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Overview
After losing their homeland of Pailune to the Black Bears, the surviving Greymanes establish a refugee camp in Hernand. The camp starts as a small tent settlement and can be rebuilt into a fortified base through a camp-building system. Players invest funds and resources gathered through exploration to expand and upgrade the camp, physically placing buildings and furniture in real time. The camp evolves as a physical representation of story progression, growing visually from a ragged refugee site into a functioning stronghold as more Greymane companions are recruited and more facilities are constructed.
The system has been compared to Red Dead Redemption 2's camp progression combined with life-sim building mechanics. Upgrading the camp has direct gameplay consequences: building and expanding facilities improves character stats, unlocks new skills, increases the roster of available companions, and opens access to new services.
Resources
Camp construction and expansion require both raw materials and currency. Resources flow into the camp through direct gathering, liberation missions that unlock resource access in new territories, and the Freesword Dispatch system where companions are sent on passive resource-collection missions.
Resource | Obtained From | Used For |
|---|---|---|
Lumber | Chopping trees, liberating territories, dispatch missions | Building structures, expanding facilities, furniture crafting |
Stone | Mining ore deposits, liberating territories, dispatch missions | Building walls, fortifications, workshops |
Ore | Mining, dispatch missions | Crafting equipment, upgrading workshops |
Currency | Quests, bounty hunting, trading, dispatch rewards | Purchasing upgrades, hiring vendors, buying supplies |
Camp Facilities
The camp can be expanded with multiple facilities, each providing specific gameplay benefits. Construction involves full-scale building from the ground up, with players contributing materials and watching structures take shape.
Facility | Function |
|---|---|
Food Shop (Ronnie's) | A camp vendor selling basic supplies, cooking ingredients, and consumables. Players can also sell gathered items here. |
Trading Center | Buy and sell goods, access trade routes, and manage inventory. Connects the camp to the broader economy of Pywel. |
Farm | Grow cooking ingredients over time. Produces vegetables, herbs, and other crops used in cooking recipes and equipment upgrades. |
Ranch | Raise livestock (cows, pigs, goats, chickens) for meat, eggs, milk, and other animal products used in cooking and crafting. |
Workshops | Craft and upgrade weapons, armor, and tools using gathered materials. Unlock new equipment options as the workshop improves. |
Cooking Station | Prepare meals at a large cauldron that provide temporary stat boosts to Health, Spirit, and Stamina. Group meals can be shared with companions. |
Alchemy Lab | Craft potions, medicines, and dyes from gathered flowers, insects, and herbs. |
Barber Shop | Customize hairstyle, beard, eyebrows, face tattoos, and body tattoos for each playable character (Kliff, Oongka, Damiane). |
Dyehouse | Recolor armor, weapons, horse armor, and War Robot pieces with craftable dyes. Each outfit piece has multiple dyeable layers for detailed customization. |
Player Housing
In addition to functional facilities, the player can build and furnish a personal house within the camp. Housing construction works like the other buildings: players gather materials and physically build the structure from the ground up. Once built, the house serves as a resting place and a showcase of the player's progress.
Furniture can be individually placed and arranged within the house. Players craft furniture from gathered materials or purchase pieces from vendors. The housing system is purely cosmetic and does not affect combat stats, but it provides another avenue for personalizing the camp experience.
Companion Integration
Reunited Greymane companions populate the camp as they are found throughout the story. Some companions arrive on their own after hearing about the camp, while others must be actively recruited through reunion quests. Each companion adds to the camp's capabilities and can be:
Assigned to facilities to improve their output. A skilled cook at the kitchen produces better meals; a craftsman at the workshop unlocks additional equipment options.
Dispatched on missions through the Freesword System to gather resources, build statues, recapture blockaded forts, or weaken enemy fortresses.
Interacted with for personal conversations, shared experiences, shared experiences, and trust-building activities at the campfire.
The Companion Trust system tracks the player's relationship with each companion. Spending time at camp, sharing meals, giving gifts, and completing companion-specific quests all contribute to deepening these bonds. High trust unlocks companion backstory missions flashback missions and improves companion performance on dispatch missions.
shared experiences
The camp provides a space for shared experiences with companions. Cooking meals and eating with Greymane members at the campfire builds trust and can unlock companion backstory missions, playable flashback missions that reveal how the Greymanes first formed and the tragedies they have endured. Group meals cooked at the camp kitchen also contribute to overall Greymane morale, which affects companion behavior and dispatch mission outcomes.
Camp and the Wider World
The Greymane Camp is located in Hernand but connects to the wider world through several systems. The Trading Center links the camp to commerce across Pywel. Dispatch missions send companions to locations throughout the continent, and their success can reduce hostile resistance in those areas before Kliff visits them in person. The camp's growth also affects the player's Hernandian Contribution reputation, reflecting the Greymanes' positive impact on the surrounding region.
Note that criminal actions in camp-adjacent towns (stealing, attacking NPCs) result in bounties through the crime system. Wanted players may face hostile NPCs or jail time, so maintaining good standing with local communities benefits the camp's supply lines and reputation.