Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades. Tough, durable, and quite reminiscent of a creature that lurks silent until snapping its jaws and locking on tight. Not one given over to the silks and velvets of the Stars and Spurs, is Miz Nils. No, she is far more enamored of the open sky, the dust outside of the town, and the rough nature of the Scrub.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Dust Devils

Out back of the Burrow, Miz Nils is ensconced by her lonesome on the creaking wooden porch. She has a small jar of oil, a whetstone, and a little dog-eared notebook on the table next to her. The expression on her face is one of very serious concentration.


Concentration

It's not that Miz Nils doesn't enjoy company. It's that she dislikes small talk. Instead of wasting breath, the two of you pass the time by sharpening the Burrow's knife collection, honing down the steel and polishing it mirror-bright. She takes down a few notes as you finish.

"Need some new blades soon," she says. "Wouldn't mind something that holds a better edge."

5 change points, 3 more needed to reach level 8.

Gunslinger is increasing...


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

1 x A Wrapped Package from Absolom the Tinker

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

1 x A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


The Sweaty Crush

There's hardly room to breathe in the Wall Market. Let alone walk or do business. Nevertheless people manage it, even keeping such things as fresh fruits free of dust and ground meat free of flies. Enviable. Commendable! Maybe don't stay too long.

You have moved to a new area: Wall Market


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Black Jack

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A modest challenge

Cards are one of those things worked into Texas's own personal identity. Spades. Poker -- of course. And black jack. You hear a rumor that a mercurial socialite called Tall Saul -- that's his gambling name -- runs a floating table out of a small airless room in the Wall Market proper. If you got yourself a seat, it could be lucrative, and not just financially.

            7
            You need Cityslicker 7 (you have 8)

            7
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 7 - you have 8

A Cherished Thing in Common

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sound of shouting from two blocks down draws you to a small crowd surrounding local gunsmith Hammond Traeger and a portly middle-aged man in a green waistcoat and bristly mustache. It only takes a few moments to figure out that they're arguing over a woman who it turns out is both of their lovers. The particulars are unclear except that they're struggling with this new information -- and are both carrying heavy-caliber revolvers.

The Roughriders haven't turned up yet, meaning somebody else needs to get involved before the Rule of One is resoundingly broken and at least one beloved local icon is disappeared into the grim blackness under the governor's mansion.

            5
            You need Cityslicker 5 (you have 8)

            5
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 5 - you have 8

Fires in the Desert

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Even here in the desert in ninety degree weather under a cloudless sky that promises an afternoon heat so thick you could chew it, people keep the drumfires lit outside the Highrise Hotel. Partly it's practical; the smoke keeps the flies away, and they're hard to get started once they go out, and anyway how else are you going to make breakfast? And then again it's partly emotional. One woman in a patchwork coat -- clearly a resident -- tells you that the Deacon of St. Francis's told her that fire is purely human, and monsters hate the sight of it, and if she kept it lit all the time they wouldn't ever get near her, even the ones that swarm and boil overhead most nights.

And then suddenly the dozen-ish people around the Highrise drumfires are looking at you, thinking -- surely they're thinking! -- that you're an outsider, and a stranger, and why shouldn't we hustle him out of here right now? All it could take is a word either way. Figuring out which word is the trick.

            4
            You need Cityslicker 4 (you have 8)

            4
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 4 - you have 8

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

One of the largest, best-known saloons in Amarillo is the High Noon. "Padre" Charlie explains it was built before the Longest Day as an old-timey theme restaurant. Now an actual frontier saloon, it boasts Hoffenstader on tap and salty/fried fingerfood and a dim cheerful gloom every hour of the day, plus a real actual pianist and full-time muscle to keep everybody civil.

There's nowhere better to make new friends -- this also from "Padre" Charlie, whose nose is red and veiny from a lifetime of dedicated social drinking. He slips a quarter into your breast pocket and pats your hand with fatherly affection. For a warm mug, he says. Can't get any other kind out here.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 8)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 8

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 8)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 8


The Right Word

Fires in the Desert

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

It turns out the right word is stranger -- as in you're a stranger, and don't know anybody around here, and don't even know your own name, and could use to stay a spell among the drumfires.

The broken men and women are solicitous. Surprisingly so; they don't have much, but three separate people try to share their breakfasts. You take a mouthful of baked beans from a surplus tin marked as from 2013. The man who offered it smiles; most of his teeth are missing, but in that moment his face is a thing of incredible sweetness.

7 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 9.

Cityslicker is increasing...

You succeeded in a Cityslicker challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don't learn so much.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 33).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle. The life of the party. One odd Jackrabbit. But very little escapes his tiny cheerful eyes.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

The Power of Confidence

Seeing Jack Ishiguro move through a crowd -- sliding unimpeded, shoulder slouching, confidence glowing off him like heat from a lamp -- is quite the thing. People smile and swoon and flutter when he bumps into them. And not just women. A friend to all, is Jack Ishiguro, and universally charming. You could learn a thing or two.

You Scratch My Back

A recurring theme in Jack Ishiguro's many upbeat rambling conversations is how he's lean on cash. Liquid assets. Valoota. He never quite explains what he needs the money for, but you get the impression that his life would be somehow even cheerfuller if he had it.

And not empty-handed is Jack Ishiguro, no beggar at the door: he's made clear -- and not just once -- that he's sitting on a box of bullets he doesn't have any plans for, and would be happy to come to an arrangement involving bullets and dollars and a quiet exchange.

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 4)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars  - you have 4


Opportunities

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Opportunities always come around again.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Where There's a Will

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

Miz Nils suggests you spend a little while in the canyon area east of the city -- a place, she claims, with both aesthetic and tactical value.

There you find a sheer expanse of rock drops downward at your feet, neatly exposing layer after layer of rock. Strong gusts of wind play through the deep canyon, whistling a tune that is unfamiliar. Lights reflects off of something at the bottom of the canyon. It's difficult to make out what it is from here. The climb looks treacherous but well within your capacity.

            7
            You need Doc 7 (you have 7)

            7
            Unlocked with Doc 7 - you have 7

The Quick-Witted Ornithologist

Doc

Mental Style.

A low-risk challenge

In the scrub you spy the Quick-Witted Ornithologist, the woman previously so concerned with owls. As she sees you, an eager smile cracks her dusty wind-chapped face.

"I don't usually see anyone else out here, especially not more than once," she says, and holds up a dog-eared notebook. "I'm gathering data on migratory patterns. Could you help?"

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 7)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 7

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Out in the Scrublands you find yourself under an unmistakable human shadow. You look up and shade your eyes: there in the dry scraggly tree just off to your side is a small woman in khakis with binoculars in hand. "A burrowing owl!" she calls quietly to you. Her binoculars are pointed at an unremarkable patch of ground. What's this, then?

            4
            You need Doc 4 (you have 7)

            4
            Unlocked with Doc 4 - you have 7

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Sometimes nature is best seen from a distance. On the east side of Amarillo is a quiet wealthy neighborhood full of two-story houses with front porches and sweeping views of the desert. The Heywoods' porch is a notorious hang-out/salon for retirees, mostly old men and the widow Heywood herself; they spend their days playing rubbers of bridge, smoking cigars and emptying bottle after bottle of Cornskunk's best.

Rumor has it that the widow Heywood is also a first-class birdwatcher and liberal with her binoculars. If you can talk your way onto her porch, you could get all the nature you want without risking an unfriendly few moments with a rattlesnake.

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 7)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 7

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 7)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 7


There's a Way

Where There's a Will

Doc

Mental Style.

A modest challenge

            7
            You need Doc 7 (you have 8)

            7
            Unlocked with Doc 7 - you have 8

Half-way down the canyon, your fingers find a crevice, then another and another running in deliberately carved rungs down the canyon wall. From that point the descent is a matter of patience instead of a gamble. At the bottom is a smooth bed of fine sand and dust. The canyon extends a ways in either direction, perhaps wide enough for a donkey to pass, but not to ride. There's no sign at the bottom of what was reflecting light. Perhaps it's something that has moved on.

2 change points, 7 more needed to reach level 9.

Doc has increased to 8!

You succeeded in a Doc challenge! (Risky challenges mean you learn more.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 34).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Absolom the Tinker

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation. A perpetual possibility! Unredeemable is Absolom the Tinker; dignified, invisible, moving without pressure; hidden, birdlike, quick; undisturbing of the dead leaves that bury the path in front and the path behind. He cannot bear much reality and so is always moving. His everchanging pack contains many things. For a price he may share them with you.

Pinned

Pinned


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters!—

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation...

The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo...

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines...

Pinned

Pinned

Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle...

Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 7; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...


Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters! A curated display of precious things that blends the ephemeral with the practical. Proprietor the thin-eyed M. Shankman, whose hands are crisscrossed with scars. Rumors abound: that he ran a kibbutz until a stray rocket from the West Bank destroyed his family's dairy; that he served in the Pacific in WW2 and found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Youthfuller. M. Shankman himself is close-lipped. Buy something or move along.

Pinned

Pinned

Thorny Walking Stick

For carrying while walking softly.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 4)

Patented Leather Boots

Built with Doc Roslyn's Patented Insoles. A working man's fashion statement.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

A Barman's Best Friend

Kept behind the counter to resolve disputes.

+2 Gunslinger when equipped.

            90
            You need 90 x Dollars  (you have 4)

            90
            Unlocked with 90 x Dollars  - you have 4

Heavy Steel Wristwatch

Charming and imposing all at once.

+1 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Long Hunting Knife

Carried by homesteaders and cowboys from Amarillo to the Wall.

+3 Gunslinger when equipped.

            270
            You need 270 x Dollars  (you have 4)

            270
            Unlocked with 270 x Dollars  - you have 4

Shiny-Spurred Boots

Steel-toed. Thick-soled. Surprisingly fashionable.

+2 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Starched White Shirt

Smells of fresh laundry and respectability.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 4)

            1
            You need Paladin 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars  - you have 4

            1
            Unlocked with Paladin 1 - you have 1

Black Leather Duster

For gangsters, villains, and other rough types.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 4)

            1
            You need Man in Black 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars  - you have 4

            1
            Unlocked with Man in Black 1 - you have 1

Natural Linen Suit

A breathable fabric for a miserable climate.

+2 Cityslicker when equipped.

Tweedy Jacket

Yellow tweedy wool. Liable to overheat. Confers an air of knowledge.

+1 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Flowing Silk Longcoat

Imported from Japan. Black silk and white flowers. Also called a "kimono."

+3 Cityslicker when equipped.

Doctor's Overcoat

Crisp medical whites. An air of sophistication and wisdom.

+2 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Horn-Rimmed Spectacles

Perenially in fashion. Nevertheless a little bookish.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Jar of Black Ash

Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

Devotees of Santo Guerrero apply it to their foreheads.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Stainless Steel Stethoscope

For all your doctoring needs.

+2 Doc when equipped.

Colorfully-Banded Stetson

Shankman's Outfitters

The stetson impresses and intimidates. The colorful band implies cleverness.

+1 Doc and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

The Monkey's Paw

A clenched monkey's fist. Who knows where it came from? Caveat emptor.

+3 Doc when equipped.

Ten Gallon Hat

A tall stetson for a rough-and-tumble dude. Keeps your head cool for advanced thinking.

+2 Doc and +1 Gunslinger when equipped.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Miz Nils

The most appropriate thing about Miz Nils is the crocodile skin belt cinching her hips -- it's her in spades. Tough, durable, and quite reminiscent of a creature that lurks silent until snapping its jaws and locking on tight. Not one given over to the silks and velvets of the Stars and Spurs, is Miz Nils. No, she is far more enamored of the open sky, the dust outside of the town, and the rough nature of the Scrub.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

Dust Devils

Out back of the Burrow, Miz Nils is ensconced by her lonesome on the creaking wooden porch. She has a small jar of oil, a whetstone, and a little dog-eared notebook on the table next to her. The expression on her face is one of very serious concentration.


Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


Oh Brother, Let's Go Down

Orphans, chickens, the blind, the lame, the hurt and homeless all in one crowd.  A quiet crowd. Not a small one.

You have moved to a new area: The Mission


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Jack Ishiguro

Always smiling is Jack Ishiguro, resident fast-talker, quick on the draw with a high pitched giggle. The life of the party. One odd Jackrabbit. But very little escapes his tiny cheerful eyes.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.

The Power of Confidence

Seeing Jack Ishiguro move through a crowd -- sliding unimpeded, shoulder slouching, confidence glowing off him like heat from a lamp -- is quite the thing. People smile and swoon and flutter when he bumps into them. And not just women. A friend to all, is Jack Ishiguro, and universally charming. You could learn a thing or two.

You Scratch My Back

A recurring theme in Jack Ishiguro's many upbeat rambling conversations is how he's lean on cash. Liquid assets. Valoota. He never quite explains what he needs the money for, but you get the impression that his life would be somehow even cheerfuller if he had it.

And not empty-handed is Jack Ishiguro, no beggar at the door: he's made clear -- and not just once -- that he's sitting on a box of bullets he doesn't have any plans for, and would be happy to come to an arrangement involving bullets and dollars and a quiet exchange.


I'll Scratch Yours

            1
            You need 1 x Dollars  (you have 3)

            1
            Unlocked with 1 x Dollars  - you have 3

The dollar is hardly out of your wallet before it disappears into Jack Ishiguro's pocket and is replaced by a single bullet delivered flipped and spinning down through the air to land smack in the middle of your palm.

"Much appreciated," Jack Ishiguro says, and grins toothily. "Pleasure doing business. And if you ever need more -- just holler!"

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

You've lost 1 x Dollars (new total 3).

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

You've gained 1 x Revolver Bullet (new total 2).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down. Even the altar has a haphazard stove and chimney rigged up where the priest must have once sat.

Sitting in a vacant church pew for a quiet moment: there is the smallest cluck, a soft scuffle. A chicken lunges at a bug in the dirt. More chickens pour in, clucking and preening and pecking. And yet they're largely unharrassed -- read: uneaten.

Pinned

Pinned

Chicken-scratch

Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

There must be a plan here, some kind of organization. Someone has to keep an eye on the chickens and vegetable gardens. You just need eyes to see.

            2
            You need Cityslicker 2 (you have 8)

            2
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 2 - you have 8


Reading a Pattern

Chicken-scratch

Redwing Chicken

The Mission

TBD

A flock of chickens run right through the children's chorus; the children break off singing and shriek and giggle before the chickens are shooed off.

From there the chickens swarm over a pew and its occupant, who wakes up long enough to swat them away. It's a wonder they haven't all been eaten, the chickens. But then neither have the vegetables hanging ripe on the vine. The Mission is clean and swept, inside and out.

Hallowed Ground is increasing!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


All Aboard!

You pick your way through town to Platform #1, where at all times of day many people and places and things to see can be found.

You have moved to a new area: Amarillo: Platform #1


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert. But over the Wall, Amarillo is the center of civilization. Nowhere rivals it in size or style. And being this close to Corpus Christi, Amarillo's social scene always carries an exciting hint of danger.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Black Jack

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A modest challenge

Cards are one of those things worked into Texas's own personal identity. Spades. Poker -- of course. And black jack. You hear a rumor that a mercurial socialite called Tall Saul -- that's his gambling name -- runs a floating table out of a small airless room in the Wall Market proper. If you got yourself a seat, it could be lucrative, and not just financially.

            7
            You need Cityslicker 7 (you have 8)

            7
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 7 - you have 8

A Cherished Thing in Common

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sound of shouting from two blocks down draws you to a small crowd surrounding local gunsmith Hammond Traeger and a portly middle-aged man in a green waistcoat and bristly mustache. It only takes a few moments to figure out that they're arguing over a woman who it turns out is both of their lovers. The particulars are unclear except that they're struggling with this new information -- and are both carrying heavy-caliber revolvers.

The Roughriders haven't turned up yet, meaning somebody else needs to get involved before the Rule of One is resoundingly broken and at least one beloved local icon is disappeared into the grim blackness under the governor's mansion.

            5
            You need Cityslicker 5 (you have 8)

            5
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 5 - you have 8

Fires in the Desert

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Even here in the desert in ninety degree weather under a cloudless sky that promises an afternoon heat so thick you could chew it, people keep the drumfires lit outside the Highrise Hotel. Partly it's practical; the smoke keeps the flies away, and they're hard to get started once they go out, and anyway how else are you going to make breakfast? And then again it's partly emotional. One woman in a patchwork coat -- clearly a resident -- tells you that the Deacon of St. Francis's told her that fire is purely human, and monsters hate the sight of it, and if she kept it lit all the time they wouldn't ever get near her, even the ones that swarm and boil overhead most nights.

And then suddenly the dozen-ish people around the Highrise drumfires are looking at you, thinking -- surely they're thinking! -- that you're an outsider, and a stranger, and why shouldn't we hustle him out of here right now? All it could take is a word either way. Figuring out which word is the trick.

            4
            You need Cityslicker 4 (you have 8)

            4
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 4 - you have 8

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

One of the largest, best-known saloons in Amarillo is the High Noon. "Padre" Charlie explains it was built before the Longest Day as an old-timey theme restaurant. Now an actual frontier saloon, it boasts Hoffenstader on tap and salty/fried fingerfood and a dim cheerful gloom every hour of the day, plus a real actual pianist and full-time muscle to keep everybody civil.

There's nowhere better to make new friends -- this also from "Padre" Charlie, whose nose is red and veiny from a lifetime of dedicated social drinking. He slips a quarter into your breast pocket and pats your hand with fatherly affection. For a warm mug, he says. Can't get any other kind out here.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 8)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 8

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

The sand and crowds and sweat of Amarillo are new to you, but to the children born here after the Longest Day it's all they've ever known. And to the animals -- cats and dogs and rats and every conceivable urban creature, constantly barking and hissing and underfoot.

A romping yipping puppy streaks past you on the street with a throng of stick-thin boys close behind. If you collar one of the boys, you might be able to talk a little local flavor out of him.

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 8)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 8


Yes It's Warm

High Noon Saloon

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Is it warm today? Yes it's warm. Not warmer than last year. O yes it is. O yes the heat is sweltering. Even the cows lie down and pant. Like dogs with their tongues out, panting. With their fur can you imagine? Have you seen my arms? Yes I can imagine very well! Bet the wife likes it though. She does. And the chest as well. Though she's lately been after me for a shave. Not there but on the face. And I said to her but who would recognize me? You'll look chinless. Yes chinless. From beard to beardless that's how it ends. For a week nobody recognizing me. Yes it's hot. I'd be better-ventilated. In the face you would. Yes that would be swell.

...and so on for over your head and around you and even eventually with you included. The morning barflies and the farmhands and weavers and bootmakers and layabouts and all the other regulars make this a morning routine, this banter, and while you're not included you aren't excluded, either. One of them slaps you on the back on his way out, at least.

8 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 9.

Cityslicker is increasing...

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 35).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky. There are things to see and explore beyond the Roughriders' barricades. And unexpected dangers. Which nearly anyone will tell you can add spice to an otherwise humdrum life.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Where There's a Will

Doc

Mental Style.

A modest challenge

Miz Nils suggests you spend a little while in the canyon area east of the city -- a place, she claims, with both aesthetic and tactical value.

There you find a sheer expanse of rock drops downward at your feet, neatly exposing layer after layer of rock. Strong gusts of wind play through the deep canyon, whistling a tune that is unfamiliar. Lights reflects off of something at the bottom of the canyon. It's difficult to make out what it is from here. The climb looks treacherous but well within your capacity.

The Quick-Witted Ornithologist

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

In the scrub you spy the Quick-Witted Ornithologist, the woman previously so concerned with owls. As she sees you, an eager smile cracks her dusty wind-chapped face.

"I don't usually see anyone else out here, especially not more than once," she says, and holds up a dog-eared notebook. "I'm gathering data on migratory patterns. Could you help?"

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 8)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 8

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Out in the Scrublands you find yourself under an unmistakable human shadow. You look up and shade your eyes: there in the dry scraggly tree just off to your side is a small woman in khakis with binoculars in hand. "A burrowing owl!" she calls quietly to you. Her binoculars are pointed at an unremarkable patch of ground. What's this, then?

            4
            You need Doc 4 (you have 8)

            4
            Unlocked with Doc 4 - you have 8

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Sometimes nature is best seen from a distance. On the east side of Amarillo is a quiet wealthy neighborhood full of two-story houses with front porches and sweeping views of the desert. The Heywoods' porch is a notorious hang-out/salon for retirees, mostly old men and the widow Heywood herself; they spend their days playing rubbers of bridge, smoking cigars and emptying bottle after bottle of Cornskunk's best.

Rumor has it that the widow Heywood is also a first-class birdwatcher and liberal with her binoculars. If you can talk your way onto her porch, you could get all the nature you want without risking an unfriendly few moments with a rattlesnake.

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 8)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 8

A Walk in the Scrublands

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Miz Nils turns out to be the Jackrabbits' resident naturalist. She recommends a walk through the Scrublands north of Amarillo to get a feel for what grows around here. It might look hot and dry and dead, she says, but keep an eye: the scrub is teeming, alive, and way better at surviving in the desert than any person.

            1
            You need Doc 1 (you have 8)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 8


From This Remove

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

It turns out the widow Heywood is more than happy to add a little fresh blood to the mix. She and her septuagenarian friends set you up in a comfortable chair with a cigar and binoculars and a sweet Cornskunk julep that goes down like motor oil. The widow Heywood lectures the assembled on how to make a good mint julep -- the trick apparently is to crush the mint against the glass with your thumb before you add ice -- while you take a long look across the desert. From this remove it looks empty but for the occasional scrubby tree and the long straight highway to Wichita. But already you know better.

3 change points, 6 more needed to reach level 9.

Doc is increasing...

You succeeded in a Doc challenge! (Simple challenges mean you don't learn so much.)

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 36).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know.

This is one of Zero Summer's "grind" cards. "Grind" cards can be replayed as often as you like. And most of their branches have a chance to produce a Rare Success, which will significantly increase one of your Styles and yield certain other benefits as well.

Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Operational Support

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The Roughriders periodically sweep the city for gun caches. They're looking for a spotter to help them clear the neighborhood around the Highrise Hotel. Gangs with loose interpretations of the Rule of One often squirrel away guns, bullets and heavier ordnance. Everywhere is a potential hiding place: abandoned buildings, converted stretches of sewer, even dead trees with false knot-holes.

            7
            You need Gunslinger 7 (you have 7)

            7
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 7 - you have 7

Cleaning House for the Pony Express

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A low-risk challenge

Word is that that a Pony Express carrier is due in tomorrow, and Governor Berkshire will show his appreciation to anyone who clears out the Pony Express office beforehand. Abandoned buildings tend to attract varmints, pests and squatters -- especially in Amarillo, and even the Pony Express office. Carriers tend to be particular about their spaces being clear. And given how much Amarillo depends on them, it's no surprise the governor is taking extra precautions.

            5
            You need Gunslinger 5 (you have 7)

            5
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 5 - you have 7

Bullets for Little Japan

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

Traeger the gunsmith on Short Vine is looking for someone to deliver a package to Little Japan, an apartment building on the west side of town where every unit is owned by one large Japanese-American family. According to Traeger, they're secretive, stand-offish, and endlessly thirsty for bullets. No one but him will do business with them.

            4
            You need Gunslinger 4 (you have 7)

            4
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 4 - you have 7

Keeping the Peace

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district is the Wall Market, a sprawling parking lot bazaar and former supermarket where you can buy or barter anything you desire. Petty theft is obviously a problem.

A doughman for Butterloaf Bakery is looking for warm bodies to fill the morning security shift. A bad case of food poisoning from the salmon jerky stall has the regular crew doing the Texas two-step. The way the doughman tells it, they're having a graphic morning. Borderline tragic.

            3
            You need Gunslinger 3 (you have 7)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 7

Getting to Know the Roughriders

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The local police -- the Roughriders -- have exactly two jobs: keeping the Rule of One and handling the local unnatural fauna. The chief of police is fiercely-mustached Nicco Carfora. He's asked for a civilian volunteer to take one of the Roughriders' aging motorcycles out for a loop around the nearby farms and snoop for unnatural activity.

            1
            You need Gunslinger 1 (you have 7)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 7


Beating the Rug

Cleaning House for the Pony Express

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A low-risk challenge

The Pony Express office is a two-story brick house not far from the Wall Market. The front door is locked but two of the windows are open. You crawl in and take stock. No visible pests but a handful of mouse pellets on the kitchenette table. Food remains and a mussed dirty blanket on the couch. Nothing a few new window-locks and some rat traps won't fix.

7 change points, 1 more needed to reach level 8.

Gunslinger is increasing...

You succeeded in a Gunslinger challenge!

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 37).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Dollars

NorteAmericano dollars. Not the only currency in Amarillo, but certainly the preferred one.

Revolver Bullet

Useful for many things. Shooting monsters is only one.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

"Brewed right here in Amarillo by Dougie and Carmine Hoffenstader, your hometown hopsmasters!"

A Kentucky Cigar

The wrapper is blue-green, and gilded, and features a fine-looking horse. Obviously this is a top-quality smokable.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Grim Bargain

You and "Padre" Charlie understand each other all too well.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Hallowed Ground

You've been taken in by the strange beautiful kindnesses of the Mission.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

H. Traeger and Ms. Chanticleer

Amarillo's pre-eminent gunsmith and baker are having an affair. You know at least some of the dirty details.

Ally: Calo

Calo. As in Flaca Loca. As in crazy-skinny.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.