Having watched most of the more ambitious games, zombie apoc, and evo, and the like, all die off eventually. I sat in wait, watching and adapting a new version of Zombie Apocalypse, to counteract the effects that it tends to have on the GM. This is a test, nothing more, nothing less, but will persist if the effect is as it should be. Most of the changes are behind the scenes, and only affect how I do things, so much should not seem changed.
First off, there is no map. As you go along, you may want to draw-up a map for yourself, feel free. It may help you keep track of where you have been. Despite not having a map, you know you live on an island that is connected to the mainland by many bridges. At the bridges are military blockades, and past the bridges is the Wasteland. The Wasteland has no buildings, supplies or protection against zombies. Despite there being military blockades, the city is overrun with zombies, and zombies from the surrounding areas are constantly attempting to get to the city, giving you a fair idea that this is the only safe(ish) haven for a great distance.
Second off, the military is fractured at best. It no longer exists as one would normally assume it to be, and is mostly just trained military men, trying to defend the last bastion of humanity. That said, it is not difficult to be allowed to work with them, or even join them, but the benefits can be slim, if at all.
Third off, the extremely old have been killed off, and a good majority of the young have been to. That means that all playable survivors are between 18 and 50 years of age.
Fourth off, You are in it for yourself, your own personal survival is tantamount, though working with others can increase, or decrease those chances. This is reflected in that all people starting off as part of the military are AWOL, and all doctors have left their hospitals.
Fifth off, Zombies are shamblers. You can get infected by their blood, contacting your blood, through a wound or something similar. Unless you get a cut on your eye, your eyes cannot be an infection point. Infection takes 3-5 days to kill a healthy young adult, it shows outward symptoms at 2 days, and you know if you are infected yourself the moment it happens. Though the Zombies are Shamblers, there are tales of faster, stronger, larger zombies lurking in the Wastelands. Significant brain-damage will down a zombie, if you chop it up, only bits still connected to the brain in some way will function, decapitation leaves an inert body, and a still very much alive head.
Sixth off, a lot of this game is decidedly RANDOM, I have random-generation tables, and etc. They are for my own use, to make the entire process easier and more streamlined.
Seventh off, Medi-kits are not magical, nor are they unless, nor do they become exhausted after using one bandage. They have a numerical value, and more of that value is used up, treating more grievous wounds.
Eighth off, This game is going to be small at first, I’m looking for five players, MAX, and it is first-come-first serve. If you get in VERY first, and mess up your sheet, you are pushed back until an indeterminant amount of time after the last “correct” application., but before the second chronological botched sign-up. This WILL expand, and I WILL be accepting more players in as the game goes on. Don’t feel left out if you don’t get in right away.
This can, and will be edited as necessary for clarity or more information.
Character-Sheet:
Name:
Profile:
Special Choices Related to Profile: (If Applicable)
A Description of your character’s appearance:
Background: (unnecessary but you can write it up if you want to)
Profiles:
Doctor: You were a doctor before the outbreak, you have some medical skill, and medical kits.
Starts with:
Two Medikit (10)s
Scalpel (Melee Weapon, Short, Slashing)
One bag of Glucose (Food for two days)
Special Skill:
Calm Hands (Bonus to Medkit Usage, and ability to do delicate tasks, even under pressure)
Soldier: You were a member of the army before the outbreak, you went AWOL after the formal military disbanded, and are now in it for yourself.
Starts with:
Pistol
20 Bullets
1 MRE (Food for two days)
Special Skill:
Weapon Training (More accurate with melee weapons, Retain all shooting ability even under pressure.)
Civilian: You might have been a gamer, scientist, firefighter, or anything else, but that does not matter anymore because Zombies have invaded.
Starts With:
Nothing
Special Skill: (pick any one skill from the list)
Special Choice: You get a bonus for starting location. Choose from Residential, Industrial, or Commercial as your starting zone. You start out in your chosen area, at a location one-rank-higher than what the dice roll.
Skill List:
Calm Hands (Bonus to Medkit Usage, and ability to do delicate tasks, even under pressure)
Weapon Training (More accurate with melee weapons, Retain all shooting ability even under pressure.)
Gun Smith (Ability to use the facilities within a gun-shop to create ammunition and projectile weapons)
Scavenger (Get extra chances to find things upon searching a new location. Works once per location, Grants the ability to search Scrap and Junk for parts.)
Electronics (Ability to work with computers, closed circuit security systems and the like. Hacking of said systems included.)
Fast (You tend to do things speedily, and have more agility than others.)
Hardy (You can survive longer without food or water, and are more resistant to damage.)
The list can and will be added and subtracted to at any time. You won’t lose a skill if you have one, but… yeah…
Current Sign-Ups, sorted chronologically:
Currently In: Sign-Ups:
Boogerman Strife26 (Needs Revision)
Jay Kayell Little (Needs Revision)
Pandarsenic Dwarfaholic (Needs Revision)
Inaluct
Zako
Name: Alexis Hayakawa
Profile: Civilian
Special Choices Related to Profile: (If Applicable)
Appearance: Japanese, medium height, long black straight hair, blue eyes. not particularly muscular. Black trenchcoat, black jeans, white t-shirt undeneath. wears sunglasses:
http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/upimg0%5CMP3-sunglasses_78640.jpg (http://www.sz-wholesale.com/uploadFiles/upimg0%5CMP3-sunglasses_78640.jpg)
Location: Residential
Background: A child prodigy, Alexis came to the city at 12, to attend the university there. He studied Computing for 3 years, and spent the next four (making him 19), working as a freelance coder.
Skill: Electronics
yes this is my first post, because i signed up to the forums after reading Leo's ZA, to play this...
Really, though, Twiggz, if I suddenly changed my character to this:
Name: Jennifer "Deathbringer" Stadtham (I love my phonebook)
Profile: Civilian (Twitch Gamer)
A Description of your character’s appearance: White, unusually short and thin. Brown hair, one red eye, one scintillating rainbow eye. Fast, jerky movements. He wears a black trenchcoat and carries a high powered sniper rifle with a laser attachment that can activate and function as a small laser cannon.
Background: Jeff won his first Major League Gaming event at age 8, and went on to beat Halo on Legendary without being damaged once. His fingers moved so fast that he had to replace his controller six times in total. The government recently approached him and asked to design the reflex system of an experimental power armor combat system on his reflexes, because he was so incredibly fast. Skill: Fast.
Starting Zone: Commercial
You'd think it was stupid, right? I mean, my character's white, and white people usually don't have one red eye and one rainbow eye, the same way Japanese people don't usually have blue eyes.
In fact, as far as I know, Japanese people never have blue eyes, unless they have a form of albinism. Why would you even want blue eyes, anyway? Do you have anything against black or brown?
And really, why would he wear a trenchcoat? Does he want zombies to grab at it and drag him into a crowd? What about those hideous sun glasses? Why does he have to be a child prodigy?
It seems like you're trying to make a character that's incorrigibly awesome or something. That isn't really what this is about. I mean, I'd like your character if you added that he had ocular albinism and his glasses were prescription, and he was socially inept or something (hence the trenchcoat), because that way he'd be believable and likable. He just seems too idealized at this point, but you could definitely make him into a really good character.
If you make it a believable character, I'll let you go into the game first, before I do.
By the way, Tuv, is this going to be a semirealistic thing where characters can get killed, or where the same 5-8 guys spend 100 pages of forum without dying?
ok then, if its alright with everyone, i'd like to change what i had before to
Name: Alex
Profile: Civilian
Location: Residential
A Description of your character’s appearance: Half Japanese, Half South African, Alex has a crooked nose, and is partially blind in one eye - needs glasses. He is 21.
Background: Alex lived in South Africa while he was young, but was bullied at school because of appearance. He spent more time at home to escape this, safe in the knowledge that he wouldnt be bullied because of his looks online. However, when he was 15, he had his nose broken, and his eye damaged, by a mob of neo-nats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Party_(South_Africa)). Following this, his parents fled the country with him, fearful of more violence. Since then, he has lived here, never quite overcoming his introversion.
Skill: Electronics
hope thats better :p
Game Start
Boogerman:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You are in a Hardware store, You can't hear anything.
Jay Kayell:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You have ducked into a factory for safety. You can hear gentle moaning from outside.
Zako:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You are in a room in an apartment complex. You hear the occasional soft-groan of a zombie outside.
Pandarsenic:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You are sitting in an apartment that you ran to. It is eerily quiet here.
Inaluct:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You have ducked into an abandoned Corner-Store. You hear a faint moaning from inside.
Boogerman:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
The Hardware store seems to be mostly looted. Upon searching you find a Nail-Gun w/ Battery and 20 nails. The building appears to be two-stories tall, there is running tap water, and offices on the second floor. The second floor has no direct access from the outside. There is a pile of lumber outside the Hardware Store.
Jay Kayell:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You search the factory. Why you expected to find guns in a pillow factory you cannot fathom, but you search nonetheless and find a length of pipe, and a few feet of wire. The groaning from outside gets louder.
Zako:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
There is not much in the apartment, the family must have picked up and left when the outbreak started. There is running tap water, and the door out leads to a long thin hallway that leads to the outside. The groaning does not get any closer, but does become more frequent.
Pandarsenic:Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You find a cheap bottle of whiskey, but not much else. There is no running water in this apartment, and no zombies in any of the rooms. It is still eerily quiet.
Inaluct:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
The store is abandoned, totally looted, and in a state of disrepair. There is a large hole in one of the exterior walls, and a piece of loose and jutting rebar that you grab to use as a weapon. The groaning and scuffling is coming from behind a door at the back of the store.
To Everyone: When you eventually have to move to some other location from where you are, please indicate the direction you are going, North, South, East, West.
@Zako: Yes, Food and Water are implemented, why else would they be in the statuses? You need food and water each day, or you incur penalties, too many penalties and you starve/dehydrate.
Turn 2
Boogerman:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You walk east, and come to a block of housing. One of the buildings appears to be on fire, another is totally destroyed.
Jay Kayell:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
As you fiddle around for a moment, you hear another groan, and another. They are clearly multiplying in number. You search the Factory again, in the hopes that in a moment of delusion you missed something, but the search turns up naught.
Zako:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
The only exist from this apartment seem to be the windows, at 3 stories up, or the front door. You notice the decided lack of fire-escapes, and wonder what the building's designer was smoking when he wrote up the plans.
Pandarsenic:Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You pick up the whiskey bottle, spin it around and stash it in your belt, "Just Because" you try and search again to look for anything you missed during a bout of momentary insanity, but find nothing.
Inaluct:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
It sounds as though there is only one zombie behind the door, turn the handle and push against it, finding it hard to move. You push harder and peek in the room. Apparently, someone managed to FILL the room with zombies, so many in fact, that they can barely move. You quickly close the door again, but too late, they have started a chorus of horrific groans. You walk away, very quickly, and through the hole, but your aren't sure which direction you want to go.
Boogerman:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You walk North. You see a large warehouse, the lights inside are off, and the front double-doors are closed.
Jay Kayell:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You travel to the south. You see a corner-store, the lights are off inside, and the front door is closed. It seems to have been ransacked at some point.
Zako:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You open the door, and go downstairs. You are now at the front door of the building, looking out into the street. You see no zombies, cars, or debris.
Pandarsenic:Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You head to the west. You see a clothing store, the lights are on inside, and the doors are closed. There do not seem to be any zombies around.
Inaluct:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You move to the south, and come across a Trailer Park. It is surrounded by barbed wire, and there are some dead zombies strewn about. How there is a Trailer Park in a city you cannot fathom, but here it is.
Now accepting a 6th member. One of the three people on the waiting list can correct their character sheet, or new people may apply.
Turn 3
Boogerman:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
The doors are open, and you walk inside. It is dark in here, and you stumble around a bit. You find a hanging electric switch, flip it, and the place lights up. There are boxes stacked in every direction. They tower to the ceiling. Some of them fall down in a corner.
Jay Kayell:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You enter the store, it was apparently a liquor store at some point, but is somewhat... abandoned now. There are empty glass bottles everywhere, and two closed doorways, one seems like it leads to the second floor, and the other seems to lead to the basement.
Zako:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You aren't exactly sure which direction to go, seeing as how this IS your life at stake. Although you do an amazing job avoiding the zombies that aren't there.
Pandarsenic:Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
You enter the clothing store, it appears to be a women's clothing store, which is strange because all the clothes are still here. There is a "Big and Tall" section, which also doesn't make much sense in a women's clothing store, but you find some cargo pants, and a leather jacket that might fit. You hear something crash from further back in the building.
Inaluct:
Health: llllllllll
Fatigue: llllllllll
Had Food Today? Yes
Had Water Today? Yes
The barbed wire surrounds the trailer park, you could probably climb over it, it is not very thick or high, but don't want to risk catching yourself on one of those spikes. You walk north and come across a water-treatment facility. It is surrounded by chain-link fence, there is a zombie nearby. It does not seem to notice you, but does wander in your direction.
Little, it is still incorrect.
Dwarfaholic, if someone ahead of you doesn't fix theirs up by the next update, you are officially in.