BASE DEFENSE RATING (BDR)

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There are only two statistics you need to remember in this challenge.  Base Defense Rating (BDR on here for short) is the total amount of defense your have amassed at your base.  Your brand new base (before any survivors are added) has a BDR of 2.  This number goes up and down based on the type of survivors you have at your base, event, etc.  I recommend keeping a notepad with a list of what your BDR is and how you calculated that number as you may need to adjust it on the fly if you get attacked while someone is out or bedridden.  Note that general sicknesses (the random ones the game generates if you have Get to Work (GTW), do not change your defense rating.  Only the "bedridden" status inflicted by some events will change a defense due to illness.

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FIGURING IT OUT

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Let's say I started with an ex-marine, handyman, chief, hippie, model, and leader.  Not a bad setup (except for the model).  On the second day, I sent my hippie to another neighborhood for fishing/harvesting wild plants.  Taking a look a the ROLES section, I see that my leader and chef don't contribute to my base defense rating so I'll send them with him for backup.  My random event happens to take place shortly after they leave and as my luck has it, we are attacked at the base.

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Here is now I would calculate my base defense:

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BASIC DEFENSE (+2) - Just for having a base, the BDR can never be below 2.

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WHO IS HOME:

EX-MARINE (+2) - The ex-marine built a wall around my base on Day 1 thank goodness.

MODEL (0) - Yeah...enough said

HANDYMAN (+1) - He used wood to reinforce the wall.

OFF LOT - Right now my hippie is traveling so his -1 BDR doesn't apply (thank goodness)

BEDRIDDEN (0) - We are just starting out, no one has been incapacitated by an event

OTHER (0) - I don't have any special circumstances, etc. to add to my base defense.

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TOTAL (5)

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Today's event says our attackers are just two drones with a rating of 4.  My guys at he base beat them handily and all is well.  If it had been more serious, we wouldn't have been so lucky.  Even had the hippie been home, our base defense would have been 4 and we would have still eeked out a win.

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If this seems too overwhelming, you can do one of the following to simply:

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• Disregard the whole off lot/on lot/bedridden aspect and have a more static rating.

• Throw out the whole BDR system and just roll random 1-100 for each encounter, whoever gets higher wins.  I don't like this because it doesn't reward you for hard work but at the end of the day, the challenge is for your enjoyment.  Do what works for YOU.

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SURVIVABILITY RATING (SR)

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When you are out scavenging, you risk getting attacked by aliens, thugs, etc.  You do NOT need to roll on the table for leaving the lot if your sim isn't leaving the neighborhood area.  If you have to use the in-game travel system (with load screen) then you must roll.  Biologists who wish to go to the outdoor retreat zone to spend one day per week collecting herbalism ingredients only need to roll when they arrive.

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NOTE:  Make your encounter role right before you travel to home.

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FIGURING IT OUT

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in our example above, three of my team members are traveling (that hippie, our chef, and the leader).

Using the table under ROLES, I take he SR number listed in the very last column and add those up.

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HIPPIE PREPPER (+2)

CHIEF (+2)

LEADER (+2)

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TOTAL:  6

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We're pretty solid but looks like our luck just went form bad to worse.  We get into a nasty fight thanks to the encounter table and our foes have a rating of 7.  Unfortunately there was no alternative and one of our team suffered a fatal wound.  Here's how we figure out who:

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Step 1:  Assign a number to each party member (I always do so from left to right using the panel at the bottom of the screen with everyone's picture.  In this example, I'll say the Hippie is 1, Chief is 2, and Leader is 3.  

 

Step 2:  Use a RNG to roll a random number between 1 and 3.  

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Step 3:  I got a 2 so my Chef has died!  He is removed form the household IMMEDIATELY and I do not get to remove any of his personal belongings.

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Step 4:  My two remaining survivors make a run for it and get home safely.  They get to keep their stash (but now we don't have a chef to prepare a hot meal).

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If only I had brought that damn model...Her SR of 1 would have been enough to tie us up which means a win.  She wasn't doing any good sitting home either.

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ADDING NEW SURVIVORS

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At various points in the challenge, you may have the option to add a new survivor to the team.  Unless otherwise specified by the event, you may not customize their traits, regardless of what role they will fill. 

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The easiest way to add a sim is through merging a household from the gallery.  Select someone that looks like they fit the bill without looking at their traits/ambition.

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LEADER RULES:  If you do not have a leader, you must depend on getting a random event to recruit a new member into the fold.  If you DO have a leader, you have another option!  Have your leader use the computer and request a pen pal.  Once one has answered, communicate with them via secure frequency (or at least that's what I'm calling it).  Request a postcard as soon as the option presents itself.  Once you have two unique postcards from pen pals (ones you do not already have in your collection) you you will be able to recruit one person.  At this point, make a roll on the list of survivors (under the ROLES section or use the table in the ROLES section).  As a leader, you get one attempt to inspire the outcome by re-rolling based on your charisma (Charisma 1-5 is 1 re-roll, Charisma 6-10 is 2 re-rolls). If you get something you don't want, you may use your re-roll(s) but you MUST accept the final roll.

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THIEVING FOR DUMMIES

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Here are the rules your thief must live by:

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• If you are booted out of a property, you may not return to it.  The dwellers will not want you around their stash of goodies. 

• It's encouraged that you practice your mischief skill and gain a few points before attempting to rob people blind. 

• You may not steal large objects (cannot be concealed) until your Mischief skill is level 8 or above and no one is between you and the exit.  No sim is going to watch you walk out the door with their bed strapped to your back.   Even if you "succeed" at the swipe, if you don't make it out of the house without entering a room with another sim, you can't keep it.

• You may open refrigerators and place food in-world to be taken later. You may also steal prepared meals if the sim leaves the room.  I had a sim prepare a large meal and stupidly leave it on the bathroom counter.  I immediately rushed in, shoo'd her out to use the potty, and took the food instead (mwahahahaha).

• Feel free to harvest any food you find in someone's backyard.  You do have to adhere to the food restriction (if it is still in place) but it does not count toward your daily quota of wild/grown harvests. 

• You must enter homes alone.  You can bring backup for better group survivability but they cannot enter other homes or assist the thief in any way while stealing (I.e. distracting the residents). 

• Finally, and most importantly, if you get caught stealing (even if they don't kick you out) you can't keep the loot.  

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NO ONE IS COMING

You may not call for any type of service.  There are no police &  fire departments responding to calls.  You will have to deal with your own problems.  You may not install any alarms. 

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KIDS & TEENS

Keep children home (if there is a mod to do so) otherwise assume that they are somewhere brushing up on their studies during school hours.  You will only need to keep their grades high enough to avoid the social worker.  Keep in mind that only the housewife role may bear children.  All other women are considered sterilized by the aliens.

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AGING

Set aging to on and set the age range to normal.  

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BOOKS

There are no bookstores or even online marketplaces to buy books.  You may not use books to raise skills unless your thief gets lucky and swipes a skill book from another lot.

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NO FANCY FURNISHINGS

Ask yourself, where would you buy a new bed in an apocalypse?  Stores would be cleaned out, and manufacturers would stop making them.  You may only acquire furniture in this challenge by three means:

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• Your handyman can make certain items on the workbench (toilet, table, etc.)

• Your thief can steal furniture (see "Thieving for Dummies:" above.

• You trade Nick the Peddler for it

• Some new survivors will bring furnishings

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BURNING MONEY

Money is irrelevant in this challenge.  You can use money cheats all you like; however, there isn't much you can actually buy that's worth anything with rare exception.

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NO PLAYING GOD

You may not, under any circumstances, intentionally kill undesirable survivors or pick a survivor you want to get rid of when it comes time for someone to die.  Sims should always be selected at random.

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FULL HOUSE

You may wish to invest in a mod that allows more than 8 sims in a house.  It's not required, but it can be handy if you are desperate for a particular role. 

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CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

All community lots are closed for business.   You may visit them but you cannot eat any food there, participate in any services they used to provide and the insides of all business have been thoroughly looted.