Hole up and camp
This article is about the game concept that began with Ultima IV. For other uses, see Camp.
Holing up and camping is important to keep adventurers healthy and well-rested, while in the wild, as well as maintaining certain methods of transportation they employ.
Description[edit]
The Age of Darkness[edit]
There was no set method for setting up camp in the time of the Triad of Evil; healing hit points and/or replenishing mana was accomplished through other means.
The Age of Enlightenment[edit]
In the early days of Britannia, one could hole up and camp in order to regain hit points and mana, at the risk of potential ambush by wandering monsters. Heavy sleepers were thus at a higher risk of being set upon; herein the Awaken spell could come in extremely handy to rouse dosing comrades. A camp could be made on either the surface world or within Dungeons, but not within the confines of surface structures, and was ineffective if attempted too often. Curiously however, the type of terrain upon which one chose to hole up did not adversely affect the quality of the party's sleep.
Beginning around the time of Blackthorn's rule, the process was expanded upon; one could set up camp for a given number of hours (0-9) and assign a party member to stand watch, awakening the others in the event of trouble. The party member so assigned would not get any rest and thus not have any hit points or mana restored. If a bard was assigned to watch duty, he would play a familiar tune to lull the party to sleep. The camp's temporary fortifications changed subtly from Ultima IV as well.
During this time, Lord British could potentially appear to the party over their campfire, guiding them as best he could from afar and assisting them in self-improvement. While sailing on a frigate at sea, holing up would instead set the party to work at repairing any damage to their ship's hull.
This process changed little during the Gargoyle War, although the campside fortifications of the last two installments were no more. An adequate amount of sustenance for each party member was required in order for them to get any rest.
A camp is set up in Ultima IV
Camping in Savage Empire
Using a tent in Martian Dreams
Using the bedroll in Ultima Underworld
The Age of Armageddon[edit]
In Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, possession of a bedroll would aid the Avatar in sleeping more soundly and thus, restoring more Vitality points, but was still only optional for resting. It could be acquired from Bragit's room.
Beginning in Ultima VII, the bedroll was actually required for the Avatar (only!) and company to make camp (in the SNES port, one could only camp at nightfall). During this time, bedrolls could be purchased from many different provisioner merchants, such as Dell in Trinsic, where the Avatar first appeared at the start of Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Bedrolls continued to be a necessity to hole up and camp in Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle.
The bedroll continued to be a useful sleeping aid in Ultima Underworld II, where it could be found in the Avatar's secret room in the northwest corner of Castle Britannia.
In Ultima VIII: Pagan, the bedroll could be retrieved, along with Devon's other possessions, at the start of the game. When resting, instead of choosing a specific number of hours, a "period" of the day is chosen.
Katrina asks for how long in Ultima VII
Using the bedroll in Ultima Underworld II
Setting up camp in Ultima VII Part Two
The Avatar uses the bedroll in Ultima VIII
Lore[edit]
| “ | Since while travelling, thy party members’ hit points may be diminished by unexpected confrontations, every so often thou should Hole up for the night and camp. If thy rest is not interrupted by wandering creatures, then thy party will be greatly refreshed. – from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)
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| “ | As a party becomes weary from the fatigue of a long journey and many battles, it can set up camp in a safe place away from the hustle and bustle of town. The burning campfire will take the chill out of the cool night air while the party members eat some of the provisions they carry in their packs, perhaps enjoying a round of storytelling or song. With bellies full, the travellers should take a few hours sleep to ready themselves for the challenges of a new day. Sleep provides an opportunity for much needed healing to the injured and battle-weary adventurer. It is usually wise to let one of the party members stand guard while the others sleep so that he may awaken them if trouble approaches in the night. Since the group’s guard gets no sleep, he should be allowed to rest the following night while another stands guard. – from Compendium (Ultima VI)
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| “ | The tent we had brought along was invaluable. We rested every night from sunset to sunrise. It was simply too cold for anything else. We also found that we tended to heal more quickly if we rested at least two hours. The degree to which a person healed overnight was variable, depending on myriad unknown conditions. While each hour of rest only resulted in minor recovery, each one of us felt much better when we rested a full night. We also found that we had a slight chance of recovery from poisoning when we rested. It was, however, quite a gamble. If we did not heal completely from the poison, our health would continue to deteriorate overnight. Our best choice by far was to return to Doctor Blood as soon as possible. Sometimes, when we rested, we had strange dreams in which we pictured ourselves choosing between a book, a heart and a sword. Depending on our choice, we felt ourself a better person in some way when we awoke. If we chose the book, we felt more able to make intelligent decisions. Choosing the heart, we had finer motor control and our aim in battle was surer. Choosing the sword, we felt stronger, able to bear heavier loads and wield weapons with a more powerful arm. These were possibly just a delusion (as Doctor Freud would say), or the effect of a Martian dream relic out of control. We never found an answer to this mystery. |
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