Rules of the Freelands

faction in good shape to ensure their own safety.  Ways that people keep their health in check
is to:

* **Establish**

a sleep schedule as soon as possible. **This**
is important to keep the mind and body from becoming sluggish.

* **Avoid**

high-sodium foods and drinks. **This prevents dehydration.**

* **Treat**

wounds/sickness as soon as possible. **This prevents infection**
and further illness.

* **Avoid**

overexertion. **Reserving energy for when it is needed most**
makes it easier on one’s body.

* **Keep**

body at a steady temperature. **To ensure that the inner organs function**
properly.

* **Stay**

hydrated. **People will survive longer when there is**
water in their system.

### 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.