Campsites

I thought it would be cool if there were a way to model that for Dark Sun (or other games) but adventurers don’t always go to the trouble of setting up tents or making their campsite look nice. Sometimes they just collapse on a grimy dungeon floor or tie themselves to a tree or bed down inside a rope trick. So maybe there should be a way to represent different qualities of campsites and lay out some good or bad consequences for how your gladiator spends the night…

This blog details a basic campsite system for the AD&D 2e Dark Sun game, but you can easily modify this system for the edition of your choice. It’s largely based around proficiency and skill checks, with simple consequences that you can adapt as needed.

Resting at Camp

Resting during or between adventures brings several benefits. Characters can heal injuries, regain spells and class abilities, and prepare for the next step of their endeavors. There are three levels of rest in the game: inferior rest, standard rest, and superior rest. Each comes with its own drawbacks, benefits, and requirements.

Inferior rest

This type of rest occurs when a character takes no effort to ensure a restful night. They do not have so much as a bedroll, sleeping instead on an open dune, bare stone, or floorboards. They have no tent or other protection from the elements, and are not shielded in any way from adverse environmental effects; food is poor or scavenged. The following consequences apply for a night of inferior rest:

Disease: All characters taking inferior rest run the risk of contracting a disease or parasitic infestation. If you have access to the AD&D 1e Dungeon Master’s Guide, there are systems on pages 13 and 14 you can use to model this type of thing. You could alternatively allow a saving throw against poison to avoid being infected with an equivalent of the infestation spell from Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. You could look at Athas.org’s 3.5e Terrors of Athas and Terrors of the Dead Lands and draw ideas from the diseases presented there, including tari fever, sitak fever, wheezing death, red ache, or filth fever. Finally, there is also Rajaat99’s excellent work on Athasian diseases at their Adventures under the Dark Sun blog https://darksunadventures.blogspot.com/2022/12/athasian-diseases-and-treatment-pdf.html.

Healing: Characters taking inferior rest do not heal any injuries naturally overnight. If the character takes an inferior rest for an entire day, they heal a single hit point. If you are playing another edition, reduce the effectiveness of the appropriate healing rules to their minimum.

Spellcasters: Spellcasters taking inferior rest must save vs. poison or fail to get enough rest to prepare spells the following morning. (This mirrors the standard Dark Sun rule for sleeping during the day and the effect it has on spell recovery.)

Rogues: Rogues taking inferior rest suffer a -20% penalty on all rogue skills the following day.

Warriors: For the following day, all warriors taking inferior rest lose their ability to attack once per round against creatures with less than one Hit Die. If you do not use this rule, you can substitute a different low-level ability. Rangers might suffer a -20% penalty to their Hide in Shadows and Move Silently skills. Gladiators might lose their 4-point modifier for unarmed combat. Fighters might lose their ability to instruct others or oversee the operation or construction of war machines or defensive emplacements.

The point here is that characters suffer a minor inconvenience for not getting a decent night’s sleep. And maybe also a horrible parasitic infestation, but that serves them right, honestly.

Standard Rest

A standard rest occurs when a character sleeps on a bedroll or in a bed and is protected from the elements by a tent, inn, or other structure. They enjoy a fire, ample rations, and sleep in relative comfort.

A standard rest is the normal level of rest expected for characters in the game and carries no penalties. Spellcasters may prepare their spells as normal the following day and other classes lose none of their class abilities. The following conditions apply:

Healing: The character heals a single hit point overnight, or two hit points if they are tended by someone with the healing non-weapon proficiency.

If the character takes an entire day of standard rest, the character heals three hit points, or five hit points if they are tended by someone with the healing non-weapon proficiency.

If the character spends a full week of standard rest, they heal 21 hit points plus their Stamina Bonus, or 42 hit points plus their Stamina Bonus if tended by someone with the healing and herbalism non-weapon proficiencies.

If you are playing another edition, substitute the appropriate healing rules.

Superior Rest

With a superior rest, the character enjoys the best possible conditions. They sleep on a bedroll or in a bed, are protected from the elements by a tent, inn, or other structure, and have the benefit of a fire. They enjoy fresh, nourishing food (not trail rations). If camping, their campsite is cleared and prepared by someone familiar with the environment. Their spirits are further lifted by good company, song, or cheer. Spellcasters may prepare their spells as normal the following day and other classes lose none of their class abilities. The following requirements and conditions apply:

Food: The character consumes freshly cooked food prepared with the craft (cooking) non-weapon proficiency. This food may be gathered with the herbalism, hunting, or survival non-weapon proficiencies beforehand. Substitute the appropriate skills if you are playing another edition.

Campsite: If not at an inn, the campsite must be prepared by someone with the appropriate survival non-weapon proficiency for that type of environment. Substitute the appropriate skills if you are playing another edition.

Good Cheer: The character must have their spirits lifted by experiencing a song, tale, or other use of the expression non-weapon proficiency. Substitute the appropriate skills if you are playing another edition.

Healing: Characters who enjoy a superior rest receive all the benefits of healing listed under a standard rest.

Initiative: Characters who enjoy a superior rest receive a -2 bonus to all initiative rolls the following day (or a positive modifier if you are playing another edition).

Free Reroll: Characters who enjoy a superior rest receive one free reroll the following day. Under D&D5e, this might be represented by awarding inspiration.

The overall purpose of this system is to add flavor to something that is usually glossed over – but it can easily be handwaved by declaring all rests to be standard rests if the players do not wish to engage with this type of system. For those that do, it makes choices of food, equipment, and proficiencies more meaningful: now it matters if you brought a bedroll or a tent; now it matters if you are eating dried z’tal jerky yet again or are instead feasting on a haunch of juicy erdlu freshly caught by your kreen hunter and prepared by your halfling chef; now you can use your skill with the Nibenese nose-flute to lift your companions’ spirits around the campfire and enjoy the benefits the next day when you fail your saving throw against that hunting cactus’ ego whip.

Rules on how to most effectively romance the druid are not covered in this blog.