Soldato
I'd probably go down the road to Middlesbrough, wouldn't be much change if a bomb hit it tbh 
.
.Apocalypse Happened would you?
- Thread starter Colbaker
- Start date
Soldato
Great watch.
I wonder whether England would even cope that well in a nuclear war nowadays - I imagine short term emergency procedures not being followed and incompetence destroying command structures.
Food would be my choice.
You cannot survive without food. You can, at least in theory, survive without weapons, medicine and a stronghold, although obviously in the longer term you might want to expand into those areas as people become more and more desperate (personally I am of the belief that you will have time to acquire food before things get totally out of hand, assuming you can form some alliances with others - even if they are only short-term).
One thing which I think does make it a bit more interesting is that society is becoming increasingly independent from the state when it comes to communications. In the short term (while power was still available) you'd be able to do some research on the 'net, communicate via mobile phone etc. Obviously, communication is so dependent on electricity nowadays that it wouldn't be long before the power supply either fails or is diverted away from mainstream use.
You cannot survive without food. You can, at least in theory, survive without weapons, medicine and a stronghold, although obviously in the longer term you might want to expand into those areas as people become more and more desperate (personally I am of the belief that you will have time to acquire food before things get totally out of hand, assuming you can form some alliances with others - even if they are only short-term).
One thing which I think does make it a bit more interesting is that society is becoming increasingly independent from the state when it comes to communications. In the short term (while power was still available) you'd be able to do some research on the 'net, communicate via mobile phone etc. Obviously, communication is so dependent on electricity nowadays that it wouldn't be long before the power supply either fails or is diverted away from mainstream use.
Last edited:
(what about the strength one in Megaton?) Would go for food + water first, as well as some warm clothes and other things for basic survival. I do think people would come together and care for eachother though. Maybe not all but some.
it really depends on the type of apocalypse
if it something were most humans die but most Infrastructure is still intact the food/water and shelter would be be first on your list with weapons low down on the list
if it something were most Infrastructure is destroyed but most humans live then weapons/shelter first followed by food/water
if it something were most humans die but most Infrastructure is still intact the food/water and shelter would be be first on your list with weapons low down on the list
if it something were most Infrastructure is destroyed but most humans live then weapons/shelter first followed by food/water
Soldato
Been thinking about the OP and you have to break it down into two categories. The first is immediate survival, i.e. the initial few days after whatever apocalyptic event has taken place. The second is securing your long term future, or indeed deciding if you want to depending on the nature of the event.
I would have to say the immediate priorities are:
1. Water - without it dead in three days.
2. Shelter - you are not going to last long outside without it. Would put suitable clothing under the same heading (and a stout pair of boots).
3. Food - okay you can last without it but after a few days you're not going to have strength to do anything if you haven't eaten.
4. Weapons - for most people this is probably going to be some sort of knife or cutting weapon rather than the "keyboard warrior's" AK47. Maybe a samurai sword or similar if you can find one but combat is probably best avoided if possible. Any confrontation is going to be short, brutal and result in removal of limb(s) or head not the honourable serve and parry type of fight.
5. Medicine - basic stuff like painkillers and anti-diahorrea tablets etc.
6. Suicide kit - if it's all going pear shaped, the cannibal gangs are advancing then as distasteful as it seems some means of quickly and preferably painlessly terminating you and yours.
In the first instance I would probably head to my own house. If it was still standing and not ransacked there's several days worth of potable water in the toilet cisterns and header tank plus the garden water butt. Enough jams, biscuits, crisps and potatoes etc. to provide basic sustenance for a few days. Defrosted food from the freezer if still fresh can be boiled over a makeshift fire and salted/pickled to preserve.
Long term I would not be that optimistic about my chances. Unless you go to the wilds of Scotland or Wales there's not that many places in the UK where you're likely to avoid other survivors intent on harming you. The first and toughest decision is whether to go it alone or take the wife (and kids if you have them) along. Sad fact is any chance of living your survivalist dream of stealthily creeping around the woods like Aragorn son of Arathorn is likely to come unstuck fairly quickly with the amount of noise companions would make. Could come in handy as food later I suppose (unless they get you first).
Actually that's the other thing you would need to reconcile - exactly what you are prepared to do to survive. Are you prepared to kill - perhaps messily and brutally? Are you prepared to eat human flesh, which may be the only food available? Playing Fallout 3 does not really prepare you for what might be in store. The effects of consuming irradiated food and water will not magically vanish by taking a pill. If you decide to go for the coast and find a yacht or ship, how far will you get if you haven't sailed or piloted a water vessel?
As fanciful as some of the previous replies are, I suspect most people will end up like the elderly couple in "When The Wind Blows", not realising that no-one is coming to help and just fading away, if they haven't gone fot the provisions of No.6 above.
I also think you would find the world far more akin to the state of affairs shown in "The Road" than Fallout or Mad Max, with all hope pretty much gone.
I would have to say the immediate priorities are:
1. Water - without it dead in three days.
2. Shelter - you are not going to last long outside without it. Would put suitable clothing under the same heading (and a stout pair of boots).
3. Food - okay you can last without it but after a few days you're not going to have strength to do anything if you haven't eaten.
4. Weapons - for most people this is probably going to be some sort of knife or cutting weapon rather than the "keyboard warrior's" AK47. Maybe a samurai sword or similar if you can find one but combat is probably best avoided if possible. Any confrontation is going to be short, brutal and result in removal of limb(s) or head not the honourable serve and parry type of fight.
5. Medicine - basic stuff like painkillers and anti-diahorrea tablets etc.
6. Suicide kit - if it's all going pear shaped, the cannibal gangs are advancing then as distasteful as it seems some means of quickly and preferably painlessly terminating you and yours.
In the first instance I would probably head to my own house. If it was still standing and not ransacked there's several days worth of potable water in the toilet cisterns and header tank plus the garden water butt. Enough jams, biscuits, crisps and potatoes etc. to provide basic sustenance for a few days. Defrosted food from the freezer if still fresh can be boiled over a makeshift fire and salted/pickled to preserve.
Long term I would not be that optimistic about my chances. Unless you go to the wilds of Scotland or Wales there's not that many places in the UK where you're likely to avoid other survivors intent on harming you. The first and toughest decision is whether to go it alone or take the wife (and kids if you have them) along. Sad fact is any chance of living your survivalist dream of stealthily creeping around the woods like Aragorn son of Arathorn is likely to come unstuck fairly quickly with the amount of noise companions would make. Could come in handy as food later I suppose (unless they get you first).
Actually that's the other thing you would need to reconcile - exactly what you are prepared to do to survive. Are you prepared to kill - perhaps messily and brutally? Are you prepared to eat human flesh, which may be the only food available? Playing Fallout 3 does not really prepare you for what might be in store. The effects of consuming irradiated food and water will not magically vanish by taking a pill. If you decide to go for the coast and find a yacht or ship, how far will you get if you haven't sailed or piloted a water vessel?
As fanciful as some of the previous replies are, I suspect most people will end up like the elderly couple in "When The Wind Blows", not realising that no-one is coming to help and just fading away, if they haven't gone fot the provisions of No.6 above.
I also think you would find the world far more akin to the state of affairs shown in "The Road" than Fallout or Mad Max, with all hope pretty much gone.
Bit useless without ammo though.
Everyone is getting het up about water. That in the UK is the least of our worries. Bleach in a bit of river/stream water should be fine for most occasions and basic filters are easy to come by/make. (not to mention rain water)
Food. Bit more difficult and harder to come by, however at this time of year not too difficult. Loads of wheat and barley in the fields to make flour and (poor) bread to start with. Meat would still be in abundance as well. Doesn't take much to kill a sheep/cow and you meat for at least the first few weeks (everyone else alive will be thinking the same thing).
Shelter. Well assuming your house hasn't been destroyed then the least you have is that. Those living in cities may have to move out to find food though but defence of a small house wouldn't be too difficult, if you hve basic carpentry/steel work skills. Sealing your downstairs windows and doors up with wood and metal.
Weapons. Firearms in this country could be a little difficult to get hold of, however it would be pretty easy to take any slashing style weapons.
All depends on how unruly the area is for the first month or two. I'd like to think that most areas would have a semblance of peace for at least a few months, with most areas banding together to keep people in order at least to start with.
Personally though if we are talking totally make believe then I'd team up with a couple of friends, sneak into an army barracks (they'd all be wiped out) and steal a challenger two tank, a lorry full of supplies and an oil tanker (each driving one) then head to a castle (maybe Windsor) and make that a base of operation...
The castle would be nye on impossible to storm (remember probably no explosives) and it will almost certainly have it's own well (for water) and generator (for use sparingly for power). When we needed to head out for food or any other reason (and as a last defence to anything if the castle is stormed) we'd take the Tank*, fully stocked that would give us a week to defend ourselves (after fuel) and is practically indestructable.
With all that we would probably be able to save a few people and get a little community going in the castle and live in relative harmony.
*I'd head back soon after with someone and take a couple of heavily defendable machines with better fuel efficiency, maybe another tanker or two...
Guess what I spend the last month sticking in my drinking water? Yep, bleach...
(Obviously not the extra thick toilet duck variety but a couple of drops of standard bleach in a litre of water is fine, well for the short term at least* by which point you should have another source of water)
*None of us were quite sure if it is safe for long term usage but it's essentially the same as Iodine, just with a different taste.
1) boarding your doors and windows up means you're basically ****ed, one guy with a molotov is going to burn your house down no problem.
That's of course assuming you don't die from the diseases/rats/flies from all the rotting corpses of your neighbours.
Soldato
Re guns - I think the issue here is apart from actually finding one, the majority of people in this country (myself included) have never even handled one let alone fired or loaded a firearm. I'm sure it's not as easy as PC games or the TV make it look and a dislocated wrist/shoulder from unexpected recoil would not be the best way to start your survival enterprise.
Perhaps a crossbow would be more practical (again if you can find one) but if you're on the move all this has to be carried along with the rest of your gear.
Perhaps a crossbow would be more practical (again if you can find one) but if you're on the move all this has to be carried along with the rest of your gear.
Why not just get it from a fast flowing stream and/or filter it and/or boil it?
Filtering takes an age to do with any amount and boiling it involves time (for the water to boil) and fuel (which usually has to be carried too).
As for streams, that is what we were getting water from (in fact one was a spring), doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it. Ironically funnily enough one of the people I was working with actually caught a water bourne illness whilst I was there (luckily sorted by a week of antibiotics), the bacteria was resistant to both bleach and Iodine and only boiling could have got rid of it. This was most likely from a stream at the top of a mountain...
True, but then I'd hope you could fire proof your house a little better (think metal on outsides and upper windows meshed so no smashing. Roof similar. Not perfect but you could always then move out in the future.
True, but then I'd hope you could fire proof your house a little better (think metal on outsides and upper windows meshed so no smashing. Roof similar. Not perfect but you could always then move out in the future.
that's not really going to fire proof a mainly flammable house.
Thermal Gel fire retardent smeared everywhere will though.
Soldato
I find the nearest few beautiful women. Get us to a safe house and tell them that it is now our mission to re-populate planet earth!
Giggity giggity!
Giggity giggity!
I've yet to see bricks combust and light...
yet to see a ceiling made out of bricks in a normal house...