A Few Dead Men


Drifter Man

Recommended Posts

Deadman 10 / Day 99

Clear day, but moderate winds are present all day long, complicating my work. The last deer also chooses to die on a slope - I get the hide and about half of the meat but decide to give up the rest. I have more than enough meat for now. Two of the six deer hides have already finished curing. I didn't lose any arrowheads but two arrows broke from use. I will not be able to replace them until I find new birch saplings.

screen_3383033b-c7b7-4579-b252-7f5f6cad0d4d.thumb.png.b75cc9a26b9143b9e54cdf13b6fe0de0.png

Check for moose: no moose. Blizzard rages throughout the night and into the morning, but cave and clothes protect me well against the cold air.

If all goes well, I'm getting back up from the Milton Basin tomorrow.

  • Upvote 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

Too bad about the no-show moose.  I've been hoping to hear how deadman feels with a moose cloak + wolf coat.   On the other hand...

Never expected to read that in a deadman thread!

This time I'd prefer the satchel to the cloak. But I'll keep an eye on scratch marks around the world.

About meat - it's really not that hard when fully equipped and at cooking level 5. I've been running a surplus for the past few weeks, with the recent deer kills it just exploded.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Wohoo! :coffee:

We have our first Centurion Deadman. Navigating through uncharted waters my friend, the legend of the Drifter Man grows and grows!

Thanks! I haven't updated the thread yet but yes, I've hit 100 days already.

The growth of the legend, if any, does not reflect the actual achievement, though. Becoming Doubly Dead was quite a feat, but being Trebly Dead nad beyond does not require more skill. Just luck and enough care to avoid stupid mistakes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 100

All goes well but I end up hauling more stuff than I wanted to. I take two trips up the rope to the cave along the climb up from Milton Basin and still return at night to haul the rest on the next day.

screen_5b166fae-f2d6-446b-a7bc-50c543e79a68.thumb.png.deb45f54cb8ebeb21d7b313b9c8b81d1.png

I don't want to let go of the meat, I suppose it's natural after all that starvation/near-starvation experience. But I'm sure I don't want to be travelling Mountain Town encumbered. When you run into a wolf, being under the weight limit can buy you a few extra seconds. Sometimes a few extra seconds make all the difference.

Deadman 10 / Day 101

Sun's up in the morning, and so am I to boil water and cook the meat from the last kill. The wolves have returned, after I killed them on Day 92 and again on Day 96 - it looks like a 4-day respawn cycle, indicating that a Deadman could live here off wolves alone. I get some sleep while waiting for the venison to finish, then pack up the rest of my things and leave. I only leave a bit of fuel and water behind as a present for my future self. Water never goes bad. I was pleased so many times to find water in a cave I visited long time ago.

screen_2281e476-d2a7-4056-83ce-3749e25bfa62.thumb.png.985b49a2036e9596731632e604af6b53.png

On this day I also make a first climb up the second rope and drop off part of my supplies. The prybar is already there, I dropped it before going down to the Basin as I knew I wouldn't need it for a while.

Tomorrow we're taking on Barker's Farm.

Edited by Drifter Man
  • Upvote 1
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

Not even surprised you made it to 100, Not to stroke your ego, but im not sure any challenge stands in your way as long as you keep at it eh? 

Well thanks - yes, I'm persistent. But don't worry about my ego, fortunately I don't build it on skills in video games :D

  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 102

With clear weather on a warm and windless afternoon and reishi tea warming me up on the inside, I climb the rope, ready to take on the wolves. I wait for a while at the top, collecting my gear and expecting them to appear over the hill as they did last time I passed through from the other side. A deer and two rabbits are grazing the plain, so they'll have some other targets than just me.

But they don't appear in spite of my three stink bars. I take a detour and approach the farm from the left, to see three of them spawn before my eyes at the farm. They're immediately confused by the smell and keep turning on the spot. I retreat to the rope and wait for them there. They turn up, one attacks the deer, one attacks a rabbit, the third one flees who knows why.

The rabbit chooses to run in my direction. This is dangerous, the wolf could jump at me right after the kill. Fortunately I manage to put enough distance between us to get only a warning growl. As I maneuver around to get a shot at this wolf - it's behind a terrain wave - the third one returns. It comes at me first, then it turns to the second rabbit. I get a shot at it but miss, the wolf flees. I return to the second wolf, still feasting, miss again and make the wolf flee as well.

I start a fire to warm up and compose myself. This isn't going they way I wanted. From this moment the wolves are totally broken. They go in my direction, then turn and walk away, or flee and run around like crazy. One approaches and steals a 1kg steak from my stash - I didn't know they considered it as bait, I dropped it before the fight even started. The first wolf finishes the deer and a fourth one turns up.

I stay almost until nightfall and eventually manage to put arrows in three of them. All three run away, of course, so my arrows are now scattered all over the region. Excellent.

screen_3b412a08-a059-49d3-a974-accfb8353cb8.thumb.png.4e671d70efc64994094781e382337847.png

Disgusted by the proceedings of the day, my ridiculously poor archery skills (which reached level 4 during the fight), the nonsensical AI of the wolves and the loss of three arrows, I climb back down to the cave, reaching total exhaustion in the process.

Edited by Drifter Man
  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 103

Second try. After a blizzard passes in the afternoon, I climb back up impatiently, eager to finish the work and recover my arrows. It's colder this time, felt -9°C, and winds pick up just as my temp bar is running low. I start an emergency fire (firestriker, cedar, accelerant) in a location sheltered from the wind, only for the wind turn around during the firestarting process, making it "impossible to sustain this fire". I quickly locate another spot to start another (firestriker, stick - I'm out of accelerant), taking 2% freezing damage. Now at 64%.

screen_fa59ad98-2cc9-4563-bb0f-f6c99840c38d.thumb.png.da90d69fdfa7a37bc30bf9f3db8fdc9d.png

When the winds subside, crows announce the location of my first wolf. But first I have to take care of the last surviving one. Bait and bow does the job, but the wolf runs away with my arrow yet again. I find the three wolves and three arrows from yesterday, but can't find out where the fourth one ended up.

screen_ee10087a-9691-448d-a33e-bfb144bd7c3a.thumb.png.1ada88799a4cd5eeba23522ac85dc13a.png

I find the keys to the house on a corpse in the barn. In general, there isn't much to find here. A few items that can be turned into cloth (which I do in due course, and use most of it to repair my clothes), some nearly ruined but still edible food, a hammer and a "Guns Guns Guns" book. Probably not worth the hassle, but I had to pass through the farm anyway.

Before nightfall I return to the rope to pick up some more supplies but forget to drop off the hammer there (to be used at the FM forge later, possibly). My emergency fire is still burning.

screen_eedcf28e-ee03-4052-8048-3ee8a76ac191.thumb.png.f97554387edd31cce44d5e420c159b76.png

Deadman 10 / Day 104

Repairing bedroll and clothes in the morning, then searching the barn. Nothing found apart from some rosehips. One more trip to the rope, to pick up the remaining meat and drop off the hammer. If the weather holds, I want to break through to the Church by tonight. I did not touch the wolf carcasses, I have enough meat and bait for the moment.

  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 104 (continued)

The winds stop at dusk. I set out for the Church of the Holy Wolf, encumbered with meat, contrary to my original decision. Encumbrance is preferable to having to harvest wolves in a hostile area. Along the way I find the missing fourth wolf and the arrow. Winds soon return in full strength. Again, I scramble for a sheltered place, the wind direction is most unfavorable. I succeed just in time.

Warmed up, I take on the wolves at the Church. One goes after my bait but another barks at me. I don't want to draw my bow because the second one might attack. Instead I bait and kill the second one, which runs away, then attract the first one again and kill it on the spot. I locate two arrows but I'm still one arrow short. Did I shoot three times without noticing it? It's possible.

screen_120b170f-d7ef-4a91-b7b5-d18c7144ec38.thumb.png.06b8b2ab25bda9146bdbd995766c8e41.png

It's late and I call it a day. I reach the church and spend the night inside.

Deadman 10 / Day 105

The church has some cloth, I do more repairs, including the ski jacket. This brings me back up to +22°C bonus. Later I venture out into the fog to get a few cattails and a deer hide from a ravaged carcass nearby. In the afternoon I move to the trailer and drop off the hide along with three birch saplings I found on the way. The trailer still has a usable soda, at 5%.

I don't meet any more wolves until I reach the cave to HRV. There I hear a howl, so I wait at the entrance for the wolf to appear, attracted to the smell. It does and kills the local deer, I kill the wolf in return. The wounded wolf runs away, fortunately the arrow breaks, so I can recover it on the spot.

screen_48196e7e-20de-4edc-82d2-821df5ecfced.thumb.png.056e91423699a6507fe878112931ccf4.png

I want to harvest the deer but the winds are too strong for this. Instead I only get a few small chunks out as fresh bait and return to the cave for the night.

  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
6 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I didn't know they considered it as bait, I dropped it before the fight even started

Meat works as bait for every wolf that sees both you AND the meat. It is inconsequential when you dropped it or IF you even dropped it. A good example of this is the small burned down house at Skeeter's Ridge where commonly a piece of rabbit meat can be found. Even if you never touched it, the wolf from Skeeter's will consider it bait if he sees both you and the meat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

Meat works as bait for every wolf that sees both you AND the meat. It is inconsequential when you dropped it or IF you even dropped it. A good example of this is the small burned down house at Skeeter's Ridge where commonly a piece of rabbit meat can be found. Even if you never touched it, the wolf from Skeeter's will consider it bait if he sees both you and the meat.

That's great to know, I had no idea it works like this. And it makes perfect sense, the wolf should go after any food it sees that is easiest to get.

It also means that if there are multiple wolves going after you at a given moment, they will all follow one bait that you drop, until one of them picks it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
Just now, Drifter Man said:

It also means that if there are multiple wolves going after you at a given moment, they will all follow one bait that you drop, until one of them picks it up.

Yeah, it works like that. There is however a danger to this when working with more than one wolf.

Say wolf 1 is rather close by and is already in baited-mode. Then you would aim at wolf 1 to put him out of his misery. Wolf 2 is a bit farther out, has already spotted you, but not the meat, yet. Wolf 2 will follow script and charge as he sees you drawing your weapon. A wolf that is already charging will not care for bait. I'm not sure how a third wolf would behave, being queued up to enter the fight after wolf 2 has finished his struggle with you. Might go for bait, might just wait. Would be interesting to know. In any case having a fire behind you is always a good idea when dealing with more than one wolf.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 106

I need water, so I spend a match at night to search the cave. I only find sticks and coal. I briefly emerge on the HRV side and the winds immediately blow my torch out (I expected that, I have a campfire burning inside the cave). I'm certainly not going to HRV - matches and whetstones would be nice but I can hopefully get them in some easier place. Besides, I don't need them urgently.

In the morning I use the fire to harvest some meat from the deer carcass. I get about 4 kg before winds kill the fire. I return later when it is warm enough to work without fire and get the hide as well.

Light fog falls in the afternoon and I decide to explore the other side of the road. A wolf approaches me - maybe two, I can't actually tell how many there were. I takes some dancing around, I lose some baits, eventually a live rabbit has to step in, but I succeed in killing the wolf or wolves without losing any arrows. Then I warm up in the nearby cave, which is otherwise empty, and return to collect cattails from the pond.

screen_f5bf7b15-c429-416a-b80f-a6da620bd98d.thumb.png.d213404542780afcb238e01ba84eada9.png

screen_92d83c2a-afa1-464b-8af1-d1ecdf47a329.thumb.png.53812bd5fefb0f7034fc17276566ecba.png

I spend the night in the trailer. One of my newfound birch saplings has finished curing, so I use the remaining daylight + aurora to craft new arrows.

Deadman 10 / Day 107

It's an unusually warm morning at felt -15°C. I want to go back to the HRV cave but I get distracted by nearby crows that weren't there earlier. I locate a dead wolf on a rock.

screen_a84db30c-0c77-4d40-97c6-510eed0c8806.thumb.png.7d8eceb09a038c4541d5b865c5be5c03.png

I quickly search the carcass to see if I can find my lost arrow from three days ago. No luck. I return to the trailer and sleep for another hour. When leaving the trailer, I take everything with me, including two unfinished birch saplings and one deer hide. It's still warm and foggy, ideal weather, and I change my plans. Instead of going to the HRV cave, I proceed straight along the road to clear the next major obstacle on my way to my sixth stim.

I walk past the abandoned car and stop at a fallen tree over the road. Is it close enough? We'll see. I drop all meat and use my firestriker to start a fire in the fog. Minutes later the fog lifts and it's a clear day now. I warm up while making water, then pick up the meat and climb on the tree. It doesn't take long for my friend to show up.

screen_ffc75cbc-6c37-4d8f-ab56-bc82c6afdc8a.thumb.png.1736befc575c46cccd038211a9c1bc9d.png

I take my shot, the bear takes off but I'm not sure if I hit. It keeps running around for quite a long time, so I conclude I probably did. Until I'm next to the fire again and the bear stops running about 30 meters away from me. This makes me move back to the tree unusually fast. However, this time I do not miss.

screen_d97126b2-4c34-4fb6-bddc-b55e5b073023.thumb.png.226bc617bdaf381db96fe0d7a108f598.png

The bear ends up stuck in a rock face, running in place. I search the area, collect some sticks and reishi mushrooms, return to my fire and wait. Winds pick up and reduce the fire, but I feed it stick by stick until the winds stop again and the bear is dead. At that point I transfer the fire to the bear and get to work.

screen_c5082ad2-a6a9-44fb-a2b1-8bc91199e342.thumb.png.dd6799d4df2c85218d68842cfbbb9d46.png

Before the weather gets worse at dusk and I start worrying about my safe return to the HRV cave, I manage to get the bear hide and a few steaks. I leave two on the fire to finish cooking and return to the cave. I'm one arrow short: the one that killed the bear is embedded in the rock forever, I'm afraid. But otherwise it was a successful day. The path should be open up to the Crashed Plane.

  • Upvote 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Yeah, it works like that. There is however a danger to this when working with more than one wolf.

Say wolf 1 is rather close by and is already in baited-mode. Then you would aim at wolf 1 to put him out of his misery. Wolf 2 is a bit farther out, has already spotted you, but not the meat, yet. Wolf 2 will follow script and charge as he sees you drawing your weapon. A wolf that is already charging will not care for bait. I'm not sure how a third wolf would behave, being queued up to enter the fight after wolf 2 has finished his struggle with you. Might go for bait, might just wait. Would be interesting to know. In any case having a fire behind you is always a good idea when dealing with more than one wolf.

I've come to the same conclusion about having a fire behind you if you deal with more than say 2 wolves. It's just too many targets to keep track of and you can't entirely predict how they will behave. Once one charges, it's most likely the end of the Deadman.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 108

As soon as the temperatures are okay, I leave the cave. The deer has respawned and it is likely that so has the wolf. Indeed, after a while the wolf turns up from the direction of the bear kill, as expected. But it plays tricks - comes at me, then turns around, then back, it ignores the deer that is running around. I once take a shot at it but only manage to scratch it, and the arrow breaks, I'm down to six. On two occasions it flees from me.

We dance around each other all afternoon until I finally manage to marry it to the deer.

screen_28e38071-5865-4e18-840e-3777b2ca86e8.thumb.png.9d4b470d01c90c735e3330819ced9da6.png

It's a success but a fateful one.

I'm running out of meat locally, so I decide to harvest the deer. Winds do not allow starting a fire nearby, so I build one at a rock some 10-20 meters away. I work into the night, taking steak by steak. I'm rested and the fire burns, so I want to use the night well. I always run back to the fire with each steak as I don't want to smell.

An aurora starts.

When I'm harvesting the fifth or sixth steak, a green, glowing tail passes through the view. I think for a second what I can do, and conclude that the answer is "nothing".

screen_4a54fcc9-8a95-448e-82c5-d00f68fa7b1b.thumb.png.6d2275f3b1f3d72b51dd8e2cfde3cc9b.png

Rugged clothes, low fatigue, knife and desperate button-mashing save my very life. I even avoid blood loss, no idea how. But the price is still severe. It was a mistake to harvest a kill at night in a wolf area. The main wolf was dead, but it had a nighttime-only buddy.

screen_ddceb3e2-e575-4398-884e-f9f49f1535e9.thumb.png.b73d341ff3ae699b8bf4b7b448d9ac5e.png

I return to the cave to sleep. Toque and ear wrap took severe damage but can be repaired. The wolf coat, deerskin boots and deerskin pants also took some damage but are holding. The temperature bonus has reduced to 18°C, I hope I can repair the toque tomorrow. My plans don't change, they only become more urgent, and the margin for error has dropped to zero.

  • Upvote 2
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deadman 10 / Day 109

First order of business: repair the toque. I have one piece of cloth left, and the repair succeeds. My bonus jumps to +20°C. Clothing is the most important thing now, so I spend the day getting material for repairs: I catch a rabbit and harvest the fateful double kill from yesterday, which yields me one deer hide, one wolf pelt, one rabbit pelt and three guts. I drop everything in the cave for curing. However, this costs me almost all sticks I have. Before nightfall I brave the cold winds and harvest a few branches. I end up with 15 sticks, that's all I can get.

screen_b229b5a3-024a-4204-a8d8-b9285f6f27f2.thumb.png.a619d84309867882bde46ec33566ced0.png

Deadman 10 / Day 110

Early afternoon is still too cold and windy, but a few hours later I get light fog, felt -13°C. I get moving again. I pick up some bear meat + bait and run towards the Spruce Falls Bridge. Along the way I find my adversary from the night before yesterday, still glowing in the snow.

screen_077df4cf-c5b5-476b-ab5c-99e22fd52fd5.thumb.png.8426d7199c2f242dd1f75ff312e372ca.png

You see, you're dead now, and I'm nearly dead as well. It didn't really help anybody, did it. But explain this to a wolf.

And a dead one at that. Dead, glowing aurora wolf. Move on, Deadman 10.

I make a warming break at the bridge and search the cars, to find only a piece of cloth - however, that's just what I need. I also take a detour to the falls to collect sticks. When the fog lifts and winds begin blowing hard again, I have already reduced the fire into torches and I'm running to the last cave.

screen_895aa8c8-99cb-421e-bd13-3b72d7083dd3.thumb.png.9304b091e45c075505a64a40c0660899.png

I pass though the cave, ignoring the wolf carcass, and park on the other side. I attempt repair of the wool ear wrap but it fails. I'm going to need more cloth, there should be some at the crashed plane. I've collected a nice stash of 50 sticks, so I should be fine with firewood now. I can leave some behind for the way back.

For now, it's too late and I'm tired. I fall asleep in the cave.

Edited by Drifter Man
  • Upvote 2
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Approximately none :) I spent all my extra stims after I fell off a tree bridge in MT on Day 40. I hope to get a stim from the Crashed Plane tomorrow.

Ouch. Well if anyone can make that last 14% work for them I'm pretty sure its you. If you wanna see some extreme snatching life from the jaws of death in Deadman check out this video especially towards the end - 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
On 2.12.2018 at 5:15 AM, Drifter Man said:

The bear ends up stuck in a rock face, running in place.

I've had that exact thing happen three times already. Somehow the AI and the terrain there don't align well.

On 3.12.2018 at 10:46 AM, Drifter Man said:

I hope to get a stim from the Crashed Plane tomorrow.

I never knew it had a stim! Walker 3 must have missed it when he basically spawned IN the plane.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 04/12/2018 at 12:28 AM, DaveMcD said:

Ouch. Well if anyone can make that last 14% work for them I'm pretty sure its you. If you wanna see some extreme snatching life from the jaws of death in Deadman check out this video especially towards the end - 

I should be fine unless I drop until 10% a fall into the drunken mode. I was lucky.

On 04/12/2018 at 1:51 AM, Hotzn said:

Damn, that wolf. Every time you think you can lean back - BAM! - the intrepid @Drifter Man gets you back onto the edge of your seat. Will he get to the plane? Will the stim be there? Will it help? Tune in to the next instalment of 'A Few Dead Men'...

We still don't know! I'm sorry, no update, too busy...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 05/12/2018 at 3:23 PM, jeffpeng said:

I've had that exact thing happen three times already. Somehow the AI and the terrain there don't align well.

I never knew it had a stim! Walker 3 must have missed it when he basically spawned IN the plane.

So far I've always been able to find one there. I hope it's a fixed spawn and I don't have to search around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now