Return of The Ancients - my attempts at the Neo-Native challenge

[Leeanda]

Yay you're back👍🙂

[conanjaguar]

Native 9 / Day 1

I chose standard ‘Loper difficulty, changed the time of day and weather to noon and clear respectively, chose my standard two feats (Cold Fusion and Wind Runner (I think that’s what it’s called) and jumped into Milton.
 
Sure enough, I spawned in the ravine crash site! After disrobing and grabbing all the rose hips, I started climbing out. I got cold by the time I reached the plane itself, but frostbite risk was keeping hidden, fortunately for me.
I grabbed the two pieces of scrap metal and continued on my way.

 I tried to sneak past Wolfgang Wolf, but about halfway down the slope, he spotted me, and I ran for dear life, distracting him with a (live) rabbit. I grabbed two for myself, as well as a bunch of cattails, before continuing on my way.

On the way up to the radio tower, I stopped in the cave to grab some coal.I did find one of the new radio beacons, as well.

I began goating down the slope, and luckily, did not sprain anything. I stopped in a house to warm up before dashing across the street to a truck, narrowly avoiding a wolf that came out of nowhere.I tried to throw a rock at him from inside the truck… that was a big mistake. I exited the car frantically tried to find the handle, but the wolf got to me before I could get back in. However, I miraculously fought him off with minimal damage to myself.

Thankful to be alive, I sprinted the rest of the way to Grey Mother’s house and searched it from top to bottom, finding a mag lens (consequences be damned, I fully intend to use it), a cooking pot (scrap metal), and, in the upstairs cubby, the coveted Holy Grail, a cured maple sapling!

I harvested the pot and prepared my herbs (including some birch bark, so that’s nice), then ate cattails, drank toilet water, and turned in for the night.

Short note: If I find a firestriker tomorrow, then I will at least consider trying for a no-match run. Historically, firestrikers and mag lenses came before matches, so it seems fitting.

[conanjaguar]

Native 9 / Day 2:

I got up early to take advantage of the early morning sunlight and started a fire with the miraculous mag lens. I cooked the rabbit meat, harvested the hides and guts, prepared and drank a hot tea, pulled some torches, and found out that the weather had turned windy. Of course it did. Of bloody course it did.

I searched the bank and a few houses, not wanting to risk the wolves. Worthy loot included another cooking pot and TWO crowbars! One will be harvested, the other kept as a last-ditch wolf struggle weapon. This took a few hours, but the weather remained windy. I wanted to get to Paradise Meadows (Hell Meadows on ‘Loper) as soon as possible, and had the bright idea to journey down the river. My genius paid off, and I collected about 30 cattails, a bushel of rose hips, and some sticks, while staying safe from the wolves.

However, getting onto the property without alerting the tenants is all but impossible, and Bruno made it very clear that he was expecting me and that he missed me. I said hi and ducked in the truck to avoid any further incident. No key. I risked a run to the work shed. No key or hammer, but I did find a fuse. I have a hunch this will come in handy for the Tale later on.

Freezing, I waited in the tractor for Bruno and Rufus to become occupied with the bunnies, and went around back to grab the key from the dead guy. There were also a few chunks of cedar firewood, so that’s nice. I let myself in, and, with high frostbite risk, I ran to the stove. No matches. I went back outside; fortunately the weather had cleared up enough for me to light a torch with the mag lens. I wasn’t going to fail the challenge after all.

As water boiled in my three cooking pots and the house warmed up, I looked around for matches, a bit less frantic now. I found them in the least likely spot… a file cabinet in the office, where I would otherwise have missed them.

There wasn’t much left to do, just harvesting the pots after the water boiled, and tearing up some curtains, as well as brewing a bunch of teas. I hit the sack with a (relatively) full belly of cattails.

[conanjaguar]

Day 4 and I’m on my way to Mystery Lake! I’ll try and spruce up the story up a bit more than I’ve been doing.

[Leeanda]

Looking forward to reading it😊.  

I see nothing wrong with your story .. 👍. 

I hope you're not planning on tangling with those salesmen ?😁

[conanjaguar]

4 hours ago, Leeanda said:

Looking forward to reading it😊.  

I see nothing wrong with your story .. 👍. 

I hope you're not planning on tangling with those salesmen ?😁

It haven’t been as embellished as I used to make it…

I most certainly do not 😁. The six day curse is soon to be a bitter memory!

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, conanjaguar said:

It haven’t been as embellished as I used to make it…

I most certainly do not 😁. The six day curse is soon to be a bitter memory!

Good for you.👍.   Pesky salesmen need telling who's boss!   

 

 

[conanjaguar]

The 6 Day Curse is broken! Native 9 might just be the one!

Native 9 / Day 3

Nothing much happened today. In the foggy early hours of the morning, I gathered up my stuff and left Paradise Meadows. Fortunately, the terrible twins were wandering around elsewhere, so I was free to travel without fearing them.

By the time I got to Grey Mother’s house, the weather had turned clear. I noticed a newly-sprouted cluster of giant oak trees in the territory of the street gang wolf pack, but I was not in the mood for losing more condition, so I made note of it for later.

Inside, I warmed up a bit while organizing my gear, harvesting my cooking pots (and one of the crowbars), and tearing down the curtains to make bandages for the sprains I was sure to get.

I then went back out, checked for wolves, and went to harvest the acorns. Now, since this was in the middle of a wolf pack’s territory, as I mentioned earlier, and it was too windy to light a torch, I was taking a big risk.

The gods smiled on me, however, and I was able to return with a few acorns to shell in the waning hours of the day.

Native 9 / Day 4

I awoke to a blizzard. Perfect traveling weather, since I didn’t have to fear the wildlife. So, I took my crowbar and sallied forth through the storm to the Orca Gas Station. I didn’t find anything useful, but it was a place to save and rest up a bit for the next leg of my journey…

The blizzard held, and I took a bit of time to deplete more than a half-dozen oak trees of their bounty; I had perhaps 20 acorns when the blizzard began to let up and I reached the Ranger Station. However, something puzzled and unnerved me. Most oak trees had a predictable three acorn spots. However, some of them looked like they had already been taken.

Just then I heard a roar over that of the blizzard, and I didn’t feel like gathering acorns anymore. Besides, I told myself, my 70% frostbite risk wasn’t going to wait. I ducked into the Ranger Station and used my first match of the run to light up the fire while I rested to prepare for the climb ahead.

I awoke in the late afternoon. The weather was cold, but not terribly; walking with a torch, it was only a -5 FLT. I was careful not to repeat the mistakes of previous Natives, and climbed down the first rope, rather than risk the goat. It paid off, and I was able to keep my torch lit to boot! I continued through the little area, bopping two bunnies, grabbing some mushrooms, and scaring off a wolf, as well as finding another pack of matches in the cave!

I got to the second rope with the wolf on my heels… literally. I kicked him in the face and began climbing for dear life. Once I got to the top, I briefly paused to warm up some hot teas to get me through the transition cave. Since I had a bit of extra time, I grabbed a few pieces of coal before emerging at Trapper’s Clearing. 

Of course there was an aurora, but fortunately, there were no wolves out to take advantage of it. I sprinted to the cabin, grabbed a quick screenshot, and ducked inside. No hammer, but I found a bedroll. That’ll come in handy for scrap. I went to the stove and began cooking my rabbit meat, feasted on the treat, and then went to bed.

Native 9 / Day 5

So… I may have discovered an exploit. Last night, I left on the stove to warm with just enough firewood to accomplish that before going to bed. When I woke up 10 hours later, the tea was still hot and ready for me to drink.

Fueled by this elixir of life, I savaged the local bunny population before returning in the late afternoon to harvest the spoils. I also prepared all my herbs and acorns and began a cooking marathon that lasted for the rest of the day.

Day 6 dawns… the curse is broken!

[conanjaguar]

Native 9 / Day 6

After boiling up some water to wait out the nasty weather, I went down the railroad tracks to the Camp Office. Rusty didn’t rush out to meet me, so I was rather disappointed.

In the Office, I found a pack of matches, boiled more water and slept a bit to warm up for the next step: searching the lake cabins. After getting caught in a blizzard and using most of my firewood, I collected my reward of a handful of cattails and returned to the Office to sleep.

Native 9 / Day 7

Onwards to the Dam! The predawn weather was foggy and cold, but not windy, so I was able to torchwalk my way past Rusty and his gang while harvesting acorns. Hypothermia risk announced itself a few times, but hot tea kept it away until I reached the trailers and slept for a few hours to warm up (and avoid Rusty ).

A few hours later, I re-emerged triumphantly! I had found the coveted heavy hammer in an out of the way corner in the Lower Dam, which was definitely much darker than when I had visited it last. Outside, a blizzard was in full tilt, so I could travel back to the Office free of fluffy concerns. After preparing acorns and harvesting more scrap items (including a lantern), and finding my third box of matches under the bed, I went to bed. Things were looking good.

 

[conanjaguar]

Native 9 / Day 8

I awoke and stepped outside to gauge the weather. It was snowing thickly, and the flt was -30C. It was obvious that a blizzard would start soon, so I spent most of the day recovering condition organizing my stuff for the journey through the ‘Keg. At this point, I had:

• 50 sticks
• 20 pieces of cloth
• 8 bandages
• 6 Old Man’s Beard Dressings
• 6 assorted teas
• 10 tinder plugs
• 6 pieces of coal
• 12 pieces of scrap metal
• 10 or so decent quality torches
• 7 cattails
• 5 large prepared acorns

I was ready to rumble whenever the weather eased. My food supply was a bit precarious, but I was planning on stocking up on cattails in the ‘Keg. If the weather turned sour, I could build a fire and a snow shelter anywhere and wait it out.

Native 9 / Day 9

I awoke to a heavy fog… but there was no wind, so I could travel with torches. So I drank some hot teas and sallied forth, grabbing a few pieces of birch bark and collecting sticks along the way. At the rail tunnel, I heated up more tea to fortify me for the walk down the railroad tracks.

In the Keg, the weather was a bit colder. I ducked to avoid a wolf near the entrance and sneaked a bit, before continuing on my way to the Poacher’s Camp,  grabbing cattails all the while. There, I found a bonanza of scrap metal; an entire five pieces, as well as a bunch of coal and another lantern to harvest. 

The bear was in town. I waited for him to pass while boiling more water and harvesting the lantern. Unfortunately, the ‘Keg still remembered my efforts to conquer it; a blizzard blew up. Frustrated, I built a snow shelter behind the train car and slept a few hours. The blizzard passed, but it remained windy, and yet I couldn’t waste more time; I had to get to Spence’s ASAP.

I picked cattails and spotted the High Blind. Unfortunately, I got careless and fell through thin ice as soon as I touched the opposite side. I got hypothermia. A wolf barked and charged, once; twice. The first time, I bounced a rock off his proboscis, but something was bugged; he went back to attack immediately afterwards. I beat him off with the hammer and staggered around for a spot to build another snow shelter. I lit a fire and collapsed for a few hours, until the wind shifted and blew out my fire.

Desperately, I stumbled around for another spot to light my fire, and poured all my fuel into it. However, I didn’t have enough sticks to build another snow shelter. I desperately broke down two scrub bushes and a torch, built another snow shelter, and climbed in with less than 2% condition.

My last ten hours on earth were spent in a glorious aurora. I alternated sleeping, taking screenshots, and adding single sticks to extend the fire’s life as long as possible. With four hours left to recover from hypothermia, I actually thought I could make it… if the weather stayed warm enough for the snow shelter to keep me warm. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

There was no hope. I had no fuel, no food, no nothing, just 15 pieces of scrap metal jangling uselessly. Rather than spend the last few seconds laying in the snow shelter, I decided to go out on my own terms. I walked out onto the thin ice and stood there, waiting for it to break.

[Leeanda]

Oh no!!!!  That's rotten luck...   

Those are some stunning views☺️

[conanjaguar]

4 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

Oh no!!!!  That's rotten luck...   

Those are some stunning views☺️

The ‘Keg has claimed more of my survivors than any other region . I will conquer it one of these days.

[Leeanda]

6 minutes ago, conanjaguar said:

The ‘Keg has claimed more of my survivors than any other region . I will conquer it one of these days.

That and Milton....   Have you thought of using a different forge and then go to forlorn?  

I have trouble finding food in FM. Even with weapons but if you have none you're severely limited .

 

[conanjaguar]

Y’know, an insane thought has been poking the back of my head since I found the Lambda Bunker… it had a cured maple sapling and several birch.

If I can repeat that, then it’s possible that future FM-starting Natives might have a bow as early as Day 2 🤔…

Edited June 22, 2023 by conanjaguar