World War Z: The Survivor's Story

OOC Thread is up!

“They scare me more than any other fictional creature out there because they break all the rules. Werewolves and vampires and giant sharks, you have to go look for them. My attitude is if you go looking for them, no sympathy. But zombies come to you. Zombies don't act like a predator; they act like a virus, and that is the core of my terror. A predator is intelligent by nature, and knows not to overhunt its feeding ground. A virus will just continue to spread, infect and consume, no matter what happens. It's the mindlessness behind it.” – Max Brooks

I have an RP in mind based on the Max Brooks' book World War Z. For those that haven't read the book, here is the back story up to where I want the RP to begin:

Although the zombie pandemic's true origins are unknown, it appears to begin in China. The Chinese government attempts to contain the infection and concocts a crisis involving Taiwan, in order to mask the true purpose of the increased military activity. The infection spreads across the world, spreading to other countries by infected refugees and black market organs, where several outbreaks in major cities finally bring the plague to the attention of the world.

As the infection spreads, only a few countries, Israel among them, took steps to initiate nationwide quarantine programs. The United States, sapped of political will by several "brushfire wars" and lulled into a false sense of security by an ineffective vaccine called "Phalanx", sends Special Forces units to combat local outbreaks, but otherwise does little to prepare for the pandemic. Eventually, the pandemic begins to overwhelm the human race, leading to a period known as the "Great Panic." The United States Army sends a task force to Yonkers, New York, in a high-profile military campaign intended to restore American morale, but due to the reliance on ineffective Cold War-era tactics and unforeseen problems, the force is routed. Artillery, shrapnel, and incendiary-based weaponry, designed to inflict mortal wounds on living bodies and shock and fear in normal minds, prove ineffective against the living dead. Other countries suffer similarly disastrous defeats against their own infections.

I know what you might be thinking: It's just another hack and slash big gun blood bath, right? Wrong.

First off, we will not be playing the super soldiers armed to the teeth that runs into the cities and wipes out all zombies. Rather, we will be playing as civilians who are trying to flee from the threat and make it some place safe. More specifically, we will be playing as ourselves (or at least a character designed close to yourself) and we will be limited to items that we have around the house as starting gear.

Second, in an attempt to give this RP more of a challenge, I have been making a 2D10 combat system that will make us more cautious about our strategies and one that will pretty much require teamwork to increase the chances of survival. I have tried this RP on another board before, and it started off great. The downfall was that the original combat system I devised was unclear and somewhat overwhelming, not to mention by this time the forum was being supersaturated by zombie RPs. That original system is well over a month and a half old, during which time through trial and error, I have improved upon it greatly. The character sheets are a lot more detailed, but are done through Excell, thus greatly reducing the amount of calculations ahead of time. I'm nearing the end of the finishing touches now, and if I see this RP is generating some interest, I'll post the combat system and answer questions.

I am looking for a party of 6 players who can test their creativity and survival skills in this RP. I will be the DM, and I am very fair, but also very observant when it comes to zombie survival. I will be keeping my eyes open for weaknesses and oversights in your planning, so make sure you think things through. I just won't spawn zombies in the middle of a safe spot, rather I'll take advantage of that basement window that you forgot to board up . I hope I can find 6 people who are up to the challenge, I know I am.

This seems pretty cool. I'm down man. Let me know when it starts (that is if I'm accepted).

I'll post the ooc once a few more people saying they are interested (either that or just wait a few more days). From there I'll post the story and the signup.

There are four things I noticed right away about this.

1.) You have some experience in this, since your combat system is named and you've run a "Test trial" on another board.

2.) You're 23, which means your more reliable than someone younger: stable foundation and all that.

3.) You're using Excel, which means you ain't messing around.

4.) Fuckin' zombies man! ZOMBIES!!

Count me in, amigo.

2401 wrote:There are four things I noticed right away about this.

3.) You're using Excel, which means you ain't messing around.

Oh, that is just the tip of the iceburg. We will be playing in present day America, so we'll be using google maps to get an idea of travel, be it road, wilderness, or water. Also, if a town doesn't show up in a map, it won't exist in the RP. There is also the possibility of using weather.com to bring rainy/stormy/hot weather into the mix aswell. Not to mention that I will also be making combat maps using AutoCAD, it worked well with the trial and I have adjusted it to make it easy and clear to read.

Trust me, I am going all out with this RP. Hopefully it'll be this close attention to detail that will make this RP great.

I've read the survival guide, and world war Z. TOTALLY FRIGGIN IN!

I'm so sad I can participate in this. Like, seriously. I loved the book.

Arrrgggggg ///wrist.

If it's still going on at the end of the summer I might beg you to join.

Glad to see I am generating some good interest. I'm going to be out of town from the 11th to the 14th, so would you all rather I post the OOC tomorrow/Monday or wait until I get back?

Post it tomorrow: that way, you'll have something cool to come back to when you get back.

Alright, almost done writing the OOC, will have it posted by the end of the day.

I had joined the previous attempt at this RP but joined late and therefore all my roleplaying was between me and Loki privately (until I was supposed to meet with the group, which was advancing very slowly). Right now I am reading WWZ to further understand the setting and I will be sure to join this RP again, this time from the beginning.