Features
What makes a good Drifter are their abilities to endure and survive the Wildlands. Those that spend much of their lives in this chaos pick up special gifts during their travels in the form of features.
Features are unique abilities only a drifter such as yourself can perform. Each Drifter begins with 3 features to start with and is granted more as their caravan level’s up. Each feature has a skill proficiency requirement that must be met before it can be chosen. Also, when a feature requires an action roll, the required skill is used unless stated otherwise.
Equipment
Working in Wildlands is never an easy task but with the proper equipment you can definitely improve your odds. Every piece of equipment has a string of words associated with called traits. This list of words is used to help describe the equipment’s abilities as well as how it functions. Equipment is organized into five categories: gear, weaponry, tool sets, gizmos, compounds, and transports.
Gear
Gear is protective equipment designed to negate incoming attacks. Every piece of gear has a small pool ranging from one to three called a Gear Pool, or GP. Whenever you are about to take harm from a known source, you can spend these points to negate incoming harm. Negating wounds cost one point per box while negating a trauma cost two points per box.
Once the gear’s pool is completely expended, it becomes useless until it is repaired or replaced. Most gear can be repaired by a professional or at your caravan’s camp with the right tools and a little downtime. Once complete, its GP filled back to its max.
Weaponry
Weaponry is destructive equipment designed to cause harm. There are a variety of weapons found throughout the Dead West, but all fall into one of two sub-categories: ranged and melee.
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can be used effectively beyond arm’s reach to cause harm. When using a ranged weapon against a threat, your ability to fight is measured by your speed and uses the draw skill in action rolls unless stated otherwise. Exceptions are often found with weaponry empowered by science or the occult.
A melee weapon is anything that must be used within arm’s reach or touch to cause harm. When using a melee weapon against a threat, your ability to fight is measured by your strength and uses the wrangle skill in action rolls unless stated otherwise.
Tool Sets
A tool set is helpful equipment designed to offer you the materials needed to overcome obstacles. Each tool set has a particular type of use, but its specific contents are left intentionally vague. You have the ability to pull out any number of small tools or basic materials, within reason, as long as it pertains to the tool set’s typical use. Alternatively, a tool set can be used to negate the lesser effect of an action roll, but in doing so the tool set is considered broken and unusable until it is repaired or replaced.
Due to their weight and size, you’re only able to store up to two tool sets on your person at a time, but others can be stored elsewhere such as a wagon.
Gizmos
Gizmos are augmentative equipment designed to alter the way your skills are used. They are often made to grant the user new ways to approach common problems.
Every gizmo has a trait signifying how many times it can be used. Once all uses are expended, the gizmo becomes inoperable and must be repaired before it can be used again.
Compounds
Compounds are enhancive equipment designed to boost your abilities in the field. When consumed, they will often grant the user a greater effect to a certain skill or enhance the user’s efficiency.
Similar to gizmos, compounds have a limited number of uses defined by their traits. Once all uses have been consumed, you will need to purchase replacements.
Transport
Transportation is locomotive equipment designed to move you across the Dead West more safely and swiftly. Different types of transportation offer different strengths and weaknesses depending on the environment and how it is used, but all have a unique trait to determine how much it can carry called load.
A single “load” is roughly the size and shape of an average adult human and, unless stated otherwise, at least one of these loads must be filled by the driver to be operated.
Bucks
To afford such equipment, you’ll need to earn some money or Bucks. Each drifter begins with a set number of bucks to start with depending on the past they choose and will acquire more through jobs or other means.
For more mundane purchases such as ordering a bottle of whiskey at the bar or restocking on basic rounds, you don’t need to mark off any bucks since those items aren’t equipment and are more narrative. Your money will primarily be spent on equipment and caravan features or other much larger expenses.
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