Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

A brief recap of the rules for this generation:

And here we are, back in the torture chamber that is the Stone Age. I go to load up the game.. and again cringe at the masses of kids. Then I cheer myself on. I got this. You’ll see. *wink*

Also, as soon as I load in – Paku is out taking a shower in the thunderstorm.. and the lady right next to him gets hit by lightning. Yet another close call! Time to get back inside!

The storm ends – so we send Paku and Utali out to make more babies. We hope. Maybe they’ll even be twins so I can get a full house and not have to worry about pregnant sims for a while.

.. And the storm starts right back up, while poor Ryorg was trying to get a waterfall shower. He runs for home.

.. And then proceeds to invent a teapot. What a good boy! LOL.

Oops. I forgot to watch Paku’s stats. Man down!

Apparently that Try for Baby was successful, by the way.

I pronounce this like Skjor, by the way. mostly silent j. He’s apparently not that ruthless, because he rolled “silly”. He’s also currently my choice for heir – unless I can’t get the goals done on time, but I *think* I have time.

And here’s our potential heir. What a sweetie.

Turns out that creepy crawlies does, in fact, hit the kids too. Darn. I was hoping they were immune.

It’s finally time. That jumble of wood there is going to be a bathtub. Eventually. I think.

There’s one twin.. Loves art? What? paintings on cave walls? Hm. *thinking*

And that’s two. Just what I needed. An evil kid in the house. Sigh. However, of note: both twins somehow got Happy Toddler, even though I *didn’t* get happy toddler on one of the twins in my modern-day Drifter yesterday. How does that work?

And here’s the twins after their Stone Age makeovers. They’re pretty cute!

This is only funny, because poor Utali is so very far away from her next birthday. And it’s not going to get much closer if we don’t start chilling out with the pregnancies!

Ta-da!! We have a bathtub. And he even managed to make the “poor” version that looks more ancient than the regular one. Nicely done, Paku.

Skyor is adorable. How can anything that cute be “the Ruthless”?

“AHHH! Pixelated Bats!!” At least, it said they were supposed to be bats. Looks like smudges to me.

Skyor playing with Dad. Wonder what they’re making?

Um… a tribal gnome? Dunno.. but Skyor immediately starts Monster Stomping it.

I have Paku join in, and he does so with a huge roar. It was hilarious.

When I took this, I thought for some reason it was Ryorg out there fishing.. but nope, it’s not. It’s Yusu.

Working on that Parenting skill. It’s getting there – slowly.

A hug for Yusu, because he got scared of the monster under the bed.

Yet another thunderstorm. With two lightning strikes in view. Scary stuff!

Boy, when it’s storming, that bush looks awfully far away, doesn’t it, Utali?! Spoiler: She makes it there and back.

Utali rejoices that she doesn’t have to forego baths just because she’s too pregnant to make it to the waterfall.

While the kids are holding a pow-wow about the state of the stinky bushes. At least, I think that’s what they’re complaining about. Baby Cowplant looks on passively.

I happily think everyone is safe inside when we get yet another storm.. only to find out our heir has wandered off and is in danger!! Hurry home, little man!

The older kids are all playing in their room – safe.

The storm ends again, and the cowplant is grown up and needs food. So Utali goes to feed it, while Paku completely ignores her.

Later that night… (At least he bothered to parental panic more or less correctly this time.)

Lol.. I’m running out of descriptor ideas….

Skyor gets his first bath. Paku keeps working towards maxing handiness and that toilet they really need. I mean, two bushes just isn’t cutting it anymore with this many sims in the house. Er. Hut.

Daphne is screaming – but we must make more babies, since she wasn’t a twin…. sorry kiddo.

When baby pops sometime the next day, we watch to see what Paku’s reaction is. I expect him to be upset. I mean – I would be…

But – he’s not. He’s thrilled. Okay then.

Oops. She didn’t make it to the bush. Poor Utali. But I laughed so hard at this face.

Some evil sim – here she is, happily playing with her little brother. (I mean, she does get joy in people being miserable, but still.. she is playing with her toddler bro..)

Umm… Utali is poisoned. From a spider bite. It’s at this moment I realize that the Creepy Crawlies Lot Trait is actually physically dangerous – because there’s no antidotes in the Stone Age. We’ll just have to see if she makes it.

I am really not sure why Arjuna is freaking out at the monster – she already made friends with it….

Just because of her name, we fudge the roll (it’s not exactly in the rules, anyway) and give her Angelic.

And she is angelic – at least in looks! What a darling.

I wait to stop the play session until I know Utali will be okay. Because I was actually worried we were going to have to start over the generation from losing her. See you next time!

Chapter 1.2 | Chapter 1.4

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3

A brief recap of the rules for this generation:

And off we go again. I immediately cringe upon loading the save.. because .. yeah. Three kids. All stuffed into one tiny one room hut. Yikes. Well, here goes nothing.

Run far away, Paku! Get your fishing skill up! Actually, this picture was taken because he maxed fishing.. and got the Angling Ace aspiration all in one fell swoop. That was easy…

Gardening.. is definitely not doing so well. It’s hard to skill up when there’s so many kids always crying!

Omg. I love this kid. He is SOOO cute! Look at that grin!!

Okay. I absolutely had enough of toddlers and their hygiene need. A pool is NOT cutting it – we need that woodworking bathtub. So, I give in and buy a handiness bench. I mean, he’s finished his goals, and his only purpose now is to be around to make babies, right? LOL. That sounds horrible .. don’t judge me too harshly!

He’s outside having fun.. while Utali .. is not having so much fun. Gotta get that Parenting skill up. She’s miserable, though.

Ack! Adorable Ryorg alert! Why do I not use these pools more often?

The twins age up. Arjuna gets Charmer, Yusu gets Angelic. And they’re both way too cute.

See? Yusu loves his triceratops toy.

And Arjuna decides to play inside so we can’t see her very well.. but she’s got a pony toy. (Just for reference, Ryorg’s toy is a butterfly.)

Toddler conference. They both agree the state of the hygiene around here is miserable.

Yikes. That’s a busy hut. And it’s more than a little bit of a disaster, too. Juggling everything in the Stone Age is really quite a challenge!

… Ooops. Paku got hit by lightning while trying to take a shower. We race him inside.. and for lack of anything else to DO inside, I send everyone to bed.

The storm goes away before Utali gets to take her outdoor shower, so she has to run all the way to the waterfall. Poor girl. Although, it’s probably a relief to get away from the hut for a change.

Teaching Ryorg to talk. He’s kinda slacking on his Communication skill, but seems to still be on track to get Happy Toddler.

Dunno how Paku can sleep through all that noise behind him, though. Must be an acquired talent.

When he wakes up, everyone else is asleep, so he takes advantage of the quiet and works on his handiness. I wish gardening was this easy to level…

No wonder she looks overwhelmed. Oh, and did I mention? We’re expecting again. So there’s that, too.

Haha. She looks so loopy in this picture. It’s a good thing sims can’t change traits, or one of hers would be “erratic” by now! That’s the back of a stinky Arjuna, by the way.

Finally! He’s sad about no cake, but he gets Happy Toddler and a decent trait. I’ve already decided he will NOT be the heir.. we have too much still to do.

Ryorg’s first task.. run for a shower. He *really really* needed one. Notice I prioritized shower over Stone Age clothing makeover. LoL. He’s wearing swim trunks.

After a short break – this family can be so stressful sometimes – I decide that there’s no way I’m going to fit a kid’s bed in this tiny hut.. so I expand. This is the new hut.. and they actually have things to do when there’s a lightning storm outside, now. So that’s a huge bonus!

Oooops. Man down! Poor Paku has been burning the candle at both ends .. getting up early and staying up late. But handiness is improving. Not there yet, but definitely improving.

Oh, man. I forgot about the monsters that not having lights will cause. … This is going to be a long challenge. *Laughs wryly*

Hey! You! No roasting marshmallows! They didn’t exist then!

NOW look what you did. (That’s talent, throwing fire from the campfire 20 feet away to the “end table”..) But of course, the firemen are autocalled, and they can’t reach the fire.. so I have to watch the whole family panick for ten minutes straight while the fire burns itself out. Fun.

Fortunately, a heavy rain shower comes by so Utali doesn’t have to waddle all the way to the waterfall. When she’s pregnant, it doesn’t do any good, because she pees herself by the time she gets there and/or home again, so it’s a waste of time. She just stays stinky – like the toddlers.

Gotta say – single most annoying part of this save – the Creepy Crawlies lot trait. At least it doesn’t affect the toddlers (don’t know about the kids yet..)

“Sorry, hun.. I’ll have to panick later. I gotta pee.” (I laughed way too hard at this screenshot.)

Shhh!! The baby’s sleeping! (Trying for Baby yet again… this time more because we need more kids than needing fun.. but hey, whatever works, right?)

Hedging our bets that we can complete a shower before she gets hit by lightning. Spoiler: she makes it.

.. But see that gem in front of the torches?? It was darn close to not making it…

And on this note… time to break off this post. The new baby was a single boy, by the way. He’s named Skyor the Ruthless, and – in my mind – is in the running to be heir. Provided I can get goals done. We’re at level 8 gardening, Paku JUST finally caught a Cowplant seed, and we still need evolved plants. I don’t know why I have so many problems with getting plant quality up since seasons – but I should get it in the springtime. (It just turned winter). Only other thing we need is Parenting at level 10, but that’s also coming along. Halfway through level 7 now. So – not bad. Just need more kids to practice on?? LOL.

Chapter 1.1 | Chapter 1.3

Welcome/Links | Rules | Chapter 1.2

Before I go any farther, I need to introduce our founders:

They are simply housemates at this point. However, that will change.

Anyway: a little bit about this challenge. It’s a modification of the “Through the Ages” challenge by erica180 (linked on the welcome page above). I will be posting the full rules as I get them completely ready, but for today, I’m just posting the first few generations (linked above). The others are in process, but I don’t feel they’re 100% ready to publish yet. Anyway, before I get going, here’s the goals/rules for generation 1:

With all that being said.. I sat down to get to playing. When I started this challenge, I downloaded a neat looking lot, and plopped my new Stone Age sims onto it… never knowing that I had just stepped into a virtual minefield.

To be fair, though, how would I have known that when things started out so normally. A little planting for our garden…

… And Paku starts his “career” as a fisherman. He quickly catches a cowplant berry – which I regret losing. You’ll see why in a moment.

Here’s where things started going horribly wrong. First Utali catches herself on fire…. okay. No worries, she’s just a little singed.

Then, she catches the entire firepit.. on fire. And not just once. As soon as this fire is out, I try to cook again. Only to have the other end table sitting there catch fire and burn to a crisp.

At this point, I’m thoroughly frustrated, and they’re starving and filthy. You can see the evidence of the fires on the ground behind their new stump-chairs.

I send Utali to go clean up, because she needs it…

And have Paku make dinner. Which instantly sets himself, and the campsite on fire.. again. On top of these fires.. they keep having routing failures.. or simply happily clipping their way through oversized rocks. I’ve had enough. I had a save from before I started playing, and I deleted this save and went back to that one. An hour later, calmed down, and with a new, plain ol’ hut I built for them – we get back to playing.

The first thing we do.. is get Utali planting again.

… While Paku.. you guessed it… goes fishing. Spoiler: he doesn’t get a cowplant berry. This time, or the next.. or the next… you get my point.

Originally, I was using the “original” rules, which required one of my sims to learn Wellness. Which made no sense, but I started in on the yoga anyway. Before long, I change up the rules… and no more yoga for prehistoric sims. I delete the Wellness stuff.

Utali cooks a nice…. SAFE… meal. And look, ma, no fires!

They stand around eating it – because – no tables. Stone age. And I’m somehow determined to try to do this without using handiness as a skill. (I wouldn’t recommend it..)

And here’s where the REAL fun starts. Trying for the first nooboo. They get pregnant pretty much right away, although, with no pregnancy tests, I have to wait to find out.

The next few days pass by peacefully. No fires, no mishaps.. and nothing fun to take pictures of, either. I need toddlers, darn-it-all!

Okay.. so a baby will work. Or at least, an incoming one. Ryorg the Wild Child is born. And is, as usual for sims 4.. pretty much a blob stuck in a bassinet. Exciting.

… More exciting.. there’s another nooboo on the way! Paku seems a little worried.

Ryorg ages himself up.. because somehow I completely missed his birthday notice. It’s not the first “forgotten birthday” he’ll have – without ovens, we can’t bake a cake.. so we’ll be waiting for birthdays.

Ryorg playing with blocks with a very pregnant Utali watching over him. Has anyone else noticed that parents no longer actually keep watching?! Oh my gosh, it’s so annoying to me!

This is when I find out that this kiddie pool… does next to nothing for hygiene rating. But I’m still determined to tough it out.

I know THAT face. Nooboo incoming!

… Er…. make that two nooboos. Welcome Arjuna the Quiet (spoiler: she may have been named wrong… ) and her little brother, Yusu the Stoic. I wasn’t expecting twins.. and in complete consternation, I decide this is a good place to take yet another break from these guys. Instead, I go work on the rules some more. And the four generations I originally added… turns into far more. *face in hands* .. Well, if you’re going to do something, I suppose you should do it right, huh?

Welcome/Links | Rules | Chapter 1.2

So, I made the mistake of getting bored and reading a link someone else posted to another challenge I was working on – and I was immediately intrigued. The more I read on the “Through the Ages” challenge by ericanoelle (https://ericanoelle.tumblr.com/post/188701427438), the more hooked I got, and the more I wanted to update things a little and make the challenge my own. I eventually branched off and made my own rules for the challenge, and gave it a new name. Originally I called it “Exploring History Challenge”, and a lot of people were confusing it with the actual “History Challenge” – which I assure you, is a completely different thing. I didn’t 100% know whether this playthrough was going to be be story or commentary, and I wasn’t sure I’d know from one generation to the next, either. I was just playing for fun (and to test out my rules adaptation), and going to go with whatever mood struck me at the time. I did decide to blog it, though, so that’s where this page comes in.

This particular playthrough of the challenge was abandoned when I started streaming on Twitch, and I decided testing out my new “Timeline Adventure Challenge” (what I finally renamed the challenge to) rules was the first Sims save I played live on Twitch. The rules have been changed fairly extensively since this original Plumbob playthrough, but this particular challenge attempt holds the distinction of having some of the strangest sim genetics of any of my challenges.