As you go around knocking off settlements, caravans, and various industries of the wasteland, your infamy will continue to grow.



When this happens, sedentary locations will start to set aside a bit of manpower to build fortifications to defend against your attack: ditches, mounds, pikes, walls, gates, and bunkers. Attacking a fortification without first taking them down will inflict brutal wounds on your raiders.



Rejoice though, siege weapons can be built which have a chance of taking down a number of fortifications. This is determined by a simple dice roll where the number of fortifications that fall is dependent on the dice roll and the attack rating of the weapon.





It's important to know that your siege machine will eventually be destroyed during combat, so build and use them wisely.


The good news is that you can also build your own fortifications in both your hideout as well as any locations that you manage to capture.



That means enemy regulators and mercenaries will injure themselves on your pikes and walls as well.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/972010

Caravans in the wasteland aren’t always just carrying resources – sometimes their cargo is human.




Some of those people may be valuable to your organization, folks like carpenters, engineers, armorsmiths, chemists, coopers, scribes, jesters, scavengers, smelters, brewers, and more.
Specialists provide bonuses, unlock buildings for construction in your hideout, and more.
Once you capture one of these individuals, they will be pressed into service, applying their trade in earnest.




Some caravans will be carrying VIPs instead.

Knocking off one of these caravans will yield a VIP – however, unlike specialists and tradesmen, these so-called “important” people to the settlements of the wasteland are useless to your own organization, so you can take them hostage instead.

The settlements will pay dearly for their release, depending on their importance.
Your options are to either ransom them (for chips), execute them (for fear), or butcher them (for meat). If you’re of the kinder disposition, you can also free them without ransom for a drop in infamy.




General laborers are also valuable. No settlement will pay for their release and they aren’t as important as specialized tradesmen, but they still serve a purpose. You can obtain workers from raids, from demands, and from slavers.

The more workers you have in your hideout, the faster things are built. Workers can also be assigned to buildings to increase their efficiency.

So go forth an plunder – resources and money aren’t the only thing you can steal!

There are many ways of obtaining the resources required to run a successful operation:

• Scavenging
  
• Looting
  
• Extorting
  
• Purchasing

Occasionally you can capture a specialist such as a wood scavenger or water diviner who will find resources for you each day.

Resources are used to build things in your base, such as alcohol stills, gambling dens, fortifications and other assorted structures.

The other use for resources is crafting, which will be the focus of this devlog.


Roaming the wasteland, you will discover the leavings of past civilizations. Scattered metal, wood, and garbage will give you enough to get started.




Weapons, Armor, Shields, Helmets and Siege Machines can all be crafted in the game. While crafting isn’t completely necessary, the equipment you craft can come out better than looted or purchased equivalents, depending on the success of the crafting session.
In order to craft an item, you will require one of or a combination of wood, plastic, metal, cloth, and leather.



To craft an item, you must possess the recipe for that item. And to obtain a recipe, you must break-down the item you wish to craft. So ultimately, you will have to loot and purchase items in order to break them down.

But once you have broken down an item, you will have that recipe for the entirety of that playthrough.

Breaking down an item will also return a portion of the resources used to build it.




Until a raider organization can become self-sufficient with crews of scavengers scouring the wastelands, you will have to do it yourself. Luckily the detritus of the past civilizations will be enough to get you started – but in order to truly strive, you will need to fight and extort the denizens of the wasteland in order to get what you need.

You are raiders after all.

Imagine the pure joy a raider feels when wiping the dust away from a metal container and spotting for the first time a nuclear hazard symbol on the side.

The mind races with possibilities, considering who or what to target first. Perhaps the stubborn air craft carrier base holding three raiders prisoner or that coveted settlement with the massive garrison...




Though the wasteland is harsh and unforgiving, there is much scavenge from the ancients that can be recovered. Most of it is scrap (for turning into crafting steel), wood (for building up and fortifying your hideout), or garbage (for turning into plastics) -- but occasionally, one might come across the husk of an old world bomber or submarine.



Poking around inside might yield a rare surprise: a canister of napalm perhaps. Or a tactical nuke. Maybe some mustard gas.




As your infamy rises in the wasteland, the local settlements will increase their garrisons and fortifications. When this happens, it might become too costly to attack without deploying siege devices or weapons of mass destruction first.

You could smash your forces against an impenetrable defense, but this would be suicidal.



If you have a tactical nuke or other weapon of mass destruction handy in your back-pocket, why not deploy that instead? You know you want to.

Committing an atrocity will clear a percentage of the garrison, depending on your success. With fewer enemies to fight, you should be able to successfully attack the settlement.




Of course, this will have the adverse effect of raising your infamy in the area and causing other settlements and surrounding industry to further increase their garrisons and fortifications -- so be mindful of when and where you deploy one of these terrible (useful) weapons.

Even the wildest of wasteland raiders require some semblance of order in their lives. No one knows how the ancient tradition started, but the wheel of laws has been a staple in your raider organization for many years now.



As leader of your organization, you can occasionally opt to spin the wheel of laws, adopting or declining whatever law it lands on.

Each spin of the wheel costs 500 "Fear" (a currency of the wasteland used for many things, including extortion and avoiding combat with regulators sent after you). A spin of the wheel might land on a law that you don't want, so there's a definite risk as each law carries one bonus and one penalty. Both are permanent.



Examples of laws include alcohol prohibition, headhunting, rules of profit, cannibalism, settlement occupation, succession rites, and various other cultural and tactical rules of engagement.



As laws in your organization accumulate over time, they will govern how you and your raiders comport themselves in the wasteland...

Caravans in the wasteland will usually be carrying produce or supplies such as scavenged plastic, scrap metal, wood, barley, cattle, and more. All of these are vital to a raider operation -- but occasionally, you may receive intelligence of a treasure convoy carrying an ancient artifact from one settlement to the next.

Sure, televisions sets and old cars are also considered ancient artifacts... but these are truly ancient. Old items plundered (or saved) from the world's museums before the great catastrophes, items such as the Euphonious Krater, the Canopic Jars, and the Pharaoh Death Mask for example... items that will provide valuable insight into the past cultures and civilizations of our planet if reconstruction and recovery ever takes place.

Naturally though, you're of the mind that these priceless artifacts would look better in your own collection...


Treasures not only tie your treasure room together, but also provide organizational bonuses as well. Incredibly rare in the wasteland, it's a big deal if you are able loot an artifact of importance.



The main tendered currency of the wasteland was deemed to be casino chips.

People considered other items, bottle caps for instance - but casino chips were deemed more practical in the long run. Small, colorful, plastic objects with numbers on them... it sort of made sense. So now, people fight and die over them.

Of course, there are many ways of obtaining chips in the wasteland if you're an unsavory fellow: for example, you can attack people for them, you can trade produce for them (stolen, looted, or generated from captured industry), you can exchange captured hostages for them, or you can counterfeit them (if you have built a plastic mold in your hideout).

Your raiders depend on a steady supply of chips streaming in - feed their greed or watch their morale start to drop...

Like weapons, combatants in the wasteland equip themselves with whatever mishmash of helmets, armor, or shields that they are able to scavenge, loot, or craft (will discuss crafting, components and reverse-engineering in a separate Devlog).




Helmets offer a variety of protections, but also stamina and hit chance penalties.

For example, light helmets offer little to no protection, but they look kind of cool, so you might want to equip your raiders with these. Light helmets include caps, sun visors, and potato sacks. Oh, and the wearer suffers from no penalties.

On the flip side, very heavy helmets (think of cumbersome Deep Sea helmets, Riot helmets, and more), offer massive protections, but also massive stamina and hit chance penalties, as the wearer won't be able to see for more than 30 degrees in either direction.

Helmets come in the following categories:

• Light[- little to no protection, no stamina and hit % penalties.
  
• Medium- middling protection, small stamina and hit % penalties
  
• Heavy- heavy protection, but also heavy stamina and hit % penalties.
  
• Very Heavy - extremely heavy protection, extremely heavy stamina and hit % penalties.

Examples of helmets include:

• Riot Helmet
  
• Deep Sea Helmet
  
• Skull Helmet
  
• Combat Helmet
  
• Horned Helmet
  
• GI Helmet
  
• Football Helmet
  
• Hockey Helmet
  
• Ned Kelly Helmet
  
• Welding Helmet
  
• Plumed Raider Mask
  
• Plumed Raider Helmet
  
• Plague Doctor Mask
  
• Gas Mask Helmet
  
• Construction Hardhat
  
• Pith Helmet
  
• Tanker Helmet
  
• Catchers Mask
  
• Bull Head
  
• Potato Sack
  
• Sun Hat
  
• Sun Visor
  
• Top Hat
  
• Plumber Hat
  
• Cowboy Hat
  
• Shemagh Mask
  
• Desert Cap

So take care in what kind of helmet or mask you equip your raider with.




Similar to helmets, armor also offers varying degrees of protection and penalties.

Armor comes in the following categories:

• Light - little to no protection, no stamina and hit % penalties.
  
• Medium - middling protection, small stamina and hit % penalties
  
• Heavy - heavy protection, but also heavy stamina and hit % penalties.
  
• Very Heavy - extremely heavy protection, extremely heavy stamina and hit % penalties.

Examples of the armor sets include:

• Combat Armor Set
  
• Spike Armor Set
  
• Skull Armor Set
  
• Tire Armor Set
  
• Front Plate Armor Set
  
• Ranger Armor Set
  
• Ned Kelly Armor Set
  
• Raider Scale Armor Set
  
• Bone Collector Armor Set
  
• Bomber Jacket Armor Set
  
• Football Pads Armor Set
  
• Leather Armor Set
  
• Patched Fur Armor Set
  
• Baseball Catcher Armor Set
  
• Duster Armor Set
  
• Cultist Armor Set
  
• Wrapped Armor Set
  
• Webbing Armor Set

So you have the choice of rolling out a deadly but fragile glass-cannon or a lumbering beast that takes no damage, but can't dodge or attack very well.

The choice is yours.


I don't currently have any artwork done for shields, but will have something to show soon enough.

Raiders can also equip themselves with shields, offering protection in addition to their armor and helmet. However, equipping a shield precludes the equipping as well of any two-handed weapons. So again, the choice becomes whether you want to roll out a damage dealer or a damage soaker.

Examples of shields include:

• Riot Shield
  
• Manhole Cover
  
• Hubcap Shield
  
• Highway Sign

Shields offer varying degrees of protection - for example, a riot shield will be much more efficacious in battle than a highway sign... but a raider will sometimes make due with whatever they have.




Occasionally a raider will loot a special item off of a dead combatant. This could be an item providing a stat bonus or unique ability, either in or outside of combat.

Some examples of special items include:

• Aid Kit
  
• Speedball
  
• Ancient Taser
  
• Bugle
  
• Shades
  
• Mummified Cat
  
• Car Dice
  
• Drum
  
• Mouthguard
  
• Brass Knuckles
  
• Athletic Underwear
  
• Cod Piece
  
• Skull Belt
  
• Monocle
  
• Lucky Charm
  
• Ancient Porn
  
• Hound Dog
  
• Guns & Knives Magazine
  
• Ear Necklace
  
• Sock Monkey
  
• Water Purifier
  
• Metal Detector
  
• Compass
  
• Toothbrush
  
• Camping Lantern

Will provide more information on these in the coming months.

Hope this provides a bit more info on the other items available in game.

Combatants in the wasteland equip themselves with whatever they can scavenge, loot, or craft (will discuss crafting, components and reverse-engineering in a separate Devlog).



Equipment includes the following:

• Weapons
  
• Helmets
  
• Armor
  
• Shields
  
• Special Items

With this Devlog, we will address weapons.


Weapons are further classified as both ranged and melee.

Melee weapons come in the following:

• One-handed Edged
  
• Two-handed Edged
  
• One-handed Blunt
  
• Two-handed Blunt

Ranged weapons come in the following:

• One-handed Ranged
  
• Two-handed Ranged

Each weapon comes with its own set of cool-down attacks and crowd-control abilities.

One-handed and two-handed weapons also confer stamina penalties on the individual using the weapon.




These weapon types are comprised of machetes, cleavers and more.
Actions specific to one-handed edged weapons include:

• Frantic Stab: (-10%) Hit %, (+4) Damage
  
• Slice & Dice: Attack (2) Time, (No Critical Hits, Bypass Attack Roll)
  
• Through The Seams: (-10%) Hit %, Ignores Target Armor Points
  
• Butchers Smile: Apply Bleeding Effect (-5 HP/Turn) For Duration Of Combat (Bypass Attack Roll)

These weapon types are comprised of katanas, trench shovels and more.

Actions specific to two-handed edged weapons include:

• Frantic Chop: (-10%) Hit %, (+6) Damage
  
• Shearing Swing: Hits Up To (3) Targets For (50%) Hit Damage
  
• Guarded Stance: (50%) Chance of Blocking Incoming Attack (1 Turn)
  
• Cleaveland: (-20%) Hit Chance, (100%) Critical Chance

These weapon types are comprised of pipe wrenches, night sticks and more.
Actions specific to one-handed blunt weapons include:

• Heavy Swing: (-10%) Hit %, (+4) Damage
  
• Full Throttle: Attack (2) Time, (No Critical Hits, Bypass Attack Roll)
  
• Go For The Eyes: Stuns Target For (1) Turn (Bypass Attack Roll)
  
• Bang-Cock: (-1) Stamina On Target For Duration Of Combat

These weapon types are comprised of hockey sticks, baseball bats and more.

Actions specific to two-handed blunt weapons include:

• Heavy Bash: (-10%) Hit %, (+6) Damage
  
• Swing For The Fences: Hits Up To (3) Targets For (50%) Hit Damage
  
• Grand Slam: (-10%) Hit Chance, (+20) Weapon Damage
  
• Shield Hook: (30%) Chance Of Removing Shield From Target

These weapon types are comprised of pistols.

Actions specific to one-handed ranged weapons include:

• Quick Shot: (-10%) Hit %, (+4) Damage
  
• Hammer Fan: Attack (2) Time, (No Critical Hits, Bypass Attack Roll)
  
• Knee Cap: (-1) Stamina On Target For Duration Of Combat
  
• Ventilate: Apply Bleeding Effect (-5 HP/Turn) For Duration Of Combat (Bypass Attack Roll)

These weapon types are comprised of rifles.

Actions specific to two-handed ranged weapons include:

• Quick Shot: (-10%) Hit %, (+6) Damage
  
• Death Blossom: Hits Up To (3) Targets For (50%) Hit Damage
  
• Armor Piercing: (-15%) Hit %, Ignores Target Armor Points
  
• Head Shot: (-15%) Hit Chance, (+20) Weapon Damage[/list]

Survivors in the wasteland sustain themselves on small diets of meat and water extracted from the unforgiving land. Meat and water are self-explanatory – without either, people start dropping like flies. So when planning a trip of marauding and destruction out in the wasteland, make sure your raiders are adequately supplied first.

Of course, there are farms and settlements that you can raid for food. You could also build a well in your hideout. Or if you’re fortunate, you can find the odd oasis which will supply you with fresh water – just watch out for any ornery hippos bathing there as they can kill a man with one bite.




Barley is also grown in select farms, but this is never consumed directly – no, these sacred grains are used to brew beer instead.

Raiders like beer. They’re day-drinking piss-tanks in fact. With a daily ration of beer, their morale remains stable – and being drunk, they’ll fight more fearlessly in battles. So keeping your raiders supplied with booze is important.

Short-term solutions include raiding or extorting caravans and settlements in the area for their beer.

However, a more long-term solution would be to capture a barley farm, kidnap a brewer, and construct a still in your hideout. Congratulations, you have embraced vertical integration and are now a beer manufacturer.




There are times you will run out of food.

During those times, you might opt to butcher some of your camels or cows for meat. But if you don’t have any captured livestock, humans might be the next viable item on the menu.



Perhaps you’ve captured some workers from the nearby quarry or farm and are leading them back to your hideout to put them to work – but your raiders are starving. No one will notice if you butcher one or two prisoners, right?

Or if you have higher value hostages, perhaps you can throw them in the pot.
The last resort would be butchering one of your own raiders.

Pity the poor sap that draws the short-straw…

In Raiders, you play as the leader of a band of marauders.

But instead of running your organization from afar, your character must eat, drink, deal with potential insurrections, and engage in combat.




Because your character exists within the world, dying is a possibility. Depending on your game settings, this will either result in your game ending, or one of your raiders taking up the mantle of command instead.

They will become your new character, meaning you can play for as long as you wish if you have at least one raider still surviving.


Because the player is a unit like the rest of the raiders under your command, your character will gain experience points from activities in the wasteland and level up. However, your character will also have a second set of exclusive attributes to level up as well that will provide direct benefits to the leading of your organization.

These attributes include the following:

Negotiation: Lowers the costs of bribing away enemy parties sent to attack you.
Intimidation: Increases the amount of fear you gain from raider activities. Fear is used to extort resources from enemy settlements and caravans.
Determination: Increases the weight capacity of your raider party.
Organization: Reduces the construction time of hideout buildings and fortifications.
Logistics: Increases the unit capacity of your party and garrisons.
Subterfuge: Reduces the amount of infamy gained from raider activities. Infamy determines the fortification level of settlements, as well as the strength of caravan guards and mercenary parties sent to kill you.
Mobilization: Increases the movement speed of your party.
Cruelty: Decreases the movement penalty of your party from captives.
Charisma: Increases the morale gained by the activities of raiders in your party.
Intuitiveness: Increases the amount of experience both you and your raiders gain from combat and other activities.
Greed: Increases the amount of loot and chips (currency) gained from combat.


You have the choice of promoting two of your followers to the ranks of Lieutenant and Sergeant respectively. Promoting a follower will provide them with combat and discipline bonuses – however, the downside to promoting a raider is that it might empower them to challenge you for the mantle of leadership…




Occasionally, if morale drops within your organization, you will be challenged to a duel. This can only happen however if you promote a raider to either Lieutenant or Sergeant.



If your character is challenged to a duel, it will be a one-on-one fight to the death with the challenger. If your character perishes, your game will either end or leadership will be passed to the new victor where you will continue playing.



I hope this provides some insight into the extra layer of gameplay I instituted into Raiders. You are not a god-like leader, looking down on your organization from afar...instead you are a character living in the world that must fight, eat, deal with insurrections, plan for successions, and more!