I wanted to try making a more involved Make Camp move. This is what I came up with.
When you settle in to get some rest, you may consume a ration. If you do, choose two, if not, choose one:
• You entertain the group with uplifting music, stories, or humor. Choose a number of people equal to your CHA, they each take +1 forward.
• You get to know your comrades better. Ask another character a question. If they answer it truthfully, they get to ask you a question in exchange, which you must answer truthfully.
• You apply first aid to your injuries and get some rest. Heal half of your HP.
• You tend to your equipment, tightening armor straps and sharpening blades. You get either +2 armor forward or +1d4 damage forward.
• You take watch for the night. If any trouble approaches your camp, you get to act first. If you are the only one to choose this option, take -1 forward from lack of sleep.
• You read the sky overhead. The GM will ask you what the weather will be that day; tell them whatever you like, it comes to pass.
• You scout ahead in the night for dangers. The GM will tell you about one enemy, hazard, or obstacle you are likely to face tomorrow, and you take +1 forward against it.
• You reflect on your experiences. If you have enough XP to level up, you may do so now.
• You spend some time in quiet study, prayer, or meditation. (c.f. Cast a Spell)
Camping supplies 3 uses, 10 coins, 2 weight
Everything you need to make a good campsite: cooking utensils, warm blankets, salt and spices, dry tinder, and something to keep the rain off of you. The sorts of things most people take for granted when they find themselves in the middle of nowhere.
When you Make Camp, you may spend a use of camping supplies. If you do, everyone chooses an additional option, even if they did not spend a ration, and add the following option to the list:
• You take cooking duty and prepare a proper hot meal for everyone. Tell us what you make, and everyone who partakes heals 1d6 HP. Only one person in the group can choose this option.
Very Inspiring. With your permission, I might try to work my own from your list
Please do!
The classes would probably need to be combed over to make sure they don’t conflict, but I really like how this functionally combines make camp and take watch.
I wonder if you could also work in a sub-option to mimic bolster, too, because players at my table often forget that spending a lengthy time preparing is something they should sometimes do (admittedly part of that is on me).
Something like the armor and blade sharpening: when you spend the downtime preparing for tomorrow’s challenges, describe how and hold 1. When your preparations pay off, spend your hold to take +1.
Bolster requires a week of training though, and I would rather not grant preparation for just a few hours of Making Camp.
For the priest hireling, Replace Ministry with the following:
Ministry—When you make camp with a priest, you heal skill HP.
For the Ranger:
A Safe Place: When you set the watch for the night, you may choose the taking watch option from the Make Camp list for free.
A Safer Place: When you set the watch for the night, you may choose the taking watch option from the Make Camp list for free, and you do not take -1 forward if you are the only one taking watch.
Very good.
Yeah, I think that Bolster requiring that much time invested is why it gets overlooked at my table. The only time we use it is when we have a session break, or if we complete a significant quest mid-session, but it tends to feel a little underwhelming.
I think if you worked it into an option for Make Camp, you wouldn’t let the preparation exceed 1, and you’d have to make sure it was specific. If they didn’t meet the trigger condition — if their preparation didn’t come up — they’d lose the bonus. Further, if they don’t have what they need to prepare — intel, information, tools, whatever it would take — it wouldn’t be an option (maybe make note of that somehow in the rule). You don’t get to just psych yourself up for unknown challenges — you have to be dedicating time to a specific task meant to help.
Having it here would, for me, allow it to come up more often, and dynamically at that. Its power then is mitigated by being a big choice, because there are a lot of options to choose from.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I just might try it out at my table, see how it goes.