Post-apocalyptic roleplay with an AI that tracks scarcity

The apocalypse is mostly bookkeeping: how much water, how many bullets, who can be trusted. A narrator that forgets your supplies has no tension to work with.

A photograph that sets the mood for post apocalyptic roleplay — Photo by Romeo Varga on Unsplash

What the genre needs

Post-apocalyptic fiction is about what people do when the rules go. The model has to keep scarcity real, so supplies run out and choices cost something, and it has to write the hard scenes: abandoning a wounded companion, raiders who are cruel because cruelty works, communities that make ugly bargains to survive. Equally it needs quiet: a found can of peaches, a working radio. Those moments only mean something if the rest is harsh.

Where filtered models break the world

Mainstream models want the group to survive and get along. They let you find exactly what you need, write raiders as cartoon thugs who flee at the first shot, and refuse or soften scenes of mercy killing, starvation or violence against survivors. They also forget resources, because inventory feels like a detail to a model trained on conversation. The result is a camping trip with set dressing.

Making scarcity stick

Keep a supply block in the author's note. Water, food, ammo, medicine, fuel as numbers. Update it each in-game day, or ask the narrator to output an updated block at the end of each day.
Define what is gone. No antibiotics, no fuel refining, no radio network. Hard limits give the model something to work against.
Give factions a resource they control. The town with the well, the gang with the fuel depot. Conflict follows supply.
Tell the model scavenging usually fails. Most buildings are picked clean. A rare find then means something.

Sample narrator prompt

Narrate a post-apocalyptic survival story, eight years after the collapse.
Resources are scarce and tracked in the SUPPLIES block. Never let supplies appear
without a reason. Most scavenging finds little.
Other survivors act on self-interest. Violence is sudden and has lasting injuries.
Hard choices are not softened, and nobody is saved by luck at the last second.
Small moments of comfort are allowed and should feel earned.
At the end of each in-game day, print an updated SUPPLIES block.

Samplers and model choice

Temperature 0.8. The narrator needs to do arithmetic with your supplies.
Min-p 0.08.
Repetition penalty 1.03; the supply block repeats by design and a high penalty will mangle it.

outlaw-1 handles day-to-day survival well and keeps costs low across a long run. If you want strict resource accounting, where the model reasons about rationing and travel distances, glm-5.3-outlaw is more reliable with numbers. Prices for both are on the pricing page; you top up as you go with no subscription.

Failure modes and fixes

Infinite ammo. Ask for the supply block every day and correct it when the model drifts.
Raiders are pushovers. Describe them as organized, experienced and desperate.
Everyone becomes friends. Give NPCs needs that conflict with the player's.
The story never rests. Ask for a calm scene after every major fight. Survival stories need room to breathe.

FAQ

How do I make the AI track inventory?

Keep a numeric supplies block in the author's note or have the narrator print one at the end of each in-game day. Lower temperature to around 0.8 and keep repetition penalty low so the block is not mangled.

Will the model write mercy killings or raider violence?

Uncensored models will write violence and hard choices between adult characters in fiction. You can set how graphic it gets in the system prompt.

Which model handles survival math best?

GLM 5.3 Outlaw is the strongest at numbers and reasoning on the line. Outlaw 1 is the cheaper default and is fine if you keep the supply block updated yourself.