Let’s Play Street Kids, Pandemic Edition.
Giuliana has been in foster care her whole life. She’s never really known her parents, and things have been pretty rough. She got pregnant and had twins and had to give them up. She was sent to a home for girls but that place... she doesn’t want to think about that place... So now she’s here. She really doesn’t know how to accept love, but she finds herself being like a mother to the others here. Giuliana doesn’t know she is part of an ancient bloodline of witches. Kleptomaniac and Freegan. Spellcraft and Sorcery
Esmerelda doesn’t want you to know her last name. Her dad is someone super important and rich and she can’t stand him, his money, or his demands. She lost her mom to cancer and suddenly a man she barely knew was trying to force her into a mold she didn’t want to be in. She’s a bit of a hippy. A white girl with dreads. Freegan and Adventurous. Outdoor Enthusiast
Tessa is the neighborhood thot. Her mom went to jail for drugs and was served an eviction notice the same day, and Tessa is just surviving the best way she knows how. She’s really sweet and a good friend though, and has a smile that will melt your heart. She is confident in herself. Tessa is secretly a witch that loves to collect crystals. Self Assured and Romantic. Collector
Avery, ran away when her mom was taken by ICE. She didn’t want to get put in a cage, so she ran to the city and hid in the streets, blending in with neighborhood kids and going to school like a normal kid. No one seeming to notice that there’s an extra kid in the class for some reason. Kleptomaniac. Social Butterfly
“Sonny” is secretly an alien. He’s a specially bred genius dedicated to the purpose of observing human life and behavior, particularly how humans treat the least among themselves. So he must live the life of a human child in abject poverty and get to know who humans truly are. Genius. Whiz Kid
Travis is... well, just a bit of a psychopath. He ran away because he hates authority and doesn’t really have a good home life. He’s into hard drugs and will do whatever it takes to get them. His softer side shows sometimes when he’s painting or gardening. Mean and hates children. Public enemy.
Ronan recently got turned into a vampire and accidentally fed on his little brother. Terrified that he is becoming a monster, he went to this warehouse to avoid people, but suddenly finds it full of other teens, who he can’t help but feel drawn to in their suffering and in his hunger. Good and a loner. Good Vampire.
I’ve done some trial runs on Twitch on a Let’s Play, available on Facebook to see here, but I’m starting over with a new save, creating a situation in the city of San Myshuno in the Spice District at the Old Salt Factory, long fallen into disrepair and disrepute. This dystopian Let’s Play features 7 starting Sims, which include 5 teenagers and two children. I’m going to describe the starting scenario and the characters.
During the 2020 Pandemic of Rabid Rodent Fever, 7 runaways find shelter in the abandoned factory. Some of the children are a bit... different. They all have some low level skills from the trial run. None of them are related. Gameplay begins in the fall (more challenging to try to get through winter) in an industrial footprint (due to the grossness of the build).
Find me on Twitch, Youtube, and the Gallery with username: Bedazzlecat
These kids are poor. They can’t get up front jobs/careers. They can make money by selling things that they make or by collecting. Also tips from musical instruments or odd jobs. They spend their money on frivolous things because they’re kids, and they have no clue about budgeting, saving, or earning. To make this as true to the theme as possible I have set up rules to keep them limited in how much money they’re able to make and how fast.
They can grow anything they can find to plant. There’s already a mushroom plant and a trash plant on the lot. Maybe a carrot. Once they reach level 5 gardening they can buy any seeds they wish. I will never make them garden. They will have to take care of it autonomously, that includes any seeds I set on the ground. I will only make them harvest. Fishing allowed. They can only sell things they make from the ingredients or sell them on a vendor table. They mainly are using it for food.
I’ll occasionally take them to other parts of the city to use certain facilities or maybe even attend a festival, but they’re not allowed to go to other worlds. They’re allowed to have crafting items they can keep in their own inventory. Woodworking, candle making, fabrication, and juice making can only be done on public lots that have these items. Spellcasters are allowed to travel to the magic realm to work on their training or to get ingredients.
Roommates allowed if there are the beds for them.
There will be one prostitute and one drug dealer in the household. Prostitution will only be Friday and Saturday night and with limited clientele of 3. Later on, I might get her to take out a loan. Drug dealing is a little harder, so he’ll have to find a drug dealer that I’ve placed in the neighborhood to work under him, then he’ll have to build the skill and clientele and maintain his supply. (There will always be a streaming censor in place.)
They are allowed to buy from vendors anything they can afford.
Build buy will only be used to get something out of the inventory if they find it or are awarded it for some reason. I will not sell burned furniture from the inventory for money. This is a glitch and they should be worth nothing. They can be recycled, however. If there’s a fire and they get the automatic insurance to replace the item, then it can be replaced. Any other furniture or decor that is found that is repairable or in good shape can be sold from build buy or used in the household. As much as possible I want to avoid selling directly from the inventory but try to make money through Plopsy or vendor tables. There’s a short list of what I will allow the household to buy from build/buy: Generator, Cauldron, Hot Pot, wash tub, clothesline, insect farm, easel, knitting basket, yoga mat, sticker storage box, and the fireplace from Eco Life
I will never make them go to school or do their homework. They will do it on their own if they can but that’s up to them.
I will only click to auto solve for their needs. I will not tell them what to cook, or how much. Because the game glitches, I may have to tell them to actually eat what they cooked or found in the dumpster.
They already have their wardrobe set to have very few articles of clothing. They’re allowed to buy t shirts from vendors, or they can buy one article of clothing at a time for $100 Simoleans deducted.
I won’t tell them to clean but I might clean up dishes or trash myself to generate trash in the dumpsters to dig through. If they earn responsibility points it is up to them to do it themselves. I won’t make them do laundry, but I may put it in their inventory if it gets to be too much on the floor.
Lot traits are “teen neighborhood”, “off the grid”, and “reduce and recycle”. I tried it with cursed and it’s not the right vibe. The house as it is set up from the gallery will turn the neighborhood smoggy after about a week of trash accumulation. I keep the option open to change the lot type for story purposes, like if I want a pet I'll change the lot to attract a stray and add it to the household instead of adopting through the service.
The warehouse is full of mice. If one of the sims has a level 5 handiness score a a mouse hole can be deleted for 1000 Simoleans deducted each.
If they want electricity they can buy a generator or they can get a fake ID to get the power turned on but they then have to pay the bills. They can’t use wind or solar unless they find it in the trash for some reason.
Heat can only come from fire pits on this lot. No fireplaces, central air, or ceiling fans.
Debug junk and trash piles cannot be removed, but they can be put in the inventory and taken to a public lot to be recycled, but only 3 debug items per trip. Keeping it real.
Rabid Rodent Fever has been introduced to a family in the game. If the rabid rodent fever gets too bad and I see it in the neighborhood, the warehouse will be locked down and everyone will stay inside or in the fence for 1 sim week. No going to school, and no social visits. If someone in the household catches any kind of sickness they’ll have to quarantine in a room locked in until they get a moodlet saying they’ve beaten their cold or whatever. Medicine and all kinds of cures allowed. If any sim from the household dies, I will add another teen or child to the household, like a passing teen from the neighborhood, or perhaps someone from the gallery. No EA townies and no adults though. I have aging turned off. I may decide to age up one or both kids if someone dies in the household.
Holidays may be observed as best as they can. They can only decorate with what they can find from rummaging for decorations or something they make. They can only rummage for decorations on a holiday that requires decorations. No holidays have been added or removed. Gnomes can be sold and so can seeds, but it’s better to get the seeds. Think of it as the good will of nature spirits taking pity on their misery.
I won’t interfere in neighborhood action plans. If they’re annoying, that’s life. Kids don’t vote, so why would they have any say over how the adults choose to run things? Stupid adults. We're starting with 7 in case I want a pet or someone gets pregnant.
