Establishing a Base Camp
Creating a safe camp to sleep, eat, and relax in can make the difference between survival and death. A base camp needs to be located in a safe and stable location, and must adequately provide for shelter from the environment and protection against wildlife. Locating a suitable site and building a
shelter requires a DC 12 Survival check and takes 8 hours.Lack of building tools imposes a –5 penalty on this check (REDACTED INFORMATION ON HOW TO AVOID SAID PENALTY). The time required is reduced by 1 hour for every 2 points by which the Survival check exceeds DC 12, down to a minimum of 1 hour.
Once a campsite is established, it provides a safe place to rest out of the relentless heat of the sun, while the shelter and smoke from a campfire helps to ward off insects (reducing the chance of being exposed to disease
to 10% per day). In addition, there are five roles that PCs or (more likely) NPCs can take up as part of their daily duties to further enhance the effects of a campsite, as detailed below. In order to fill one of these roles, the character must spend the entire day pursuing the role.
Defender: A defender works to set traps, shore up a shelter’s walls, and see to the safety of the campsite. The first time in a day that a wandering monster or hostile creature attacks the campsite, the defender’s traps inflict 2d6 points of damage—divide the damage done as equally as possible among all attackers. Each additional defender assigned to a campsite Increases this damage by 2d6.
Entertainer: An entertainer helps to raise hopes for rescue—each entertainer grants NPCs a +2 bonus on Will saves to increase morale (see below).
Guard: Each guard reduces the chance of a wandering monster attacking the camp during the day or night by 5% (minimum chance of 5%).
Hunter: Each hunter provides enough food and water for eight Medium Creatures per day.
Medic: Each medic reduces the chance of being exposed to disease by 5% and increases the number of hit points healed naturally during a night’s rest in the camp by 2.
Morale
The NPC castaways react to their near-death experience in different ways, and if the PCs don’t bolster their morale, they could easily fall prey to despair. Although the shock of the wreck is enough to mute their personalities somewhat on the first day, clashes among the NPC castaways can
manifest as soon as the first night on the island.
Morale has five categories: hopeful, normal, shaken, frightened, and panicked. All five castaways start with a morale of shaken. Events during play can adjust each castaway’s morale in one direction or another—either
positively (to normal and eventually hopeful) or negatively (to frightened and eventually panicked). Morale affects only NPC castaways.
Adjusting Morale: Every morning, an NPC castaway must make a DC 15 Will save. If successful, the NPC’s morale increases to the next category toward hopeful. If the Will save fails, the NPC’s morale doesn’t change unless
the roll failed by 5 or more, in which case her morale moves one step toward panicked. Note that once an NPC reaches hopeful morale, she no longer needs to make these Will saves, but special events can still adjust her morale
downward (in which case she’ll need to start making her morning Will saves again).
Effects of Morale: Each level of morale has different effects on the NPC castaways, as listed below.
Hopeful: The NPC functions normally, and does not need to make morning Will saves to adjust morale. Diplomacy checks to adjust the NPC’s attitude gain a +2 bonus.
Normal: The NPC functions normally.
Shaken: The NPC is shaken.
Frightened: The NPC is shaken. Diplomacy checks to adjust the NPC’s attitude take a –2 penalty.
Panicked: The NPC is shaken, and during any attack by hostile forces, she immediately becomes panicked and flees the area, heedless of the danger.
Diplomacy checks to adjust the NPC’s attitude take a –4 penalty.
