Climate, clothing and exposure in The Wilds

Open Condition before heavy work

In The Wilds, open Condition to read Warmth, Wetness, Fatigue, Body reserves, Hunger and Thirst. Warmth, reserves, Hunger and Thirst are safer when high. Wetness and Fatigue are safer when low. These rules follow paid world turns. Looking and opening a panel do not advance them.

Your first year has 160 days

Arrival is Day 1. Autumn begins on Day 15, first snows on Day 29, deep winter on Day 43 and the thaw on Day 101. Mild summer starts on Day 121. The climate repeats after 160 days, while the run day count keeps increasing. This is separate from the ordinary Adventure calendar. Each day lasts 2000 world turns.

Prepare for ice before deep winter

Fresh water starts icing at 35 days since arrival, at the start of Day 36 in the first year. It opens again at 112 days, at the start of Day 113. The sea stays open. Use Open fishing hole through Camp work to fill containers or use frozen fresh water for fishing. An opened hole lasts 2000 turns. Reopening may be needed during winter.

Outside temperature includes the weather

The climate gives a base temperature. Night cooling can subtract up to 4°C, and rain, drizzle or storm weather subtracts another 2°C. Storm, blizzard and wind weather give 7 points of wind exposure. Other weather gives 2. Shelter, clothes, fire and wetness then determine how warm you feel.

Wear your warm clothes

Only equipped clothing contributes insulation and rainproofing. Insulation falls with clothing condition. At 100 Wetness, only 40% of that insulation remains effective, and wetness also lowers felt temperature separately. Rainproof clothing needs condition above 15 to slow uncovered rain soaking. Carrying an unworn coat gives no clothing protection.

Keep close to the fire and roof

A lit fire warms you from within 2 tiles horizontally, vertically or diagonally. A shelter can help from within 1 tile by the same measure. Its cover equals its quality times its remaining condition. Rain cover needs more than 45% cover. A normal roof also counts as cover. A usable bivvy keeps the rain off while you are actively sleeping. Any available cover adds warmth, even when too thin to stop rain.

How the Wetness bar changes

Wading outside a boat adds 0.65 Wetness per world turn. Uncovered rain adds 0.1, or 0.015 with usable worn rainproofing. Those soaking rules take priority over a nearby fire. Once they do not apply, a nearby fire removes 0.22 Wetness per turn. Active drying removes 0.12 without a fire, while ordinary dry conditions remove 0.02. Wetness stays between 0 and 100. Dry clothes and gear refuses water and uncovered rain. These rates describe your Wetness bar. Individual gear has separate moisture and drying rules.

Cold drains Warmth before health

At a felt temperature of at least 8°C, Warmth recovers 0.06 per turn. Below 8°C, Warmth falls by 0.0018 times the missing degrees per turn. Warmth stays between 0 and 100. At empty Warmth, cold damage accumulates at 1 health per 90 world turns. A whole point is applied when it has accumulated, carrying the fraction forward. Below 35 Warmth, you also tire faster, burn more reserves and lose Hunger faster.

Use both bedding layers

While sleeping, you get the better of a sleeping bag and a wool blanket over you. A dry bag adds 12 warmth and a dry blanket 7. Moisture weakens them at different rates. Under you, the best of a sleeping mat, hammock or bed of boughs contributes. A mat adds 7. A whole hammock adds 9, reduced by its condition. You need to stand on the hammock or bed tile. The over-layer and under-layer add together.

Sleep has entry and wake-up thresholds

Choose Sleep for eight hours through Camp work. Starting needs Warmth above 20, Hunger above 10, Thirst above 10 and no nearby predator danger. During sleep, Warmth below 15 or Hunger or Thirst below 5 wakes you. Fatigue falls by 0.09 per turn above 40 Warmth and below 50 Wetness. Other sleep restores 0.025 per turn. Sleeping above 50 Warmth, below 35 Wetness and above 30 Hunger restores 1 health on each 180-world-turn healing check.

Penalties add across different bars

Tired or Exhausted is one Fatigue band. Cold or Numb hands is one Warmth band. Soaked, Hungry and Low body reserves can add their own penalties. Time penalties add to the base time, rather than multiplying one another. They also reduce affected camp success checks and ranged hit chances by percentage points. Fishing power uses the same combined chance penalty as a multiplier. Guaranteed camp jobs stay guaranteed. Sleep for eight hours and Dry clothes and gear waive these work modifiers, though exposure and needs still change. One-turn gathering strikes instead make less progress under the same burden. Camp work rounds its quoted duration up to whole turns. Thirsty is a warning below 20 Thirst and adds no separate work or hit penalty.

Keep stored energy as well as Hunger

Body reserves are separate from Hunger. Ordinary reserve drain is 0.006 per world turn, or 12 per day. Hunger below 20 raises it to 0.008 per turn. Warmth below 35 adds another 0.002. Eating can restore reserves even when Hunger is full. Empty Hunger in The Wilds does not immediately apply ordinary starvation damage. Empty reserves instead cost 1 health on each 150-world-turn needs check. Empty Thirst has its own 1 health check at the same 150-turn interval, so both can hurt together.