Torchhound / Guides / Nightcount / Embers and keepsakes

Embers, keepsakes and the Camp

Every run of Nightcount earns embers, even one that ends on the first night. Spend them at the Camp on keepsakes that stay yours for good, and each run after starts a little stronger. Here's what everything costs and what to buy first.

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Earning embers

When a run ends, win or lose, it pays embers for what you did. The end screen shows the total ("+16 embers for the camp") and tells you when you have enough for a new keepsake.

What a run pays
Any run	5 embers, just for playing
Each night you live through	10
Each den you cleanse	3
Every 5 monsters killed	1
Each boss you fell	8 (the blood moon's Brute, the Hollow King, the Hunger)
Freeing the valley	60

So a run that lasts one night pays at least 15, which is already enough for the cheapest keepsake. A run that lives through two nights, cleanses a den and kills 30 monsters pays 5 + 20 + 3 + 6 = 34.

Every keepsake

Open the Camp from the title screen (it appears once you've earned any embers) or from the end screen. Each keepsake is bought once and kept for good.

The eight keepsakes, cheapest first
Full carts · 15	+40 wood and +20 stone when the hall goes up.
Warm cloak · 25	Your hero has a fifth more health.
One more family · 30	A third villager comes with the hall.
Grandsire's blade · 35	Your hero hits 15% harder.
Old hearthstone · 45	The Town Hall takes a fifth less from every blow.
Tower plans · 55	Your first watchtower costs nothing.
Seasoned timbers · 70	Walls and gates take a fifth less from every blow.
Lucky charm · 100	Your hero can fall once more before the run is lost.

Slots and picks

A run brings two keepsakes. A third slot costs 150 embers.
A keepsake you buy goes straight into a free slot. When the slots are full, swap which ones you bring at the Camp.
Your picks carry on to every run until you change them.
A saved run keeps the keepsakes it started with, even if you change your picks before you continue it.

What to buy first

Most early runs are lost the same way: the Town Hall falls on night one or two while the hero is away fighting. So the best early keepsakes are the ones that buy you time.

Full carts (15).Cheap, and the extra wood and stone get your first buildings and a palisade up before the first night.
Old hearthstone (45).The hall is how most runs end. A fifth less damage gives you time to get back and save it.
Warm cloak (25) or Grandsire's blade (35).Pick by how you die. If your hero falls a lot, take the cloak; if waves get to the walls before you can clear them, take the blade.
The third slot (150).Worth saving for once you have three keepsakes you'd always bring.
Seasoned timbers (70) and the Lucky charm (100).For longer runs, when dragons and giants start testing your walls and every fall matters.

These are our suggestions, not rules. One more family is strong if you like to build fast, and Tower plans pays for itself on any run where you'd build a watchtower anyway.

Tomorrow's chest

Come back on the next day and a chest of embers is waiting for you. The end screen and the pause menu show tomorrow's chest, what's in it and how many hours until it opens. Each day in a row holds more:

Embers in the chest, by days in a row
Day 2	25 (enough for a keepsake on its own)
Day 3	30
Day 4	35
Day 5	40
Day 6	50
Day 7 and every day after	60

Days go by your device's date, the same as Today's world. Miss a day and the count starts again. Every day also brings a new valley in Today's world, the same for everyone who plays that date.

Rise again

When a run is lost, the end screen offers Rise again, once per run. It takes you back to the morning of the day you lost, with your buildings, villagers, your hero's level and boons, and half your wood, stone and food. A run lost on day one goes back to the morning the hall went up.

Embers are paid once for each part of the run: if the risen run ends too, it only pays for what came after that morning.
A run that has risen once ends for good the next time.
It isn't offered on a win or in the opening siege.

Questions

Do embers and keepsakes carry over between runs?

Yes. Embers and the keepsakes you buy are kept for good, on the device and browser you play on.

Can I lose embers?

No. A run's embers are added when it ends, win or lose, and nothing takes them away. Buying a keepsake is the only thing that spends them.

Why can't I see the Camp?

The Camp button appears on the title screen once you have earned your first embers, so finish one run first. The end screen always has it.

Do keepsakes work in Today's world?

Yes. The keepsakes you pick come with you into any run you start.