A Few Dead Men

[Dan_]

2 hours ago, BareSkin said:

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.

I have pretty much the same experience from my loper runs, where snares barely break even the gut profits. Any short little blizzards and I'm out of snares again. I'm always fascinated to see people living off them in hard difficulty modes, I just can't seem to find good trapping spots with any consistency. 

[Drifter Man]

8 hours ago, BareSkin said:

I don't remember who disagreed on this, but I was thinking that ruined snares are produced during blizzards.

Yes that was me - the reason is that I once played with huge numbers of snares (20-30). One would expect that with greater numbers, more snares would get broken, but they didn't - the number of caught rabbits and broken snares was about the same as with 4 or 5. Also, when placed outside a rabbit zone, they wouldn't break (or catch anything, of course).

So I think they break on catch, just like fishing lines. If they catch a rabbit, RNG rolls the dice - it ends up either with a caught rabbit or a broken snare (and no rabbit).

[Drifter Man]

6 hours ago, Dan_ said:

I have pretty much the same experience from my loper runs, where snares barely break even the gut profits. Any short little blizzards and I'm out of snares again. I'm always fascinated to see people living off them in hard difficulty modes, I just can't seem to find good trapping spots with any consistency.

It's not that bad - my problem is that I started with nothing, and new guts take about 5 days to cure. So I've been losing snares without replacement. I should have a gut flood soon.

[BareSkin]

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

Yes that was me - the reason is that I once played with huge numbers of snares (20-30). One would expect that with greater numbers, more snares would get broken, but they didn't - the number of caught rabbits and broken snares was about the same as with 4 or 5. Also, when placed outside a rabbit zone, they wouldn't break (or catch anything, of course).

So I think they break on catch, just like fishing lines. If they catch a rabbit, RNG rolls the dice - it ends up either with a caught rabbit or a broken snare (and no rabbit).

Makes a lot of sense with such good statistics. I still think there's another hidden variable, since I've seen "new" snares breaking much much less than "old" ones with Bareskin11. Yes this guy got well organized with snares, pairing them by "age". Sometimes you have to find things to do outside to fight Cabin Fever, you know, there's no shame

Told myself there was some kind of hidden decay rate dropping at per the number of blizzards each individual snare had seen, a bit like a tool you use automatically once every 24h, with a breaking threshold. But I never went above 8 snares, so it's just pure speculation from my side.

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, BareSkin said:

Makes a lot of sense with such good statistics. I still think there's another hidden variable, since I've seen "new" snares breaking much much less than "old" ones with Bareskin11. Yes this guy got well organized with snares, pairing them by "age". Sometimes you have to find things to do outside to fight Cabin Fever, you know, there's no shame

Told myself there was some kind of hidden decay rate dropping at per the number of blizzards each individual snare had seen, a bit like a tool you use automatically once every 24h, with a breaking threshold. But I never went above 8 snares, so it's just pure speculation from my side.

It could be - I can imagine that snares have hidden condition that drops with time, rabbits caught, or blizzards survived. But after all, it makes no difference. We have to replace broken snares

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 38

Another snare is broken. Due to the small number of snares, I've been catching few rabbits lately and now struggle to get enough calories. I had to reduce the number of guts I take from rabbits to about 2 per day, otherwise it becomes a huge calorie sink, and I don't want to spend my precious knife on guts. But good things happen, too. I waited out a fog in the morning and got a clear day for a maglens fire. And I could add two new snares to the lot in the afternoon.

And since I didn't get tired enough over the day, I could apply a stim to exhaust myself before bed and get my condition back to 96% at the same time. Two more stims are still in reserve, stored in the first aid kit at the door.

Deadman 10 / Day 39

All-day blizzard that ends with a fog at dusk. I do my cooking, search the cave - still no coal - and return to the cabin to make new snares. I end the day with a calorie deficit, I had to eat two cattails in the morning and will have to eat more next day. But I catch 6 rabbits and now have 13 snares in place (none broke today). I can start crafting something else. Material is available for the bow, rabbitskin mittens, deerskin pants and deerskin boots. Although I don't have enough guts for everything at once, they will cure as I progress. I'm inclined to get the bow first.

I haven't got any sticks or other fuel over the two days and my stash of 42 sticks has reduced to 27. I need to restock soon. If only I could get coal from the cave! It's been two weeks, I'm impatiently waiting for it to reappear.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 40

Disaster strikes, exactly in my style.

I do my cooking in the morning and fill up my stomach. The weather seems favorable on the ML side of things, and I really need firewood, so I decide to go through the cave and get some at the rope to Milton. When I peek out at the other end, strong winds are blowing, mixed with heavy snow. But I need firewood, even if it means striking a match on the way back, so I drink hot tea and set out. The wind immediately blows out my torch.

For a while I manage to escape it by hugging the rocks but the winds seems to find its way and opposes me as I move forward. I hesitate: should I return? No, I need firewood. I reach the rope and already know I'll take freezing damage. I have no intention to go down, just take the sticks lying around here. Four or five, not really worth it. I run back, fail to balance myself on the fallen tree, and fall.

I said, I had no intention to go down the rope.

I have something sprained - wrist apparently, because I can still run - no time to check status. I make my way to the cave, which is warm enough. Also has 3 coals. My condition is 50%, all lost in the fall.

I sleep off fatigue and sprained wrist, return to the rope (taking sticks along the way), climb back and return to the cave. Again, the wind opposes my every move - first blowing from behind, to make sure I spend my temp bar during the climb, then judiciously turning around to make me fight for every step as I head to the cave. I take a great deal of freezing damage, ending up at 43%. I lost 53% condition in a single day. I call this "retirement".

So yeah, I got my firewood. I have 34 sticks and 3 coals. I'm too exhausted to return to Trapper's and sleep in the cave instead.

[Guest jeffpeng]

This is so disheartening.

[Drifter Man]

34 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

This is so disheartening.

Unfortunately, it's my way of doing things. I can avoid wolves, count sticks and rabbits, escape evil weather... and then I misstep and lose everything.

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 41

In the morning I look outside on the Milton side of things, in hope for sunshine that would save me a match. Hahaha... it's a notch short of a blizzard out there. I light the torch and pass trough the cave back to Trapper's. I find two more coals along the way: so they have respawned, but in small numbers. At the other end I use the torch to start a fire and make 4 liters of water and as soon as I'm warmed up, I check the nearby rabbit run and bring back two bunnies. I cook everything but the weather doesn't look friendly at all, so I just reduce the fire into torches and return to the cabin.

Bow or mittens? I haven't seen a wolf around here for at least 5 days, and I hate the cold. Mittens. I get two hours of work done and hear the winds stop outside. Time to see the other rabbit run.

Yes, it's a perfect, clear, windless day. Except that the second I reach the rabbit run at Max's (full of dead rabbits from yesterday), 100% strength winds begin to blow from the direction of Trapper's Cabin. I'm down to 39% condition by the time I reach it.

I declare the second rabbit run a no-go area except in fog. So far, fog has been the only weather that doesn't break into max strength wind in an instant.

So, now I have food and firewood, but I don't have condition.

Edited November 10, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 42

The morning is so cold that I quickly return to the cabin and finish my rabbitskin mittens. Temperature bonus increases to +14°C, but even with Cold Fusion it's nowhere near enough. Around midday the sun turns up and I do my cooking, but I don't trust the weather enough to go to the other rabbit run. I should get there at least once in two days though... a single rabbit zone will not be enough to feed me.

The sticks have respawned again, so it looks like a 5-day cycle. OK. I end the day with some spare calories at my doorstep. More crafting until it's too dark: Deerskin pants this time. I haven't seen any wolves or deer in a long time, but I've seen a lot of freezing temperatures.

Breaking down torches before bed, then stim to get back to 54% condition.

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 43-46

Four successful, uneventful days. Three deer show up at the homestead and the wolf from direction Unnamed Pond makes a brief appearance, but not enough to convince me that bow is a priority. Rabbits turn up regularly. When the weather allows, I take them from the second rabbit zone as well, but generally I've built up enough of a reserve to have some options. I don't have to burn fire anymore when there's no sun, and there are 5,400 calories lying at my doorstep.

The cabin is full of curing guts, more guts are in the cave. Sticks appear sparingly, so does coal, but generally I have enough fuel for cooking. Deerskin pants are finished, deerskin boots nearly finished, the bow will come next. I'm about halfway through to level 5 cooking - once I'm there, I should be free again to come out of retirement and roam the world.

[BareSkin]

7 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Mittens

Yes.  The mittens and boots could give you quick "bearable" temperatures in a Grandma's (and access to second rabbit run), and that would open access to the Pond. I'd follow the edge until I reach the bottom of the hill before the Blind, then straight right: tons of sticks. Weather/wolfiness permitting, cattails at the pond under a warming fire. With the new sticks and calories, I'd try to access the Bow that would allow you to refuel fuel (!) at Max and and the Pond Cabin. Easier said than done of course...

Just wondering, do you not carry the stims when going out?

[Ruruwawa]

On 11/9/2018 at 2:40 AM, Drifter Man said:

Deadman 10 / Day 35

Another stressful day. I started a fire at the cave entrance in a blizzard - yes, it is fully protected

This little tidbit totally changes my opinion of Trappers, because I never liked cooking outdoors there.  Not even the outbuilding (when it's there); it's too close to wolves and moose.  Thanks!

[Dan_]

3 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

This little tidbit totally changes my opinion of Trappers, because I never liked cooking outdoors there.  Not even the outbuilding (when it's there); it's too close to wolves and moose.  Thanks!

Never thought of that as well, still no fishing but it may just trump the Camp Office with a safe outdoor fire spot. 

Way to bounce back (no pun intended) from that fall @Drifter Man, you seem to be in very good position to set a new deadman record, snares permitting. 

[Drifter Man]

19 hours ago, BareSkin said:

Yes.  The mittens and boots could give you quick "bearable" temperatures in a Grandma's (and access to second rabbit run), and that would open access to the Pond. I'd follow the edge until I reach the bottom of the hill before the Blind, then straight right: tons of sticks. Weather/wolfiness permitting, cattails at the pond under a warming fire. With the new sticks and calories, I'd try to access the Bow that would allow you to refuel fuel (!) at Max and and the Pond Cabin. Easier said than done of course...

Just wondering, do you not carry the stims when going out?

True - crafted clothes make the late Interloper (or Deadman) temperatures more survivable. I have slightly different plans for my near-future Deadman, but for staying at Trapper's, it turns out I don't need the sticks from Unnamed Pond. Enough sticks and branches spawn around here - barely enough but enough.

I carry one stim always with me, even on Deadman - although I think that a situation that would call for a stim would essentially be the end of the a Deadman run anyway. I only remember using one in its emergency role once, following a bear attack.

If I have extra stims, I keep them at the base. No need to lug everything around.

[Drifter Man]

16 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

This little tidbit totally changes my opinion of Trappers, because I never liked cooking outdoors there.  Not even the outbuilding (when it's there); it's too close to wolves and moose.  Thanks!

There are more loading-screen caves seem to have windproof entrance - certainly the one in Winding River and probably also at Marsh Ridge. Enjoy!

[Drifter Man]

13 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Way to bounce back (no pun intended) from that fall @Drifter Man, you seem to be in very good position to set a new deadman record, snares permitting. 

Yeah I'm back  It didn't kill me. I don't even know what the record is though. My record is 49 days.

One way to think about Deadman condition: You have 235% in total - 100% is what you get to start with, the rest is in up to 9 stims, conditional on finding them in the world. I lost 49% until the fall on Day 40, 53% on Day 40 and 4% on  Day 41. So I'm not even halfway through my allocation - but I can't afford making stupid mistakes like this.

Edited November 11, 2018 by Drifter Man

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 47-50

Four more quiet days. With the deerskin pants, boots and rabbit mitts done, my temperature bonus is at 17°C even when the old "found" clothes are due for repair. I can move around relatively comfortably as long as I keep out of wind. I make not one, but two bows, and seven arrows altogether - I run out of feathers.

One interesting observation: Ever since I moved to 13 snares (6+7 on two runs), they have stopped breaking. I caught massive amounts of rabbits with only one broken snare. I have a theory why this is the case but in short, it seems that if you oversaturate a zone with snares, they will no longer break.

I don't get to see any wolves at Max's but when I wrap up my cooking at the cave on the evening of Day 50, I can hear them howl from there. I'm ready.

Edited November 11, 2018 by Drifter Man

[romerabr]

Take a rabbit up to a fallen tree, harvest it in small pieces, so your scent will be huge, and wait forr the wolves and the bear to line up below, and fire at will. From a tree, you can even retrieve an arrow from the back of a bear, making it very easy to kill. 

[Drifter Man]

23 hours ago, romerabr said:

Take a rabbit up to a fallen tree, harvest it in small pieces, so your scent will be huge, and wait forr the wolves and the bear to line up below, and fire at will. From a tree, you can even retrieve an arrow from the back of a bear, making it very easy to kill. 

I don't have a suitable tree nearby and there's no bear around, but otherwise you've summed it up nicely what I'm going to do. Fire at will I will!

[Drifter Man]

Deadman 10 / Day 51

Bad weather, utterly cold in the morning, blizzard in the afternoon. I remain indoors most of the time. Snares started breaking again, just after I mentioned it here. I had to replace three of them. Fortunately, my supply of guts is now practically unlimited.

When I picked up enough harvested rabbits at my doorstep, wolves appeared in the distance - two from Max, one from Unnamed Pond. They all lined up nicely, but the weather was too bad for a wolf hunt.

Deadman 10 / Day 52

Foggy afternoon. I need to cook, so I return to the cave and cook all the fresh rabbits from the past two days. It's late afternoon, foggy and warm* when I'm done. So it's time for a wolf hunt. I drink hot tea to last longer outside, grab a few torches, drop the cooked rabbit mean and water at the cabin, load up discarded rabbit carcasses and wait in the bowl under the cabin.

No wolf shows up. They're all gone again. I pay a visit to the second rabbit run and confirm that there are no wolves at Max.

*by "warm" I mean something like -30°C, of course.

[Dan_]

I like how you casually go about without mentioning breaking records. 

[BareSkin]

2 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

rabbit mean

Just curious for science in case you have an organized trapping: did the snares that broke together were crafted together?

[BareSkin]

1 hour ago, Dan_ said:

I like how you casually go about without mentioning breaking records. 

The Prophecy says:

Quote

There Shall be a "Number 10", a man from the Styx, that will end up retiring in the living world, for His love of cooked rabbit meat.