Current Status: Read Turn 3: Part A, Part B and submit your actions!Hi everyone, welcome to "Good Samaritan" a cooperative, multiplayer, 10 turn game. It's finite and the key structural elements have been planned out, so with enough player interest, it should run to completion. Pacing's set at roughly 1 turn per day - so that it won't stretch into exam season or the holidays.
Turns thus far:The premise: There are zombies everywhere! But there is hope: every night at midnight, a helicopter will arrive at the rooftop helipad of your local hospital to evacuate any survivors. As a band of brave heroes, you have decided to attract as many survivors as possible to the evacuation site until the last helicopter arrives on the 10th day, taking you with it. You must think creatively and act responsibly to alert the local citizenry to the hospital. For example, make noise or turn on lights: but watch out, if the citizens can see or hear your signal, the zombies probably can too.
Your goal & scoring: - Attract as many citizens as you can and then...
- Evacuate as many citizens as you can: Your team gains 20 points for each survivor that is makes it to the rooftop helipad and remains alive until midnight.
- The team loses 10 points for each citizen that arrives at the hospital, but fail to survive until midnight.
- You the player gains +10 points for each humane action that you perform. (Player score is separate from team score)
- You the player gains +10 points for each citizen that arrives at the hospital due to your efforts (Player score is separate from team score)
- You the player may also receive +?? number of points (and achievements) for ridiculous acts of pure daring and heroism! These points are awarded either by nomination or at my discretion.
- Once tallied up, both player and team scores are multiplied by the number of players remaining!
1- Each turn is divided into night and day.
2a- New citizens arrive before the start of each turn: they will automatically make their way to the rooftop.
2b- You may enlist NPCs to help you in your cause: but as they are not awesome heroes like you, let's just say that their effectiveness may be...limited.
3a- The helicopter arrives at the end of each turn (at midnight): and any citizens on the rooftop will be evacuated. Any citizens busy helping you - and not on the rooftop, will of course have to wait until the next night.
3b- The helicopter will not arrive if the helipad lights are off: you may turn off the lights if you wish to decrease the number of zombies arriving for the next day.
4a- Every 2 turns (day night, day night), you must dedicate a half-day to sleeping. You may select any floor to sleep on, rooftop helipad notwithstanding. For the sake of game mechanics, while sleeping, you are considered unconscious and cannot move or be woken up. You can be carried to a different floor however, but it must be done so by another player (and it will use up one of their half-turns).
4b - If you choose not to sleep, appropriate and random penalties will apply: most likely at a bad time. My advice? Sleep.
5- Assume that you have enough food and water for the duration of the 10 days.
6 - You may decide to give up in your quest and evacuate early. The rest of the days will be simulated and you will receive your score.
-They are attracted to bright lights and loud sounds. They are attracted to the warmth of the living. (The more of you there are, the more the dead will swarm towards you).
-They are deadly in numbers.
-Their strength varies. Their speed varies between shuffling and walking. However, there are rumors that some zombies are much faster and stronger than others.
-All zombies can be excited into a frenzy.
-All zombies (if anatomically possible), will emit groans in response to stimuli (living humans, lights, and sounds).
Most actions, provided that they are reasonable will automatically succeed. However, if there is a chance of failure, success will either be determined with a coin toss, or the roll of a 6 sided die. Nevertheless, there are a few vital conditions that you need to be aware of regarding your character.
Sleep - Not all of you traveled the same distance to get to the hospital. Some of you are exhausted (this starting condition was determined via a coin toss) and should ideally dedicate half of the upcoming turn (either the "day" or "night") to sleeping. Those of you who are not tired can choose to sleep, in order to get it out of the way. As listed in the rules, there will be penalties for not sleeping. I'll be keeping track of your sleeping "vitals", but will not warn you outright if you have overexerted yourself - however subtle cues regarding your actions will be provided.
- While anyone can put on a good sprint to get away from a ravenous horde, it's a completely different matter to lure them around all day. As it stands currently, Jimi is the only one capable of "kiting" the zombies for any lengthy duration of time.
- Some cues are more effective for civilians, while others are more effective than zombies. Some civilians are unlikely to investigate disturbances if these sounds/noises were as likely to be caused by the mindless undead as they were by sentient life. Demonstrate intelligence and they will come. Zombies are far easier to lure. In a perfectly unexcited state, you have to stand just out of arm's reach in order to get their attention. But whether it's smart to get that close in the first place is a decision you'll have to make for yourself. On the other hand, zombies that have been excited or whipped into a frenzy are a different story altogether.
In the event that you do have to fend off a zombie, your ability to succeed unscathed is given by a risk rating. Combat is resolved with a single 6-sided dice roll. Success results in a kill, while failure is hazardous to your character's heath. In ideal conditions, against a run of the mill zombies:
No Risk: Firearms automatically score a kill. (100%)
Low Risk: Roll of 2-6 is a success. (83%)
Medium Risk: Roll of 3-6 is a success. (67%)
High Risk: Roll of 4-6 is a success. (50%)
Extreme Risk: Roll of 5-6 is a success. (33%)
However zombies are stupid, and in any engagement, if the players outnumber the dead by a factor of 2 to 1, you will automatically succeed: I assume you're intelligent enough to trick them and get in a lucky shot. So, divide and conquer: because ammunition is limited and once they run out, even the best Low Risk weapons will result in your fatality, given enough rolls.
You may give any weapon to a friend at any time, provided you are in the same zone and that they have the necessary proficiency. For example, only Roderick and Lozz can use the gun.
If you fail in melee against a zombie, you will be injured. To determine whether or not you are infected, I will flip a coin. You will not know the result of this coin toss. If the infection is successful, I will roll a 6-sided dice to determine how many "half-turns" you have remaining before you transform. Once injured, I will send you a PM on anything your character may be experiencing, though whether these cues are actually symptomatic of a transformation, or purely out of psychological worry from your character, will be left as guesswork. Furthermore, whether or not you choose to share your symptoms with the group is also your choice.
If they are on the same floor or in the same zone as you, they count towards your 2:1 kill ratio. At your discretion, civilians may contribute to combat - they will be treated as fighting BARE HANDED unless otherwise stated. Civilians may suffer from instability, fear, or other issues that may prevent them from assisting you. Helping them will give you + points due as a Humane Action and enable them to follow your orders. Note: some civilians may refuse to help you no matter what.
:
Hastur
Name: Hastur
Legal Sex: Male,
Weight: Heavy
Role: Forest Firefighter
Well-built at 6feet 1 inch.185lbs weight. A Forest Fire fighter during summer only, he's proficient with hiking, digging, chopping, driving and chainsaws. He passes the time in winter as a part-time account and with his college courses in anatomy and physiology. Other hobbies include: fighting mixed martial arts, watching steaming shows, fighting full contact foam weapons. Other interests include a love of science and listening to podcasts loudly while on the internet. He's dressed in logging boots, a slightly weathered leather duster, jeans, a shirt and a suede blazer.
Dwarmin
Name: Desmond Duane
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Heavy
Role: Chocolatier
Notable Items: Big personal binder of new cutting-edge recipes.
Background: Desmond Duane is a no nonsense chocolate making fiend from a fancy place downtown called "Sweetness and Light". He runs his kitchen like a German field general-all who work with him either thrive or crumble under his relentless eye. He has always strived for two things-professional perfection and strength of mind. He has a natural tendency to belittle those who don't live up to his standards. In his off time he's a vocal political activist, amateur chemist (recipes!), scrabble champ and lover of literature and classic movies. He's a bit of a snob, of course. He's an avid news hound-internet, paper and radio-and the things he's been picking up about the "plague" are subtle enough to make him worry. His trip to the hospital was preceded by one of his cooks flipping out and splashing hot water on his arm. He said had "come down with the flu"...he showed up in work clothes!
Job: Chocolate Chef-basic cooking, tool use, basic chemistry, leadership
Physical: Big and heavy Anglo. He would make an imposing, if soft linebacker. Neatly trimmed beard and hair, both dark brown. Face like a horse. His hands don't look used to manual labor...
Ottofar
Name: Ottofar
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role: Musician (Piano)
Ottofar is light weight, but taller than average and wiry of build. Though he's only played the piano for a year and a half, it's clear that he has some natural talent for the instrument.
Phantom
Name: Matthew McAverage
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Average
Role: Dog Walker
Background: Matthew McAverage is just some average guy walking his dog, a 10 year old Alaskan Malamute named Tom. Otherwise he is completely average in most aspects. Except for his Elvis like hair and Aviator Sunglasses. He wears an average white T-Shirt and an average pair of Jeans. And a not so average brown Boonie Hat.
Kashyyk
Name: Lozz
Legal Sex: Female
Weight: Light
Role: University Student
Knowledge: 1 year of Chemistry Degree, Amateur Martial Arts (Ninjutsu), Parkour (Climbing, Running, Athletics, etc.), Brief Handgun use (Been on a pistol range once for a Boyfriend's bday). She wears a leather Jacket, t-Shirt, Jeans, Sneakers, and Hobo gloves.
When she was younger, Lozz had an obsession with ninja, and other japanese phenomena. She got into Manga, and found a Ninjutsu club. When she got to University, she continued her club, and when she got low on money, she looked for more creative ways of getting to her lectures. She is physically small (5'1"), but her parkour and ninjutsu has made her reasonably strong, for her size. She's good with animals, but has never been allowed one, due to rent restrictions.
Eagle-eyeName: Marcus Aurelius
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Average
Role: Surgeon
Background- He goes by the name of a roman emperor, and is strangely obsessed with classical history. Performing an autopsy when the subject rose up and tried to eat him, he ran off with only a scalpel, his bloodstained clothing, and a bottle of whiskey. He had been prone to alcoholism before the zombies, but had good enough judgment not to drink any while cutting open a dead body. His wife left him 10 years previously, and he mostly keeps to himself on a small house in an unremarkable neighborhood.
Inventory- 1 L bottle of strong whiskey, steel scalpel, bloodstained overcoat, bloody latex gloves.
tehstefan
Name: Roderick Johnson
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role : Policeman
Background- Roderick got out of high school, got a degree in criminal justice, and proceeded to become a police officer, being with the force for 5 years. His love of donuts is only matched by his love of fitness. He always is getting donuts, but he also runs marathons, and donuts are really his only real weakness as a police officer, stereotypical or no. To make up for it, he runs marathons, and he makes sure to work on his policing skills, such as shooting, so that no silly suspect tries to sneak away from him. He has a girlfriend, but he hasn't been able to find her, and its worrying him. He has no real special skills beyond marathon running, though he's a good shot.
Thatdude
Name: Jimi Anderson
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role: wannabe pro skateboarder.
Background: Jimi always spent his early year watching all the pro skate boarders boast about how great their lives were. So naturally he wanted to be one. He bought his first skateboard at the age of 7, and proceeded to spectacularly fail any time he even thought about stepping on it. But he was more determined than that. By the age of 18, he was convinced that it wasn't his complete lack of talent that made him fail, it was his style. His reasoning being that all the best skaters looked awesome as well so he decided that he should dress like them to improve his skills. Out to the shops he went and with his brand new hugely oversized black hoodie and a matching hat with skull and crossbones roughly dumped on his head backwards (to help stream-line him of course) he stepped out of the store only to have a zombefied pensioner lunge at him wanting to nibble on his ear.
At this point, screaming like a little girl, he managed for the first time in his life ride his skateboard for more than 5 metres without falling off. Now filled with just a bit too much confidence he decided that people all needed his help and only someone as awesome as him could help them. So now he is staying behind helping people get to safety...
Kilowatt
Name:Joseph Lawson
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Average
Role: Electrician
Why he's in the hospital: He arrived to perform some routine maintenance work on the hospital's backup generators, way in the sub-basement. He was just packing up his equipment when the hospital was locked down due to the appearance of a mysterious contagion. He moved upstairs to the Hub on the 5th floor to investigate the commotion. When he found nothing but chaos and the infected, he fled to the third floor to find a hiding place. When he heard muffled crying from the lockers, he flung the doors open and discovered 2 uninfected children. Taking them under his care, he's been hiding in the East wing since, using the weight of his body to prevent curious zombies from investigating. Were it not for his reassuring presence, it is likely that the child afflicted with asthma would have had an induced attack. Needless to say, the last 48 hours have been rather terrifying. In his possession are a pair of insulated gloves (worn), Overalls (worn), an oil-stained shirt (worn), scuffed work boots (worn), a multimeter, wirecutters/wire strippers, and a screwdriver.
-Legal Sex: Male/Female/Other
-Weight: Light/Average/Heavy. Occasionally, your weight may come into play. Both light & heavy are advantageous in certain situations, but disadvantageous in others: consider average as "no effect".
-Select one of the following roles from the list below and provide me with the necessary details. Please note that creativity with what you're given is the most important factor: if you're terribly uncreative, you may want to choose a more generic starting profession. Your starting item, if any, is
underlined:
Musician: Tell me the instrument you play, your proficiency (amateur, in a band, professional, etc). Opera singers are also included in this category. Optional: the name of your instrument. You start with your chosen instrument.
College Student: Tell me your major (it can be undecided) and whether or not you have to worry about student loans. You start with A heavy textbook of your choice, a printed essay, in a sturdy backpack.
A Young Child: You are a small human. You start with a toy of your choice and shiny sneaker shoes that light up when you walk.
Old Pensioner/Retiree: Tell me your age and whether you have any old-person dependencies (i.e. a craving for toffee candies, the use of a hearing aid, etc). You start with a senior's discount card (for buses, museums, etc), a cane, and sagely wisdom.
A loving parent: Tell me the number of years you were married and your child's age. You start with the grief of coming home to the disturbing sight of your spouse gnawing on your child's lifeless body, the frying pan you used to bash your zombie-spouse's head in and your wedding ring
A construction worker: Tell me your role on the construction site and what type of construction you do (road repairs, insulation, etc). You start with a hard hat, work boots, and a toolkit (hammer, spanner, wrench, various nuts and bolts).
A business man/woman: Tell me how high up your are in the workplace hierarchy (do you get others coffee, or does someone get coffee for you and your secretary?) You start with a shiny briefcase with gold clasps, a blackberry phone, and a laptop.
Little League baseball coach: Tell me your favorite team. You start with a baseball bat, baseball, and gloves. Alternative: you may be coach for another type of sport and start with appropriate equipment.
A doctor: You used to work at this hospital! Tell me the number of years you've been practicing medicine. You start with a stethoscope, and a doctor's coat.
Teenage skateboarder: You are too cool for helmets, tell me whether you wear your hat forwards, backwards, or sideways and the color of your hoodie. You start with a skateboard.
Recent patient: You were a patient at the hospital. After the nurse tried to bite your arm off, you decided it was time to be discharged. You start with a cast on your leg, and a pair of sturdy crutches. Optional: You may elect to be in a metal wheelchair instead. Tell me how you broke your leg.
Policeman: Tell me how much you love donuts and coffee and the number of years you have been with the force. You start with a box of jelly donuts, a whistle, a baton, pepper spray, and a loaded revolver for a total of 12 rounds (including spare ammo).
A Pregnant Woman: Tell me whether you're hoping it's a boy or girl and any baby names you're excited about. You start with rosy cheeks, a craving for anything with grapefruit, comfortable clothing and an unborn baby. Don't worry, you're not going to go into labor in the next 10 days...right?
Dog walker: Tell me the age of the dog you were walking, its size and breed. You start with running shoes, plastic bags and a dog leash and the dog.
Waiter/Waitress: Tell me whether waiting on tables is currently a means to an end, or a long term occupation, and whether or not you like the regulars that used to frequent your restaurant. You start with a number of pencils, a paper pad, and an apron
A Magician: Tell me how successful you are in the business (children's birthday parties, youtube sensation, vegas, etc). You start with a trick handkerchief, a top hat, and a rabbit.
Be Yourself: Give me a generic citizenry background and a few items that you are likely to start with.
-All listed classes are equal and balanced, though some may be more
equal fun than others
-Flavor text is encouraged when posting your character's background!
-Some listed professions may have hidden modifiers - these will be revealed when sign-ups are over (on Turn 0: when participating players and their starting setups are posted).
Poll
5 (35.7%)
Author
Topic: A good Samaritan in a time of chaos [On Turn 4/10] (Read 16250 times)