Adventuring Zones
Camp Kingsley is a large site, but the areas we actually use for play sit in a fairly compact stretch of it. To help both players and NPCs know what to expect where, the site is divided into three zones.
Town Zone
The central area represents Maplewood itself. Plots here generally revolve around being inside the town, and both PCs and NPCs should play accordingly. This is a lived-in place, not an empty backdrop, so don't act as though "nobody" is around just because you don't see any active NPCs or PCs nearby. There's no special rule tied to the Town Zone beyond that expectation, and unlike the other two zones, there's no limit on encounter size. If twenty player characters want to pile into a plot happening in town, that's fine.
Random Encounter Zone
Just outside town is the Random Encounter Zone. NPCs are periodically sent out here to run into whoever happens to be around and can be combat, roleplay, or anything in between. Player characters are welcome to roleplay patrolling this zone looking for something to find. NPCs here may occasionally wander toward town looking for easy targets, but most predators would rather not walk into a crowd and will generally stay out here.
Hooked Encounter Zone
Everything beyond that is the Hooked Encounter Zone. PCs should only expect to encounter NPCs here if they've been brought along by a hook meant to lead them to that specific encounter. NPCs in this zone act as wind toward anyone who isn't there with their hook — this keeps a group who's just followed a hook to a location from arriving to find someone else already in the middle of the plot.
You're welcome to explore the Hooked Encounter Zone any time, but don't expect to run into anything out here without a hook leading you to it; hooks come looking for adventurers in town, not the other way around.
If an encounter ends up happening where you're already settled in the Hooked Encounter Zone, it's appreciated if you're able to relocate so whoever holds the hook gets the encounter they were promised. If you can't move (for example, you're in the middle of cooking breakfast) work with the NPCs involved; either stay out of the way, or let them relocate and tell the hook where to find them instead.