Kermit the Timberwolf Hermit


Guest jeffpeng

Recommended Posts

30 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

I sourly miss having a can opener. Not doing so, I will have to make due with one can all the way. It's not a deal breaker, but a game changer.

This is one thing I didn't have to worry about in "my times". Also: aurora and moose.

30 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

I will also try to adjust my sleep cycle. Go to bed early, around 6 pm, and get up at 3 the latest with optional hours of sleep if the weather permits it. I should be able to sleep longer periods of times, sleep off more blizzards, and recover more condition.

I can only say, yes, yes and yes :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 176
  • Created
  • Last Reply
2 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

Whether you are the first or the tenth, it is always exciting and tough to face the Timberwolf Mountain. Game mechanics have changed since my run. You're in unknown territory again. Good luck! :)

And since the matches were the problem, it opens up new ways maybe.

Congrats again for Summit! Funny you didn't go the assbite-way, I think this was @Ruruwawa who cared less than you about Dignity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 4

When I get up, I need to make a fire to stay at at least -5°C. That's the magic number. That much I can compensate with the bed for, everything below that sucks the life right out of me. And I need to manage at least one day without losing a lot of condition. I keep the fire alive for two hours, then temperatures equalize. I stay in, stash away stuff I don't need right now, fill the shelf with food and put surplus firewood into the hatchet, which already served as Kermit 5's stash of firewood.

As soon as the temperatures seem to allow it I head out for the Landing Gear. My firewood stash is decent, but I won't dwell on it. I score a rabbit, but I am forced back much too soon as -17°C just bring me down too fast to venture far. I return home, eat some crackers, and sleep off the cold and the sprained wrist I got for no reason whatsoever. When I get back up I fix the 30% wool toque I have, which yields me 1.4 °C, and also the underwear, which gives me another 0.4°C. Both fixes succeed at the first try. RNGeezuz is truly with me today. I take a general look at my clothing:

screen_2cc4e585-7ea1-4240-a30a-1e1ad42bd9cf.thumb.png.fc953a563ca3b6579810b3f712a28f44.png

I decide I won't repair the sport socks, the vest and the T-Shirt. Ever. Too many resources for too little gain. They go when they go. Same goes for the mittens, but mostly because I don't expect to need them anymore at some point. The wool socks might get a second lease on life at some point. The trail boots I will repair, mostly because they only require leather, and that's something I have in ample supply. The wraps will get a repair, but not just yet, and I'm torn about the ski jacket. It's expensive to fix, but it is also the only decent jacket I'll ever have. The underwear is crucial at least for now. 0.4°C per cloth isn't amazing, but I need them since they are my sole leg wear until I either score new jeans or get the deerskin panties.

I go out to score a few sticks and a cattail in the immediate vicinity, but the cold forces me inside yet again. I pass some time in bed as I don't want to sleep too much too early and then wake up in the middle of my sleepy time. I pass some time in the bed. I go back out. -7°C! Much better. I vacuum clean around the house, and towards the Landing Gear. Another rabbit falls prey to sudden rockfall. I return home and since I need to warm up anyways I get to work on it immediately. I take everything, 0.9 kg of meat is better than nothing.

The wolf besieges my hut. Must have tracked the bunny scent. But I sneak out for a last quick stick run. I don't find much - but kill my third rabbit down by the shoreline. It's also the first time this Kermit misses a throw. But it didn't help the bunny. I skin it immediately, but then it is time for bed. I eat a pack of crackers, drink my last water, and smash open a can of tomato soup - cold, mostly for water. I don't wanna waste a match and firewood.

screen_f00352f0-5bd2-47a4-913e-0579863b6fc9.thumb.png.d9c524485cd268636251f6a947d431ab.png

My theory is - and experience supports it - that temperatures cannot drop more than one degrees per hour save for a blizzard rolling in. And blizzards don't roll until I wake up. So ... considering I have 4 + 5 = 9 °C in bed, i should be able to sleep at least 8 hours. I choose 7 because I lack water, and I want to be on the safe side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
11 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

Congrats again for Summit! Funny you didn't go the assbite-way, I think this was @Ruruwawa who cared less than you about Dignity.

I must admit that the reasons were more practical than of a dignifying nature. Nobody ever gets frostbite in their legs, because everyone always has some pants. But it is possible. And I don't want to have to worry about my ass freezing off, literally :D And in the end it panned out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

And blizzards don't roll until I wake up

I wouldn't be too sure about that. That could be true but sometimes while resting you can hear a blizzard sounds, and then it stops before you wake up. Also be careful about the decimals, I lost a Bareskin thinking that -5+5=0. It doesn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 5

I wake up thirsty and probably lose some potential condition to that which I would have gained otherwise. I still gain 18 points and reside at 44% now. I start a fire, way too early, but I need water. I will stockpile and keep the fire going through the morning, harvesting and cooking more rabbit parts. Until I have my first 0.2l of water boiled I lose another 2% condition. Thirst damage is harsh.

I spend 34 sticks, which is a huge bummer, but if I manage things correctly it's going to be the last sticks I have to spend on water or food. I end up with 2 liters of water, all the rabbits cooked and all parts harvested. I've got almost all the parts I need for the mittens, just one pelt missing. Maybe I'll just throw some stone out of the window. I'll probably hit a bunny.

screen_4e538ba8-b60e-4fff-9130-5effdf4e5ca5.thumb.png.5cc16b4c2cdc7e9b1f2605c2ec1c75ab.png

The weather outside is cold and clear. I will have to compensate for this mornings water boiling excess. Plus I want to raid the Bay of Cattails. But for now it's just a tad too cold for me, so I warm up in bed first. Weather turns foggy, which isn't great, but it get's warmer and the winds stay calm. I find 13 sticks before I need to turn in again. I eat one lump of rabbit and sleep two hours. I'm fairly exhausted, so I'm not too concerned being too wake this evening. I maintain 41% condition.

I spring back to the landing gear, but I can hardly see snow in this soup. Finally the weather clears up and I score some serious firewood - 24 sticks. -7°C FL invite me for a longer stay, and I even solve my tinder problem twice: With birch bark and some cattails. I even make it home before freezing. And it's only 1 am, so the day still has some life in it. I warm up in bed for an hour without sleeping.

I scout the shore towards the east. When I spot another rabbit its fate spills doom. He never sees it coming. I want to head out again but sprain my ankle turning my neck. Funny how things work. I settle with breaking up two branches. And go back in. Two hours left in the can I shred the poor bunny, flinging rabbit parts left right and center. I have everything for the mittens, and even the panties are just one deer away, missing 2 guts and 1 hide.

screen_7fa3e3ef-fa29-4f44-8b5f-e016810e0c7f.thumb.png.d718929bc449aa01c61c30f3fe1440c0.png

Maybe I should cross the broken tree bridge again and settle for a carcass for now. But then again why not clear the lake? I'll see what tomorrow will bring. It's 1800 sharp, and after watching sesame street I eat 600 calories worth of bunny parts, drink up and go to bed. 2°C FL means I have 7 safe hours if my theory holds true, but I also won't die 1 hour freezing 1°C, so 8 hours it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
32 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

I wouldn't be too sure about that. That could be true but sometimes while resting you can hear a blizzard sounds, and then it stops before you wake up. Also be careful about the decimals, I lost a Bareskin thinking that -5+5=0. It doesn't.

They happen during nights. But the "bonus" temperature doesn't apply while you sleep, but only immediately after waking up. It's basically an exploit of game mechanics, but then again what isn't. Goating, hiking, fire trapping, deer driving .... Interloper is basically all about knowing the fringe things and using them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 6

I wake up with 59% to -6°FL. Exactly inside the margin of calculation, I begin to thing my theory might be a law, at least here. The aurora is burning in Space: Above and Beyond.

screen_10c231fa-0d1f-4ac9-b0f4-2b8a4ec20172.thumb.png.76cf33a0f602194628da6cba7f3c9aba.png

I light a torch and make a fire. It's boiling & cooking time. I need 4 tries, but I don't care. Tinder is of no concern for now, and I doubt it will be the reason of my demise. But it inspires me to maybe read a bit in my books. With 2 fire starting books I actually have something useful to read. I eat two cattails and read a page. It actually costs me 20 minutes of fire not boiling water, but since I need the fire anyways, maybe it will pay off eventually.

I actually decide to keep eating and keep reading. Not taking starvation damage is a nice bonus, and I manage to finish the book, maybe one or two fires away from fire starting 2. Which I will really need. I spend most of my sticks keeping the house about freezing. But I also cook all rabbit parts and stock over 3 liters of water. 

screen_e24c2fb2-f46e-4f9f-a5c1-d2721742e519.thumb.png.78eb4d70fa14c10896394131dfc9c5b6.png

I decide to spend a last hour in bed counting holes in the roof (one .... one .... one ... one) and then head out. My initial plan is to drive the deer of the lake into the wolf of the lake and kill the wolf. For several reasons: Getting rid of the wolf gives me access to the opposite shoreline, meaning more firewood. Also I want my remaining pantie parts, plus a healthy stock in venison is never wrong. Last but not least: With the wolf of the lake gone I don't have to worry hauling stinkies home as much.

Things go exactly as planned. Except they are not. The deer runs the exact wrong way, and while shouting "Surprise, Jambalaya" runs into the wolf of the nord. I follow, crouch, aim, hit the wolf, but don't kill him instantly.

screen_b9c10821-3db1-4bc8-80a5-2365e4600d4d.thumb.png.8530682657d6396c9913118e9697d8a5.png

I take it. Different wolf, different firewood area. Still same deer parts, and if I had the time to harvest the wolf was doubtful to begin with. I search for firewood while I let the deer freeze. I find some sticks, run home to warm up, but actually take some freezing damage. I sleep two hours, which turns out to be a mistake.

It's blizzard-time!

It's not the worst of times, and I can actually dodge it, albeit barely, hiding in bed, but I have no significant firewood for the morning - I will probably have to five up one of my two reserve-firs. Plus: while the blizzard is raging I cannot sleep, and it's actually sleepytime.

screen_d6248098-ee71-4e16-98d1-bde8679631cd.thumb.png.e4a67650e9ac19959a1bce1b8a476613.png

But then as fast as it came, it goes. I actually hide from the blizzard without lighting a fire. That's great. The deer isn't going anywhere. At least not the next few days. I eat the remaining rabbit and half a cat stalk, drink up and go to bed. 8 hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 7

I wake up to the sounds of blizzard. 79%, almost fully rested. I'm doing great, but now snow hits the fan. I light a fire and gain fire starting 2. I'd go out and celebrate, but I wouldn't come back. I put on enough fire for 2 hours for starters and begin cooking water instantly. Tonight is no night for reading as I am low on food and plan to maybe even spending one of the next nights without making fire. It's a shame I don't have the deer meat yet. I could cook like pro.

screen_f3662634-4617-45ee-9b22-3093f4618eaa.thumb.png.021ac187080b507e89d4182267216b65.png

Before the two hours are up the blizzard subsides again. Actually, truthfully speaking ... it didn't make much of a difference. I would have spent the sticks in any case, blizzard or no blizzard. I actually prepare some tea and coffee. Having some will help harvest the deer tomorrow. I keep making water and beverages and head out occasionally to keep the fire alive - but take no frost damage doing so. I keep this up until around 9:30, when things normalize again. I'm now in serious need of firewood, even though I still have 4 coal as joker. I don't want to play any them yet. I let the fire finally die and see how far I get on the lake.

-23°C. Not great. Not terrible but actually really not great. I go break up a branch, and return home, passing time for an hour.

[Day 7 will continue!]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 7 - continuation

Time is not on my side - or is it? I wait one more hour, then temperatures turn single digit. The lake wolf is occupying a part of the lake unusually far east, but if I want to get anything done with the deer now is the time. It's too far for me to make the trip multiple times and still be efficient. I will lose condition on this, significantly, but I deem the the endeavor worthy of a little bit of pain.

screen_74e53404-feab-4c1e-8ff7-895c976fd147.thumb.png.95bf238f47036b65466cd7fd40c56e57.png

I sprint across the lake and put the saw to the deer. The hide goes first. Right now it's the most important part. I pick up three sticks on the way out, but I am freezing heavily now, so I make even more haste running back home. I end up paying 20% condition for that hide - steep, but still worth it. I eat half of a celebratory cattail and sleep an hour. When I wake up again harsh winds discourage heading back out immediately, so I try another hour of sleep. After than I get the best weather I will get all day, -6°C FL, no winds. I don't hesitate. While I score a few cattails on the way time is of the essence. 

I get 14 pounds of deer before I start freezing. It is with a heavy heart that I leave the guts behind, put guts are something I can get more easily from rabbits - and without losing condition. Heading back I give the lake wolf an extra wide birth as I am a smelly fella right now, having the appeal of an all you eat buffet to predators. I lose 5% condition, but that's way within margins.

5:30 pm, the urge to try for more deer is strong, but I show restraint, get out to pick a few sticks and nothing else. Discipline might get me through this, but greed will get me killed.

Then I realize something fundamental. Interloper teaches you caution and planning. Mistakes are fatal, resources are limited, bad habits acquired as a Stalker kill you more often than not. The road is steep - but possible, and you still have enough opportunity to make due. So you concede more often than not, knowing your chance will come. But Snowballing has its own set of rules. Most of your plays are born from desperation, either of immediate or systemic nature. There is no "end game" that would be winnable. Every choice you make is between the lesser of two evils, expending something you won't get back for something you desperately need. You juggle deficiencies as well as you can to stave off execution another day, while trying to fight yourself a bit of breathing room to stand a fighting chance the day after as well. If you look ahead to much you never see that day, if you lack foresight and restraint, you see that day out of options. When you see a chance, you pounce. And pouncing too hard will make you pay currency you don't have. It's all about hard choices, smart risks and the right balances between caution and bravado, strategy and chance, skill ... and luck.

I eat my 4 and a bit of cattails, drink up, and sleep eight hours. Things are still looking good, but the clock is ticking louder every night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 8

I wake up to the buzzing sound of the lamps in the hut. 2 am, I'm at 74%, and the night is warmer than expected. I eat some crackers and read 2 hours about starting a fire in the second book I've got - until things get a bit frosty, and I sleep two more hours while the temperatures still allow it. It's already 7 am when I start a fire to get me through the morning and allow me to cook come venison. I put on two hours worth of fire, and I hope it's all I need.

screen_0e13024e-afb9-4067-9913-2a3d4b4bc81e.thumb.png.f352d649467b23d143d90aa7f3f2af42.png

I achieve Cooking II and celebrate. Getting free calories is invaluable. I take a quick peek outside and decide that I will focus on firewood today. Maybe I can take some more meat from the deer while I gather firewood in the woods of the nord, but that's not the focus. Then again: tomorrow the deer will be mostly wasted. Catching a rabbit would be great. Maybe even two. Despite being a gutsy person already - I need guts. While the fire is still lit a home I harvest rose hips and cattails on the eastern outskirts of the lake. I return home in time to still warm a bit at the fire. My time management has become much better.

I drink most of a reishi tea for warmth and head back out, for the woods of the nord. Temperatures are frosty -16 FL, but I'm in great shape (76%) and I can take a bit of cold. I collect 9 sticks, some more rose hips and 9 reishi - and even 3 more pounds of deer - but I get totally surprised by a -45 FL blizzard I feel like I couldn't have seen coming. Weather turned literally from clear skies to snow storm to blizzard in a span of 10 in-game minutes. I lose 14% condition for that and can't say I'm happy. I have no choice but to light a fire and lose my sticks to the fire again. At least I get to cook more venison. Especially the 3 pounds I just got are in bad shape - 37%. I won't return to the deer for the last 1.2 kg. Luckily the blizzard subsides as sudden as he arrived. Like a fluke in the algorithm.

I warm up, let the fire die, drink a herbal tea (I will need the rest bonus tonight anyways) and head out, along the hills towards the wing. I will need to be careful with Harvey the bear likely to be on the prowl. I will enjoy splendid clear, -15°C weather.

screen_df4c7e78-17c6-4189-b65c-597897cf99ea.thumb.png.2b5a75615ea799153c0914b61bd95300.png

After clearing the rest of the cattails and rose hips on the east lake I find the wolf of the nord on the hill towards the Wing Woods, but I let him rot. Not worth the effort, not even the guts. My ankle sprains for that decision. Interloper karma. I keep on gathering wood, and being much braver than I probably should have I make it all the way up to the Wing, where an old friend greets me near the containers.

screen_70d998f8-a030-4885-9ea2-a8d97ebb1f6a.thumb.png.dddf31c11774bcf003d5813c60bab5ed.png

I don't think I will ever mess with this fella. I might get lucky killing him with two flares IF I manage to fire them in rapid succession, but chances are he snows all over me and I am left with 2 missing shells and a trampled chest. No, talking about smart risks earlier this doesn't qualify. I find the Wing corpse, but it is empty. I loot the container, find 2 43% peaches and 72% beans, plus 5 coffee and tea. Again I question if the cans are worth it, without a can opener more than ever, but having a warmth source really really really does benefit me on longer runs. I pay quite a tax for my stick collecting extravaganza and fall to 43% condition when I reach home, but I also gather 42 stick total and 7 more reishi plus the cattails and rose hips from the start of the trip. I'm satisfied.

The day has at least two hours left in it, but I am too cold to go out and too slow to make much ground. I eat half a pound of venison to stave off a bit of starvation and craft some reishi and rose hips. 1800 sharp I eat 700 calories, pour a bottle of water into my wind battered face and sleep 9 hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Whoa, you're an absolute machine, I can barely follow! :D

Yeah it's a ton of content every day!

9 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

My theory is - and experience supports it - that temperatures cannot drop more than one degrees per hour save for a blizzard rolling in. And blizzards don't roll until I wake up. So ... considering I have 4 + 5 = 9 °C in bed, i should be able to sleep at least 8 hours. I choose 7 because I lack water, and I want to be on the safe side.

This should be about right. The difference between the highest afternoon temperatures and lowest morning temperatures is up to (but can be less than) 25 degrees and is always 16 hours. So you should allow a bit of margin for error. I could sleep safely with +12°C clothing bonus (without Cold Fusion) in the MH except a few days when the morning temperatures were on the extreme cold side (or there was a morning blizzard).

With blizzards: their temperature effect exists during sleep but rolls in slowly (it also rolls out slowly when the blizzard ends). So you can sleep through a blizzard without your temperature being severely affected. But if the blizzard has already fully developed, the effect is in full strength even if you try to hide in bed. Be especially cautious if you go to sleep during a blizzard. Even if your fire has enough fuel left to last through the blizzard, once it dies out, the cold aftermath of the storm will kill you just as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
10 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Yeah it's a ton of content every day!

I've had the week off (mostly) so I kinda just went with it - and I really enjoy this style of play, including the writing. It's deep and immersive, thoughtful and actually the not just the biggest but also the greatest challenge I had in TLD so far. It's like in my early days :-)

14 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

This should be about right. The difference between the highest afternoon temperatures and lowest morning temperatures is up to (but can be less than) 25 degrees and is always 16 hours. So you should allow a bit of margin for error. I could sleep safely with +12°C clothing bonus (without Cold Fusion) in the MH except a few days when the morning temperatures were on the extreme cold side (or there was a morning blizzard).

With blizzards: their temperature effect exists during sleep but rolls in slowly (it also rolls out slowly when the blizzard ends). So you can sleep through a blizzard without your temperature being severely affected. But if the blizzard has already fully developed, the effect is in full strength even if you try to hide in bed. Be especially cautious if you go to sleep during a blizzard. Even if your fire has enough fuel left to last through the blizzard, once it dies out, the cold aftermath of the storm will kill you just as well.

Thanks for this insightful information. So basically the blizzard temperature modifier doesn't time lapse properly with the rest of the game, so you basically outrun it - which comes down to pretty much the same. And yeah. Rule of thumb: Never ever sleep in a blizzard unless you have some super overdosed permafire in a dead safe location. And permafire on Snowball is just a nono :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 9

I awake back to 76% just a notch about to be completely parched. So I guess ... 9 hours is the sensible maximum. Which is good enough for me, really. It's so dark my screen would want to turn to energy saving mode if I had no UI visible.

screen_8c131169-d879-49a0-a2b2-54a6028a82d7.thumb.png.bc514c776bda4d5cc7d3f616b2ea0bed.png

I contemplate what to do with the morning, and the only thing I can think of is craft some rose hips and tear up surplus footwear. With now 6 cures leather the one thing I can repair ad infinitum are my shoes. Considering that .... if I should be so lucky to score more deer pelts, I guess the better way to use them would be a second pair of deerskin panties rather than boots. Speaking of endless supplies: Between hammer, lantern and hacksaw I have 5 more scrap metals available, so a 7 total. Since I won't be able to repair the hacksaw as far as I can tell, I have a theoretical maximum of 21 finishing tackles. No way will use them all.

I get through the morning without a fire. That's also some way to improve firewood availability: not using it. It's 11 am when I head out towards the Landing Gear to stone a rabbit. I fail to find a rabbit and think about where I could be more successful once I return, already freezing. I know there are some behind the Fallen Tree Bridge and near the Three Way Cave. But that far out I would not only likely take heavy damage or would actually have to make camp, I would also have some issues getting my prices home in one piece. Then I remember the rabbit grove near the Western Engine. I could climb up from the Woods of the Nord and probably make it there and back in one go. Maybe I can even get to the container there?

Anyways: all of that is not for today as it is already 11 am and I am really cold - so I have to spend two hours in bed. I wake up relatively warm and decide to check The "Bowl" - the depression halfway between the hut and the Wing Woods if you don't take the path via the lake - for the occasional rabbit, but I'm more likely to spot a wolf there. Maybe I do neither and actually find some firewood.

None of the above happens. I leave the hut for about 2 meters, sprain everything sprain-able and get barked at by the wolf of the lake that is standing on my porch - basically. Yeah, sure, alright, nevermind. I stay in, eat some venison and sleep at least the sprained hand off. My gosh. How does something like that even happen? I get back up and can see the wolf still around.

screen_f2f155f3-6aac-473c-8e10-da42896b32d9.thumb.png.e9dc7b5d9857e67582817ff196ad7cac.png

I leave, regardless, just not being content with wasting a full day achieving nothing. He doesn't spot me this time. I take a quick glace over the lake - no rabbit. On to the bowl then. There I get barked at - I return freezing, feeling utterly useless and adding to that I'm much too awake to sleep enough this night. Frustration creeps up as I sleep two more hours healing my ankle and hoping for a mild evening to get anything done.

I get up and -11°C don't sound so bad. I decide to make a spring to the landing gear and check for the corpse near PV. It's not there, again, and I begin to wonder if it even spawns on Interloper any more. But my run is not a complete waste. For once: I get to spring away some rest, so I can actually sleep at least 4 or 5 hours, plus I score a good amount of sticks, now totaling as stash of 67. I pay 4% condition tax, but that's something I can live with. I try to sleep 6 hours, but I know I will wake up early.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

I pay 4% condition tax

I would recommend a Luxembourg/Ireland VPN there.

I think I will never ever go to the Wing from behind the Hut: wolf probabilty + no visibilty = no BareSkin. (I said just the same before going there and dying last time...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 10

I awake at midnight. It's negative luminosity again. 71%, and a snow storm is raging outside that smells like blizzard. I wait in bed and see how things pan out. Dying from thirst I decide to make the morning fire early. No use saving firewood if I lose so much condition for it. The lack of a second can starts to prove more problematic than I had anticipated. I start to think about where I could actually still look for a can opener. The Forest Cave comes to mind. I also remember it having a lot of reishi and a potential (guaranteed?) flare.

I get water, and weigh preserving firewood against wasting a match. I'm optimistic to live long enough to need the matches, so I keep the fire on, stockpiling water. I notice I only need one more cured gut to start working on the mitts - 5% percent. If I recall correctly a gut cures in 5 days, so 5% would equal six hours. Amazing! I also notice that my sport sock is about to give in at 3%. I really should make it to the engine containers sooner rather than later.

While thinking myself into a flurry a blizzard rolls in. I have 90 minutes of fire left, 40 sticks - not even mentioning my reserve stash - so I am not worried... yet. Temperatures actually drop to +9 FL in the cabin despite a +29 fire. That motherfreezer is a cold one, and all of a sudden I'm not so sad any more that I spend all those sticks "just" on water. The blizzard rages on until 10 am and leaves me with a pretty cold morning.

screen_2b0083fd-86e1-4edb-bca1-40a721563b11.thumb.png.b454495f0d696047207c93afc980179e.png

I'm down to 19 sticks. The upside is I've got 5 liters of water. With the last minutes of fire I cook some of the peaches that should be still edible. I pick up a hot tea and a hot coffee and make towards the Woods of the Nord, heading for the climb to the Ramp. Eating the peaches on the way, and drinking tea and coffee, I see a rabbit once I make the climb. No time for it now, but good to know. I quickly check if I am mistaken that the container up here isn't there on Interloper, but no, I am right. No container. I take quite a lot of frost damage, but also pick up a lot of sticks along the way. I dodge into the Cave of Engines to warm up a tiny bit.

After 90 minutes of crafting reishi and staring it to darkness I head back out. I need to be careful about the wolf. I retain high ground - no wolf. But upon reaching the site I'm quite confused.

screen_ecadde19-dae3-4231-a09e-376c067db670.thumb.png.66b4bbf8872962b9d9443ae9786527c3.png

I can swear I remember this container being here on interloper. Well. Apparently it is not. What a tremendous waste of time, resources and condition! Bad information get's people killed, dammit. I see the massive amount of cattails and vow to return when I have more time and better clothing. I also skip Andre's peak this time. To not make this a utter and complete failure I kill two rabbits so hard they die on the way back to the ramp. Down the ramp I run into a bear I narrowly avoid by trowing him off with my last stone. I must admit that I am angry with myself, and that I just have taken one of the not smart risks, and even for no reward. I goat down near the rope since I am just too tired and by that encumbered to climb. 

Upon returning to the lake I see that the deer back - so the wolf of the nord cannot be too far behind if at all. The wolf from the bowl tracks my scent and comes down. I walk him off and make it into the hut in one piece, but seriously frozen. I immediately eat a bit of venison and sleep one hour to get rid of fatigue damage. I'm at 31%. At least I managed to collect 34 sticks on the way, bringing me back to a total of 53, so at least I don't need to scramble for firewood. At least my guts are cured. I can start working on the mittens any time.

I harvest one bunny gut while it is still warm, the other one turns half frozen too soon. I leave them at the fireplace for later. One hour early to sleep I decide to actually start working on the mittens.

screen_cf97f061-e3b8-4d14-b236-1257295f2524.thumb.png.4896cb5b705d8b78486565b2c5bc0f7e.png

I eat my calories, drink up, and go to bed for 9 hours. I dream of my brother Timbergrim looting the container I never found. Freezing Pilgrim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
1 hour ago, BareSkin said:

I think I will never ever go to the Wing from behind the Hut: wolf probabilty + no visibilty = no BareSkin. (I said just the same before going there and dying last time...)

You're right. I should call it the Death Bowl, not just Bowl. I died there three times already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm currently doing the summit run almost on Day 60. I thought that container was there too. But nothing.

Did you get the one at the other engine, yet? You can make a run down the cave towards it (rather than going all the way through Echo Ravine). It has a beautiful thin wool sweater, jeans and socks. The wolf there is an issue however

The cave also has coal which would be useful

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 / Day 11

The last two days were rather unsatisfying. I spent more resources than I acquired, and the successes I had were results of good previous work. I need to pick up the pace again.

I wake up in complete darkness again, with 62% condition. While sleeping my sport socks died. The hut is too cold to sleep, so I make fire. I put on water, eat a bit and sleep another hour. I repeat the same procedure one more time and end up fully rested and with 64% condition. Then, while keeping to boil water all the time, I harvest the remaining gut, and the meat from both bunnies, cooking it as I go, eating some of it to reduce condition loss from starvation for a bit. I don't harvest the pelts just yet, but maybe I will keep one or two just for repairs. Once done I work one hour on the mitts, while the fire still keeps the hut above freezing and water keeps coming. I let the fire die at 11 am. I have 2.5 hours left on the mitts and I can see little reason to do something else.

screen_a796ff3e-82de-4f73-9f15-d991a3ca58f0.thumb.png.0afd4770a4d995d612c7465a858f523e.png

Sadly, at the same time disaster a.k.a. blizzard strikes. And I've spend most of my sticks. I re-ignite the fire, and dump them all into it, along with my second emergency fir. I still held on to since coming down from the summit. I use the time to read two hours about how to set things on fire, a skill generally underappreciated. Then the blizzard moves on. Already 4:30 pm I will need to find firewood in the time that I'm given.

I have little success heading towards the landing gear: six sticks - but I score a rabbit, which I drop off at the hut. I warm up in bed for an hour. I find 19 basically scattered around the hut and hope they will be enough.

1800 sharp, calories, water, 8 hours sleep. Clockwerk.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng
16 minutes ago, Serenity said:

I'm currently doing the summit run almost on Day 60. I thought that container was there too. But nothing.

Did you get the one at the other engine, yet? You can make a run down the cave towards it (rather than going all the way through Echo Ravine). It has a beautiful thin wool sweater, jeans and socks. The wolf there is an issue however

The cave also has coal which would be useful

It's on my short list. The coal from the cave..... that could have been respawned by now. I took it on day 4. And yeah, the wolf is exactly the reason why I haven't been there yet. If push comes to shove ..... I gotta flare shell him. That sweater is essential, so are the jeans. Not sure the sweater is guaranteed. The Jeans I know is not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

Kermit 7 - Day 12

Light at night? Stars? Auroras? Moons? Who needs that? I don't apparently. It's so dark I'm not sure if I got eaten by a bear or not. To make things worse: Cabin Fever Risk. I'm at 83%. Resting an hour grants me my "wish":

screen_0efb0ec8-8624-4489-9a02-b4678b2252c1.thumb.png.230605dedcdbf7f3241414b34e688476.png

My third deer hide is almost cured. I have enough guts, two of them 17% cured, so 4 days away. With a bit of luck I will have them on day 16 - if I make it that far. I try to dodge as much time in bed as I can, but once temperature turns -2 even there, I light my fire. As my water stock is acceptable I use the fire to cook rose hip tea and other beneficial beverages. I harvest some meat from the rabbit and manage to finish my second book about starting exothermic chemical reactions on plant life. 

I fail to make it out of the hut in time and actually contract cabin fever. I built up so damn fast. This puts quite a wrench into my works. But I'll worry about that later. I want to make it to the other engine container - the one that actually exists. I pack enough to potentially be able to build a snow shelter if I have to, my fire reserve stash, my non-smelly food and some warm beverages and get going.

Taking to the ravine I spot the wolf of the nord - he has risen again.

Out of nowhere the wolf from the Death Bowl charges me. I survive the struggle - but so narrowly I don't know if it's a good thing. I turn back on my heels, not knowing what to do.

screen_40425fd7-901f-4dbb-8805-8d02d7bd1234.thumb.png.c9fe5e4ffb93302431fae65fcf51a0b0.png

I have enough cloth - but not sticks - for a snow shelter. That's the only good news. The stars really align against me all of a sudden. Searching for sticks he spots me again - I manage to walk him off into the hut, but I feel out of options. I hear him outside the hut. I have nothing on me that smells. What is with this thing?!

I tear up all my torches - I make 15 sticks. I cure my wrist, pick up a rabbit, ready my flare, get outside.

screen_3b1d6f70-0a62-402c-b70e-969b27312dfb.thumb.png.d1ed05d1aced17c711bec99434a2214a.png

Now he doesn't come? I'm freezing. I pick up the rabbit, replace it, get him to come towards  me - and miss. The wolf bolts, but it's not a permanent solution. I get inside, make fire with the accellerant and my reclaimed wood. I need to warm up. I run around the house and press my back to the wall. Not warm enough. I get back in. 9%. I wait and dump two coal into the fire.

I take forever and desperately try to place the shelter behind the hut. Eventually ......

screen_b5dcbb91-4dd0-4861-8cf6-977e99a3427c.thumb.png.3af55b14e5fe8a36c48758b68b9fb8b3.png

I get inside, eat, drink. The fire has 3 hours left. Those are guaranteed for me not to freeze. I sleep 3 hours. I get back in, I eat, drink. Cold herbal tea for me. I sleep two more hours. 19%. It's too cold outside. I can't go inside. I need my sleep.

I stim up. That's the situation I've got it for. I chance 8 hours of sleep, even if I will probably spend one of those hours freezing.

screen_04f531b1-c377-4daf-baf6-8da757d67006.thumb.png.ef48a8555367bdf2e8607a7c6df772ff.png

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

It's do or die.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest jeffpeng

I don't know what's wrong with this piece of snow, really.

But I wonder. I witnessed several times now that wolves linger really really long in front of the hut, basically running circles. Thinking about it I had an idea: What if smellies inside the hut (meat, guts) actually work as a bait, like a decoy. Wolves don't go and eat your meat if they find it in the snow - unless they are aware of you, then it turns to bait. I think that's what's happening here.

On why the Death Bowl Wolf jumped me - no idea. Maybe something drew him down from his high throne, and he got stock pathfinding his way back up. In any case that particular spot should be safe, usually.

On why I contracted Cabin Fever .... bad Stalker habits. Bad bad bad. Cabin fever doesn't race this hard on Stalker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.