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Welcome to Camp!
This book will be your guide to the game of Up North. Meant
to be played upon a tabletop with friends and whatever crazy
miniatures you can cook up, Up North is a game about
monsters. Well, more accurately, a game about monster kids and
what they do during the summer months. Camp is an escape
from the stress of daily life for the orcs, goblins, and trolls that
inhabit the dark spots on the map. This is a modern aged fantasy
world. It is here that lasting friendships are made, too many hot
dogs are eaten, and hearts are broken.
School is out, and you are spending the summer at the Camp of
your choosing with 4-6 other Campers. This Camp will be your
home as you, the Camper, and the Counselors tell a collective
story. They may be trying to kill you at times (the local dwarves
are not super keen on the camp’s existence after all), but in the
end, the goal is to build upon the lives of your Camper and
breathe life into the world for one more summer of fun. This is
your camp; tell the story you want to tell.
If this is a d4 you are weaker than everyone else If this is a d4 you are not the sharpest stick If this is a d4 you have likely never talked to a fairy
If this is a d6 you shouldn’t pick a fight with a Troll If this is a d6 you probably were held back a grade If this is a d6 it means you may have attended a forest ritual
once time because a friend went
If this is a d8 you might be able to win a fist fight If this is a d8 you might actually graduate
If this is a d8 it means you have thought about the world outside
If this is a d10 you likely are comfortable swinging an axe If this is a d10 you regularly solve puzzles
yourself
If this is a d12 you will be leading your camp troupe into danger If this is a d12 you will be the thinker of your troupe
If this is a d10 you might have studied a particular book very
If this is a d20 you are probably a legend amongst the younger If this is a d20 you likely have won many spelling bees or other closely at the library
campers for a heroic act last summer such silliness.
If this is a d12 you likely are the one giving the speech ahead of
any sporting event
If this is a d20 you might have started a cult
Sample Gear
Adept d10 blue touch spell, d10 weapon, d10 armor GEAR
Guardian d10 weapon, d10 yellow touch spell, d10 aegis
Mage d4 6” red ranged spell, d6 barrier
Mystic d20 yellow whisper chant, d10 armor
Shaman d8 3” ranged blue chant, d6 aegis
Warrior d12 melee weapon, d12 armor, d6 barrier
Heritage
Move Size Die +1 Step POWERS
Goblin 4” 1” Mind
Orc 6” 1” Soul
Parent’s Signature: _______________ Troll 5” 2” Body
SAMPLE CHARACTERS
Camper #1: Orc Warrior Camper #2: Goblin Mage Camper #3: Troll Mystic
MOVE LIFE SIZE MOVE LIFE SIZE MOVE LIFE SIZE
+ 1 Step
Deal d20 damage to someone who successfully damaged you.
Roll Body die twice during an attack. Keep Both.
You increase ONE of your Trait Dice by one step. For example, Gain a small animal companion that joins you on your Quests
you have a d6 Body die. It becomes a d8. You should swap out Build one new Gear die for half price at the end of each Quest
your die accordingly and increase your Life by 2 as well. Note: by dismantling one of the Treasures from that Quest
when going from a d12 to a d20 you only need one improvement
and your Life increases by 8 instead of 2. Attack all creatures adjacent to you with a weapon attack. Use
the same roll for all of them
+ 1”
Reroll one dice roll
Choose a Challenge. Roll your Trait die twice and add the
Your movement increases by 1”. You should update your result together.
character sheet accordingly. Choose the max value on your Body die when trying to be
sneaky in a Contest
For 5 minutes of game time, your Body die increases by one
step.
The Counselors may have ideas of new powers, or you might as Pull a useful item out of your backpack despite seemingly not
well. Use this improvement to add a new power to your character having packed it for this Quest.
sheet either from the list to the right or based on something you
agree upon with your counselor.
PERMEATIONS
Weather Time Food
Weather permeates from the real world into the game world. You will notice that some powers deal in real time not game If you share a meal before, during, or after your game, the
Much like you dice become spells, you may find the day outside time. This is just one way that time may permeate the game Campers gain bonuses based upon the protein you consume.
your windows is impacting your story. space. Don’t be afraid as a Counselor to interact with this You may only choose one of these bonuses even if you have
concept in other ways. Maybe your troupe is having trouble multiple dishes.
Sunshine. Bad Guys can reroll their Trait die.
making a decision on where to go next on the Quest; a five
Beans. Campers can ignore the effects of Weather.
Clouds. No Effect. minute timer sitting on the table that signals an in game attack
can be a good way to speed up decision making. Bird. Campers can fly for 10 minutes of real time at the start
Rain. Campers can reroll their Body die.
of the Quest.
Snow. Campers can reroll their Soul die. Overall, with the thought that each Quest will take 2 hours of
play time, you will want to keep an eye on the time flowing Bovine. Campers gain 10 Life.
>100 Degrees Fahrenheit. Campers can reroll their Mind die. during the session and pivot the story accordingly. We all might Fish. Campers can breathe underwater.
< 0 Degrees Fahrenheit. All movement is halved for the Bad wish that the real world won’t impact our games, but the reality is
not quite the wish. Other Plant. Counselors can give extra Treasure they deem
Guys.
appropriate.
Pig. Campers can move easily through the densest of forest.
EXTRA TABLES
Creatures Locations Gear
Whenever you need to quickly describe a creature your Campers Pair these descriptions and locations to create countless places You may want to create new gear on the fly as Treasure for your
may encounter, use this table to describe what they see. for Campers to discover, from the magical to the mundane. Campers. Pull the die from a bag and describe as such.
d20 Description d20 Creature d20 Description d20 Location d20 Description d20 Gear
1 Lumbering 1 Gnoll 1 Crumbling 1 Den 1 Broken 1 Knife
2 Ethereal 2 Rat 2 Vine-Covered 2 Grove 2 Rusted 2 Machete
3 Snaggle-toothed 3 Wolf 3 Damp 3 Cave 3 Chipped 3 Fishing Pole
4 Mossy 4 Bear 4 Primordial 4 Pirate Ship 4 Basic 4 Hatchet
5 Diminutive 5 Toad 5 Carved 5 Bunker 5 Clean 5 Magnifying Glass
6 Rock hewn 6 Fairy 6 Twisted 6 Orchard 6 Dirty 6 Club
7 Bleeding 7 Goblin 7 Emanating 7 Camp 7 Abandoned 7 Tacklebox
8 Aggressive 8 Orc 8 Rotten 8 Statue 8 Engraved 8 Spyglass
9 Primeval 9 Troll 9 Towering 9 Village 9 Runic 9 Crossbow
10 Wretched 10 Human 10 Pocket-sized 10 Blacksmith 10 Unique 10 Slingshot
11 Slobbering 11 Dwarf 11 Dripping 11 Alchemist 11 Moldy 11 Tent
12 Tusked 12 Elf 12 Ancient 12 Inn 12 Twisted 12 Rifle
13 Gnarled 13 Ogre 13 Monumental 13 Lake 13 Shattered 13 Rope
14 Oafish 14 Satyr 14 Gloomy 14 Stream 14 Sparkling 14 Backpack
15 Eldritch 15 Auroch 15 Vivid 15 River 15 Scented 15 Coin Purse
16 Putrid 16 Snake 16 Decaying 16 Cliff 16 Misplaced 16 Helmet
17 Arcane 17 Spider 17 New 17 Field 17 Stolen 17 Armor
18 Youthful 18 Moose 18 Unspoiled 18 Valley 18 Rare 18 Shield
19 Gigantic 19 Hyena 19 Inviting 19 Hill 19 Epic 19 First Aid Kit
20 Friendly 20 Gnome 20 Mysterious 20 Workshop 20 Legendary 20 Flashlight
FISHING
This page provides an example of how Challenges, Contests, and Combat can be used in specific
ways to help tell the story of the Campers. Fishing might occur during a Quest, but also could
occur between things as downtime for the Campers. Let this inspire you.