Work Text:
Wasteland Survival Guide
Introduction:
Welcome to the Wasteland Survival Guide, an indispensable guidebook for any survivor looking to thrive and rebuild in the wasteland! (Capital or otherwise!) While this guidebook does make references to areas and locations specific to the Capital Wasteland (as that is where the majority of research into these topics was conducted- courtesy of The Lone Wanderer! -) this guidebook aims to be as applicable and helpful to any and all survivors of this great post nuclear destruction world as possible! Feel free to make notes for yourself and your community in the margins of this book and to share as much information as you can among your fellow man! All survivors are nothing without the skills and knowledge of those who came before us! In this guide, broken down into 3 easy to follow sections, you will find detailed answers to questions life in the wasteland often throws at you-
'Where do I find food? How do I handle my injuries? What kind of creature is that? Is it safe to pet? Are those heavily armored strangers friendly? Why is my skin peeling off?'
Fear not! All shall be revealed! Thanks to the thorough work conducted by the infamous hero of the Capital Wasteland, The Lone Wanderer, you, dear readers, are guaranteed a smart, cautious, and heavily explored answer to all the subjects that will be covered here!
Let's get to learning about how to survive and thrive out here in the wastes!
Chapter 1: Survive!
Finding Food, Radical Radiation, and Painful Pain!
Part 1: Food And Water
Food and water are essential to all forms of life, especially busy survivors! Whether you are running through the wasteland escaping a rampaging super-mutant or looting a pre-war ammunition cache, all that busy work can sure work up an appetite!
A survivors first instinct might be to look toward some of the pre-war locations where people would once frequent for food, such as old Super-Duper Marts and pre-war ruins located in what people once knew as 'shopping centers'. While this is a good idea, in reality, the results can be extremely dangerous! You are not the only survivor who has thought of stocking up on Cram and Fancy Lad Cakes in an old marketplace! Raiders and Slavers and worst of all, Super-Mutants are very likely to have already picked out these pre-war goodie mines for themselves, and as any survivor knows, they are willing and able to defend them fiercely! If you are really in a pinch, these places can be worth the effort if you are able to sneak past whichever enemy has decided to make this old grocery store its home base, but be cautious! If you aren’t ready and willing to shoot first when it comes to the evils/unfriendlys of the wasteland, they will be the first to turn you into dinner.
So, you may wonder, if Super-Duper Marts or old stores are dangerous, where can I go for food and water?
Settlements are you best bet for reliable and as non-radioactive a meal as possible, but never underestimate the value of thorough scavenging! Looking into safe and abandoned buildings (aka buildings that aren’t crawling with unfriendly occupants) and keeping in mind the areas trading routes you're nearby are excellent ways to find and obtain reliable food.
Hunting wild game and knowing how to cook wasteland meats and dishes is also essential! Every group of survivors will have their own recipes to share and experiment with! Mole rats make for excellent steaks here in the Capital wastes and Mirelurk cakes for those living near the waterways are another delicious option. Boiling and roasting meats and root vegetables out here are also a great way to avoid getting sick! Never try to eat raw meats or cook from something that’s been dead a long time before you came across it, and make sure you clean up the areas you're cooking and preparing any fresh meats, that is how you avoid food poisoning!
Fresh or semi-non radioactive water is easily one of the bigger concerns in the wasteland and while there is little in terms of long-term water infrastructure, here in the capital wasteland the Brotherhood of Steel have begun intensive efforts to trade free clean waters all across the area. If you are reading this outside of their water distribution, try mixing small does of rad-x and radaway into any water sources you find after filtering the nasty dirt and debris out of it. Boiling water also helps in reducing any parasites or bugs that may be tougher than the anti-radiation drugs or smaller than dirt particles.
Part 2: Radiation!
Rads are a fact of life out here in the wasteland! Thanks to the bombs dropping it seems we can't even have a rainstorm without everyone's personal Giger counters jumping up and down, much less the rads in our food and water! While survivors can do their best to avoid the worst of it, the reality of radiation is its not a matter of 'if' you get radiation sickness or its symptoms, its 'when'. The following page is how to recognize the symptoms, and how to treat it!
Radiation sickness: symptoms vary from person to person but generally there are 3 levels of radiation sickness to look out for: Mild, Moderate, and Severe.
Mild symptoms are headaches, itchy dry skin, dry mouth, and loss of appetite. Moderate symptoms are blurred vision, blood not clotting from small cuts/abrasions, blood in stool or urine, and body shakes. Severe symptoms are disorientation, memory issues, fever and severe sweating, skin flaking or beginning to peel off the body, lack of energy, and slurred speech.
Treatments: prevent and cures with chems and clothing!
Rad-x is an essential chem in the wasteland! You can use it to help purify water source as mentioned above and also use it primarily for reducing the effects on your body when entering radioactive areas. If you are out and about surviving in the wastes, and you know you are about to travel around or nearby a pre-war toxic dumb sit, pop a rad-x pill or two! Keep in mind though, while this will help keep you from getting sick in the first place, it won't cut out the rads entirely, especially if you continue to eat or drink radiated food and water. Prevention is better than falling seriously ill, but what happens if you do get irradiated?
Radaway is easily the best at taking all the nasty symptoms of radiation sickness and cleaning you right up! Keep in mind that one or two doses, while it will help with mild to moderate symptoms of radiation poisoning, will be hard on your bodies systems! Always have a washroom nearby or a place to relive yourself nearby when taking radaway, that stuff can make things come out of both ends like no one's business! 3 to 4 doses are needed to treat severe radiation sickness, and a few stimpacks after to help your internal organs recover afterwards are always a good bet. Rest and recovery (preferably outside of an irradiated are and with clean food and water) will take care of the rest!
Personal Protection Gear or rad-suits are another great preventative fashion option in the wasteland, but keep in mind, in terms of stopping bullets, these bright yellow suits don’t exactly do a great job. While great for exploring particularly radioactive areas or if you fancy a visit to the Children Of Atom settlements for trade (that is if they don't shoot at you!) rad-x and your regular body armor are always a safer option if your venturing into hostile territory!
Part 3: Pain and Injuries!
While we will be covering more specific first aid in the later sections of this guide, lets go over the basics of surviving injuries out in the wasteland!
Oh no! you've been injured! Is it the first time this has ever happened to you, or the third time this week? Either way injures are no joke out in the wasteland, whether your used to the pain or coming from a soft settlement lifestyle, there is nothing fun about being hurt!
What do you do if you are away from home or a town or friendly face and you find yourself injured? Here are some steps on how to help yourself and things to think about/prepare for!
1: Don’t panic! Panic increases your heartrate and can make you dizzy and bleed more! Take slow and deep breaths, counting to 10 as you breathe in, holding it for 10 seconds, and letting out your breath in 10 seconds. This will help you remain alert and clear headed! If you have any, a dose of Med-x will take the worst of the pain away, but make sure you are in a safe location before dabbling with any chems! Keep in mind that Med-x is also highly addictive, so always be sparing with your use!
2. Assess the injury! Is this a cut on your hand or a broken leg? A bullet hole in your arm or a baseball bat straight to the knees? Whatever it is is, you may be more injured than you realize and could therefore miss wounds and fail to treat them. Do a thorough body assessment, starting from your known injury and spreading outward, taking into account all the aches and pains in your joints, your skin and your muscles along the way. Move your limbs slowly to assess if anything else is injured or broken.
3. Assess your supplies/ability to travel! Okay, you know where you're hurt, now what to do about it? If you have a first aid kit on you (as any savvy and prepared survivor would!) then begin treating your injuries, preferably in a safe and sheltered location so you don’t have to rush things. But what if you don’t have any Stimpacks or Med-x in your bag? Now the risk/reward system comes into effect. Are you able to travel to a town or settlement? Can you apply basic field first aid until you get help? Are you near an old pre-war ruin that might have medical supplies to scavenge? These are all things to think about logically before you make your move. Injures only get worse with time if they can't/aren’t being treated so make as clear headed a decision to travel while injured as you can!
4. Reflection…. Yay! You made it home and have recovered from your injury! Now that you have a moment, lets think about that situation you just got out of. What happened to get you injured in the first place? Were you playing with a grenade when you should have been helping with chores? Were you wandering near a particularly rowdy nest of feral ghouls? Or were you just a little in over your head when clearing out a pre-war building looking for supplies? Anything can happen in the wastes but that doesn’t mean all of it happens to survivors just because they where in the wrong place at the wrong time. Be cautious and highly aware of your surroundings! Think about what you are about to get into! Who are you fighting against? Do they have more guns and people than you? Maybe come back another time when you are tougher or know more about sneaking around rather than taking a bullet in the arm again. Prevention of injury is one of your best tricks to surviving out in the wasteland and preventing yourself and other survivors around you from taking crazy unnecessary risks and getting into all kinds of danger is easily one of the best ways to deal with/avoid injuries.
Chapter 2: Thrive!
Creepy Creatures and Icky Injuries.
Part 1: Molerats, Mirelurks, Radscorpions, Deathclaws, Yao Guai, Bloatflys Oh My!
Creatures are as much a fact of wasteland life as radiation and aggressive raiders! But what about these critters, how do we deal with them? Whether they are posing an active threat to you and your survivor friends/family, or you'd just like to get to know more about your local wildlife, the following critters are just some of the vast amounts of beasties that exist out there in the wasteland! These guys are a common sight here in the Capital Wasteland, but your local fauna may vary!
Molerats: generally harmless when left alone, these naked, pink critters can run pretty fast on their four legs and can pack a nasty bite, so watch out! Known to live in small packs on the surface and in larger groups when inhabiting a tunnel system or old metro, these are some of the most common creatures a survivor will come across in the wasteland. They can be the most irritating and harmful when burrowing into or nearby settlements and survivor camps, but don’t underestimate these little guys! They are known to attack in groups, meaning if you see one, there will always be more nearby! They are known to pack a mean and infectious bite with their big teeth, or a nasty cut with their front digging paws. If you do take them down, their pelts and meat make for excellent leather and delicious steaks when cooked properly!
Mirelurks: known to inhabit the waterways, lakes and ponds all over the wasteland, these monsters are big, bold, and can pack a mean pinch! There are several variety's of Mirelurks, from the most common (two feet, two pincers) to the less shelled more human like Mirelurk Kings. (I've even heard of mega monster Mirelurks located on the east coast called Mirelurk Queens! Scary!) These critters are aggressive and fiercely territorial. They are armored all over but vulnerable in their face and under-carriage, so aim well! They have been known to build communal nesting grounds in watery cave systems and flooded metro tunnels but are also perfectly comfortable with taking up residence at the side of a pond or river as well. If you come across these guys, then watch out for the ranged sonic scream of the Mirelurk Kings! Their shells make for excellent makeshift armor and building protection, and their meat and eggs are a staple in diets all over the wastes! Mirelurk cakes in particular are some of the best!
Radscorpions: These critters are some of the more dangerous beasts a survivor can encounter in the wasteland without a doubt! Sometimes bigger than a brahmin, sometimes smaller than a molerat, these eight-legged beasts pack a mean punch either with their two forward facing front pincers or with their nasty stinging tale. Like most animals, Radscorpions are not a fan of being shot in the face, but their tail/stinger, while a smaller target, is also very vulnerable and a good place to aim when dealing with an attack! Their meat is safe to eat so long as its not cut from their tail glands, but unless you like the feeling of all your limbs slowly going numb and your organs slowly shutting down, avoiding these beasts and their stings is always your best bet!
Deathclaws: you know them and rightfully any wasteland survivor fears them! Known to hunt down prey across vast distances and for being some of the toughest critters to face the end of a gun, Deathclaws are easily the most dangerous thing to come across in the wild. With keen eyesight, a sharp sense of smell, and the muscles to take on most living things (power armor or not!) these guys pack a devastating bight and swipe force! While their mouths may hurt, their massive pairs of clawed hands do the most brutal work when attacking prey, often leading to immediate evisceration. The abandoned settlement of Old Olney here in the Capital Wasteland is a place in particular to avoid if you want to stay out of these creatures' way! While their eggs and meat can apparently make for some delicious omelets and steaks, few survivors have faced these monsters and lived to tell the tale, so maybe just stick to molerat meat for now.
Guai: big and always in a bad mood, these critters, while not as devastating as Deathclaws, can still ruin a survivor's day if stumbled across unprepared. Much more territorial than other animals, these guys are less likely to chase you outside of their territory but much more likely to relentlessly attack you if you are in their home than other animals mentioned. Known for living in caves and on land comfortably, these grumpy radiation bears prefer areas with lots of plants and seem to have a mixture of meats and greens in their diet (how healthy!) Their claws and bite can be particularly vicious but also thanks to sheer muscle-mass, getting body slammed by one of these guys would also ruin any survivor's day. Their meat is very tough but makes for good smoked jerky and their hides make for some of the best leather out in the wasteland!
Bloatflys: to end on a more lighthearted note, out here in the Capital Wastes, our flying critter of annoyance is called the Bloatfly! Known to hang around rad-swamps or pre-war nuclear dump sites, little else is known about these critters and how they live or reproduce. They eject gross mucus covered projectiles from their torsos as their main form of attack and while certainly not as vicious or immediately deadly as the rest of the creatures mentioned here, do not be fooled! They are also known to attack in swarms and can be difficult to shoot thanks to their bumpy and swaying flight pattern! Picking them off from a distance or smacking them with a bat or other handheld weapon is the best way to dispose of them. Their meat, while not the best tasting, works well in soups and stews or as smoked jerky as well.
Part 2: Basic Wasteland First Aid!
Epic Explosion Injuries, Brutal Bullet Wounds, and Interesting Infections!
Any survivor knows that along with the inevitably of injuries, there is also the inevitability of different types of injuries! Some of the most common ones are explosion injuries (shrapnel, shock, ear drum damage) bullet wounds (physical bullets to burning laser blasts) and infections that an arise from any kind of wound left untreated. While a stimpack and some Med-x really do go a long way in combating the worst that these kinds of injuries have to offer, there are specific things a survivor can do to ease their pain and to make sure recovery is more of a possibility.
Explosive Injures: Were you messing around with a grenade? Maybe hunting Molerats with land mines? Did a missile payload hit a little closer to home than you intended? Well, now that you have an explosive injury, here are some of the things you can do to minimize your recovery time! Shrapnel is one of the worst side effects of a blast, little bits of metal or debris that can stick in your skin or pierce your internal organs are a really great way to ruin any survivor's day out in the wastes! Be sure before you stimpack the area or dose yourself with some pain killers that as much of the shrapnel from your body has been removed as possible. Stimpacks, while essential for healing and first aid, rapidly close any holes or wounds in the body and will not distinguish between a piece of loose grenade shell or your skin! Ear shock or brief deafening can also be a side effect of being too close to an explosion so make sure that your eyes (and even nose) are still sharp enough to get you away from whatever situation you find yourself in that involves big booms. Hearing may return over time but long-term damage is something to watch out for so if you foresee yourself throwing a grenade or a mini nuke at all your hostile problems out there in the wasteland, keep in mind to wear some personal protection like earmuffs or earplugs.
Bullet Wounds: Similar rules apply to the shrapnel seen in explosion injuries! If you get shot and there isn’t an exit wound, congratulations! You are likely carrying around a bullet under your skin! These can cause a great deal more damage when left in the body than shrapnel since bullets are also known to break apart under the skin after they impact, further damaging any muscles bones or organs in the body. Grazing bullet wounds are the best-case scenario when getting shot, as these can amount to little more than a nasty cut or scrape, but a shot right to the torso or limb can be not only crippling but difficult to treat. If a bullet hits a joint or bone then that limb is likely crippled, meaning its rendered useless. You may limp or sway from side to side or be unable to use your affected arm which in a combat or survival situation can be particularly deadly! A stimpack to the affected area will usually work but like with explosive shrapnel, do your best to remove the bullet or at least confirm there is a clear exit wound rather than sealing a hot jagged bullet into your body forever! As always, removing yourself as safely from these combat situations is the best course of action before more long term treatment should be attempted.
Infections: So, you got injured, but managed to get yourself out of there in one piece! Congratulations! But how come that 'healed' wound area is now turning a suspicious shade of green and purple? Well, you might have given yourself an infection unfortunately! This can most commonly result from stimpacking areas full of dirt and shrapnel debris, effectively trapping bacteria and future infection inside your body without an open wound to leak out of. Your body may begin to show signs of infection that aren’t as clear as discolored skin, such as a fever, constant aches and pains, and swelling or tender skin around infected areas. Antibiotics are something most settlement and caravan doctors carry with them but out in the wasteland, you may be a long way out from that kind of help! Med-x, while addictive, is a great way to dull these infectious symptoms while you look for a doctor, but combinations of Buffout and Stimpacks to the affected areas can strengthen your body enough to fight back the most debilitating aspects of an infection until you can find a doctor to take a look at you. The best way to avoid infections is cleaning wounded areas as best as possible, with preferably clean water.
First Aid Kit: A good survivor of the wasteland will always carry with them; several stimpacks, clean bandages or wrapping cloth (not to be used for wiping sweat of your forehead or wiping after reliving yourself) and at least one dose of Med-x and Buffout with them at all times. Aside from the basics, rad-x and Radaway and one bottle of clean water for the sake of cleaning wounds are also essential. For antibacterial cleaning if you run out of clean water, a bottle of whiskey or vodka, while it may sting, works well to help sterilize wound areas. Tweezers for picking out debris or shrapnel from wounds rounds out the basics of a survivor first aid kit!
Chapter 3: Rebuild!
Great Settlements after The Great War and Pre-war Techno Tips!
Part 1: Successful Settlements: Tips and History
While survivors of the great war have been re-building and finding homes in the wasteland for close to 200 years by now, there is always ways to both improve and re-establish humanities once great grasp of knowledge, even in the wasteland! Knowledge is the most powerful tool to a survivor or settlement, and aside from working together and toughing out the worst of the wastes, there are examples of settlements all across the Capital Wasteland that have beaten the odds and established solid and safe places for people to live and thrive together in.
One such town is that of Rivet City, located in a pre-war aircraft carrier in on the edge of the D.C Ruins. This location primes this settlement for not only good trade areas and constant interaction with other survivor factions (like the ever-popular Brotherhood of Steel) but also allows for the protection of its people thanks to the removable walkway connecting the carrier to the land. A well supplied city guard adds to this security of course, but location for settlements is always an important thing to consider when looking to re-establish a section of humanity in the wasteland.
But what is the history of Rivet City truly? Who started this successful settlement and how did it keep itself around long enough to become such an established town in the Capital Wastes? Upon intense and relentless questioning via this guide's research assistant, The Lone Wanderer, the truth was uncovered! While some claim that the city was built around the historical society that resides in the front bow of the ship, the truth is much more practical! Scientists from the Brotherhood of Steel discovered the ship some time ago and set up a research lab in order to study the technology left behind by the pre-war military. Once the laboratory was built, survivors and scavengers from the D.C area began to travel there for trade and medical assistance. Over time some doctors and scientists decided to establish a permanent settlement to help the people of the wasteland and to offer their knowledge in the building and maintaining of things like a water filtration system within the ship. From there Rivet City began to attract more permanent residents and become a place of fair trade and protection from the nasty groups of the Capital Wasteland. The origins of this successful community come from a desire to both aid fellow survivors as well as a realization that technology is best when shared among the people who will directly benefit from it!
Within the Capital Wasteland, some friendly and good places to trade or settle down in vary from small tight knit communities to larger towns. Keep in mind these places are all subject to change (or raider takeovers) but as of the writing of this guide these settlements are unlikely to shoot you on sight!
Small communities: Girdershade, Arefu, Canterbury Commons, and Big Town
Townships/larger communities: The Brotherhood Citadel, Megaton, Underworld, Tenpenny Towers, and Rivet City
Part 2: Pre-war Technology; Tools For Rebuilding?
While the Brotherhood of Steel may be more interested in securing pre-war technology for their own uses, what does that leave the average survivor or survivor community with to help in re-building out in the wasteland? As with any good scavenger, if you dig around long enough eventually the pre-war world will show you its true colours. While we have the pre-war world to thank for the nuclear fires we still feel the effects of to this day, we also have a lot to re-learn and take back from them! Research has shown (as ever conducted for this guide by the intrepid Lone Wanderer!) that pre-war manufacturing facilities and libraries, while not rolling out a red carpet to the average educationally inclined survivor, do have promising resources worth investigating!
The Arlington Library here in the D.C Ruins has an established Brotherhood of Steel presence who are happy to trade with survivors as well as sharing good condition books. There are also recoverable archives of book data to be found on nearly any topic a survivor could think of, from medical texts to old mechanical manuals! While a dusty copy of Nikola Tesla and You might be a good place to start a survivor's learning experience, the access or even existence of this kind of information is simply incredible! Thankfully, with some elbow grease and a few spent bullet casings, these archives have been recovered from the Arlington Library and are now back in the hands of the public.
Manufacturing plants from the pre-war era are always a good place to haul scrap metals and electronics from, but what about information? The pre-war world was keen on ease of consumption and in creating new and never before seen products for its people, all made at a rapid pace! These old production plants are full of mechanical information and recipes for building anything from Securitrons to toasters and any survivor looking to boost their technology knowledge or provide their settlements with improvements in both protection and repairing pre-war technology would be advised to take a look! Be careful as always, old security systems might still be active and twitchy to intruders in these old plants, but its more than worth the risk for the sake of such priceless information!
Conclusion
Thank you, dear reader, for picking up this handy guide to survival out here in the wasteland! Here's hoping this guide has given you some new information and ideas on how to not only scrape by in this world but also try to re-build a little along the way!
Thank you as always to this guides intrepid and brave research assistant, without whom this guide would not have been possible, The Lone Wanderer!
From Moira Brown here in Crater-Side Supply in the humble town of Megaton, good luck out there in the Capital Wasteland and beyond!