Death is common in URW, and as the game is developed some might want to restart with every new release.

We each have our own routine, and I'm curious . . .

I used to always pick agriculture - the only sure way to get a shovel - and then start by building a shelter on a coastline, then ringing it with pits. My second task was cellars, then a smokehouse.

It's not as important in recent versions to have a fortified camp, as the menacing baddies don't seem to be drawn towards you anymore, but out of habit I still do the same plan.

What's yours? don't be shy ;p.

first thing I hunt/fish, then search for a village to get myself a pot, a spare knife or two and maybe a dog.

The rest is just adventure :lol:

hunting, fishing, trapping, killing, skinning, building, and eating. The life in unreal world is the life of a champion =P

I start looking for the magic spot to build a house right away. Something on a peninsula usually, close to several villages that have at minimum a mill. I start gathering up food and fur and try to chase down all 4 axes, a pot, a shovel, some nets and all the other "essentials" for living like a forest king. I like big houses but I also like to live in the woods so I gather half a forest's worth of tree trunks from somewhere nearby and haul them to my spot of choice with a raft. By then I've hopefully got enough fur for a two layered suit and then really all I have to worry about is eye-seeking squirrels. Mostly my time is taking up by step 1, once I find the right spot everything seem to fall into place, but I've spent well over half a year just searching before.

Axes are my first priority always cause I tend to build a cabin before the first winter (always start in spring). Kinda means that I ball around between hunting/fishing/building/trading/manufacturing...basically doing all at once when appropriate.

i always start as a trapper in summer or autumn. first thing i do is procure some food, then make a stack of traps and head for the nearest village. my goal is to get a fishing rod, a pot, all four axes, a bull, a dog or two and a cattle so i can smoke the meat and make some clothes. nowadays i'll start the second set of challenges pretty much from the beginning of the game, and i can get the fishing rod that way.

i try to locate a village with a shamen of some sort for future reference and if i find a punt i concider myself very lucky (i almost always play on archipelago maps for this reason).

i'll often chase down foxes and beavers if i encounter them but normally i don't mess with animals smaller than a reindeer, preferring the large hoofed animals for their large amounts of meat and fairly large-sized furs. for fun and old time's sake i still try to pit every foreign trader that i encounter, even if i don't need their stuff. it just amuses me.

i do try to get some kind of house built and a bit of a garden put in before winter, and stock my cellar with lots of smoked meat. in my spare time i like to paddle out into rivers or rapids and do a bit of fishing.

I start either the runaway slave scenario or the unfortunate hunting trip scenario (if I feel I want to give myself a good chance of survival right at the start). After that I usually go looking for a cave to call home or simply build a shelter and go man-hunting.

Talking about finding the "magic spot" for the house. In all of my games I'm always trying to find that 2-square island in the middle of a river, which in my opinion is the ideal place to build a cottage. Island isolation is the key for a long-lived character. On top of that, river squares never freeze, so no living creature can ever come to your private estate, not even during the winter. :P

I guess that makes me the ultimate hermit.

I used to throw a ring of pits around all 8 points on a homestead area, plus one in the center, but since the local map became unpinned I'm not sure there's a point. It doesn't zoom in to a zone anymore - used to be you zoomed in on an area, and it had borders, and you or your quarry could escape just by crossing the borders.

Runaway Slave was a lot easier ;p.

I still look for an area that has water on all but the corners, where maybe I can find a bit of land that juts out into the water a bit.

I have found myself trying to look for lots of villages in start of every game.
When I get succifient axes, shovel and maybe a pot + weapon fitting for my skill + punt/raft, I'll go find a place for my homestead.

I usually take fisherman scenario, and fish for a pike or two before going village-finding.

I always do the village.


Even if the village doesn't have a shovel, pot, or axe (the three things that you absolutely need to survive), villages are almost always in the same region as another villages. If the first one doesn't have it all, the second one usually will.

just as a point of note, both the farming *and* the trapping (my favorite) will start you out with a shovel in your initial equipment.

I always started in the wounded/winter situation and tried to live long enough to heal.
Then trek out and find a village to use as a center of operations. Chop wood, ice fish, hunt, woodcraft for trade goods to get a basic set of gear. If I'm not out on my own by spring I am very disappointed.

Of course, that was SEVERAL versions ago and a lot has changed.

But in a few minutes I'll be sending my $3 off to master sami to see if he can get me addicted again.

(BTW hiya Aislinn, JT et al, mr. list is back)

(edit)

For starting out I like to owl tribe - decent hideworking, archery, good with an ax.
My 5 picks usually go into physician, hideworking, tracking, bows, and one other that needs a boost depending on my stats. Sometimes I decide the NJs must die, so I take shield and make a bowman/ax-n-shield fighter.

I tend to play a hunter/trapper but I also enjoy agriculture. Fishing just gets way too easy for me very quickly. Trap fences are a lot of fun.

First thing into the game I see to my wounds, try to find some food, and as soon as I have about 10-12 cords I make a shortbow and arrows (unless I get lucky and find a bow shop first).

Ideal Homestead (as of this version):
Narrow wooded peninsula at a confluence of rivers.
I trap fence the area the peninsula connects to "mainland".
If possible, the animal pens occupy a separate tile between the fence and the tip of the peninsula.
My fort is built on the tip of the peninsula, built as a sort of flat motte and bailey, surrounded by fields.