I love this series. Well, it's a love-hate. Love the series, hates what it reveals that I've missed, complicating matters, and so on.
In this case it's the following;
Background
My game group and I have been busy for the past nearly year or so "adjusting" Shadowrun 5th edition rules for fantasy settings (my own fantasy world in my case, and the Forgotten Realms in our group's other GM's case). Between us we have over 300 pages of various clarifications, changes, adaptions, etc. with the Fatigue Rules from the core book and from Run & Gun meshed together. That was finished. Then this video comes out and slaps us across the face with the Survival skill.
As written (SR5 136-137), the Survival skill is pretty loose. Which in general I like. A GM could swap out Willpower for Charisma in an urban setting to represent a character trying to survive by panhandling and begging, for example.
But the first issue I realized I have with it is "[Survival] covers the ability to find food, water, and temporary shelter in any environment. If you're exposed to these conditions...start making daily [Survival tests]. ... If you fail the test, you don't find the food or shelter you need and take Stun damage [DV equal to 2 x threshold]"
This leans towards the interpretation of; If you are out of food, water, AND shelter. then make Survival tests.
But then there's the situation modifier of "Camping/survival gear on hand" and "No food or water" which would imply that if you are out of either food, water, OR shelter then you need to make Survival tests.
Secondly, it's not explicitly stated as to whether the Stun damage is resisted normally (Body + Willpower) or not. But overall seems to be; If you fail, you take the Stun, no resistance test.
Third, it's implied that the damage is from starvation, dehydration, and exposure. But SR5 172 has Mild Environment Severity Fatigue Damage Interval as every 6 hours. On top of the Hunger, Thirst, and Sleep Deprivation (SR5 172 still), as "After 24 hours" then start resisting Fatigue Stun damage, with hunger interval of 6 days, thirst of 2 days, and sleep of 3 hours.
And then Run & Gun goes into Dehydration, Sunburn, Frostbite, and Hypothermia.
All of which, the Fatigue from the core book and from Run & Gun, has nothing about Survival, or at least doesn't tie in those Fatigue sources with Survival skill.
Splork me with a Street Sam's Spur.
So you're in the desert (Survival threshold 3), Harsh heat (43 - 55 C, 60 min Fatigue interval)), you've got basic cloths (+2 DP vs Sunburn), a tent, Azzie food rations for years, but no water. The first 24 hours passes.
Wake up at dawn thirsty
Now essentially the character will spend the day looking for water, so roll the Survival skill first or at the end of the 24 hours at then say what you found. I'd prefer at the start to better role-play when and where and what the character finds and then apply damage (if any) at the end of the day.
So first Survival test, threshold 3, 6 Stun unresisted if failed, -2 DP for no water.
1st hour of travel; 1S from the Heat, ?S from the Sunburn (table got left out in Run & Gun)
2nd hour: 2S + Sunburn
3rd hour: 3S + Sunburn
4th hour: 4S + Sunburn
...who knows what the Sunburn is actually doing, so stop, set up the tent and wait for dusk.
GM goes easy, with the shade of the Tent she drops it from Harsh to Moderate Heat, so
7th hour: 5S
10th hour: 6S
Sun drops for a few hours, then the desert cold kicks in around the 14th hour, but it's summer and it only drops to 15 C at the coldest.
Second day, rinse and repeat, but the character decides to only move at dawn and dusk to avoid the harsher heat and sunburn, and that will cut down on the Environment Fatigue Stun so that at worst it would go from 1S to 4S over 12 hours.
But then at the end of the second day, on top of the Survival test and the Environmental Fatigue tests, now the character makes their first thirst Fatigue damage resistance test at 1S damage. Which seems rather insubstantial at this point.
Anyway, so that's why I love and hate Complex Action's GM Screens. Love them for bringing things to light that I missed, hate (in a nerdy love-to-hate way) that this is the quagmire I'm in. Now I'm just waiting for my other GM to read over my changes to these rules to see if they need more work or if we have a working, simplified, system.
And, of course, if anyone reads the above and sees a "you're doing it wrong" instances...clarifications welcome
