Scenario system

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Default scenario choosing window, with one custom-set scenario.

The scenario system allows you to choose, randomize, and customize special situations to play in. Determine starting situation, type of community (tribe, colony), permanent map conditions, starting items, animals, health conditions, traits, and change special rules. There are 4 built-in scenarios in the game, one of which is the default experience from versions before A14. In the image on the right, you can see the window for choosing scenarios and the "Open Steam Workshop" button (if you are using the steam version of the game).

Default Scenarios

These four scenarios are in the base game. Each offer a different set of challenges, and encourages different playstyles to a certain extent. For example: you could start off as a 'rich explorer' who came from a high-tech glitterworld but yearned to explore the universe, or you could also start as a desperate tribe that's on the brink of starvation after fleeing from a devastating group of 'blood machines'. On the other hand, you could be managing a few crashlanded civilians who barely escaped an assaulted passenger liner with their lives.

Here are the four scenarios listed in order as shown in game:

Crashlanded

Summary: Three crashlanded survivors - the classic RimWorld experience.
Description: The three of you awake in your cryptosleep sarcophagi to the sound of sirens and ripping metal. You barely get to the escape pods before the ship is torn apart. Some time later, you land on this unknown rimworld.

• Start with three people, chosen from eight
  • They will be 'New arrivals'
  • Arrive in drop pods
  • 50% chance of having cryptosleep sickness (reduces consciousness, affects motor skills, causes frequent vomiting. Only lasts 3.2 to 4.8 in-game hours)
• Start with one random pet
  • Has a 100% chance of being bonded with a random colonist
• Start with three weapons
  • 1 bolt-action rifle
  • 1 revolver
  • 1 plasteel knife
• Start with basic supplies
  • 800 silver
  • 50 packaged survival meals (around 6.25 days worth of food; 44 in earlier versions)
  • 30 components
  • 30 medicine
• Start near basic building materials
  • 450 steel
  • 300 wood
• Various resources scattered around the map
  • 3 ship chunks
  • 720 steel
  • 7 packaged survival meals

Lost Tribe

Summary: Five lost tribespeople attempt to rebuild. Difficult.
Description: Your tribe was destroyed by the great blood machines sent by the gods. Five of you managed to escape. Now, it's time to build up a new home. Note: Since you'll start poor and research slowly, this is a difficult scenario.

• Start with three people, chosen from eight
  • They will be a 'New tribe'
  • They have a 50% chance of starting with 'malnutrition'
    • Severity ranges from 20% (minor) to 40% (moderate)
  • They have a 100% chance of having a less satisfied 'food' need
    • Satisfaction is set to 0-10%
• Start with 3 random pets
  • Has a 100% chance of being bonded with random colonists
• Start with 6 weapons
  • 2 short bows
  • 1 bundle of pila
  • 1 wooden club
  • 1 wooden spear
  • 1 Jade knife (unique item to this scenario only)
• Start with basic supplies
  • 200 silver
  • 300 pemmican (around one day's worth of food)
  • 20 herbal medicine
• Start near basic building materials
  • 500 wood

The Rich Explorer

Summary: One rich explorer out to experience the universe. Extra difficult.
Description: People called you crazy for leaving your glitterworld home, but you always yearned to explore the stars - outside the neurosimulator. Now you're at the end of your long journey in cryptosleep, landing on an unknown rimworld to see what it's like. Note: Since your starting character will lack some skills, this is an especially difficult scenario in the early game.

• Start with one person, chosen from eight
  • They will be 'New arrivals'
  • Arrive in drop pods
• Start with one random pet
  • Has a 100% chance of being bonded with the starting colonist
• Start with technology already researched
  • Gun turrets
• Start with a high-tech weapon
  • 1 charge rifle
• Start with advanced supplies
  • 2,000 silver
  • 40 packaged survival meals (around 20 days worth of food)
  • 30 components
  • 30 glitterworld medicine
  • 30 gold
• Start near basic building materials
  • 450 steel
  • 300 wood

Naked Brutality

Summary: Naked, alone and utterly unprepared. Can you survive? Description: You went under anaesthetic for a minor surgery. Now you've awoken in a drop pod crashing into a distant planet. You're naked, alone and utterly unprepared. Can you survive?

• Start with one person, chosen from eight
  • They will be 'New Arrivals'
• Start with no items
• Colonist arrives naked

Scenario editor

Scenario edit mode

The scenario editor looks somewhat like the default scenario choosing window except the left side of the page has changed, there are now three buttons: Load, which you can use to load your previously saved custom scenarios. Save, which is used to save your custom scenarios. And randomize seed, which is used to randomize the scenario. Under these buttons is the Edit mode, which you can toggle to open a window like the one on the bottom-right.

Edit mode

In this mode you can change a scenario however you want. Each of the parts on the right of the window are explained below, including the possible inputs.

Mandatory parts

Part name	Description	Possible inputs
Title	The title for the scenario.	Text
Summary	A short version of the description for the scenario.	Text
Description	The description for the scenario.	Text
Player faction	The type of faction you will run. (changes what research you have and don't have)	Colony Tribe
Starting people	The amount of people you will start with.	Number (max 10)
Arrival method	How your colonists will arrive.	Standing Drop pods

Voluntary parts

Part name	Description	Possible inputs
Allowed age range	The biological age range of your colonists.	Number slider (min 15, max 120)
Characters explode on death	Self explanatory.	Number (max 1000000000) and type of explosion (bomb or flame)
Disable incident	Disabling of an incident for the colony.	Every incident
Disallow building	Disallows a building from being built.	Every building
Forced health condition	Forces the characters specified to have a specific health condition.	Type of health condition Severity of the condition Chance for having the condition Who will have the condition
Forced trait	Forces the characters specified to have a specific trait.	Trait Chance for having the trait Who will have the trait
Game start dialog	Text shown at the start of the game	Text
Permanent map condition	Forces the map to have the specified map condition permanently on	Map condition
Planetkiller weapon incoming	Makes the game end after a specified amount of days	Number (max 1000000000)
Scattered randomly	Makes the game scatter the specified items randomly around the map.	Item Number (max 100000000000)
Start near	Makes the game spawn the specified items near your starting location.	Item Number (max 100000000000)
Start with	Makes the game drop the specified items to your starting location.	Item Number (max 100000000000)
Start with animal(s)	Makes the game start you with the specified animals as pets.	Number (max 100000000000) Animal
Start with research	Makes the game start you with the specified research.	Research
Stat multiplier	The multiplier for Stats	Number (max 10000)

These parts are self explanatory and require no input: Cannot mine, cannot sow, cannot tame and cannot hunt.

Trivia

• It is possible for players who enjoy thematicing the game based on real life cultures or survival events to base their scenarios on such. However the survival aspect of the game is rather different compared to real-life.
  • E.g. The ten Lost Tribes.

    • The ten lost tribes were the ten of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel that were said to have been deported from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire circa 722 BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Manasseh and Ephraim. Claims of descent from the "lost" tribes have been proposed in relation to many groups, and some religions espouse a messianic view that the tribes will return.