The Complete Guide to the UnReal World [WIP]

The complete unabridged guide to the UnReal World.
*Currently still a work in progress, all feedback appreciated*

New to the UnReal World? Check out this guide for help surviving your first Winter!

• All of the basic and advanced gameplay mechanics are explained in-depth.
  
• Beginner's segment, where starting tribes and situations are explained in-depth.

Introduction

Welcome to the UnReal World, Tribesman!
Your first journey through the wilds of Iron Age Finland will be harsh and unforgiving...
You will fall victim to the forces of man, beast and Mother Nature herself.
Such a journey is daunting to even the most experienced of adventurers.
These experiences collected by a multitude of tribesmen will help you survive the bleak winters that lay ahead of you.

Good luck to you Tribesman, and remember:
"Kyllä maailma opettaa; jos ei muuta niin hitaasti kävelemään."
"The world will surely teach one; if nothing else, than to walk slowly."

Beginning your Journey

When you first load up UnReal World you'll be greeted by this nicely made title screen:

In this menu you can:
Load Saved Character (Load a previously saved character)
Create A Character (Create a new character)
Setup (Adjust your sound and video options)
Ancestors (See your previous characters and the way that they died)
About (View information about the developer and the game)
Credits (View the game's credits)

To get started, we'll select "Create A Character"
The create choice will impact how and how many possible Skill points can be assigned / reassigned

• Quick - 0 skill points to assign, fastest character creation
  
• Custom - 5 skill points to assign (add up to one to any skill)
  
• Custom easy - 5 to 32 skill points (take up to one away from all skills, add up to two to any skill)
  
• Custom to easy - 5 - 56 skill points (take up to points two away from all skills, add up to three points to any skill)

*Note * Though the total numbers may vary, I used generic kuomo's to get the numbers above
I don't think all cultures get the same number of points so more testing would be needed or some other wording to explain it*

When the menu opens, select the "Custom" option.

Once that is done, you'll be taken to the Character Creation menu:

Here is where you can name your character, select the tribe that he/she is from, and choose the season that you'd like to start in.

Tribes

Here's a quick run down of the tribes and their various strengths and weaknesses:

Northern Tribes

Kuikka-Tribe: Fisherman to their very core, the northern Kuikka-Tribe has many small villages made up of huts and animal pens. They don't have shops like the Drikk, but they have plenty of reindeer for you to purchase. They are not skilled builders, and prefer to set up kotas. They excel at basic survival skills, as well as being talented trappers and hunters. They are clumsy with most melee weapons, and their small stature and fragile build means they don't last long in combat.



Owl-Tribe: Staunch northern survivalists, the Owl-Tribe of the North are a small but hardy lot. Similar to the Kuikka-Tribe, they have many small villages spread throughout the Northwest. They are known to be elusive and slow to trust strangers. Their innate watchfulness means they seldom wander into bad situations, and when they do, their agile build can get them away from the danger quickly. Unfortunately, as a result of their pacifistic nature, they do not have any experience with any weapons or fighting techniques beyond the simple club.



Seal-Tribe: A very spiritual tribe who reside in the Far North. As their name would suggest, their main food supply is the seals that reside in the Northern Ocean. Being elusive prey, they have come to develop rituals based around the seals. They can be considered sacred to the culture, to waste a seal is an insult to them. The Seal-Tribe are diminuitive in build, similar to the other Northern tribes. What they lack in strength and endurance are made up for in their heightened senses. They are often talented with the spear, but cannot swim at all. To swim in the frigid waters of the North is to invite Death.

Eastern Tribes

The Kaumolaiset: The Kaumolaiset live in the vast forests of the east. The different familes don't live close to each other, so instead of proper villages their have many settlements spread throughout the forests. They tend to be tough, tall and strong people who are proud of their freedom. They live mainly by hunting large prey, and by fishing in the many rapids of the forest. On their hunting trips, Kaumo men can spend weeks alone in the wilderness, stalking and tracking their prey. They are well known for their Kaumolais Spear, which is specifically designed to take down large animals. The Kaumolaiset region is rich in game and resources, which draw the attention of the Njerpezit Raiders. The Kaumo fight back as guerillas, using the dense forest they are so proud of to strike at the Njerpezit, and then disappear into the forest once again.


The Kiesseläinen: The Keisselaiset have small, loose villages, usually located near lakes and rivers. Kiesselaiset earn their wealth through fishing, hunting and slash-and-burn agriculture. Typically, they cut down a small area of forest each year, burning the trees, which yields fresh fertile land for cultivation. This kind of field is exhausted of nutrients within half a decade. After exhaustion, the area is turned into a pasture for the many animals they domesticate. When a Kiesselais family finds that there are no more old forests near their home, it is very common for them to take down their buildings and move to a new location with more forests to burn. They are a peaceful people and love to joke and tell stories.


The Reemiläiset: Reemiläiset live in the south-eastern part of the UnReal World. They have prosperous villages and they earn their living mainly through agriculture. Regular fishing, trapping, and trading all add to their reserve of wealth. They like to build big, protected houses. They have a deep respect for the spirit world, and their ancestors.

Western Cultures

Driikiläiset: Driikiläiset live on the south-west coastal area. They live in villages and towns, which are usually protected by walls, watchtowers and fortresses. Driikiläiset are traders. They send their ships abroad, they trade with inland peasants and with the fishermen of the archipelago. From time to time Driikiläiset are attacked by foreign pirates and bandits who sometimes sail from a great distance to attack Driik coast. Driikiläiset can be considered to be more organized than rest of the peoples of The UnReal World. They have differentiated professions - merchants, soldiers, sailors and so on. If needed, Driikiläiset can afford crossbows, metal armours, swords, battleaxes and full-metal shields.

Sartolainen: Sartolaiset have their home in the western coastal area of the UnReal World. They have settled to live in small agricultural villages, farming for food and trapping for furs. Sartolaiset trade mostly with the Driikilaiset, trading furs for salt, tools and luxury items. They are proud of their weatlh, and they display this by building large houses. They enjoy wrestling for fun, which can sometimes end in bloodshed if one of the parties draws a knife.



Islanders: They inhabit the archipelago in the most south-western part of the UnReal World. They mainly rely on fishing, but can often be found hunting seals and birds as well. They are quite skilled at making various seafaring crafts, as well as being handy at woodwork in general.






Koivulaiset: The Koivulaiset are traditionally farmers. They have considerably large fields filled with numerous amounts of cattle and sheep. They have their homes near the lakes and rivers in the medwestern part of the UnReal World. Twice a year they spend a few weeks in the wilderness, hunting, trapping and fishing. Then, they return home with the newly acquired fish, meat and furs. They don't travel too much, but regularly trade with the merchants that pass through the Koivula.

Skills

There are 29 skills in Unreal World. Each is represented by a letter of the alphabet and can be accessed by pressing Alt + the letter.

Skills can be improved with practice, only on a successful use will a skill improve (minimum success chance of any skill is 5%). Intelligence/Willpower don't affect the process, but certain tasks are more 'educational' than others, for example you'll learn more about timbercraft by making logs than you would by chopping firewood.
Also, the lower the skill mastery level is the faster the skill will raise upon succesful usage - so there's a 'learning curve'. It takes far less effort to go from 6% to 7% than from 76% to 77%.

Craft Skills

Agriculture
The agricultural skill allows players to grow their own food. Plantable crops and herbs are:

• Broad Beans
  
• Clayweed
  
• Peas
  
• Turnips
  
• Barley
  
• Rye
  
• Hemp
  
• Nettle
  
• Sorrel
  
• Yarrow

Agriculture provides a good long-term source of food and healing herbs, due to the time difference between sowing crops and harvesting them (around 8 weeks). Crops start to become ready in late summer through to late autumn, though exact times differ depending on the species of plant. All crops except for cereals can be simply picked up, but plants and cereals must be threshed to obtain seeds.

Building
Your character's ability to build things such as:

• Walls
  
• Floors
  
• Doors
  
• Shutters
  
• Fireplaces
  
• Benchs
  
• Tables
  
• Sleeping Bunks
  
• Fences
  
• Cellars

Cookery
This is a vital skill for survival in the Unreal world. Cooked food has five grades: awful, bland, normal (no indicator), tasty and delicious. These grades affect nutrition, but so slightly as to be unnoticeable.

Things you can make include:

• Roasted Meats
  
• Dried Meats
  
• Smoked Meats
  
• Salted Meats
  
• Boiled/Herbal Beverages (Certain poisonous mushrooms can be boiled to make them edible!)
  
• Flatbread
  
• Porridge
  
• Oven Porridge
  
• Seed Porridge
  
• Berry Porridge
  
• Meat and Fish Soups/Stews
  
• Pea Soup
  
• Greens Soup
  
• Vegetable Soups/Stews
  
• Mushroom Soups

Herblore
The ability to identify different plants and their various effects. For example, if you know what a sorrel is, it will show you it's effects when you examine it. Herbs you cannot identify will be greyed out and will be given a random name. Example: Cheerful Berries, Memorable Sprout.

To improve your herblore skill, examine unknown plants on different days and in different environments. On occasion, you'll learn something of it, and gain herblore skill and new knowledge.


Fishing
Your character's ability to catch fish. Increased by active fishing and by obtaining fish from placed nets. The chance to catch fish is greatest in the morning, and evening. The locations where fish are most often found are at rapids, and far out at sea.

Hideworking
The ability to skin animals, and creating fur and leather from their hides.
Tanning is a long and complicated process, with the skin in question requiring substantial cleaning, scraping and then beating before the product is finished.

Step 1: Skin a dead animal.

Step 2: Clean the skin at a water source.

Step 3: Tan the skin at a water source, you'll need the fat from the animal, or some bark.

Step 4: Rinse the tanning substance off of the skin, and repeat the process.

Step 5: Beat the skin, you'll need a work surface such as a bench, table or tree trunk, along with a tool to beat with, such as a club or a stone. This is the longest and most strenous step of the tanning process. Make sure you're well-fed and rested before you begin.

Timbercraft
The ability to fell and process trees in the UnReal World.
Different axes will be more handy at different tasks, and using the wrong axe for the task can make it a miserable endeavor.

Timbercraft skill is used to:

• Fell a Tree (Woodsman Axe)
  
• Chop a Felled Tree into Blocks (Woodsman Axe)
  
• Split Firewood from a Block (Splitting Axe)
  
• Carve a Trunk into a Log (Carving Axe)
  
• Split a Trunk into Boards (Splitting Axe)
  
• Peel Bark from a Tree (Small Knife)

Physician
The skill used to treat your injuries. For most wounds you'll need water, herbs and bandages. See more about treating your wounds in the "Wounds and Healing" section.

Trapping
Your ability to set, bait and craft different traps.
Trapping is very complex, and more detail is gone into in the "Hunting and Trapping" section.

Weatherlore
A skill that attempts to predict the weather conditions and climate. Useful for preparing for hunting trips, as you will know how much clothing and food to pack depending on the weather. Also used to predict whether or not ice will hold your weight.

Carpentry
Carpentry is the skill used to create most wooden objects, including arrows, bowls and paddles.
A better skill means that your crafts will be better made and be worth more.

Physical Skills

Skiing
Skiing is the skill that governs the use of skis and ski sticks to move more quickly and easily across snow-covered areas without fatigue. The skill itself increases very rapidly, often improving each day it is used. This is because the skill is only useable during the winter months.

Stealth
The ability to move silently without being detected. The skill is checked everytime your character advances while sneaking. You can start sneaking by using the [h]ide command. It should be understood that sneaking doesn't make you invisible. Foremost, stealth is a skill that helps to decrease the noise you make while hunting a target. To some degree, stealth also determines your ability to use available cover to avoid being seen directly.

If you sneak towards someone in the open, they can probably see you nearly as well as you can see them. It's always best to sneak up on your target from behind, and on a path that provides ample cover. Distance to your target, available cover and the target's observational skills all effect the success chance of your sneaking. Many animals have superior hearing and sense of smell, and therefore sneaking up on animals is mostly used to get close enough for a bow shot, not enough for a melee strike.

Climbing
Climbing is the skill used to scale cliffs, large changes in elevation and the ability to climb up trees. It also helps the player get over fences quickly. Climbing can be dangerous to the inexperienced, and can always result in injuries. To minimize the risk of injury, avoid climbing when you are overburdened or when it is raining/snowing.

Swimming
Swimming is the skill used to swim in lakes, seas and rivers. Swimming is inherently dangerous, because of the risk of drowning. It's advised to practice swimming along the shoreline in the summer. It's good to have a good swimming skill in case of emergency situations, for example, being chased by angry warriors or by aggressive animals.

Skills (Continued)

Combat Skills

Dodge
The dodge skill is used by the player during combat, to try and evade enemy attacks. The skill is mostly effected by the player's Agility stat, and as such, cannot be modified during player creation.

Shield
The character's ability to use shields effectively.
See more on shields in the "Bloodshed and Battle" segment.

Dagger
This skill covers the character's ability to use knives in combat situations. It can be difficult to train, but using knives to finish wounded or unconcious enemies can help.

Sword
The character's skill level with long bladed weapons, such as swords and scimitars. A rare and difficult to train skill, but well worth it if character can successfully train to become a proficient swordmaster.

Club
The skill used to wield club-like weaponry. A very common weapon skill, as the club is a basic weapon of almost every culture. Attacks made with a stone or rock also count as a club attack.

Axe
The ability to use a variety of axes in combat. Most axes are not well suited for combat, and are often used as makeshift weapons by villagers and bandits.

Flail
The skill used to wield flails. Flails are rare weapons, and most cultures have never seen one, let alone wielded one. Most commonly found on foreign traders.

Spear
The combat skill that determines the effectiveness of attacks using spear-like weapons. A standard weapon in many cultures, they are defensive weapons.

Bow
This skill determines the character's proficency with bows. Higher bow skill effects accuracy at longer ranges, and as such is useful for hunters.

Crossbow
The skill that determines proficency with the crossbow. A higher crossbow skill effects accuracy.

Unarmed
The skill that governs the character's unarmed fighting ability.

Starting Scenarios

After creating your character, you will choose your starting scenario. It is recommended for new players to start with The Village scenario.

The Unreal World - Start playing at the middle of a wide, unfamiliar wilderness.
An average scenario for the average tribesman. You'll start off in the wilderness, equipped with basic clothing and supplies. Your story is up to you to decide.

The Village - Start playing outside of a cozy looking village.
An easier scenario for the novice tribesman. Starting off near a village can provide shelter for the cold nights, as well as granting immediate access to a Sage.

Runaway Slave - Having been a slave to the Njerpezit for years, you finally take a step to escape from your captors.
A difficult scenario for the experienced tribesman. You will start out barely clothed and barely armed. Survival will be incredibly difficult armed with only a knife and your desperation.

Unforunate Hunting Trip - Your father lay dead on the ground, killed by a beast who remains nearby.
An average scenario for the average tribesman. The benefits of your father's gear will be weighed against the presence of a dangerous animal nearby.

Lonely Settler - You find yourself alone in foreign lands with two unfinished cabins.
An easier scenario for the novice tribesman. Starting off with two cabins partially constructed can save you a lot of construction time that can be better spent elsewhere.

Hurt, Helpless and Afraid - Severely wounded and left for dead, you struggle to survive in the wild.
A difficult scenario for the experienced tribesman. Starting off with minimal equipment and severe injuries is very difficult, as your injuries and lack of equipment can greatly reduce your ability to survive in the wild.

I want to be a Fisherman - Carrying extensive fishing equipment, you start to follow your path as a fisherman.
An easier scenario for the novice tribesman. Fishing is a great method of obtaining food in the early-game, and starting off with fishing gear will guarantee that you never starve.

Abandoned Trap Fence - You stumble across an old trap-fence in the wilderness.

Abandoned Camp - You find an old camp with firewood, shelter and various useful items.

Agriculture - You possess some valuable seeds, and are ready to try out your agricultural skills.

There Be Robbers! - You encounter a group of ruffians out in the wilderness.
A difficult scenario for the experienced tribesman. Taking on a group of outlaws by yourself is incredibly difficult and requires luck as well as skill. Looting the remains of the bandits can give you a moderate amount of goods to trade early on.

Not all who wander are Lost - You set out into the wilderness with a four-legged companion.

Game Courses

Choosing your path through the UnReal World is essential to your growth.
Here's a rundown of the various courses, and which one you will want to choose.

The UnReal World









Free gameplay - everything is entirely up to you. You have no tasks or duties except the ones you decide to do or try out by yourself. This is the ultimate way of gaming for experienced, freedom desiring players - but suitable also for rookies to get to know the game mechanics first before trying task based game-courses.

Living in the Wild (Note: This is the recommended game course for new players!)









Tasks to teach you the basics of wilderness survival and to test your survival skills as you roam across the land and explore the wide world. This game-course starts with easy and fundamental wilderness survival tasks and slowly gets you accustomed to living in the wild, eventually bringing you among people and ways of more settled life.


Advanced Adventures









Varying tasks from more advanced wilderness survival and hunting techniques to encounters with the UnReal World in while; the regions near and far, the people of familiar cultures and far-away countries, the spirit world and more deeply entering into the living and making your livelihood in the far north. This is a game course for more experienced players.

Bloodshed and Battle

Conflicts will arise, and when they do, blades will be drawn and blood will be shed.
Make sure the blood spilled isn't yours...

Preparing for Bloodshed

The preparation before a fight can be the deciding factor when blades start clashing. You'll want to be well-equipped, healthy and rested when you go into a battle.

You should bring along bandages, as well as a few doses (1lb) of various healing herbs, these will help you treat yourself after the ordeal, and to make sure that none of the wounds sustained become infected or inflamed. Bring along a skin of water, in case water is not readily available in the area. Water is essential for basic wound treatment, and can often keep your injuries stable until you can get back to safety.

Think about what you take with you, everything you carry with you will reduce your combat ability and further lower your chances of survival. For example, why take multiple axes with you when you can take a single handaxe for basic survival usage? The average battle will usually take place over the course of a few days, so bring only a small amount of food, as too much can easily slow you down. Dried and smoked meats are the best for expeditions, as they are very light while still providing good nutrition.

Take a variety of weapons with you, but keep it simple. A single melee along with a few javelins or a bow can give you a wide variety of options.

When you are satisfied with your gear, set out for the enemy...

The Fight

You've encountered your foe, and thus the fight begins. The first thing to do when you encounter an enemy, is to assess them and their equipment. A lone robber will be much less of a threat than a trained Njerpez Warrior. Once you've assessed them properly, adjust your gear accordingly while they rush at you. This can mean switching weapon types to better suit what your opponent is wielding. Spears are great defensive weapons, while heavy blunt weapons such as clubs can quickly overwhelm an opponent with sloppy defense.

If you can, you should always attempt to make the first strike. The first strike should be aimed at their easiest-to-hit and least armored area. You will want to do as much damage as you can with your first strike, as a good first blow can significantly reduce an opponent's morale and ability to fight. You can choose to fight defensively or offensively depending on your level of skill and confidence in your ability.

Defensive Fighting

Defensive fighting mostly consists of blocking or dodging your opponent, and then striking hardest when they make a mistake (dropping their weapon or tripping). Most defensive fighting is done with weapons such as spears, but another possibility is the sword and shield combo, which can be devastating in the hands of a master. While defensively fighting, you should focus on managing your exhaustion and dealing small wounds to your opponent. These small wounds will eventually render them helpless when they stack up over enough time. It is in these small moments where an opponent is incapacitated that defensive fighters can quickly end their opponents in a coup de grâce.

Offensive Fighting

Offensive fighting is made up of quick and deadly strikes meant to kill your opponent before they can retaliate. This can mean ambushing an enemy with a ranged attack, and then moving in and finishing them before they have time to react. It may be better to switch to defensive fighting if your initial attack doesn't land. Generally, you will want to target your opponent's head and arms to quickly disarm and execute them. A single strike to the head can kill most opponents outright, and those that survive such a blow can be easily dispatched. The best offensive weapons tend to be heavier bladed weapons that can kill opponents in single hits.

The Aftermath

The end of a battle is quick, one moment there is life, and in the next there is only a body. Once you've dispatched your opponent, you should quickly search him for anything you may want to keep, and then get away from the battlesite. There could be other enemies in the area, so you will want to pick a nice quiet spot where you can recover from the fight. Once you've gotten to a safe place, you should start tending to your wounds, the sooner, the better. For more on wound treatment see the Medical segment of the guide. Once you have rested and applied basic wound treatment, you can head back home with shiny new equipment in tow! Be cautious on the way back, as you will likely be injured and burdened by any gear you looted.

Rituals and Incantations

What are Rituals?

Rituals are a way of communicating with the world, the wild and its supernatural beings like spirits, dwellers and guardians. Some rituals are used to keep the wild and its beings satisfied and calm, while others are used to banish evil beings and spirits that inhabit the world. Some guardian spirits can even assist you in various activities such as hunting, fishing and trapping. A tribesman will learn a large variety of rituals throughout their life.

Some of your actions may anger the supernatural beings and spirits, however they can be calmed by paying your respects to them through rituals and sacrifices. This doesn't mean that every action you make will disturb the spirits. Sacrifices for hunting down a small animal or felling a small tree are generally wasted, and may even draw a spirit's anger for wasting its time. You should only offer sacrifices when you have been helped by the spirits, such as after you take down a large animal such as an elk or a bear.

Different spirits inhabit different areas, so when you are travelling make sure to acknowledge the spirits of the area you are travelling through, or they may make your travels difficult and unpleasant. Don't disturb the spirits too often, and when you do so - do it with good reason.

Rituals and Acknowledgements

Permission to Fell a Tree
Asking a tree's guardian for permission to fell it. This is generally only needed when you are new to an area and the spirits are not accustomed to your presence. It is a good way to acknowledge spirits in a new area.

"You knock on the tree three times to make the guardian of the tree leave it."

Greet the Supernatural Guardian
Acknowledges the supernatural guardian of an area you are visiting. These spirits are generally mild-natured, but they will still wish to be acknowledged by any travelers before they settle or make camp upon their land.

You humbly bend your neck and solemnly greet the supernatural guardians of this place.

Permission to Sleep
You ask permission to sleep in a spirit's area over the night. They will be pleased at this acknowledgement and will provide you with greater ease of sleep.

Fisherman's Sacrifice for a Catch
Offer a sacrifice to the spirit of the depths, Athi, after receiving a large catch from his waters. This will keep him pleased, and will generally make him send more of his flock your way.

Sacrifice for a Newly Killed Animal
After taking down heavy game such as elk, deer or bears you will want to thank the spirits for helping you with your hunt. To do this, you should offer the first cuts of the animal to signify that you are returning the nourishment they have gifted to you.

General Sacrifice
A sacrifice to the spirits, for when they are upset or when they feel slighted by your actions. A general sacrifice should also be performed after major events or at specific times like the turning of the seasons.

The Oath of Iron
Make a binding oath with your weapon. You acknowledge it and in return it will remain loyal to you, to remain steady in your hand when danger arises.

"You make an oath with your iron weapon, so that it will stay loyal to you and fight well in your hand."

Hunting Incantation
A ritual performed early in the morning, asking the spirits to assist you during the day's hunts. This ritual should only be performed when the spirits are familiar with you, and when they are pleased by your actions. Otherwise, they may hinder your hunt.

"Nousin ajoin aamusesta,
pesimmo, puhastelimmo,
Vain ilman varottelimmo,
Lurjuksista luottelimmo,
Rautapaitoihin panimmo,
Terävoihi vyottelimmo
Rautapaioisa mies parempi,
Teraäsvoissä tenhosempi."

"I woke up early
and washed myself
I watch the weather
Wore an iron-shirt
And a belt of steel
Mighty is a man in iron-shirt
Better in the belt of steel."

Fisher's Request for a Catch
Ask Ahti, the spirit of the deeps, to guide his flock towards your nets and bait. Make sure you offer him a sacrifice from the catch after this ritual, or else he may neglect you next time you call.



Blood-Stanching prayer
Call to your flesh and bone, and order it to be calm while you are tending to your injuries.

"Seiso veri, tyysty veri
niin kuin Tyrjän koski.
Seiso niin kuin seinä
asu kuin aita
kuin seiväs suossa
saraheinä sammalessa
kivi koskessa kovassa."

"Stand still you blood,
calm down like Tyrjä rapids.
Stand like a wall,
be still like a fence,
like a stake in a swamp,
like a stone in a running river."

Blood-Stanching Incantation
Cry out to your blood, and order it to stop flowing from your body.

You shout out these words and command
the blood to stop from running:

"Tuoka pohjolasta pata
jolla verta keitetaan
hurmetta hurotetaan!"

"From the North
bring me a cauldron
where they boil the blood!"

Banish the Evil Water Spirit
Banish Näkki, the evil guardian of the waters. Näkki will drown swimmers in his lakes and rivers. He cannot stand to hear his own name, so the shouting of it is used to drive him from the waters.

You pick up little stones from the water
and start throwing them onto the coast as
far as you can shouting all the time:

"Näkki maalle, minä veteen!"

"Näkki on the earth, me in the water!"

Hunter's Request to Catch a Fox
Ask Käreitär (The Mother of Foxes), for permission to catch a fox on your next hunt.
If she is pleased with you, she will bless you with one of her offspring.

Safety of the Night
You ask Tapio, the Lord of the Forest, to keep you safe while you sleep at night. Tapio will ward of dangerous animals and even humans who might do you harm while you rest.

Favourableness of the Trap
Ask Tapio, the Lord of the Forest, to send his children into your carefully set traps.

The Origin of Fire
When you know the origins of something, you can control it. When you speak about the origin of fire you gain mastery over it, and the ability to easily create it.

Foraging for Herbs

Herbs are spread throughout the world.
Most often you will have to discover each one through careful experimentation.

Wounds and Sicknesses

The UnReal World is not without danger, and with danger comes the possibility of injury.

You will want to carefully tend to your wounds, whether they are light or life-threatening.
Even the slightest injury can end your life if left untreated...

Injury Types

Bruising
A light injury to the limbs. Bruising occurs when blood vessels are crushed by a force.

Causes: Most often caused by falls or blunt impacts from weapons.

Effects: Bruising can be painful, but is not life threatening.

Treatment: Bandage the bruise to protect it from further injury. Anti-inflammatory herbs can reduce the swelling of the wound if it becomes painful.

Long-Term Care: After initial treatment of a bruise, it is safe to let it naturally recover over time.

Fractures
A serious injury to the limbs or body. Fractures occur when a bone splinters under a heavy force.

Causes: Long falls and heavy blunt impacts can result in fractures.

Effects: Fractures in your leg will prevent you from standing. If an arm is fractured, it will become too painful to use.

Treatment: Set the bone in place with a branch and a bandage. This will keep the bone from
shifting further. Use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic (pain-reducing) herbs is recommended

Long-Term Care: Re-setting the fracture every day is recommended if you have the cloth to spare. Continue to apply analgesics and anti-inflammatories if available. Try not to use the affected limb until it has fully healed.

Shallow Cut
A light injury to the limbs or body. Shallow cuts occur when a sharp edge tears the skin and reaches the blood vessels underneath.

Causes: Bladed weapons, or sharp objects.

Effects: Initially painful, with a slight risk for infection if not cleaned daily.

Treatment: Clean the cut and surrounding area with water as soon as possible. Bandaging is not recommended.

Long-Term Care: Daily cleaning and monitoring to ensure that infection has not set in.

Serious Cut
A serious injury to the limbs or body. Serious cuts occur when a sharp edge tears through the skin and damages the muscle underneath.

Causes: Bladed weapons, or sharp objects.

Effects: Very painful, with moderate risk of infection if not treated daily.

Treatment: Clean the cut and surrounding area with water as soon as possible. Bandaging the wound will help if it is struggling to heal correctly.

Long-Term Care: Daily cleaning and monitoring to ensure that infection has not set in.

Deep Cut
A life-threatening injury to the limbs or body. Deep cuts occur when a sharp edge cleaves through the skin and muscle, hitting the bone underneath.

Causes: Bladed weapons, or sharp objects.

Effects: Very painful, with a high risk of infection if not treated daily.

Treatment: Clean the cut and surrounding area with water. Bandaging the wound is a must, to ensure that it heals properly.

Long-Term Care: Deep cuts can take a very long time to heal, as such, they must be monitored daily for infection as well as to ensure that the injury is closing correctly. Antiseptic herbs should be applied a few times a week, to ensure that infection does not occur.

Minor Puncture
A light injury to the limbs or body. Minor punctures occur when a pointed edge penetrates the skin and reaches the blood vessels underneath.

Causes: Pointed tips, such as those found on spears and arrowheads.

Effects: Pain and inflammation.

Treatment: Clean the puncture and surrounding area with water. Bandaging is often unnecessary for minor puncture wounds.

Long-Term Care: Daily cleaning should suffice.

Serious Puncture
A serious injury to the limbs or body. Serious punctures occur when a pointed edge penetrates the skin and tears the muscle underneath.

Causes: Pointed tips, such as those found on spears and arrowheads.

Effects: Pain and inflammation.

Treatment: Clean the puncture and surrounding area with water. Bandaging the puncture can help to prevent infection.

Long-Term Care: Daily cleaning along with occasional application of anti-inflammatory and antiseptic herbs.

Deep Puncture
A life-threatening injury to the limbs or body. Deep punctures occur when a pointed edge penetrates the skin and muscle and damages the organs or bone inside.

Causes: Pointed tips, such as those found on spears and arrowheads.

Effects: Heavy pain and severe inflammation.

Treatment: Clean the puncture and surrounding area with water. Bandaging the puncture is a must, to prevent further infection and protect the wound from further damage.

Long-Term Care: Daily cleaning and herbal treatment is essential. Apply antiseptic every other day to greatly reduce the risk of infection. Once the wound is healing properly, you may reduce the amount of herbal treatments to twice a week or longer, depending on your nourishment.

Frostbite
Frostbite occurs when the extremities are exposed to freezing conditions.

Causes: Freezing conditions.

Effects: Pain and loss of function.

Treatment: Exposure to warmth.

Long-Term Care: Keep yourself warm, and rest.

Poisoning
Poisoning occurs when poisonous mushrooms or herbs are consumed.

Causes: Some herbs and mushrooms. (See Herbs)

Effects: Continual damage and severe pain.

Treatment: Consume herbs to counteract the poisons, and keep yourself nourished. Fighting off poison is not an easy task.

Long-Term Care: Do not eat unidentifed herbs, especially mushrooms!

Of Fur and Chain

You will need to equip yourself for the dangers you face in the world.
What you wear can ultimately decide whether you live or die.































From the great Kaumo furs, to the Foreigner's chain and iron, the choice of what to wear and when to wear it is up to you.

Fur

Fur clothing is one of the most common sights in the Unreal World.
Thick and warm, it is the perfect choice for the woodsman and wanderer.
It provides decent protection against blunt impact, tearing and cutting, but is easily pierced by weapons with pointed tips. Furs from dangerous animals are thicker and thus better suited to protect, but obtaining them is dangerous and may cost you your life.

Leather

Leather is another one of the more common armors in the Unreal World.
Flexible and dense, it is more suited for defense than fur, but lacks the warmth fur provides.
Leather is often worn over fur clothing, providing an extra layer of defense in critical areas such as the head and torso. Despite its utility, leather is still vulnerable to piercing blows from arrows or spearheads. Leather made from more dangerous animals is thicker and stronger, but more difficult to obtain.

Chain mail

Chain mail armor is a rarity in the UnReal World. The scarce amounts of chain mail that exist in the region are often brought by the foreign traders, who have mastered the arts of metalworking. Chain armor will protect you well against weapons that seek to tear at your flesh, but will do little to stop well-placed arrows or a powerful spear thrust. Another downside of chain mail is that it provides you with no warmth whatsoever. You'll want to wear fur or leather under it, both for warmth and protection against blunt impacts.

Lamellar

Lamellar armor is seldom found, but not as rare as metal armor. It is composed of leather plates sewn together tightly, sometimes with metal scales or plates sewn onto the leather. Lamellar armor tends excellent defense against cutting strikes, while having above average defense against blunt blows and piercing strikes. You'll often find lamellar armor for trade along the western coast, Njerpezit warriors will often wear it as well.

Your Settlement: Camps

Your Settlement: Camps
Contributor: Brygun














.
The settlement develops from a wilderness lean-to needed to sleep during rain storms up to multi-building steads. Lets break these into a view types. First is the “camp”which is based around the game’s lean-to “shelter”.

= Shelter while traveling

This is also going to be your first shelter. If its above freezing you can sleep outside unless its raining. In precipitation, rain or snow, will wake you. That lack of sleep is its own problem.

Placing the shelter amid a cluster of trees limits the approaches attackers could come. Ideally you want two open tiles after blocking the approaches. One will be for where you build the shelter. The second is so you can build a fire without setting your shelter or the trees on fire.

Under the build menu is the "S" for Shelter. It takes three slender trunks and 20 spruce twigs. These can occasionally be found on the ground. Most of the time you will cut down a young tree, pine or spruce, to get the slender trunks, using Timbercraft "M" -> Fell a tree. The twigs are also cut as branches from the spruce trees, young or old, under that same menu.

If traveling many days you can carry the 20 spruce twigs to simplify what to look for to build. Its rarely a problem but cliffs and large pine forests might make it a challenge to build within a desired time frame. The three slender tree trunks weigh 150 pounds which isn't suitable for land travel though might be managed on a raft or large animal. If you have those though the ability to easily find a young tree makes it typical to not care the trunks just the spruce.

It can be handy to carry a few loop snares, made under the "R" trapping menu. These are light enough to carry three or so. When making the travel camp put them in the odd places between trees to give you a shielded area. Some enemies might trigger them safely but that slows them down and/or makes noise to alert you. In the morning use kick "0" (zero) to deactivate them. Pick them up for use the next night. Occasionally a small animal will be there for your breakfast.

The game also generates a marker on the maps where you leave shelters. One the world map this creates a marker of your long journeys. Leaving them up make them navigation markers for later journeys. However, it is believed Nerjpez in the area will try to look in on them. Which can in part bait them away from your main stead. Map cluttering can also be an issue. On long trips to distant nations though this string of shelters if very helpful. If you happen to get injured there is one there. Repeatedly visited ones can have burnables like firewood left or be improved on.


= Improved camp

Shelters were you will be at for many weeks or visit many times can be improved. The main addition is a moderate camp area, perimeter, water and traps.

For the improved camp the interior is better at four or more spaces. One is for the shelter, second for the fire, third for the cellar and the fourth or more to be able to sort out supplies. Water should be nearby as well for both drinking and tanning needs.

In addition to the shelter consider fencing and light lever traps. On a day to day basis the lever traps are decent at catching birds and small games to supplement food supplies. If you are moving away for a long time you should trigger the traps to inactive to avoid angering the spirits with wasting animals rotting in absence.

Another improvement is to make a cellar. This takes using a shovel and not having frozen ground. This will keep food fresh while inside. The way animals will be attracted to it having lever traps nearby can lead to a growth in the food stores. Ideally the trapping, fishing, berries and herbs at the improved camp should be able to sustain you when you are there. Remember to deactivate traps if away for more than three days.

Around the camp placing trail markers helps with local navigation. A pointing method is a 1-1-1-3 pattern with the 3 cluster being the pointing end. Typically they are made of branches or rock. These are cheap and can be seen on the snow. One can imagine in deeper snow the branches being stuck upright.

When traveling in the 8 basic compass directions (N, NE, E, etc) put a marker down. As you go farther put a pointer toward the existing marker. What results is while doing general travel is stumbling across one of the pointers and it will eventually lead you into your camp.

An improved camp is built for many reason. They are used in preparation for making your first wooden buildings. You need to live and have enough surplus of food in the cellar to be productive for man-days of lumbering and building. A seasonal hunting camp could also be done as an improved camp with the cellar being ready to store meats from a recent kill. World traveling key points, like the mouth of a river to sea or a major overland portage, could also be set this way. An improved camp is also good as base for raiding more along the lines of if you are badly wounded you could survive here for a week or two while healing.

Your Settlement: Wooden Buildings

Your Settlement: Wooden Buildings
Contributor: Brygun














.

After traveling or to ready for the onset of deep winter more robust wooden buildings will be of interest. A wall takes 6 logs, each of which is felled large tree cleaned into a log then hauled over. This gathering of great weight makes the wooden house a major investment and its best to have stockpiles of food or reliable food sources around.

= Ascii legend

To understand the ascii use this legend:

+ is a corner, six logs
= is a flat wall, six logs
d is a door of boards
s is the sleeping bunk
c is the cooking spot, possibly also where fuel is stockpiled
m is the mud spot, where you can walk in wet and drop things
f is the fireplace of stones
o is open space

= First small cabin

In time you will want to put down a cabin, or go live in a cave. Caves are easier to build as you need far less large walls but are rare to find often being in less than ideal living locations. As for your first small cabin the biggest reason is to ease winter survival. It is best to have a variety of axes and good stocks of food. If deep winter is coming and you aren't ready to build a cabin you may wish to winter in a village.

As for planning the first small cabin bear in mind the big investment of character time this will be. It is worth scouting several locations before picking one. Water is a necessity within carrying distance, or made so by means of mods for a well or rain barrel. There is a question of whether you will keep this area for developing into a stead. If you are going to do a stead (aka homestead) see all that section on what to do.

For the building itself the first critical phase to have a heated in door space. There are ways of minimizing wooden walls, which each take six logs trimmed from tree trunks, such as alternating with doors. A fireplace, made of many stones, will also be needed reduces the amount of firewood needed. If this will be part of a larger stead this first cabin could either be an entrance way to where the larger house will go or it could be a stand alone building used for smoking and/or sauna uses.

A pure minimum for making a ceiling and floor “indoor” is a few walls or similar nearby. If you are in desperate need such as caught in deep winter that is what you can do. Nothing fancy just live through the winter. While later knocking down structures uses up time to put them up in a new place you do keep the materials, which for the carved logs felled and hauled over is a major part of work saved. Its better to have to rebuild than die.

= Mini-smoker 1x2

The mini smoker has an interior that fits a fireplace and a place to be inside to start smoking. That looks like this:

+=d+
dfsd
+=d+

Note that it has no cooking nor mud space. You would have cooking items awaiting preparation on the same tile as where you would sleep inside.


= The 1x3 Cabin

A more than minimum small cabin has a 1x3 interior. It is more useful for doing things and is a good size as a later support building. It can make use of every other wall being a door. Doors are made with boards. Boards are much easier to get a surface with than hauling and carving six logs. One can imagine it being something of a shanty look, which we can clean up in later months.

That 1×3 gives three interior tiles. Of these interior tiles one for a sleeping bunk, second is a cooking space to easily check food and the third is a “mud room” or place to dump gear. Smaller spaces are also easier to heat. In later years this can be your sauna or smoke house. You can plan on having a second 1x3 strip across one of the longer walls. This is actually pretty good at managing early character needs. Note that the sleeping space near the fireplace means it is easy a lazy man’s adaption to be laying in a warm cozy and just push more wood into the fire.



This 1 x 3 smoke house is convenient to play in giving a place to sleep and stack goods separate from the cooking and fuel source.

+d=d+
dfcsd
+d=d+

To expand when you have more more wood dismantle the fireplace and move it to where one of the doors was. That needs to become an interior tile too. The next 3 tile space on the other side of the fireplace is where we can make another 1x3 or larger expansion. That would look like this:

+d=d+
dmcsd
+f=d+
doood
+d=d+

And with 12 more logs and a few trees for boards etc you can make it into:

+d=d+
dscmd
+f=d+
doood
+ooo+
doood
+d=d+

Over time replace the unwanted doors with walls or walls with shuters.


= Setting up first farm

Getting into agriculture reaps great gains. It takes a huge investment in time to burn and turn over ash for large fields. Then there is the planting to be done in the right windows of time. Months later the crops can be harvested, unless you wait too long and they wither.

Most importantly remember there were game bugs where if you had too many stand alone objects, like crops and your household items, bad things happened to the data. So the current recommendation is to have two or more wilderness tiles between the farm fields and the building of your stead. This avoids the data tracking hundreds of new plants from being added to the hundred of homestead objects. Once plants are gathered they count as only one entry of say 145 turnips rather than dozens of 2-5 turnip clusters.

There are many crops to consider. Turnips grow so quickly it is possible to squeeze in two harvest a year. This is also important if the planting is delayed past spring into early spring where turnips is perhaps the only ones that will come in that year. Your first farming year might only manage turnips. Broad beans are a popular choice for their nutrition. Some mods allow you to make clothing so you might want to grow those. As of 3.63 we can’t do herb or berry farming.

To make a plot of ash put out 6 to 9 tiles of burnable stacks. Set them alight with the fire often jumping from one to another beside it. Let them cool, which is you doing something else for a time, then turn the soil and ash over. For this you will need a shovel. The limit of firing a small number of tiles is tied to how many you can do before being exhausted. It takes a few days before it cools enough.

Consider that in the historic slash and burn these fields might end up in clumps of where it was easy to get wood to burn. Having clumps is another way to manage what is growing in what clump.
The growing plants will attract all kinds of animals. Having fences and traps around the farm is useful. If nothing else catching birds and squirrels gives you meat to make up for what crops they were eating.

One time in the fields there was a hungry bear so having a bear capable trap (pit, spiked pit or three-log) somewhere amid the fields is a good idea.



= Ideas for expanding into a stead

A stead, short for homestead, can be thought of as the living house, the fields, as the supporting facilities. There are many ways to do this. Its normal for each player to style their stead a bit different.

Most players build homes larger than the default NPC houses. This has to do with sorting and moving around. You might want to stack wood carving supplies in one area, winter skis over there, weapons by a door and trophies along a wall.

Outside making a pen for animals is very good idea. A two or three wall barn can be done with the open side(s) facing into the pen. This gives a roleplay feel of a barn where you can see the NPC animals actually go inside at times. Others make wide enclosures and use other mods to further adjust the landscape.

Marking frequent routes with branches is an idea as well. It helps a lot in dark night or for a sense of knowing the way. Some mods also allow road like paths and if you build and dismantle you can clear away mossy ground as it restores to normal ground.

Adventures and Quests

When you journey through the lands, you will occasionally happen upon quests or events that you can partake in. (This section is heavily work-in-progress as the information needs to be compiled manually)

A Bird-Thief
Birds are going missing from a hunter's traps and he suspects there is fowl play.

Chores
A village needs help with everyday tasks.

Deliver a Message
A villager asks you to deliver a message to a person in a neighboring village.

Make a New Punt
An old man asks you to help him get a new punt to replace his old one, in return he will teach you rituals that will help you when you fish.

Meet the Water Nymphs
A sage decides you are ready to learn how to communicate and meet with the water nymphs.

Animal in the Forest Cover
An animal has run off from a town and is hidden by the forest spirits.

Prized Heirloom/Wounded Adventurer
An adventurer is gravely wounded in a fight with an animal and has lost an important heirloom.

[A Nickel]

If you open it up in a web browser you should be able to save it as a PDF.

[robthegameguy]

Is it possible to share this as a .pdf?

[[TIL] JesterGorky]

Just what I needed, you clever bunch of sods

[Vitowns]

Guides are for cheaters i learnt to play by myself

[Nick]

wow. the Enormous Elk team is actually credited author on this. official

[A Nickel]

I'm not sure training combat skills really needs a guide for it, I don't want to cover any exploits because they ruin the feel of the game IMO, so the best way to level up skills otherwise is just to...
use them. :P

[Phobeseneos]

Is there going to be guide for training combat skills? Awesome guide btw ^^.

[Brygun]

I've updated the guide with the 1x2 and 1x3 interior cabins listed separately.

[Brygun]

Not 100% sure on the small cabin having a fireplace in a wall being able to be used for "smoke"-ing meat. A layout I have recently tested has the fireplace on the end opposite of the sleeping area as:

D = Door
W = Wall
O = Wall with shutter window
S = Sleeping bunk
F = Fire place
+ = open space

WDODW
DS+FD
WDWDW

[Brygun]

Settlement sections setup.