itch.io

Thanks Rainwarrior. That was my main concern (and why I don't like to buy on Steam as a rule; I definitely consider "must always be running Steam" as DRM!). I would still prefer GOG so will wait a bit for a release there hopefully, but it is good  to know that Steam copies a) aren't DRM'ed and b) will survive after download even if Steam ever shuts down. :)

Thanks so much for the reply! I really want to support (and play!) this amazing looking game, but would rather avoid buying  it twice. I will hang out a bit for a GOG release, otherwise will get it here. Steam is always my last choice if it has the  usual "always need Steam running" DRM. :(

I have been looking forward to this for a long time! A couple of quick questions: does buying here also give a Steam key? Does the Steam version have DRM (i.e. requires Steam be active)? Will this be released on GOG (my platform of choice given the choice)? Is there anything "missing" from any releases (Itch, Steam) that are only available on a certain platform?

Again, this game looks *amazing* (I'm a huge fan of Colonel's Bequest  and Sierra in general) and I am looking forward to buying it soon whichever platform I decide on! :)

Hi!

So glad you like it and approve! I was a bit nervous sharing it; made it for myself and didn't want to step on your toes.

Thank you SO much for your inspiring work on the original package; it really was fun to revisit and I adored the menu interface you designed  (part of why I did the update prompt thing was just to play with it more,  LOL!). I actually also started on my own similar package from scratch but I liked yours so much I wanted to upgrade that first.

Regardless, I might take you up and put a "complete update" version on Itch (with full credit to you of course). I have a few more games to add first though. Are there any in particular you'd personally like me to try and get working?

I really liked the idea of throwing in stuff like Neopaint and Screamtracker as they were as much a part of that "era" for me as the shareware games were. :)

Again thanks for your work and inspiration! Cheers!

I know it's been three years, but I *still* love this collection you made!

I hope you don't mind, but I made some unofficial patches and addons for it with new games HERE.

Which all makes sense, but underlines why one would want to know why they were disqualified, surely? "You used 1 too many goblins" "no I didn't, please recount" is different from "um, you used 15 warbears" or "you just submitted  quest 6 from MOTM but changed a few enemies" which nobody could dispute was a fair cop! One cannot know if disqualification was due to error otherwise.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

After spending so long trying to comply with the rules (including cutting the text down to the minimum!), getting multiple testers to check my monster/furniture  counts, etc, I really don't know where I slipped up.

So to be clear, it says notification may occur but isn't guaranteed. Does that mean nobody was notified or I was just unlucky to be someone who wasn't, and others were?

Just a bit hurt by this since I put a lot of work in and while I didn't care at all about winning anything, it would have been nice to know what was wrong and have a chance to fix it.  I am sure others who had no idea until they looked at the page and saw their quests removed feel the same.

Surely without a reason being given, disqualified participants can't know what criteria were disqualified for (and thus either re-submit or even just understand what happened). For example, if the monster count was higher than allowed by the rules:  a judge could have mis-counted, as could the quest submitter.

I'm  also confused how  the second and third paragraphs mesh: the second paragraph says participants can fix and re-submit if disqualified , the third says re-submitting if removed would mean being barred.

Honestly, though?   My main concern is that the right version of my quest got judged. I had two versions with one clearly listed as "FOR THE JAM" and the other as "NOT FOR JUDGEMENT" but I  worry now the  wrong one got read.

Um, but *I* had a submission and never received notification of disqualification!

When I click on "submissions" now, it only shows 38  entries and I know there were more than that at the start that previously showed up at the start of the jam. Were the others all removed and only the top 38 scoring "winners" retained?

I'm a mod maker myself, so I get your frustrations, mate.

When I say a "patch", I mean actually that. A literal patch difference file made with something like xdelta that requires the player to download your game, and my "patch" file, and then run an executable that "combines" the two on their own computer. Think of how NES romhacks work. It's how many folks get around modding commercial games where there is no existing mod tools  so we don't have to distribute the whole game illegally. With a patch like this, you're not redistributing edited versions of the game. It makes the player do an extra step and is more work for the modder, but it doesn't step on toes of creators by redistributing their entire games.

I also appreciate how busy you are, and have managed to figure out most of the issues I was having myself. I was only asking, and certainly don't expect you to help every modder who asks.

The last point, the only time I said  "fix"  was involving an actual error in the original DD sprites (red   around Williams' face), not something you did, and the fact that Abobo is named differently.  Obviously personal choice stuff like changing a special move or adding ED-209 like someone else did  isn't a "fix"!  LOL!

That's a real shame. I wanted to share my work with you and everyone else, but mainly I just wanted to be able to play as Linda from DD1, my first video game crush!  :)      Sure, I can keep my work locked up on   my HDD but sharing is what OpenBOR should be about, IMO. I love what you've done here and you should be proud. It really is my favourite OpenBOR DD game.

If I was to distribute my "mods" (I was hoping for your inclusion honestly, so I wouldn't need to), it would be as a patch to your game that required your game, never just your game re-edited, and certainly retaining all your credits. I would never ever want to take credit for what you've done. These are community projects where people should share their work, but stealing credit is awful IMO. Too much work goes in for someone else to pretend they made it!

Sadly, there will always be thieves on the internet, but I do my bit to make sure everyone knows your mods are yours when I see them in videos and such!

Regardless, the offer still stands if you ever want my sprites and fixes to include yourself.

I've always loved this version; probably my favourite DD remake for OpenBOR. Love the new Marian character in this update!

For the previous 4.0.4 version, I actually made a private patch (for personal use, never uploaded it anywhere) that improved Linda with some sprite edits and code tweaks. With that, the original "blonde afro" DD1 Linda was a playable character choice (actually, the DD1 lady is "Linda" aka "Linda Lash" while the DD2 mohawk girl should be "Cindy", something I also changed in my mod, as well as fixing the Abobo-Bolo naming too).

It all worked really well, even the ending, however I am a now bit lost how to update my mod/patch for v5.1.1, especially with the new character select screen. Can you help?

Also or alternatively, I'd be happy to share my sprite edits if you want to make DD1 Linda an official playable character. I also made it so she can use dynamite and knives, as well as being able to performing spin kicks like DD2 Linda. For both DD1 and DD2 Linda versions, I added the ability to perform jump kicks, elbow strikes and climb sideways with more custom sprite edits. I added a bunch of palette swaps for them too.

Oh, and I also fixed Williams' sprites since a few had miscolored pixels held over from their arcade days!

Please let me know if you're able to give me a hand, or as I said, interested in using my sprites and new moves (the latter will probably need their code tweaked for the new 5.1.1 changes).

Regardless, thanks again for this awesome game!

This is awesome. Thanks for this mod! It bothered me killing them from back when I first got the game on release!

This is awesome and my favourite version, but can you make one that only saves the slimed/"kill me" babes and not the stripper ones?

Updated to v4. I couldn't find it in the rules but figured it would be a good idea to mention exactly what expansions were needed rather than make people figure it out!

Done. Please let me know if the new "Jam Edition v3" abides by the rules now.

I thought the rules simply said that the whole quest must fit on a single page? In any case, I can try to strip it to the bare bones for the contest and include the "full" version as a second download that won't be judged for people downloading it just to play. Is it okay to mark one as "JAM EDITION" and one as "NON-JAM EDITION" and the judges will know which version to use for judgement?

What level of "who  is the quest for" is expected? Saying "for experienced heroes" is fairly broad. Is something like "For experienced heroes (completed 1 or more expansion)" or "For veteran heroes (completed 2+ expansions)" the sort of thing you're after?

Is this game available on GOG?   I'd love to buy it there (I avoid Steam when I can).

Well, that's not wrong IMO... :)

Would love to see these too!

Looks amazing, but how do we actually download this rather than use it online-only via Google docs?

This is a fantastic tool that the community really needs, thanks so much for your hard work!  However, I do find that it tends to not create completely accurate matches to the "real" cards, especially in terms of text formatting. For example, the card back text is slightly bolder and itallicized on the official cards but not the ones from this program (using text tags doesn't achieve the same result, either). Line spacing on some cards, especially equipment/treasure/spell cards, is too cramped and not  reflective of the "real" card spacing. I get that might be to allow more text, but I would definitely prefer either authentic spacing or a way to change line space.  Again, this is a fantastic tool for the HQ community and I would really like to see its minor issues ironed out. The only obvious missing feature is of course a way to save/load cards, but while that would be very welcome, being able to create completely accurate cards is my main wish.

Thanks for the update. Is the physical version that will be on your store (link please?) the same as the KS version or will   "Soul Muppet" be selling a more complete version?

Thanks for the reply and good to hear that! Does that mean the revised version will be free to those who bought the current (1.1) version here now, or will it be a separate product?  Just wanting to know if it's safe to buy now or if I should just wait until next month.

Glad to hear it will be available physically too, but I still wish I'd known about the Kickstarter as I suspect getting the zine physically in Australia would otherwise be cost prohibitive (KS has been the only affordable way for me to get stuff like Mothership, etc. physically in the past). Who would you be selling  it through, may I ask?

I play a lot of solo and don't normally like "journalling" games so much, but I'm a *huge* post apocalypse fan so I'm keen to give your game a shot.

I just discovered the game (so sad I missed the Kickstarter!) and am very tempted to buy it, but I wanted to ask if this Revised version was ever completed or if it got set back? I'd hate to buy it here and then have a better version get released shortly afterwards!

I'd be honored, although don't do it yet please as I have a few edits to make and a few new things to add. I was planning to turn these into a pdf anyway eventually, though, but wanted to ask you first! :)

I really like the game and have had a few good playthroughs so  far. I hope my addons being posted on my blog (with a link back to the game page here) have got you some extra sales and expanded interest in it, too.

I've never used Discord but can try and figure it out to chat.

These are the  revised the search tables I made for SBTD to give myself more  item options and to better go with my homebrew rule additions (such as the need to eat and sleep). I am sharing them in case others find them useful.

Use these with the search procedures outlined in the core  SBTD rules, but replace the original Search Tables with the ones below.

Alternate Search Tables

• 0. Junk (you can always roll for junk at any location)
  1 - Brick or large rock 
  2 - Old papers suitable for kindling
  3 - Tattered rags (ripped clothes, old sheets, etc.)
  4 - Sharp metal or glass (can be made into a shiv)
  5 - Wood or metal that can be made into a Club
  6 - Empty glass bottle

• 1. Abandoned house
  1 - Canned food (0.3kg) (roll 1D6: 1 dog food, 2 vegetables, 3 fruit, 4 soup/stew, 5 beans/spaghetti, 6 meat/fish)
  2 - Light/fire source (roll 1D6: 1-3 2D6 matches, 4 lighter, 5 1D6 candles, 6 lantern (1kg, roll 1D6: odd = oil; even = propane ))
  3 - Clothes
  5 - Bedding (roll 1D6: 1-3 towel (0.2kg), 4-5 blanket (2kg), 6 sleeping bag (1.5kg))
  5 - Container (roll 1D6: 1 duffel bag, 2-3 thermos bottle (0.5kg), 4-5 empty water bottle (0.2kg), 6 backpack)
  6 - Fuel (roll 1D6: 1 camp stove fuel canister (0.3kg), 2 half-full propane cylinder (6kg), 3 full propane cylinder (10kg), 4-5 half-gallon of gasoline (4kg), 6 gallon of gasoline (6kg))

• 2. Retail store
  1 - Clothes
  2 - Books or toys (roll 1D6: 1-2 toy (0.3kg), 3-6 book (0.2kg))
  3 - Snack food (roll 1D6: 1-3 chocolate or candy, 4-5 bag of salted snacks, 6 box of biscuits (0.2kg))
  4 - Bedding (roll 1D6: 1-3 towel (0.2kg), 4-5 blanket (2kg), 6 sleeping bag (1.5kg))
  5 - Camping (roll 1D6: 1 lighter, 2 2D6 candles, 3 fishing rod (1.2kg), 4 canteen (0.2kg), 5 vacuum flask (0.5kg), 6 camp stove (3kg))
  6 - Sports (roll 1D6: 1 ball (0.2kg), 2-3 bat or stick (1kg; treat as club), 4 armor (5kg; -1 INJ), 5 bow/crossbow (3kg) and 2D6 arrows, 6 hunting rifle (5kg) and 2D6 bullets)

• 3. Market, restaurant or cafe
  1 - Snack food (roll 1D6: 1-3 chocolate or candy, 4-5 bag of salted snacks, 6 box of biscuits (0.2kg))
  2 - Canned food (0.3kg) (roll 1D6: 1 dog food, 2 vegetables, 3 fruit, 4 soup, 5 beans/spaghetti, 6 meat/fish)
  3 - Dry food (roll 1D6: 1-2 box of cereal (0.2kg), 3 flour (1kg), 4 sugar (1kg), 5 dry pasta (0.5kg) 6 rice (1kg))
  4 - Hygiene (roll 1D6: 1 toilet paper (0.2kg), 2 bar of soap, 3 toothbrush, 4 toothpaste, 5 bleach (1kg), 6 disinfectant (1kg))
  5 - Small bottled drink (0.5kg); roll 1D6: 1-2 soda, 3-5 water, 6 = alcohol)
  5 - Large bottled drink (1.5kg); roll 1D6: 1-2 soda, 3-5 water, 6 = alcohol)

• 4. Pharmacy, clinic or hospital
  1 - Hygiene (roll 1D6: 1 toilet paper (0.2kg), 2 bar of soap, 3 toothbrush, 4 toothpaste, 5 bleach (1kg), 6 disinfectant (1kg))
  2 - Over-the-counter medicine (roll 1D6: 1-2 vitamins, 3 cold and flu tablets, 4 antihistamine tablets, 5-6 painkiller tablets)
  3 - First aid item (roll 1D6: 1-3 bandage/dressing, 4 splint, 5 antiseptic (0.3kg), 6 first aid kit (0.5kg))
  4 - Prescription medicine (roll 1D6: 1-3 strong painkillers, 4 antidepressants, 5 sleeping pills, 6 antibiotics)
  5 - Specialist medicine (roll 1D6: 1-2 insulin injection, 3-4 heart/blood pressure tablets, 5-6 Epinephrine injection)
  6 - Hospital item (roll 1D6: 1 surgical instruments (0.4kg), 2 oxygen tank (5kg), 3 serum bag (0.3kg), 4-5 manual pulmonary resuscitator, 6 field medic kit (1.5kg))

• 5. Tool store
  1 - Building supplies (roll 1D6: 1-2 bag of nails (0.2kg), 3 box of screws (0.2kg), 4 spool of wire (0.2kg), 5 tube of superglue)
  2 - Small tool (roll 1D6: 1 hammer (1kg), 2-3 screwdriver (0.3kg), 4 pliers (0.2kg), 5 chisel (0.4kg), 6 saw (0.5kg))
  3 - Large tool (roll 1D6: 1-2 shovel (3kg), 3 rake (2kg), 4 hoe (2kg), 5 pick (4kg), 6 axe (3kg))
  4 - Rope (2kg)
  5 - Blade tool (roll 1D6: 1-2 box-cutter, 3 multitool, 4 hunting knife (0.4kg), 5 hatchet (1kg), 6 machete (1.5kg))
  6 - B&E tool (roll 1D6: 1-2 wire cutters (0.2kg), 3 hacksaw (0.8kg), 4 bolt cutters (5kg), 5 crowbar (5kg), 6 sledgehammer (6kg))

• 6. Police department or abandoned military checkpoint
  1 - Police item (roll 1D6: 1-3 handcuffs (0.8kg), 4-5 baton (1kg, treat as club), 6 gas mask (1kg))
  2 - Emergency item (roll 1D6: 1-4 2D6 flares (0.2kg each), 5-6 First Aid Kit (0.5kg)
  4 - Ammunition (roll 1D6: 1-3 4D6 handgun bullets, 4-5 3D6 shotgun shells, 6 5D6 rifle bullets)
  5 - Weapon (roll 1D6: 1-3 pistol (2kg)  and 2D6 bullets, 4-5 shotgun (5kg) and 1D6 shells, 6 = assault rifle (6kg) and 3D6 bullets )
  6 - Armor (roll 1D6: 1-2 riot helmet (2kg; -1 INJ), 3-4 riot armor (8kg; -2 INJ), 5-6 bulletproof vest (2kg; -2 INJ))

For more of my Sky Beyond the Darkness (and other game) homebrew content, see my blog here.

In the core SBTD game, the goal is to survive a certain number of Events and escape the city. "City Hunter" is an alternative homebrew game mode I came up with in the same setting, where you are not trying to leave the city but rather searching it for someone or something.

What are you searching for?

Roll 1D6 (or choose, if you prefer) to find your goal to "win" (i.e. finish the adventure):

1 = You were beaten and left for dead (start Moderately Injured). You must recover and then find the 1D6 people responsible. 2 = Someone you loved was killed. Now you must track down and kill the 1D6 people responsible.

3 = Someone you love has been kidnapped. You must find 1D6 Clues in order to find their location and try to rescue them. 4 = Something valuable of yours was stolen. Decide what it was. You must find 1D6 Clues to track down the item... and the thief.

5 = Someone has hired you to find something of value to them. Roll on the Search Table to find out what it is. If it is a common item (food, painkillers, etc.), they want you to find 1D20+5 of those items. 6 = Someone has hired you to find someone they care about. Roll again: 1-4 they are missing; 5-6 they have been kidnapped. Regardless, it will take 1D6 Clues to find their whereabouts.

Finding your target(s)

When you are searching for a person or stolen valuables, whenever an Event occurs, roll 1D6. On a roll of 6, someone involved in the Event is important to your quest in a relevant way.

Example #1: You are looking for 3 people who tried to kill you and roll "Someone asks you to rob a passerby" then either the person who asks you or the person they want to rob is one of the 3 people you are looking for!

Example #2: You are trying to find 4 clues to the location of a kidnapped loved one and roll " You find a seriously injured person". This injured person provides 1 Clue.

The final clue

When looking for Clues, the last Clue you find is actually the location of person you are searching for.

Example #1: You are trying to find a stolen valuable possession and roll " You find a person trapped in a collapsed hiding place". This person will have your possession and is likely the thief that stole it.

Avenging yourself (or a loved one)

When looking for killers to avenge yourself or a loved one, it is up to you what you do once you find them. Killing them will cost Nature as normal, but will also reward you with 1 bonus Resilience. Whether you spare them or not, they are still "crossed off your list".

Rewards when hired

When hired to find a person or items, completing the job earns you the reward of your pick of any three items off the Search Tables.

For more of my Sky Beyond the Darkness (and other game) homebrew content, see my blog here.

I added the following homebrew rules to my last playthrough and like how it increased the feel of "survival" and limited resources. It also let me regain lost Resilience and made food items have a game effect.

For better control over game time flow, I divided each day into four Time Periods: Morning, Afternoon, Evening and Night. For each Time Period of every day, roll 1D6 to see if an Event occurs.

• EVENT  CHANCE TABLE
  Time is...                                                   Event  on roll of...
  Morning                                                    5-6
  Afternoon                                                           4-6
  Evening                                                         5-6
  Night                                                                          6

If an Event occurs, roll on the Encounter Table (in the official rules).

If no Event occurs, you can pick an Activity for that Time Period from the list below:
- Eat a meal (if you have food)
- Sleep
- Search your current location (roll up to 3 times on the Search Table in the official rules)
- Move to a new location

Eating and sleeping allows you to regain Resilience, while failing to eat or rest causes you to lose Resilience.

If you do not eat for a whole day, you lose 1 Resilience at the start of the next day. If you eat at least one meal (or two snacks), you lose no Resilience. If you eat two or more meals, you gain 1 Resilience at the start of the next day.

If you do not spend at least one Time Period in a day sleeping, you lose 1 Resilience at the start of the next day.

For more of my Sky Beyond the Darkness (and other game) homebrew content, see my blog  here.

Thanks for the reply. It was this one https://www.reddit.com/r/Solo_Roleplaying/ where your game was mentioned.

I absolutely love the look of it but I'm not a fan of playing solo rpgs with "oracles" (e.g. Mythic) so tend to lean towards ones with built-in solo modes. I would definitely be very interested in Breathless if it had a solo mode/version.

I made these tables for my own use to generate random NPCs (enemies, those in need, etc.) but thought others might find them useful. Feel free to only roll for the things you need (for example,  you might not need to know what weapons a friendly NPC is carrying) or ignore things that don't make sense.

Random NPC Generation Tables

• Age (roll 1D6):
   1 = child
   2 = teenager
   3 = young adult
   4 = middle-aged adult
   5 = older adult
   6 = elderly

• Gender (roll 1D6):
   1-4 = male
   5-6 = female

• Stats (roll 1D6):
   1 = Vigor 3, Trauma 1, Cunning 1
  2 = Vigor 2, Trauma 2, Cunning 1
   3 = Vigor 2, Trauma 1, Cunning 2
   4 = Vigor 1, Trauma 3, Cunning 1
   5 = Vigor 1, Trauma 2, Cunning 2
   6 = Vigor 1, Trauma 1, Cunning 3

• Injury State (roll 1D6):
   1-4 = Uninjured
  5 = Lightly Injured
   6 = Moderately Injured

• Close Combat Weapon (roll 1D20):
   1-4 = No Close Combat Weapon
  5-9 = Knife/Shiv
   10-14 = Club
   15-18 = Machete/Sword/Hatchet
  19-20 = Axe/Sledgehammer

•  Ranged Weapon (roll 1D20):
  1-6 = No Ranged Weapon
  7-9 = Pistol (3D6 bullets)
  10-11 = Revolver (2D6 bullets)
  12-13 = Shotgun (2D6 shells)
  14 = Sawn-Off (1D6 shells)
  15-17 = Hunting Rifle (2D6+1 bullets)
  18 = Bow/Crossbow (1D6 arrows)
   19 = Submachiengun (2D20+3 bullets)
   20 = roll 1D6: 1-4 = Assault Rifle (2D20+6 bullets), 5 = Machinegun (2D20+10 bullets), 6 = Flamethrower (1D6 gasoline)
  Note: do not roll for ammo until combat is initiated.

• Explosives (roll 1D6):
  1-4 = No Grenades
  5 = 1D6 Grenades/Bombs/Molotovs
  6 = 1D6+2 Grenades/Bombs/Molotovs

• Appearance (roll 1D20):
   1 = little more than rags
   2-5 = tattered casual clothes (jeans, t-shirt, dress, etc.)
   6 = tank top and shorts or tracksuit pants
  7 = dirty overalls
   8 = heavily patched business suit
   9 = puffy jacket and tracksuit pants
   10 = hoodie and cargo pants
   11 = lots of exposed skin and tattoos
   12 = leather jacket and jeans
   13 = biker leathers and wild hair
   14 = fur coat and dyed hair
   15 = long dark coat and sunglasses
   16 = old work uniform
   17 = hooded long robes
   18 = makeshift armor (hockey mask/baseball protector/football pads/etc.); -1 to all Injury rolls
   19 = military uniform
   20 = military uniform and body armor (bulletproof vest/plate carrier); -2 to all Injury rolls

For more of my Sky Beyond the Darkness (and other game) homebrew content, see my blog here.

Thanks for the reply!

I have run a few games now and definitely found that I needed re-divide the Attributes into Physical (Vigor), Perceptual (Trauma) and Intellect (Cunning) for better balance, otherwise I was pretty much never using "Trauma" except for something like "I found a dead child, roll to see how freaked out I am".

That means I used them as follows:

Vigor = feats of physical strength or endurance (brawling, climbing, dodging, resisting poison, etc.)

Trauma = feats of mental fortitude and perception (shooting, spotting something hidden, resisting fear, etc.)

Cunning = feats of intellect, charisma or  deception (solving problems, lying, bartering, math, science, seduction, etc.)

Doing that his saw me using all three Attributes fairly equally.

I was recommended this game via a solo rpg group. Is it actually possible to play solo, though? The description says 2+ players suggesting needing a traditional GM. No problem whichever the case, just wanted to make sure before buying it.

Just sent you an email (sorry it took so long). Also found my receipts for both purchases. No rush but let me know here if you don't receive my email!

To "win" the game, I need to survive 9 Encounters, correct?

Since events are divided into Morning, Afternoon and Evening, does this mean 3 Encounters happen each day Or is there only one Encounter per day and the time of day it happens is picked by the player (in which case I think it would be better to randomly roll)?

How does Searching factor into this? How many times a day can I search my current location? Once or twice (that is, each day there is one Encounter and two "free" timeslots which can be used for Searching or resting or other things)?

What about resting or healing? Do I need to use up a Morning/Afternoon/Evening "slot" to rest (and possibly recover some Resilience points?) or is it just assumed that I rest at night as well as whatever I do in Morning/Afternoon/Evening. What if I want to skip resting for some reason?

Does thirst and hunger (that is, if I have no food or water) cause me to lose Resilience?

I normally tend to avoid journal-style solo games as I'm more interested in a "game" experience than a "creative writing" one, but I'm genuinely interested in this one since I'm a huge post apocalypse genre fan.

So far, I like what I've read, but I do wish it was a bit more "fleshed out" (that is, provided basic combat rules and a few more tables).

I'd also like to possibly later contribute a few fan additions of my own if that was okay?

Full disclosure: I snagged a free copy to try it out but if I like it enough I would be happy (time permitting) to proofread and help you with any translation issues if you're interested. I'm a native English speaker and writer by trade but have a passion for editing. :)

Some questions...

Attribute Usage

Since there are no "skills", just attributes, can you help me work out which attributes are used for various tasks?

Some are obvious, but others not so much (at least to me).

For example, dodging or climbing or pushing something heavy would obviously use Vigor. Is that correct? Is it also used for "endurance" and rolling to resist things like fatigue, starvation, radiation sickness, blood loss and poison? Does Vigor effect how much I can carry or am I limited to 4kg base + 20kg backpack regardless of Vigor?

Bartering or seduction or lying would use Cunning, obviously, but is Cunning  also be used for intelligence-based technical skills such as repairing a generator,  crafting a water home-made filter or fixing a jammed rifle?

If Trauma is mental fortitude, when would you use it?  Maybe when you see a gristly or tragic sight and need to roll to avoid losing  Nature?

What attribute would I use to shoot an old tin can with a pistol? Or to spot a hidden sniper in the ruins? In other words, what is the game's version of "perception" ? I almost feel like there's one attribute (that one) "missing"... or am I the one missing something obvious?

Combat

I like the minimal system but had a few questions how to resolve certain situations. The main thing I couldn't understand was how does the system work when it is one character versus another? When a player wants to achieve a task, they roll D20 equal to their relevant attribute to try and score at least one 14 or higher, is that correct?

How about when an NPC tries to shoot a player or a player tries to shoot an NPC? Or if a player wants to barter with an NPC? Or the player tries to talk a hostile NPC into not attacking?

Is it as simple as both rolling D20 equal to their attribute and whoever rolls the highest on one die "wins"? I am just guessing!

Example situation: an NPC sees my character looting and takes a shot at me with their rifle. What do we each roll to determine if I am hit? Do I need to dodge or is this factored into the opposing roll (their shooting attribute versus my dodging ability)?

Is there any initiative to determine who attacks first in combat or does it happen simultaneously (I think that would be simpler)?

Incidentally, what attribute is used for shooting and noticing things (that is, "perception" and vision/hearing based tasks)?

Finally, what about damage? If I am hit with  by a shot from the NPC's rifle, what happens? Do injuries decrease Resilience? Is Resilience my "hit points" as well as being something I can spend to increase success? Or are there *no* "hit points" and I can die from a single shot *unless* I spend Resilience points to avoid a fatal injury?

Again, I like the simplicity of the system and appreciate keeping it short but was confused about the lack of any combat system in a setting where I expect to get attacked a lot! :)

Sample NPCs

What would be an example of the following average NPCs the player might encounter? What would their average attribute scores be?

1) A dirty, desperate scavenger, scrounging for supplies and willing to kill to keep what's theirs.

2)  A member of a small community wary of outsiders but willing to provide help  to those who don't pose a threat.

3) A raider who actively attacks others to steal what they have and kill them (possibly even cannibalize them!).

I just thought up three very  generic NPC types that an encounter might have the player meet, and was wondering what basic statistics you would assign them compared to the player's attributes.

Basic stats: Vigor, Trauma, Cunning, Resilience, Nature?

Thanks for creating this! I reposted my feedback here that I sent you on Reddit.

I also hope you don't mind me posting some specific questions for you. I absolutely understand and appreciate that this game system and rules is intended to be very "lightweight" and minimal, but I was a bit confused how combat works and also wanted an idea of what sort of statistics average NPCs and weapons would have in this setting. I am happy to come up with all that myself but wanted to check if there was any official word before I did! :)

Some example weapons and healing item stats I created,  for use with my homebrew combat and injury rules here.

Weapons

HIT = add/subtract this from your rolls to hit someone.
INJ = add/subtract this from rolls on the Injury Table  when hit by this weapon.
CAP = maximum ammunition capacity; how many attacks you can make with this weapon before reloading.
AMMO = type of ammunition the weapon uses.
NOTE = special notes about this weapon.

For simplicity's sake, ammo types are "generic types" rather than specific calibres, but feel free to substitute greater firearm detail if you desire that level of realism.

 Knife (or shiv): HIT 0, INJ 0.

 Club (baseball bat, pipe,  2x4, etc.): HIT +1, INJ 0.

Machete/Sword/Hatchet: HIT 0, INJ -1.

 Axe/Sledgehammer: HIT -1, INJ -2.

 Pistol: HIT 0, INJ 0, CAP 12, AMMO Handgun Bullets.

 Revolver: HIT 0, INJ -1, CAP 6, AMMO Handgun Bullets.

 Submachinegun: HIT 1, INJ 0, CAP 20, AMMO Handgun Bullets, NOTE Fires 4 bullets per attack.

 Shotgun: HIT 1, INJ -1, CAP 6, AMMO Shotgun Shells.

 Sawn-Off: HIT 2, INJ -2, CAP 2, AMMO Shotgun Shells.

 Hunting Rifle: HIT 2, INJ -2, CAP 6, AMMO Rifle Bullets, NOTE +3 to hit if ambushing.

 Assault Rifle: HIT 2, INJ -1, CAP 30, AMMO Rifle Bullets, NOTE Fires 3 bullets per attack.

 Machinegun:   HIT 1, INJ -1, CAP 10, AMMO Rifle Bullets, NOTE Fires 6 bullets per attack.

 Flamethrower: HIT -3, INJ -2, CAP 8, AMMO Gasoline.

 Grenade/Bomb/Molotov: HIT -1, INJ -1, NOTE Use Vigor to attack since thrown.

Bow/Crossbow: HIT 0, INJ 0, CAP 1, AMMO Arrows (roll 1D6 to recover arrow after firing; even roll = it can be reused)

Healing Items

 Dressings or Painkillers (or other relevant medications): worth 1 Resilience point when healing.

 First Aid Kit: worth 2 Resilience  points  when healing.

 Field Medic Kit: worth 3 Resilience  points  when healing.

 Access to hospital surgery or  physician's office: worth 4 Resilience  points  when healing.

For more of my Sky Beyond the Darkness (and other game) homebrew content, see my blog here.