Tales Of Tasha (1.45, SW7)

[Guest jeffpeng]

Hello Friends!

After a well deserved Hiatus, some family "Holidays" and almost two weeks of back-to-back project meetings (ugh!) I'm back with my latest installation of beating the odds, this time in @BareSkin's Sleepwalker Mode, Level 7. For those of you unfamiliar with what Sleepwalking is, take a good look at BareSkin's Sleepwalking to get a grasp of one of the most challenging and interesting modes of The Long Dark.

The exact mode I am playing is TLD 1.45 custom 8sHM-/j8P-Kxun-g6GO-7gAA, with no feats, no maps, random start and just very little hope. And right: It's time to explore my feminine side. So this series' protagonist is Tasha.

So, as always, without further ado: Here we go!

[Guest jeffpeng]

Tasha 1 / Days 1 and 2 - Broken New World

As a shout out to @Senauer: I got Broken Railroad on first try .... without even trying. Ha! That's how it's done. But now thinking of it: Broken Railroad sucks. It's about 12 am, so that's some hope I got, but where to go from here. I could go back to the Muskeg, but that prospect ain't much more enticing. Maybe .... yeah maybe I take a look and see what I'll get.

Welcome to the Land of the Damned.

The first thing I check is for the abandoned campsite left hand of the tracks, but with little luck. Just this short detour costs me half my warmth bar already. And it ain't even that cold with -15°C FL. Down the gorge near the Landslide and over the bridge without contest. No wolf here. Not sure if there ever is a wolf on Interloper. But I'm glad nonetheless. Not even back at the track risk of hypothermia makes its first appearance.

Only the (long overdue) revision of the layout of the map near the locomotive allows me to dodge a hungry barker coming my way. I walk it off making a crescent detour, but lose more time and more health. Near the locomotive I find an abandoned campsite that clearly is new as well and find some firewood and some sardines. Approaching the Maintenance Shed I spot a barker before it spots me by pure chance. Patrolling near the parked truck it poses a huge if not insolvable problem, but then time goes by, and the barker turns tail. Carefully I approach the truck.

I get past and from up here I already spot the next one patrolling the yard. I'm on the lookout for stones ... but cannot find any. Halfway to hypothermia I reach the small hut in front of it, crouching. When I believe it safe I make a run for the shed - I make it!

Restricted Area my ass!

No time to lose I get inside. Still -6°C FL! At least two more to at least survive in bed! I start searching. Matches! Books! I head for the fire barrel immediately, where I find some reclaimed wood. No tinder! Argh. I get the fire going on second try and warm up cooking some water. Then, torch in hand, I continue my search. Pork and Beans, a jerry can of 1.42 liter of fuel, a whetstone, scrap metal, more books, among them an issue of Stay On Target. All well and good - but nothing that helps me with my current predicament of freezing to death. I keep looking. Some coal at the newly installed furnace, a can of soda, dog food of all things, some more scraps. But nothing to wear... at all. I can't stay here, that much is certain. Not even the night. I boil my third can of water filling my warmth bar and set off again, torch in hand. 

The outside part of the shed yields nothing as well. Leaving a barker immediately tracks me. I head for the lake, having no choice anyways. I cross it with the beast still in tow, and just when I plan to make a fire at the deer carcass to combine the urgent with the important winds cross my plan - but at least my torch doesn't die. I dodge into the cave and make a fire.

Coal helps me warm up rather fast, but I need to reach the hunting lodge before nightfall. And that's very soon. I pull torches again and head for the blind first. A fire striker, wool socks, nuts'n'stuff. Marvelous, but how to get to the bridge? No idea!

Actually three barkers, yes.

I keep left, and wait on a ledge. When I see myself making the run I take it - and indeed do make it. Narrowly. Good thing barkers can't walk through gates. I make headway to the Hunting Lodge. Arriving there a bunny dies for my sins while the second barker patrolling in front of the house picks me up too late to stop me from reaching the door.

This must be what heaven looks like!

The house seems to be warm enough. At least most of it (the part with the stove and the basement are 6 degress colder than the rest if you didn't know). Matches, a can and a pot are valuable loot. I take a quick look at the basement and find the rope, but really: It's just too damn cold down there. Upstairs I find the stim plus a 38% ski jacket - yay! In another room ... 49% mackinaw. My decision to go here probably already paid off. And then ... the high price:

Makes so much so much easier.

This, along with the fire striker I found, also tells me on which loot table I am: Number two. In the back of my head I make the plan to look for the can opener in the Three Way Cave on Timberwolf Mountain on this run to confirm, once and for all, that can openers are indeed loot tabled as well. Maybe I make it this far. I eat my can of dog food and the sardines, drink up and sleep.

When I get up around 6 am I learn the hard way that 9 hours of sleep are a nono on SW7. I'm parched. Well. Living is learning and dying is learning the hard way. ~60% condition aren't good, but it could be worse. Giving the basement a second pass I find A Sewing Primer, but while I conduct my search my first blizzard arrives. No way getting out there. I spend some time tearing up a few curtains and then sleep some more to save calories. An hour later I leave through the back of the house. The cars yield nothing, but I spot the moose roaming the pond. No cattails for me. Sigh!

I warm up another hour and go back the way I came. I though about deploying the rope to get down, but I'll try my luck at the cave halfway to the gate. I pass a carcass on the way to the cave, and find another right in front of it. I make a fire to melt it and eat my cold pork and beans I had hoped to save for later - but it's no use. I need those calories now. The wind is harsh and my fire is everything ... but safe. But luckily, while cooking tea .... the skies resort to more benevolent behaviors. Said benevolence lasts not long and turns blizzard faster than I can object. But for some reason the fire is protected, and so I keep at it as long as I can. 

And it seems to me you cooked your deer with a campfire in the wind...

And it's dead. Sigh. I escape to the nearby cave and find it warm enough to hide in my bedroll for an hour or two. After that I have no choice but to light up yet again. Two hours later, which I spent one of sleeping, the blizzard subsides. But it's nighttime by now, and the winds are still way too strong. Two more hours later the weather is clear and mostly calm, and I pull torches and backtrack to the other carcass. I get the meat, but for reasons unbeknownst to me my fire dies in the 20 minutes I take 0.7 kg of meat. Wind? Just a bit, but not enough. Or was there? This is so unnerving!

My firewood reserves are depleted. Making it to the lodge with fresh meat is suicide. But I need the food. I turn back to the cave .... and start tearing up torches. I manage to cook the venison somehow and even cook a cup of tea .... but then I'm out of firewood. For good. I fling down my piece of deer and get back to the lodge. Luckily no barker contests my right to live, but the cold does and takes a bit more from me.

I sleep 5 hours. That should leave me enough calories to make it down the rope tomorrow morning and try to stay alive with cattails ... somehow. Things don't look too hot, if I'm honest. But .... not all hope is lost just yet.

[Senauer]

@jeffpeng, I am green of envy! 

Fortunately our dear @BareSkin gave me the ultimate tip to spawn in BR whenever I want, so that’s one problem solved!

For the time being I will stay away of Tasha’s story until you leave the Railroad behind, as I’d like to have as little spoilers as possible on this region.

Let us know please when you move into the Muskeg!

Best of luck out there. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Tasha will need to leave the Railroad ASAP. There are one or two more location I usually would like to visit, but as it stands her position is untenable. If she isn't out by day 5 she's dead ;-)

[BareSkin]

Bareskin 31 is a girl, and a sleepwalker 7, funny enough (removed the monologue).

I didn't write her journal, but she's fine in Milton Basin (I discover) on day ~30, forge trip done.

For my playstyle (moving much less), the SW7 was easier than the SW4, I couldn't handle the "very high calorie burst", it really requires to move more than my regular play style, I'm not ready yet. The biggest problem with SW7 and moving not much is, starting in ML with no ignition, handling the thirst was actually a challenge.

I'm so glad to see you try another Sleepwalker Good luck, and above all, have fun ! I'm preparing your opium addict diploma. It's hard to land in the wilderness when you have the body of a junky!

[Guest jeffpeng]

Tasha 1 / Days 3 and 4 - The Road

7 am, 370 calories to go, no time to lose. No time to lose? The blizzard doesn't care. Shuckz!

Well what are my options. Reishi. Got 1 Reishi tea, 1 Rose Hip tea, and I can craft 5 more Reishi. That's .... hm .... about 600 calories if I leave something for the actual medicinal effect. But I need actually something to cook it with. Damn. I actually break two crates ... which effectively costs me 31 calories each. I cook all the tea I can cook ... and now all I can do is wait - which is best done sleeping. Two hours later the blizzard subsides, and 480 calories are what I have left in the tank. That's it. No more magic tricks. I get going.

Not the most enticing prospect ever.

A quick look if I might goat down here not only reveals a big fat "no" but also this big fat bear. The dice really aren't on my side. Anyways. What choice do I have. When I arrive down there the bear has gone its way. But the wind stands in my face and I am back to freezing faster than I can say ohmygosh. Since I am already screwed I might as well collect some cattails now ... you might think. I didn't have time to screenshot it, but the miss with the bear was as near as it gets. Jesus!

I make it into the Maintenance Shed unscathed, but with just +1°C FL in bed warming up is basically impossible. I eat up on my 13 cattails, but I start to let go of hope to make it out here alive. When I go it's already 5 pm. The warmest part of the day, but the way ahead is .... terribly long, riddled with wolves and winds outside don't sound great. But I have no alternative.

I get past the locomotive and gather actually enough sticks on the way to make a fire with some of my lamp oil. I am lucky enough to collect 5 reishi - enough for 3 teas. One I drink immediately, two for The Road. I make it across the landslide and into the tunnel without contest. Reaching the Muskeg I hold left, hoping to find the abandoned Shelter. A barker stands in my way, but I torch him away. No sign of the campsite, and the barker returns at my heels much to soon. Next to two more reishis I make a fire again. I cook my tea, pull torches, and keep going. 

Yes, that's not good.

My best bet is the cave to Marsh Ridge. It should have carcass and should be warm enough to sleep. I reach hat creek without encountering any more threats, and still fairly warm, and eventually enter the cave without losing more health to the cold, my fire still going. Sadly I was wrong. Even with my torch the cave is just short of being warm enough. Damn. 

To make my predicament even worse: No carcass. Well, carcass or not I need to warm up and sleep. I put in an hour of fire, put on some water and sleep an hour. It'll have to do for now. Next stop: the original radio tower, and then maybe more luck with a carcass. The tower yields just some accelerant. Not bad, not good. But the carcass is there! I drop my fire and immediately sleep an hour, just trusting my luck with the weather. When I wake up the carcass has melted... but mere 0.6 kg of venison give me a long face. Man!

Well, you take what you get so I take what I got. I fling down my dead proteins and trust one more hour to sleep. I goat down and hope to have some luck at the cave. A good amount of sticks on the way, some reishi and a few lumps of coal inside the cave are good enough to finally make camp for a few hours. 

The next day starts just three hours later. I'm down to maybe 35%, and my overall calorie store is yet again down to triple digits. I prepare my reishis, make tea and gain Cooking II in the process. Yay! I sleep another hour before I get going again. 

Great - I don't see snow!

Thick fog lets me rely on my knowledge of the land - which evidently is lacking, but just good enough to find my way. At least I make some cattails before I reach the tunnel. On the other side I warm up yet again. I cannot afford making a break and losing 10-20% more for that. After two hours of sleep I get going again. The weather has cleared up a bit, and the winds are calm. I just might make it. A corpse on the way yields rugged underwear! This is so great, really. So many high day runs which I never found a second pair of knickerbockers! In this instant I realize I that I forgot to take the maglens from the shortwave. Dang! Anyways. The next one should be at the camp office.

I reach trappers, look inside for some firewood, leave disappointed, and make a fire at the carcass in the barn anyways. Another bottle of accelerant goes to make sure my 1% torch - which is my last torch - gets the fire working. Just 0.6 kg venison disappoint once again. I take the hide as well, but for more there just isn't enough juice left in the tank. I get back to trappers and sleep an hour to get rid of fatigue eating at my condition. After that I give myself a short break to search the place. Two pots, 0.7l of lamp fuel, an issue of Wilderness Kitchen, a sewing kit (finally!), a piece of cloth, and a can of soda and a thin wool sweater in the safe. Still no gloves, still no hat. 8 Hours of sleep finally conclude these two very strenuous days.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Btw I just realized that I'm actually playing with VERY HIGH calorie burn rate. So this is effectively Sleepwalker 8 without feats .... ^^ I guess I'll stick with it.

[Drifter Man]

New story I can follow from the beginning.... excellent  So it's essentially Deadman with a bit of recovery while awake and rest not as resource? And minus the feats.

[Guest jeffpeng]

23 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

New story I can follow from the beginning.... excellent  So it's essentially Deadman with a bit of recovery while awake and rest not as resource? And minus the feats.

Actually I do play with rest as a resource. But it really doesn't make much of a difference. And no, Deadman is a bit more, still. More wolves, longer detection ranges.

[BareSkin]

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

So it's essentially Deadman with a bit of recovery while awake and rest not as resource? And minus the feats.

The base is Interloper template, I didn't change anything about the wildlife. Only the needs and recovery rates. On your advice I activated Rest as a resource on higher levels. 2 feats are allowed, but you know @jeffpeng, he always needs it a bit more hardcore!

[Drifter Man]

I see - thanks for the explanation re difficulty level.

15 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

you know @jeffpeng, he always needs it a bit more hardcore!

That's right. Next time it will be Deadman-Sasquatch. And you're only allowed to eat raw bear meat

[romerabr]

When you need to use the Rosehips tea to get calories, drink 9/10 of it and leave only 15 calories, so you can still use it to heal sprains.

[cullam]

Now THERE would be an interesting challenge! Berserker: the only food you are allowed to eat is raw meat. Yes, medicinal teas are still allowed. You just need to work through the food poisoning. 

[Hotzn]

Keeping an eye on this...

[Guest jeffpeng]

On 15.1.2019 at 2:21 PM, romerabr said:

When you need to use the Rosehips tea to get calories, drink 9/10 of it and leave only 15 calories, so you can still use it to heal sprains.

I know and I do :-)
 

On 16.1.2019 at 2:29 PM, cullam said:

Now THERE would be an interesting challenge! Berserker: the only food you are allowed to eat is raw meat. Yes, medicinal teas are still allowed. You just need to work through the food poisoning. 

I'll be delighted.... to see someone else do this

[Guest jeffpeng]

Tasha 1 / Days 5 and 6 - It's just a freight train coming your way.

I get up around 4:30 am. Thirsting - again. I still need to adjust to the rate my body sheds water like it's nothing. My poor kidneys! Calories look dire. I've earned Well Fed by now, but I'm not sure how long it'll last. 30%-ish health doesn't look too promising as well. I get out and see if I can score a rabbit or two. It's cold, I don't have much time, but at least the world is starlit. Still: my efforts are in vain. No rabbits show up. 

I sleep another hour and drink my soda - which constitutes pretty much the last of my calories. I've got enough reishis for two more teas - so I prepare what I've got and start a fire. I cook my tea, warm up another I still had, drink one immediately, take two for the road and pull a torch. Only now I find a glimmer of hope in the bottom corner of the "gut shelf": A tin of sardines. Last resort, indeed. I leave behind some things, namely almost 2 liters of lamp fuel, the tool box and the deer hide - and go.

My neighbor: The Bear.

Having to dodge the bear I take the shortcut path that leads me via Deadfall - a place I usually try to avoid. But this time the reishi there are actually welcome. I pick up the can and pot there, but already plan to drop them off at the office - which is my destination for now. A wolf hinders my approach, but detouring parallel to the tracks lets me avoid it. 

Before I actually search the place I get upstairs and start a fire with my last dying torch. The few sticks I picked up along the way will have to do. With water boiling I start looking at what I've got here. The mag lens is very welcome, a whetstone and a hook are too, even if they don't really ease my immediate concerns. An issue of Field Dressing Your Kill, Vol. I invites me to cozy moments at a fire, reading with a full belly. Will I ever get to read it? I'm not sure.

A can of tomato soup is more welcome. But I still don't have anything to open it with. Good thing soda cans don't have that problem - I cheer at a can of Summit Soda in the file cabinet. I prepare some more tea and get out to forage some cat tails. I return to the office with 13 cat tails, but serious frostbite risk and the onset of exhaustion warrant a few hours of sleep.

When I get back up it's 4 pm, warmest hour of the day. My plan is to make it to the dam via Lake Overlook, possibly before nightfall, and spend the night there, then munch my way through Winding River, and somehow try to reach Timberwolf Mountain in one piece. I don't feel comfortable going to Milton without a weapon, but as it stands I don't have the funds in terms of calories to make a trip to the forge - plus I don't even have any saplings yet. I down my soda but keep the soup - and go. 

The carcass at the Overlook is sadly absent, so I settle for a rabbit while I warm up at a fire I made with Advanced Guns Guns Guns! With a relatively full belly, new tea and new torches I keep going. I sprain my wrist - fully justifies - hiking through the hills. The bigger problem is the weather.

Not the best day to be caught taking a stroll.

My torch dies and I'm considering to turn back. But me being me .... I push on, risking being caught in a full blown blizzard any moment. And the blizzard doesn't take long to arrive. Which wouldn't have been a problem in and of itself - but I actually lose my bearings and when I find them, I'm freezing and terribly off course, nearer to Alan's Cave than the dam I had aimed for. I reach the trailer without a bed roughed up good, shortly warm up preparing some tea and then sprint over to the other trailer. I pad through the dark, but eventually give up and settle for some sleep.

I wake up to the sound of the aurora at 4 am. I quickly search the trailer, but except a bandage don't find anything worth noting. I the truck parked in front I find matches and a granola bar - yay! I keep having bad luck with those carcasses as the one in front of the dam is missing as well. The dam is lit up - but cables are peaceful. I don't full trust them, still, so I navigate carefully and make my way to the safe and open it.

Spooooky.

My efforts are rewarded with useless Canadian dollars. But at least I find the hacksaw I actually came for. Down the stairs I finally find some cables I cannot cross - so I pull out my bedroll and sleep an hour. I need to warm up anyways. An hour later the aurora is gone. I light up and navigate through the darkness. I don't actually mind too much searching the place right now, but actually leave once I arrive at the lower dam.

I'm freezing faster than I can say ohmygosh. A wolf approaches me - but I torch him away. I have no time to play games! I must reach the cave. Quick! I do, but I pay for it, again. Another issue of Stay On Target mocks me since I won't ever get to read it. I eat my granola bar and my last cat tail and drink a soda I found at the dam before I sleep an hour to warm up. I cook tea for breakfast and get going again. I don't have time to hunt bunnies, but at least I don't miss out on any more cattails.

Again no carcass at the entrance of the transition cave. I kinda had planned for at least two out of three to be there. Dammit. At least I find some much needed firewood in the cave, and even a bit of coal. Reaching Pleasant Valley the world is foggy and obscure, but I find the Hunter's Blind and finally a carcass in front of the nearby cave. But it has just 0.5 kg of meat. Sigh! Again I take what little Mother Nature grants me and cook the venison. 

A wolf spots me leaving the fire and I back away. As the wolf suddenly turns tail and runs I don't think fast enough. I try to gain ground - but it's too late.

Still the friendliest face I've seen in a while.

For reasons I cannot fathom the bear doesn't leave .... but pounces again as soon as I get up. I was dead already, but this bear makes particularly certain I won't upset his peace any longer. I get pounded into The Long Dark.

I will remake this thread with the right description, so the title actually reflects the difficulty I'm playing on - and try again.

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

Still the friendliest face I've seen in a while.

They're really just lonely and want to play. @Timber Wolf could tell you, he made friends with one.