Three years in the Unreal World

[Bert Preast]

For the first time, I have a character who has completed 1095 days without dying!  Three years!  To celebrate, I am buying everyone a barrel of kotikalja posting about it here.  My iron-age Finn is a Kaumo, and at 191cm and 101kgs an absolute unit.  He's great at everything, although a little bit deaf.  Three stars for every skill, and over three years they have developed like this:

Lore & Craft Skills


Agriculture   00%   17%  Seems to be only sowing that raises this.
Building           15%   42%  Built 3 cabins and a lot of fences!
Cookery      60%   93%  A mix of all cooking styles.
Herblore           30%   98%  Quite a bit of grinding involved here!
Fishing      60%   60%  Hardly done any fishing so no surprise.
Hideworking   90% 100% Lots of skins and furs tanned.
Timbercraft   15%   92%  See above about building cabins and fences.
Physician           75%   78%  Lots of wounds healed, on dogs and allies too.
Trapping           80%   83%  Traps only used to protect homes and crops.
Tracking           70%   99%  Includes 20% from game course.
Weatherlore   00%   46%  Grind, grind, and more grind!
Textilecraft   80%   84%  Lots of repairing looted clothing.
Carpentry           85%   88%  Making stuff.  Lots of stuff.


Physical Skills


Skiing      30%   100% Skiing on zoomed in map raises this faster.
Stealth      60%   100% Practise this around trapped birds etc..
Climbing           15%   100% Climb fences.  Lots of fences.
Swimming           00%   100% Careful here, cold or fatigue will drown you.


Combat Skills


Dodge      75%   81%  Try to find an angry badger to help with this.
Shield      00%   00%  I use a bow or a battleaxe.
Knife              35%   38%  A guy lost in the forest gifted me the rise.
Sword      00%   00%  Axes FTW.
Club              95%   96%  Lobbing rocks at squirrels.
Axe              95%   99%  Good at slicing people and bonking animals.
Flail              00%   00%  Silly weapon.
Spear      90%   91%  Great weapon until you get a good bow.
Bow              85%   100% Masterwork longbow.  It's like having a rifle.
Crossbow           00%   00%  Never seen the point.
Unarmed      30%   36%  Kicking trapped birds in the head.

I started in summer as hurt, helpless and afraid, as far to the north east as I could get.  The first year was as a hermit on the far north eastern coast, using only stone and wood for weapons and tools.  Furs and leather are not enough for a winter up there, I was going hypothermic and getting frostbite all the time.  I decided for the second year to return to civilisation, and get myself some nice warm woolly undies.  I built a cabin between two large marshes, and hunted and traded.  The third year has been dedicated to expunging the scourge of the Njerps, and thus far it's going very well.  I've destroyed all their villages, but I am still finding camps of warriors.

EDIT:  Apologies for the formatting, I have tried and failed to fix it

[Brygun]

Well done

I often find it hard to play on past the first full year as I've conquered the enviroment with now having more clothes, foods, fields, tools than the beginning.

[Bert Preast]

I conquered the environment in the first year, even though I only permitted myself stone and wood tools and weapons.  I used some mod made by some bloke, By Gum, I think his name was.  Or something like that, anyway! 

The BAC mod allowed me to make boards, albeit by a rather arduous process.  With much hard work and patience, I was able to make a cellar and a small cabin, both of which were invaluable.  I even managed to stock the cellar a bit, despite stone knives wasting some three quarters of the meat from each kill.

I usually get bored and restart by this stage too, but this Finn was the best I have ever rolled so I decided that for the second year I would trade for some good tools, build a large cabin and explore the metalworking options in the mod.  This kept me interested.

The third year I decided to destroy the Njerps, which I think is now done - though I keep finding camps here and there so I may be wrong.  My plan now is to wall up my substantial quantities of loot and my animals, then go back to nature.  Start all over somewhere around the lakes and marshes north of the former Njerp lands, naked and with nothing.  Eschew all human contact, and see if I can go from a stone knife and axe to making a forge and smithing my own tools and weapons.  I think it is possible to do, so am giving it a shot.

EDIT:  Having gone naked with nothing into the wilderness, just over two months later I have managed to produce a handaxe!  Buoidda did a fantastic job making sure that everything needed for metalwork can be crafted by a player starting with nothing.  For anyone who fancies trying it - you need patience.  Splitting firewood from a block with a stone axe can take over 10 hours for 20 firewood, and that's with master level timbercraft skill!  Now to forge my own broadknife, then build a cabin before winter comes again...   

[Bert Preast]

Now in dead month, four and a half months on from my hermithood.  Winter is closing in, but I have made a fine woodsman's axe, a fine broad axe, a carving axe and a shovel.  I have built a trap fence, and am clad in furs that thanks to my new iron tools are decent rather than rough.

I spent too much time on making iron tools though, and so I now find myself without a cabin and I am going to need one very badly before long.  My main problem has been food, at one point I was starving when I spotted a bear.  I had on me three javelins and a handaxe.  It took a while to stalk, as it had gone into a spruce mire.  I kept at it, being desperate for food.  Only one of my javelins scored a hit, and then the bear was on me, a large female.  I hit her with my axe, and she smacked me right in the plums.  I hit her again, crippling her, then backed away while I tried not to puke or blub.  She stayed between me and my thrown javelins, and in the end I finished it the hard way.  A fine bearskin to make clothes for winter!

My big regret is not having harvested more nettles; I have enough for some yarn but I think I should have got more, enough to make some undies at least.  As I am avoiding all human contact, my only clothing options are fur and leather.  Going to be a bloody cold winter.

 

[Bert Preast]

For the first time one of my characters has made it out of his teens!  Twenty winters old today \o/

Six months now since I cast myself back into the cuds, and I am now pretty well set.  I have the full range of fine quality axes, apart from a splitting axe which I don't consider essential.  I am planning to expand my cabin come spring, so will make one then to speed up board production.  I have also made a couple of longbows, only decent quality but they will make hunting easier and I intend to keep trying for a better one.

I have dried meat in the cellar for over six months, as well as a couple of bags of lakereed flour.  Light lever traps keep me topped up with fresh food every few days.  Having a small garden would be nice, but I think the only way to get seeds without human contact is from nettles, sorrel or yarrow.  I hate yarrow, for three and a half years I have been diligently examining the bloody stuff, and "There is still more to learn"!  I think I will try nettles.

I am still enjoying metalworking, my next project is for a metal anvil to replace my stone one.  I don't know if it makes a difference, but it feels like the right thing to do.  After that I will see if I can turn my hand to armour, knock up a drill and see if I can get some workable lamellar on the go.  I would make an iron helm, but from previous experience they seem to be bugged and only give the protection of the leather used in making them   

[Tinker]

An ieon anvil is definitely a good idea, a good quality one really pays for the time to make it, anything you make is almost certain to be fine quality.

[Bert Preast]

Would you happen to know if a fine or masterwork quality whetstone or tiller is possible?  I have tried making each a few times, but they always come out as decent quality.

[Tinker]

I do not recall ever having anything better than decent, sometimes poor. Then again my best character is only 18, which I can almost remember irl.

[Bert Preast]

Four years in today!  1460 days survived!  I am still in self-imposed exile in the far eastern wilderness, but I have now made a Finnish Punt and a fishing net to provide an alternative from smoked and dried meats.  My main focus has been armour, and I made some lamellar shin guards as a proof of concept.  I hope that within a couple of weeks I will have enough lamellar to make a long hauberk.

My trapline has been a great disappointment, probably because I am living too close to it - I am on the same tile.  No matter though, plenty of game on the marshes.

I am still pondering my plan for the next year.  Do some quests for villages?  Attack a tribe?  Make a new home on an island?  Try living the cave life?  Hmm, any suggestions are very welcome!

Skills have changed as follows, first number is at start, second number is after three years then the third number is after four years:

Lore & Craft Skills


Agriculture   00%   17%  35%  Seems to be only sowing that raises this.
Building           15%   42%  45%  Built 4 cabins and a lot of fences!
Cookery      60%   93%  95%  A mix of all cooking styles.
Herblore           30%   98%  100%  Finally!  Still can't identify yarrow, though 
Fishing      60%   60%  64%  My fishing net is starting to crank this up.
Hideworking   90% 100% 100%  Lots of skins and furs tanned.
Timbercraft   15%   92%  100%  See above about building cabins and fences.
Physician           75%   78%  78%  Lots of wounds healed, on dogs and allies too.
Trapping           80%   83%  84%  Traps only used to protect homes and crops.
Tracking           70%   99%  100%  Includes 20% from game course.
Weatherlore   00%   46%  59%  Grind, grind, and more grind!
Textilecraft   80%   84%  84%  Lots of repairing looted clothing.
Carpentry           85%   88%  94%  Making stuff.  Lots of stuff.


Physical Skills


Skiing      30%   100% 100%  Skiing on zoomed in map raises this faster.
Stealth      60%   100% 100%  Practise this around trapped birds etc..
Climbing           15%   100%  100%  Climb fences.  Lots of fences.
Swimming           00%   100% 100%  Careful here, cold or fatigue will drown you.


Combat Skills


Dodge      75%   81%  82%  Try to find an angry badger to help with this.
Shield      00%   00%  00%  I use a bow or a battleaxe.
Knife              35%   38%  38%  A guy lost in the forest gifted me the rise.
Sword      00%   00%  00%  Axes FTW.
Club              95%   96%  96%  Lobbing rocks at squirrels.
Axe              95%   99%  100%  Good at slicing people and bonking animals.
Flail              00%   00%  00%  Silly weapon.
Spear      90%   91%  93%  Great weapon until you get a good bow.
Bow              85%   100% 100%  Masterwork longbow.  It's like having a rifle.
Crossbow           00%   00%  00%  Never seen the point.
Unarmed      30%   36%  36%  Kicking trapped birds in the head.