CAMP
By Thriftomancer
A game about friends living in a quiet world.
Written in March to May of 2020 during the quarantine.
Photographs by Ansel Adams
THE SETTING
Years ago Something Happened and left the world mostly devoid of humans. Big cities are empty, the suburbs and small
towns are overgrown, and what used to be rural is completely wild. Despite it all, people survived.
In the US survivors flocked to the coasts, fleeing the suddenly uninhabitable interior of the country. They built settlements
from what they could scrape together and as time passed a new society emerged, growing from desperate subsistence to a
small but thriving civilization.
In recent months the salvagers returning from their treks inland have brought reports and samples of clean water and soil. The
land has recovered. There's no one out there. For the first time in years anyone who wanted to go into the wilds to start a new
life could.
• Set in the continental US 1d12+4 years after Something Happened.
• The center of the continent is completely devoid of people. No one lives further than 50 miles from the coast.
• Scientific and technical knowledge from Before is still widely known and can be learned from living people and
educational material.
• Modern technology still works and can be salvaged. Electricity isn't widespread, but is available where people still
have working generators and solar panels.
• There are plenty of people around who remember Before.
THE PARTY
Your characters are a group of explorer-settlers on a journey into the wilderness in search of a new home. They set out from
civilization in mid-spring with a destination mind, hoping to get there by mid-summer and begin preparing for winter.
They:
• Are a chosen family, not blood relatives or legally related to each other.
• Like and trust each other.
• All agreed to set out together with the same goal.
• Don't have a leader and make decisions by consensus.
• Rely on each other and contribute equally to the group’s survival.
1
ROLLING DICE
This game uses only d12s.
There's a lot of rolling built in, from character creation to determining the daily conditions and challenges the party will face;
but outside of those routine rolls be sure to communicate with the GM. Tell them your ideas and find out if a roll is necessary
before you pick up the dice. Avoiding unnecessary risks is key to survival.
There are three types of tables: 1d12, 2d12, and d12.12.
To roll on a d12.12 table, roll 1d12 twice and list the results in order instead of adding them. (Ex: A roll of 12 followed by an
8 is 12.8, not 20.)
CHARACTER CREATION
Making a character is fast and simple. Don't worry about developing a backstory for them, you'll do that later while they sit
around the campfire. For now just:
Roll:
• Age – 2d12+14 (No younger than 16, no older than 38.)
• Birthplace and home during the end (Roll 1d12 twice)
1) New England
2) East Coast
3) The South
4) The Great Lakes
5) The Midwest
6) The Plains
7) The Rocky Mountains
8) The Pacific Northwest
9) West Coast
10) The Southwest
11) Texas
12) Florida
• Stats
Choose:
• A hobby - What did you do in your spare time Before?
• A profession - What did you do for a living Before?
• Skills
• Personal equipment
2
STATS
Characters have five stats. Roll 2d12 for each and assign them in any order.
ENDURANCE: Your physical ability to act and carry on.
HOPE: Your motivation to keep going and searching.
POISE: Your ability to react to emergencies without panicking.
RECALL: Your ability to react and apply your skills under normal conditions.
APTITUDE: Your ability to learn new skills and hone current ones.
The values of POISE, RECALL, and APTITUDE never change.
ENDURANCE decreases with privation or injury and refills with rest, but can't increase past the starting value rolled during
character creation.
HOPE decreases with failure and setbacks, refills with rest and support from your friends, and can increase past its starting
value to a maximum of 24.
You can use any stat for any check so long as you can come up with a good reason why it makes sense.
Ex: To break down a door you could say
• ENDURANCE – It’s physical and I'm brute-forcing it.
• HOPE - I want to get in and I'm not giving up.
• POISE - There's [danger] and we need to get out of here now.
• RECALL - I know doors are weak at these key spots because of my experience in [directly related skill like
construction or carpentry].
• APTITUDE - I know about doors weak spots from [indirectly related skill like lock-picking], this is pretty similar.
SKILLS
Characters start with a number of skills equal to half of their RECALL stat rounded down. Pick or roll that many skills off the
skill list, or make up some of your own.
Give your skills points. Character start with points equal to their RECALL stat, you can assign them between skills however
you like.
Characters can improve their skills or learn more during the game by studying or through success and failure.
Since everyone in the party helps each other, it's assumed you’ve taught each other the basics of your skills and shared your
knowledge. Any character can use any skill known by another character in the group as if they had 1 point in it.
Best skills - The character in the party with the most points in a particular skill is Best at that skill. Other characters can
choose to roll their checks using the stats of the character who's Best at an applicable skill instead of their own.
3
SKILL LIST
1.1) Hiking 5.1) Biochemistry 9.1) Repairing
1.2) Orienteering 5.2) Biology 9.2) Repurposing
1.3) Map-reading 5.3) Botany 9.3) Riding animals
1.4) Celestial navigation 5.4) Cartography 9.4) Handling animals
1.5) Trailblazing 5.5) Chemistry 9.5) Training animals
1.6) Packing 5.6) Ecology 9.6) Raising livestock
1.7) Camping 5.7) Forestry 9.7) Herding
1.8) Shelter-building 5.8) Geography 9.8) Veterinary medicine
1.9) Fire-making 5.9) Geology 9.9) Beekeeping
1.10) Knot-tying 5.10) History 9.10) Farming
1.11) Using rope 5.11) Hydrology 9.11) Gardening
1.12) Climbing 5.12) Linguistics 9.12) Baking
2.1) Spelunking 6.1) Math 10.1) Brewing
2.2) Swimming 6.2) Meteorology 10.2) Butchery
2.3) Diving 6.3) Physics 10.3) Cheese-making
2.4) Boating 6.4) Psychology 10.4) Cooking
2.5) Signaling 6.5) Radiology 10.5) Distilling
2.6) Water-finding 6.6) Zoology 10.6) Fermenting
2.7) Hunting 6.7) Architecture 10.7) Milling
2.8) Fishing 6.8) Carpentry 10.8) Preserving food
2.9) Tracking 6.9) Construction 10.9) Basketry
2.10) Trapping 6.10) Construction Equipment 10.10) Bookbinding
2.11) Foraging 6.11) Demolition 10.11) Brick-making
2.12) Guns 6.12) Engineering 10.12) Candle-making
3.1) Archery 7.1) Excavation 11.1) Carving
3.2) Knives 7.2) Explosives 11.2) Ceramics
3.3) Boxing 7.3) Generators 11.3) Dyeing
3.4) Wrestling 7.4) Hazmat 11.4) Glassblowing
3.5) Athletics 7.5) Jury-rigging 11.5) Knitting
3.6) Gymnastics 7.6) Landscaping 11.6) Leatherworking
3.7) Dancing 7.7) Logging 11.7) Metalworking
3.8) Breaking and entering 7.8) Logistics 11.8) Papermaking
3.9) Sneaking 7.9) Masonry 11.9) Ropemaking
3.10) Lock-picking 7.10) Metallurgy 11.10) Sewing
3.11) Appraisal 7.11) Mining 11.11) Sharpening
3.12) Contingency plans 7.12) Plumbing 11.12) Soapmaking
4.1) First aid 8.1) Power tools 12.1) Shoemaking
4.2) Doctoring 8.2) Salvaging 12.2) Spinning
4.3) Surgery 8.3) Surveying 12.3) Toolmaking
4.4) Dentistry 8.4) Technical drawing 12.4) Weaving
4.5) Pharmaceuticals 8.5) Urban planning 12.5) Drawing
4.6) Herbal Medicine 8.6) Wiring 12.6) Music
4.7) Poisons 8.7) Computers 12.7) Painting
4.8) Nutrition 8.8) Electronics 12.8) Poetry
4.9) Plant identification 8.9) Programming 12.9) Storytelling
4.10) Parasites, vermin, and pests 8.10) Radio 12.10) Writing
4.11) Anatomy 8.11) Vehicles 12.11) Games
4.12) Astronomy 8.12) Driving 12.12) Trivia
4
EQUIPMENT
Characters all start with a set of basic survival gear. The starting items don't count against how many salvaged items they can
carry.
Basic survival gear:
• Clothes (2 extra sets and incidentals like hats, bandanas, etc.)
• Tent (small lightweight)
• Sleeping bag
• Walking stick
• Knife
• Cookware of choice (simple setups for cooking over open fires)
• Tinderbox and fire starter of choice
• 3 personal items (pick or roll these off the salvage list)
• 5 days worth of food/water
• A frame backpack to carry it all
As the party travels they can forage and scavenge for supplies, but their nomadic lifestyle limits the amount of stuff that can
actually be kept. In addition to their basic gear a character can carry a number of salvaged items equal to half their
ENDURANCE stat rounded down. Carrying more than that becomes awkward and slows the party down. The party loses 1
mile of distance each day for each extra salvaged item over a character's limit carried.
Small things (like a ring, lighter, or compass) might be a negligible addition and not count as an item. Bulky or heavy things
(like a kayak, generator, or inflatable mattress) might count as more than 1 item because they're hard to transport. Use your
judgment.
Carts, wagons, and other vehicles you salvage can be used to transport larger loads, but they're limited by terrain and fuel
requirements. It's hard to pull a wagon through tall grass and most cars will have trouble going off-road. If you abandon a
vehicle you need to decide what to take from it. Vehicles can carry 10 things.
Feeding the party is a communal effort. Food and water is tracked in party-sized amounts and carried in equal portions by all
the party members. When you forage or scavenge for food, you always find enough for everyone and every character adds “1
food/water” to their load. When you cook a meal, you make enough for everyone and every character takes “1 food/water”
out of their load. Every portion of food/water above 5 counts as 1 salvaged item.
Consumable items that don't have a distinct number of units (like sunscreen or soap) are used up at a rate that makes sense for
how often they're brought into play. Use your judgment. For things with a definite number of uses (flares, ammunition) or
plural objects (books, batteries, candles) roll 1d12 to see how many you find.
If you find an item that requires peripheral objects to make it usable (like charge or power cables, controllers, paddles, etc.)
you can assume that some of those things are nearby. If you find a media player that requires physical media to work (DVDs,
CDs, records) there will be at least 1d12 of the proper type around. You don't have to take it all, but you have to manage
carrying what you do choose.
If there's something you want that's not on the salvage list, but could feasibly be found in an average American home or store,
go ahead and have it.
5
SALVAGE LIST
1.1) Water purification tablets 5.1) Scalpel 9.2) Dune buggy
1.2) Ceramic water filter 5.2) Needle and thread 9.3) Car
1.3) Solar still 5.3) Sunblock 9.4) Pickup truck
1.4) Flint and steel 5.4) Trail mix 9.5) Construction equipment
1.5) Matches 5.5) Dried fruit 9.6) Generator
1.6) Fresnel lens 5.6) Jerky 9.7) Batteries
1.7) Lighter 5.7) MREs 9.8) Rechargable batteries
1.8) Tinderbox (charcloth, steel wool, 5.8) Canned food 9.9) Portable solar panel
magnesium) 5.9) Canteen 9.10) Charge cables
1.9) Flares 5.10) Mess kit 9.11) Inflatable matress
1.10) Mirror 5.11) Pot 9.12) Inflatable chair
1.11) Whistle 5.12) Frying pan 10.1) TV
1.12) Air horn 6.1) Spatula 10.2) DVD player
2.1) Radio 6.2) Camp stove 10.3) Boom box
2.2) Walkie-talkies 6.3) Sterno 10.4) Record player
2.3) Binoculars 6.4) Kerosene 10.5) Portable CD player
2.4) Compass 6.5) Lighter fluid 10.6) MP3 player
2.5) Map (local) 6.6) Gasoline 10.7) Gameboy (color, advance, or DS)
2.6) Map (state) 6.7) Propane tank 10.8) Videogame console
2.7) Map (survey/topographical) 6.8) Candles 10.9) Laptop computer
2.8) GPS 6.9) Lantern 10.10) Desktop computer
2.9) Astrolabe 6.10) LED lights 10.11) Tablet
2.10) Tent 6.11) Flashlight 10.12) Smartphone
2.11) Hammock 6.12) Sturdy metal flashlight (club) 11.1) Books
2.12) Sleeping bag 7.1) Bucket 11.2) Magazines/Newspapers
3.1) Blanket 7.2) Fishing gear 11.3) Comics
3.2) Emergency blanket 7.3) Bow 11.4) Sewing kit
3.3) Tarp 7.4) Arrows 11.5) Painting suplies
3.4) Walking stick 7.5) Rifle 11.6) Spray paint
3.5) Bear bell 7.6) Pistol 11.7) Ziplock bags
3.6) Hat 7.7) Ammunition 11.8) Garbage bags
3.7) Boots 7.8) Multitool 11.9) Bike pump
3.8) Socks 7.9) Knife 11.10) Duct tape
3.9) Bandana 7.10) Machete 11.11) Electrical tape
3.10) Sunglasses 7.11) Shovel 11.12) Zip ties
3.11) Rain gear 7.12) Axe 12.1) Magnet
3.12) Mosquito netting 8.1) Rope 12.2) Tool box with basic hand tools
4.1) Bug repellent 8.2) Climbing harness 12.3) Sledgehammer
4.2) Citronella candles 8.3) Canoe 12.4) Chainsaw
4.3) First aid kit 8.4) Raft 12.5) Eyeglass repair kit
4.4) Vitamins 8.5) Inflatable dinghy 12.6) Laser pointer
4.5) Over the counter medicine 8.6) Paddles 12.7) Coffee pot/kettle
4.6) Prescription medicine 8.7) Lifejackets 12.8) Towel
4.7) Antivenom 8.8) Anchor 12.9) Gold chain
4.8) Disinfectant 8.9) Pool noodles 12.10) Diamond ring
4.9) Soap 8.10) Wagon 12.11) Fur coat
4.10) Bandages 8.11) Cart 12.12) Fine china and silverware (8 place
4.11) Scissors 8.12) Bicycle settings)
4.12) Razor blades 9.1) Motorcycle
6
ROLLING CHECKS AND IMPROVING SKILLS
When you want to do something that has a risk of failure, make a check by trying to roll under the appropriate stat. Stats
aren't tied to specific skills and are used in different situations. Pick whichever stat best suits the situation at hand. (Ex: Use
POISE when you have to act fast and RECALL when you have time to think.)
You get bonuses to checks based on how many people are with you and how many points you have in an applicable skill.
These bonuses add to your stat and raise the number you're trying to roll under.
To make a check roll 2d12 and try to get under:
Your stat + (# of people with you) + (# points in applicable skill)
If your hobby, profession, birthplace, or home is related to the check you can use one of them instead of a skill for a +3
bonus. If you have an item that would be helpful you can add it to the check for an additional +1. (This will use up
consumable items.)
Success: If you roll under your stat + bonuses, you do what you wanted and it turns out as expected. If you get doubles on
your 2d12, mark an O by the skill you used.
Failure: If you roll over your stat + bonuses, your attempt didn't work and things may have gotten worse. You might be able
to try again. Mark an X by the skill you used.
Your skills improve as you use them. When you have a total of 3 O's and/or X's by a skill you gain a point in it and erase
those marks. Although you can learn from failing, it's demoralizing. For every 3 X's you have on your sheet, lose 1 HOPE.
If another character is Best at a skill, you can use their stats instead of your own for any check related to that skill. When
using another character's stats you don't get O's for rolling doubles on successes but you still get X's if you fail.
7
ITINERARY
The party has a destination in mind when they set out. Not exact GPS coordinates for an ideal site, but they have a general
area where they think it would be best to make their home. To figure out where you're going roll:
• Your starting location (1d12)
1
6
2
3 7
4 8
5
9
10
12 11
1) Washington 5) South California 9) South Carolina
2) Oregon 6) Maine 10) Florida panhandle
3) North California 7) Massachussets 11) Louisiana
4) Middle California 8) Virginia 12) Texas Gulf Coast
• Your direction (1d12)
1) North 7) Southeast
2) South 8) Southwest
3) East 9) Indirect path, roll again x2
4) West 10) Indirect path, roll again x3
5) Northeast 11) Roll again, by water (add kayaks nad paddles to starting gear)
6) Northwest 12) Roll again, sticking to roads (add a wagon to 1 character's starting gear)
If your direction would take you into the ocean, roll again. If you keep rolling things that don't make sense, just pick
a direction.
• The distance you're traveling: (1d12 x 50) + 100 miles
Assuming you make good time and cover about 20 miles each day, your journey could take anywhere from 8 days
(150 miles) to 35 days (700 miles) depending on how far you're going. It will likely take longer than expected.
8
THE JOURNEY
There are two phases of the game:
Day, where you travel, explore, and overcome obstacles; and
Night, where you make camp, rest up, and relax from the day's events.
DAY PHASE
Day is about surviving and moving forward. Each morning the party packs up and heads out, hoping to be another 20 miles
down the road and closer to their destination by nightfall.
During the day there are two main goals, achieving either of them means your journey has been successful and you're home:
A) Arrive at the destination on time. The party left on their jouney in mid-spring, hoping to arrive at their destination by mid-
summer in order to have enough time to build their homestead and prepare for winter. Survive the journey and make it the
full distance to the end within 70 days.
B) Find an ideal site for the homestead. The party's destination is a rough idea and hope. If they find a perfect spot on the way
there, they won't pass the chance up. They'll end the journey and settle there instead.
Each day the party:
1) Breaks camp and heads out. Roll on the weather table, the terrain table, and twice on the hazards table to see what the day
will be like. Weather and terrain influence your ability to travel and use vehicles, while hazards are potentially lethal dangers
to overcome.
2) Chooses what to do for the day. The party decides as a whole to do 1 of 6 options. They can split into smaller groups and
reform throughout the day, but everyone is doing the same thing. They can decide to:
• Travel - Press hard to gain distance. Gain 30 miles, but don't have a chance to collect food or refill supplies.
• Hunt and forage - Move at a good pace, taking time to restock food and supplies from nature. Gain 20 miles and 1
day's worth of food/water, or gain 15 miles and 2 days of food/water.
• Scavenge - Search abandoned buildings to restock food and supplies and find new gear. Scavenging takes time. The
longer you look the more you'll find, but it eats up the time you have for walking that day. Gain 1 day of food/water,
pick or roll up to 5 items off the salvage list, and gain 20 - (2 x # items scavenged) miles. When you find items there's
a chance they may be broken but repairable. Roll 1d12 for each scavenged item: 1 - 3 needs mending, 4 - 10 some
wear and signs of age but perfectly useable, 11 - 12 pristine. Broken items need to be repaired before they can be
used.
• Scout - Search the surrounding area to see if there's an ideal site nearby. Gain 10 miles and roll twice when you make
the daily survey.
• Survey - Study the surrounding area in detail looking for an ideal site. Gain 5 miles and roll 3 times when making the
day's survey.
• Rest - Stay in place and recover. Don't gain distance or food/water. Don't roll a survey. Everyone gains 1 HOPE and
fully restores ENDURANCE.
3) Roll a survey to see if you've found a perfect spot for the homestead: 2d12, on a 21 to 24 you've located an ideal site and
can end your journey to settle in. Items like topographical maps and survey equipment might give a +1 bonus. Use your
judgement.
4) Make camp for the night.
Make sure to keep track of how far you've traveled and what day it is.
10
WEATHER (2d12)
2) Heat wave - Lose all day's distance or 3 ENDURANCE
3) Tornado - Lose all day's distance or 2 ENDURANCE
4) Tornado - Lose all day's distance or 2 ENDURANCE
5) Rain - Lose 1/2 day's distance or 1 ENDURANCE
6) Rain - Lose 1/2 day's distance or 1 ENDURANCE
7) Fog - Lose 1/4 day's distance
8) Drizzle
9) Cloudy
10) Windy
11) Breezy
12) Sunny
13) Clear
14) Sunny
15) Breezy
16) Windy
17) Cloudy
18) Sunshower
19) Cloudburst - Lose 1/4 day's distance
20) Rain - Lose 1/2 day's distance or 1 ENDURANCE
21) Rain - Lose 1/2 day's distance or 1 ENDURANCE
22) Thunderstorm - Lose all day's distance or 2 ENDURANCE
23) Thunderstorm - Lose all day's distance or 2 ENDURANCE
24) Hail - Lose all day's distance or 3 ENDURANCE
TERRAIN (1d12)
1) Paved
2) Old road/trail
3) Lightly overgrown
4) Heavily overgrown
5) Forest
6) Level fields
7) Plains with tall grass
8) Uneven ground and obstacles
9) Waterlogged and swampy
10) Gentle hills
11) Steep hills
12) Mountains
11
HAZARDS LIST (d12.12)
1.1) Black bear 5.1) Emu 9.1) Mudslide
1.2) Grizzly bear 5.2) Ostrich 9.2) Sinkhole
1.3) Coyote 5.3) Cassowary 9.3) Flash flood
1.4) Wolf 5.4) Mother with offspring 9.4) Flood
1.5) Feral dogs 5.5) Rabid animal 9.5) Dust devils
1.6) Cougar 5.6) Poison ivy 9.6) Dust storm
1.7) Wolverine 5.7) Poison oak 9.7) High winds
1.8) Moose 5.8) Poison sumac 9.8) Tornado
1.9) Bison 5.9) Giant hogweed 9.9) Lightning
1.10) Bighorn sheep 5.10) Stinging nettle 9.10) Wildfire
1.11) Mountain goat 5.11) Water hemlock 9.11) Smoke
1.12) Boar 5.12) Raspberry cane 9.12) Acid rain
2.1) Skunk 6.1) Hawthorn bushes 10.1) Fog
2.2) Rattlesnake 6.2) Falling tree 10.2) Hail
2.3) Snapping turtle 6.3) Falling branches 10.3) Snow
2.4) Alligator 6.4) Logjam 10.4) Unseasonable cold
2.5) Pig 6.5) Wall 10.5) Unseasonable heat
2.6) Horse 6.6) Fence 10.6) Unpredictable weather
2.7) Bull 6.7) Barbed wire 10.7) Creek
2.8) Jellyfish 6.8) Crumbling dam 10.8) River
2.9) Hornets 6.9) Rickety bridge 10.9) Wide river
2.10) Fire ants 6.10) Fallen bridge 10.10) Meandering river
2.11) Ants 6.11) Collapsed tunnel 10.11) Fast river
2.12) Ticks 6.12) Covered pit 10.12) Rapids
3.1) Leeches 7.1) Unsafe stairs 11.1) Waterfall
3.2) Parasitic worms 7.2) Unstable building 11.2) Marsh
3.3) Mosquitoes 7.3) Unstable debris 11.3) Swamp
3.4) Biting flies 7.4) Broken road surface 11.4) Bog
3.5) Fleas 7.5) Open landfill 11.5) Cave
3.6) Lice 7.6) Open cemetery 11.6) Flooded cave
3.7) Spiders 7.7) Tainted water/well 11.7) Crevasse
3.8) Scorpions 7.8) Corroded tank - water 11.8) Canyon
3.9) Polar bear 7.9) Corroded tank - fuel 11.9) Cliff
3.10) Lion 7.10) Corroded tank - industrial waste 11.10) Steep hills
3.11) Tiger 7.11) Chemical spill - oil 11.11) Rock field
3.12) Leopard 7.12) Chemical spill - caustic 11.12) Narrow passage/crack
4.1) Jaguar 8.1) Chemical spill - volatile 12.1) Narrow ledge
4.2) Cheetah 8.2) Chemical spill - flammable 12.2) Loose/unstable footing
4.3) Elephant 8.3) Bad air 12.3) Slippery footing
4.4) Rhino 8.4) Carbon monoxide 12.4) Hot springs
4.5) Hippo 8.5) Asbestos 12.5) Mudpot
4.6) Gnu 8.6) Dust 12.6) Mud
4.7) Zebra 8.7) Mold 12.7) Beaver dam
4.8) Hyena 8.8) Unexploded munitions 12.8) Volcanic ash
4.9) Baboons 8.9) Booby traps 12.9) Radioactive isotopes
4.10) Chimpanzee 8.10) Earthquake 12.10) Non-euclidean spatial distortion
4.11) Gorilla 8.11) Avalanche 12.11) Viral contamination zone
4.12) Kangaroo 8.12) Falling rocks 12.12) Extraterrestrial artifact
12
NIGHT PHASE
Night is about taking care of yourselves and keeping your spirits up. Each evening the party settles down and makes camp,
taking care of small chores and preparing for the next day before getting some rest.
During the night you have one goal: Staying optimistic. The road is tough, but if you can raise everyone in the party's HOPE
to the maximum (24) it doesn't matter if you make it to the destination, you're already home as long as you're together.
Each night the party:
1) Makes camp and settles in. Everyone takes 1 food/water out of their loads to make dinner. Keep track of how many days
of supplies you have. If you're out of food everyone goes hungry and takes -1 ENDURANCE and -1 HOPE.
2) Chooses what to do for the night. Each member of the party can pick 2 of the 6 options. They can choose to do the same
thing twice. These choices are by individual as each character does their own thing.
• Relax - Regain 1 point of ENDURANCE or gain 1 HOPE.
• Prep supplies - Re-pack and optimize your gear to be able to carry more. Gain the ability to carry 1 extra salvaged
item with no penalty for the next day.
• Repair - Work on fixing a piece of broken gear to make it usable.
• Study - Improve a skill by 1 or learn a new skill in you have a guide (a book, other party member teaching, or other
info source).
• Bond - Tell stories and reminisce with the other party members. Talk about your pasts and hopes for the future. The
person you talk to gains 1 HOPE.
• Feast - Use 3 days worth of food/water to have a party. Everyone regains all ENDURANCE and gains 1 HOPE. (Can
only be chosen once each night and the rest of the party must agree.)
3) Break camp in the morning.
TOPICS TO BOND OVER (1d12)
(You don't need to use these, but they're here if you want.)
1) How did you meet?
2) What do you look forward to once the journey's over?
3) What's one thing from Before you really miss?
4) What's a good memory or time you had together?
5) What's something bad that happened that you all laugh about now?
6) How do you feel about something that happened today?
7) What's something you want to include or make once you're building the homestead?
8) What do you think will be the hardest to do once you're building the homestead?
9) Is there something you'd like everyone to keep an eye out for?
10) What's something you worry about?
11) Why did you want to leave your settlement and civilization?
12) What's your favorite thing that's happened on the journey so far?
13
HAZARDS, DAMAGE, AND DEATH
Survival isn't easy and it's not certain. Sometimes things go wrong. There's a chance not all of the party will make it to
journey's end.
Each day the party rolls twice on the hazards list to see what dangers they'll face on the next stretch of road. Hazards are
open-ended problems to figure out with the GM. There are as many ways to safely get past them as you can think of and
justify, and not everyone has to interact directly with the dangers. Any number of characters can take a risk trying to problem
solve and find a safe way through for the others, but anyone who fails a check while interacting with a hazard takes -1
ENDURANCE. If the danger is extreme, like a fall from a cliff, they make take -2 or -3. Other characters might need to take
greater risks to save them. Use your judgment.
Characters can also lose ENDURANCE from exposure to the elements. They lose HOPE from repeated failures. Starving
saps both ENDURANCE and HOPE.
When a character's HOPE or ENDURANCE hits 0, they die.
When a character dies:
1) Everyone takes -3 HOPE.
2) The character who was closest to the deceased takes another -2 HOPE and a memento. The memento can be a signature
item from the deceased's gear or a flavor item like a locket. It doesn't count towards how much the character is carrying and
can be used in checks. The character with the memento gains 2 points in every skill the deceased had.
3) There's no one living in the wilds and no way to introduce new characters, so the deceased's player joins the player whose
character has the memento. From there on they control that character together. (A character can't be controlled by more than 2
players.)
4) Split whatever food/water the deceased was carrying equally between the surviving party members. If the amount doesn't
divide evenly, leave the remainder behind.
5) Split the deceased's other gear among the survivors.
If more than half the original party dies, that's the end. There aren't enough people left to finish the journey and make an
enduring homestead. The surviving members of the party turn back and return to civilization.
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