My First Interloper Run

[JAFO]

So... I wake up today, and... the forum is down. Damn. I do chores all day, and repair the lawnmower & sharpen the blades. Evening comes. Forum is still down. <sigh>

What to do?

Ah, to heck with it.. let's go get that "Face the impossible" achievement out of the way.. the one you get for managing to stay alive for 24 hours in Interloper mode. Barring an attack of extreme stupidity (always a possibility) or severe bad luck, I ought to be able to manage that long, at least. Being my first ever Interloper run, I'm not too proud to make use of some feats, I go for Cold Fusion for the +2°C boost to my "feels like" temperature, and Snow Walker for the 20% faster stamina recharge.

Day 1

I spawn in FM. The weather is clear and the wind is light, so it's pretty obvious right away where I am. Thank goodness for that.. if I'd started in TWM I might have been in all kinds of trouble, depending on where I began, as it's the one region I barely know. Looks to be 2-3 hours before sunset. Right then, no time to waste. Sticks are needed.. and lots of them. Whilst gathering sticks, I spot some reishi mushrooms. Cool.. some calories as well. Things are looking up.  As I gather mushrooms, I get a good view out over the muskeg. I can see the shortwave tower way off in the distance. Seems I'm on the same side as the Spence Family Homestead. Turning further to the right, I see the wooden walkways near the homestead in the distance, but not too far off. Excellent.. now I have a destination.

I finish gathering the mushrooms (7 of them all told) and head off towards the homestead, picking up every stick I see along the way, and a couple of stones in case of wolves. By the time I'm looking down on the Homestead, I have 30 sticks, 9 mushrooms and 3 OMB. No wolves in sight. I trot down to the building and crack the safe.. Jackpot! A woollen scarf at around 30% and a ski jacket in roughly the same condition! I put them on immediately and head around the other side to see what other loot there is. Unsurprisingly, the locker is locked. But on the workbench is a box of matches.. yay.. I might even make it to the 24 hour mark now! Nothing else from the workbench, but I find a bandage in the first aid box, and a good amount of coal. By the forge is a book on field dressing carcasses and a piece of reclaimed wood. I move "upstairs" to the sleeping platform, and find a red sweater on the bed! In pretty decent condition, too. As you might imagine, I waste no time putting it on.

By now both hypothermia and frostbite are becoming a serious concern, so it's time to get a fire going. Oops.. no tinder yet. I harvest a stick and try again.  It lights on the first try, and I pile on enough fuel to get the temperature gauge moving in the right direction. I make a litre of water, then toss on some coal. After a couple more litres of water, I prep the mushrooms and cook them up. Two more litres of water, then I pile on the coal until I have over 6 hours of fire. I craft the OMB into a dressing, drink 2 cups of mushroom soup and top off with water, then bed down for 6 hours, making sure to click on the end of the bed nearest the fire.

When I wake in the wee hours of the night, everything is going well, so I toss the rest of the coal on the fire and go back to bed for another 4 hours.

Day 2

When I wake, the morning is foggy. Ah well. The fire still has some time on it, so I make more water, then pull 3 torches from the fire. Time to leave. Next stop, the railway wagons. By the time I get to the island at the end of the wooden walkway, I'm already starting to freeze, so I finish off the rest of the mushroom soup to avoid taking a double hit to my condition. I pick up a piece of cedar, but the container is empty. Continuing on, I spot a wolf well off to my left.. no biggie. I veer right a bit, and keep on going. A couple of times I sprint over thin ice, but there are no dramas. There are no cattails either.. I thought this place was supposed to be loaded with them? Just before I get to the wagons I finally find 3 cattails. I grab the two lumps of coal I can see, and head inside.

Inside the wagon is a piece of cloth, a piece of reclaimed timber, more coal, a flare, and a pair of combat boots. They're only at about 30% condition, but that still makes them much warmer than the crappy sneakers I have on. I get a fire going after 5 attempts. After the first failure, I get smart and light a torch before trying again. While warming up, I eat a cattail and get an hour of research in before hunger forces me to stop. I make some more water and grab a couple more torches. The fog has lifted, the weather is fine, and it's time to leave.

The trip to the ML exit is uneventful. There are no wildlife encounters, and by the time I reach the tunnel, I have 14 cattails. Coming out the other side, both the first aid box and metal container are empty, but I do find a piece of cedar to replace the one I burned back at the railway wagons. Decision time.. Trapper's or the Camp Office? I opt for Trapper's as there's less chance of wolves along the way, and eat 2 cattails before setting off. There are some saplings I spot along the way, so I file that away in my mind for later on. Before I've barely begun moving though, the wind has picked up, and I've got 3 down-arrows on the thermometer. By the time I'm halfway to Trapper's, my condition is dropping alarmingly, so I eat another cattail and start running. By the time I can see Trapper's, I can hear my heartbeat and am getting the first signs of blurred vision. 10% condition. Not good, but safety is in sight.. Naturally, there are four deer in the meadow. By the time I have a weapon, they'll be long gone. But at least there's a carcass in the ruined shed!

I sprint for the cabin, and once through the door, check my condition. 8%. I wolf down 3 cattails and top off my water, then sleep for two hours. When I wake up, my condition is back to 16%, so I start looting the cabin. There's a piece of cloth, a sewing kit, a heavy hammer (yes! a weapon at last!), a can of peaches and another of dog food, over 3 litres of kerosene, and in the safe is another woollen scarf! In the course of finding this gear, I pass the 24 hour mark and get the achievement I was after. I break down what furniture I can by hand to make myself as tired as I can, and plan my next day. I need some mittens ASAP, so beaning some rabbits and harvesting the deer carcass outside are my immediate priorities. Finally, I eat 5 cattails, drink my fill, and sleep for 10 hours.

What will tomorrow bring, I wonder...

[Mixxut]

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

So... I wake up today, and... the forum is down. Damn. I do chores all day, and repair the lawnmower & sharpen the blades. Evening comes. Forum is still down. <sigh>

What to do?

Ah, to heck with it.. let's go get that "Face the impossible" achievement out of the way.. the one you get for managing to stay alive for 24 hours in Interloper mode. Barring an attack of extreme stupidity (always a possibility) or severe bad luck, I ought to be able to manage that long, at least. Being my first ever Interloper run, I'm not too proud to make use of some feats, I go for Cold Fusion for the +2°C boost to my "feels like" temperature, and Snow Walker for the 20% faster stamina recharge.

Day 1

I spawn in FM. The weather is clear and the wind is light, so it's pretty obvious right away where I am. Thank goodness for that.. if I'd started in TWM I might have been in all kinds of trouble, depending on where I began, as it's the one region I barely know. Looks to be 2-3 hours before sunset. Right then, no time to waste. Sticks are needed.. and lots of them. Whilst gathering sticks, I spot some reishi mushrooms. Cool.. some calories as well. Things are looking up.  As I gather mushrooms, I get a good view out over the muskeg. I can see the shortwave tower way off in the distance. Seems I'm on the same side as the Spence Family Homestead. Turning further to the right, I see the wooden walkways near the homestead in the distance, but not too far off. Excellent.. now I have a destination.

I finish gathering the mushrooms (7 of them all told) and head off towards the homestead, picking up every stick I see along the way, and a couple of stones in case of wolves. By the time I'm looking down on the Homestead, I have 30 sticks, 9 mushrooms and 3 OMB. No wolves in sight. I trot down to the building and crack the safe.. Jackpot! A woollen scarf at around 30% and a ski jacket in roughly the same condition! I put them on immediately and head around the other side to see what other loot there is. Unsurprisingly, the locker is locked. But on the workbench is a box of matches.. yay.. I might even make it to the 24 hour mark now! Nothing else from the workbench, but I find a bandage in the first aid box, and a good amount of coal. By the forge is a book on field dressing carcasses and a piece of reclaimed wood. I move "upstairs" to the sleeping platform, and find a red sweater on the bed! In pretty decent condition, too. As you might imagine, I waste no time putting it on.

By now both hypothermia and frostbite are becoming a serious concern, so it's time to get a fire going. Oops.. no tinder yet. I harvest a stick and try again.  It lights on the first try, and I pile on enough fuel to get the temperature gauge moving in the right direction. I make a litre of water, then toss on some coal. After a couple more litres of water, I prep the mushrooms and cook them up. Two more litres of water, then I pile on the coal until I have over 6 hours of fire. I craft the OMB into a dressing, drink 2 cups of mushroom soup and top off with water, then bed down for 6 hours, making sure to click on the end of the bed nearest the fire.

When I wake in the wee hours of the night, everything is going well, so I toss the rest of the coal on the fire and go back to bed for another 4 hours.

Day 2

When I wake, the morning is foggy. Ah well. The fire still has some time on it, so I make more water, then pull 3 torches from the fire. Time to leave. Next stop, the railway wagons. By the time I get to the island at the end of the wooden walkway, I'm already starting to freeze, so I finish off the rest of the mushroom soup to avoid taking a double hit to my condition. I pick up a piece of cedar, but the container is empty. Continuing on, I spot a wolf well off to my left.. no biggie. I veer right a bit, and keep on going. A couple of times I sprint over thin ice, but there are no dramas. There are no cattails either.. I thought this place was supposed to be loaded with them? Just before I get to the wagons I finally find 3 cattails. I grab the two lumps of coal I can see, and head inside.

Inside the wagon is a piece of cloth, a piece of reclaimed timber, more coal, a flare, and a pair of combat boots. They're only at about 30% condition, but that still makes them much warmer than the crappy sneakers I have on. I get a fire going after 5 attempts. After the first failure, I get smart and light a torch before trying again. While warming up, I eat a cattail and get an hour of research in before hunger forces me to stop. I make some more water and grab a couple more torches. The fog has lifted, the weather is fine, and it's time to leave.

The trip to the ML exit is uneventful. There are no wildlife encounters, and by the time I reach the tunnel, I have 14 cattails. Coming out the other side, both the first aid box and metal container are empty, but I do find a piece of cedar to replace the one I burned back at the railway wagons. Decision time.. Trapper's or the Camp Office? I opt for Trapper's as there's less chance of wolves along the way, and eat 2 cattails before setting off. There are some saplings I spot along the way, so I file that away in my mind for later on. Before I've barely begun moving though, the wind has picked up, and I've got 3 down-arrows on the thermometer. By the time I'm halfway to Trapper's, my condition is dropping alarmingly, so I eat another cattail and start running. By the time I can see Trapper's, I can hear my heartbeat and am getting the first signs of blurred vision. 10% condition. Not good, but safety is in sight.. Naturally, there are four deer in the meadow. By the time I have a weapon, they'll be long gone. But at least there's a carcass in the ruined shed!

I sprint for the cabin, and once through the door, check my condition. 8%. I wolf down 3 cattails and top off my water, then sleep for two hours. When I wake up, my condition is back to 16%, so I start looting the cabin. There's a piece of cloth, a sewing kit, a heavy hammer (yes! a weapon at last!), a can of peaches and another of dog food, over 3 litres of kerosene, and in the safe is another woollen scarf! In the course of finding this gear, I pass the 24 hour mark and get the achievement I was after. I break down what furniture I can by hand to make myself as tired as I can, and plan my next day. I need some mittens ASAP, so beaning some rabbits and harvesting the deer carcass outside are my immediate priorities. Finally, I eat 5 cattails, drink my fill, and sleep for 10 hours.

What will tomorrow bring, I wonder...

Dream start. Heavy hammer, great clothing, matches... 

[JAFO]

26 minutes ago, Mixxut said:

Dream start. Heavy hammer, great clothing, matches... 

Yup.. I was totally in shock.. trust me, I know how unusual a start like that is..

[Hotzn]

Nice work. Went a little low on condition there, but you can recover

using the peaches & dogfood, then the meat you'll find on the deer carcass. Make sure to tire out and go to sleep for 10 hours with 750 calories in store (and, of course, having drunk your fill).

[JAFO]

16 hours ago, Hotzn said:

Nice work. Went a little low on condition there, but you can recover

  Hide contents

using the peaches & dogfood, then the meat you'll find on the deer carcass. Make sure to tire out and go to sleep for 10 hours with 750 calories in store (and, of course, having drunk your fill).

 

Thanks! The advice comes a little late, however.. I'd already gotten a third day and night in before I posted the above.. just didn't want to type it up yet. 

[JAFO]

Day 3

Another clear day.. my health is up to 37% now.. it's too early in the day to think of going outside though, so I use my two pieces of cloth to maximum benefit by repairing one of my scarves, and my longjohns.. I harvest the sneakers to get some leather for my boots, but the first repair attempt fails. The second succeeds, which at least gets them up to 70%. I eat the peaches and put in an hour on the field dressing book, then head outside in search of rabbits.

Hmm.. not a single bunny in the grove behind the cabin.. oh well.. I grab some sticks and OMB while I'm there, then head over to the other rabbit grove in the bowl near Max's Last Stand, grabbing a few more stones along the way. Hopefully there won't be a bear camping there.

No bear, no bones, and four bunnies.. Time to start rockin' rabbits.

Well.. best-laid plans, and all that. I'm out of touch. I keep just missing them.. again and again and again. Finally I nail one, and then forget to pop up from my crouch. Before I can reach him, he's recovered and running again. Damn. After a couple more shots, I hit another.. dash over, go to grab him, fumble the click and throw another rock instead! Gaahhh! By the time I correct my aim and try again, he's gone. Frustration sets in, and things just get worse from there on.. By now I'm freezing, losing condition again, and I really need to warm up. Time for plan B.

I head for the broken-down shed, and the deer within it. I build a fire by the carcass, and use it to warm up while I wait for the meat to thaw. Naturally, I make use of the time to make some more water while I'm at it. When the carcass hits 48% frozen, it's time to get started. Huh? 0.8kg? That was not what I was hoping for.. I harvest everything, and head for the cabin. I drop the meat by the door, head inside and drop the guts and hide to cure. Since I'm all warmed up now, lets take another crack at those rabbits!

After another bumpy start, I manage to get a pair of bunnies. I'd like more, but the wind has picked up, the temperature has dropped again, and my condition is suffering badly. And it's getting close to dark anyway. I need to get inside. By the time I'm indoors, my condition is at 11%. I really need to get better at managing it!

Indoors, I eat the dog food to stop my condition dropping any further, then harvest the rabbits and drop the pelts and guts. Using a torch, I get the fire going and cook up the venison and rabbit meat. I eat all but 1kg of rabbit, drink my fill, and climb into bed for a long sleep.

Day 4

I awaken late in the morning and take a drink. My condition is up to 45%. The wind seems to be blowing pretty hard.. blizzard? I pop out to check. Yup. Blizzard. and a doozy at that.. visibility is pretty much zero, the snow is heavy and moving horizontally. I head back inside to weigh my options.

I don't think I can afford to hang around here.. particularly since I'm unlikely to get any more rabbits today. I have just 1kg of rabbit meat remaining, plus a decent amount of water and firewood. Maybe this blizzard is a chance to move without encountering wolves? Can I get as far as the broken-down cabin at the Deadfall Area before my condition becomes a problem? I could get out of the wind and make a fire there.. then it's just one more haul to reach the Camp Office.. where I'd find curtains and maybe some food. It's tempting.

Decisions, decisions...