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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9639817" data-attributes="member: 42582">Apologies, and fixed.Right. So imagine if Alarm penalised Stealth checks of those approaching the camp, and/or modified surprise rolls (in some versions of D&D - eg 5e and AD&D rangers - these are the same thing; in other versions they are not, but one might feed into the other).Then the stuff about mental "pings" or ringing bells would become flavour text, just like that stuff in the Pass Without Trace spell.In my view, it's not hard to imagine an "alternative history" of D&D where the Alarm spell was written like that, just as the AD&D ranger's stealth ability is written in such a way as to directly interact with the surprise rules.The Camp Event roll is made on the appropriate one of six tables (Wilderness, Caverns, Ancient Ruins, Dungeons, Near Town, and Squatting in Town). The result determines what happens - basically, the lower the roll the worse.In terms of GM embellishment, the principle is stated on pp 94 and 264 of the Scholar's Guide:The individual camp events leave a lot of room for interpretation. When something odd comes up, roll with it. It’s the game master’s job to call for tests or single out victims of calamity and sort through the chaos. . . . Camp events are sketches. They’re small, flavorful elements to add to the game that are designed to give the world a dimension that is larger than the needs and wants of the characters. Sometimes these elements are cruel; sometimes they are kind. The game master should incorporate camp events with a critical eye. Bend them, break them and bind them into the ongoing story. Modify them to suit, but never let the adventurers off easy - and never deny them a lucky break.Once the Camp Event roll has been made, and any consequent action/tests have been resolved, then players are able to declare actions for their PCs, in accordance with an action economy called "camp checks". (These are earned in the Adventure Phase.)If a test made during camp fails, then the GM is able to narrate a consequence for that failed roll as usual - either the character succeeds, but suffers a condition in the process (because it was harder, or unluckier, than hoped for); or the character fails, and the GM narrates a twist. As part of a twist, the GM may declare that camp is ended. From the Scholar's Guide, p 96:Camp Twists During camp, the players drive the action. The game master does not present new problems unless the players fail a roll for an activity better undertaken in the adventure phase. If that happens, the game master may introduce a twist as the result of a failed roll. Said twist could be severe enough to cause camp to break prematurely. While Camping in a storeroom in the turtloid lair, Myrgan the thief and Ban the Magician have two checks between them. They decide to pry open a locked chest they found, but they now must take great care as they’re surrounded by lurking enemies. Dro fails the health check to pry open the stubborn container. Luke, the game master, describes the wrenching noise that echoes through the dungeon. A pair of turtloids soon arrive to investigate, ending camp before Ban can spend his remaining check. An intruder poking around the camp but failing to enter it could be part of the narration of success with a condition - eg, to riff on the rulebook's example, instead of narrating the twist Luke could have opted for success with a condition: "You gently pry the chest open. As you lift the lid, your heart is racing. You can hear turtloids moving just outside the storeroom. You get the chest open without making any noise, but the anxiety is almost overwhelming - take the Afraid condition!"The narration of footprints nearby the next morning would more likely be a bit of free narration, used by the GM to signal potential future consequences (like the soft move => hard move dynamic of Apocalypse World) - eg if the GM narrates Dire Wolf footprints, then if the players fail a Pathfinder test as their PCs try to move off through the woods, a fair twist would be an ambush by Dire Wolves.</blockquote>

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