Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

O Brother, Let's Go Down

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo...

Whispers on the Street

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 2; Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

A tight nervous thread runs through the city...

The Ballad of Squiddy Sally

Unlocked with ; Unlocked when Truth in the Tanglewood is:

Travel Around Town

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

The Richmond-Weisz

Like spreading buttercream frosting on fudge or slurping Italian ice in the desert in June: sinfully decadent...

Pinned

Pinned

Miz Nils

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

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2; 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...


Chasing Down Chickens

Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 4 - you have 4

After her brief intense hello, Sermon leaves you to your own devices...

Advice from a Stranger

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 3 - you have 3

Third Street is close enough to the Highrise Hotel that sometimes on hot mornings the destitutes there walk from the drumfires to the Wall Market in a raggedy procession...

Pinned

Pinned

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 6; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


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


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.

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!"

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


All Aboard!

Move to Platform #1

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.

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.

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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

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

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


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.

A Cherished Thing in Common

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A very modest 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 6)

            5
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 5 - you have 6

Fires in the Desert

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A low-risk 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 6)

            4
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 4 - you have 6

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 6)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 6

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 6)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 6


Pinned

Pinned


Loneliness, Solidarity

What The Boys Said

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

            1
            You need Cityslicker 1 (you have 7)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 7

Most of boys shrug you off when you try to catch their sleeves and attention, shouting back that their mothers said not to talk to strangers, and look at the scars on his hands, and there on his forehead a spreading purple bruise! But one boy slaps your palm on his way past, an act maybe of pity for the stranger, or maybe one of solidarity with the weird rejected outcast. It's a dominant feeling here, that sense of aloneness. It seems carried on the hot dry frontier wind.

0 change points, 8 more needed to reach level 8.

Cityslicker has increased to 7!

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

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 30).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 9; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Step Lightly

Finding the Highrise Hotel is much like following the north star: aim for the tallest point in the sky and pick a path. Carefully, though; the roads are slick with human refuse and the natives are unfriendlier than usual.

You have moved to a new area: The Highrise Hotel


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

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

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

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.

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.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned


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.

The Quick-Witted Ornithologist

Doc

Mental Style.

A very modest 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 6)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 6

Bird-Watching

Doc

Mental Style.

A low-risk 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 6)

            4
            Unlocked with Doc 4 - you have 6

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 6)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 6

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 6)

            1
            Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 6


Whispers on the Street

A tight nervous thread runs through the city. Everywhere people are on vibrating on edge, tense, standing in unhappy pockets of twos and threes where every face is pinched with inspecific fear. On Jefferson, a young woman clutches her light cotton dress and leans close to a frend. "Did you hear about poor William?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder for -- what?

"I heard," says her friend, who leans in close to whisper: "Same as happened to Sean and Thompson. Took the breath right out of them."

Pinned

Pinned

Listen Closer

The first woman seems ready to jump out of her skin; her friend is scared but glowing a little with sick morbid interest. If you slow down and listen hard, you might get a hint of why they're afraid.

WARNING: this is the beginning of a Subplot and will reduce your Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Doc Styles.


From This Remove

A Walled Garden

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

            3
            You need Doc 3 (you have 7)

            3
            Unlocked with Doc 3 - you have 7

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.

0 change points, 8 more needed to reach level 8.

Doc has increased to 7!

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

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 31).


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.

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!"

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


They Aren't Being Quiet

Listen Closer

Whispers on the Street

A tight nervous thread runs through the city. Everywhere people are on vibrating on edge, tense, standing in unhappy pockets of twos and threes where every face is pinched with inspecific fear. On Jefferson, a young woman clutches her light cotton dress and leans close to a frend. "Did you hear about poor William?" she asks, glancing over her shoulder for -- what?

"I heard," says her friend, who leans in close to whisper: "Same as happened to Sean and Thompson. Took the breath right out of them."

The first woman seems ready to jump out of her skin; her friend is scared but glowing a little with sick morbid interest. If you slow down and listen hard, you might get a hint of why they're afraid.

WARNING: this is the beginning of a Subplot and will reduce your Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Doc Styles.

"I'm scared," the first woman says. "I just don't know what I'd do if it happened to my boy.  You know William left behind two children?"

 "I know," says her friend. "That's how it is when the Harvestmen -- "

The first woman hisses for quiet. They both look nervously around. The friend continues:

"You don't believe they really show up if you say their name, do you?"

The question hangs in the widening silence between them.

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 1).

You are now pursuing The Harvestmen!


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

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

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

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

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Banditos and Harvestmen

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 1 - you have 1

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position...

O Brother, Let's Go Down

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with

Pinned

Pinned


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Chasing Down Chickens

The Mission

TBD

After her brief intense hello, Sermon leaves you to your own devices. Like a forest after a brief violent storm, the Mission seems livelier now that she's back. Not every broken person in Amarillo is here -- the Highrise Hotel has its derelicts, the Wall Market is home to orphan gangs -- but most of them are. And it should be a dysfunctional carousel, throwing people off at crazed tilting intervals, but somehow it all just works.

And still there's this: even the chickens are uneaten. How to explain it?

Increase your Chasing Down Chickens Quality to open up new branches!

Pinned

Pinned

Follow Their Tracks

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Chasing Down Chickens

The Mission

TBD

People are taller and easier to spot than chickens. If you want to know about the latter, follow the former.

            5
            You need Cityslicker 5 (you have 7)

            5
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 5 - you have 7

Following Them Home

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Chasing Down Chickens

The Mission

TBD

These are not plump white pastoral bantams. The Mission's chickens are rangy and tufted and brown and half-wild. And they're clannish, almost viciously insular. Which must mean they're stashing their eggs somewhere. Presumably that place is chicken HQ.

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 7)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 7

View from the Roost

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

A tough challenge

Chasing Down Chickens

The Mission

TBD

As you study the roost in the bell-tower, you see one of the orphans clambering up for eggs. It seems a simple matter once you give the route some thought, and the perspective from higher up is often a good one. At least novel, perhaps even enlightening.

            4
            You need Chasing Down Chickens 4 (you have 2)

            4
            Unlocked with Chasing Down Chickens 4 - you have 2


Head Down, Eyes Open

Move to the Scrublands

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.

The scrublands are largely uninhabited, but have a care: homesteaders don't always respect the Rule of One, and the rumors of chupacabra are worryingly persistent.

You have moved to a new area: The Scrublands


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

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

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

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.

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.


An Insight

Follow Their Tracks

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Chasing Down Chickens

The Mission

TBD

After her brief intense hello, Sermon leaves you to your own devices. Like a forest after a brief violent storm, the Mission seems livelier now that she's back. Not every broken person in Amarillo is here -- the Highrise Hotel has its derelicts, the Wall Market is home to orphan gangs -- but most of them are. And it should be a dysfunctional carousel, throwing people off at crazed tilting intervals, but somehow it all just works.

And still there's this: even the chickens are uneaten. How to explain it?

Increase your Chasing Down Chickens Quality to open up new branches!

People are taller and easier to spot than chickens. If you want to know about the latter, follow the former.

Outside the occasional over-eager child getting a scratch, the Mission's people and its chickens get along really very well. Chicken droppings are raked into the vegetable beds; the plants spit out huge zucchinis and tomatoes. And the chickens eat all the bugs, keeping the plants healthy and the people un-flea'd.

A memory stirs: temperate well-watered farms in neat rows, square pens for the animals, regular schedules. Isn't that how farms are supposed to work? But at the Mission everything is haphazard. Some of the bean rows are neat, others scraggly and wild. The chickens are similarly variable. Curious.

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

Cityslicker is increasing...

1 change point, 2 more needed to reach level 3.

Chasing Down Chickens is increasing...


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

The Skunk Brothers Farm

Unlocked when The Skunk Brothers Farm is:

; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops!—


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.


Advice from a Stranger

Third Street is close enough to the Highrise Hotel that sometimes on hot mornings the destitutes there walk from the drumfires to the Wall Market in a raggedy procession. Third is also the fastest way from the Wall Market to half the city. And midmorning is a busy time of day for foot traffic. People from different classes rub elbows, sometimes literally, all up an down Third from the Wall Market to the far west side.

You're accosted, almost literally held up by a man in a stained shirt who breaks off from a pack of Highrise probables and says to you, a little too loudly, "Hey! Friend! I heard you wanted to know about the Harvestmen!" Others nearby glance over, startled, then away.

Pinned

Pinned

Something About Gift-Horses

Okay, yes: the man doesn't smell great or look great, and he's definitely making too much noise about the subject of our inquiry.

But you haven't exactly been loudmouthed about your investigation. If this guy's heard about it, it could mean he's a friend, or at least employed by a friend -- someone else interested in the Harvestmen for similar reasons. Or he could be an operative of the Harvestmen -- even a Harvestman himself! -- sent to derail you in a permanent and violent way.

Either way, you'd do well to hear him out. Right here. In broad daylight. With a street full of witnesses.

            7
            You need Cityslicker 7 (you have 7)

            7
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 7 - you have 7


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

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

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

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.

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.


Just Don't Lean in Close

The man's breath smells like half-done Cornskunk; it wafts through his cracked grin, which to his credit seems genuinely warm and friendly.

"I heard from Ms. Pettle at the library that you were deep into the old newspapers on account of the Harvestmen. No, don't take it wrong -- she does for me when I just can't bear the dirt anymore. Socks, coats, the works, and stitches and patches them too. She's a kindness, is Ms. Pettle. And but so I thought: pass the deed along. I think it's what she had in mind, mentioning it."

He leans in close. "You want to talk to Calo. Most mornings she's on the west side by Little Japan. Just ask around -- somebody'll set you right."

The Harvestmen is increasing!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


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!—

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


Pinned


O Brother, Let's Go Down

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo.

No shirkers; too many victims -- of accidents, the environment, each other. But not as many as you might think.

There aren't many beggars or cripples outside the Highrise Hotel. Almost no one is homeless.

 And aside from the Ashling -- according to Jack Ishiguro "more like a local unconventional entrepreneur-type than your real actual crazy person-type" -- the streets are clear of mumblers, foamers and Millenarians.

All of which raises the question: where have all the destitute gone?

Pinned

Down, Down, Come on Down

The only visible downtrodden in Amarillo are its orphans. They're not exactly chatty -- unless breakfast is on you. You won't have any problem trading a bite to eat for a little information.

WARNING: This is the beginning of a subplot. Choosing this branch will reduce Gumption by 1. This subplot will focus on your Doc and Cityslicker Styles.


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.

Hammer and Tongs

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

Hammond Traeger is short-staffed and needs a hand pouring bullets. His usual apprentice is out with a case of forge-lung. He brushes off questions about whether it's contagious; the doctor, he explains, assured him it was neither viral nor bacterial.

            9
            You need Gunslinger 9 (you have 9)

            9
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 9 - you have 9

Operational Support

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A very modest 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 9)

            7
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 7 - you have 9

Cleaning House for the Pony Express

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward 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 9)

            5
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 5 - you have 9

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 9)

            4
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 4 - you have 9

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 9)

            3
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 3 - you have 9

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 9)

            1
            Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 9


Down to the River to Pray

You trade a hard roll from Butterloaf to a hard-eyed girl on Fifth who tells you -- sounding a little affronted -- that while she's fine on her own, "anybody who ain't always ends up on the west side at the Mission. Just go down Palmetto until you hit the iron cross." You can almost hear the capitals in her voice, affronted or not.

At the bottom of Palmetto where it turns into Jefferson you find yourself in the shadow of the cross. It arcs high above everything around it, an easy star to navigate by. It's attached to the roof of a long low brick building. There's a vegetable garden on one side; everywhere else there are people of all ages and colors in all stages of cleanliness and dress. They stream constantly in and out of the Mission's double-doors, which look permanently propped, and through the garden, where fat clucking chickens peck sedately at the bugs amid plantings of squash and beans. Inside you can see the pews are used for sleeping as much as sitting.

Almost everyone at the Mission is missing something -- an eye, a leg, a parent -- and almost everyone is smiling. They turn their smiles on you. A man on crutches invites you inside, where a group of dirty underfed beaming children are learning Ave Maria from a woman the size of a bear. The air smells like unwashed bodies and hope.

You have moved to a new area: The Mission

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 0).

You are now investigating a certain Hallowed Ground!


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

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

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

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.

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.


The Art of Bulletmaking

Hammer and Tongs

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

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.

Hammond Traeger is short-staffed and needs a hand pouring bullets. His usual apprentice is out with a case of forge-lung. He brushes off questions about whether it's contagious; the doctor, he explains, assured him it was neither viral nor bacterial.

Traeger explains the process: molten lead is poured into a silicon mold he got from up norte in exchange for a tainted saguaro Darren Skunk dug out of his corn field and threw thoughtlessly away to be scavenged. The lead sets and somebody, meaning you, packs it with a light metal case the size of a thimble and a fingernail of black powder.

Each mold makes twelve bullets. You pack half a dozen molds before Traeger waves you off. Looks good, he says. If he ever has paying work, et cetera.

6 change points, 4 more needed to reach level 10.

Gunslinger is increasing...

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

You've gained 1 x Reputation (new total 32).


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Redwing Chicken

Unlocked with Hallowed Ground 1 - you have 1

Groups of people scattered like flung out handfuls of grain throughout the Mission; vegetables growing inside wherever the walls are knocked down...

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


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.

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!"

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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 Smallish Pilgrimage

Move to St. Francis's

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.

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.

St. Francis's isn't hard to get to. Just find a well-dressed gangster and tail him. You follow that tried and true method and soon find yourself on the doorstep of the church.

You have moved to a new area: St. Francis's


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

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

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Opportunities

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

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A straightforward challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A straightforward challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


Showing a Little Charity

Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with 1 x 20th Century Penny  - you have 1

Pinned

Pinned


Refreshing!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A straightforward challenge

You -- and what seems like half the population of Amarillo -- trundle out from the northern checkpoint and into the near Scrublands, where the Skunk brothers' farm is hidden behind an overgrown fence.

Once there, you're met by Darren and Lloyd themselves, who in short order have their vats chubbling happily. Mugs are passed around. Inside is a light burpy IPA. One gulp and you're convinced: that was time spent wisely.

7 change points, 3 more needed to reach level 10.

Gunslinger is increasing...

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

0 change points, 4 more needed to reach level 4.

Helping the Brothers Skunk has increased to 3!


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned

A Country Doc

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

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Consumables

A Bottle of Hoffenstader Honey Wheat

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

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

Pinned


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.

Black Jack

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy 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.

A Cherished Thing in Common

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A low-risk 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.

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 7)

            4
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 4 - you have 7

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 7)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 7

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 7)

            1
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 7


Banditos and Harvestmen

The dusty streets are lousy with packs of children running and shouting and chasing each other at play, the boys in patchwork denim and corduroy and dirty white shirts, the girls in spattered cotton dresses and barrettes in every imaginable color and position.

You nearly trip over a group of kids by the Wall Market; they scatter in every direction, one of them shouting that she gets to be the Harvestman next.

Pinned

Pinned

From the Mouths of Babes

Children get everywhere and hear everything. And they don't have any problem sharing with their friends. Especially scary things, and especially when they're roughhousing and one-upping each other. Which means if you're interested in the Harvestmen, a little light lurking might be in order.

            3
            You need Cityslicker 3 (you have 1)

            3
            Unlocked with Cityslicker 3 - you have 1


Up a Few Pennies

Black Jack

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

Dropping Tall Saul's name to one of the Wall Market security grunts lands you a seat at the table, no questions asked. It is in a really claustrophobic former break room; there's a many-sided green felt table stacked with plastic chips and bottles of Hoffenstader Wheat and five-year Cornskunk, and the air is foggy with unventilated cigar smoke.

It turns out Tall Saul isn't around just now -- but plenty of his regulars are. You spend awhile schmoozing the half-disguised bankers and hardened gamblers before excusing yourself. You're only up a few pennies -- a few red chips -- but it's better than being out your meager buy-in.

4 change points, 4 more needed to reach level 8.

Cityslicker is increasing...

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

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.

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!"

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount. Community organizer. Runner of Missions. A warm imposing figure.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

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

Helping the Brothers Skunk

The Skunk brothers' farm is a local institution; you've lent a hand to keep it running.

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.

Chasing Down Chickens

Surely all the Mission's chickens come from somewhere.

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.


Opportunities

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

Pinned

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.

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.


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.

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?"

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


The Asian Enclave

Move to Little Japan

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.

Most locals keep far away from Little Japan. At best they think it's cursed; at worst -- well, it's impolite. Perhaps there's a reason Amarillo's Japanese-Americans keep to themselves.

You have moved to a new area: Little Japan


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.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

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

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

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.

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.