Goodman Games

So the players have met the druid, and have managed to trade a few items for the toadstools and yellow puffs. However, they want to farm what she has for themselves. How would you go about doing this? I don't see it in the write-up, only that she's learned to concentrate the fungus to be applied to weapons. She has Knowledge (nature), but it's not that high. Am I missing something in the text? Was this not something that was considered?

Has this kind of thing been brought up by other players? The party wants it mainly for their spellcasters because they're getting really tired of the 10 minute day (using all the spells in one big battle and then resting for a day).

I'd say give those magic-users darts and daggers and press on. Let the fighters shine!

Growing mushrooms, to my knowledge, is not an easy task. I think today's knowledge of fungi has allowed us to have the ability to raise fungi much easier. But in the medieval times, and its fantasy counterpart, such knowledge would have been rare. Perhaps instead of allowing them the secret, perhaps this druid you mention (I don't have the module with me at the moment) would be willing to sell more mushrooms and perhaps in a dried form so they would last longer.
Otherwise, I would not let the PCs have any chance without a druid of their own.

Keep in mind, I gave up on 3.X years ago and went to C&C thus re-empowering the DM to adjudicate himself on such matters and forget if "there's a rule for that."

The druid isn't selling the mushrooms, but rather trading. She'll take rare blood, rare corpses for soil experimentation (see how her plants and fungi grow with different species of corpses), or magic items.

And we don't have any actual fighters, per se. But they're outshining the two spellcasters already. They're only built for recovery and buffing. And if a wizard is using a dagger in a fight, you know it's the end of the world.

Does this mean they want to work her farm for her? Or that they want to copy her methods?

My advice is to consider that skill systems in a game are always abstract -- they can never reflect the totality of what we can know. So her 'meager' skill in Nature may mean she knows a ton of stuff about farming mushrooms and is shaky on the rest of nature not related to that ("Bears? No, I don't know anything about bears..."). Always go with the concept of the character, and use the stats when without recourse to simple logic/gut-feeling. The numbers alone can't tell you what she knows.

If they want to copy her methods or get her to teach them, that sounds like a long process either way.

If the spellcasters are burning up all their spells quickly, that's on them -- the dungeon shouldn't take a break to let them rest. They may need to figure out how to get through the day being more judicious with their resources (which includes spells). Nobody said it would be easy...

_________________
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.

Link: Here Be DCC Monsters

PbP Purple Planeteers!

Havarth • Cleric/Zikcub • Animal trainr • L
S11 A11 S9 P15 I9 L7 • AC10, HP12, R0 F1 W2
Glaive+0 1-10
Club+0 1-4
X' chain, sack
Bless, Dtct Ev, Prot fm Evil, Word oCmmnd

Lucius • Cleric/Verlore • Slave • N
S13 A11 S8 P15 I11 L11 • AC10+, HP6, R0 F0 W2
Sword+1 _
Club+1 2-5
Hide armor, flint/steel, green stone, oil 1
Crit table +1
Dark, Holy Sanct, Resist Cold/Heat, Word o Cmmnd

Toby • Squire
S13 A10 S14 P15 I16 L9 • AC10+, hp3, R0 F1 W1
Lg swrd+1 2-9
Scale armor, sack, helm, L’ rope, torch • Com, Chaos, Hobgob

Kelven • Smuggler
S14 A8 S11 P12 I7 L10 • AC9+, hp2(4), In-1, R-1 F0 W0
Sword+1 _
Staff+1 or Sling -1 2-5
Scale armr, waterprf sack, L’ rope, torch, 39cp

RIP
Stinky Pete, Ostler — Spine snapped by tackling Kith

I never got notified that there was a reply. The "notify me when a reply is posted" obviously isn't working for me.

To answer the question, they want to copy her methods. And time isn't a factor is she was willing. Elves live a long time.

The casters are burning up their spells because the noncasters aren't playing nice. Because they don't require spells, they're continually going lower into the dungeon. So they're taking on battles they shouldn't, and using up resources just to keep the party alive. Not that the noncasters care. They just keep marching on as they don't need to rest.
And no, them dying isn't a factor of determent. It's more like "oh well, new name, same character build. Off we go." So suggesting that to make them take a step back won't work.

If the non spell casters are going to just recycle the same character sheet with a quick name change then I would just give the mushrooms to them in large quantities. I wouldn't worry about the rules or making sense. Sounds like the players just want to power through this thing.
This is not my play style on a normal game night. I only allow this sort of thing during one shot games on tour. Even then I only allow it if the player complains about making a new character taking so long that the game will be over by the time they are done.
I would have a talk with the players about this before the next session. Maybe they could have some characters made up ahead of time. When their fighter goes down they could start playing the new sheet. Start this new guy at the minimum XP. Losing XP could slow down the lets go until we drop and then keep going behavior.

_________________
"When creating your character,choose an ethical system that can justify nearly any fit of temper, greed, cowardice, or vindictiveness, for example, Chaotic Violent..."

THE PROTOCOLS, ADVANCED PROTOCOL #10

It sounds like a so-called beer-and-pretzels game. If everyone is on-board with that, then the thing to do is go for it, and adjudicate things in a way that makes that flow the easiest. "Here, have your mushrooms."

Of course, in long term play that's stripping out some of the challenge, which may make it less and less fun over time. And if not everyone is on-board with that style, the group could dissolve.

Hopefully, everyone is on the same page.

_________________
Gnome Boy • DCC playtester @ DDC 35 Feb '11. • Beta DL 2111, 7AM PT, 8 June 11.
Playing RPGs since '77 • Quasi-occasional member of the Legion of 8th-Level Fighters.

Link: Here Be DCC Monsters

PbP Purple Planeteers!

Havarth • Cleric/Zikcub • Animal trainr • L
S11 A11 S9 P15 I9 L7 • AC10, HP12, R0 F1 W2
Glaive+0 1-10
Club+0 1-4
X' chain, sack
Bless, Dtct Ev, Prot fm Evil, Word oCmmnd

Lucius • Cleric/Verlore • Slave • N
S13 A11 S8 P15 I11 L11 • AC10+, HP6, R0 F0 W2
Sword+1 _
Club+1 2-5
Hide armor, flint/steel, green stone, oil 1
Crit table +1
Dark, Holy Sanct, Resist Cold/Heat, Word o Cmmnd

Toby • Squire
S13 A10 S14 P15 I16 L9 • AC10+, hp3, R0 F1 W1
Lg swrd+1 2-9
Scale armor, sack, helm, L’ rope, torch • Com, Chaos, Hobgob

Kelven • Smuggler
S14 A8 S11 P12 I7 L10 • AC9+, hp2(4), In-1, R-1 F0 W0
Sword+1 _
Staff+1 or Sling -1 2-5
Scale armr, waterprf sack, L’ rope, torch, 39cp

RIP
Stinky Pete, Ostler — Spine snapped by tackling Kith

With the exception of one of the players, they want to be level 20 yesterday. All the wealth they're owed (wealth table), all the levels, and get on with the next game to do the same thing. Taking away XP would only agitate them into going headlong faster, or quit. It's just how they are.