Welcome to Camp Starvation!

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Name Bonds Stuff

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Who are you? What is your name? Come Go around the table and say the name of You each have a camp-issued Saftee-
up with one, or choose one below. one of the other Campers, and add one Slice© knife and day-glo chartreuse
of the Bonds below. You cannot choose a bandanna. Go around the table, choosing
Ahmad, Alice, Aneta, Bart, Beatrice,
Bond someone else has chosen. one item that another Camper has.
Carlos, Corey, Dahab, Danny, Drake,
ing plans, � ...is my sibling and closest friend. � ...a friendly woodland companion.
Cunn Egon, Elsi, Estela, Filip, Gifford, Gopal,
le per
s � ...was my friend, but lately they’ve � ...a waterproof flashlight.
Hamzah, Harold, Henri, Jerod, Jihan,
� ...a Nite-Glo© compass.
Gui

ua

Joana, Julieta, Julio, Kamala, Lili, ignored me.

sive

� ...doesn’t know I’m crushing on them...I � ...a dowsing stick.

Maira, Marko, Mateo, Mayur, Mi Sun,
hope. � ...an authentic Native-Aid© tomahawk.
Michal, Naoki, Nisha, Olga, Petros,
� ...is my self-proclaimed rival. � ...a pocket full of old candies.
Polly, Reggie, Rufo, Sabine, Sahla, Sam,
� ...smuggled something into camp, but I � ...a Y-shaped stick and surgical tube.
Sarah, Silas, Swati, Tobias, Umar,
haven’t told the counselors yet. � ...a tube of purple glitter.
Varun, Victoria, Winston, Yun
� ...is one of the popular kids, and I’m � ...a camp guidebook, circa 1976.
Merits
t impulsively,
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Ac co kinda jealous. � ...a smartphone, despite lack of signal.
� ...and I saw something strange by � ...a Crown Royale bag and polyhedrals.
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Distribute D4, D6, D8, D10, and D12

ort

Trimble Creek. � ...a small screwdriver set.

ing

amongst the five Merits: Focus, Guile,

Heart, Nerve, and Sense. The larger the die,
the better your Merit.
FOCUS is your reasoning and willfulness.
GUILE is your cunning and persuasiveness.
� ...has lived with my family for a while. � ...a grappling hook (just the hook).
� ...is kinda weird, but I’m not sure why. � ...the skull of some odd, dead animal.
� ...knows I didn’t bring my permission � ...a canteen and two packs of Kool-Aid.
slips, and covered for me.

Camp Map
Go into dang HEART is your honesty and empathy.
v e er,
NERVE is your curiosity and valor.
cur
Ner

SENSE is your wariness and doubt.

ious

The Guide will draw the Grand Lodge and the five camper cabins within a big circle, and
Your D12 Merit is the strength that the then go around the table drawing two activity sites or facilities each within the circle.
counselors have recognized about you. Then the Guide will draw the location of Trimble Creek outside of the circle, and then go
They might send other campers to you for around the table again, drawing one natural feature that appears on the official Map.
advice.
Example Activities and Facilities Example Natural Features
Your D8 Merit is something you strive to
A v o id
attentio
be better at...even though you think you’re amphitheater, archery, barbecue pit, Cinder Woods Crater, Fool’s Field, Fork
se
n,
pretty good at it already. camp store, chapel, climbing tower, Hill, Gnomehat Peak, Gold Hill Ridge,
wa
Se n

disc golf, gazebo, infirmary, lacrosse Grafton Cliff, Hinkley Marsh, Hunchback
tch

Your D4 Merit is something you’re not field, pottery kiln, sand pit, softball Oak, Kalapuya Trail, Klamath Gulch, Old
f ul

good at, and you know you aren’t good field, stables, swimming pool, tennis Widmer Farm, Paradox Point, Peterson
at it. This Merit is often the source of court, victory garden, weaving hut, Woods, Rogue Valley Overlook, Takelma
unease and anxiety. woodworking hut, zipline Caves, Trimble Pond
Passage of Time
Every day, your Campers will play through a number
of Scenes, those encounters where something
interesting is going on. There is no set real-time
measure of a Scene – it may be a brief moment, a few
minutes, or even half an hour. The thing to remember
is when there’s nothing interesting going on, the
Guide should move the story along to the next Scene.
Distance
Just like time, distance is measured in the
abstract – Close, Near, Far, and Distant.
Close – You can whisper to someone that is Close,
or reach out and touch them.
Near – You can speak clearly to someone that is
Near, or walk over to them to touch them.
Far – You need to yell to be heard by someone that
is Far, or you must run over to touch them.
Distant – Maybe they’ll know what you’re saying if
you wave your arms a lot...
Actions
The flow of action should follow the narrative – if a
Camper decides to leap out and tackle someone,
their target shouldn’t be able to act first unless
there is a really good reason for it.
When you want to do something, clearly describe what
the goal of your action is – Are you trying to grab the
ancient tablet before a counselor? Do you want to
cross that wobbly rope bridge?
If the Guide decides that there is nothing making this
difficult for you, you do it! Yay! However, there might
be a danger to your action – something or someone
trying to stop you or get to the goal first. The Guide
should describe the circumstances of this danger,
and what you think might happen if you fail. Is the
counselor a lot stronger or faster than you? Is the
rope bridge likely to snap?
Once you know the danger, and if you decide to follow
through, roll the Merit that the Guide suggests is
appropriate for the action.
Roll
1-3
Result
Fumble
Roll
7-9
Result
Benefit!
4-6 Result 10+ Two Benefits!
FUMBLE – You don’t reach your goal, suffering a
consequence appropriate to the danger. This
doesn’t mean you fail, per se, but the Guide will
get to describe what happens. The goal is still
achievable, but you will need to try something else
to get it.
RESULT – You reach your goal, though the danger
is still present, able to cause more trouble. You
get to describe your success, and the Guide will
describe how this affects the danger.
BENEFITS – You don’t only reach your goal, but
you get to add some flair to your success!
Add Benefits to your description to describe
overcoming the dangers you face, so they can’t
bother you anymore. You can also use Benefits to
help other Campers with their actions.
Sample Benefits
�Calmly �Gracefully
�Carefully �Honestly
�Cleverly �Luckily
�Comically �Quickly
�Exactly �Quietly
�Fiercely �Stylishly
Harm
One possible consequence of a Fumble is getting
bruised, scared, lost, or embarrassed. Collectively,
these are called Harm. Write down your Harm, and it
can be used as additional danger on future actions.
For example, a sprained ankle would make it difficult
to climb a tree, and being afraid of the possessed
counselor would make confronting him very risky! If
you take more than three Harm, you are Out – you
are too afraid, hurt, or stressed to continue until
you’ve had a chance to rest.
If you can spend a Scene resting and sharing an
activity or your feelings with at least one another
Camper, you can both remove one Harm!
Mistakes
If a Camper Fumbles, they have the option of
describing the outcome as a Mistake. Normally, your
goals will still be attainable...eventually...when you
Fumble. If you make a Mistake, however, that goal is
lost, and it’s your fault. Mistakes work like Benefits in
reverse, and you need to add one to your description.
Sample Mistakes
�Awkwardly �Shamefully
�Carelessly �Slowly
�Clumsily �Tragically
�Incorrectly �Violently
�Nervously �Weakly
�Rudely �Weirdly
Wait, why would you want to make a Mistake?
Because Campers can only learn by making Mistakes!
After a Mistake, make a Mark next to the Merit rolled,
and later you can erase that Mark to add a bonus
Benefit to an action in a future Scene!
But don’t spend your Marks too soon, because you
can also save them up. If you have at least one Mark
in each Merit the next time you write a letter home, you
can get a care package from your parents...maybe some
cookies, or a few comic books, fresh batteries, etc.
Using Stuff
It may seem like most of your stuff is kinda useless,
but a creative Camper can find some use from any
junk, even the camp-issued Saftee-Slice© knife! Once
per Scene, if you can describe how you use your
stuff to help you out with an action, you can roll your
Merit die twice, keeping the better score! Be careful,
because stuff can get lost, stolen, or broken. If you
don’t have your stuff, it can’t help you.
Around the Campfire...
This is a tale that may cause fright
About some campers who vanished one night
Discover the truth with a game of pretend
And...uh...that’s where the rhyming will end...