It’s Memorial Day here in America, which means the (unofficial) start of Summer! As such, many people celebrate by taking a long weekend vacation, often their first camping trip of the year.
That said, many of these folks – perhaps yourself, as well – enjoy playing a tabletop roleplaying game now and again. Often while on vacation, even. But when the desire to play a TTRPG runs afowl of one’s camping holiday, what do you do?
Obviously, it is pretty easy to play TTRPGs while camping, people have been doing it literally for decades. Breaking out the dice, books, and character sheets as you sit around the campfire, or huddled up in your tent when it inevitably rains, is a time-honored tradition for many of us! But here’s the biggest problem:
How do you carry all of that gear, especially if you’re hiking with a very limited amount of space in your pack?
Well, my suggestion is this: Make a small TTRPG kit.
One can carry your rules, dice, some pencils and index cards to use for character sheets quite easily, if you know how to do it. First of all: Ditch the D&D! You’re going to want to limit your ruleset to a single, small book or ruleset, such as “EZD6” by Runehammer Games. EZD6 is a great ‘party game’ of a TTRPG, so it is easy to play with those who are new to the hobby, or are already half-drunk by the time your session begins.
Next, keep your dice to only a few sets, and don’t bring your really valuable/nice dice. Only bring dice you’d be okay with losing in the forest or along the trail, because inevitably, it’s going to happen.
I previously mentioned using index cards for character sheets, and that’s what I’d do for sure. they are small, thick enough to write on without using a table or notebook as a backing, and easily disposable. A character dies? Dramatically toss their index card character sheet into the campfire, and hand the player a fresh index card to roll up a new character! All you have to do is jot down the basic info about said character, and if you’ve chosen a small, fairly uncomplicated game to play (EZD6), it’ll all fit onto an index card easily.
Now put those index cards, dice, and your rulebook into a container of some sort, and add it to your pack. I’d suggest a waterproof plastic box if you can find one that fits your needs, but they can be hard to find and sometimes expensive. When it comes right down to it, you can use a freezer-sized Ziplock bag, and get by just fine!
There might be a few problems that crop up on your woodland roleplaying adventure, of course. One I’ve struggled with here or there is finding a flat surface to roll your dice on. If you’re going to a standard campground, most of the ones I’ve been to have picnic tables, which solves this problem outright. In fact, it makes your gaming experience way easier than if you’re just playing in the wilderness. But when it comes right down to it, you can always just roll on the rulebook, as long as you’re careful. Or if you have enough room in your TTRPG Kit, you can put a flat-pack dice tray in, as well.
Another issue that might crop up is bringing a game that everyone wants to play. usually adventures like this are one-shots, so most of your dedicated players will be willing to give it a try, at least, but sometimes you’ll have people that insists on playing “D&D”, or some other game with dozens of books and of course they’ll expect you to carry them all. That’s when you ‘Just say NO!’, and play with more reasonable gamers, even if it means playing by yourself. Remember, you can always toss a small Oracle deck, such as one of the many “GameMaster’s Apprentice” storyteller decks into your kit, just in case you are forced to play solo.
Finally, sometimes you simply don’t have room to include a TTRPG kit at all. What then? Well, you can always just make up the rules as you go along, and resolve disputes or actions by playing a quick round of ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’.
The point being, with ‘Theater of the Mind’ and a little ingenuity, you can roleplay anywhere… Even while on a camping vacation in the wilderness.