Stalker-themed forest campfire

With a group of friends we regularly meet for an afternoon/evening at a campfire in the forest, where we take turns to organise the theme of the day.

On my first turn I decided to go with a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-themed event. Since it is out in the forest and a 20 minute walk uphill from the closed bus station, you have to keep it simple. I decided to share my plan in case someone is looking for inspiration.

Invitation

With ChatGPT’s help, I sent an invitation with the following text:

If you’re hearing this, stalker, you’ve survived another day in the Zone. Not bad.

Word is there’s a campfire burning. Warm food and cold beverages are waiting. Leave the anomalies behind and join your fellow stalkers before the next emission rolls in. A place to breathe, if only for one night...

Feel free to get creative. Create a flyer, put a campfire image as a background and put the text with coordinates and date of the event next to it.

Food

I decided to prepare Ukrainian borscht. Obviously a good choice for the event since S.T.A.L.K.E.R. takes place in Ukraine, and it can easily be cooked on an open fire. To make your life easier: cut and prepare all ingredients at home, and simply add them to the broth in time. Leave the meat if you want a vegetarian variant. Serve dark bread on the side—a commodity many Stalkers carry with them.

Program

I wanted to focus on having a good time and get some time off from everyday life. Hence I prepared just a few small activities, while the rest of the evening was supposed to be enjoying food, beer and good company. Feel free to extend to your liking

1. After arriving, settling, and having a first beer, I gave a short introduction about the Zone and how she came to be:

   • A first explosion, leading to the exclusion zone as we know it. However, the reason was different to the actual disaster that we know.
   • A second explosion happened, which lead to anomalies and a mutating flora and fauna.
   • Emissions began to take place regularly
   • The military sealed off the Zone.
   • However, people entered the Zone nevertheless. They all had their individual reasons to do so, and over time, factions were formed.

   Just to give you an idea. Taken from https://stalker.fandom.com/wiki/The_Zone. Adapt and extend to your liking.

2. Let people go back to what they were up to. Have a drink. Set up a fire.
3. When you feel the time is right, play a recording that an emission is approaching and people have to hide. You can find in-game recordings on YouTube. Guide everyone to the same location, maybe a building nearby, or some shelter deeper in the forest. Luckily we have a deserted bunker where we meet, so I took everyone there.
4. Introduce everyone to the Monolith faction. They are as a quasi-cult, that worships the wish granter as their god. Where they take camp, they build radio receivers to get instruction from the wish granter. Check https://stalker.fandom.com/wiki/Monolith for reference. Add as much detail as you like. It really is a fascinating group, and much interesting stuff can be covered. At the end of this small introduction, I gave everyone a faction patch I ordered on Etsy.
5. By that time the emission should be over, and it’s safe to leave shelter. Either tell them so, or play another radio message that instructs them accordingly.
6. As the Monolith, it is time to build your own radio receiver (hence the introduction during the emission, so people know what you’re talking about). Being in the forest, they can use wood, maybe some beer cans you already emptied, bottles, or whatever is lying around.
7. Now you can either take another break, and enjoy the time, or directly continue with the next task.
8. Let everyone look for stashes that you hid before. Add as many as you like. I simply had 2, and in one of them I put a sausage and a small bottle of Vodka—the best breakfast you can get in the Zone. The other one had a GP5 gas mask (Etsy or Ebay is your friend) and a Nerf gun. Just so you know: there is an ongoing discussion whether the original filters of the mask contain asbestos. Leave the filter if you want to be sure.
   I simply put the things in two plastic bags and hid them in the forest, but you can definitely do better if you put in more effort.
9. When the stashes are found, everyone has to hit a target with the Nerf gun while wearing the gas mask. It can be as simple as hitting a beer bottle from some meters away. The Zone is no joke and you have to be prepared!
10. When the shooting is over, cut some sausage from the stash you just found, and pour a glass of Vodka. The best medicine against radiation. Let people know that they did a good job, and begin to cook Borscht on the fire.

And that was it. Obviously much more can be done, but this should give a nice idea to have a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.-themed day where you still have enough time just to sit and relax.

Items needed

Now that you know what you’re yourself getting into, here is the list of needed items:

• Ingredients for Borscht
• Gear to start a fire
• Monolith faction patches for everyone (optional)
• Knife and cord to build the radio antenna
• Content for stashes. Must have: Nerf gun. GP5 gas mask is optional, but it’s definitely more fun with it. Add some snacks and Vodka, if you like, and whatever you want people to find.
• A phone to play an emission warning