Drifter Man

23 hours ago, BareSkin said:

My 3 snares on JackRabbit produced 3 rabbits every morning for a week. I didn't need more on Loper, but I guess a deadman could live very long there, with the nearby fishut. Fuel would be the main problem, not calories.

Thanks for the info!

Deadman 3 / Day 31 (continued)

This afternoon I want to make it to the Cave between Waterfall and Marsh Ridge. There is no shelter on the way except two hollow trees I know of, and they may not be large enough to house a fire. I choose the direct path - it is shorter and I will see wolves from a distance. I may not be able to avoid them but I'll have time to build a fire. To reduce weight, I'm leaving the hammer and prybar behind. I'll also drop some water - sticks can be turned into water but not vice versa. If things don't go well with weather, I may be able to return and sleep at the Homestead but obviously I'd prefer not to.

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I make a few steps out of the homestead and get barked up. The wolves have relocated and are now patrolling right here. I make a tactical retreat and consider waiting for tomorrow, but tomorrow it will be the same thing. The wolf keeps walking around the building as if waiting for me to leave.

I steel myself with another hot drink, wait for the wolf to be on the other side of the building, and then run. I make it to the jetty where another wolf approaches. Still winds have turned into strong winds in a few seconds. I can't see where the wolf is coming from. Dammit, this is turning into a nightmare.

Eventually I sight it coming at me and send it away with the flare gun. I run along the jetty, reloading. The wolves do not pursue. Quick check of the weather: -12°C, even in the wind. I can pause and grab cattails, but deer carcasses are out of the question.

I make it to the first hollow tree - it cannot house a fire, so I start one next to the tree. The firestriker I brought from TWM in 70% condition 20 days ago breaks down - I've been working it hard all the time. Wolves are blocking the direct way to Hat Creek. Wind kills the fire before I'm fully warmed up, but I finish myself with a reishi tea (my third today; more will follow). Next warming stop is at the train.

Again, wind gives me about 15-20 minutes before killing my fire and driving me out. I sneak between the train cars and check for wolves on the other side. One on the left, two on the right, but the path to Low Blind is open.

The Low Blind has a piece of cedar and a book on archery. The wind is blowing harder now, felt -20°C, and I have no cover. I start another fire at the bottom of the rope to Marsh Ridge (but there's no rope, obviously - yet). This time it's 20-30 minutes, wind turns around, kills the fire, and I go on. I see nothing in these conditions, hope that the wolves I saw on the ice mean there will be none at Hat Creek.

I turn out to be right. Since the wind is now blowing from a favorable direction, I'm sheltered by the slope and reach the Waterfall without difficulty. Dog food and cattails for dinner, then sleep in the cave. I protected my condition but it was one hell of a run. Did anyone say I don't even sweat? [78270 calories consumed]

19 hours ago, BareSkin said:

Congrats!

Sounds you didn't even sweat.

Thanks! It wasn't easy, but it was easier than the picture people paint here. It's a snowball-level challenge. You can't heal but you have warm shelters, no cabin fever, you don't have to think much about long-term issues.

19 hours ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

So do you think with enough luck, planning, an understanding you would be able to survive 100+ days?

I believe the first 30-50 days can be survived by looting maps. I guess than around day 50 the world will be too cold for anyone to move around much. So it depends on whether I can get calories systematically in one place, without ever going anywhere far from base.

I'll reformulate it. It depends on the rabbit rate in the Ravine. Back to the same equation I was solving two years ago in the Dam.

1 hour ago, Hotzn said:

Congratulations, @Drifter Man. Guess my bet was well-placed.

If 30 days are possible in the way we have seen here, 100+ days must be possible as well. Since food is the criticall resource, everything should become much easier once you manage to kill a moose. Bear might also work. Is parasites a thing on Deadman?

Thanks! Yes, I underestimated my chances.

There's the qualitative difference I mentioned above. Moose are hard to find, you can't wait for them. Parasites are active on Deadman.

17 hours ago, BareSkin said:

Pretty sure it could help a lot in a DeadMan anytime you stop somewhere since calories are golden, but that's a rare scenario. At a Forge or workbench maybe?

I'm thinking about it

40 minutes ago, Hotzn said:

I have never noticed the snares having any effect neither on the 'spawning' of dead rabbits in the snares nor on the 'respawning' of live rabbits in the vicinity.

If this is true, then the potential could be great. I placed snares once during my Snowball days in TWM. First day, 3 out of 4 caught a rabbit. Afterwards, no rabbits, at most one per several days. It wasn't worth running in the cold to place them and check them, so I gave up and never used them since.

If @Vonwoah can get 11 rabbits in 2 days (ok, say 3 days) from a single zone, think of the three (or four) zones in the Ravine. That would be roughly 5000 calories per day. OMG.

While being dead is not as cool as it was two weeks ago, I claim the title of a successful deadman with 30 days survived. I'm forging in Forlorn Muskeg, in 62% condition, well fed and well supplied, although I keep in mind that Fortune can turn her back any time on a deadman. Some fun facts:

• No "dirty" tricks needed. You can play a normal interloper game, just be more careful in some ways (protecting your condition, collecting food and coal - all you can find) and more reckless in others (spending matches and other non-renewable resources, ignoring loot that would be a burden I the short term)
• Efficient Machine and Cold Fusion feats are immensely helpful, I'd choose them again
• I used 4 stims, so all my remaining condition is practically from stims (Lighthouse, Cinder Hills Mine, Summit, PV Barn)
• I got my flare gun from the Summit on Day 10 and spent 4 flares so far. I haven't been to the Ravine yet.
• I lost 23% to due to falls (goating where I shouldn't be goating), 3% to food poisoning, about 15% to starvation, the rest is freezing, especially early in the game. I feel I'd do better if I start again. But I'll go on until I die!

Full account here: 

http://www.hinterlandforums.com/forums/topic/21204-a-few-dead-men/

Deadman 3 / Day 30

It's foggy now but I know better than to walk outside in early morning. Round the next bend I'd be building an emergency fire of 40 sticks. I'll wait until midday and if the weather is reasonable, I'll slip by the Bunkhouses and approach the Homestead from the north. Ideally I want to work at the forge through the night (knife + as many arrowheads as I can get material for - I have 6 pieces of scrap with me). Then sleep in the morning and leave in the afternoon of Day 31, destination Marsh Ridge.

If the weather isn't good today, I'll wait in the cave until tomorrow. No rush.

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I use the morning to read "Survive the Outdoors" and sleep, leaving the cave around midday, felt -6°C, in light fog. I avoid wolves at the Bunkhouses and build a fire next to a deer carcass between the Bunkhouses and the Homestead, harvesting and cooking neat 2.0 kg of meat in place. Wind nearly blows my fire out but this time I'm able to babysit it until the meat is done. And since I haven't eaten since last evening (in expectation of this opportunity), I can also eat it on the spot - no risk of attracting wolves. The deadman mode teaches you appreciate the sound of meat sizzling by the fire even more

As the Homestead is free from wolves - only deer are around - I pick up a large amount of sticks, finishing with more than 70, in addition to 10 coals I have with me and some 10 more in the building. Warm drink keeps me from freezing in the wind as I return to the forge and start the fire.

First I only put a few sticks in, let water boil in a can, and search the barn. Simple parka - a good piece of clothing but slightly heavier than the ski jackets I already have. I'll leave it behind. Matches, Sewing Primer, two sewing kits, guaranteed 1000 calories in the form of dog food. Surprise in the tool container:

My second cured gut found! I force open the locker, nothing inside. Several pieces of scrap metal are around together with coal and firewood, I pick them all up. I don't break any crates - I'll leave the accelerant and anything that possibly is in the safe behind. Then I put in coals and start forging.

First I verify that I can make water in the can while crafting arrowheads. I can - 3 minutes left before it boils dry. Then I work until after midnight. With a knife and 8 arrowheads done, I add sticks to the fire and go to bed.

Deadman 3 / Day 31

I wake up in the morning, check the fire, eat dog food and sleep some more. In the late morning there's heavy fog outside. Early afternoon, it clears up and I'm fully rested. I've beaten the 30-day challenge. [76900 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 29*

*I marked the previous entry as Day 27 by mistake. It was Day 28.

So, by chance I wound up at Muskeg Overlook and found lots of food there. But I'm low on fuel and have to find a way out of here without freezing - shelters are hard to come by in FM. Now it's morning, too cold and too windy, so I'll keep my fire and try to collect any sticks I overlooked last night. Then I'll backtrack, using deer as decoys where possible, and collecting more sticks on the way. Ideally, I want to reach the western cave (closer to the Homestead) by tonight, where I can sleep without fire, at least for most of the night. Hopefully I'll then be in position to go to the Homestead and work at the forge for a day.

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The clear, windy morning quickly turns into heavy snow with strong winds, felt -34°C. I'm happy to find many more sticks in the area, and always return to the fire to warm up. I harvest two scrub brushes as well. I'm no longer worried about fuel. I sleep in short time increments to stay ready, and a reishi tea is warming next to the fire. When the winds give way to light fog - for a moment there's a strange, unnatural combination of winds blowing in the fog - I drink the tea, pack my bedroll, take a torch and go.

The wolf guarding the entrance to the Overlook is not there. It wasn't there yesterday, I would have noticed - I find my campfire right in the middle of its usual patrol area. The deer herd is gone, and I follow the shoreline to the west, avoiding the eastern cave and its guarding wolf that attacked me yesterday. It is warm with felt -4°C to -6°C. I notice a deer carcass on my right, but I focus on the priority. I first locate the cave I intend to spend the night in.

Inside the cave it's felt +18°C. I'll be safe here, and there are no wolves around. Now it's time to care about the deer carcass.

It has only 0.7 kg of meat, so I'm quickly done with it. Next stop, High Blind.

A bottle of accelerant, a book (Survive the Outdoors), some firewood, but most importantly, a truckload of cattails. I keep picking all cattails I can see on the way in and on the way out. I end up with about fifty.

No need for fire tonight. The cave bonus, the bedroll, my clothes and the "Cold Fusion" feat let me sleep safely until dawn. I'm less than 36 hours from completing the challenge and about 25000 calories from hitting my calorie target. [74450 calories consumed]

Some excellent info here - thanks.

I gave up snares after I couldn't catch nearly anything except the first day I placed them. Next day, and on the following days, they'd be no rabbits anywhere (hopping or caught).

I'll give them another try.

Deadman 3 / Day 27

I had more food than I could eat in one day, so my plan was to stay at the Camp Office, collect some firewood and cook. Things turned out a bit differently.

First I checked the surroundings of the Office: sticks have respawned. Good. I used my hammer to break down some furniture - a chair, a few crates. Reclaimed wood is actually better than sticks for warmth and duration (per weight basis), it's just bad for firestarting. I cooked my venison and ate two steaks right away.

In the afternoon I can't resist: clear weather, no wind. Yes, wolves will scent me, but two pieces of cooked venison can't be so bad. Tomorrow I may not get the opportunity. I drink a hot tea, pick up my venison and follow the tracks towards Forlorn Muskeg, picking up more sticks on the way. It's my lucky day, no wolves are around.

I hesitate for a moment whether I should make a fire to the right from the railroad and collect cattails. I lose some minutes thinking. Winds pick up. I have to run to Poacher's Camp. On the way I'm checking for wildlife. The W-7 wolfpack (to the north of Poacher's Camp) is not here, bear B-2 follows path 1, which means it will take some time before it approaches the Camp. I slip into the boxcar and start a fire. I lose 1% to freezing. Inside and around the train I find a tomato soup (still edible), a flare, some coal and some clothes. I find a good hoodie and put it on.

When I'm warmed up, light fog falls. I continue to the south towards High Blind, through areas I know to be wolf-free. I'm encumbered now, but I stop to pick up cattails - I'm never coming back and food is precious. I find High Blind but I don't go there. By the time I reach solid ground, fog thickens and visibility is now very poor. The cave should be here! I can't find it and wait for too long before starting another fire. 2% condition lost.

It's dusk now. I need to find shelter but I'm not quite sure where I am. The cave must be nearby. To the east or to the west? I think I know FM, but everything looks different in heavy fog. I try going a bit in both directions, always returning to the fire. I sprain a wrist and an ankle, fix both even though it means I'm down to 2 painkillers. I still have some rosehip tea in reserve.

I decide to go west. After a while a wolf approaches me from the front, I send it running away with the flare gun. A mistake possibly, I wasn't too cold, I could have tried to walk away. I think it was one of the Bunkhouses pack, so I must be too far to the west. I return to the fire, warm up and go back east. There are three deer on my left. There shouldn't be deer on my left, not here! Then I see another deer in front of me, and I realize where I am. The wolf was the one that guards the eastern cave (the one with coal) - the W-14 wolf. I was too far to the east, and now I ended up at Muskeg Overlook.

I'm still warm, pick up some sticks, find the hollow tree and start a fire. Search the corpse and backpack for a pack of salty crackers. Harvest deer carcass for 1.7 kg venison. I cook and sleep in short time increments, worried about the wind, but the wind lets me live.

In the morning I'm in 62% condition. I have 1500 calories in my stomach, 1.7 kg venison, salty crackers, tomato soup and over 20 cattails. I'm low on firewood though, coal won't keep me warm out there. I'll have to take care of that today. [71750 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 27

This will be make-or-break day for Deadman 3. With empty stomach, 10 cattails and maybe 10 drinks left, he has to find substantial amounts of food by tonight, whatever the weather. The best procedure would probably be going to the Ravine and killing a deer with the flare gun. Even if it fails, I would still find some food, cattails and deer carcasses there. But then I'd never get to Forlorn Muskeg. And it wouldn't be much fun.

So, against my better judgement, I'm going to the Muskeg today. I'll dash to the Camp Office first, take a break and warm up. Then on to Poacher's Camp. I want to park in the cave that is nearer to Spence's (it tends to have no wolves, although there can be a moose around) so that I don't have to burn fire all night. At this moment I have 11 coals and 36 sticks. But if I don't make it there, I'll camp at Poacher's.

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Well, things didn't go quite as planned, but the situation is closer to "make" than "break".

Morning felt temperature -20°C outside Forestry Lookout. Brr! I start the day with an empty stomach, so 4 of my cattails go straight away. I start a fire in the stove and make tea, then take a torch and leave. When I reach the tracks, I'm on my guard for wolves but instead I find a deer. It runs away from me but my plans immediately change. I drive it onto the lake and let one of the wolves kill it. I approach until the wolf reacts to me, then take my best guess and shoot. Unfortunately, I miss and the wolf runs away. I start a fire next to the carcass and boom - light fog turns into strong winds in a minute - the fire is dying even before the the fog effect lifts. Things didn't use to be this way, you could reasonably rely on the weather to stay consistent rather than changing by 180° any time. Not anymore.

I retreat from the wolves - they pursue but don't attack - and take shelter in the Camp Office, sleeping for 3 hours. The winds subside, it is clear now. I return to the carcass a second time, start a fire. I manage to get 6 kg out before winds again kill my fire. I cook and eat two pieces on the spot, pick the remaining four and make a run for the Camp Office.

Now I have food but almost no firewood... I have 10 coals but don't want to use them yet. And I need to make water and cook that meat. I'll have to figure this all out. [67630 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 26

Today I don't want to make the same mistake of leaving too early. The world is too cold. But I must move out around noon at the latest and seek food. I'll search around the railroad tracks and hopefully visit the Forestry Lookout. It usually has some food and maybe a hammer, which would allow me to craft a knife and arrowheads in FM

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First I repair my bedroll and harvest some cloth found at the office to have spares for repairs. Before noon I start a short fire in the stove, cook some reishi mushrooms and rosehips I found in the last few days and warm up my last can of pork and beans that will keep me warm as I go to the Forestry Lookout. Weather outside is nice - light fog, felt -12°C. I cross the tracks and collect some sticks. I check out Derailment from above - there is a deer carcass but the place is swarming with wolves. So not today.

A few snowflakes fall. Soon winds pick up. When I reach the Forestry Lookout, it's all-out blizzard. The lookout has a hammer, whetstone, Sewing Primer. A bandage in the first aid kit and a box of tools. No food. NO FOOD.

I can't leave in a blizzard, so I sleep in short intervals, hoping for it to end. The blizzard ends when the last daylight does, almost bang on. I munch on cattails and read books through the night - apparently it's clear enough for me to be able to do it. I finish the Sewing Primer and Frozen Angler, then I eat more cattails and sleep again. I have 10 cattails left. Unless I find more food, I'll be starving by the end of the next day. [64480 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 25

Since my situation is about the same as yesterday, I decide for another round of fishing. I want to go to another fishing hut but I underestimate the cold in the morning and am forced to start a big fire in the nearest one again - I still take a 1% hit from freezing. The fishing goes even worse than yesterday - a 4-hour fishing session plus two short ones (while the fish are cooking) gives me one bass and one whitefish, for some 1400 calories. And that's all, for one day of work, 30+ sticks, one coal and 1% condition. Fishing won't sustain a deadman.

Wolves return in the evening, blocking the path back to the Camp Office. A cup of warm tea and a flare keep me from freezing as I collect sticks around the Lake Cabins in strong winds and then return to the Camp Office via Lake Path. I am able to recover my 30+ sticks back but I'm eating cattails tomorrow. No more fishing here. [61780 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 24

Today's plan was simple, so I didn't bother sharing it here before playing. Fishing.

The idea is to fill my stomach before I get on my Dyson^TM journey again. I go to the fishing hut in the morning and fish, boil water and cook fish all day. I have a cooking pot from Camp Office but it's not efficient on a single cooking spot. The whitefish takes me about 30 minutes to cook, not long enough for me to fish in the meantime. Next time I should start another fire outside the hut just for cooking.

I use the prybar to open the hole (takes about an hour!) and fish in 1 to 2-hour sessions. Unlike in TWM, when I did one 4-hour session and one or two 1-hour ones, I catch no big fish - only five whitefish. It's enough to feed me for today, but tomorrow I'll be hungry again.

There are still no wolves, so I clear a few remaining cattails I didn't have time for yesterday. At dusk I use the good weather and follow the Lake Trail to the Quiet Clearing, but find nothing except a few sticks. I light a flare on the way back for a bit of warmth bonus, to avoid having to start a fire and spend time warming up. Flares have been piling up in my backpack and I don't have much use for them. I arrive at the Camp Office exhausted but I made it through another day without condition loss. [59970 calories consumed]

Edit: a look at my skills. On Deadman, you can actually read books because you aren't starving (hopefully!), so I should stop feeding books to the fire all the time. Unlike in Interloper, my carcass harvesting goes up really slowly because I mostly take just the meat, and you skill goes up depending on the time you spend harvesting - i.e. you get more for hides and guts. At the same time, I find high carcass harvesting skill level relatively less useful than the others.

12 hours ago, JAFO said:

So do I.. but at that point you can officially say you've completed the challenge. I hope you go on to set a new record.. (which I believe currently sits at 50 days)

Well that's ambitious

19 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Hilltop Cave? That's in PV. From the rest of your description, I'm guessing you mean the cave by the Lake Overlook?

** Only 1 week to go!! ** It's getting exciting!

Thanks - I messed them up  Yes, it's the one near Lake Overlook.

I hope though I have more than 1 week to go!

Deadman 3 / Day 23

Today's plans are similar to yesterday's, except that the carcasses at the Dam are both processed to the last bone and I'm even hungrier. My stomach is almost empty, I have a can of pork and beans, salty crackers and two cattails. Not even enough to carry me through the day. As soon as the weather allows, I'm heading out towards Alan's Cave, and hope to end the day at Camp Office so that I can fish and restock on cattails... after politely asking the local wolves for permission... of course.

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In late morning, as soon as I hear the winds stop, my first steps lead to the other trailer, but I don't find anything of value there. Then it's to the river, collect a few cattails. Winds start blowing and I run out of warmth very quickly: I'm forced to start an emergency fire. I didn't get far, but the day is still ahead.

The winds stop while I'm warming up. Soon afterwards I'm at the Hunting Blind. I don't see any wolf and start a fire next to the deer carcass. 0.7 kg... almost nothing. While this nothing is being cooked at the fire, I turn my attention to the blind. There is a wolf, but it's occupied by a rabbit and lets me search the blind. Inside I find a flare, a prybar, pork and beans and... my bedroll! I play with the wolf for a little bit and then return back to the river.

I make my way onto the hill and to the Hilltop Cave cave by the Lake Overlook (thanks @JAFO for the correction!), suffering only one sprain on the way. There's another deer carcass - 0.5 kg. I should rethink my reliance on carcasses. They hardly have enough meat on them to be worth starting a fire. In the Hilltop Cave I find some books, antibiotics and a soda that is no longer usable.

It gets windy again, but I'm safe now, close to the Camp Office. I check out the lake and find it... empty. No wolves, anywhere. Such an opportunity! I work until nightfall, searching Lake Cabins and collecting all the cattails from places I can't normally reach because of wolves. In the end I have about twenty.

Lake Cabins are empty except some old pieces of clothing. I arrive at the Camp Office in last daylight, encumbered and exhausted, but still at 66% condition. My situation isn't great but at least I used the favorable conditions on this day as much as I could. [57250 calories consumed]

On one or two occasions I found a pair of boots there [upper floors in the Upper Dam], otherwise just the chocolate bar or something like that...

Deadman 3 / Day 22

I'll try a slightly different format. First I'll share my plans for the day as of the morning. Then I'll launch the game, play and report what happens in reality

Plan for today: Get out in the morning and return to the Dam to process one of the carcasses. Then return to the trailer to sleep a bit. In the afternoon, if the weather allows, check out the Hunting Blind at Alan's Cave, from there the Hilltop Cave (The Cave of One Thousand Sprains, as I call it) and finish at the Camp Office. Main objective: the bedroll.

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The weather in the morning doesn't look good, quiet before blizzard. I pass through the Dam and emerge on the other side. A quick look down on the river: wolves are around.

I start a fire at the deer carcass at the broken window and this time I harvest it completely. If I'm ever going to come back to a certain place, it's the Dam, so if I'm ever going to use this material, I can as well leave it here to cure. The wind lets me finish the job and kills my fire just as soon as I'm done.

When I reach the other exit, a blizzard starts, so I search the offices upstairs. I'm hoping for a forgotten chocolate bar, but this time I find literally nothing, not even old clothes. I'm starting to wonder whether this office is even worth searching in game.

The blizzard rages throughout the afternoon and it's clear my Mystery Lake plans are not realistic today. In the evening I process the second carcass at the Upper Dam entrance and leave all guts and pelts in the Dam. The two carcasses gave me some 2300 calories altogether, less than what I need per day. I need more food. [54070 calories consumed]

Deadman 3 / Day 21

I spend the night at the fire, waiting until the morning. The fire burns in the warm part of the cave, where I started it (because I didn't want to take freezing during firestarting), so I stand in the cold part to save fuel. When the day breaks, winds are still but heavy snow is falling - you know that pre-blizzard feeling. I'm tired, so I quickly drink two cups of coffee, pull a torch and go. I hope I can reach the Dam without taking damage.

Thanks to my good friends @Ruruwawa and @JAFO, I now know a way to avoid the wolf/wolves on the Winding River. It saves me right there, because I'm tired and encumbered and there are two wolves on patrol. I'm forced to run along the ledge of the Dam, but I reach safety before blizzard starts and before my temperature bar runs out.

I search a good part of the Dam - I leave out the top floors because there is a deer carcass at the Winding River entry and I'll be back for it later anyway. Considering how time-consuming it is to search the Dam, there's little to show for it. Two granola bars and a bit of lantern fuel. I run through the blizzard to the trailer as I am exhausted now, and take note that the other deer carcass at the Upper Dam entrance is also there. Good!

Canned fish in the trailer. Bedtime in the afternoon. [51730 calories consumed]

19 hours ago, JAFO said:

That was probably more about trying to give an overall feel for what the challenge was like in a few short words, rather than literal gospel truth..  for instance, weather is highly changeable, but there are no days-long blizzards, either.. because just one of those would pretty much be a guaranteed death sentence. So yeah, it could be made more brutal.. the question becomes, should it be?

Probably not. I once tried to max out everything - spawning in a blizzard in the middle of the night. I'd call it Deadman 3:  Dead on Arrival. But it wasn't much fun.

40 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

Don't forget to turn the wolves harder too, then. I think that's why you survived last time, when the wolf "inexplicably" flew away, it just "feared" you (based on Protection value?) or you torch I suppose.

Definitely not protection - I have next to none. Wolf fear is switched off and wolves are at maximum strength already. But it happened to me before that the wolf would stop the pursuit and flee if running for too long - "running out of breath" - so this was apparently the case again. I just have no idea why it couldn't catch me. Maybe it got stuck in the terrain while running.

9 minutes ago, JAFO said:

There is no cabin fever in Deadman.. so there's one less thing you need to worry about..

Yes, I'd already be insane by now. Funny, I thought the idea was about maxing out the bad things. A new challenge is taking shape in my head.

Deadman: Deader Still

19 minutes ago, Ruruwawa said:

To pass the wolves I usually just jump down from this corpse and scoot up the path to the dam.  But maybe they were too close for that too?

I didn't know about that option. Next time  +1 for the tip.

Deadman 3 / Day 20

I peek out of the Radio Control Hut in the morning. Felt -26°C, too cold. To utilize the time, I turn a piece of scrap metal found in the hut into fishing hooks and make another line. A few hours later it is -32°C, due to strong wind. In early afternoon comes another blizzard. I wait for a while but I don't have a choice - I'm running out of food. If PV only has blizzards for me, then I'll go in a blizzard. I light a flare for a bit of warmth and run.

My temperature bar runs out when I'm about halfway to the cave to Winding River. And when I'm almost there, the blizzard ends. I enter the cave in 69% condition - it cost me 9% to break free from Pleasant Valley, but as I said, I had no choice. I can't starve to death while waiting for better weather.

In the cave I restock on coal and harvest 1.9 kg of meat from a deer carcass there. My next stop is in the cave on the way to the dam. No bedroll. I travelled half of the world and still haven't found one. Now night is falling and I have nowhere to sleep. The visibility is quickly falling, I can't fight off wolves blind, even with the flare gun. Those are my thoughts as I warm up at my fire, cup of coffee burbling next to it.

This means I'm staying awake in the cave tonight. I have enough coffee to fend off fatigue. While I'm making water, I check the position above the river on the same bank as the cave - there's no carcass but I find some reishi mushrooms and a can of pork and beans, which is almost as good as a carcass. Once I warm up again, I notice the weather has cleared up, it's a clear night now, and think for a moment I could make it to the dam. But then I notice it's an aurora night (the aurora is silent though).

At least I want to do something useful, so I go to the other bank to check the other carcass location. It's there, and I harvest it for 1.3 kg.

I observe two glowing wolves patrolling now near the entry path up here - I won't be able to pass undetected, especially now that I have a piece of cooked meat with me that I can't eat right now. Strangely, they're staying in place and don't move away. Maybe they noticed me there, just can't find a way up.

I can't stay there forever, so I walk back down and mountain-goat to the river to avoid the wolves. In good tradition, I fall, and it's a pretty long one.. My heart stops as the screen turns red, but the price is relatively mild - I'm in 66% condition now. I drop the meat to avoid attracting the wolves while I search my backpack for painkillers. When I'm done with my sprained ankle, I dash back to the cave.

Now it's just waiting for the morning.

[49810 calories consumed]

10 minutes ago, cullam said:

Nice! Apparently I hadn't checked in on the stats in a few days. Once I finally get my 500 day stalker achievement (good lord that can take a while to hit), I might have to go all masochistic and give deadman a try... 

It's not so masochistic as it is ... short. It doesn't take much of RL time to get "somewhere" in this challenge. You'll have fun.