Reddit reviews Mystical FIRE - Adds Colorful Flames to a Campfire - 24 Packs

A preface: apparently I had more to say about this than I expected. This got a little long; sorry about that. I'm really inspired by the topic, I guess. I've been a longtime rpgamer and a longtime camping enthusiast, and have combined the two on several occasions to much enjoyment. I hope this helps!

The campfire storytelling theater is a great venue for gaming, but you're right... you need to keep the emphasis on the story more than the rules. Minimal pen and paper, not too much dice rolling. Dice can work just fine, just be sure to use ones with high contrast ink colors... no blue ink on black dice kind of thing.

The fire itself is, quite literally, central to the experience. If you want to actually play around the fire, it will need to be prepared and tended with care. It will be simultaneously a backdrop, a focus, a primary light source, and the center of the game's seating space. In order to do all these things it will need some tending and attention, which can distract from game play. If the fire burns low and needs to be stoked, or starts smoking heavily and makes everyone's eyes water, it will put a serious damper (no pun intended) on everyone's experience. I'd suggest nominating a hearthkeeper from among the players, so you are free from the responsibility and able to focus on running the game. If you have someone in your group who is experienced with campfires, they can keep it burning evenly, with minimal smoke, without too much distraction to the rest of the party. Get plenty of firewood, and make sure your fire ring has plenty of airflow to the base of the fire... nothing makes a fire smoke more than a high solid ring which cuts off oxygen. If you're in a campground with one of those big metal rings for a firepit, see if you can dig a hole under the edge of it to allow air to feed the coals directly. It will make a huge difference.

For a moment of high drama, pyrotechnics can be a powerful tool. /u/ilikpankaks recommends tossing a pinch of dirt and moss into the fire for a little poof of emphasis; I'd suggest upping the stakes slightly... use flour or cornstarch or dry non-dairy creamer. Flour is cleaner on your hands and easier to use, but creamer is more flammable and produces a slightly more intense effect with less effort. Either one crackle slightly if a small pinch is tossed down low, or will flare brightly if a handful is cast higher into the flames... just be careful not to use too much. If you really want to go over the top with special fire effects (while still preventing a forest fire), you could go for an alchemical approach; but that may be overkill. (The chemicals are possible to purchase premixed for this express purpose, but where's the fun in that? ;) Most of the time, though, a simple plain fire is enough to create the mood. The primal nature of flames is enough to transport us all to a place where the veil between fantasy and reality is a little thinner. The pyrotechnics can be cool, but can easily be distracting. If you do use them, plan their use carefully and time them right... a burst of flame for a dramatic entrance or a combat effect, or a longer lasting color-change when the party travels to the faerie realm, for example.

For lighting, lanterns and headlamps are a little extreme and can spoil the ambience. They are great for things like food prep and getting around the campsite in the dark without tripping, but one everyone is seated around the fire's warm glowing light and the attention is focused on the game, a bright gas-fired hood lamp or pinpoint led spotlight backlighting everyone's faces or shining in their eyes can destroy the mood. I would suggest a more aesthetically pleasing alternative... get a pack of those LED light flameless candles and give one to each player. They are just bright enough to read by if you hold it close to the page, but with no risk of burning it or spilling hot wax. They are dim enough not to ruin your night vision, and keep the fire as the brightest source of light and the central focus of attention.

The story may require more narration on the DM's part, with more planning ahead of time, since there will be less opportunity to cross-check campaign material. This is a big deal. You can't be flipping through books and notes by dim light and still hold their attention. It's not the time for sandbox style, unless you're truly willing to accept the results of free-form spontaneous plot generation; which, don't get me wrong, is some of the most memorable gaming I've done. Just don't be surprised if, when you give your players a free rein around the fire, your entire game hook goes up in smoke (no pun intended). There's something about sitting around the campfire telling stories that changes people's perspective and, in my experience, makes them just a bit more uninhibited about taking dramatic action. I once ran a game around the campfire where the party started a fight with the quest-giver at the start of the adventure... not because they were murder hobos, but because they were fully immersed in character and the setting had heightened the feeling of tension. The paladin felt the nature spirit in the shimmering pond was too untrustworthy, too ungodly, and convinced the rest of the party not to trust it. I was faced with the entire adventure falling flat two minutes in. The firelight was crackling and cast a glow across the player's eager faces. They were rapt in attention, but I was about the lose my entire plotline. So, I ran with it... turned the spirit in the pond into the adversary, and turned the course of the adventure 180 degrees. But it meant I had to completely wing it for the rest of the night. It worked fine, but I felt like it would have been better if I had been better prepared for all possibilities. Bottom line: either set up a fully tracked plot with players willing to go along for the ride, or be prepared for full-on freeform story gaming with big on-the-spot decisions.

Good luck, and I'd love to hear about the results!

"Colour packet" is something that you can buy and throw into fire, or something like that? It may be a stupid question but I never heard about it, maybe it's not popular in my country.

//EDIT: okay, found it: https://www.amazon.com/MYSTICAL-FIRE-Colorful-flames-Campfire/dp/B009E8KJHS :D

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009E8KJHS?pc_redir=1409240467&robot_redir=1

Fire Forsure ... Try to grab these at your local academy or Walmart fire sticks

Ah, I see. I just went to home depot to get a bunch of sawdust, and am going to try to pit fire. Do you know of any easy to acquire chemicals i can use as a "sagger" ?

I was thinking something like this might work https://www.amazon.com/MYSTICAL-FIRE-Colorful-flames-Campfire/dp/B009E8KJHS