A Trader's Story.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

This gonna be a made-up story which shows how i envision the addition of the Trader to the game.

I hope you like it!

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After many hours of treacherous trekking, the survivor had finally reached the depths of the Mountain Pass. A recent earthquake had opened up the way by dislodging a massive boulder from the small, narrow footpath leading higher into the mountains. They take shelter under a rock outcropping to escape the piercing, bone-chilling gusts of frozen air. So high up in elevation, the wind in this area was relentless. They drop their trusty technical backpack and makeshift satchel next to the immovable granite wall, and sit down to rest for a bit.

As they place their head against the wall, their gaze stumbled upon a handwritten note, pinned to the wall across from them.

"Ah, another one of these. Let's see what this guy wrote down before he froze to death."

The survivor stood up and ripped the note off of the rusty piton that attached it to the rock. They started to read.

"I've been watching you. Read this carefully.

You might be wondering why I'm leaving this note instead of confronting you face to face. Trust doesn't come easy nowadays, and I've learned to keep my distance.

I've been observing you and your journey in and out of the Far Range. You're resourceful, and that's a rare trait these days. But let's be clear, I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart. This is not a peace offering, and I'm not your friend. The truth is that an extra pair of hands never goes unappreciated, especially out here, and especially now.

I have work for you. If you're interested on getting some extra loot and equipment, meet me at the chasm.

P.S. I left some food under the brown rock."

-J

The spine-chilling emotion of paranoia ran through the survivor's body, somehow feeling even more intense than the cold outside this small rocky shelter.  Dozens of questions raced through their head one after another.
Another person was alive out here? They were watching them? Why didn't they say anything, how did they stay hidden for so long? Why didn't they-

A growl coming from their stomach put an abrupt stop to their thoughts.

The survivor took a deep breath, stuffed the note into their pack and went deeper into the cave to spot the rock the note was talking about.
They had brought food with them, but weren't about to say no to any additional fuel for the journey. Sure enough, there it was, nestled against the wall. Underneath, they found an energy bar and 2 granola bars. A welcome sight.

After some much needed rest, they continued their hike around 3 hours after sunrise. It was vital to avoid the blistering morning cold specially in this frigid, unfamiliar region. Pressing forward, they came across a massive rope bridge, not dissimilar from those in Ash Canyon, stretching across an equally massive chasm, with walls of jagged rock and rubble scattered across the ground, down in the depths. In the distance to their left, a narrow path, winding down into the base of the canyon.
"This must be it."

Finding the courage to resolve this mystery, the survivor hiked to the chasm's entrance, passing imposing formations of towering rock, making them feel small and vulnerable in comparison. Nothing could be at home here, not even the hardiest mountaineers would last more than a month in this place. Upon reaching the narrow path, they found a metal container, with another note under it. After surveying their surroundings carefully to ensure that they weren't walking into an ambush, or under surveillance, the survivor impatiently ripped the note from under the container and began to read.

"I don't have access to the lower parts of great bear. Why is none of your concern.

I need you to gather some supplies for me and bring them to a location where i will pick them up. If you can manage this, I'll make it worth your while.

Inside this box are 2 lists and a piece of charcoal. One list has what i want you to gather me, and the other details what i can offer you once you're done. Use the charcoal to mark two items from the second list, put it back in the box, and i'll bring them to you when you're finished.

Bring the supplies to High Peak Hollow, It's a cave up the Northwest mountain. Make sure to get there when the weather is CLEAR.
No fog, no heavy snowfall, and absolutely not during a blizzard."

-J

Feeling pretty relieved that this wasn't a trap, the survivor examined the two lists this "J" person has left for them.

SUPPLIES:

6 Cured Rabbit Pelts
2 Cured Black Bear Pelt
12 Ptarmigan Down
3L Lamp oil
8 Cloth
6 Painkillers

REWARDS (PICK 2):

Expedition Parka
Climbing Socks      
Technical Balaclava
Firestriker     
Cloth Bedroll
Rifle
Hatchet

The survivor marked down some the socks and firestriker, placed the paper back into the box, and set out to gather the required supplies for this exchange.

It took a around 2 weeks to collect everything, but the survivor remained determined. Surely, this trade would be worth it. Even if it wasn't, getting to the bottom of who this person was would be an accomplishment in itself. With the items packed in their backpack, they began to travel back to the mountain pass.

Once they entered back into the winding, twisting paths of the region, it was time to find the Mountain "J" was talking about. As the sun began to set, they entered a small clearing and took note of their surroundings. They figured out where north was using the location of the sun, and realized which mountain the note was referring to. This peak was higher than he had ever climbed before. Possibly higher than Timberwolf Mountain's peak, but they couldn't be sure.

The weather after the sunset was rough, but they hoped it would clear up by the time they managed to climb their way into that "High Peak Hollow" cave that note had mentioned. Thankfully, luck was on their side. The snowfall started to calm during the last legs of the ascent, the weather settling into a calm, windless cloudy night. A much needed break from the oppressive winds and snowfall that defined this place. After the grueling climb and a sprained ankle, the survivor limped his way into the confines of the cave.

After bandaging up their leg, they notice another note, this time under a rock. Beside it, an empty flare gun and a single shell.

"Good, you've made it.

Leave ALL of the supplies in this cave. Yes, i know this is a very remote and inconvenient area for you to leave the items. Like i said, i've learned to keep my distance.

When you're done, and the weather is CLEAR, load up the flare gun, and shoot it into the sky. Then, I'll leave your items down in the chasm. Follow the path where you found the notes with the lists. If you've brought all the materials i've asked you to, we can work again sometime.

For now, signal with the flare gun, and go collect your stuff."

-J

Without a moments hesitation, the survivor left all the listed items in the cave, loaded up the flare gun and shot it into the sky. Its radiant light reflected off the side of the mountain, shining brighter than any star in the night sky. Then, the descent began. The air was thin due to the altitude, and they could definitely feel it. It was nearly as difficult as the ascent, with the fatigue and limited oxygen only compounding the difficulty of this technical descent. But the promise of loot and perhaps even answers if they're lucky kept them focused on the way down. It took many hours, but they finally reached the bottom of the ravine. As promised, he found a brand new firestriker and some climbing socks once they arrived at the bottom, as well as one final note.

"Here's your reward.

I have more things to offer you in the future, if you want to do another run. As you can see, it can benefit both of us greatly.

Good luck for now. If you want to work together again, come to the station. You'll know it when you see it.

I'll give you further instructions there."

-J

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That was the story. Hope you liked it.

I always thought that it would be cool if we never actually got to see the trader, and just communicated through the radio or through notes.
It would enforce the feeling of loneliness, even if there's another person alive on the island. Also, it could be a super cool narrative mystery.

Who is this guy? Why is he stuck there? Why can't he communicate with you directly? etc.

 

Edited September 18 by BugReportEnthusiast
typos n stuff

[Sherri]

Omg I love this!

This would be a really great way to implement the trader. 

[rush247]

Sounds cool, but I'm one of those that wants to see them and gonna be disappointed if I don't.  Why make concept art like this if it's not going to be like it?  Also the radio doesn't have a voice com channel, it'd be weird if it all of a sudden did.

 

Edited September 19 by rush247

[BugReportEnthusiast]

7 hours ago, Sherri said:

Omg I love this!

This would be a really great way to implement the trader. 

Thanks! I spent a couple hours coming up with and writing this story.

It's definitely rough around the edges, but I think it solves a bunch of in-universe problems that the addition of the trader would create.

Why doesn't the trader just loot all the areas we have access to instead of asking us for trades? Because he can't go there for mysterious reasons
Why don't we see the trader outside the Far Territory? (This is an assumption, but i really think he'll be somewhere in the new regions) Same answer
Why doesn't the trader just straight up kill us to take all our stuff? Because he needs us to bring him things he doesn't have access to, such as lamp oil, metal scrap, cloth and other things that lower great bear has in excess.
Why don't we ever see him face to face (as not to ruin the atmosphere of survival mode)? Because he's paranoid and distrustful.

and the list goes on. Obviously communicating through notes creates another set of problems when it comes to easily trading goods back and forth, but maybe that could be where the shortwave shines.

Also, i just really wanna use the flare gun as an actual signaling device instead of a bear and moose killing cannon god damnit

 

[rush247]

15 hours ago, BugReportEnthusiast said:

Thanks! I spent a couple hours coming up with and writing this story.

It's definitely rough around the edges, but I think it solves a bunch of in-universe problems that the addition of the trader would create.

Why doesn't the trader just loot all the areas we have access to instead of asking us for trades? Because he can't go there for mysterious reasons
Why don't we see the trader outside the Far Territory? (This is an assumption, but i really think he'll be somewhere in the new regions) Same answer
Why doesn't the trader just straight up kill us to take all our stuff? Because he needs us to bring him things he doesn't have access to, such as lamp oil, metal scrap, cloth and other things that lower great bear has in excess.
Why don't we ever see him face to face (as not to ruin the atmosphere of survival mode)? Because he's paranoid and distrustful.

and the list goes on. Obviously communicating through notes creates another set of problems when it comes to easily trading goods back and forth, but maybe that could be where the shortwave shines.

Also, i just really wanna use the flare gun as an actual signaling device instead of a bear and moose killing cannon god damnit

 

Didn't say I don't like the flare gun idea.  I really think there ought to be a limit to what the trader can do for you so it doesn't seem so OP and that being the number of flare shells you have would be a good way to do it.

[BugReportEnthusiast]

1 hour ago, rush247 said:

Didn't say I don't like the flare gun idea.  I really think there ought to be a limit to what the trader can do for you so it doesn't seem so OP and that being the number of flare shells you have would be a good way to do it.

Not sure how i feel about there being a limit to how many times you can trade with him. Maybe there's a recharge time for items instead of a hard cap so you can't spam them. Like maybe you can only get one bag of flour out of him every 15 days. Something like that

But yeah i hope they somehow make us signal the trader with a flare gun, just cause it's cool