backgrounds.ron

Backgrounds: who a survivor was before. Read by the game’s rules: a change here changes how the game plays, and a world remembers the content it was made with.

File: assets/data/backgrounds.ron

About this file

Backgrounds: what a survivor did before (sim::origin, docs in AGENTS.md “Who you were”). A new game picks one. Each gives starting skill levels (on top of every survivor’s own), XP multipliers, a few things in the pockets, and points to spend on Strengths (strengths_and_flaws.ron). The plainest Background gives the most points.

  id       lower-case letters, digits and _
  name     what the new-game screen shows
  about    one line
  points   0 to 40
  skills   [(Skill, levels)]: Fitness, Strength, Bludgeon, Edged, Brawl, Stealth, FirstAid,
           Scavenging, Handiwork; 1 to 6 levels
  xp       [(Skill, multiplier)]: 0.25 to 4
  items    [(item: "id", count: 1)]: item ids from items/items.ron; a weapon starts in the hand

The first one is what a new game starts on. Names and numbers are ours.

Fields

The file is a list of BackgroundDef, each in round brackets.

What a survivor did before.

Field	Type	What it is
id	String	Lower-case letters, digits and _.
name	String
about	String	A line of flavour.
points	i32	Points to spend on Strengths (a plain Background gives the most).
skills	Vec<(Skill, u32)>	Starting levels, on top of every survivor’s own.
xp	Vec<(Skill, f32)>	XP multipliers per skill.
items	Vec<Kit>	What’s in the pockets on the first morning.

Skill

One of the skills.

Value	What it means
Fitness
Strength
Bludgeon
Edged
Brawl
Stealth
FirstAid
Scavenging
Handiwork	Crafting (#12; this module only keeps its XP and level).

Kit

An item id and how many.

Field	Type	What it is
item	String
count	u16

The file

The whole file as shipped

// Backgrounds: what a survivor did before (sim::origin, docs in AGENTS.md "Who you were").
// A new game picks one. Each gives starting skill levels (on top of every survivor's own), XP
// multipliers, a few things in the pockets, and points to spend on Strengths
// (strengths_and_flaws.ron). The plainest Background gives the most points.
//
//   id       lower-case letters, digits and _
//   name     what the new-game screen shows
//   about    one line
//   points   0 to 40
//   skills   [(Skill, levels)]: Fitness, Strength, Bludgeon, Edged, Brawl, Stealth, FirstAid,
//            Scavenging, Handiwork; 1 to 6 levels
//   xp       [(Skill, multiplier)]: 0.25 to 4
//   items    [(item: "id", count: 1)]: item ids from items/items.ron; a weapon starts in the hand
//
// The first one is what a new game starts on. Names and numbers are ours.
[
    (id: "between_jobs", name: "Between jobs", points: 10,
        about: "No trade to speak of, and nothing to unlearn. The most points to spend."),
    (id: "night_nurse", name: "Night nurse", points: 2,
        about: "Twelve-hour shifts on the ward. You have patched up worse than this.",
        skills: [(FirstAid, 3)], xp: [(FirstAid, 1.3)],
        items: [(item: "gauze", count: 2), (item: "antiseptic"), (item: "painkillers")]),
    (id: "site_labourer", name: "Site labourer", points: 0,
        about: "You carried bricks and swung a hammer for a living.",
        skills: [(Strength, 1), (Handiwork, 2), (Bludgeon, 1)], xp: [(Handiwork, 1.25)],
        items: [(item: "claw_hammer"), (item: "nails"), (item: "work_gloves")]),
    (id: "line_cook", name: "Line cook", points: 3,
        about: "Years at a hot stove with a sharp knife and no time.",
        skills: [(Edged, 2), (Handiwork, 1)], xp: [(Edged, 1.25)],
        items: [(item: "kitchen_knife"), (item: "tin_opener")]),
    (id: "bike_courier", name: "Bike courier", points: 3,
        about: "You know every short cut in town, and you can keep going all day.",
        skills: [(Fitness, 2), (Scavenging, 1)], xp: [(Fitness, 1.25)],
        items: [(item: "water_bottle"), (item: "chocolate_bar")]),
    (id: "door_staff", name: "Door staff", points: 3,
        about: "Friday nights taught you how to move people who don't want to move.",
        skills: [(Brawl, 2), (Strength, 1)], xp: [(Brawl, 1.3)],
        items: [(item: "flashlight"), (item: "batteries")]),
    (id: "groundskeeper", name: "Groundskeeper", points: 3,
        about: "Out in all weathers, quiet work, sharp tools.",
        skills: [(Fitness, 1), (Stealth, 1), (Edged, 1)], xp: [(Stealth, 1.2)],
        items: [(item: "work_gloves"), (item: "saw")]),
    (id: "removals_driver", name: "Removals driver", points: 1,
        about: "Other people's houses, other people's cupboards, and all of it down the stairs.",
        skills: [(Strength, 2), (Scavenging, 2)], xp: [(Scavenging, 1.25)],
        items: [(item: "duct_tape"), (item: "rope")]),
    (id: "student", name: "Student", points: 7,
        about: "No skills yet, but you pick things up quickly.",
        xp: [(FirstAid, 1.2), (Scavenging, 1.2), (Handiwork, 1.2)],
        items: [(item: "crackers"), (item: "pen")]),
]