House Rules Worth Noting

Written by Zobot257

It is worth noting that the meat of this campaign is going to be a road trip adventure where the group travels across the northern area of the Forgotten Realms from Point A to Point B. As such, there are going to be some house ruling related to travel and logistics worth noting that will be enforced. Keep in mind this is very much a work-in-progress thing, and I reserve the rights to revise these rules if something seems broken or unbalanced for or against the party. (Feel free to offer feedback) These rules are detailed below:
An Army Runs On It's Stomach:
Pathfinder's rules system describes a typical Trail Ration as "The listed price is for a day’s worth of food. This bland food is usually some kind of hard tack, jerky, and dried fruit, though the contents vary from region to region and the race of those creating it. As long as it stays dry, it can go for months without spoiling." (Ref: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment/goods-and-services/hunting-camping-survival-gear#TOC-Rations )
As a way of encouraging more colorful roleplaying, I will be granting "Well Fed" bonuses to the party if they cook foodstuffs (using the Craft: Cooking skill or by otherwise improvising) rather than simply rely on rations and water skins. Bonuses applied will typically be minor buffs that last a whole day, but the benefits can grow stronger with higher ranking cooking checks. Different meals confer different bonuses, as long as the party works out what they're making. Enemies may also benefit from these "Well Fed" bonuses, at times.
Of course, this requires you to actually keep track of foods and drinks the party is bringing with them... so if you'd rather just avoid having to deal with it, you can just choose to buy rations and ignore this system entirely.
As some examples, here's some of the buffs that can be gained for cooking!

Meal Made	DC	Benefit
Shield Dwarven Hardtack (With Larger)	17	+3 temporary hit points for the day
Sy-tel-quessir Fruit-and-Cheese Platter	22	All PCs may move 5 ft further each combat round (armor permitting) for the day
Implausible Wild Herb Quiche	27	+1 to all Saving Throws for the day
Wild Boar Roast (W/Honey and Spring Onions)	32	+10% Experience Points gained during the day

Hero Near, Out Of Here:
A word should be said on Random Encounters in this game.
Random Encounters are, well, random. You don't know what's lurking in the fields and forests and hills of the Forgotten Realms. The wilder areas of this world are still untamed.
As such, there are random encounters that may be far easier, or far more difficult for the party in terms of CR. Not every fight the party encounters is necessarily winnable, and what's more, fights may not be winnable without damaging your equipment or, more importantly, your cargo. Gauging what encounters you should fight, what you should run from, and what you should try negotiating with may be important in the game and this should be kept in mind going forward.
Return to your Company Orientation Packet here.