Camp: Rest & Recovery

 

I've always found Camp as an interesting part of table top roleplaying games, especially when it is mechanized and serves a practical, strategic purpose. I love strategizing and conspiring about the next thing with fellow players, and camp is a great place to do so. 

Camp also allows players brief periods of downtown sprinkled into an adventuring environment. Breaks for the characters can be breaks for the players as well. Camp can also be woven into so many other cogs within the game as well. Today I want to talk about how RedHack handles camp. These are the current iteration of the Camp rules.

Looking to the Source Material

Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1980-81) - The basic set of Dungeons and Dragons released by TSR in 1981

and edited by Tom Moldvay, included a small section on ‘resting’ while on adventure

  

“RESTING: After moving for 5 turns, the party must rest for 1 turn. One turn in 6 (one each hour of the adventure)

must be spent resting. If characters do not rest, they have a penalty of -1 on all "tohit" and damage rolls until they do rest.”

It’s short and sweet. It gives a definitive rule that states something must happen after the characters explore a dungeon for 5 rounds. It does slow down the characters that don’t camp; they take -1 to their rolls in combat, until they rest -and I like that.

These are all things that I was aiming for. I wanted there to be a cost to not taking time to camp, but I also wanted a benefit for characters that do camp. However there should be a risk to keep characters from camping every other turn.

Resolve

Your character’s Resolve is a measure of their grit and resolution to press on in the face of danger and fatigue. It measures how long they can continue without food and rest.

Resolve is one of your character's measures and is equal to their Constitution score. Resolve ties directly into playing the game because each turn that ticks down during exploration reduces your character's Resolve. If your Resolve ever becomes 0, the GM may give you the Exhausted condition. Being exhausted drops all your skill ranks by 1, and gives you a -1 to hit.

Camp

Camp is an important phase for any adventure. When your resolve is spent, when your armor is rent,

and when you need respite from the dark until the light returns again, you make camp. Players are free

to make camp at any time during an adventure, but often it is smartest to strategize and make camp at

the most opportune of moments. 

The following section has rules for Camp in your game.

Making Camp

Camp takes 4 hours, and consumes 1 meal of food, and 1 draught of water/wine. During camp players may have their characters rest, watch, or work. 

• Rest- If you take 4 hours to rest and are able to eat and rehydrate, you regain an amount of HP equal to the roll of 1 hit die.

• If you are exhausted you have a 1-in-6 chance of recovering during camp. Add your CON modifier to this test.

   If you are Injured you may test against your Constitution if you've received treatment or you can grit your teeth.

   If you are Sickened you may test against your Constitution if you've received treatment or you may sweat out the fever.  

• Watch - By taking time to watch for danger while eating and rehydrating, you decrease the chance of a camp encounter by 1. 

• Work - By taking 4 hours to work, eat, and rehydrate you may prepare fresh food, make simple repairs to tools, shields and helms, study (re-learn) a 1st Order spell, or help another do their work. 

Camp Encounters

Camp can be made in an unsafe or dangerous locale. The GM is responsible for determining the safety

of the camp by the preparations the characters make before setting up camp. Spiking a door closed in a

small lone room may provide more safety than camping out in the open in the center of a ruined keep. 

• Unsafe Camps have a 2-in-6 chance of an encounter. 

• Dangerous Camps have a 3-in-6 chance of an encounter. 

If a camp is disturbed by an encounter, the meal and hydration are used up, but none of the benefits of the camp are received. You'll have to start a new camp later.

Hungry & Thirsty

If a character is lacking food to eat, or water/wine to drink, they are Hungry & Thirsty. The hunger pains are too dreadful to rest, watch, or work.

All that is left for the character is to bide their time, and dream of food, warmth, and safety.

Finishing Camp

Upon finishing camp you regain 1d3 points of morale and increase your resolve again to maximum.

I think there are several ways to strategize your team's actions during camp for the benefit of everyone.

Again, RedHack is about strategy and teamwork, and I think that echoes well in the camp mechanics.

Next week I'd love to look at the Fighter class, as well as combat.

Questions are more than welcome.

-Stephen