Speak to him. Try to telepathy to him. It's a dream. He'll understand me. Make it clear that I don't want any trouble from him. I don't want to kill him. (Yet.) Live and let live. Leave me alone and I won't bother you either.

Be ready to grab my 9mm if he moves too aggressively. But try to make it clear that I don't want anything from him.

OOC) One time when I was dumpster diving I had a raccoon jump out of a dumpster at me. I shined my flashlight in at him, his glowing eyes looked at me for a second, then he jumped at me. I ducked in time and he ran off into the night. That was a fun night!!!

IC) So I've got three days worth of food and more tools and education than Wildman Bill Moreland ever dreamed of. If he can do it, so can I.

When I'm away from the other people, or at least I think I am, try to set up a shelter for the night. Get a basecamp established. Build a firepit, look for game trails. Maybe look for a cave. I've read books and watched a lot of videos on YouTube about wilderness survival. Let's see if I can put any of that to practice!!!!

OOC) I recommend reading the story of Wildman Bill Moreland. (It might have been Mooreland, now that I think about it.) He got sick of society and walked into the woods wearing jeans, a tee shirt and shoes, carrying a wallet and not much else and he lived there for many years. Really interesting story.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 11:14, Fri 19 Feb 2021.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 22):

You get the feeling back like he really does want to eat you.  And then he takes two fast steps, and turns into a spinning ball of Opossum Doom that rolls like Sonic right at you.

Boom.
Clear miss.
Boom.
Minor side hit, doesn't really bother him.
Boom.
Another minor hit.

+@1 to gunfighting.

You dive to the left hitting the soft ground hard, and he rolls right over your ankle, missing you, smashing into a tree hard enough to shake it.  He uncurls, and turns your way, and he's still in Let's have a Johnny Cake mode...

+@1 to dodge in melee.

So I've fired three times? Keep firing until I empty the magazine. So 13 more times. (15 in the mag, 1 in the pipe)

If thirteen more bullets fired doesn't change the situation; if he's still alive and trying eat me, let him. It's a dream. Big deal. Maybe reload and fire again at him from inside his stomach.

Darn!!! I was looking forward to teaching myself real wilderness survival!!!

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 24):

You open fire, and before it rolls back up, you put one in its face.  Incredibly, the Giant Oppossum is still coming, so you put two more in its chest, and are about to go for four, when it falls over.  And evaporates.

It leaves behind a marble that glows faint orange, and a chunk of cooked meat.

+@1 to shooting.

You're panting a bit, and your heart flutters, but then it calms down.

OOC) Good. He was starting to think this might not be a dream after all.

Speaking to myself: "Good, I was starting to think this might not be a dream after all."

Examine the marble and the meat. How much meat is it? Is it how much you'd expect from a 50 pound opossum or is it just enough for a meal? What does the marble feel like? What happens if I toss it?



Well, you did forget to bring your heart medicine....

So, after I dispatch the opossum, head into the woods. Try to find a place to set up a camp.

Live off the land... Hopefully I'll run into Magehammer out here....

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 26):

Its just enough meat for a meal.  The marble, when you pick it up, is warm.  And then words appear in front of your vision.

Do you wish to utilize the Beast Core or store it or other?  Y/N/?/?

You toss it in the air, and it acts like a crystal marble, and goes up and comes down for you to catch it easily enough.

You do find a small clearing a few yards from a creek.

Eat the meat. Did I happen to see what the opossum was munching on before it attacked me? Magehammer probably told you that a good rule of thumb for identifying wild, edible plants is if you see a rabbit eating it, you probably can too. Then you have a nice salad whilst you eat the rabbit.

This is a true rule of thumb of wilderness survival. If you see an animal eating it, you can probably eat it too.

I do know of a few ways to test for edibility. Rub some on your skin and wait. Does it burn? Itch? Otherwise feel uncomfortable? Probably not safe to eat.

If it doesn't, put some in your mouth. A tiny bit. Does it burn? Itch? Otherwise feel uncomfortable? If so, spit it out. If not, try eating a larger amount. If you still don't feel sick, cross your fingers and dig in.



"Uh, I'll wait for later."

Wonder what that means.....



Put it in my overalls pocket.



Cool!!! Try to build a lean-to shelter. It's a long pole leaning against a tree with some sticks and branches applied to make it watertight. Watched some videos on YouTube about it right before I versed..... had this dream.

When night falls, go and get the rest of my gear.

Tomorrow, see if I can remember my survival skills.

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 06:01, Sat 27 Feb 2021.

Two Posts

Speaking of survival skills. Glantri was an Eagle scout and had actually applied some of the wilderness survival skills. I've read some books and seen some videos and I (As Magehammer) had the nerve to tell him was wrong about some things.

Glantri, if you happen to be reading, sorry bout that!!! I'd still like to run you. Magehammer won't be seen.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 28):

You find lettuce, and test it, and eat it, and its fine.  The Opossum tastes surprisingly good.

You make a nice hut.

+@1 to hutmaking.

OOC) I'm not making a hut. I'm making a shelter. Get on YouTube and look up Greg Ovens Bushcraft and Zachary Fowler. These two guys did a 30 day survival challenge in the Canadian Rockies. As I recall, they were armed only with a slingshot and a fishing pole to acquire meat. Greg Ovens is really good on edible plants. (Did I bring my fishing stuff? It's nothing really. Just some string, weights and hooks. I don't even have a pole.) I watched that video right before I versed out. It's kind of a refresher course in survival.

And it should be 1@2 shelter building, as I've never built a shelter before.

IC) If I've got my fishing hooks and whatnot, set up a trot line in the stream. It's just a bunch of baited hooks on a line, strung out into the water. The best way to acquire meat is to do as little work as possible.

Under the cover of darkness, sneak back to that other place and get my stuff, little by little. I ran with 600 rounds of 22. Used strictly for hunting, that could last for a year or more. But I've got at least 4,000 rounds of it. And shotguns too.

I hope everything isn't as hard to kill as that opossum was......

Did I happen to see anything silver which could be taken? A coin perhaps? I've read that a way to tell if mushrooms are safe to eat is to put a silver coin in the pan when you cook them. If the coin turns black, they're poisonous.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on wilderness survival. I just play one online. If you follow my tips and get killed, I take no responsibility!!!

Anyway, on with the game!!!!

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:03, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 31):

OOc;  I tried the thing with a silver penny and some random mushrooms, and I'm pretty sure I'll be fine.  Urk. Gasp. Augh.

Sure, you have your fishing line.


Shelter it is.

You bring back your stuff, and then go check on the line.  Its cut, and out in the creek you see a sunfish, w hich ordinarily might be a handspan, but is now a forearm long, lift itself half out of the water, and spit one of your hooks at you.  It misses, but then it starts to glow bright yellow....

I can't imagine I'd be walking around without my Marlin 22 in hand, so I kneel down and take aim at the sunfish. I've 18 rounds in the weapon, keep firing until the situation changes. Let's hope it's not as difficult to take down as the opossum.

If I get another one of those marbles, I might use one to see what it does.

Anyway, on with the game.... dream I'm having.

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 33):

Indeed. I'd be having a white knuckle grip on my gun at that point.

You fire, and fire, and fire....

Hit, miss, good hit near the eye, and double check, fire again, and hit, and its floating sideways where it drifts to the edge of the stream and vanishes leaving behind a tiny golden fishing hook, and a smaller marble.

+@1 to shooting as this is a  new use due to being a water borne opponent.  It was not as armored or as tough as the possum, but still three 22 bullets is respectable for a fish.

So I went and got all of my stuff? I've got the 22 in hand, the double barrel slung over my shoulder and one of the three pistols on my hip. The 9mm, 45 or the 357. I'd be comfortable carrying any one of them as a sidearm and would probably switch up on occasion. So I'll let you know which one I'm using at that moment. (OOC) In this game, the only difference is how many shots they hold, but my character doesn't know that.)

I would hunt game primarily with the 22. Eighteen in the mag, plastic box of 100 rounds in my pocket. The shotgun is the double barrel 12. It has a sling and the Mossberg doesn't. It's double barrel 12, and has eight rounds of 00 buckshot on the sling, and six more in a holder on the stock. The shotgun and pistols are more for the two legged animals I may encounter....

I sit down on the ground a lot.



Still no jetpack?????

Run a trot line with the golden hook. Don't even bait it. Just run the hook out there.

Try to use the smaller marble. What does it do to me?



OOC) In Jaws, the gun Brody uses to blow up the air tank and kill the shark was an M1 Garand. 30-06. Like the one your character just got. Brody fired five times at the shark's head before he hit the tank. I'm just wondering if that would have killed the shark? A 30-06 is nothing to sneeze at. They hunt elephants with that cartridge. Five 30-06 rounds to the face might well have killed the shark. Too bad MythBusters is off the air....

You might mock me for using a Marlin 22. I can hunt small game with it, and if the situation should arrise, you can do a pile a damage with eighteen 22 bullets!!!

(Doing Therapy)

Yes, you got all your stuff.

You sit down with the smaller marble.  And say 'yes'.

"Contestant has chosen to activate Tiny Class Energy Beast Core." It glows brighter, and t hen with a feeling of warmth sinks into your hand, and dissolves.  You feel warmth run through your veins, and then go away.  But you feel slightly better now, as if you'd had a coffee or something.

You put out the golden hook.

You toss it out, and suddenly there is a ferocious yank.  A four foot long alligator with glowing green eyes, and the golden hook stuck in his mouth has exploded out of the bottom of the shallow creek where he was buried except for his eyes.

You feel an almost crushing intention to kill you smash into your mind.

OOC: Bad GE roll.  The effect of the golden hook is that its very hard for them to unhook themselves.  Does not mean anything else.  Also, this does not look like what oyu'd expect to be gator country, but...

Can I pull the gator safely onto the shore? Gators may have incredible force to their bite, but the muscles that open the jaws are incredibly weak by comparison. A human can (and have) held their jaws together in their bare hands.

See if I can get this boy up onto land where I can sit on his back and hold his mouth shut. Then I expect a point blank 9mm to the base of the skull oughta put him down.

OOC) That's in survival manuals. "Don't overlook reptiles like alligators or lizards as a food source." At this rate, I don't know what to expect.

Soooo... see if I can pull him to shore. Then sit on his back and shoot him in the head.

(Doing Therapy)

Two Posts

With the referee's permission, I'd like to modify my gear some.

Put back the two weeks of food bucket and two weeks of water. I'm probably severely overweight, but I'll put that back in favor of my tool bag. That's two hatchets, a crowbar, wood saw, hacksaw, couple hundred yards of cordage,  various cutters, screwdrivers and pliers, etc. A cooking pot and two mess kits also. Please Mr. Referee!!!!

Yeah, with your say so, I'd like to do that. Tools are more valuable than food out here. It's the whole Give a man a fish vs Teach a man to fish.

I like to fancy myself a survivalist, let's see if I can actually do it....

Anyway, on with the game!!!

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 38):

You and he slide about, but you don't quite get him out of the water.  His eyes glow green and he coughs, very loudly, but it doesn't seem to do anything.  His eyes dim, and then begin shining again.

His scales look really tough. You're not sure a 9MM is going to do anything to his skull.

As to transferring out stuff, lets go with a GE roll. 16 or less on 4d6 is  20, so no.

He's only 4 feet long. Not that big. I weigh almost 350 pounds. I shouldn't have a problem holding this little guy down.



I'm never sure it's gonna do anything. Shoot him anyway.



OOC) I would have let you do it...

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 40):

Indeed. You should be able to toss the gator about, but he's very active, and much stronger than he should be, and he seems to get more effect from his claws dragging about in teh mud than he should.

Its definitely not normal.  But then his eyes are literally glowing green so...

BOOM. A shot glances off his snout, knocking a scale free, splashing water.  Another bullet misses as he suddenly jerks the other way, and mud splashes back, and covers your hand, and possibly up the barrel of your gun.

(OOC: Botch).

He tries to yank himself free, but instead he flips himself on his back.

(OOC: Botch on his part.)

You're up to your knees covered in mud, and nearly drenched in water.

Drop the gun and pull my Kabar knife. It's on this toolbelt. Stab him in the belly. The belly is soft and stab-able.

What does his insides look like?

(Doing Therapy)

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 42):

You stab, and the blade makes an inch deep point.  Another stab, and this one goes in as you think it should.  He tries to rake you with his claws, but flops helplessly around instead.  You miss, and scratch him, and stab him good, and he scratches your forearm, and then he dies.

And there is a patch of hide, dried to leather, and a marble twice the size of the possum marble, and it glows green.  You're gasping for breath and bleeding, and your feet slide out from under you, and you plunk down with your shoes in the creek.

No meat??? No food? No delicious, life sustaining gator meat??? What a rip off!!!!!!

I take that marble in my hands and rear back to throw it..... Then, nah. Let's see what this dream does.

Use that marble. What does it do?

(Doing Therapy)
This message was last edited by the player at 09:07, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

In reply to JohnA1nut (msg # 44):

Contestant has chosen to activate Minor class Energy core.  You have 1 Energy banked, and now gain 10 Energy.  Ten Energy is sufficient to purchase the opening of the Energy Manipulation Table, or the Physical Modification Table, or the Skill Gain Table.

The marble dissolves and warmth rushes all through you, leaving you feeling as if you had just gotten a very good night's sleep.

Knew I was dreaming.... Never doubted it for a second....

I say out loud "What is what is what?"

I'm asking this, whatever it is, to kindly explain itself.

OOC) Seriously, tell me everything.

(Doing Therapy)