You wake up on a raft. No memory of how you got here. No land in sight. Just ocean, sky, and a translucent screen glowing in front of you.
The System
A mysterious interface has bonded to you — or to the raft — or to both. It calls itself the Raft Survival System, and it has rules.
Rule One — Stay Out of the Water
Do not jump, fall, or get booted into the water.
The ocean is not empty. Things move beneath the surface — things that are hungry, territorial, or simply cruel. The system does not protect you once you leave the raft. If you fall in, you are on your own.
Rule Two — Fishing Yields Loot
Fishing only brings up Chests, Crates, or Barrels.
Cast your line into the open water and the system may reward you with supplies. Never raw fish — always containers. What's inside is never guaranteed, but it's always something.
Containers hold different things:
- 📦 Crates — Materials: Wooden Planks, Nails, Stone, Clay, Plastic, Scrap, Glass, and the rare Metal Ingot or Ore
- 🛢️ Barrels — Food and water (Freshwater, Canned Food, Dried Fish, Stale Bread) plus bonus materials
- 🎁 Chests — The rarest finds: equipment, ability cards, gems, beast eggs, or bulk materials
Materials range from common (Planks, Nails, Stone) to legendary (Ore). The rarer the material, the harder it is to find. Always open what you catch — and you can break down containers for extra materials too.
Rule Three — Upgrade Your Raft
Use the system interface to upgrade. It will tell you what you need.
Your raft is small and fragile now. The system tracks available upgrades and shows you the materials required. Expand your deck, build shelter, reinforce the hull — the raft is your only home, and it needs to grow.
Your Inventory
You start with very little:
| Item | Quantity | Weight |
|---|
| Fishing Rod | 1 | 2 lbs |
| Stale Bread | 2 | 0.5 lbs each |
| Water | 2 | 2 lbs each |
You can carry weight equal to 15 × your Strength score. The system keeps track of your total load.
Carrying Capacity
Your carrying capacity equals 15 × your Strength score. If you exceed this:
- Movement speed is halved
- You have disadvantage on physical checks
- You cannot take the Defend action
Weight Tracking
The system automatically calculates your total weight as you add or remove items. Each item has a weight, and stacked items multiply by quantity. Keep an eye on your load — being over-encumbered in a fight is a death sentence.
Health Points (HP)
Your maximum HP is determined by your Strength and Constitution:
HP = floor((STR + CON) / 2) + CON modifier
Examples
| STR | CON | CON Mod | HP Calculation | Max HP |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | +0 | floor(20/2) + 0 | 10 |
| 14 | 12 | +1 | floor(26/2) + 1 | 14 |
| 16 | 14 | +2 | floor(30/2) + 2 | 17 |
| 18 | 16 | +3 | floor(34/2) + 3 | 20 |
HP and Survival
- Current HP is tracked on your character sheet
- Max HP is computed automatically from your stats
- 0 HP — You fall unconscious. If not stabilized, you drown.
- Negative HP — You are dying. Get help immediately.
Healing
- Short Rest — Recover 1d4 HP
- Food — Eating restores 1d6 HP (once per day)
- Ability Cards — Some cards restore HP
- Beast Cores — Certain cores grant temporary HP
Your HP is your lifeline. Keep it high, or the ocean will claim you.
Raft Storage
The raft has its own storage space separate from your personal inventory. You can transfer items between your inventory and the raft at any time.
Why Use Raft Storage?
- Stay light — Offload food, water, and materials you don't need immediately
- Organize supplies — Keep crafting materials on the raft, carry only weapons and tools
- Protect resources — If you fall in, you lose what's on you, not what's on the raft
Transferring Items
To move items between your inventory and the raft:
- Open the system interface
- Select the item you want to transfer
- Choose "Store on Raft" or "Take from Raft"
- The system updates both inventories instantly
Items on the raft are safe from drowning, but they're not safe from storms or raiders. Upgrade your raft's storage capacity as you build.
Raft Inventory Format
The raft tracks items the same way you do — with quantities:
| Item | Quantity | Notes |
|---|
| Rope | 1 | Starting supplies |
| Wooden Plank | 10 | Starting materials |
The raft starts empty. You have to fish for everything.
Raft Condition
Your raft has durability. It can be damaged by storms, creatures, collisions, and neglect. The system tracks your raft's condition on a scale from 0 to maximum.
Raft Status
| Status | Condition | Effect |
|---|
| Pristine | 100% | No penalties |
| Damaged | 50-99% | Minor leaks, reduced stability |
| Critical | 10-49% | Major structural issues, water entering |
| Repairing | Any | Being fixed, temporary buffs active |
| Wrecked | 0% | Raft is destroyed. You're in the water. |
Damage Sources
- Storms — High winds and waves batter the hull
- Creature attacks — Sharks, serpents, and deep lurkers can bite through wood
- Collisions — Hitting debris, rocks, or other rafts
- Neglect — Unrepaired damage accumulates over time
Repairing
Use materials to repair your raft. The system shows you what you need:
- Wooden Planks — Basic repairs (restore 10 durability each)
- Metal Scraps — Reinforced repairs (restore 25 durability each)
- Tar — Seal leaks (prevent ongoing damage)
- Nails — Structural integrity (prevent collapse)
Check your raft's condition regularly. A wrecked raft means you're swimming with the things below.
Surviving
The basics are simple. Stay on the raft. Fish for supplies. Upgrade when you can. But the ocean is vast, and it does not care whether you live or die.
Pay attention to the system. Pay attention to the water. and never, ever fall in.
