Around the Campfire

Campfires are a central part of my “adventuring” fantasy. Exploring dungeons is all well and good, but given my enjoyment of what I call “rustic dark fantasy,” the time spent at the end of each day around the campfire or fireplace of the inn is just as important to setting the mood of the story as are the monsters fought or the treasures found.

D&D has very few rules for camping (it’s mostly just long rests and short rests), and I’ve observed that the default “camp encounter” is for enemies to try to ambush the players while they sleep. If I want to tell an action story, that’s great. But if I want to create a cozy or mysterious “gathered around the fire” vibe, I realized fairly quickly that I needed to plan role-playing, rather than combat, encounters for my campers.

To support other DMs with this, I’ve created two random event tables suitable for “standard fantasy campfires,” that I believe can be easily adapted to most settings and game systems. (Yes, my prompts privilege forest environments, but every entry should be easily adaptable to most other environments, as long as you change the range of visibility.) The first is a d12 table of “random campfire events,” role-playing prompts that occur as the characters sit around their campfire, and that are early enough in the story’s evening to not interrupt a planned long rest. The second is a d8 table of camp-related skill challenges that can make the act of camping feel more exciting and relevant (and absolutely can interrupt a long rest!). Read the regular text to your players, and then answer any italicized text yourself. Or, if you are comfortable sharing world-building with your players, invite them to answer some of those questions, too!

d12 Random events that can occur around a campfire

1. The scent of your meal, cooking over the campfire, attracts a large predator native to the region that you’re in. It’s hungry, and will eat whatever is the easiest target. What animal is it? How aggressive is it if attacked? Can it be satisfied with a portion of your dinner, or does it want it all? Does it want the food for itself or for its young? 
2. As you sit at your camp, you catch a glimpse of some sort of white figure watching you from the trees. However, as soon as you look at it, it vanishes. Is the figure real or imagined? If imagined, what is causing your paranoia? If real, what is it and what does it want? Is it a person, a ghost, a rare white animal, or something else? Is it a blessing or a curse?
3. The light of your fire attracts a lost traveler, who staggers into your camp, hungry and scared. They beg your assistance in reaching their destination, but they refuse to tell you why they are traveling or what they are carrying. Who is the traveler? How did they get lost? Where is their destination, and why is it so important that they get there? What parcel or object do they refuse to let go of?
4. An animal, either wearing a saddle or carrying supplies, wanders into your campsite and begins nosing at your food. There’s no sign of its owner, but its saddlebags are full. Who was this animal’s owner and rider? What happened to them? Are they lost, injured, trapped, or dead? Are they seeking their missing steed? What is the animal carrying? How will its owner reward you if you return the animal and its cargo?
5. The light of your fire attracts another traveler, who asks to share your campsite with you. They are happy to share their food and story with you, and are heading in the same direction as you. Who is the other traveler? Are they honest or untrustworthy? If honest, what is their trade and why are they traveling alone? If untrustworthy, do they plan to kill, rob, or enchant you in your sleep, or are they trying to follow you for some reason of their own?
6. As you prepare for bed, a wounded animal staggers into your camp and lays down near your fire. Its breaths are ragged and shallow, and it is clearly terrified, but it can run no longer. What kind of animal is it, and is it mundane or magical? Who or what wounded the animal and why? How far behind their prey are they? Is the animal willing to trust you because of its exhaustion, or for some other reason?
7. As you prepare for sleep, a hunter enters your camp and asks if you’ve seen their wounded prey. You can put them on the right track with Survival, but with good Insight, something about the hunter seems… off. Who or what is the hunter, and what reward will they give you for helping them? What or who is the prey, and what reward will they give you for helping them?
8. The scent of your fire attracts a group of traveling musicians. They ask to join your camp for the night, and offer to entertain you in return for their meal. Have your party roll either  DC14 History or Performance if they also want to contribute to the evening. What stories or songs do they tell you? Are they regular musicians, or fey travelers? If the former, do they intend to rob you, or do their stories lead you toward a local mystery or lost treasure? If the latter, do they play tricks on you or do they leave you a small token of their thanks in the morning?
9. By the light of your fire, you notice that the bark of nearby trees seems scarred with runic symbols. Suddenly, you feel like you’re being watched. What do the runes mean and why are they here? Do they warn of a nearby treasure or danger, or have you stumbled into an ancient holy site? If the latter, what are the consequences of your decision to camp here? Is your feeling just paranoia, or is something old and powerful watching you?
10. The clearing in which you’ve built your camp is actually a faerie circle. The local faeries are trying to choose the next faerie prince or princess of the region, and they are deadlocked; so they decide to ask you giant-folk to decide for them! What values does each of the two candidates represent, and how is that represented in their appearance and their followers? How will each candidate try to bribe you (if at all) to support them? How will the losing candidate punish you for not supporting them? What tricks will the other faeries play on you while this is all going on?
11. In the flickering firelight, you realize that the lichen-covered rocks you and your party are sitting on around camp are actually crumbled headstones; the clearing in which you’ve built your camp used to be the graveyard of an abandoned nearby village! Why was the village abandoned? Is the graveyard safe or populated with undead? If undead, are they dangerous or friendly, or do they ignore you entirely, replicating their day-to-day lives and perhaps leading you to a dungeon or hidden treasure in the village?
12. As you sit around your fading campfire, preparing for sleep, you hear a rushing sound and feel a gust of wind that causes your embers to glow brightly. At that moment, a massive shadow flies overhead in the direction that you plan to travel tomorrow! What is the shape that flew over you? Are its intentions hostile, curious, or something else? Did it see your campfire, and if so, does it plan to come investigate? If not, how will you sense its presence on your journey tomorrow?

d8 Skill challenges for setting up camp

When you want a random skill challenge related to setting up camp that will help immerse you and your players in the act of camping, have whichever PC is setting up camp (or just pick one randomly) roll on this table and read the result to them.

1. Your tinder has become wet (sudden rain storm, leaky flask, etc.)! Unless you have magic, you’ll need to find new tinder to start a fire tonight. Make a DC14 Survival check. On a failure, you can’t get the fire started, and every member of your party gains one level of exhaustion due to sleeping with no hot food in the cold. On a success, you find new tinder (the dry inside bark of a local tree, the fuzz on the end of a reed, or a particularly flammable type of moss) and are able to light your fire. Reward yourself with Inspiration!
2. You’ve accidentally built your camp next to a hive or nest of insects! To cook and sleep in peace, you need to find a new camping spot before it gets too dark. Make a DC 12 Survival check. On a failure, you can’t find a good campsite in time and everyone struggles to sleep; each party member must make a Constitution saving throw or only get the benefits of a Short Rest. On a success, you find another nearby campsite and everyone gets a Long Rest as normal, and you get Inspiration.
3. Your food supplies have partially spoiled (make up a reason why)! For tonight’s dinner, you need to forage for food in the dark. If you have a source of bright light or darkvision, make a DC14 Survival check; otherwise, make a DC 16 Survival check. On a failure, you can’t find enough food: every party member must make a Constitution saving throw or only get the benefits of a Short Rest. On a success, you find enough food and everyone gets the benefits of a Long Rest and awakens the next morning with 1d4+1 Temporary Hit Points.
4. Local critters are trying to get into your food supplies. Make a DC14 Perception check: On a failure, they ruin half of your food supplies and each member of your party gets one level of Exhaustion. On a success, you notice and stop them before they do any damage. Reward yourself with Inspiration.
5. You’ve noticed an interesting plant near your camp. It could be a rare herb that has healing properties, or it could be a poisonous plant that looks almost exactly the same. Do you want to try to make a healing potion from it? If you decide not to make a potion, then nothing happens. If you try to make a potion, roll a DC16 Survival check. On a failure, you judged incorrectly and poison yourself while preparing the plant: take two levels of Exhaustion. On a success, you’ve made 1d2 potions of healing with a rarity appropriate to your level.
6. A random member of your party has blisters. Make a DC10 Medicine check to bandage the blisters. On a failure, the party member moves at half speed the entire next day or until magically healed. If the party is traveling by foot, the whole party’s overland travel speed is cut in half, too. On a success, the party member is treated and actually gains 1d4+1 Temporary Hit Points.
7. Your campfire makes you particularly introspective. Each player may, as their character, reflect out loud to the group on the progress you’ve made toward your goals and reminisce about your journey so far. Afterwards, everyone who participates gets Inspiration.
8. You see a small charm or a tiny cairn near your camp, evidence of a fairy community living nearby. Make a DC14 Arcana check. On a failure, you mangle the ritual and offend the fairies. Work with your party to describe how the faeries torment you all night; you and your party only get the benefits of a Short Rest. On a success, you know the location of the community and what rites to perform to keep them satisfied; your whole party wakes up the next morning with Inspiration and either a random minor magical item or a small purse of gold, gifts from the grateful Fair Folk.