Challenge - Pyrophobia

[cullam]

I don't think this one has come up before, so here's a relatively simple challenge idea - whatever difficulty setting floats your boat, with NO fires. Obviously, you can't survive indefinitely without fire, as you'll eventually die of thirst. But how long can you last? There are a fair number of toilets out there, not to mention foods and drinks. Of course, this also places some restrictions on your ability to travel, as if you can't warm up with a fire, then some things get tricky. Hunting is also worse (although not impossible, as you can always just eat raw meat, and suffer the consequences). 

Who wants to try to go for the absolute upper limit on survival time without a fire? 

[cullam]

Attempt 1: Short lived. 

I spawned in the TWM gorge. I decided to go for broke, and try to make the summit. To avoid getting eaten, I had to climb the rope away from the wolves, so that was a bad start! I slept for a couple hours in the first tunnel cave, to try and recover some temp, but it didn't give me much. I managed to get up the rope to the deer clearing but then took longer than I should have to find the next one, due to darkness and heavy fog. I eventually found the rope, completely exhausted. At this point, there was no choice, so I climbed anyway. I made it most of the way to the top, but eventually fell off the mountain. Couldn't try again with a sprained wrist, and I was well in the red condition. I sat, and quietly waited for the cold to end it. 

[Cr41g]

not a very auspicious beginning...

this actually sounds interesting,I might have to give it a go

[cullam]

Attempt 2: A much better start
Woke up in the new Pleasant Valley. Nothing much to be found at the Lonely Homestead, other than hearing both the hooting of a moose, and the roaring of a bear at the same time. So it was run like hell time! Also had to dodge a few wolves, but made it to the barn safely. Picked up a crow bar, but nothing very exciting. Time to go find some toilets! Water is life, and when it runs out, I'm dead. 

The next stop is the farmhouse. A wolf caught my scent and started chasing me. I keep backing away, then duck through a hay shack and make a break for it. A nearby dear helps distract the wolf, and I make it to the basement safely. AND WHAT A BASEMENT IT IS!!! (I'm playing on Stalker, not Interloper - that will come later). I find a balaclava, a mackinaw jacket, a fisherman's sweater, and insulated boots! By the time I clear the house, I also have a Canadian toque, same simple tools. Plus of course, a few litres of water, 4 cans of pop, and some condensed milk. I go to bed satisfied, and try to work out a gameplan for the coming days. 

[cullam]

So what next? To truly maximize the length of time that I can survive, I'll need to loot pretty much everywhere, and do it as efficiently as I can, for the more uninhabited areas. So maybe the right move is to head straight to TWM, now that I have enough water to sleep for the night part way up. It would be nice to find a stim or an energy drink before I got there, to help with powering through the climb. But the fact is that I really need to figure out some sort of path, through the whole map, hitting all good water sources. The bad ones too, if I can manage it! I'll probably have to start rationing water, once I'm in a decent position. Guess I should sit down with a marker and a set of maps! 

[cullam]

I make up my mind, and head toward TWM. I'm likely to get all the clothes I'll need at the summit, after all, and I've now easily got enough water to get me up there. I'm sure I'll find a bunch more pop and canned food on the way, and at the top! Nothing much at the draft dodger's cabin, but I follow the new path, up to the plane crash. Aside from some thirst quenching airline food and pop, I find another fisherman's sweater, wind shell, brown and plaid wool sweaters, and sweet baby jesus, COMBAT PANTS! In some poor soul's luggage. Between Skeeter's Ridge and the bunker, I've also got a hacksaw, a knife, a hatchet, and even a revolver! So given that I don't have to think about my long term survival a hundred days out, I've got basically all the tools I'll ever need. 

In general, I'm trying to take looping paths that won't retread the same areas on returning. But the bunker is an exception, as there's no way around that area! So it's a great place to leave supplies that I won't need until later. I dump my quality tools, some sewing kits, some extra clothing, 3 litres of water, and some food that won't go bad. I also take the time to repair some of the clothing that could use it, finally slake my thirst, and go to bed. 

In the morning, I head up the rope and Woah! I just flew up that thing! Am I too used to climbing tired, or did they modify the climbing mechanics since I last played? On may way to the cabin, I hear a suspicious sound, so I take a wide path. Sure enough, we have another moose! I'd love to get me a moose hide satchel for this run, but I have no rifle or bow. I don't think a revolver or flare gun is going to do the trick... 

At the Cabin, I pick up some nick nacks, then start prepping for the trip. I've been wearing my two fisherman's sweaters, as well as insulated boots, and my mackinaw jacket over a ski jacket. But for this amount of climbing, I think it's time to switch to a mobile layout. Light sweaters, wind shell over a wool vest, and trail boots. I head out to the wing. A wolf chases my almost the whole way, and I'm now assuming that I'm going to need to spend some bullets, but he breaks off, just as a finally turn to face him. The crates have canned peaches, pop, lantern fuel, and medicine. On the one hand, I could just haul all this back to the cabin. I decide to press on, and make a detour to the lower tunnel cave. I can rest there, and leave all these goodies, not too far from home. Pushing on to the top cave, when I can't warm up at a fire seems dangerous, so I overnight in the tunnel. Tomorrow, I should find out if this was all worth it! 

[cullam]

With the morning sun, I head out towards the available rope (having dumped weight in the tunnel, down to 22kg). I make my way through the 3-way cave, around the hills, and up the rope to the deer clearing. Nothing much in that cave, but I stop by the containers. Lots of cured leather, some other random items, but nothing that will quench my thirst. That's fine. The bear's path is guarded by a wolf, so I make slow going along it. I eventually get to the rope, having been freezing for at least an hour. At the top, I'm nearly spent, as two climbs in one day is very hard on a poor survivor. I make my way through the tunnel by lantern light, and try to do what repairs I can, on the other side. I'll have to get a good night's sleep before climbing the final rope. 

In the morning, I head out. A quick check of the final cave to grab whatever goodies rest there, and then it's up the last rope. I stop half way up to catch my breath, but there will be no camp out for an hour: without a fire, it would cost me dearly. As soon as my sprint has returned, it's back up the final leg! At the top, I duck over to the cave, but most of what I find is for those who would brave a fire. So I head on over the the crash site. 

With my victory at hand, I am struck by a horrifying lack of foresight:  Without the ability to light a fire, being at the summit for long enough to loot all the containers is a very dangerous prospect indeed! I'm already freezing, and I've now got to stick around for long enough to take all the essentials, and THEN make my way back to a warmer place! This might have been a fool's errand... 

However, after looting a few containers, I've got a pair of expedition parkas, and I find myself at a FL temperature of 1 degree! I take a 1 hour nap to refill my gauge, and I'm looking to be in good standing! Upon looting everything, and leaving far more than I usually would, as a late game survivor's kit, I'm ready to go. I've got a rifle, a bunch more bullets, wool longjohns to spare, wool mittens, and every piece of drink or thirst quenching food that was present. I leave behind animal skins, and many redundant sets of tools. 

I'm over 45 kilos in weight, and although a well fed bonus has kicked in, taking the ropes down would be a bad option. A mountain goat's journey it is! 

But since the last time I've done this, the law of the code has shifted. The usual strategies I would take end up costing me far more dearly than I'm used to! And sprains now cost more resources to deal with! By the time I reach a piece of ground that was designed for human feet, I have many sprains and injuries, and my overall health is below 20%. In this shape, I'll not risk wolves and weather. I make my way for the tunnel, as fast as I can, in my limping state. In there, I light my lamp, and head to the other side. My current weight will be difficult, so I dump many items that I won't need yet, on top of the ones I discarded on my way up. 

Making my way back, I pass the time until I'm tired enough to really make up my terrible condition. I eat and drink, and pass out for the night. 

Given that I'm still over my weight allotment (but no longer is a massive, can't run kind of way), I decide that I should avoid ropes. I take the long way around to the cabin, having to dodge multiple wolves, and a bear along the way. It's a huge relief when I arrive. Once I rest up and dump all the thing that I won't need yet, I can head back up to the tunnel, and grab the rest of my supplies. After that, I'll need to o check if the other crates were smuggling liquids, and take whatever there is. But at this point, I think it would be fair to say that as long as I can keep it repaired, I'll have basically all the clothing that I'll ever need. And without long term survival being an issue, I'm basically just collecting bullets and the means of hydration. Once I've cleared the tunnel, and those extra crates, I'll be able to leave. The game of carefully planning my routes, sleeping places, and water, will continue. 

[Catlover]

Mind if I give this a go, after finishing my current challenge?