Camping in the Wild

A camp offers shelter, warmth, concealment, and a chance to rest.

Its quality determines how safe and useful that rest will be.

A good camp does not remove danger.

It gives the party a better chance to meet it.

Making Camp

Making camp usually takes 1 Phase, often at Dusk.

During this Phase, the party prepares for the night.

Characters may help by:

• Gathering firewood

• Setting shelter

• Preparing bedding

• Concealing the camp

• Choosing watch positions

• Finding water

• Securing animals

• Scouting nearby ground

One character leads the effort.

Others may forage, hunt, fish, scout, or stand watch if the fiction allows.

Camp Check

When the camp is established, the lead character makes a:

WIS Check vs DC

A relevant Skill may permit the attempt or grant a Boon.

Examples include:

• Bushcraft

• Hunter

• Woodsman

• Scout

• Soldier

• Ranger

• Wood Elf

• Hillfolk

• Riverfolk

Use the terrain to set the DC.

Prepared Site

No roll is needed if the party camps in a known safe or prepared location.

Examples include:

• Fortified camp

• Roadside inn

• Friendly homestead

• Guarded outpost

• Established campsite

• Secure ruin already cleared by the party

Treat the camp as a Success, unless the fiction says otherwise.

A safe place may still have danger, but the danger comes from outside the camp, not from poor shelter or bad preparation.

Camp Results

Success

The camp is sound.

• Shelter is adequate

• Fire, food, and bedding are managed

• The party may take a Full Rest

Critical Success

The camp is well-made, hidden, and secure.

• The party may take a Full Rest

• Night watch rolls gain a Boon

• The party cannot be surprised by ordinary threats

A Critical Success does not stop magic, betrayal, disaster, or truly exceptional danger.

It means the party prepared well.

Failure

The camp is poor.

• Shelter is thin

• The ground is bad

• Fire is weak, smoky, exposed, or difficult to maintain

• The camp is easier to spot or approach

The party may still take a Full Rest, but:

• Night watch rolls suffer a Bane

• Weather and exposure may cause trouble

• Encounter distance or surprise may favor danger

Fumble

The camp fails.

• Exposure, cold, wet, smoke, vermin, fear, or disruption prevents proper rest

• The party gains only a Short Rest

• Night danger has advantage in the fiction

A Fumble should create pressure, not simply punish the party.

Something is wrong, exposed, missing, nearby, or already moving.

Night Risk

During the Night Phase, resolve danger as normal.

If the area is dangerous, the Referee may make an Encounter check.

Camp quality shapes the result.

A good camp reduces risk.

A poor camp invites it.

Watches

If danger is possible, the party should set a watch.

A watch may notice:

• Approaching creatures

• Weather changes

• Distant lights

• Strange sounds

• Failing fire

• Restless animals

• Signs of pursuit

A sleeping party without a watch is at the mercy of the wild.

If no watch is kept, surprise is likely when danger arrives.

What Matters

Let the fiction shape the camp.

Consider:

• High ground

• Cover

• Wind

• Rain

• Drainage

• Water

• Tracks

• Firelight

• Smoke

• Noise

• Concealment

• Escape routes

• Nearby ruins, roads, rivers, or lairs

Reward good choices before the roll.

A clever site, proper tools, and careful preparation may grant a Boon or avoid the need for a roll.

A reckless site may impose a Bane or make rest impossible.

Referee Guidance

Let terrain matter.

Let preparation matter.

Do not roll when the site is clearly safe.

Do not allow a Full Rest where rest is impossible.

Use failure to introduce pressure, signs, exposure, delay, or danger.

A camp is not just shelter.

It is a small claim of safety in a world that does not promise it.