Scenario: Winter, 3 things.

[Frothgar]

Here is the scenario:

For whatever reason the shelter you are currently occupying is destroyed or rendered unusable. You are alone. you are wearing only what one would wear indoors with a fire on the hearth (tunic,trousers,simple shoes) . you can only salvage three items from the wreckage (my possibles bag full of gear does not count, no wishing for more wishes.) It is winter, one hour from sundown, daytime temps have been in the low 20s, nightime 15 below.there is a foot and half of frsh snow on the ground, powder. the nearest village is 30 miles away.

what do you take?

and what is your plan of action?

Frothgar

[theowl]

Better footwear, Warmer clothes, and a flashlight.

[Peter Remling]

a warm heavy blanket or a winter coat, fire starting kit/lighter, a cook pot

30 miles is not too far to walk between a night and a day, the blanketor coat will keep you warm and dryer, fire starting to give heat and heat up snow in the hot

hot water to drink will keep your core temp up

[Frothgar]

guess i should have specified. this is an in character scenario...

[Alderic]

A heavy wool blanket, a fixed-blade knife, and a fire starting kit. If you count the fire kit as multiple items, a ferrocerium rod instead.
The blanket can be worn as a cloak, used as shelter, a groundcloth, or even as a blanket.
The knife can help prepare the fire, make improvised tools, to hunt, or to defend yourself.
The fire kit gets the fire going to keep you warm, cook food, and melt snow or ice. Fire also eases your mind.

First I would go to the nearest source of shelter and try to start a fire and wait out the night. If the shelter was comfortable enough and there's reasonable animal activity around, set some traps to get food and wait a day. If not, start heading to the village.

[Chris Russo]

Winter cloak -- waterproofing, warmth, sleeping gear. I've got to be able to survive while standing out in the open, at the least.

Axe -- To make a new shelter, procure firewood, procure dry kindling from within larger logs, and (this being in-character) defense against any orcs lured in by the destruction of my shelter.

Tinderbox -- If allowed, flint/steel and charcloth for starting fires. (If that's cheating, just the flint: I'll try to strike using the back of my axe.)


My plan:

15 below zero is very cold, too cold to be trekking cross-country if all I have is a single cloak rather than full cold-weather gear.

I stay where I am for the night, using my axe to construct a simple shelter: a lean-to facing a fire-pit, plus a reflector on the far side of the fire-pit, is the minimum I will need. Lots of firewood will be needed: for this night, the fire is my life. By the time it's an hour past sundown, I want to be lying down (off the ground) in my shelter, wrapped in that cloak, prepared to spend a long mostly-sleepless night keeping that fire burning.

Early in the morning, I fashion a pair of snowshoes from some saplings, and trek out for that village. Get as far as I can up until an hour before sundown, set up a new shelter, repeat as above. Assuming winter amounts of daylight, I should get there on the second day.

[GreyWatcher]

First a heavy hooded cloak or winter coat with a hood.

Second would have to be a fire kit.

Third something to carry water in, that can be carried under the cloak or coat to melt the snow.

I'd try to hunker down till daylight after making a fire and then start walking before dawn. I'd gather deadfall to make a fire the next evening and make a charred wood spear or at least a throwing stick to see if I can pick off a rabbit.

[theowl]

For Ranger gear I'd bring my boots, my cloak, and my fire kit.

[E.MacKermak]

Winter cloak -- waterproofing, warmth, sleeping gear. I've got to be able to survive while standing out in the open, at the least.

Axe -- To make a new shelter, procure firewood, procure dry kindling from within larger logs, and (this being in-character) defense against any orcs lured in by the destruction of my shelter.

Tinderbox -- If allowed, flint/steel and charcloth for starting fires. (If that's cheating, just the flint: I'll try to strike using the back of my axe.)


My plan:

15 below zero is very cold, too cold to be trekking cross-country if all I have is a single cloak rather than full cold-weather gear.

I stay where I am for the night, using my axe to construct a simple shelter: a lean-to facing a fire-pit, plus a reflector on the far side of the fire-pit, is the minimum I will need. Lots of firewood will be needed: for this night, the fire is my life. By the time it's an hour past sundown, I want to be lying down (off the ground) in my shelter, wrapped in that cloak, prepared to spend a long mostly-sleepless night keeping that fire burning.

Early in the morning, I fashion a pair of snowshoes from some saplings, and trek out for that village. Get as far as I can up until an hour before sundown, set up a new shelter, repeat as above. Assuming winter amounts of daylight, I should get there on the second day.

Chris definitely hit my answer. Axe or large knife (seax) makes it a lot easier to get a shelter up in the limited time you have and keep firewood available. You can go a long way with a wool blanket/cloak for warmth if you know how to insulate your shelter (see Nessmuk's advice on that subject). Flint and steel is much quicker to get a fire going that bowdrill so that would be my choice. Thirty mile in one day is doable depending on length of the day. Remember that you have to eat sometime so I would look at putting out some simple snares (make from local items) or deadfall traps. During the long cold night partially awake feeding the fire, fashion a couple of rabbit sticks (like a boomerang but it doesn't come back) for knocking down small game or a simple spear in case you have the chance at something bigger. You are only looking to make it to the village so don't go looking for boar or deer. a decent rabbit, squirrel, fox, etc, will get you through the day. Lots of calories burned staying warm and walking 30 miles...you gotta eat.

Edit: Missed the part about the show. Snow is a hindrance and a help. Packed snow on top of your debris shelter can be used for more insulation but could melt. Some of that wool blanket just became critical to make wrappings for your feet in the morning. Your feet are your only source of movement so take care of them. Food will be a lot more scarce but there are always a few animals that will be out in the winter.

[kaelln]

Assuming the wreckage of my shelter contains plenty of burnable firewood, I take a cloak, a fairly large hunting knife, and a fire kit or, as others have mentioned, just a flint which I can use with the knife. I spend the night in or close to the wreckage, using the fire kit to build 3 or 4 medium fires around me while I sleep in the center. If I can rig a reflector of some sort behind each fire, so much the better. Food is not an issue for me, as I have plenty of stored calories to use for the space of a day. (In other words, I'm fat enough that one day of fasting ain't really gonna hurt!) It's a little different for Erich, I know. I ain't that skinny! Water is a bigger issue. I'd prefer to cheat and also take a pot that I could melt and boil snow in. I could, in a pinch, just stuff my mouth full of snow, but snow makes distressingly little water when melted, and also robs body heat. In a pinch, I could make a bowl using the knife and green wood from a tree, placing the rough bowl filled with snow close enough to a fire that I build every couple of hours to melt enough snow to drink without catching the roughly hewn bowl on fire. I would prefer to boil the water, but beggars can't be choosers!

[Ringulf]

Seems we are all together with some small variations but on the same theme.

I would say that for me, the cloak is primary and serves a multitude of purposes you have to stay warm and dry when away from the fire for whatever you need to do. The next thing for me would be adequate footware if it is not already being worn , there is no way to walk out thirty miles without it. If you have adequate boots then the next priority is a good hand axe or seax knife whichever could be procured as they both have their plusses and negatives but in the right hands and by using slightly different strategies, they can accomplish the same tasks. I you have good footware and have the other chioce left open to you the firestarter would be optimum but if not one can fashion a friction bow from the equipment and clothing you have on for fire starting.

The strategy would be to start or maintain the fire, collect wood and water from the snow (that pot would be great and another nice chioce would be a canteen, however a pumpkin or gourd or even a skull could be used to collect water, until a proper vessel can be found or fabricated. Staying warm and dry for the night would be the first order of buisiness then the next day laying up food and water to last a few days. When these were accomplished you could strategize when to make the trek out to a settled area.

Taking the time to get yourself in a strong, rested position, then marking and utilizing the weather you could make a thirty mile hike in a real long hard day or two days.

I would leave late on the mildest evening I could and walk steadily through the night so that as I got tired I would have the warmth and light of day to push me on. If I needed sleep I would take it just after mid day when the sun was warmest and pick up again after about three pushing on till I reached my destination.

As long as I could stay warm, fairly dry and hydrated taking the nurishment from my previously collected supplies I know I could keep up that pace for two to three days, barring any injury.

[Rhys ap Ieuan]

I'm pretty much in line with everyone else - blanket, langseax, & fire kit. I've debated between the blanket and the cloak, but I hope that part of the blanket could make footwraps. The seax will help make lean-to shelter and gather wood for a fire which, with a reflector, should keep my toasty through the night. At daybreak, I head towards the village and hope I have friends there. I'd stop a bit before nightfall to make a fire and shelter each night, and hope to get there on the second or third day. I won't be stopping to hunt or trap - I can go three days without food - but I won't turn down any edibles I come across on the way.

[Jonathan B.]

Yeah I'd go with a heavy cloak, hawk/axe, and fire kit. I'd be more concerned with making a platform to get myself up off the ground than a lean-to, I would build a fire before night fall and scout for food along the way.

[R.D.Metcalf]

As long as the scenario does not call for injury or other handicap I would wrap up in the presumably canvas? of what was left of the shelter....It wasnt specified if this was a lean to, a shack, or tent...But I would scavenge what ever wind breaks I could as well as foot wear, then hoof it ...Its easier to stay warm on the move. To be more specific: food, just enough to keep me moving with a bite now and again. clothing and footwear.

But first , seein as how I'm a'foot. I need to use this snow to track and cut down the sonsabitches that stole my horse

[Alexandros]

I wouldn't be concerned with finding food. Wintertime concern is maintaining body heat. I would have to agree with the before mentioned posts, cloak, axe, firestarter. I would supplement a natural shelter with packed snow as much as I could before sundown and start a little fire. Pile up as much wood as possible. A foot and a half is a tricky amount of snow, it is too deep to walk quickly through and not deep enough to make an easy shelter from.

Alex