Early game is some of the most thrilling play I’ve experienced. I’ve been playing with Bad Day scenarios. I don’t optimize for early game (though admittedly, the single point in fabrication I took has been useful). In this instance, the starting town was too small. This is problematic when you’re naked in freezing temperatures. With sheets draped around me I jumped out the kitchen window. The next town was not too far away. I would hike across the field if I had to, but this time I was lucky - there was a small car left abandoned on the road, and it held just enough gas. I got in and took off before the dogs could get me. I drove towards the other city, to find even the outskirts were mobbed. A few clicks south, I could see a hotel and decided to try my luck. Step down on the gas, and ram my vehicle through the hotel lobby, jamming it deep into the hallway. Right out of a hollywood movie. Glad I did, because it prevented monsters from following me inside. I explored east, down the hall, and ran into a feral hunter. I didn’t stand a chance.
I ran back and forth trying to lose it in the dark, but it stayed on me and I was getting tired, so I made a dash for the exit, and managed to catch it behind one of the doors. But that put me back to square one - outside, in the freezing cold, with nothing but a rock and some sheets. Ran around the back of the hotel, smashed a window and crawled inside to see what I can find. Nothing much. After a few tries, I found a room that wasn’t occupied, and used the smashed up remains of the bathroom sink to build a makeshift knife. The hotel room doors are locked from both sides, so I had to bash one down with a two by sword, and went back to the car for scrap metal. Made some lockpicks, the Nord, and such. One of the rooms had a suitcase and a sewing kit, so I used that to make socks and socks and sock mitts and foot rags and set about wrapping myself with all the scrap fabric I could manage.
When I got about to cautiously exploring the other end of the building, I narrowly missed detection by a zombie hulk by one or two steps. As I opened more rooms and peered out from the darkness, I learned the horde was becoming quite thick about the place. Recalling some vehicles I’d seen in the lot, I looked for a gap, and made my break. Don’t underestimate the hatchback. That thing is a quiet as a mouse. But it was low on gas, so I switched it for a solar car, which should in theory be even sneakier. First time I’ve drive one of those. Drove it around back to nab a coffee maker (a wasteland essential) and then drove off into a now-setting sun.
Made one quick pass through town to scope it out, but there was no easy foothold, so I landed back out in nowheresville. There’s some big ants around here, but so far they’re ignoring me. If I don’t find some clean water soon, I may have to risk it on whatever I can find…