts tourists such as campers and hikers, which reduces the Terrain difficulty due to the fact that its trails are regularly ventured, but also consequently reduces the resource Take from that area.

Resources: Locales have a number of resources dependent on its Scale. Resources are divided into three tiers, thus being Common, Uncommon, and Rare. Common resources are found simply by visiting an Environ for the first time, while Uncommon and Rare resources begin as unknowns and must be unlocked by expending 🍀. Once unlocked, they may be purchased at any point thereafter with 🍀. In most cases, every Locale has roughly two Common Resources and one Uncommon Resource for every Environ that it has, though some may have more or less available for 'purchase' depending on the eco-system.

Threads: Each Locale will have a number of Threads, which are essentially mini-quests that Foragers can investigate as they explore the area to reveal new and interesting details. Investigating Threads is the primary method of generating 🍀, as well as how they uncover Uncommon and Rare Resources.

Special Features: Some Locales will also have special areas or additions which can be taken advantage of, such as lodges, shops, magical springs, and so on.

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Karma ( 🍀 ) and How to Use It

Karma, which is represented by the 🍀 symbol, is a manifestation of all the good things that are due to a Forager, and can be generated in a number of different ways. It is primarily used to exchange for media material that the Forager finds during their explorations, as well as power some of the Forager's Secret Arts.

Generating 🍀 can be done a number of ways according to the list below. Please note, however, that this is not an exhaustive list, and the GM can choose to award additional 🍀 whenever they feel as though the Forager has achieved or done something that is deserving of it.

🌸 Making Preparations: Before embarking on Expeditions, Foragers can make special preparations, each of which generates 🍀 for that Expedition. See below for more information on Preparations.

🌸 Tugging at Threads: While exploring a Locale, Foragers will regularly encounter Threads, which are objectives that Foragers can investigate and solve. Resolving a Thread generates 1d4 🍀, which can be spent during that Expedition.

🌸 Completing Explorations: Whenever a Forager discovers all resources for each Tier in a Locale, they will gain 🍀 automatically when they return to this Locale on future Expeditions.

A Forager can accumulate up to 🍀🍀🍀, plus 🍀 for ever 3 Forager Ranks (3, 6, 9) they possess, and expend it during Expeditions in order to 'purchase' any of the resources listed in that Locale's resource list. In addition, Foragers can expend 🍀 to unlock a single Uncommon resource. Unless otherwise noted, however, 🍀 only lasts until the end of a single Expedition, and any unused 🍀 when they return to base camp is lost.

There are drawbacks, however. Taking too much from a Locale reduces its Prosperity score by 1, and thus decreasing the amount of resources that are purchasable at a given time. If a Locale ever reaches a Prosperity score of 0, it begins to Wilt and can permanently lose resources.

Fortunately, Foragers are unique in that though they also have the ability to give back to nature, and thus restore lost Prosperity or even increase it to new heights, which comes with its own rewards. To learn more about Revitalizing a Locale, keep reading further below!

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Expeditions

Foragers have adventures in the most unusual places!

Whenever a Forager takes the time to explore a given Locale, its called an Expedition! Expeditions include traveling between Locales, as well as exploring Environs within those Locales, tracking Threads, and activities such as gathering, hunting, and so forth.

Generally speaking, an Expedition starts and ends with a Travel check to traverse the distance between the party's base camp and the Locale (or Environ if the party is based in the same Locale that the Forager is exploring), however the processes that happen in between these changes depending on what you do when you get to where you're going, the Locale in general, and what events the GM might have planned for you along the way.

Making Preparations

Like any great endeavor, preparations are important to a Forager when embarking on an Expedition. At any point before setting off on an Expedition, a Forager can make preparations, which allow them to add extra dice to checks made while exploring. Alternatively, if a Forager is already familiar with the Locale or Environ that they're exploring, preparations made convert into temporary 🍀 upon arriving at their destination. Unless otherwise stated, you can only have one instance of each type of preparation.

The following preparations may be made prior to Expeditions:

🌸 Knowledge: Locales are as varied and diverse as people, and knowing what you're getting into before you get there is always helpful. You can gain knowledge about a Locale by researching it, perhaps by looking at maps at a local library or adventurer's guild, asking a professional or local guide, or collecting stories you hear about it.

🌸 Equipment: Each Locale is bound to have need of specialized equipment, either for traversing, harvesting, or revitalization. This can take the form of new equipment you buy or make specifically for the occasion, or it could simply be repairing or reinforcing well-used equipment.

🌸 Assistance: Exploring is always better with a little bit of help. You can get assistance by hiring a guide or local survivalist, from one of your companions who decides to come with you, whether they be one of your party members or perhaps a pet or tamed creature with a skill that suits the environment.

🌸 Map: If one exists, a map of the Locale, even one that is drawn by an unpracticed hand, can serve as a useful asset to any Forager. Most Adventurer's Guilds sell maps of surrounding Locales, and local rangers or hunters may also possess their own, though the latter are typically more difficult to persuade to reveal their trade secrets.

Exploring Environs

When a Forager arrives at a new Locale, they enter into one of its Environs, which is either chosen by the Forager when they plan their Expeditions, or if none of the Environs are known, determined randomly. At that point, the GM will describe the introductory scene, which will include avenues of investigation, usually by way of a specialized 2d6 skill check with a DC of 6 + the Terrain modifier.

Perception, Survival, and Investigation are the most common, but just about any skill is fair game given the right situation.

Pulling on Threads

While most clues simply reveal the Environ's common resources, some will inevitably point them to the Environ's Thread, which is like a mini-quest that the Forager can see through in order to eventually uncover uncommon and rare materials, as well as a litany of other secrets, like perhaps a secret underground cavern, the site of some historical event, or perhaps just an old story that never got told.

Threads themselves are diverse, as are the methods to resolve them. Some might require a simple expenditure of energy, resources, or materials, while other may necessitate further examination. The following are a few examples of Threads that you might encounter, and how one might go about resolving them.

Example 1 Teiya the gnome forager is exploring an older part of a wooded area. She has heard that these woods are home to several species of exotic mushrooms and has come in search of them in hopes of convincing her party's chef to use them in an old family recipe her mother used to make when Teiya was little. When she arrives, her investigations reveal something peculiar: she's stumbled upon a giant nest! Fortunately, it appears to be empty, but a cursory look around reveals scraps of half-eaten food, likely left behind after the nest's previous occupants abandoned it. Among these scraps, Teiya discovers some fragments of mushroom that she's never seen before and realizes this must be the mushroom she's been looking for! From here Teiya has discovered a thread: the mushrooms she's looking for do definitely exist, but she doesn't know exactly where to find them. She does, however, have several avenues to further investigate. She could 1). consult her mushroom identification guidebook, if she has one, and try to match the features of the mushroom fragments she found to an entry in the book, thereby learning more about the mushroom and where it is likely to be found. Alternatively, she could 2). try her hand at tracking the creatures who up until recently were the nest's occupants and hope they lead her to the mushrooms, though hopefully the creatures in question do not prove to be hostile. Or if she's very lucky, she might be able to 3). talk one of her companions, who is a cultivator and with a truffle hog charge, to try and sniff them out. And if all else is lost, she could 4). take the fragments back to town and ask an expert or someone who might be more familiar than she is where she should look.