Prologue

The Prologue is the first, yet unofficial 'Chapter' to the game: consisting of a bus ride and first night tasks.

This is the only section of the game that can not be returned to. If you miss an item or person in this section you must start a new character to access them in future runs.

## Places

### Diner

#### Outside the Diner

You are able to walk around before entering the diner.

* Moving left leads to a popup about the sign but nothing else.
* Moving down will put the player in the street, this is the only time the player can be killed by being run over by a car (This will return the player to the main menu after a game over screen.)
* Moving right leads to a popup that lets the player return to the main menu.
* The player can interact with the diner door to enter.

#### Diner

You can wander around the diner with the magazine still stuck to your face, though interactions with objects or people are limited while like this.

To remove the magazine you must go to the bathroom at the far right of the diner, doing so lets you choose your character's appearance.

After choosing your appearance you must ask Ethel, the barista, about when the next bus will arrive, requiring you to first choose a first name from a set of randomized names or type your own and then do the same for your last name.

Then, you can ask when the next bus will arrive. After, you will have to choose your reason or purpose.

* "I just really want to help."
	1. To help people (family) - get Big Heart perk (+3 health)
	2. To help people (everyone) - get Scout's Honor perk (You just love helping people)

* "I got in some trouble back home."
	1. To run away from trouble (beat up phone booth) - get Checkered Past perk (+1 to melee weapon attacks)
	2. To run away from trouble (shot a parking meter) - get Checkered Past perk (+1 to ranged weapon attacks)
	3. To run away from trouble (burned a mailbox) - get Checkered Past perk (+1 to magical weapon attacks)
* "I'm searching for something."
	1. To find something (unknown) - get Lost Soul perk (???)
	2. To find something (yourself) - get Voyage of Self-Discovery perk (Maybe you're in a mirror somewhere (+5 xp when using a mirror))
	3. To find something (dark) - get Haunted perk (Don't worry it will find you soon enough)

* "Just seeking my fortune."
	1. To seek your fortune (meat) - get Meat-Minded perk (+20% Meat drops)
	2. To seek your fortune (fame) - get Ambition perk (Whatever it takes)
	3. To seek your fortune (stuff) - get Acquisitive Nature perk (+20% Item drops)
* "Mind your own business, Ethel" - get Guarded perk (+1 physical armor)
* "I Flipped a Coin" (Hidden) - get Agent of Chaos perk (Things are less predictable when you're involved)

After choosing your reason or purpose you can wander around the diner more or leave. The following will give or take meat or an item, all other interactions have no benefit or loss.

* The jukebox will give 1 meat when first interacted with.
* You can change the song in the diner with the jukebox for 1 meat.
* Buy Diner coffee for 1 meat.

### The Outskirts of Ocean City

**As you start from the far right of the map all locations will be listed from right to left.**

Your bus has run out of gas just outside of town. This is where you start your first mission: fill your gas can to make it the last few miles.

* Talk to the bus driver to get an empty gas can and a flashlight. Explore the town to find more gas, 1/3 of a can at a time. You need a full can of gas at minimum (three fills) to move on. (You can overfill the gas can up to 300%, finding all 9 gas locations, for an achievement.) Once you have a full gas can, you can turn it in with the bus driver for 10 XP and go to Ocean City
* Talk to Lydia then have her off screen for a few minutes to later check her tombstone for a date that can be checked in the archives.

#### Krutsinger auto-motive and HELCO gas station

* Find a Cheez Loaf on the snack rack.
* Find **7 meat** in the register.
* Find a baseball bat next to the employee only door.
* Go through the employees-only door and back in the shop there is:
	+ 1/3rd of a gas can
	+ Your employee records if you've convinced yourself you are an employee (5XP)
	+ A weird machine requiring 3 Mysticality to operate, which gives a 1/3rd of a gas can.
	+ Mini puzzle: check fuse box in the garage, then search the shelves in the back room for a fuse, then put the fuse in the fuse box, then press the button to lower the car to get a 1/3rd of a gas can.
	+ In the desk you will find nothing at first, if you search the desk with the little silver key in your inventory it will give you a gas pump hose. Use the hose on the gas pump outside for 1/3rd of a gas can.
* You can try to go fishing in one of the gas tanks without success.
* You can help a turtle, and the turtle appears next to the bus after a slow walk, where you can name it and keep it as a familiar. (The turtle will continue walking to the bus while you are in different locations.)

#### Farmer Checkov's House

* Find a haunted duck call.
* Find Bibson's Extra-Sweet Pears.
* Talk to farmer Chekov (after some condition?) to get Farmer Chenhov's barn key.
* Talk to farmer Chekov after both acquiring the 1917 S.I.T. class ring and checking the class rings box to sell him the ring for 30 meat OR give him the ring for 5 XP.
* A bathroom:
	+ Flush the toilet for XP and change your expression in the mirror.
	+ With a fishing rod, find old fishing shorts in the toilet.
	+ With Voyage of Self-Discovery perk receive 5XP for inspecting yourself in the mirror though this perk removes the ability to get exp from pretending to farm.
* A bedroom:
	+ Find The Handgun's Tale
	+ Find **10 meat**
	+ Fight a dust devil (5 XP) (tough fight - probably need a jar of gross old vegetables to reduce stats but can still win without it if you have 3 mysticality, Grimy spatula, welding gloves, and turtle familiar equipped.)
	+ With a crowbar, you can pry up a loose floor board which drops you down into the root cellar.
* Root cellar:
	+ A pile of wood can be built into a ladder to exit the root cellar.
	+ Find 3 jar of gross old vegetables.
	+ A barrel of decades-old bacon grease. You can dip your baseball bat in it to get a greasy baseball bat [Why? - other weapons can't be greased similarly. Is there an in-game hint that the bat can be greased?].
	+ Fight a blind spider+more dangerous blind spider (5 XP) (attack the more dangerous spider first for easier fight)
* In the farm yard:
	+ Find a rusty pistol
	+ Fight with a shootcrow (5 XP)
	+ The rusty Tractor gives 1/3 a can of fuel
	+ 5 XP for pretending to be a farmer for a while
	+ Find first location of the dream cat near the shootcrowin fence with old fishing shorts equipped.
	+ Find third location of the dream cat to the left of barn if old fishing shorts are equipped.
* In the barn (requires above key)
	+ Find fishing rod
	+ A rusty cabinet requiring 3 Muscle, which has 1/3rd of a gas can.
	+ Fight Simone's Monster robot (5 XP):
		- A workbench requiring 2 Moxie which gives welding gloves.
		- Find 1/3rd of a gas can

#### Inside a Boxcar

* Howie the hobo can give you clam jerky, and his knapsack requiring 3 Moxie to open, giving a little silver key.
* Find a 1917 S.I.T. class ring in a pile of trash.
* Find 1/3rd of a gas can
* Hobo glyphs, but you cannot learn to read them yet.
* A heavy door requiring Muscle to open, amount dependent on Muscle before observing it for the first time, so 2-4 this gives access to the Hobo Camp in the Outskirts:
	+ Find 1/3rd of a gas can in the refrigerator.
	+ Find a grimy spatula.
	+ Fight a Manifest Destiny Co. railroad minotaur. (5 XP), which gives access to a 1/3rd of a gas can from the car on milk crates.
	+ Find second instance of the dream cat behind the sign that says " HOWIE LOVES PLAYING THE HARMONICA."
* A burning barrel: if you have 1 Hot Armor (from the welding gloves), you can find a crowbar.
* There are benefits in the first chapter if you tell him you killed the Manifest Destiny Co. railroad minotaur.

### Plunkett Street and Murray's Antiques (First Night)

* There is a hobo to the very left and if you give him 2 meat in the prologue he can later be found in the hobo camp where he can level up your hobo literacy.
* Jessica will introduce you as Murray's niece, though you can confirm if you are him/them instead.
* Jessica explains that a) Murray is missing and b) they are a front for a de-cursing operation. When you attempt to go sleep, she asks you to find a cursed hat in the Watchful Eye Office and gives you a key to unlock it.
* Gabby joins your party.
* The nearby trashcan has a cologne potion to increase Stench Armor.
* After getting the cursed hat, Jessica tells you about the de-cursing machine. While you can still head into your room, de-cursing the hat gives you an uncursed hat with +1 Moxie. Dealing with said curse upgrades the hat with +3 HP. (The cursed hat would offer alternate dialogues to skip some fights, also the terribly cursed fedora and either the uncursed or purified variant count as different hats to the hat photographer and you can even get an achievement for taking a picture of both.)

#### The Watchful Eye Office

* You can get nasty coffee (+1 AP potion) , reporter cufflinks (+1 Mysticality accessory), and the pneumatic tube operation manual.
* Whenever you find dates, you can check the archives to get some XP and some items or even open up new opportunities in quests.
* Two of the desks mention a trapdoor under the water cooler after seeing at least one of these you can push the water cooler to access the trapdoor. if you fish in the watercooler after pushing it you get a handful of clean water.
* Under the trap door you can find an underground press to the very left, inside of which is an underground newspaper and some fishman guarding the terribly cursed fedora.
* While it's possible to fight the fishmen, you can operate the machine to remove them both for 5xp, you can even fight them and then use the machine though you still only get 5xp total.
	+ Hint: Match the letters with the colors of the rainbow.

### Dream (First Night)

* If you check the 7th locker, you can acquire your overdue library book.
* You can tell the persons next to the locker which one is theirs if you say the 7th one their face becomes whichever one you chose.
* You will choose from one of three classes (affecting skills and abilities you can acquire) and one of three minors (affecting what you can harvest and a few skills).
* If you befriend the cat from the bus section, you can pet him/her/them for +1 in Muscle, Mystically, and Moxie (it's name and gender are dependent on your choices).

## Notes

After creating another new character and after the bus breaks down, you can choose to skip the bus portion and gain all items, Meat and XP from the previous bus playthrough. You can actually use a glitch with this to get theoretically infinite meat and diner coffees (though I have only tested this up to 3)

Cat Locations in order (Wear the old fishing shorts and listen for meows):

1. The fence to the right of the barn behind Checkov's House, Look for the gap between two sets of fencing.
2. Behind and to the right of the "HOWIE LOVES PLAYING THE HARMONICA" sign which is behind the box car. (Requires 2 Strength to access this area)
3. Just to the left of the barn behind Checkov's House.
4. Inside the lobby of KRUTSINGER AUTO-MOTIVE. (The cat will run away after being pet but will reappear in the first dream sequence)

Mad libs in this area:

* The books on Chekov's bedroom shelf are randomly "The Rangers of Revenge", "Incident at Owl Mountain", "Sherrifs of Tarnation", etc.
* Riding the tractor describes how you pretend to farm: "Time to harvest some oats!", "Today seems like a good day to till the barley", "I hope I have some time to plant some rye before it's time to feed the mules!", etc.