Island challenge stories

[Buoidda]

Hi, I posted about an punitive island challenge in the general discussion: http://www.unrealworld.fi/forums/index.php?topic=5841.0.

Here we can share stories about it.

Writing prose is entirely optional, I'm more interested in how ppl fare.

Here's a little something from the character in that challenge thread.

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Ukko Driikiläinen was dumped on a remote island, completely nude and without any tools. Luckily the Njerpez had left him with pretty light injuries. Starvation hit, but was manageable with birds and hares from light traps. The traps dotted almost every corner of the medium sized island. He has also caught couple of pikes while warming up early in the mornings. While fishing, Ukko heard a seal splashing about and had still some rope for a heavy deadfall trap.

Unfortunately most lingonberries withered while he was building the heavy trap. Even the Tellervo's gift mushrooms spoiled that he had been sacrificing for Ahti in hopes of a catch. He had planned to collect an ample storage of bait for birds, but there had been too much work with the traps and birds. Ukko had also seen a badger lurking in the distance. He had been eagerly improving the setting of bigger deadfall traps on a bottleneck part of the island. But the clever thing never touched the traps, even when Ukko surprised it sniffing about just next to a big deadfall trap. Even the smaller trap seems to be too suspicious for it. "Picky thing, aren't you? Is the bird smelling too bad?", Ukko had shouted after the escaping badger.

But then, upon returning to camp, from atop the high cliffs, he could see an enormous bull elk who had blissfully swum to the island. Upon sight of Ukko, the poor beast ran itself to exhaustion along the beach, refusing to return to the icy waters again. Soon he met the blunt end of Ukko's bird-and-hare-leather-bound stone axe and the bull fell into oblivion from the very first blow to its hip. The second blow secured its passage. "This was a miracle. Maybe it had swum a long way and was already utterly exhausted. I wonder whether I should sacrifice to Tapio or Ahti. I know no stories about swimming elks." After couple of days toiling, 48 lbs of the unfortunate critter is drying. Ukko is laying patterns for his new outfit, wondering where all that elk meat went. It will feel good to wear something before winter brings it's worst weather.

[paulkorotoon]

PROLOGUE
Hroarr regains consciousness when the sun is directly overhead. His whole body aches awfully. Damn njerpezit have beated him up badly. Seems they considered the damage serious enough not to finish him. Slavers stripped him naked, took away everything Hroarr had with him, and left him to die.

But he doesn't recognize the area... To find oneself in an unknown place with no garments, no weapon and no food, is almost a certain death.

Almost. This word is hopeful. Hroarr is afraid, yet a desire to survive is greater than fear.

Must find water. He decides to go east, and after two hundred steps the search succeeds. Except... there's too much water. Hroarr feels apprehensive, he hurriedly falls to his knees and takes a sip. It's bitterish. It's sea water. It's an island...

Yound warrior light a fire and finds a few apt rocks. On the second attempt, he crafts a fairly sharp and handy knife.

Hroarr cuts his palm and sheds a thin stream of blood on the ground. “Mother Earth, accept my sacrifice. Give me your help, oh spirits”, he whispers, eyes closed.

Naked man with a stone knife, against approaching winter and tremendous ocean. Who will win?

ATTEMPT 1

ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE TERMS

• Not using the world map.
• Zooming out to the wilderness map only when standing on top of a mountain.

STATS

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SKILLS

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SPELLS

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INJURIES

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DAY 1. 44% injured, 0% starving
Hroarr picks up some herbs for treating the wounds. Wanders along the shore until he finds a stony hill. The island is pretty big. No sign of inehmo. He notices a couple of birds flying nearby. Builds a shelter.

DAY 2. 39% injured, 1% starving
It takes the whole day to craft two crude javelins. May come in handy.

DAY 3. 30% injured, 4% starving
Hroarr gathers more herbs and sets a few light lever traps.

DAY 4. 24% injured, 6% starving
He spots a black grouse and even manages to approach close enough to throw the javelin, but misses it. Finds lingonberries and sacrifices a fistful. Tries to fish, no catch.

DAY 5. 16% injured, 8% starving
It's getting colder. He has to light a fire again and again, to warm himself. Finds a black grouse in the trap for the first time! Hroarr skins it and sacrifices the only cut of meat.

DAY 6. 10% injured, 13% starving
He sets a big deadfall trap in hope of a large game.

DAY 7. 6% injured, 16% starving
Exhausted, Hroarr sleeps for too long. Numb hands fail him as he's trying to make a fire, and he freezes to death...

[Privateer]

 Challenger (Haastaja Islander)

Profile Stats:

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Skills:

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Spells:

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Injuries:

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Day4~8?: Not sure, Spending all my time pulling twigs, scouring for lg/med down trees, picking berries, Getting warm enough to try and javelin a fish for about 1.5 hrs before freezing stop.. rinse and repeat atm.
 Have stone knife, crude staff, crude javelin, couple torches. Been seeing a grouse for two days, I need to get warm/gather items for trap before to long.

Map: Found a clifftop

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Day: I have no idea. I have 3 shelters now, One on the East coast, one (original) in the middle, and the final on the west coast.
Made 2 small traps and used lingonberries for bait. Making fire, finding wood and collecting berries are still in the forefront. The traps didn't do anything on the East coast, so I moved them to the West coast shelter. 3 birds so far from the new trap spot. Only one skin was viable, but the roasted fat was a nice refresher. Not dead yet.

Skills Update:

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 Ah well first attempt failed, I died stupidly. Pushed the cold limit trying to skin a grouse, instead if picking it up and taking it to a warmer place... 28 days

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[paulkorotoon]

ATTEMPT 2

ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE TERMS

• Cultural regions toggled off.

STATS

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SKILLS

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SPELLS

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INJURIES

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DAY 1. 38% injured, 0% starving
The island appears to be quite large. Hroarr spots a bear cub and realizes it's his chance. However, he losts a track. it takes the rest of the day to craft a javelin. Must calm down. it's unlikely to kill a bear being wounded so bad.

DAY 2. 33% injured, 0% starving
Hroarr notices a willow grouse. Need to set traps. But first he should gather some herbs and berries.

DAY 3. 28% injured, 0% starving
He builds a shelter and goes on gathering lingonberries.

DAY 4. 24% injured, 1% starving
Hroarr spots the bear cub again, and again it flees. He sets a couple of small deadfall traps nearby, asking the spirits for help.

DAY 5. 19% injured, 4% starving
The cold is too strong. Hroarr fails to light a fire and dies of frost.

[Buoidda]

The many incarnations of Hroarr, fun read 

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Ukko has spent following weeks skinning and butchering small game from the traps and throwing rocks at squirrels. Even the hares that fail to wander to traps are half-blind on this island. He literally walked over to one and kicked it to death. Starvation started rising a bit just before the hoofed ones' meat was dry enough to preserve through the summer too. If only he'd know how to get more than one cut of meat from around ten pounds of fat bunny. But the insides of animals seem so - icky. Especially after pounding them to jelly with a rage only a starving man can muster.

The badger never returned, probably drowned during the warmer days. While looking for it, Ukko found a dead lynx some distance away from the shore, on the ice. He also almost drowned taking a shortcut. Probably the ice will be too thin for standing upright safely for a long while still. He sees the ice bridging to neighbouring, smaller islands. But he knows sea ice is too perilous to brave this time of the year.

Weather has been mild this winter, thank the gods or - who knows - his own dedication to daily sacrifice. After all, he'll be needing blessings to get off this island alive. There was a colder week, but now the fur gear has kept him warm during the nights without a fire. Many seals splash around the island. He made ropes from bird skins and has set up couple of shelters with heavy bear traps on sea shores where the currents keep the sea from freezing. When the seals are close, Ukko moves base to hopefully come to a catch later.

His diet is strong now even with hardly any fish caught. Already one seal skull decorates a lone pine tree near his shelter. The extra fat will enable him to tan the one cured squirrel hide. How he'd craved for fat to eat when starving. He ate the squirrel's fat earlier, without even realizing he was going to use it to tan a squirrel hide.

It will be a long wait for the waters to warm up. "Hopefully I don't really have to swim away from here." Ukko has made a raft, but soon decided the currents make it impossible to maneuver without a proper paddle. (The idiot doesn't realize he could paddle with his legs.) If only some passing trader boat would see his fires.

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I'm tempted to try @Privateer's method of zeroing skills, wasn't aware of that. I'm pretty sure the traps have been spawning extra animals for Ukko (see the pile of bones in the picture). It would be interesting to see if trapping helps at all with 0 trapping skill.

[paulkorotoon]

ATTEMPT 3

ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE TERMS

• Cultural regions toggled off.

STATS

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SKILLS

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SPELLS

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INJURIES

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DAY 1. 53% injured, 0% starving
Hroarr gathers herbs and builds a shelter. The island is big enough to hope there are some large animals.

DAY 2. 42% injured, 0% starving
Young man crafts a staff and prepares some slender trunks for fire.

DAY 3. 36% injured, 3% starving
He gathers lingonberries, the only food available now. Crafts a javelin and falls asleep.

DAY 4. 30% injured, 4% starving
Hroarr sets up a couple of light lever traps. He needs meat desperately, as one cannot last long eating just berries and grass. Tries to fish, no success.

DAY 5. 23% injured, 9% starving
Suddenly it becomes colder, and he fails to get warm...

[Buoidda]

In the meantime, Ukko is training hard. Swimming up and down the bay until cold numbs the limbs. Shivering, he warms up by a fire at the shore, measuring his will to continue training. A third lynx was killed, this time caught in a big deadfall. It had cornered and eaten a rabbit in the southern peninsula. The big clueless one, persplexed by the sea. Ukko had kicked it earlier. He wonders if it was still limping and why fell prey.

"The waters need to be a lot warmer for any serious attempt for mainland. Where are the trader boats? It's almost summer. They should be already racing to get winter furs first. Even I have something to show."

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Swimming increases at most three times per day. Well not every day. Increases seem chance based. Sometimes no luck. Training tactic is to swim close to the shore little bit more than numbingly cold, and warm up only to bitteringly cold and continue. On spare time check traps, fish or craft. Very little moving around. Swimming until freezing would be more efficient, but I'm terrified of failing because of numb player brain at this point. So extra care is taken.

I should also mention I've updated and started using my old fletching mod (see signature). As a wannabe archer-bowyer irl, I just can't bring myself to shoot those branches. For challenge transparency I had to publish it even though I wasn't planning to otherwise.

EDIT: Swimming at 100, time to start crafting while the waters warm up. Boy that was boring. But now this character is ever so precious. This is what makes these permadeath games so thrilling. You waste your real life for something unreal, which could, and will - I promise you - vanish in a blink of a button.              

[Privateer]

Profile

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Skills

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Injuries

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  Day 1: Found a good shoreline picking rocks, stones and wood along the way. Collected downed slender trees and managed a shelter before midnight.
  Day 2: The weather is just above freezing so investigation of the immediate area to the West and North is the plan. Gathered some wood, rock but no sign of any vegetation to eat. Found a couple 2~3 tile choke points joining land masses.
  Day 3: The temp is again over freezing so to the South and East today. Located some cranberry plants so I collected the small amount and build a small trap at a choke point on my way back to shelter. Nearing the shelter I spotted a lynx, it ran off NNW. I don't have any bait so I put two small traps (unbaited) to the North of the shelter. Made staff/javelin before sleep.
  Day 4: Down to about 10 cranberries, warm again, spent 2 hrs fishing (with no luck). Nothing in 'lynx' traps, checking other trap and found bloodscape on the way. Found partly eaten rabbit, no skin, got 1 cut + fat, nothing at trap. Back home bait one trap with fat and roast the cut.
  Day 5: Cooler this moning, Traveled further SSW 'chasing' more berries. Found a few crowberries, then some lingonberries. Stayed mostly cold all day. Heading back to shelter, replaced cranberry bait with lingonberry in trap. Ran across two lynx on the way home. Moved trap w/fat bait to south of my shelter in hopes of snagging a lynx there. Still haven't seen any tracks.
  Day 6: It's a bit cold, going to check traps and maybe get more berries

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 0/2 

[Buoidda]

Ah, the ominous snarl of the unreal tiger. Humorously called lynxes they are. So sad. 

Btw, what led to this encounter? Was it injured?

[Privateer]

Ah, the ominous snarl of the unreal tiger. Humorously called lynxes they are. So sad. 

Btw, what led to this encounter? Was it injured?

 It was a fresh day, I was moving through a spruce mire area where I had seen some before, but I never saw it. Until Ancestors screen I was only guessing what animal it was.

[Buoidda]

Hmm. Instakill. Shocking and unfair. But life isn't fair. Bears do that too. (Makes me think about all the times playing ADOM and just suddenly dying without warning, be it a trap or invisible monster. Roguelike-life hangs on a thin thread.) Can't say it was bad luck either. I've heard a few of these lynx victim stories over the years. In this case the victim was badly injured already and no clothing so those contributed to his downfall. But nevertheless lynxes are unrealistically dangerous, slicing through necks like butter. A reason why my chars try to wear at least a hood always. I wonder if there are any previous discussions about it.

To newbies reading, (which @Privateer certainly isn't): Keep a distance to them unless they are fatigued/badly injured. Wear protection if possible. Aggressive lynxes can be kept at bay by throwing stuff at them. That usually makes them flee again.


Ukko update:

Waters are still chilly, but Ukko is itching to leave. He's trained so much he feels like a fish in the water. He completed a trap fence near his camp, and the gods gave him yet one grey seal as a parting gift. Ukko hung it's skull near the fence to warn possible humans about the pit and traps. They are all untriggered now. One last sacrifice at the seita boulder on a nearby hilltop. Ukko gathers his food supplies, manages to swim with them across a narrow strait to the next island. He climbs a cliff and memorizes a parting view of the island that was his home for many months.

Save available for the curious and whoever wishes to practise island hopping. I'm using my fletching mod.

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https://www.dropbox.com/s/ahryebx4ejg5iv7/UKKO%20leaving.7z?dl=0

[Buoidda]

Long swims go easily after all food is left behind. Water is comfortable at last. It must be past midsommer already. On a bigger island, a fellow lost soul. Quite a character. Good swimmer too, has two axes but refuses to even talk about lending axe for making a raft or even a paddle. Finally he agreed to split some boards. Soon a raft and a paddle are made and Ukko heads back to camp to fetch all the accumulated furs and skins.

An islander village looms in the horizon. This Rikori is a real oddball. Even when Ukko is paddling, Rikori swims behind. With all that steel he's carrying? "He must be a spirit." Ukko decides. While in the quiet Islander village, Ukko tells his story. Villagers listen almost unbelievingly. Rikori is grateful for finding a village and stays there. He gives Ukko lesson in hideworking for his companionship. After trading for a broad knife, Ukko looks for Rikori to ask him once more for one of his handaxes. Ukko doesn't find him. "I've been blessed with a savior."

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This was pure luck. But I'm relieved, it would've been pretty tedious to swim all the way to mainland. Highest fatigue was 36 after 10 wilderness tile swim. Some backtracking. No coldness problems after stepping into water was "comfortably warm". Everything but a few pieces of clothing was left behind. It was very handy to have leather shoes. Leather for rope which became stone axe for making a paddle and a raft.

[Buoidda]

Finally in a land of familiar people. Driik villagers gather around Ukko to hear his amazing stories in the hands of the Njerpez and the long hermitry on the island. Battle scars turn even the hardest sceptics around. In return, he hears news from home. "It will be so good to see my family again, mum will burst in tears she will", Ukko yearns. After recuperating a day, trading and long evening talks, Ukko starts his journey home.

But that is another story.

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Challenge complete. This wasn't too hard. More like tedious. I guess the big ones were light injuries at the start and some luck spawning a stag and reindeer early enough to get fur clothes. And of course Rikori, but he was really a fast-forward past the easy and tedious island hopping part. I was clubbing with pikes so well at that point that few starvation points were more result of player rush and Ukko's homesickness than his ability. Grandmaster swimmer in warm waters doesn't seem to be in any danger of drowning, either. It was different in winter. Three times fell through the ice. Each time almost didn't get out. Could've well have died then.

I'm already thinking of a retake with a zero skill guy. (My hand is stiched up and I can't get to work so I have plenty of play time now.)

Island swimming would really be a never-ending nightmare with the no-zoom constraint. I was thinking of only using minimum zoom in wilderness map, allowing max zooming out only on cliffs and mountains. But then again, that would be more of an annoyance than a real constraint. So, next time, I'm all in for not zooming out until finding a cliff in the first, critical part of survival.

A save:

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https://www.dropbox.com/s/b5mvr00r2y5mpul/UKKO%20complete.7z?dl=0

[Buoidda]

Edited the scenario story  I fear death is not far....

Spoiler: Scenario and character details • show

Extra challenge options:
- zooming out allowed only on cliffs and mountains during winter (closed eyes for game start)
- "zeroed" Seal Tribe, stats rerolled until bad enough

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Day 4, 11th week before midwinter: Single tile heathland island. Injuries 76. I'm soo dead.
Day 2, 10th week: Crawled across the ice and found a bigger island. Don't know how big. (Wow. This is much more exciting this way!) A week or so in game. Stone knife, light trap, shelter. A lot of cutting for firewood with a fire nearby, some torches, berry picking, urgently laying light traps following shoreline. First hare trapped already. Starvation 6, injuries 60.
Day 4, 10th week: A cliff. A big island is seen to the east. Life is following the shoreline and staying warm. Couple of birds in the traps. A hare runs through a trap and vanishes in the woods, limping. Later the critter is found in the same trap. Now rope and a stone axe. Starvation 13, injuries 49.

Spoiler: First cliff view • show

Day 4, 9th week: Here the not zooming out plays a big part. Some trouble finding a way to the big island. Dropped through the ice twice. Lost 17 pounds of lingonberries in total. Stone axe was saved by throwing it on the ice. Starvation rises and weather gets colder. Need to find big game. Starvation 29, injuries 24.
Day 1, 8th week: Spotted a lynx and moved north not to cross paths with it. Left a baitless big trap at the cliff. Met a group of reindeer which was moving along coastline. Left a bear trap and continued. Later the group turned back and voilá! one of them got caught in the bear trap. Fur! Starvation 34, injuries 20.

Spoiler: Trapped reindeer • show

Day 6, 8th week: Clad in fur! Didn't kill the trapped reindeer, but used it's flock effect to slay the other doe and calf first (94lbs calf carcass, 0.9lbs skin?). In the meantime, berries withered again. Have 40 fistfuls so that's enough bird feed. Now off to find some legging and coat material. Starvation 18, injuries 13.
Day 1, 6th week: Found some more berries. Set up a trap trail around a bay. Few catches. Zig-zagged through the island due south to look for big herbivore tracks. Saw a fox, but ignored it. Baited the lynx trap in the south tip of the island and while zooming out on the cliff, the lynx was already in the trap. Spotted a seal too from the cliff and found good big trunks near it, but lacking rope. Returned north to bay area to check the trail for birds. Starvation 0, injuries 8.

Spoiler: Bay • show

Spoiler: Trapped lynx • show

Day 5, 6th week: Two ropes more. Starting another island sweep while going to make a trap where I saw the seal. On the way a terrible sight! Drowned, rotten ( ) reindeers near the place I first saw them. Curses! I wondered why the group was so small. Should've been investigating... Injuries 4.

Spoiler: drowned reindeers • show

Day 2, 5th week: Threw a rock at a seal. Didn't set up a trap because lack of trunks. Should've cut some... Very little
anything. There are birds on the island, but not in the bay area. Maybe the traps should be more widespread. But it's very troublesome not being able to move on wilderness map. Getting lost is easy and half the island being thick coniferous doesn't help either. Arranging feather arrow signs. Finally a sow moves far away in the woods. Starvation 6, injuries 2.

Spoiler: Sow sighted • show

[paulkorotoon]

ATTEMPT 4. Had frozen to death.
ATTEMPT 5. Had died of frost.
ATTEMPT 6. Had been killed when tried to rob a lone trader.
ATTEMPT 7. Had frozen to death. Again.
ATTEMPT 8. Had been shot with a single arrow when tried to rob an adventurer.
ATTEMPT 9. Came upon two wolves stuck on a crag close to the shore, tried to kill them with rocks, got too close to them and had been killed with a single blow. Sooo stupid.
ATTEMPT 10. Had starved to death. 75 days!
ATTEMPT 11. Had died of starvation.
ATTEMPT 12. Had starved to death. Once more.