Short Story and Player Challenge

[ShawnB]

Short story below leading up to a "Live off the Land" player challenge in TWM. I'm also writing this to compliment my sandbox event thread as this story might reflect the type of situations that could fallout from this wish list mechanic.

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It had been months since the flare; civilization as we knew it was over.  After half a year of scavenging and struggle I had finally settled down. Pleasant Valley homestead had become, well, homely. My daily routine even left me time to read some books so I had learnt a few thing about leather work and wood craft. Maybe I would try crafting some snowshoes and a wolf skin jacket soon. That's when I lost everything...again.

There were uneasy sounds in the night. The darkness was watching me. Before I knew what was happening someone slammed a club to the back of my skull. Lights out.

I woke up in the dark damp basement, legs and hands bound. I could hear my new home being ransacked above. Fear, anger, and a dull shard of metal got my hands free.

Next I was running for the tree line. A bullet snapped past my head just as I reached cover. My escape was known but they didn't follow. They probably thought I wouldn't last long knowing they had everything I needed to survive.

I had scavenged every ounce of food and piece of equipment in Pleasant Valley. All lost now to those homestead thieves. Why hadn't I made some emergency stashes in the area, dam! I wouldn't make that mistake again. 

I quickly realized my only chance of survival was to get lost in the mountains. I was familiar with Timber Wolf Mountain after collecting all the food and some supplies from the plane wreckage. While there was no food in the region there was still plenty of equipment scattered throughout the area that I hadn't needed at the time and couldn't be bothered to lug out of the mountains. 

I would have to live off the land but it was my only hope to stave off the long dark.

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I really enjoyed this live off the land challenge, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

A lucky start in the mountaineers hut, early knife find and a few deer carcasses had me off to a good start and got me to deer clearing. Some mushrooms and berries gave me a few extra important calories.

A wolf took down a deer in deer clearing. These type of occurrences were always critical in this play through. I knew I needed more food so I wouldn't be starving on the summit. I'm not a fan of wolf fights (even though it is a viable survival method), so I fought the wolf off with a flare. 

I tried to use a brand to navigate the upper cave; that didn't work. The brands got a huge nerf, which was a great call. They hardly give off any light now. For the first time I feel myself really taking stock of other light sources and for the first time actually wanted to craft a torch. I ended up burning a flare to get through the cave, which felt like a huge waste but was necessary for the race to the summit as my food started to dwindle.

My summit stay was short as I had completely run out of food, but now I was stacked with good gear. After my first deer kill at the mountaineer's hut I finally felt in control.

I like the new parasite mechanic. It really encourages you to hunt deer rather than wrestle with wolves. Several times I was starving but had wolf meet and decided to run down my condition rather than risk getting a parasite.

I really had to change up my routine to fit in lots of hunting. Exploring, shuttling gear to my home base and crafting all took longer because hunting deer takes more time than scavenging food. Fishing was also essential for the first time to fill in dry spells when I couldn't find any deer and when I couldn't be bothered to hike to deer clearing.

40 days in and I had crafted all top tier equipment, besides the bear rug. I had 15 bullets and 1 lost arrow in deer clearing that I couldn't be bothered to find. I ended it there because I was too excited to try the same challenge in another region. Now I'm in Mystery Lake and finding things harder because there is no summit stash to rush to and the clothes I'm finding are low tier.

[ShawnB]

Another short story leading up to a scorched earth player challenge. Again, something that might be experienced in my sandbox event wish list item.

 

Rules for the challenge: 

1) When a building or building cluster is first seen roll a dice. On a 6 use it as normal. On a 1-5 the building(s) has been burnt to the ground and is considered off limits.

2) Carter dam, caves, mines, cars, bunkers and other buildings that have been partially destroyed (ie. Desolation Point church) are always allowed.

3) Timber Wolf Summit is off limits.

 

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I thought this winter was coming to a close. Temperatures were warming and the canopy was dry but snow and ice still covered the land. A few days after a violent lightning storm the horizon turned into a menacing column of smoke. I should have knows what that windy night would bring. I woke up to choking smoke and my only thought was to run out onto the ice. I didn't even think to grab my supplies. The world around me was an inferno. The dawn revealed a scorched earth and then the cold returned.

 

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1st try. PV night spawn in a cave. Wolf attack and freezing. Nearby fishing hut was my only hope...burnt to the ground. Dead 2 hours in.

 

2nd try. Desolation point start and the caves kept me alive. A basement in Crumbling Highway an island coastal house and one fishing hut were the only intact structures in the coastal regions. I was always on the verge of starving and freezing the first few days. Got forced into some night wood collection a few times which lead to wolf attacks. I pushed on to Carter dam via the ravine which forced me into some pitch black night travel. I finally found a jacket and knife in Carter dam and am now feeling in control.

[ShawnB]

Anyone try the The Hunted challenge but instead of racing to trapper hut, just survive as long as you can? This really keeps you on edge. Currently sitting on a cold ledge in TWM at 15% condition working off some cabin fever, watching the bear below pace back and forth.