Surviving the Badlands
Shelters, Water Extraction, Badlanders, etc.

Hi folks! So, with the expansion of our wonderful world out into the Badlands, we have a whole new host of interesting situations which don't necessarily crop up in the form of environmental factors.  Maybe it's the hours of Fallout 3 that have gotten me thinking, but there's a lot that can be contributed in the form of gear and equipment for the Badland's Raider/Explorer types.

My first idea is that those of us who travel the wastes, but fail to call any one place a home need just that, some sort of temporary shelter from the elements when we need to bed down for the night or set up some sort of encampment. Experience dictates that just sleeping out there can be pretty exciting. On one foray, poor Johns awoke to find a scorpion standing in the midst his sleeping party of explorers. Fun stuff! And let me not fail to mention that environmental effects occur even while a character sleeps, so be ready for some health loss and frostbite/sunburns when you log on!  So, my suggestion is that a man-portable shelter that can be set up/dismantled be created for those roving wanderer types. It should be light enough that it's not a complete encumbrance to the typical explorer, capable of keeping environmental effects such as sun, cold, and sandstorm at bay, and have a means of keeping the nasties out.  Perhaps it's ICly some sort of nanoplastic composite that makes it light yet durable.  Additionally, the structure or variants of it should be camoflauged so that  those looking through a pair of binoculars or a telescope may only see just another physical bump in the terrain rather than the shelter that it is.

My second idea: either water evaporators or water purifiers.  Face it, any water out in the badlands is bad for you no matter how you want to look at it, if it doesn't kill you outright it's going to give you parasites or dysentary. So, a handy device that could pull water out of the environment and deposit it into a canteen or similar would be great, and for those situations when you can't afford an evaporator, perhaps a sanitizer that can be used on water that's acquired from local sources.

Third: Sleeping bags. If you can't afford a shelter, at least get the protection of all-weather sleeping bags. They won't keep out the critters, but they should negate the effects of sleeping on hard ground out in the open to some degree.  

Fourth: Basic desert camo gear that should assist the lone wanderer in concealing himself from the prying eyes of standard video cameras, binoculars, and telescopes.

Fifth: For those fully rugged types, the ZMI Stillsuit, meant to make sure every bit of moisture lost is reclaimed for those dusty Fremen-wannabes walking all over the desert on foot, adding a bit of camoflauge and added protection from the elements as well.

Sixth: Sterno, for when you just can't fucking start a fire and need something to cook your rad scorpions and desert rats.

Suggestions? Clarifications? Additions to the list?

Sure. Do you have any suggestions with regard to expanding upon my ideas, or do you have any additions you'd like to see with regard to badlands related equipment that may be lacking?

All good ideas.  I think that if theres going to be purifiers then the possiblility of getting sick from drinking standing water both in and out of the city should be more prevelant, and if theres something desert-camo-ish, then the same should be possible cityside.  Don't mean to stray from the badlands theme, but I know we've had the "stealth armor" conversation elsewhere before.

I think we're missing one other effect in the slagheap that is the Badlands. Radiation poisoning. Prolonged exposure to radiation would drive PCs and NPCs into safe havens such as the Dome. It shouldn't be everpresent, but I can see an interest in pockets of the stuff all over the badlands.  Whether from nuclear fallout or improperly dumped toxic waste, maybe these pockets gave rise to some of the mutant critters running around out there and makes the Badlands even more dangerous to the unwary traveller.

What does this do? It places a reason for people to suffer severe radiation burns, and possibly gives rise to items such as anti-rad pills, geiger counters, and lead-lined suits for exploring such areas.

No foo! It's Badlands 3!