Probably Stolen Rock Bottom Challenge and Every Starting Scenario

Quick answer

Rock Bottom is a starting scenario, and Hard Mode is a separate switch on the new-game screen. Rock Bottom gives you nothing but the store; Hard Mode is a setting you turn on or off on the same screen, apart from the scenario. When players talk about the Rock Bottom challenge, they usually mean both at once.

The demo's files describe 13 starting scenarios, and the demo lets you play four of them: Apprentice, Rat Wrangler, Water Merchant and Rock Bottom. The table is read from the demo build named under the title and switches to the full game's files when Probably Stolen launches on October 28, 2026.

Rock Bottom, Hard Mode and the challenge

Rock Bottom's description in the game reads: "The Mentor didn't help you with anything aside from negotiating your lease with the Landlord. You have nothing but the Store, and a will to survive." Its starting equipment is listed as "None.", and the start screen labels it Extreme Challenge Mode. The patch notes that added it on August 6, 2026 call it a "hardcore start with nothing", and a September 9, 2026 Steam announcement calls it "the Hard Mode 'Rock Bottom' starting scenario".

Hard Mode itself is a different thing: a switch on the new-game screen, next to the Endless Mode switch, that you set separately from the scenario you pick. This page covers the scenarios, not what the Hard Mode switch changes.

The Rock Bottom challenge is how players describe a run that stacks the two: Rock Bottom with Hard Mode on, often with negative starting perks and house rules such as not reporting criminals or not using machines. That is how runs are described in player posts on Reddit and Discord and in YouTube videos from August to October 2026. The closest thing the game itself has is the Extreme Challenge Mode label on Rock Bottom.

The name also goes back to the Playtest. On August 6, 2026, the official Discord promised to add Rock Bottom once a player reached day 200; players reached it, and Rock Bottom arrived in the Playtest the same day.

All starting scenarios

Each scenario name links to its own row, so you can share it. Search by name when JavaScript is on.

In-game art © Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild.

All starting scenarios site-grouped

Scenario IN-GAME TEXT	Specialty IN-GAME TEXT	Starting equipment IN-GAME TEXT	Start-screen label DATA-MINED	In the demo DATA-MINED	Guide
Apprentice	During your training with The Mentor, no particular specialization piqued your interest. Instead, you spent more time optimising your operation, resulting in less money spent setting up the store.	Increased starting Credit count; Additional equipment (Storage Bay); Start with a stock of Household Goods and Food	Recommended For New Players	Playable
Rat Wrangler	To the Mentor's annoyance, you developed a great passion for animal ranching. Rats, more specifically. You've learned the basics of raising rats for meat.	Animal Cage; Rats; Food		Playable	Rats
Water Merchant	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in learning about the Water trade. Clean water is a scarce resource on the station and there is money to be made by those with their hands on the tap.	Water Trading Manual; Water Testing and Purification Equipment; Additional storage (Water Containers)		Playable	Water
Junker	Before The Mentor found you, you were a scavenger, poor but with solid reputation. Despite your training, you never forgot your past, and have even repurposed your old equipment for your new occupation.	Scavenger's Gear and Tools; Increased starting reputation (Scavengers); Additional equipment (Furnace)		Locked in the demo
Fence	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in contraband. You're an established black marketeer, and have even installed a hidden storage compartment in your store to avoid the prying of the station's security.	Additional equipment (Smuggler's Bay); Start with a stock of Contraband; Increased starting reputation (Black Market); Decreased starting reputation (Security); Immediate access to the Janitor Underground Exchange; Increased starting rent		Locked in the demo
Hydroponic Farmer	During your training with The Mentor, you refined your knowledge of hydroponic farming, an efficient way to grow crops in the limited space available on the station. With your expertise, you can help feed the lower levels while making a handy profit.	Hydroponic Farming Manual; Additional equipment (Hydroponic Systems); Start with a stock of Farming Supplies and Seeds; Increased starting rent	Advanced Start	Locked in the demo
Gunsmith	During your training with The Mentor, you developed an enthusiasm for firearms and munitions. You learned how to modify weapons, from handmade sidearms to powerful machine guns. With a license in hand, you now fulfill custom orders and earn a steady income arming the residents of the station.	Class 1 Weapon Permit; Start with a stock of Firearms and Gun Mods; Start with a stock of Ammunition	Advanced Start	Locked in the demo
Chemist	During your training with The Mentor, you acquired a nose for narcotics. You are an expert in the illegal, addictive and lucrative trade of controlled substances. You're not bad in the lab, either, should supply run low.	Chemistry Manual; Chemistry Lab Equipment	Advanced Start	Locked in the demo
Organ Dealer	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a grim fascination in the trade of human organs. Certified, ethically sourced organs are legal to trade... but there is more money to be made in illicit stock harvested from living patients.	Organ Trading Manual; Additional equipment (Organ Storage Container); Blood Transfusion Set		Shown as "In Development"
Rock Bottom	The Mentor didn't help you with anything aside from negotiating your lease with the Landlord. You have nothing but the Store, and a will to survive.	None.	Extreme Challenge Mode	Playable
Street Food Vendor	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a passion for cooking and street food. You know how to prepare quick, flavorful meals that cater to the busy residents of the lower levels. Operating a street food stall is a popular and flexible way to make a living, and with the right ingredients, you can turn a tidy profit.	Cooking Manual; Additional equipment (Stove); Start with a stock of Ingredients		Shown as "In Development"
Moonshiner	During your training with The Mentor, you developed a taste for moonshine. You know how to trade, appraise and even brew your own liquor. Moonshine is popular in the Lower Levels due to its low cost, but it is also unregulated and illegal.	Moonshine Trading Manual; Moonshine Brewing Starter Kit		Not on the start screen
Pharmacist	During your training with The Mentor, you took a particular interest in over-the-counter medicines. You learned about the basics of running a pharmacy, helping sick customers and synthesizing drugs.	Drug Trading Manual; First Aid Manual; Start with a stock of Medical Supplies		Not on the start screen

Choosing a start

The start screen gives three kinds of hint. It labels the Apprentice Recommended For New Players; the Hydroponic Farmer, Gunsmith and Chemist Advanced Start; and Rock Bottom Extreme Challenge Mode. The other scenarios carry no label. On your first run, if you pick any start other than the Apprentice, the game asks you to confirm and says the Apprentice is highly recommended for new players.

The Apprentice's own description explains the pick: no single specialty, and less money spent setting up the store. Its equipment is more starting credits, a Storage Bay and a stock of household goods and food. We don't rank the other starts; each row shows what the game says it gives you.

The secret scenario players asked about during the Playtest is the Rat Wrangler. When the Playtest opened on August 3, 2026, the developers said a secret scenario was hidden in the starting selection menu, and an update on August 7 made the Rat Wrangler visible alongside the other starts. It begins with an Animal Cage, rats and food; our guide to getting your first rats covers what to do next.

The Water Merchant starts with the Water Trading Manual, water testing and purification equipment and extra storage for water containers; our water guide covers getting and cleaning water. Starting scenarios are separate from the starting perks you choose for a new game, which are in our Probably Stolen perks table.

In the demo and at launch

The In the demo column sorts the 13 scenarios four ways, from the demo's start screen and code:

Playable: Apprentice, Rat Wrangler, Water Merchant and Rock Bottom.

Locked in the demo: Junker, Fence, Hydroponic Farmer, Gunsmith and Chemist. Their buttons are on the start screen, but the game shows Unavailable In Demo Version.

Shown as "In Development": Organ Dealer and Street Food Vendor. The start screen lists them with that text, and the start button stays off.

Not on the start screen: Moonshiner and Pharmacist. The game files describe them, but the start screen has no button for them.

The Water Merchant is the demo's new start; the Apprentice, Rock Bottom and Rat Wrangler came from the August 2026 Playtest. What else the demo includes is on our demo page.

For the full game, the developer said in the official Discord on February 12, 2026 that the Organ Trader (the Organ Dealer in the game) and Street Food Vendor starting scenarios would be developed after 1.0; the demo files still describe both. At launch the table switches to the full game's files, so it will show the scenarios the launch build has.

How to read the table

Names are the game's own English names; the Steam store page calls one start "farmer", and in the game it is the Hydroponic Farmer. Specialty is the game's description of each start, word for word. Starting equipment is the list the game shows, also word for word, joined with semicolons; it describes the kit, so it has no amounts, prices or credit figures.

Start-screen label and In the demo are read from the game code of the build named under the title, not from screenshots. The four In the demo groups use our wording, except "In Development", which is the game's own text.

Rows follow the order of the demo's start screen, from Apprentice to Street Food Vendor. Moonshiner and Pharmacist come last because the start screen doesn't show them, and they are the two rows without an icon. Guide links to our guide for that trade where we have one: the Water Merchant to the water guide and the Rat Wrangler to the rats guide.