Rules of the Freelands

Health
Maintaining one’s health is the number one factor that can make all the difference between a life or death situation. If someone is unable to fend for themselves, their chances of survival are dwindling on a very thin thread. It’s important to keep all members of a faction in good shape to ensure their own safety. Ways that people keep their health in check is to: a sleep schedule as soon as possible. '''This is important to keep the mind and body from becoming sluggish. high-sodium foods and drinks. '''This prevents dehydration. wounds/sickness as soon as possible.''' This prevents infection and further illness. overexertion.''' Reserving energy for when it is needed most makes it easier on one’s body. body at a steady temperature. '''To ensure that the inner organs function properly. hydrated.''' People will survive longer when there is water in their system.
 * '''Establish
 * '''Avoid
 * '''Treat
 * '''Avoid
 * '''Keep
 * '''Stay

Teams
While it is entirely possible to survive alone, the most efficient way to survive in the Freelands is to be part of a group and to work together as a team. Raiders and hostile factions will kill lone travelers or small factions on sight and tend to leave larger factions alone until they feel it’s advantageous for them to attack. This is one of the factors for why the Freeland Factions had formed together and remained significantly strong since the year 2019. For information on forming your own faction, see '''Roleplaying In The Freelands''' document.

Loners tend to use both strategy and micro-management of their own inventory when it comes to survival. They have it easier when it comes to travel and scavenging for food and water. Defense, however, relies solely on the skill level of the individual as well as stealth. Many hostile factions, such as the Redtails (to be discussed later), can hunt a single man down in only a matter of hours if the Loner is not careful to cover their tracks, and even when precautions are taken it’s not guaranteed to throw them off the trail. If the Loner decides to fight back, it is usually a life or death decision no matter how skilled the individual is.

Training
Learning something new, especially in a world that expects much from you, is difficult and perhaps intimidating. However, it’s one of the surest ways to keep the mind sharp and to obtain new skills that may increase the chances of survival. Popular ways that Freelanders do this is to learn different fighting styles and mastering a new skill that an elder may provide to the Faction. It’s very common for Freeland inhabitants to already be familiar with a particular weapon that they happen to find on a raid. Depending on the faction, each Freelander has a significant skill that they specialize in, and one of the key components to maintaining said skill is the famous saying: “Use it or Lose it”[1].

Prepping
When Old America fell so suddenly, many people were left unprepared and having to scramble to gather what they needed to survive, causing many conflicts that resulted in the tragic Fall Out [2] . Since then, it has been an important rule to always be prepared in whatever fashion works best in one’s current state. This does not necessarily mean that people must materialistically have everything on hand at every moment. It simply encouraging to use whatever is available to the best of it’s advantage and to plan ahead at every opportune moment. Everything must run out at some point -- one must keep that in mind when using resources.

Visibility
Camouflage is a common defense mechanism that helps to avoid detection on faction territory or to get past a horde of the Risen. This can be achieved through paint, camo-clothing, or nearby items (depending on your location). An additional part of camouflage would be covering one's scent with mud or other inconspicuous substances if there is a high chance of dealing with the Risen. While it’s absolutely vital to remain out of the enemy’s visual sight, it’s also equally important to keep the enemy in view at all times -- this includes the undead.

Danger Zones
There are areas that prove to be hazardous to human presence. There are the once-heavily populated cities such as Manhattan or Las Vegas, which now house large hordes of the Risen and possibly contain the largest strongholds for Stalkers. It’s also wise to avoid getting comfortable next to Hospitals, Prisons, or even Animal Hospitals. Anywhere underground is especially dangerous because Stalkers will take refuge away from the sunlight and crawl into city tunnels, basements, cellars, caves, sewers, etc..

TIME
Time is an expensive concept in the freelands, and an expense that cannot be controlled as easily. Daylight is the ideal period for people to get whatever task needs to be done accomplished, and there are only so many hours in the day to use before one must secure themselves away from the incoming nightfall to avoid Stalkers. Hostile factions will use both day and night hours to their advantage, but even they must calculate those times carefully to avoid encounters with the Risen.

TRAVELING
Traveling happens often in the Freelands, and it either becomes a lifestyle to some individuals or a hazard to others. Nomadic factions travel the most for a living. When nomadic factions grow larger, they can settle with mobile homes and/or vehicles where they can defend themselves and store their belongings on-the-go, or they have designated areas that they can come back to as they travel.

When on the road, it’s important to only carry what is valuable for survival. Anything else that takes up room adds unnecessary weight onto not just the individual but onto the entire group. This is especially true for nomadic factions/loners, as they must carry all of their belongings with them everywhere they go.

Trekking in terrain exposes oneself as an easier target to the risen and/or other factions. It’s among high priority to take shelter during nightfall to avoid Stalkers, and to cover as much distance as possible during the daylight hours.