Re: APOCALYPSE RUNNERS: A 'Zombies, Run!' Spinoff [Wait List]

Started by Eislynn, August 09, 2012, 09:16:31 AM

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Eislynn

Accepted Characters list: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=149392.0
OOC Happy Joy Fun-time Thread: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=149060.0
IC, OMG, Got a zombie after me!: (TBA)


In a true homage to the genre, our story takes place in the foothills of the rolling landscape of the Allegheny Mountains. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, fourteen months since patient zero was discovered in an area hospital.

The apocalypse is here to stay. When the undead horde swept over the city it left few standing, but mankind is stubborn. Small settlements of living humans are springing up, and with those settlements, comes safety - it's a hot commodity these days. The settlements are like organisms dotting the ruined landscape. Some thrive. Others fizzle out and die.

Brunot Island

You have heard rumors of a settlement that has been set up on what used to be Brunots Island in the ruins of the old power station. The handful of residents are currently working on restoring the 315 megawatt generating station in their midst. It would be no secret if they'd been successful, but they must have at least a small output to power their town and the beacons.

When the world was whole, a small ferry used to run, but now the only dry method of reaching the island is a train trestle that connects to either side of the river. In the time since the world ended, heavy gates have been constructed at either side.

The undead have a hard time swimming there. Those that aren't bloated enough to get carried away by the surface current sink and tumble along the bottom of the river. Most of the island's banks consist of a ten foot rocky cliff straight up from the water. On its northern banks, barricades achieve much of the same effect. Even if an undead was incredibly lucky and wasn't swept downstream, it wouldn't make it ashore.

If Brunot and other 'towns' like it are organisms, then runners are their lifeblood. Runners are those brave individuals that risk their lives in a deadly race against the undead. A runner must be cunning, resourceful and above all else, fast. The undead take to shambling just like many movies predicted, but every once in a while, their tenacity for assimilation pushes them into a full on run. What their rotting bodies lack in straight speed they make up for in endurance. Runners leave the safety of the town to collect resources needed for the town's well being. Just like blood cells bringing oxygen to major organs.

You are alone. You may be the product of living in a basement for the past year or so. Maybe you had friends with you... Not now. You might have been in a town as it fell - the structure still there, but watching in horror as pink flesh gave way to gray rot. It might be the first time you've been lost and alone, or it may have been one of many towns you've witnessed die. Yet here you are. Alone, Afraid, but Alive. Having traveled anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks, you spot your salvation: What's that in the distance? A beacon? Yes. Lights on the water. Night is falling and you can see the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

About the game:

This game is mostly based on the Alternate Reality Game "Zombies! Run!" that I've been playing. I'm also weaving elements of "The Colony" and pretty much the entire Zombie genre as well. This game will be free-form with not much of a system. What it will have in place is a mutual respect for fellow players. This will be less about combat than the story of your survival and the relationships you build along the way.

Characters should be based in reality. No one in this game will have abilities that a real human would not have. OP Characters are not realistic. If you are really super good at one thing, it must comes as a sacrifice to something else. Equivalent exchange and all that. As such you will be asked to designate what your profession was before the apocalypse. Your skills and abilities will be based on that. Hobbies will be accounted for as well within reason.

Basically if you don't have a good enough reason for why you character is able to do something, they probably can't do it. If you have your character do something overpowered, or disrespectful, then as GM I'll make sure that something overpowered, disrespectful, or maybe downright stupid will happen to them in game.
A Word on Weapons

This being Democratic Southwestern Pennsylvania, guns are reasonably available. It's the ammunition that is becoming a precious commodity. In the first days of the outbreak, this wasn't a concern, but as civilization fell, ammo was freely dispensed upon the hordes to the point of endangerment.

Those wishing to conserve their precious bullets for the most dire of circumstances have taken to using improvised weaponry. Clubs, Axes, Frying pans, Knives, even traps are common. Eschewing firearms has other advantages as well. The undead are drawn to loud noises like moths to a flame. Thus not only the effectiveness but the acoustics of a weapon must be taken into consideration when choosing one.
A Rant about Runners

In a world where even gasoline to power engines is growing scarce, runners are among the elite. They are vital to the new world order where damn near everything is a scarcity. Runners are gatherers of supplies and intel, hunters prowling what is left of the concrete jungle, messengers of happenings beyond the protective bubble that surrounds each settlement. They the tether that holds a settlement together, and a settlement that tries to thrive without runners is destined for failure. Runners are the heroes of a new age. There's no doubt that what they do everyday is danger incarnate.

A runner learns to spend down time wisely. They are given separate quarters that can be locked from the outside in case a quarantine is necessary, but they are often afforded a bit more comfort than the average citizen. Returning runners must submit to an examination for bite wounds each time they enter the settlement, and if any open wounds are found, (even if they're not particularly teeth-shaped) they are locked down for a full twelve hour quarantine.

Each Runner is issued a radio headset, a courier bag, and a numerical designation. The designation is meant to keep the operators from getting too attached, but it's relatively ineffective. Like sports jersey numbers, runners with spectacular careers will have their number retired in the event of their death. Weapons are generally not provided except in extreme cases. Runners are considered to have a natural weapon - their speed. As such they prefer their ability to remove themselves from the situation rather than to engage in a head on fight.
Character Creation House Rules

1.) No Playable Characters will be under age 18. As Sam Yao says: "Aww, kids?! Zom kids are the worst!"

2.) Please specify if you want your character to be a runner or not. Characters whose chosen profession allows them to contribute other skills to the community will likely be the ones who get to choose not to be a runner. By the same token, the runners are the most important to the survival of the town.

3.) Be realistic. I want this to be about human interaction, not superhuman awesome stunts. I want this to be more 'Walking Dead' than 'Evil Dead'. These should be real and believable characters stuck in an extraordinary circumstance.

4.) Being realistic does not need to apply to character portraits - I have a penchant for using animated characters myself. However, if you do want to use a portrait of an anime style character, no chibis or super deformed characters. Go for something in realistic proportions. They must appear at least 18.




Character Sheet!

[float=right][img]Insert Picture Here[/img][/float]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Sexual Preference:[/b]
[b]Occupation (Pre-Apocalypse):[/b]
[b]Personal Hobbies of Note:[/b]
[b]Description:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Runner?:[/b] YES or NO





Submit your characters here for approval, and I'll take a look. You are also welcome to submit them to me via PM if you prefer not to hash out your details out in the open.

As this is my first time actually GMing on Elliquiy, please understand that I intend to do my best and everyone should feel free to bring issues to my attention.

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

Katida Desu

AndyZ

Interested.  Fast or slow zombies and is a single bite lethal?
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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CarnivorousBunny

Quote from: AndyZ on August 09, 2012, 09:17:34 AM
Interested.  Fast or slow zombies and is a single bite lethal?

What he said :D
my  o&o and a&a
Current Status: Back on E, but still busy.
Sworn to the Oath of the Drake.

Eislynn

#3
Quote from: AndyZ on August 09, 2012, 09:17:34 AM
Interested.  Fast or slow zombies and is a single bite lethal?

"The undead take to shambling just like many movies predicted, but every once in a while, thier tenacity for assimilation pushes them into a full on run. What their rotting bodies lack in straight speed they make up for in endurance."

There are several types of Zombie: Crawlers, Shamblers and Pacers. Crawlers are those ones without legs that just try to grab at and bite your ankles. Shamblers... well they shamble. 'Nuff said. Pacers are recently turned and prone to running. Once they reach a certain level of decay, they just become Shamblers, and if they lose their legs... well you get the idea.

I'm going to have this be a one-bite-to-turn deal as well. You might hear stories of someone bit on an appendage that chopped it off in time and lived, but you don't know if it's true. You personally have never met someone who survived a zombie bite. It would explain why runners quarters are able to be locked down for quarantine.

EDIT RE: TOP POST!

Comp-Days are the best. Not being at work has given me the time I needed to add the character sheet (:D) to the first info post!

I really hope I'm not getting ahead of myself, but I'm excited to make a go of this idea that's been swimming in my head since early June. I know there must be a lot of zombie games going around out there, but I hope that this will be unique enough to garner some interest. 

AndyZ

Name: Naomi Toyamato
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Sexual Preference: Prefers females
Occupation (Pre-Apocalypse): Student
Personal Hobbies of Note: Track, parkour
Description:
History:
Runner?: YES

Not sure on the history...let me think on that.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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Eislynn

@AndyZ
That's a good start, but I look forward to seeing what you come up with for history. I can see the parkour coming in very handy.

@Everyone
Updated the first post with a word on weapons and a rant about runners - It should flesh out the concept a little better. I think I'll post some NPC details in the coming days as well.


slowmojoe


CarnivorousBunny

I'm considering creating a care giver (to children) or a defender/night watch of the fort's entrances. But what would be the best thing to make next to a runner?
my  o&o and a&a
Current Status: Back on E, but still busy.
Sworn to the Oath of the Drake.

Eislynn

Runners are what I'd like to focus on the most, but there are so many options! I like the idea of either of your suggestions if you can flesh them out. A night watch or defense type character would provide an obvious benefit to the community, but in a round about way so would the care-giver. It would be more of a psychological morale thing than a physically direct benefit, but beneficial nonetheless at it could feed into the virtuous circle.

Personally I don't want to give too much direction that might quash good story elements, but if it will aid you with some more ideas, I'd like people to think in terms of 'The Colony'. It was a show on Discovery Channel. If you haven't seen it, the basic idea is that they take people with real life skills and throw them into a post apocalyptic wasteland. (They set up a perimeter around an abandoned area of LA.) It was a little like survivor in an urban setting, only without the silly challenges and games. For example, one member was a contractor so he assisted in building things as they were needed. A few vital jobs to sustainable survival include such things as mechanics, medics, engineers, etc. They even had a computer scientist prove himself extremely useful. A martial arts instructor trained her fellow colonists in self defense. On season two, they even had a man who makes found item sculptures - he turned out to be incredibly useful.

Swordsman18

I am thinking of making an ex-Marine who I am thinking would be a Runner and a part time Tagger, what I was thinking of taggers would be people that confirm death/zombification, take a picture of the body after it has been put down one way or another and bring back whatever supplies, maps or gear that the runner had on them when they died. He could also be a bit of rescue kind of person if a runner is within a certain range since he would likely follow the no man left behind policy of the Marine Corp.

DRoux

Name: Cassandra Gray
Age: 21
Gender: Female
Sexual Preference: Bisexual
Occupation (Pre-Apocalypse): Student, University of Pittsburgh, Film and Video Studies major
Personal Hobbies of Note: She learned a few of her moves from movies and video games
Description: A skinny girl with an absurd knowledge of zombie survival
History: The daughter of a biker and a punk living in Manhattan, Cassandra grew up with the subcultures as part of her life. She was fascinated with her mother's favorite band, The Misfits, and through them, became fascinated with horror in general. Nothing was too scary for her; slashers, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, aliens, giant bugs, monsters, and most importantly, zombies. She was a bit socially outcast throughout her life, and she's developed a sarcastic wit as a "natural defense," as she puts it. While Cassandra isn't from the Pittsburgh area, she knows her way around well enough.
Runner?: YES
"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde

Apologies to all whom I play YIM games with, but my account seems to have locked me out. I'll try to fix that as soon as I can.

Mossberg

This sounds interesting. I've kind of been wanting to do a zombie rp. Are the Runners the only ones that go out of the settlements and do things?
"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."
-Lews Therin Telamon

Eislynn

#12
@Swordsman18
I already had a concept for a head of runners, but your proposed character might be a good stand in for that provided something happens to them. Your "Tagger" idea is nice, but that's sort of something in the realm of most runners. Confirming deaths is something that the resident recorder might be interested in though. It should be noted that tech (Cameras, headsets, electronics) that are still in working order tend to be hard to come by. There was a lot of looting and hoarding in the first days of the apocalypse, though, so lucky runners sometime come across things.

@Droux
You've got a good start there. Feel free to flesh it out, but keep in mind that your Media Knowledge of zombies may be contradicted at some points. At the very least, her interest in the horror genre will have desensitized her a bit. You're the second character who is a student - I want to encourage you to pick a school and a major. (Pittsburgh has LOTS of colleges and universities.) another thing to think about is whether you'd like to be a commuter from the area, or an out of state student.

@AndyZ
Picking a school goes for you too, mister! :)

@Mossberg
Ah! Another familiar face! :) Yes, except in a pinch, its generally accepted that runners are the only ones that leave the colony on a regular basis. They're given a headset, a mission, and a prayer and sent forth. That's not to say that things don't happen in the lives of the people who choose to stay safely behind the gates, just that runners tend to live the more exciting (and often, shorter) lives.

@Everyone
I think I'm going to officially call this thing a go if we make it to eight players. (I'd feel better about ten, but that's just me being weird.)  Looks like we're at about 6 right now, so we'll wait a few days to see if we have a few more wander in. :)

I want to do quick individual intros IC for each character detailing them finding Brunot. Try to have a good idea of what drove you out of where you were staying before going to Brunot Island, and we'll RP you into the town from there. If some of you want to collaborate and know each other before coming to the island, that's also fine, I can RP you in together. For example our two students might come from the same university which just recently fell to the zombies.

Mossberg

Quote from: Katida desu on August 11, 2012, 05:52:32 AM
@Mossberg
Ah! Another familiar face! :) Yes, except in a pinch, its generally accepted that runners are the only ones that leave the colony on a regular basis. They're given a headset, a mission, and a prayer and sent forth. That's not to say that things don't happen in the lives of the people who choose to stay safely behind the gates, just that runners tend to live the more exciting (and often, shorter) lives.
Yeah, I was looking up your Memories posts in your profile and came across this. I kind of wanted to play something else but a Runner will suffice. I might have one thought of today but might not. Other than being overrun with zombies and otherwise abandoned, are there any features of note in the area around the city? Like military facilities, mountains or anything unusual.
"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."
-Lews Therin Telamon

AndyZ

Since she's basing it around Pittsburgh, it may be easiest just to research that.

If you ever saw the movie Land of the Dead, they used Pittsburgh so you can kinda get a feel for what the place is like through that.

Don't go by Dark Knight Rises because, while they had a few streets where they used Pittsburgh, the city itself doesn't follow the layout that they had for Gotham.
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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Mossberg

Oh okay. I must have somehow not read that part. Time for google earth -nods-
"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."
-Lews Therin Telamon

AndyZ

Name: Naomi Toyamato
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Sexual Preference: Prefers females
Occupation (Pre-Apocalypse): Student
Personal Hobbies of Note: Track, parkour
Description:  Although she loves to let her hair grow long, she usually puts it up into a ponytail when she heads out for runs.  Her clothing is always close to the skin in order to make sure she won't trip over it or let it slow her down.
History: About two years ago, Naomi moved out from the sticks to join the University of Pittsburgh with an undecided major.  She never really felt any strong connection to anything except for the track group, where her speed gave her a chance to show off and be noticed in the way that a lot of people never seem to enjoy.  It's a little ironic to only be noticed for something where you're moving so fast that people can't see you very well, but that's life.

After the chaos hit and the world fell apart, so much of life changed but so much of life didn't.  You always figure you're just going to be a new person after Doomsday, and that just didn't seem to happen to her.  Desires didn't go away, it was just that there wasn't any way to get new books or watch TV.  Her iPod ran down but she'd heard all the music enough that it didn't matter anyway.  A shame: she always loved having good music going during a good run.

She knows she's starting to crack.  Of course she is; everyone is.  There's an old story about how courage is a ball, and you pass it around to other people.  When it comes to you, you have to grab on tight and hold it for as long as you can, because other people need you to be strong when they can't.  Sometimes she'll draw a circle on herself in Sharpie when she needs to remember that.
Runner?: YES
It's all good, and it's all in fun.  Now get in the pit and try to love someone.

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Eislynn

Cassandra and Naomi are approved. As you are both students at Pitt, I have the following idea for your intro: When disaster struck, a small group of students holed up in the Cathedral of Learning in the middle of the main campus. Naomi and Cassandra will start the game there. For your reference, the tower of learning is located in a part of the city known as Oakland and is approximately six miles from Brunot Island.

We can solidify this concept as we see who else joins.

Sometime soon I will put up the first few NPCs.

Mossberg

Is the zombies blood going to be infectious or just their bites?
"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."
-Lews Therin Telamon

Eislynn

Quote from: Mossberg on August 11, 2012, 01:53:45 PM
Is the zombies blood going to be infectious or just their bites?

Well you certainly wouldn't want to inject yourself with zombie blood... I'd be wary of getting it in an open wound.

Mossberg

What about the mouth and eyes? Say a character is smashing in zombie heads with a bat and screaming obscenities when some of it spurts on their face.
"I killed the whole world, and you can too, if you try hard."
-Lews Therin Telamon

Eislynn

 
Quote from: Mossberg on August 11, 2012, 02:00:59 PM
What about the mouth and eyes? Say a character is smashing in zombie heads with a bat and screaming obscenities when some of it spurts on their face.

He might want to invest in a bandana and safety glasses. Just keep in mind that a runner's main goal is to generally avoid fighting and make it back to town safely with what supplies s/he has gathered.

Swordsman18

I was thinking that he would likely use a Polaroid or even the new filmless cameras that work like Polaroids, since not a lot of the populace knows about and would likely be more focused on the pure digital kind it would be likely that he may have taken one from a local electronics store after someone died with him and he took a picture in memoriam.

Radios are something that I am thinking only the most important missions would have and likely his tagging would not be all that high on the priority list. I am thinking though that he likely has a radio that can only receive or something like a Police Scanner to keep track of potential runners coming as well as new survivors.

Eislynn

@Swordsman18
I can accept the tagging as a personal touch to your character rather than something within established protocol. We'll say the Polaroid 300 is going to be the most viable option for him. Just be mindful that he'll have to keep himself in a steady supply of batteries, and film is going to be increasingly difficult, but not impossible, to find.

As for your second assumption, I realize I may not have been clear about the following dynamic, so let me explain: All runners are outfitted with radio headsets when they go out so that operators can try to keep constant contact with them. All of this technology is MacGuyvered together out of the remains of other equipment. I don't want to give too much away just yet, but let's just say the people of Brunot know more than you might be inclined to think and have a rather impressive protocol already in place that you will learn about once you make it there.

Swordsman18

Name: Carl Tarr
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Sexual Preference: heterosexual
Occupation (Pre-Apocalypse): Marine
Personal Hobbies of Note: Photography
Description: A man of about 6 feet tall, defined muscles and in good shape but he does not always wear clothes that flaunt his muscles and most of the time he likes to wear camouflage just to make it so that he can blend into the environment somewhat if it is necessary. Since silence is now the weapon of survival, he is most often seen with a bow or a crossbow for he can retrieve the ammunition and it is relatively quiet for singled out kills. He does not carry bags and makes it so that most of his equipment can fit into his pockets or a vest all for the sake of mobility.
History:
Carl was a man that was born in Tennessee and as he grew up he saw that he had no real choice but to join the military since there were not a lot of jobs in his area. Doing so, he ended up as a Expert Marksman, with just a couple targets short of being labeled a Hawkeye. When the war began, he married his high school sweetheart and then headed to Iraq to fight the good fight. While he was off at the war, she moved to Pennslyvania to be with her family since she was getting lonely without Carl around.

But then she got terminal cancer and he cut his tour short to be with his dying wife, though he still took a job at the Military Entrance Processing Center in Pittsburgh while visiting his wife everyday as she died. And while Carl was on bereavement leave after Darlene's death, the world ended and the zombies rose. He tried to join with the main military but by the time he got there they were in shambles and dying in huge numbers, so he fell back to the federal building where he held the building for fourteen months until one of the civilians they had brought with them got sloppy and so the building fell to the Zeds and he escaped.
Runner?: YES