A Few Dead Men

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 31

The morning is crisp and cold, but the cave is warm enough.

I finish "Sewing Primer" and further pass time by repairing my second toque, which brings me to mending skill level 2. Great, I will die skilled. From the cave I can see wolves patrolling the path I must take today.

Around midday, the winds stop and light fog falls. Weather gods are with me. I sneak out of the cave to assess the situation and as soon as I see the first wolf, I build a fire and make hot tea. I stand up and attract the nearest wolf. I'm concerned the I can only see two. Where is the third one? Hidden by the terrain to my left? My experience says that it is the third wolf that will kill you.

When I'm fully warmed up, I take a torch and walk straight towards the ice, taking advantage of the two wolves being temporarily too far away to detect me. I nervously approach the edge of the muskeg. There is no third wolf. At the ice line I start a new fire with the torch, this time just to make more tea and top up my temp bar with it.

The two wolves come at me again, one by one, and when the second one runs away, I run too. I make a few dozen meters before one is on me again, growling. I stop to make a fire and while I'm toying around with the settings (I want the torch, stick and accelerant, dammit), I can hear the wolf charging. I click "start fire" with whatever is there (firestriker, reclaimed wood) and stop the attack. The fire succeeds.

They're so aggressive - I'm fully rested, in good condition, a burning torch in hand, not encumbered, and they still attack on sight.

I let the wolves approach once more and again, when they're running away, I run. I run until I'm out of breath.

I'm safe from the death squad.

I pass by the High Blind (I already looted it on Day 1, so I don't stop to check) and pick an occasional cattail or stick. I make my next warming fire southeast of Poacher's camp.

While I'm warming up, crows fly overhead. A change in weather? I don't believe in this old TLD adage but a change is due, it's been foggy for several hours.

Bad news: the bear chose "Path 1" today and will be blocking my own path now. As opposed to the bear, I cannot choose. I try to avoid it by crossing the railroad tracks but it catches wind soon and comes at me. I cannot avoid it - it's radar is too wide on Deadman settings.

Although I wait until the last moment, the flare shell misses the target. I think someone suggested to me here that I should hunt a deer with the flare gun. I can't hit a goddamn bear coming right at me.

Before the rail tunnel I collect a few sticks because I'm low on firewood. The skies are clear now, whether or not the crows had anything to do with it. I realize I forgot to reload the flare gun (!) and quickly correct my mistake.

A while later, nearly out of temp bar, I reach Trapper's cabin. I am home.

I find a letter under the door, from the Government:

 

Dear Mr. Deadman,

We are pleased to inform you that effective from Day 32, you are entitled to a pension of 5 (FIVE) rabbits per day, permanently. Enjoy your retirement.

Best,

Wolfgang Wolf

Great Bear Social Security

---------------------------------------

I sleep for an hour in bed and then use the last daylight to place six snares at the nearby rabbit run. I'm too tired to go to the other run, and it's too cold and windy by now. Then I undress, eat a few cattails and go to bed.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Drifter Man

[BareSkin]

2 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Enjoy your retirement.

Oh man, you did it! I just hope Trapper's good enough to sustain a deadman (lived for days on Sleepwalker mode, maybe you'll need more snares). I'd turn every rabbit into snares until I reach at least 10. The more the better, anyway you'll soon have nothing else to do in your days (except jackets of course, and wait for the Moose).

1 last advice if I may: don't pick rabbits before putting the snares back: sometimes Trapper's has this "deadly" wolfy that is never here except to kill you once every two weeks: be it from Max, there's a patrol on your side of the hill, or from the Pond, same, sometimes a wolf will patrol your side. Since there's no cabin fever in deadman, I'd put the snares back, then pick up the rabbits and run to the indoors.

It's fascinating how you pull up challenges in 10 runs. Next try "Deader Still" mode you proposed, if I remember correctly?

 

[Dan_]

Hohoo! Yet again you pulled it off. 

Will you keep us updated on this run? Can we expect the first deadman to get to the 100 day mark?

[Guest jeffpeng]

*blows a party horn* hooray.

Man what a finish. This was actually closer than I expected it to get. Impressive.

I wonder how long you could actually sustain yourself there. Probably the biggest killers at that point are the bear and moose that are not there most of the time - or the sucker-punch-ambush-wolf @BareSkinmentioned. And routine, of course.

I always find myself resourceful and alert in high pressure situations, but being in a routine survival mode gets me killed way to fast, skipping steps you'd never skip otherwise, taking a path, and being killed by the bear/wolf that wasn't supposed to be there, gathering that additional, last and not totally necessary piece of firewood and contracting frostbite for no reason whatsoever, or outright ignoring the blizzard on the roll. Maybe it's "easier" as you cannot even afford to lose condition (at least not much, not often).

Anyways.... hella grats. You did it.

[Drifter Man]

20 hours ago, BareSkin said:

Oh man, you did it! I just hope Trapper's good enough to sustain a deadman (lived for days on Sleepwalker mode, maybe you'll need more snares). I'd turn every rabbit into snares until I reach at least 10. The more the better, anyway you'll soon have nothing else to do in your days (except jackets of course, and wait for the Moose).

1 last advice if I may: don't pick rabbits before putting the snares back: sometimes Trapper's has this "deadly" wolfy that is never here except to kill you once every two weeks: be it from Max, there's a patrol on your side of the hill, or from the Pond, same, sometimes a wolf will patrol your side. Since there's no cabin fever in deadman, I'd put the snares back, then pick up the rabbits and run to the indoors.

It's fascinating how you pull up challenges in 10 runs. Next try "Deader Still" mode you proposed, if I remember correctly?

Thanks! I aim for 12 snares, right now I have 7 and one gut waiting to be turned into an eight. This way I should have always at least 5 snares on each run.

I'm also concerned about safety. Max is almost constantly patrolled by 2 wolves and I've seen one in the direction of Unnamed Pond. I plan to do exactly what you said - put snares back first, then grab the bunnies and run home. I may have to pay ransom to them before I start culling the wolf populations. Or get culled myself.

I don't think I'll be moving past Deadman - first, I still don't know if the retirement plan works. Second, there are things I really like about it, like no cabin fever. We don't have to go to such extremes

[Drifter Man]

20 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Hohoo! Yet again you pulled it off. 

Will you keep us updated on this run? Can we expect the first deadman to get to the 100 day mark?

I will keep you updated. As for plans, let's see first if I can actually survive at Trapper's. Can I actually get enough rabbits, permanently? Will the wolves be manageable here? Will I be able to do my daily chores outside (firewood, rabbits) without losing condition, even as the world gets colder and colder? Once I have answers, I'll start thinking about 100 day marks

[Drifter Man]

18 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

I always find myself resourceful and alert in high pressure situations, but being in a routine survival mode gets me killed way to fast, skipping steps you'd never skip otherwise, taking a path, and being killed by the bear/wolf that wasn't supposed to be there, gathering that additional, last and not totally necessary piece of firewood and contracting frostbite for no reason whatsoever, or outright ignoring the blizzard on the roll. Maybe it's "easier" as you cannot even afford to lose condition (at least not much, not often).

It always happens to me, too. That's why I think there are few really long Interloper runs - lower difficulties are more forgiving when it comes to single mistakes.

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 32

Strategic planning was not high on my agenda yesterday when I was dodging wolves and bears in Forlorn Muskeg, so I end up without water in the morning and have to strike a match and start fire in the stove. While the water is boiling in my two cooking pots, I review and organize my resources.

• Firestarting: magnifying lens, 48 matches, firestriker at 77%.
• Clothing: dress shirt, thin wool sweater, thermal underwear, jeans, 2 ski jackets, 2 toques, 2 pairs of wool socks, 2 wool ear wraps, fleece mittens, trail boots + a hoodie I no longer wear.
• Material: 6 deer hides, 8 cloth, 2 cured leather, 4 cured guts, 2 maple saplings, 5 birch saplings, 14 arrowheads, but only 22 crow feathers.
• Tools: improvised knife at 100%, hacksaw at 96%, 2 whetstones, 3 sewing kits, prybar, hammer (a mistake - I wanted to leave it at the forge), flare gun with 6 shells, 2 flares, 7 snares. Bedroll.
• Medical: 3 emergency stims, 16 antibiotics, 12 painkillers, 9 prepared rosehips, 6 prepared reishi + 8 herbal tea and 2 coffee.
• Myself: a bit worn out by recent adventures but healthy, 81% condition.

The cured guts are a surprise - I thought I only had one. I quickly turn them into 4 new snares. Firewood is a concern: I brought very little with me and the area around Trapper's doesn't have many locations for sticks.

When the water is finished, the sun is already up. I check the snares to find one rabbit and one broken snare. The fire is still going, so I harvest the meat, cook it and eat it, then take a torch and search the cave. Conclusion: no coal has respawned since my last visit on Day ... (checking my old entries) .. day 25. Only seven days ago. I was quick.

I sleep for most of the afternoon because of heavy fog at the homestead. When the fog lifts in late afternoon, I move to the second rabbit run and place 5 snares there. A wolf is guarding Max's Last Stand. I also collect a few sticks but there really aren't too many. As a temporary measure, I harvest a scrub brush.

I repair my jeans and check the first rabbit run before bed: two more bunnies caught. I harvest them at night but I don't cook them - maybe the sun will allow me to cook next morning without having to spend a match. Cattails for dinner, then bed.

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 33

Five bunnies caught, 2 broken snares. I'm back to 8 snares and guts still have a long way to cure. Sticks are definitely going to be a problem. After all my worries about food, I might not get enough firewood.

[BareSkin]

No spoilers about Bareskins, but I'm pretty sure you can live there forever. They have to be well fed every hour too, like deadmens, and if the settings are the same you should be OK, at some point I even stopped trapping the rabbits.

Later, you'll actually want wolves to spawn because you'll be cooking 5 and they are food. Yes, the fuel will lack. What I did was:

1/ keep the rabbit carcasses for their Scent potential

2/ when you are sure the Max's wolves are here, light a protected maglens in the burnt barn just nearby, and lure them by picking 3 or more carcasses, hunt the 2 wolves, don't eat the meat yet but start curing the skins to make a jacket (1 whetstone= 1 knife)

3/ Since the 2 Max wolves are dead, go for the branches there. Firewood is more important than raw meat, you'll deal with the nearby dear and rabbits later. Also, on early game make sure you grab the coal that respawn in the cave.

4/ Stockpile meat as soon as you can by hunting the deers that spawn in front of your doorstep.

5/ Rinse and repeat with the wolf patrolling the hill going to the Pond, draw the wolf by Scent, staying at your doorstep, and shoot it. Once dead for sure (get skin if you can), go for firewood there, and asap go for the Pond Cabin: lots of sticks on the way, and neat the Cabin itself. I would transfer following the edge of the map, since other wolves patrol on the Deadfall side. You can't be attacked if you follow the edge with no scent.

6/ Concentrate the firewood in the cabin for it to respawn later, and grab all you can back to Trapper's. Make sure you make water stockpile as soon as weather is sunny.

7/ Once you have deer pants and wolfskin coats, the trip to the Pond cabin is super-safe in warm hours. The Pond Cabin is your fuel source and will be your most dangerous activity in the beginning, but soon enough all wildlife will disappear. Good thing you stockpile cooked venison and water.

-You might even see a Moose at Trapper's, or bear at the Pond, but as a deadman I would strongly avoid making them angry. The coats and pants you have are already enough to survive Deadman, and you have no cabin fever risk.

One of the BareSkins is at Trapper's, waiting for the Skaters adventures to end, with 150 sticks in the locker, 20-ish coals, 15L water, some cooked food... his main problem now, is to know when the cloth will lack to repair head gear, since Sleepwalking includes cabin fever.

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by BareSkin

[BareSkin]

[Drifter Man]

Thanks for the tips @BareSkin! I can't go after the wolves yet while the firewood situation is quite urgent - it's more like "how do I survive the next 5 days?". But I think I've got an idea. Actually I need very little firewood, but still more than what I can readily get right now.

Do wolves enter the barn by the way?

I haven't thought about the Unnamed Pond cabin as satellite base for firewood. For what I know, wildlife on Deadman does not thin out over time.

15 hours ago, BareSkin said:

I'd love to actually find that note at Trapper's one day

[BareSkin]

40 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Thanks for the tips @BareSkin! I can't go after the wolves yet while the firewood situation is quite urgent

Do wolves enter the barn by the way?

I haven't thought about the Unnamed Pond cabin as satellite base for firewood. For what I know, wildlife on Deadman does not thin out over time.

On a warm day and with pause in the cave, you can reach sticks quite safely keeping the edge of the map towards the Rail Tunnel. And have a chance of a re spawned coal. The Pond side is too dangerous, and not that much stick-y. There's also some stuff to brake at Trapper's, if decoration is not your thing.

The barn is the same as the Spence's, but I wouldn't bet it is Holy Ground. I'd bet it is if you're staying in the "crouched" part, but I never tried. I made a protected fire inside it and attracted the wolves with rabbit carcasses. You get several tries protected by the fire, plus the arrows are grabbed back easily.

The Cabin Pond, I don't see another strategy, I ended up doing this for a reason (necessity). The path is safe as far as as you if you keep kissing the left mountain, then run down to the Cabin when you're above. I even took some smellies once, but the sleepwalker detection range of wolves is the same as Loper. Best practice is leaving some cooked food and water as soon as you can (there's rabbits nearby, and deers).

The thing is, the next days are more dangerous than any other next ones: wildlife disappears with dropping temperatures. The wolf jackets and deer pants might be key items to make safe trips for the Pond Cabin firewood later on.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by BareSkin

[BareSkin]

46 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

I'd love to actually find that note at Trapper's one day

I guess that could be implemented as a Challenge quite easily. The code is simple: Make the user click "Challenge/Deadman", Start Survival game with deadman settings, make the latter spawn if player survives for 30days. Description: "The catastrophe has seen you heavily contaminated with radiation. You want to realize your dream of killing a wolf before dying in your Trapper's Cabin. No time limit, who knows, you might even survive?"

Edited November 7, 2018 by BareSkin

[Dan_]

On 06/11/2018 at 8:49 AM, Drifter Man said:

Deadman 10 / Day 33

Five bunnies caught, 2 broken snares. I'm back to 8 snares and guts still have a long way to cure. Sticks are definitely going to be a problem. After all my worries about food, I might not get enough firewood.

This is one of the reasons I champion the Camp Office as the best base in ML, there's plenty of firewood from the woods close to the deadfall area through the edge of derailment to sustain yourself until a new fire is needed. If there's wolves by the derailment, I run to the lake and gather firewood from the woods behinds the lake cabins. Bunnies are much harder to come by, though.  

[BareSkin]

That's exactly it: Or the Camp/Cabins for easy fuel but you have to hunt wolves, or Trapper's for easy calories. I ended up swinging these two bases until I got a wolf jacket. The rabbits, are at Overlook, but it becomes cold very fast...

[dead frozen dude]

There used to be a rabbit patch in a kind of a nook along the tracks towards the Muskeg tunnel... it's right next to the Dave's Corner, but from the other side of rocks.

[Drifter Man]

20 hours ago, BareSkin said:

On a warm day and with pause in the cave, you can reach sticks quite safely keeping the edge of the map towards the Rail Tunnel. And have a chance of a re spawned coal. The Pond side is too dangerous, and not that much stick-y. There's also some stuff to brake at Trapper's, if decoration is not your thing.

I was actually going to try the pond side, but as you recommend, I'll go to the Rail Tunnel instead. I was once attacked by one of Max's wolves there so I don't trust that side. However, danger lurks everywhere.

In most cases, danger has black fur, four legs plus a tail, and barks.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 34

So first of all, this indoor stove has dreadful fuel economy and I'm not feeding it anymore. I'll do my cooking at the entrance to the cave to Milton. The fire should be safe there and I will get a duration bonus.

Second, how many sticks do I need? Let's say I want to cook 5 rabbits and 2 liters of water per day. 5 rabbits = 6.25 kg meat = 170 minutes of cooking in a pot. Add 2 liters of water, that's 108 minutes, for a total of say 280 minutes per day. With two cooking spots (and two pots, which I have) this is 140 minutes of fire = 19 sticks per day. Not a lot - but definitely more than I can get around here. But if I make full use of the outdoor temperature bonus, I can bring it down to around 10 sticks. And I'm just a little step away from cooking level 4 and firestarting level 4 - both should decrease my needs considerably, maybe to 8 sticks per day.

So when I get these levels and restock on coal from the cave, I should be fine. But until that moment, it's going to be tough.

As soon as I can see outside in the morning, I grab the raw meat from my doorstep and run to the cave entrance. I drop the meat there and sleep for an hour in the cave - my temperature bar is half spent already from the short dash in the morning. Then I "match-torch-stick" light a fire and get to work. My supplies amount 20 sticks and 1 coal, I put almost everything in to stay warm. While the meat is cooking and water is boiling, I visit the first rabbit run: 2 rabbits caught, one snare broken. I'm down to 7 snares from my initial 11 in just 2 days! I return to the fire, harvest the rabbits and wait.

When I'm done, I pull torches until the fire is down, go through the cave and collect sticks at the rope to Milton (I don't go down the rope). I greedily take everything - branches, torches I left behind. Return through the cave, taking more branches. At this point it's late afternoon, it's been foggy all day, and I'm exhausted. I sleep for an hour and visit the second rabbit run: three rabbits caught. I rebalance snares between the zones and call it a day.

I end up at 35 sticks, not bad. But it was hard work without a break all day. Not my idea of retirement!

[BareSkin]

5 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I was once attacked by one of Max's wolves there

Yes, there's a patrol that sometimes comes "mountain side" at the Cave choke point. But you're warm from the cave so you can spend some time hearing for footsteps, and if heard, back to warm cave waiting a bit. The Pond side is safer, but has not much sticks near the mountain. If you have a lot of time (wolf jacket), it's definitely a better option, are sticks are everywhere just before you arrive at the Pond.

Your sticks mathematics are good on a rabbit-only hypothesis. I'd stay on my idea of killing 4 wolves, and the 3 deers that spawn at your doorsteps. Venison is another matter, much more fuel-efficient. The wolf jacket and deer pants greatly extends your late-game range, an allows for post-day50 runs to DeadFall and Pond Cabin for fuel. After day 50, there's not much anything more than sticks to speak to anyway...

[Drifter Man]

19 hours ago, BareSkin said:

Your sticks mathematics are good on a rabbit-only hypothesis. I'd stay on my idea of killing 4 wolves

I can't kill wolves - guts are still curing, no bow, no arrows... I have a few sticks and snares and have to survive until tomorrow

Edited November 9, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 35

Another stressful day. I started a fire at the cave entrance in a blizzard - yes, it is fully protected - and cooked everything plus a good amount of water, however at a cost of 16 sticks (after I pulled torches and recovered the excess fire). In addition, only three rabbits were caught today. The second rabbit run didn't give me any food. The first guts are about 60% cured, still at least two days before I can make more snares.

I managed to steal a bit of time to craft one arrow.

In the afternoon I tried to reach the area close to Rail Tunnel but quickly realized that in spite of good weather I can't make it there and back on one temp bar without fire. I aborted halfway and returned to the cabin.

Unfortunately, things still look bleak. I took a hit with those 4 broken snares and in addition to having no fuel, I now have nothing to cook.

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 36

This morning I made a quick dash to the second rabbit run to find two caught bunnies. Adding to another two from the first one, I have something to eat for today. Sticks respawned at the cave entrance, indicating a roughly 5-day respawn rate - this may however change. Coal has not respawned yet in the cave. I reach firestarting level 4 - together with cooking level 4, which I already have, this should reduce my fuel consumption by 20%.

The dash to the rabbit run cost me a tiny bit of freezing damage, but condition still holds at 81%.

I make two more arrows. First guts should finish curing tomorrow. In a few days I should have enough to start crafting bow and clothes.

Edited November 9, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 37

Another busy day at Trapper's Homestead. Today I needed a match again. It can't be helped, I have to cook every day. I wish I could build up a reserve of calories and only cook on sunny days, but that probably won't be possible until I can eat wolves.

Taking advantage of a foggy afternoon, with a warm drink in my stomach and a torch in hand, I make another trip to the Rail Tunnel for sticks. I barely make it back before the temp bar runs out and the result is utterly disappointing: two sticks plus a torch I left behind long time ago. There are lots of branches, but I can't harvest branches. Instead, I cautiously climb the hill in the direction to Unnamed Pond and score a few sticks there.

I make two more arrows and - with my first cured gut - a replacement snare. Impatiently, I run outside to place it on the rabbit run - to find another snare ruined. My effort was futile, I'm still at 7 snares.

I'm curious whether I can reach level 3 archery without firing the bow - with three copies of "Stay on Target" and five arrows crafted I seem to be on the track.

As much as I'm concerned about fuel, the situation is not that bad. Somehow, at the end of the day, I have 42 sticks in my backpack. High firestarting and cooking skills are both helping, my fires are almost free. Almost. What is more worrying now: I'm getting up at a later and later time. I don't have the time over the day to do everything I want. And I'm going to need more time for crafting!

It is C-O-L-D!

[BareSkin]

35 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

to find another snare ruined.

I don't remember who disagreed on this, but I was thinking that ruined snares are produced during blizzards. IF this is so, Deadman settings are clearly a huuuuge disadvantage, since the weather turns really often, it produces much more short blizzards.

My immediate idea to produce some more free time for crafting would be, as soon as you have deers and Max Wolf, to grab rabbit carcasses/guts and make the wolf attack the deer, then use the Flare gun to steal the meat (or fire on flat ground). But I get that Deadman produces less deers than Loper settings.

Harvesting leveling might help you soon too.

Edited November 9, 2018 by BareSkin