Camping Guide (PF2E)

by skeetcha

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Camping Guide
SECOND EDITION

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Camping

As you explore the Stolen Lands, you'll eventually reach a point where the adventuring day is over and it's time to rest—but the closest bed is miles and miles away! In this case, you'll need to make camp and sleep under the stars.

You do not need to camp in your own lands, and automatically succeed at cooking a meal.

Campsites

Camping isn't just a matter of lying on the ground wherever and falling asleep. You need to locate a site for the camp, set it up, prepare and eat food, and address any other basic needs, including allowing some time for relaxation before sleep!

All camping buffs apply to everyone at the start of the camping session.

Step 1: Prepare a Campsite

In order to locate a safe place to set up a campsite while hexploring the Stolen Lands, the PCs must perform the Prepare Campsite exploration activity. One PC attempts to Prepare the Campsite, and others may attempt to Aid the PC doing so.

Prepare Campsite

CONCENTRATE
EXPLORATION
MOVE
You spend 2 hours searching the hex for a safe and secure location to make camp and then setting up the campsite itself by attempting a Survival check against the Zone DC of the region you're located in. Once a campsite is prepared, you can use the Prepare Campsite activity in this same hex again in the future (but no more than once per 24 hours) to automatically achieve the same degree of success with only an hour of work.
You find the perfect spot for a camp. Flat checks to determine encounters at the campsite for the next 24 hours have a DC 2 higher than normal, and the first hour spent performing Camping activities does not incur the usual flat check for random encounters.
You find a serviceable spot for a camp and for Camping activities.
Your campsite will work, but it's not the best. Campsite activities that require checks take a –2 penalty.
The campsite is a mess. You can use it to rest and to perform daily preparations, but it isn't good enough to allow for Campsite activities at all. Worse, your attempt to secure a campsite has possibly attracted unwanted attention—attempt a flat check against the zone's Encounter DC. If successful, a random encounter automatically occurs.

Step 2: Camping Activities

Once you finish preparing your campsite, you can simply head to bed immediately, consuming rations and skipping straight on to Step 3, or if the check to Prepare the Campsite wasn't a critical failure, you can spend time attempting Camping activities. These activities can help to bolster you for the coming day, strengthen your campsite against possible attacks, build bonds between yourselves or your NPC companions, allow time to craft while in the wild, and so on. Camping activities are each undertaken by a single player, and each takes 2 hours to complete. You may perform a number of Camping activities equal to the number of PCs in the party. Camping activities are performed at the same, so don't worry too much about the sequence of events happening.

Other Exploration activities (such as Identify Magic, Repair, or Treat Wounds) can also be performed during this time; these are not limited to one success per camping session and take the normal amount of time that activity takes to perform. You can also attempt to use the Influence or Discover activities to learn more about your NPC companions who are at the camp; each such attempt to Influence or Discover takes an hour. Each companion may be discovered or influenced once per camping session.

Camping activities increase the risk of attracting a random encounter, as someone or something comes to investigate all of the activity. At the end of each hour that anyone in the party undertakes a Camping activity, attempt a flat check against the zone's Encounter DC; on a success, a random encounter occurs. (If the check to Prepare the Campsite was a critical success, skip it for the first hour.)

Crafting an item is considered a Camping activity. You will have ample downtime (i.e. years of downtime) to do it outside of camping.

Step 3: Eating

Once all Camping activities have been resolved, you eat their meals. Everyone chooses their own meal, and the party collectively chooses the meals for any companion NPCs camping with them.

If anyone performed the Cook Basic Meal or Cook Special Meal Camping activity, those servings are available meal choices; after all characters have selected their meals, those performing the Cook Meal activities roll checks to determine the effect of the meal they cooked.

Characters may instead choose to consume their own rations, use the Subsist downtime activity for food, or receive magical sustenance (such as a create food spell, a heroes' feast ritual, a ring of sustenance, and so on). A PC gains the effects of the only first meal they eat at this time; they cannot gain additional effects from additional meals during the same camping session.

Step 4: Resting

Once the party has eaten, it's time to rest, as detailed under Resting. The table below summarizes how long the group needs to set aside for rest, assuming rotating watch assignments of equal length. This table reprints and expands on Table 10-3 from the Core Rulebook (reprinted in GM Core on page 43), as your campsite in a Kingmaker campaign can include a number of NPC companions as well.

Group Size Total Time Duration of Each Watch
2 16 hours 8 hours
3 12 hours 4 hours
4 10 hours, 40 minutes 2 hours, 40 minutes
5 10 hours 2 hours
6 9 hours, 36 minutes 1 hour, 36 minutes
7 9 hours, 20 minutes 1 hour, 20 minutes
8 9 hours, 9 minutes 1 hour, 9 minutes
9+ 9 hours 1 hour

Step 5: Daily Preparations

This final step includes time spent to prepare for the adventuring day, as detailed under Daily Preparations. Assume menial tasks like breaking down the campsite are included in this step without impacting how long it takes for you to prepare for the day. Daily preparations take 30 minutes to complete. The zone's Encounter DC returns to its original DC. If you wish to continue camping at this same location, you must use the Prepare Campsite activity again (though it takes only 1 hour to Prepare a Campsite that has been used before).

Camping Activities

When camping in the wilderness, you may perform a number of different Camping activities; see Step 2: Camping Activities for detailed rules. Many of them require checks against the Zone DC for the area the party is camping in.

Ingredients

The two cooking activities presented here—Cook Basic Meal and Cook Special Meal—require the use of ingredients in addition to rations, or provisions you gain by Subsisting. Both basic and special meals always use basic ingredients; special meals sometimes also require special ingredients.

Basic ingredients and rations are relatively easy to come by, and generally won't need to be tracked. If the you wish to stock up on basic ingredients, you can procure them by attempting the Hunt and Gather Camping activity—even a critical failure finds some, and you can buy rations at the regular price.

Special ingredients are exceptionally rare or dangerous to gather, and will be tracked as regular consumable items—a single special ingredient is level 3 and Bulk L. Special ingredients are normally acquired only by succeeding at the Hunt and Gather Camping activity; I may also allow the party to obtain a number of special ingredients equal to the party's level once per month as part of the perks of ruling a kingdom.

While specific ingredients aren't called out in recipes, at my discretion you may harvest such ingredients after encounters with appropriate creatures. Since this requires you to track individual ingredients, the additional paperwork may not be to y'all's taste. To harvest ingredients from a creature, a character must succeed at a Survival check against a standard DC. A success generates 1 special ingredient usable for that specific recipe (or 2 special ingredients on a critical success). Only one attempt can be made per creature; each attempt takes 10 minutes of work.

Camouflage Campsite

CAMPING
MANIPULATE
SECRET
trained in Stealth
You spend an hour concealing the camp from potential threats by covering tents with branches, ensuring campfire placement minimizes the spread of scent or smoke, reminding others to avoid making too many loud noises, and so on. Attempt a Stealth check against the Zone DC. You can only attempt to Camouflage Campsite once per camping session, regardless of the activity's result.
Your camouflage attempt exceeds expectation. Increase the Encounter DC for your camp by 2. The first time a flat check would result in an encounter during this camping session, instead treat that result as a failure with no encounter.
Your work helps hide your camp from detection. Increase the Encounter DC for your camp by 1.
You believe you've done well at your camouflage attempt but have actually forgotten something important or accidentally did something to make the campsite more noticeable. Decrease the Encounter DC for your camp by 2, and flat checks made to determine encounters result in a critical success on a roll of 19 or 20.

Cook Basic Meal

CAMPING
MANIPULATE
You spend 2 hours preparing a meal. Expend 2 basic ingredients per serving you wish to prepare, as well as 1 day's rations, or provisions from Subsisting, per serving.

Once the party finishes all Camping activities and the characters have chosen which meals they wish to eat, attempt a DC 22 Survival check or a DC 18 Cooking Lore check to determine the effectiveness of your basic meal.

You prepare a delicious meal. A character who eats this meal recovers Hit Points equal to their Constitution modifier (minimum 1) multiplied by twice their level when they rest during this camping session instead of the normal amount, and they gain a +1 status bonus to all saving throws until they complete their daily preparations, or begin adventuring again.
You prepare a meal. A character who eats it gains a +1 status bonus to all saving throws until they complete their daily preparations or begin adventuring again.
Your meal fills bellies, but has no other effects.
Your meal wreaks havoc on digestion. A character who partook of this meal becomes sickened 1 until after they rest and complete their daily preparations.

Cook Special Meal

CAMPING
MANIPULATE
knowledge of the recipe
You spend 2 hours preparing a special meal. Choose a special meal whose recipe the party knows and then expend the basic and special ingredients required for each serving you wish to prepare, as well as 1 day's rations, or provisions from Subsisting, per serving. Special meal recipes are formulas you can purchase at a settlement or discover on your own with the Discover Special Meal activity.

Cook Special Meal can be attempted multiple times during a camping session, but each attempt must use a different recipe.

A character who is sickened can't eat a special meal or gain its benefits.

Once the party finishes all Camping activities and the characters have chosen which meals they wish to eat, attempt a Survival check or a Cooking Lore check to determine the effectiveness of your special meal. The DC of the check required varies by recipe. Unless the special meal's description says otherwise, its effects last until the next time the party prepares a camp or 24 hours, whichever comes first.

The character gains the recipe's listed critical success effect.
The character gains the recipe's listed success effect.
The character gains no special benefit from the meal, though it still prevents starvation.
The character suffers the recipe's critical failure effect.

Discover Special Meal

CAMPING
MANIPULATE
trained in Cooking Lore
You spend 2 hours attempting to discover a special recipe. Choose a common recipe from those listed starting on page 114; the recipe must be of a level equal to or less than the level of the zone you're camping in. Expend twice the normal amount of ingredients required to prepare 1 serving of the special meal, then attempt that special meal's Cooking Lore check.
You discover the special meal and add it to the list of recipes the party knows. In addition, your research was efficient, and you recover half of the ingredients you had to expend to attempt this activity.
As critical success, but you do not recover any ingredients.
You fail to discover the special meal and do not recover any ingredients.
As failure, but you also expose yourself to the special meal's critical failure effect while performing an unwise taste test.

Hunt and Gather

CAMPING
MOVE
trained in Survival
You spend 2 hours gathering ingredients. This supplements the food from Subsisting with additional ingredients you can use to cook basic or special meals, gaining greater effects than simply eating the rations alone. Attempt a Hunting Lore or Survival check against the Zone DC.
You find a number of basic ingredients equal to twice the zone's DC, plus 4 special ingredients. If you're Hunting and Gathering in a zone that's at least level 7, increase the number of special ingredients found to 8; if you're doing so in a zone that's at least level 14, increase it to 12.
You find a number of basic ingredients equal to the zone's DC, plus 1d4 special ingredients. If you're Hunting and Gathering in a zone that's at least level 7, increase the number of special ingredients found to 2d4; if you're doing so in a zone that's at least level 14, increase it to 3d4.
You find a number of basic ingredients equal to the zone's DC.
You find 1d4 basic ingredients (maximum equal to the zone's DC). In addition, you've attracted attention. Make an additional flat check to determine if a random encounter occurs at your campsite following this activity.

Learn from a Companion

CAMPING
CONCENTRATE
The companion to be learned from must be camping with you, and they must be at least Friendly
All of the companions in the Kingmaker Companion Guide are presented with specialized Camping activities. Normally, in order for a PC to be able to attempt one of these specialized activities, that companion must be present in the camp as well, but this activity allows the companion to attempt to teach the party how to perform the activity on their own. You spend 2 hours with the companion when you attempt to learn from them, then attempt a DC 20 Perception check. See the table on the next page for what companions give out which Camping Activities.
You learn the companion's special activity. Any PC who meets that activity's requirements (see table above) can now perform that activity even when the companion isn't in the camp.
You make progress in learning the special activity but require at least one more day to master it. If you attempt to Learn from this Companion the next time you camp, the result of that check is improved by one degree of success from the result rolled.
You fail to learn anything from the companion.
You fail to learn from the companion, who grows frustrated with the party. No further attempts to Learn from this Companion can be attempted during this camping session.
Learning from Companions
Activity Companion Requirements
Blend into the Night Harrim trained in Religion, worships Groetus
Bolster Confidence Linzi expert in Performance
Camp Management Jubilost expert in Survival
Dawnflower's Blessing Tristian trained in Religion, worships Sarenrae
Enhance Campfire Kanerah expert in Nature
Enhance Weapons Amiri expert in Crafting
Intimidating Posture Regongar expert in Intimidation
Maintain Armor Valerie expert in Crafting
Set Alarms Octavia expert in Arcana
Set Traps Nok-Nok expert in Thievery
Undead Guardians Jaethal expert in Religion
Water Hazards Kalikke expert in Nature
Wilderness Survival Ekundayo expert in Survival

Organize Watch

CAMPING
expert in Perception
You spend 2 hours to take the lead on organizing the camp's watch rotation, optimizing shifts, and scouting the surrounding area to determine which approaches to the camp are most likely to be used by enemies. Attempt a Perception check against the Zone DC.
The camp's watch is efficient. Treat the total time required for rest as if the party size were 1 more, and all characters gain a +2 status bonus to Perception checks made during their shift on watch.
Characters gain a +1 status bonus to Perception checks made during their shift on watch.
Your attempt to organize the watch doesn't grant any additional benefits.
As failure, but you may have attracted unwanted attention. Attempt a flat check against the zone's Encounter DC to determine if a random encounter occurs.

Provide Aid

CAMPING
CONCENTRATE
The ally is willing to accept your aid on a Camping activity that requires a check for success.
You take 2 hours to aid another character in their Camping activity. When you Provide Aid, attempt a skill check of a type decided by the GM. The typical DC is 20, but the GM might adjust this DC for particularly hard or easy tasks. You can Provide Aid as many times as you want during a camping session, but remember that the circumstance bonuses granted by Provide Aid do not stack.
You grant your ally a +2 circumstance bonus to the activity. If you're a master with the check you attempted, the bonus is +3, and if you're legendary, it's +4.
You grant your ally a +1 circumstance bonus to the activity's check.
Your ally takes a –1 circumstance penalty to their activity's check.

Relax

CAMPING
You spend 2 hours listening to campfire stories, chatting, reading, meditating, napping, or otherwise simply relaxing. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the next check you make in order to resolve a Camping activity, provided that check happens during this camping session.

A character that's suffering a status penalty from a critical failure on the Tell Campfire Story activity removes that penalty after spending an hour Relaxing. You can Relax as many times as you want during a camping session.

Tell Campfire Story

CAMPING
CONCENTRATE
EMOTION
LINGUISTIC
MENTAL
You spend 2 hours telling a rousing story, perhaps one of your previous adventures or something that was in turn told to you around a campfire. The GM might award a +1 circumstance bonus to your check if the story is relevant to your recent or upcoming adventures, or if it reflects one or more characters' personal stories. Attempt a Performance check against a DC equal to that set by your own level, as given on Table 10–5.

All allies in your camp can potentially gain benefits from your stories, but those who spend the hour Relaxing gain the greatest benefits. An ally who spends the two hours of your campfire story Hunting and Gathering or is otherwise outside of the camp's immediate area is not affected by your campfire story.

You inspire your allies dramatically. For the remainder of the camping session, your allies gain a +2 status bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks during combat at the campsite. The bonuses end as soon as daily preparations begin after resting is concluded. If an ally spent the hour Relaxing, they can also choose to reroll a failed roll at any time once during the remainder of the camping session while the status bonus persists; this is a fortune effect.
You inspire your allies. As critical success, but the status bonus is +1. An ally who spent the hour Relaxing receives a +2 status bonus but does not receive the reroll effect granted by a critical success.
Your allies are unmoved and receive no benefits.
Your story distracts or unsettles your allies. They each take a –1 status penalty to skill checks until they Relax or until they begin daily preparations.

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