World War Z: The Struggle for Survival

In Character Thread

Character Sheets (Version 7/2/09)

Harrisburg Apartments 1st Floor



“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

This is a ZSRP that takes place in the Max Brooks novel World War Z. Not familiar? No problems, I will provide all the background information you need to know to play. Already read the book (as well as the Zombie Survival Guide)? Fantastic! Then I’m sure you will find this RP very entertaining.

Background:
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.

The Undead:

1) It should be known that zombies do not require food, sleep, or even air to “survive”. Their entire existence is made possible by a viral infection in the brain that is 100% lethal for a living creature. Zombies’ drive to devour living beings is most likely a mechanism for the virus to perpetuate itself, though it is only humans that reanimate.

2) Due to the virus, decomposition occurs at a much slower rate, where a zombie can survive roughly 10 years before they start to succumb to decay.

3) The undead can’t run, climb (very well), or swim (though some are able to float); it isn’t difficult out running a zombie, however their lethality is a factor of their numbers and their ability to hunt you non-stop, after all, zombies don’t sleep.

4) Zombies also lack the ability to heal, as such any crippling injuries they suffer may not be lethal, but it will hopefully slow them down. The only way to kill a zombie is to destroy the infected frontal lobe of the brain, so be cautious because decapitated zombie heads still bite!

5) Zombies are attracted to sounds, making noise will attract a zombie to that location. Zombies only moan when they see something they wish to devour; which alerts other zombies up to a mile radius, who usually make their way to the original zombie’s location.

6) For information involving the symptoms of the virus, refer to this link.

7) Whenever temperatures get cold enough, zombies will freeze since their bodies are incapable of producing its own heat. Zombies will remain in this state of suspended animation until temperatures rise enough to thaw them.

8) Eating anything infected by Solanum (i.e. zombies), no matter how well the meat is cooked, will lead to an extremely painful death within a matter of hours. So just because zombies can eat you doesn't mean you can eat them back.

9) Though these are just a few pointers, more detailed information about the zombies are all going to be pulled from the Zombie Survival Guide.


Game Physics:

1) It should be noted that the game physics will be based off real life, so there will be no effortless decapitations with samurai swords as seen in just about every anime.

2) Zombies are dead, therefore they do not bleed. This note is in here because of a post a player made in the trial RP. I’ll just reference my response to his post:

What got to me the most actually was from your previous combat post. The part of "the stump of the neck gushed a black geyser about two feet into the air, much shorter than a normal person should have." You'd be extremely hard pressed to get a "geyser" that high from a living person, that is following anime laws where a person has 25 gallons of blood in their body at 75psi. Keep in mind that these zombies are dead, thus no heart beat=no pulse=no blood pressure=no geyser.

Story:
July 15th, 2009 12:00pm

Our story take begins in the small cities just a few miles outside of Philadelphia, PA just after the fall of Yonkers. The plague is quickly taking over Philadelphia as large portions of the city streets are flooded with zombies. Of the city’s 1.5 million people, only a few evacuated before the pandemic became uncontrollable. By now over 80% of the city’s population have joined the ranks of the living dead with newly infected increasing by the minute. Evacuation of the city at this point is near impossible, abandoned vehicles and endless swarms of zombies block roads, yet there are still people foolish enough to attempt and escape. Those that have barricaded themselves are now trapped in their own shelter and are relying on what supplies they have, that is if their defenses don’t fail beforehand and befall the same fate as countless before them. With the diminishing “food” supplies, zombies are starting to wander away from Philadelphia and move to the city’s surrounding cities. The majority of the people within these neighboring cities are hysteric with fear after the live newsfeed of the fall of Yonkers and the appearance of large groups of zombies. People now see that the government is unable to stop the infection, law enforcement has either fled or joined in the chaos in an attempt to gather supplies for survival from the horde that will surely wash over the nation, and now it is up to the people to ensure their own survival. The cities surrounding Philadelphia are in complete turmoil; stores are being looted, people taking advantage of the lawlessness to do whatever they can to ensure their own survival, and roads are quickly becoming gridlocked as panicked drivers do all they can to escape the town without falling victim to the zombies or the desperate population. The people are left with two options:

1) Gather as much food and supplies as possible and bunker down for the imminent assault that will likely arrive within days.

2) Evacuate the city immediately, pack the bare essentials and travel by any means necessary to find some sort of safe haven. Rumors are spreading that the west toward the Rockies are where it is believed to be the dividing barrier that will hopefully hold off the zombie onslaught. News stations have been instructing people to travel north to colder climates. Canada’s sparse population and harsh winters help prevent and dense zombie groupings. However, the Canadian boarders are quickly becoming congested and some portions of the border have been closed due to the large wave of possibly infected people trying to cross them; anybody caught trying to cross these areas have been shot on sight by the Canadian law enforcement. The south holds a variety of potential situations, varying on location, climate, and population.

Although the immediate threat is the massing of zombies in the area is spreading from Philadelphia, there are still plenty of zombies roaming around the US. Ranging from the isolated zombie roaming mindlessly for its next meal to entire towns and cities that have fallen to the epidemic, not to mention the living out there that are taking advantage of the failing legal system; traveling anywhere will surely be a perilous journey. Bunkering down provides even less of a chance for survival; once a zombie becomes aware of your presence, it will alert any zombie within a mile radius of its trapped meal. A zombie siege is a losing battle, your rations will deplete, your sanity will be stretched to the limit by the constant moaning from outside, and there is always the chance that a gap is found in your defenses allowing the enemy to get to you.

Before we get to the character sheet, I want to give you an idea as to how I want to state some guidelines for this RP in order to give you an idea of how this will work.

1) To get us into the mindset of a zombie apocalypse, I strongly encourage you to play yourself (or an avatar resembling yourself) in this story rather than a fictional character, but the choice is ultimately yours. This will help keep this more realistic and hopefully pull the players further into the storyline since they will be fighting for survival rather than somebody they are guiding. Since I am encouraging players to play as themselves, I will allow some people to have up to two characters at once, if they so desire. The drawback is that there may come a time where one of the two might not survive somewhere along the way, so you might have to sacrifice one to save the group.

It should be noted that I will make sure that all the players will have at least one character in play and will not be out of the RP just because their character(s) die. Should there be an instance where a player sacrifices their last character, I will make an instance in the story where the player can introduce a new character to the party. I will also contact you in a PM to make sure that you would be willing to lose a character beforehand and we can negotiate from there.

2) Think of this as a “choose your own adventure” style RP; where every action has the potential to change where the story is heading. I will be utilizing maps, travel times, etc. to help account for terrain and weather for whichever area the party is in to further bring this into reality. We will pretty much be surviving on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. I will make sure that time does not fly by since there is a lot that can go on in a short period. Traveling will be a chance for characters to interact as well as give me a chance to provide the next obstacle. Travel time will depend on the method of travel, traveling by foot will cover approximately 3-4 miles per hour of travel depending on the terrain, weather, and pace.

3) We will be using the type of zombies that are written about in World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, so if you read them you are ahead of the curve, if not, don’t hesitate to ask me for further information.

4) I want this to be as close to reality as possible. As such, I want to emphasize that this is a survival RP, so the story will evolve from the choices that the players make and survival isn’t guaranteed if your choices are poor or you act foolishly.

5) Basically, I will be progressing the epidemic and otherwise giving this RP plenty of obstacles, but it will be the group that will determine where the story leads. You (the players) are the ones who will decide where you want to go, how you want to get there, combat strategies, etc. while it will be my job to bring about realistic and mentally challenging events along the way. I will be looking for weaknesses in your group/defenses and use that against you, but will be reasonable with what I throw at you. I will reward effective planning and good teamwork, but will make it difficult for those who try to run in haphazard with the sole intent of taking out as many zombies as possible. Remember, your goal is survival, not to clear cities of the undead with the thought of single-handedly saving the world; such a feat will be impossible. After all, I will have unlimited zombies at my disposal while you will only have each other to watch your back.

6) We will be starting at different locations around Philadelphia (unless you want to work together with another player from the start, you can decide that ahead of time OOC and incorporate it into your intro). The location is up to you, but by the end of your first post you should be in Harrisburg, PA (which is about 50 miles WNW of Philadelphia) so let your method of travel to that location help determine what city/town you start in. This will be our meeting point and where the group will be formed, so try to make your starting location be within an 8 hour journey to Harrisburg (by 8:00pm at the latest). Just a quick and easy travel guideline for this point in our story: by foot=6mph, biking=20mph, and car/motorcycle=how quickly you can maneuver around traffic and congestion.

Your intro post will not be using the combat system; I want you to treat it as a cinematic of sorts leading up to the main game. The events that happen along the way to Harrisburg are up to you; just make sure you arrive to the location within the first post and you are reasonable about what occurs in the intro. More specifically with the gathering place, you will need to meet on the corner of N. Front St. and Forster St., just on the east side of the Harvey Taylor Bridge. While there, you will see a very large congregation of people who are waiting to cross the bridge, which is in pedestrian gridlock. Also, that means you will need to be on the east side of Harrisburg, PA when you start; the roads leading up to the city will have moderate traffic, but can be maneuvered around. Once you get into the city, you will discover that all the highways crossing the river will be blocked off with abandoned vehicles forcing you to utilize the only available in-city bridge (Harvey Taylor Bridge) to cross the river. All of the other bridges in the area either have been blocked off by car accidents or have collapsed from being overloaded.

DM’s Note: I would advise against stopping by hardware stores/general stores/other places where weapons/food is abundant to the public in your intro post. With the anarchy happening all around, you will most likely fall victim to the people who have gotten to those weapons before you. You will not be the only one struggling for survival, and as K says, “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.”


Character Sheet: Send to me in a PM!
(You will have to read into the Character Sheet info post before being able to complete it. Note: Though this character sheet is long, it is designed to give both you and I a better idea of how to play your character. Another payoff to this is that it will make it easier for me to help come up with character perks and initial experience for weapon classes, which will be unique for each person. Moreover, you have about a week to have it done; I won’t even be able to look at them until next Monday, so take your time and make it thorough.)

Code:


[b][u]General Info & Appearance[/u][/b]
[b]Name: [/b] (or nickname, don't have to include your last name)
[b]Gender: [/b]
[b]Age: [/b]
[b]Frame Type: [/b] (Small, Average, Large)
[b]Approximate Weight: [b]
[b]Appearance: [/b] (Picture of yourself/your avatar will work)

[b][u]Background[/u][/b]
[b]Hometown: [/b]
[b]Type of Childhood: [/b]
[b]Education: [/b]
[b]Hobbies: [/b]
[b]Brief Bio: [/b] (Be sure to include what you are doing in whatever town you are in near Philadelphia if it doesn’t match in your bio (that part can be made up)).

[b][u]Attitude & Personality[/u][/b]
[b]Pessimist or Optimist: [/b]
[b]Introvert or Extrovert: [/b]
[b]Personality: [/b]
[b]Most at ease when: [/b]
[b]Ill at ease when: [/b]
[b]Character's soft spot: [/b]
[b]Is this soft spot obvious to others? [/b]
[b]If not, how does character hide it? [/b]
[b]Biggest vulnerability: [/b]
[b]How character reacts in a crisis: [/b]
[b]How character faces problems: [/b]
[b]How character reacts to new problems: [/b]
[b]How character reacts to change: [/b]
[b]One word used to describe self: [/b]
[b]One paragraph description of how character would describe self:[/b]
(Text here)

[b][u]Interrelation with others:[/u][/b]
[b]How does character relate to others?[/b]
[b]Strangers?: [/b]
[b]Friends?: [/b]
[b]First impression: [/b]

[b][u]Traits[/u][/b]
[b]Talents: [/b]
[b]Extremely unskilled at: [/b]
[b]Good characteristics: [/b]
[b]Character flaws: [/b]
[b]S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: [/b] S-#, P-#, E-#, C-#, I-#, A-#, L-#

[b][u]Gear[/u][/b]
[b]Outfit/Armor: [/b] (Must meet same requirements as Starting Gear)
[b]Starting Gear: [/b] (See following guidelines)


I might also set up a small scenario where you have to use the combat system via PM to show me that you understand it. That way I can help you fix any misunderstandings before we start posting.

Gear Guidelines

1) You can only use gear found in YOUR home
If there is anything I am adamant about, it is your starting gear. This isn’t going to be like most RPs where you get to take pick of anything you want, it wouldn’t be much of a survival if I made it that easy. Instead, we will all be limited to what we have laying around your own individual homes at the time you read this (whether or not you are playing as yourself). Out of food or your pistol is currently being repaired? Too bad, you should have been ready for the inevitable zombie uprising, which was just poor planning on your part. Also, consider and list the condition/amount of your item(s) as they will factor into the game.

Right now, imagine that the zombies are on their way. What will you grab if you had to evacuate the area? Think of every item right down to what you will be carrying it in. The direct benefit of using stuff that you actually have access to also allows you to consider one of the most important aspects of your survival: weight. If you grab that 20lb sledge hammer from the garage, you have to understand that you will be carrying that wherever you go, which could get very tiring after walking for several miles. If you can, either weigh all of your gathered equipment or give me a rough estimate as to how much it weighs. This will help me greatly by sparing me the task of having to guess the weight of each individual item.

2) Show us or describe in detail what you are bringing
I would prefer that you actually gather the stuff you plan on taking (as well as the case), take and upload a picture of it both laid out to show every item, as well as a picture of how it all fits in the travel case. This will be helpful for everybody to show us all the items you have that will be keeping us all alive (I will also be more likely to give perks/bonuses to people who provide images). If that is not possible for you to do or there are some things you would rather not show for whatever reason, just give us a detailed description of the item(s) and let the honor system take it from there.

3) Food, ammo, and other depleting resources are finite
If you are a gun owner, you will need to list the amount of ammo you have (otherwise I’ll assume you forgot it), and remember to count the amount of rounds you let fly otherwise you might find yourself in over your head if I find that you have exhausted your supply and you are unaware. Nothing makes your heart drop faster than a click as you pull the trigger that was meant to dispatch the zombie that is only a few feet from you. Also, food and water are required for life, as such these resources will factor into your overall performance in combat, travel pace, and health. As such, don't forget to bring food and water and tell me how much of what you are bringing!

4) Items are possible, but not guaranteed
As with real life, ransacking a place could provide you with supplies you so desperately need, however there is no guarantee that they will be there (it will also depend highly on your Luck level). Something like food and water are common occurrences, but ammunition and weapon caches are a little harder to come by if you are searching in homes or offices. So make sure you have plenty of what you might not find and don't encumber yourself with items that are easy to come by. Searching for supplies will consist you listing the spaces you are searching, possibly giving me a roll value if requested, and I will post a list of items that you find.


I will only be taking the top 6 character profiles submitted to me.
I will put a cap of active players to 6 with a minimum of 4. This number is of actual players, not the number of characters in play. If there are more than 6 CS submitted, I will pick the 6 that I like the most; as such, make your CS count. Putting time and effort into it will help ensure you a seat in the game.

Character Sheet

General Info
Penalties vs. Bonuses
To clarify ahead of time, the effectiveness of your weapons and armor can be affected by many things. In this walkthrough, bonuses are given a negative value (-) because they are lowing the required roll needed for success while penalties are given a positive value(+) because they are doing the opposite.

Colored Values
Colored values in your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. indicate temporary changes. Red means that something is degrading that attribute while green is indicating that something is increasing it.

Character Sheet Example

Your S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

The core behind your character’s effectiveness is your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes.

Strength - Affects damage done with melee/unarmed attacks as well as the amount of weight you can carry before being overburdened.
Perception - Affects the accuracy of ranged weapons/firearms as well as enemy detection.
Endurance - Affects your armor rating, resistance to injury, movement points, and magnitude that area conditions have on your character.
Charisma - Affects NPC interactions and bargaining skills as well as the effectiveness of aiding an ally in combat.
Intelligence - Affects problem solving abilities as well as mechanical knowledge (ie repairing, lockpicking, etc.)
Agility - Affects grab breaks, magnitude of area conditions, movement points, and effectiveness of fighting while moving.
Luck - Affects the usefulness of searching and the type of items you can find.

Now that you have a general idea as to how your stats affect your character, you need to distribute 42 points among them as you feel fit and include it with your application. The values must range from 1-10.

Character Perks
Perks are various advantages/disadvantages that can come from a variety of things. A majority of which comes from your application as well as the amount of points in certain areas of your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. These perks will already be applied to your character, adjusting values where necessary and are always active as long as you meet the requirements. I will derive these from your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. values as well as your skills/traits and bio of your CS.

Condition
Conditions are modifiers that come from injuries, fatigue, and ingested substances. The effects of these will be applied to your character sheet for you aside from values labeled with a “*”. “*” perks only apply to scenarios that are described in the perk’s description. Conditions typically change as time progresses.

Frame
Your frame is pretty much just stating your character’s build and effect your character’s stats.
Small Frame – Decreased max carry load, easier to be encumbered, +1 AGI
Average Frame – No effect on stats, but middle ground as far as max carry load is concerned.
Large Frame – Increased max carry load, harder to be encumbered, -1 AGI

Carry Load and Maximum Load
Carry Load is the weight of all the things you are carrying, including everything from your weapons and armor to your outfit and gear. Please provide me a weight of your starting gear and I will estimate the weight of your gear for the rest of the game.

Max Load is the amount of weight you can carry comfortably without suffering from deteriorating movement points; this value is determined by your weight, frame, and strength. It should be noted that you can carry more than your max load value, however, doing so will start to cost you movement points.

Movement
Movement points determine the number of tiles you can move each turn in combat. These are a factor of your agility and your endurance as well as the load you are carrying. Carrying a very light load will add to your movements, while going over your maximum load will quickly cause them to fall. A movement value of zero will prevent you from moving both inside and outside of combat, while a negative value brings the risk of injury.

Armor & Armor Perks
If you are about to be bitten, having armor could end up saving your life. Depending on the armor you have equipped, certain parts of your body will have higher or lower armor ratings. Armor ratings are the minimum roll required to prevent from becoming infected for each section of your body. I will go over how to determine what area you take the armor class from later on in the walkthrough. A successful armor save will prevent you from becoming infected, but decrease the effectiveness of that section of your armor by one (ie. Increasing the minimum roll value by one, making it harder to achieve). I will assign you effectiveness of your armor once you list it in your CS.

Armor Perks come from the armor you are wearing and are only active while the armor is equipped. All of these values will also be applied to your Character Sheet upon its creation with exception to values denoted with a “*”. “*” perks only apply to scenarios that are described in the perk’s description.

Inventory
Inventory is divided into three groups: Outfit, On Person, and Inventory. “Outfit” simply describes the clothing or armor your character is wearing. “On Person” is a list of items that your character has readily available and can be utilized mid-combat without suffering additional turn penalties. “Inventory” lists all the equipment you are carrying that is not readily accessible to you while in combat. Using items from your inventory while in combat will typically take additional turns as compared to using something that is “On Person”.

Weapons and Weapon Perks
You can only have up to 3 active weapons at any given time not including unarmed (unarmed is a permanent weapon). These weapons are the only ones you can switch freely between during combat, to retrieve an inactive weapon, it will cost you 2 turns unless stated otherwise.

Ammo – Only applies for weapons that have a limited number of uses, typically bullets. There will be two numbers associated to this line for weapons that it applies to. The first one that is outside of the parenthesis is the number of rounds you have before you need to reload. The second number is inside the parenthesis and is the amount of rounds you have on you, but is not loaded into your weapon. An example is:

6(30)

This tells us that you currently have 6 more shots before you need to reload and that you have 30 more rounds on you, giving you a total of 36 more uses with that weapon.

Condition – Tells the effectiveness of your weapon. Certain weapons can be repaired, but may require certain tools and certain roll values; poor rolls can also potentially damage the weapon further. Rolling a “2” will cause your weapon’s condition to degrade. Weapon conditions are as follows with their corresponding effect on your weapon’s effectiveness:
Condition – (modifier)
Breaking – (+2) (Further damage will render the weapon useless)
Damaged – (+2)
Worn – (+1)
Normal – (0)
Good – (0)
Great – (-1)

Skill – Effects how useful you are with that particular class of weapons. The weapon classes are as follows: unarmed, short blade, long blade, polearm, small axe, large axe, light blunt, heavy blunt, breach-loaded rifle, scoped breach-loaded rifle, automatic rifle, revolver, semi-automatic pistol, semi-automatic rifle, scoped semi-automatic rifle, and SMG. Depending on the weapon and previously listed experiences, the skill level can start out at different levels. The levels, modifier, and their corresponding experience values are as follows:
Skill Level – (modifier) – Required EXP
Novice – (+2) – 0
Inexperienced – (+1) – 5
Familiar – (0) – 10
Adept – (-1) – 20
Experienced – (-2) – 40
Expert – (-3) – 75

Experience (EXP) – As mentioned before, experience determines the effectiveness of a particular class of weapon. Experience is gained by rolling a “20” and will be awarded to the class of weapon that was used when it was rolled. Rolling a “20” while fighting a zombie doesn’t result in additional damage (ie. A shove won’t become a cripple and a cripple won’t become a kill).

Weapon Table
All modifiers will already be applied to the values on this table with exception to area conditions, modifiers denoted with a “*”, and weapon perks (which will be mentioned later).

Tiles – This tells you the maximum number of tiles for each range and allows you to figure out which column to look at to find your required roll value.

Range – Is the distance between you and the enemy in words. The main reason for having this is to differentiate between close range and grabbed. The progression of these ranges will be discussed later in the walkthrough.

Attack Type
There are three different types of attacks one can perform and must be chosen before the roll. Some weapons will excel in different types of attack compared to others. When you chose the type of attack you want, you follow that row to where it meets the range of the target.

Shove – A successful shove will push the zombie back 1 tile and stun it for a turn. An actual roll that is 4 higher than the required roll will knock the zombie down. (ie, rolling a 14 with a shove when you needed a 10 will cause knockdown) A zombie that has been knocked down will be on the ground for 2 additional turns after being stunned. A fallen zombie can still grab you if you are close to it.

Cripple – You can either chose to cripple a zombie’s arm or leg and a successful hit for either of these will also stun the zombie. A zombie with a crippled arm will give you a (-5) armor bonus and if you cripple both arms you get a (-12) armor bonus and are able to escape at grabbed range. Crippling just one of the zombie’s legs will cause knockdown; crippling both legs will prevent the zombie from getting back up and its movements will be reduced by half.

Kill – Straight forward enough, no need to explain.

Weapon Perks – Much like the other perks on your character sheets, but these are specific to the weapon you are using and only apply to that particular weapon. None of the weapon perks have been applied to your character sheet, so you will have to do so manually.

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Combat
I am willing to help anybody who is having trouble with the combat system, don’t hesitate to ask. We will be using a 2D10 system unless I say otherwise for specific rolls. I will also be posting examples before we start the IC. A Convenient Roll Generator Website

Combat Post Format
Turn #

(Pre-attack description)

Code:


[spoiler]
[b]Weapon:[/b]
[b]Target:[/b]
[b]Attack Type:[/b]
[b]Range:[/b]
[b]Required Roll:[/b]
[b]Actual Roll:[/b]

[/spoiler]


(After attack description)

Turn #+1
(repeat)

(End of round note)
Final Location: (location on grid)


Weapon and attack type as listed in the character sheet walkthrough.

Target – Each enemy will be assigned a number, simply list their number in that field.

Required Roll – Roll value + area conditions (will be given before combat) + “*” Perks + Weapon Perks. You can either show the math or just put the sum of all values, your choice.

Actual Roll – The number you rolled.

Final Location – This is just to help me figure out where you are at the end of your post. You only need to include this once at the end of each post involving combat.

Turn System
The turn system is to help us coordinate movements and to help keep people on the same page. This will make it easier to do several turns per post. For example: if somebody who posted before you ended on turn 5 and you are currently posting your 3rd turn, you will be able to see everything he has done up until his 3rd turn, but not his 4th or 5th turn yet. If you are having trouble grasping this concept, please let me know and I’ll help clarify it for you.

Order and movement
At the beginning of each combat post, I’ll assign each player a list of zombies that are targeting them. These zombies will head directly towards the targeted player and each zombie will only move one tile per turn, but may change targets if somebody gets closer (if you get within 2 tiles of the zombie, it will target you instead, pending its original target is further away). The turn order will always be player turn followed by zombie turn. For example, if a zombie is close to you, then you will get to perform an action. If that zombie is still close to you by the end of that action, then the zombie will proceed to grab you.

Grabs
A grab occurs if you are close to a zombie and fail to eliminate it or get away from it by the end of your turn. If you are grabbed, you will be unable to move until you get free and if you still haven’t gotten free by the end of your next turn, the zombie will go in for a bite.

How to determine where a zombie grabs you (roll 1d20):
Zombie standing:
(1-3) Grabs Head
(4-17) Grabs Arm (Note: if you are dual wielding, you can attack with one weapon, but only shove with the other)
(18-20) Grabs Torso

Zombie knocked down:
(1-15) Grabs Leg
(16-20) Grabs Foot

Actions and Progression

Player: Wait
Move
Attack
Switch Weapons
Reload
General Action

Zombie: Move
Grab ---> Bite (after one turn of being grabbed)

What to do after failing to get free from a zombie that is grabbing you?

If you can’t get free from a zombie that has grabbed you, you have two options:

1) Roll an Armor Check to see if you have been bitten.

-or-

2) If another player is on the same turn as you and is within range of the zombie, they can attack the zombie, and successful attack will free you. If they fail to hit the zombie and no other player is nearby to help you, then you have to make an Armor Check roll to see if you have been bitten.


Example of a Start Of Combat Post (Will be posted by me)

(Post to tell of what leads up to combat)

Combat Map

Area Conditions: (if any)
Rainy – (+1) combat penalty

Enemies:
Zombies 1, 2 targeting Loki

(End of post)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to read these instructions; I’ve worked hard to make things as clear as I could. If you are still unsure about something, ask me and I’ll happily provide you with an example. I hope that after all this you are still interested, I feel the combat system will help bring a unique challenge to this RP and encourage teamwork; something that most other RPs lack to a certain degree. As mentioned before, I won’t have time to look over the CSs until Monday, so take your time with them and send them to me in a PM. I will also provide examples of combat within the next couple of days, but you don’t need to wait for them to ask questions.

This will serve as an example of the basics of utilizing the combat system. The primary focus of this will be emphasizing combat post format, using the weapon and armor tables, as well as how to use the various attacks. Also note that a lot of the descriptive text with this example was cut short in order to focus on the actual combat system, I encourage you to take your time with the story portion of the post and be very descriptive. This is a zombie horror scenerio and an R rated board, so let the gore fly.

Character: Joe Someguy (Can be found in Character Sheet File)
Combat Map PDF

Just to clarify, Joe is dual wielding a pistol and a hatchet.

Area Conditions:
None

Enemies:
Zombies 1-4 targeting Joe

Example of successful ranged combat

Turn 1:

Joe crouched over trying to catch his breath after he finished running down an alleyway a block from his house where some zombies had just infiltrated. He looked up as he heard the moans in front of him, at the end of the alleyway two zombies noticed him and approached hungrily. At the same time he noticed the moans coming further off behind him, the two zombies that broke into his house had followed him. "Aww hell." Joe said in a defeated tone when he realizes that the tall walls on either side of him gave him no chance to get around them. Joe raised his pistol and targeted the forehead of one of the zombies in front of him and pulled the trigger.

Spoiler:

With a loud bang that echoed off the nearby walls as the round left his gun and hit the zombie square in the forehead dropping it like a sack of potatoes.

Example of successful close combat

Turn 2:

By now the next zombie was close enough to use his hatchet. Knowing that he only had two more rounds in his pistol he decided to attempt a kill with his melee weapon.

Spoiler:

The hatchet cut cleanly into the zombies skull, dropping it lifelessly to its knees. Joe pulled the hatchet from its head and it dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Feeling confident about his ability to defend himself, Joe turned around and decided to get revenge on the zombies that broke into his house instead of running away.

Example of failed ranged combat
Note, since all the effects apply from the last time he used the pistol, you can just copy and paste it with the same values aside from the number you rolled.

Turn 3:

Feeling much more confident about his survival Joe smirked victoriously as he fired another round at the zombie.

Spoiler:

Though his smirk quickly faded as the bullet hit the zombie in the shoulder, not even phasing it as they both pressed forward hungrily.

Example of ranged success, melee fail, exp. Up, and weapon damage.

Turn 4:

Still determined and hungry for revenge, he decided to stand his ground and take his enemies head on.

Spoiler:

The barrel of his gun was only a few inches away from the zombie’s forehead when he pulled the trigger, blowing a huge chunk of skull and brain matter out of the back of its head. The confidence that came from that sight boosted his confidence with using his pistol. Turning to the next one, he swung a wide arc downwards with his hatchet, but it grazed off the side of his head and he felt the head of his hatchet loosen itself from the handle.

Example of using grab break ability.

Turn 5:

The surviving zombie reached out and grabbed his arm that held onto the empty pistol. Adrenaline surged through his body as he met face to face with death.

Spoiler:

The swing went wide and landed into the zombie's wrist, severing its hand from its arm and freeing Joe from its grasp.

Example of failed close combat leading to a grab

Turn 6:

Now with the enemy only having one useful hand, Joe tried his luck again as he targeted the zombie's head with his hatchet taking a quick swing. He threw the pistol at the zombie's head which bounced off harmlessly. Ready to strike he yet again raised his hatchet.

Note: Throwing the gun at the zombie in this instance didn't require a combat roll or cost an advance since it was more of an action for the story and didn't have any chance of affecting the zombie. The only thing it had done was removed the dual wield penalty since he is no longer wielding the pistol. Putting weapons away doesn't cost an advance, only both putting a weapon away and drawing another weapon will do so.

Spoiler:

Joe's grasp of the handle slipped as it hit the zombie's skull causing it to graze off and only take a bit of scalp with it. Before Joe could back pedal, the zombie reached out with its good arm and grabbed Joe by the free arm again.

Example of failed grab break and successful armor check

Turn 7:

Not hesitating to react, Joe attempted to take the zombie's other arm. He raised his hatchet and swung again.

Spoiler:

The hatchet head missed and Joe only managed to hit the zombie's arm with the handle of the axe. The zombie moved in and took a bite of Joe's arm, but only managed to pull away a large chunk of his leather jacket.

Example of failed grabbed combat and failed armor check

Turn 8:

Joe seeing this as an opportunity to finish off the zombie, he took another swing, this time aiming desperately for its skull.

Spoiler:

Joe's panic and desperation kept him from putting enough strength into the swing. The axe landed square on the zombie's head, but only slightly cracked the skull. Once again, the zombie moved in and this time managed to sink its teeth into the side of Joe's hand, ripping off some flesh as it pulled away. Pain shot surged through Joe's body, not willing to give up; he took another, more powerful swing at the zombie.

Turn 9:

Spoiler:

This time the axe head aimed true and cut deeply into the zombie's skull killing it. Joe looked down at the zombie then back at his bloody hand. He knew what that meant; it was only a matter of time until he became one of them... He grabbed the axe that was embedded in the zombie's skull. "Well, now that I have nothing to lose, I might as well take as many of them out as I can.... Hopefully I'll have a chance to finish myself before the virus takes over..." Joe said solemnly.

-------------------------------------------------------------

----------CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE 2----------

General Info & Appearance
Name: Richard Nicholas Gum a.k.a. Ricky
Gender: Male
Age: 29

Frame: Large
Approximate Weight: 182 lb. (83 kg.)
Appearance:


Background
Hometown: Santa Clarita, California, The United States of America
Childhood: Mundane. B student throughout school, played soccer and lacrosse in high school, one older brother and two younger brothers, happily married parents. Enlisted in the military upon graduation and was discharged three months later for prematurely detonating a lump of training explosive with ten milligrams of marijuana in him (no one was injured, although the training instructor went partially deaf for a day).
Education: High School, basic military training, forklift operation (currently requires recertification)
Hobbies: Ricky is a big time video gamer, especially of World of Warcraft, although he enjoys interludes of Halo every now and again. Has strong ties with his online friends. He also reads (Clive Cussler, Lord of the Rungs, Stephen King), sketches, and follows the Anaheim Angels. Ricky also enjoys music, never going anywhere without his iPod. And then there's the Mary-J...

Bio: After his unremarkable childhood and remarkable military fuck-up (it even earned a thirty second chunk on CNN the following day), Ricky moved back to his family in Santa Clarita. Two days later, he was kicked out and moved to the nearest homeless shelter for a few weeks. He managed to land himself a steady job unloading sea freight in Port Hueneme, a small village in Oxnard, north along the coast from Los Angeles. He's worked there for the past ten years with little change in lifestyle. He's enjoyed a comfortable level of living, with a spacious apartment overlooking the harbor. Although he has had a few relationships, none have gotten far enough for someone to move in. Ricky also maintains several ganja plants, which help support the hefty rent of the apartment (his landlord is a fellow addict).

Three weeks before this roleplay, Ricky had bought some time off work, picked up his camera and backpack, and flown to the East Coast. He was part of a wave of would-be thrill-seekers and do-gooders, swarming to the points of infection in New York, Philadelpha, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, etc. etc. Some went to join the "American Militia", while others went just for the helluva it. News stations had done a good job of surpressing the real size of the event across the mostly unaffected parts of the country, and most Americans thought it was a fascinating crisis that, although dangerous, couldn't actually overwhelm America.

Ricky arrived in Cleveland on July 1st (the so-called "Safe Border"), and joined up with an online friend and his girlfriend. Bolstered by hunting rifles and a crate of Phalanx, the trio began to drive to Yonkers, where rumor had it the US Army was going to make a stand. A few days later, they realize that the plague is much worse than they had previously thought. Joe, Ricky's online buddy, suggests they take shelter in Philly until the "storm passes". This is on July 4th. when Philadelphia still had a large military presence. The city is just starting to slip into chaos, and the trio take cover in an abandoned apartment. During the day, they loot food and supplies (water still worked at this point), as well as barricade their apartment. On July 10th, Ricky's online buddy is trampled to death in a panicky crowd outside of a burning department store. Morale flagging, Ricky tries to convince his remaining companion, Joe's girlfriend Ellis, to try and return to Los Angeles with him. However, Ellis convinces him to stay. After all, no way in hell this thing could get out of control, right?

Ellis and Ricky remain in the apartment complex as the city slowly slips from the hands of the living into the claws of the dead. They will still be there on the morning of the 14th, and this will be where my roleplay starts. Don't worry, my first post will still end with Ricky in Harrissburg on the 15th.

Attitude & Personality
Pessimist or Optimist: Optimist
Introvert or Extrovert: Introvert
Personality: Ricky is the kind of guy who drifts through life, letting things come to him as they will. The only times he has taken charge of his life was in joining the military, setting up his life in Port Hueneme, and travelling to Cleveland with his buddy and Ellis. He has little motivation, satisfied to live the simple life. When he works, he fulfills the base requirements, rarely going above and beyond. Socially, he is somewhat of a klutz, and is fairly shy. Despite this, he can be very amiable and overly talkative with people he considers friends. He is always self-conscious.
Most at ease when: He's alone, doing a simple activity; when he's justified
Ill at ease when: He's in the company of people he has positive feelings for; he's the center of attention; waiting; being judged/examined.
Character's soft spot: Comments about his "failure" to achieve big in life.
Is this soft spot obvious to others? I don't think it will be in this scenario, no.
If not, how does character hide it? By not telling them, I suppose.
Biggest vulnerability: His inherent laziness/slacking.
How character reacts in a crisis: In a sudden, immediate crisis (Zombies breaking into their safehouse!!!), surprise followed by wary fear. Ricky would probably try and organize a plan/action, but it wouldn't come as soon as other, more natural leaders.
How character faces problems: Usually impulsively.
How character reacts to new problems: With weary acceptance.
How character reacts to change: Indifferently.
One word used to describe self: Slacker
One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
*the timestamp on the recording states "20:20:12 07/13/09". The small red light dissapears as it starts to play* Hey, m'name's Ricky Gum. I'm from Port Hueneme. *pause as he looks off screen* I like WoW, reading, interesting music, debating religion, politics, and other controversial issues. I love the gays, but not like that. *he smiles, and flicks his chin thoughtfully. Amid the muffled din of shouts, crashes, and gunshots, what sounds like an artillery shell detonating causes a woman offscreen to scream. A few seconds later...* I'm currently walled up with the girlfriend of my dead raiding buddy in a crumbly apartment in downtown Philadelphia, and I am scared SHIT-- *he pounds an unseen table in front of him for emphasis, and the frame rattles, then goes black, as if it fell* Shi--

Interrelation with others
How does character relate to others? He believes nearly everyone he meets to be superior to him; very low self-esteem.
Strangers?: He does not trust them.
Friends?: He does not trust friends either, but certainly relates to them a lot better.
First impression: An average guy: no immediately outstanding characteristics. Just another face in the crowd, really.

Traits
Talents: Perseverance, doing math in his head, keeping a positive outlook in bleak situations.
Extremely unskilled at: Talking and forging relationships, getting started on activities, pacing, making his clothes match
Good characteristics: Humble, compassionate, intelligent, always willing to share, good at mediating conflict and compromising.
Character flaws: Not always the most patient fellow, can be impulsive, often misses things that are completely obvious to others, very stubborn.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: S-6, P-4, E-7, C-4, I-8, A-5, L-8

Gear
Outfit/Armor:
Head - Baseball cap (one seen in picture); hair is three weeks growth from bald, (~0.25 in. / 0.5 cm.); glasses (no replacements/contacts).
Neck - Nothing
Torso - One sports t-shirt (as seen in pic); one long-sleeved button-down flannel (fairly thick) (sentimental item) (may also be tied around waist if too hot)
Arms - Above mentioned button-down flannel; iPod armband on the left arm.
Hands - Baseball batter's leather gloves.
Legs - Well-fit jeans; boxers; if the flannel is tied around his waist, it will also be hanging down behind his legs, to about his mid-calf.
Feet - Normal white socks under solid work-site boots, the kind you see on construction sites. They came with his job, working machinery at Port Huemene's harbor.

Starting Gear: Luckily for Ricky, he had ten or so days to prepare. Most of the equipment is leftovers from his trip from Cleveland to Philadelphia, and the rest is scrounged from looting the city. Most of the food came from a single trip to a dangerously congested and nearly empty supermarket; Ricky carries what's left of what they originally grabbed; some of it comes from the apartment as well.
- 1 average sized backpack (3 large pockets with 2 small external pockets and a water bottle pouch)
- 1 large duffel (1 massive pocket, 1 small elastic net on either end that can hold small objects, 2 small pockets on either side of the main container) (there is a hole cut in the end of the duffel so a rifle can be fit inside of it)
- 1 Leatherman Knife (Sentimental value) (Neglible weight) [Right pants pocket]
- 1 Wallet (Contains roughly $10,000 looted in Philly, as well as credit cards, ID, and a couple gift cards) (Neglible weight) [Left Pants Pocket]
- iPod with battery-linked charger and headphones (0.25 lb. / 0.1 kg.) [iPod Armband]
- 24 Batteries (AA) (2.75 lb. / 1.3 kg.) [Duffel]
- 1 aluminum baseball bat. (2 lb. / 0.9 kg.) [Handheld]
- 5 bottles of Phalanx (size of normal pill bottles) (0.25 lb. / 0.1 kg.) [Backpack]
- 1 pillow and 1 sleeping bag (1 lb. / 0.4 kg.) [Duffel]
- 6 20 oz. bottles (1.5 lb. / 0.6 kg. filled each) (0.05 lb / 0.02 kg empty each) [Backpack]
- 2 paperbacks (0.4 lb. / 0.2 kg. each) [Backpack]
- 1 large hardcover (2 lb. / 0.9 kg.) [Backpack]
- Assorted clothing (2 lb. / 0.9 kg.) [Boxers in Backpack] [Jeans and Shirt in Duffel]
+ 3 changes of boxers
+ 1 spare shirt
+ 1 spare jeans
- 1 Savage Model 111G hunting rifle (7 lb. / 3.2 kg.) [Duffel; Note: the barrel sticks out of the back of the duffel, through a crude hole Ricky ripped in it. It can only be removed by unzipping the top of the duffel and pulling it out by the stock]
- 2 boxes of .338 Winchester ammunition (50 rounds per box) (0.03 lb. / 0.02 kg each bullet) (1.8 lb. / 0.8 kg. per box) [Backpack]
- 1 bong (0.2 lb. / 0.1 kg.) [Duffel]
- 1 sack of marijuana (9.8% purity) (0.9 lb. / 0.4 kg.) [Duffel]
- Assorted foodstuffs, about enough to last one walking person ten days (Bread loafs, granola bars, peanut butter, cookies, bubble gum, water flavorers, various candy bars, pop-tarts, LOTS of Cheez-Itz, and other random things) (~40 lb. / ~18.2 kg.) [A loaf of bread and the peanut butter is in the Backpack] [Everything else is in the Duffel]
Total Weight = ~74.25 lb. / ~33.8 kg.
NOTE: The backpack has easily grabbable handgrips on either side.
NOTE: He carries the duffel so that it is leaning against his right hip, with the strap across his chest and over his head on his left shoulder. Depending on terrain/endurance, he may switch sides or even carry it with one of his hands.
NOTE: Both the backpack and duffel utilize zippers only, and both are brand-spankin'-new.





Well, I hope that is satisfactory. Three and a half hours hard work went into this. Ricky is based off me, but obviously is not me (if you were to cross-check age, location, etc.).

Also, I would suggest lowering the minimum number of players to 3, and leaving the cap at 6. I don't want to see this RP fizzle out due to lack of interest.

Let me know if there are any problems/inconsistencies/etc. I'll be happy to change 'em accordingly.

Alright, now that I am back from my vacation we can get this RP rolling. So far we have 2 registered players (2401 and Kail DeWraith) with 1 who is going to submit his applications to me soon (Kaito playing 2 characters). Even though I origionally said I will start once I have 4 players, it would be a shame to let this RP go to waste while waiting. As such, we will be starting very soon and I'll leave signups open.

As of now I have finalized 2401 and Kail's character sheets and all I have left to do is balance out the weapon charts, which shouldn't take too long. Once I finish that, I will make them available for the players to look over the excel sheet and make sure everything is reasonable. I plan on having the IC thread started either tomorrow or Wednesday, every player's intro post will be like a cinematic and will not use the combat system. Just be reasonable with what occures in your intro. Also, I will be posting examples of how to use the combat system over the next couple of days; so if you have any specific questions, now is a great time to ask them so I can gear the examples specifically for you all. Glad to have you all aboard and am looking forward to getting this thing started.

Furthermore, now will be a good time to discuss strategy with your fellow teammates. I want most of this done in the OOC since the last time I ran this RP things came to a grinding halt once these conversations were made IC. Hopefully you all will decide where you want to go by the time everybody finishes their intro posts, but by no means is there a deadline or will the decesion be set in stone. Here are a few things to take into consideration:

1) Where is your goal? Head west to the Rockies, north through Canada, south to some island, etc.

2) How do you plan on getting there? Method of transportation

3) What route will you take? Travel along roads through towns, stick to the wilderness, etc.

If you plan on traveling by road, you will need to map it out for me showing me all of the roads you plan on taking to your destination. Traveling through wilderness will be more open to the direction, and unless you all state otherwise, I will be assuming that it will be in a straight line to your destination.

Uhm, to state my situation and opinion about it:
I have been to the boy scouts all good, military training, yeah.

But when it comes down to it, I wouldn't want to try to survive a whole winter in the wild without supplies. (Or canada, or some islands)

So my thought would be to wait the panic out, wait until it has settled down, and then try to find what's left of the civilization.

I'm unsure about joining a bigger group; they're more likely to attract zombies, more likely to go haywire and massacre; more dangerous. But on the other hand, there's also the advantage of numbers, and you can trade and exchange experience.

My guy only cares about not getting eaten. As long as he's moving away from zombies, he's cool with it.

>.>

<.<

Sweeeet.

Sorry buddy, got caught pulling an all nighter at work, I'll have stuff up soon.

huh? so you actually do work?
Or is that because of that day of time-registering-software malfunction? if so.. damn ;/

Nope, they actually found work for me that kept me busy until 3am, giving me 3 hours of sleep before returning to work... It'll be a little bit later today (might need a nap after work) but I will get the IC posted.

Kail also needs to post his CS (if he is even stopping by here anymore)

Kaito, how goes the progress on your other CS?

Thank you for your patience, I was blindsided by this deadline and wasn't aware it would keep me up so late.

To be honest didn't work on it, yet. On the other hand, I'm through WWZ and right now half past The Zombie Survival Guide.

(I have been at work until 9:45 pm yesterday, so there wasn't much of my evening, either ;(

greetings

I have written out the IC thread, but I want to wait until tomorrow to post it. Right now my tired state has left it vague and sloppy and I would much rather get off to a good start by having a good first post. So I ask you all to bear with me for just a little while longer. In the meantime, it'll be a good chance to submit your character sheets if you haven't already.

Alright, the IC is now up.

The starting day is July 15, 2009, you can start whenever you want on that day (the news cast takes place at 12:00). Remember to be on the eastern side of the Harvey Taylor Bridge in Harrisburg, PA by the end of your intro post. As mentioned before, this post is to be considered a cinematic, so no combat system needed.

General Info & Appearance
Name: Gabriel "Gabe" Hammet
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Frame Type: Average
Approximate Weight: 175
Appearance:

Background
Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
Type of Childhood: Above average student through High School. Spent 3 years in Army JROTC, and was a member of the marksmanship team for all 3 years. Graduated with a 3.8 GPA and went to USCU for one semester. Took part in Army College ROTC while there, but dropped out after deciding it wasn't for him.
Education: High School Diploma, one semester of college. Several Army FTX's, but no actual basic training.
Hobbies: Playing airsoft (please just wikipedia it), the internet, video gaming.
Brief Bio: Has spent up until now working part time jobs and was just about to join the SC National Guard. Before swearing in, he decided to spend the first part of the summer with his friends. He quit his job and was going to waste some money with a group of friends in Philadelphia because a favorite band was slated to be playing there. Of course, the show never happened. Gabe and company arrived 2 days before the show, but were caught in the almost immediate mayhem that erupted in Philadelphia. In the panic, Gabe has gotten separated from his friends, but managed to grab some of his belongings from his hotel room before being forced out into the streets. That was two and a half weeks ago. Now, he is holed up in Harrisburg trying to devise a plan to get out of the city with his life.

Attitude & Personality
Pessimist or Optimist: Pessimist
Introvert or Extrovert: Introvert
Personality: Gabe is excellent at procrastinating. If it doesn't need to get done right then and there, it will be a while before it gets done. When it's 'in the fan' however, this is not the case. If he is uncomfortable, he will do what needs to get done. He is not quick to start fights, and often lies or falsely gives up arguments for the sake of keeping things peaceful. He tries to be helpful when he can, and generally very agreeable and easy to get along with.
Most at ease when: If he's got time to settle down and think through a situation, there's little that can get in his way.
Ill at ease when: When he feels forced by someone else. He's very particular about being able to make his own choices, he just needs time.
Character's soft spot: Gabe absolutely loves dogs. Every house he's lived in had at least one dog, his most recent one before going to Philly had 5.
Is this soft spot obvious to others? Depends on how many dogs we run into I suppose.
If not, how does character hide it? He wouldn't hide it.
Biggest vulnerability: It's easy for him to get attached to people. He jokingly calls himself a 'stray dog' because of the number of friends he's moved in with over his last years of high school until now.
How character reacts in a crisis: A moment of disbeleif followed by mild anger. A moment of self-collection gleans concentration and a mostly normal attitude.
How character faces problems: Small problems are overlooked unless they become big problems, in which case they are addressed and fixed quickly.
How character reacts to new problems: If it can wait, it waits. If it's life changing, the quickest way to escape the problem is normally taken, followed by a moment of thought and then a plan to defuse the problem.
How character reacts to change: It's not a big deal to him. Since he was in 10th grade he's been moving from house to house, living with different friends. Moving sucks, but if it's gotta happen, he deals with it quietly.
One word used to describe self: Nomad
One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
Well, it seems as though I've been tossed out on my ass. Can't say this has happened before, I normally leave a place because I want to. Anyway, if you find me dead somewhere and pick this up, be sure to put another round through my skull just to be sure. My name's Gabe. I used to like sports, the military, the internet, video gaming, and my dogs. Now, I like running for my life and killing what used to be people. I was from South Carolina and lived a pretty sweet life, and was even gonna join the Army before this shit happened. Oh yeah, and if you see my mom, don't tell her you found a pack of cigarettes on my dead body, she'd be mad.

Interrelation with others:
How does character relate to others? He is willing to talk about anything with pretty much anyone, as long as he can get comfortable with them.
Strangers?: He's quick to befriend others, and doesn't have a problem relying on strangers if he 'feels' like he can trust them.
Friends?: His friends are like family. In fact he probably even treats them better than family. He's got little problem doing something stupid or risky (physically or socially) if a friend needs it.
First impression: He might seem a little awkward, but it's easy to see he means well and is pretty knowledgable.

Traits
Talents: Good with his hands. Can dismantle various objects, and usually reassemble them. Also doesn't have trouble remembering sequences like phone numbers or other similar things like that.
Extremely unskilled at: Asking for help when he needs it. It's not a pride issue, but his independent nature makes him try his damnest at something (and failing) before asking for help.
Good characteristics: Simply put, he's easy to get along with.
Character flaws: He can't easily pick up on non-verbal communication. Odd looks and gestures don't convey emotion to him. He says that he's just a 'straightforward person' to cover this flaw.
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: S-4, P-9, E-4, C-6, I-9, A-6, L-4

Gear
Outfit/Armor:
Head: Tan baseball cap with a velcro "Zombie Hunter" patch. Gabe almost laughed himself to death with the irony.
Neck: Cotton neck gaiter designed for warmth. Sits somewhat loosely on the neck. (Worn when combat is expected)
Body: Black UnderArmor shirt worn underneath a white button-up
Hands: Tan Oakley shooting gloves with sewn in carbon-fiber knuckles. (Worn when combat is expected)
Legs: Tan colored. Rip-stop sewn with multiple pockets, military style pants.
-Two-ply nylon 'riggers belt' with heavy duty buckle and rappelling loop. (Gabe's never used the belt for its true purpose, but it's a sturdy belt that looks cool)
Feet: Wool socks worn under tan Converse 'stealth' combat boots.
Inside pants pockets:
-Leather wallet with $27, debit card, photo ID, and miscellaneous receipts.
-Bic brand lighter. Green in color, brand new.
-Cell phone. Full keyboard style with flip closure. Currently off, battery is 74% charged.
-1 pack of cigarettes, 16 remaining in pack
->Camel brand, blend #9 with menthol

Weight of worn clothes/armor: 17.2 lbs

Starting Gear:



--Small first aid kit (carried in backpack) Total weight: 0.8 lbs (including the case itself)
-Neosporin gel
-10 small bandaids
-Small roll of medical tape (approx 3 feet remaining)
-5 4"x4" gauze pads
-Orange colored earplugs

--Kobalt modular attachment tool kit (carried in backpack) Total weight: 2.1 lbs (including the case itself)
-Phillips head screwdriver
-Flat head screwdriver
-Awl punch
-an array of various angled hooks
-extendable magnet


Closeup of tool kit.

--Attached to belt
-P226 Kydex Paddle holster 0.3 lbs
-P226 (chambered in .40 S&W) 2 lbs unloaded, 3.1 lbs loaded
-One extra P226 magazine (each holds 12 .40 S&W rounds) 1.1 lbs loaded, less than .1 lbs unloaded.
-Smith & Wesson folding knife: .3 lbs
->3.5" blade with staggered spine and serrated edge at the base, all black


Pistol is concealed (like first picture) most of the time, but shirt is tucked behind holster (like this picture) in combat.

(Picture of gloves and pistol. Gloves are kept in back pants pocket when not in combat.)

--Inside backpack Total weight: 29.2 lbs (Including the pack)
-3pr white socks
-2 tan undershirts
-1pr Olive Drab pants (same style as 'equpped' pants)
-1 bottle, 20oz VitaminWater, pomegranate flavor. Approx 80% full.
-2 empty VitaminWater bottles, 20oz
-1 bottle of "Advanced Acai"
->Free trial size, 54 tablets left. Marketed as a weight loss solution, but only suppresses appetite for 9 hours per 2 tablets.
-1 box of .40 S&W. Loose rounds inside of a box, 26 remaining. (Total of 50 carried if you include the 12 in the P226 plus the other 12 in the spare magazine)
-1 cleaning kit for the P226. Includes a set of brushes, 2oz bottle of oil, 3"x3" cleaning cloth. Comes in a 6"x3"x2" case.
-1 CamelBak hydration bladder with hose and bite valve. Hose is secured to backpack strap with a carabiner. Holds 3 liters of water.
-1 'double pack' (40 cigarettes) of Camel #9 Menthol.
-2 spare Bic brand lighters. 1 is functional, the other is out of fuel, but the flint still works.

Total carried weight: 53.8 lbs (including the clothes he is wearing. Without worn clothes the carried weight is 36.6 lbs)

Hi this is Slig. sorry for how late this is but i just found out about it this weekend. I'm trying to get things together and should be able to post a CS tomorrow. I've been talking with Loki to try to expedite (I like that word "expedite") the process and feel confident that i will get everything ready in time. Thank you Loki and other players for your patience.

Hey sorry this took so long to get up. It's been a hectic weekend. Here it is.



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General Info & Appearance
Name: Bobby
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Frame Type: Large
Approximate Weight: 273
Appearance:



Background
Hometown:
Type of Childhood: Growing up in the streets of New York wasn’t pretty. He’s seen shit. Between the ages of 12 to 15 he was in and out of Youth Correctional Facilities and did a stint in a “Wilderness Survival” reform camp for 6 months.
Education: High School (GED) with a little college
Hobbies: Writing, listening to music, lifting weights, shooting, spending time with his close childhood friends.
Brief Bio:
Growing up in Brooklyn wasn’t easy for Bobby. He was the only Islander in his apartment complex. The rest were black. He was instantly picked out as different. And different for a young kid isn’t good. Bobby learned how to fight at a young age. He blames his father for sending him back out to fight the biggest bully on the block, his name was Darren. To win this fight he tossed a few D-cell batteries in a long tube sock and laid into the bigger kid with them. Needless to say the fight was finished.

High School, well school in general, wasn’t very appealing to Bobby. He spent most of his days hanging out with the high school drop outs, getting into trouble, playing balls at the park, and enjoying life. His life drastically changed when he was arrested, tried, and convicted for assault and battery of a man who had sexually assaulted his girl friend. He spent the next 4 years at Rikers Island than Comstock. He got out when he was 22.

Bobby moved to PA after living in Brooklyn his whole life. The reason- he needed a definite change. Fredrickburg wasn't his first choice but cheap living and the chance to find a job made him stay. He work as a local welding shop doing apprentice work while he took online classes at smaller community college in Fredricksburg. When everything happened, Bobby packed up what he could in his house, and headed for the west.

Attitude & Personality
Pessimist or Optimist: Pessimist
Introvert or Extrovert: Extrovert
Personality: He doesn't say much but when he does talk he never bites his tongue or holds back. Very volatile temper and is overly aggressive. He shows that he has a ton of confidence in himself when he actually loathes himself and questions every choice he makes
Most at ease when: Someone else is the center of attention
Ill at ease when: When he has to take care of someone else, although he often does take care of people
Character's soft spot: Children who are suffering
Is this soft spot obvious to others? No
If not, how does character hide it? His tough guy front
Biggest vulnerability: His pride, he is too afraid to admit he hates the dark, tight enclosed spaces, and being alone for to long
How character reacts in a crisis: He keeps calm, tries to organize his thoughts, but questions himself to much when a crisis happens
How character faces problems: He reacts to the best of his abilities
How character reacts to new problems: He tries to find the best way to react and adapt to the situation. His tough guy facade often gets him into deeper shit because he doesn't want to show fear
How character reacts to change: He handles it the best he can by hiding his hate for change. If everything would stay in it's proper place and order no problem would come about, right?
One word used to describe self: Wary
One paragraph description of how character would describe self: I'm a survivor. I don’t care what the environment is, I’ll survive. I don’t care who is in the environment. I’ll survive. Put me in the jungle with a 900 pound Gorilla, I’ll fucking survive.

Interrelation with others:
How does character relate to others? His heart goes out to everyone but he hides it with a "why do I give a fuck?"
Strangers?: He really does care but he shoves his feelings down deep inside of himself
Friends?: He takes care of these people. If you are his friend he will bend over backwards to make sure you are safe and taken care of.
First impression: Most people see him as a dumb person who never thinks shit through, which most of the time he doesn‘t think shit through. A slow thinking, muscle bound moron.

Traits
Talents: Most physical activities he excels at (lifting, running, fighting), shooting is also something he is decent at
Extremely unskilled at: Math, listening to others, thinking about all the options before reacting
Good characteristics: Compassion and loyalty
Character flaws: Quick to act, very bad temper, honest to a painful degree
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: S-9, P-8, E-8, C-3, I-3, A-8, L-3

Gear
Outfit/Armor:
Head- Black NY ball cap, Hijinx Oakley Sunglasses
Torso- White under shirt, black button up, black Carhart Chore Coat
Arms- See above, Fossil Watch on left wrist
Legs- Loose jeans, boxers, Timberland boots

Starting Gear: Bobby is, to put it bluntly, paranoid! He had a large amount of ammunition and several firearms at his apartment in Fredricksburg. Along with taking an interest in the outdoors after his first stint in the “Wilderness Survival” reform school.He had these things to bring along with him.

- Large internal frame backpack /w 100 oz hydration lung (pack 4.6 lbs plus 100oz lung)
- 1 rain poncho (12 oz)
- 1 Magellan GPS (3.4 lbs)
- 3 weeks dry pack MRE’s (32 lbs total)
- 1 small camp stove (4 inches, 1.2 lbs)
- 3 fuel cells (3 lbs total)
- 1 flash light (1.8 lbs total)
- 1 bow saw (1.4 lbs, 24 inches long)
- 1 8x10 tarp (2.4 lbs)
- 1 Slumberjack -40 below sleeping bag (3.7 lbs)
- 65 .357 Sig rounds (5 13 round magazines, 10 lbs total)
- 51 9mm rounds (3 17 rounds magazines, 6 lbs total)
- 100 .12 ga rounds (13 lbs total)

- 1 Glock 32 (.357 Sig caliber/ 20.9 oz, 7 inch long, 3 inch barrel, 1 round in chamber 13 in mag)
- 1 Glock 17 (9mm caliber/ 24.79 oz, 7.32 inch long, 5.43 inch barrel, 1 round in chamber 17 in mag)
- 1 Mossberg 500 (.12 gauge/ 24 inch long barrel, 4.9 lbs, 1 round in chamber 8 in tube)
- 1 K-Bar knife (3 inches/1.3 lbs)
- 1 ax handle (40 inches/3 lbs)

General Appearance


Name: Bill “Slig”
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Frame: Average
Weight: 185


Background
Hometown: Northwood, Ohio
Type of Childhood: Went to a small Catholic Grade School. I did well in grades, but I didn’t have many friends.
Education: Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and completed a course in Green Energy and Construction.
Hobbies: Movies, Reading, D&D, Video Games, Community Theater, Making things from Chainmaille
Brief Bio: I lived in a small town in Ohio just outside of Toledo most of my like. I went to a Catholic grade school Public H.S. Friends were sparse and often backstabbers leaving me very untrusting of people. However if I consider you a friend weather I trust you or not I will do anything for you. I have a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, but due to poor economy the field of engineering is a grim prospect for someone just starting out. So I switched to taking classes in green energy and construction. After completion of the course I moved to Philly to follow a job prospect. I’ve been there 2 weeks when the zombii outbreak started.

Attitude & Personality
Pessimist or Optimist: Optimist (Hundreds of movies have taught me that everything will work out in the end)
Introvert or Extrovert: Introvert (Often daydream in my own world. Line between reality and fantasy get fuzzy)
Personality: Very quiet. Often speak in incohesive phrases or movie or song quotes.
Most at ease when: Most of the time. I just go with the flow of things. I don’t need to know why things are happening just what I need to do about it.
Ill at ease when: Meeting new people or have to rely on someone else.
Character's soft spot: Ladies (They’ll be the death of me yet)
Is it obvious: Probably I don’t hide it well
Biggest vulnerability: I get exhausted quickly, but I often push through the exhaustion til I vomit or pass out. Warmer temperature will expedite this reaction (78 deg or higher)
How character reacts in a crisis: Usually pretty well deal with problem then move on.
How character faces problem: Simplest way possible, or leave it be and let it take care
of itself.
How character reacts to new problems: Whatever just something else to take care of.
How character reacts to change: They usually go unnoticed.
One word used to describe self: Whatever
One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
I’m kind of a loner. I don’t really care if there are other people around or not. At least that’s what I tell myself. In reality I get really depressed if no one is around.I don’t have any training with weapons but I do have practice. Every year since 2000 I’ve held Pumpkin Smashing Day Parties in my back yard. Me and my friends get all our pumpkins and implements of destruction together and smash pumpkins til there is nothing left. So I am familiar with the weight and feel of my weapons. I haven’t fired a real rifle just a BB gun rifle, but I’ve always been the best shot among friends and family. I know it’s completely different, but it should help.

Interrelation with others
How does your character relate to others: I don’t trust people to tell me the truth. They’re all liars. But I don’t have a problem working with them to get a job done. I try to avoid open conflict with people.
Strangers: Cautious
Friends: I would do anything for them, but I’m always waiting for them to stab me in the back.
First impression: I’ve been told that peoples first impression of me is creepy and weird.

Traits
Talents: I work well with my hands. Also, I’m a good problem solver.
Extremely unskilled at: Dealing with people that are causing problems. Not very athletic.
Good characteristics: I always do what I can to never let people down. I always try to keep the mood high.
Character flaws: I keep myself emotionally isolated and get upset when people try to pry into my feelings.
S=4
P=7
E=4
C=6
I=8
A=5
L=8

Gear
Outfit/Armor:
Head: Big cheap sunglasses
Neck: Voodoo talisman for good luck. Norse symbol of balance. Norse ax. Celtic symbol of virtue.
Torso: Black T-shirt. Old cardboard tube taped to back to hold my spear. (This works I’ve done it before), Leather Jacket, Half finished chainmaille shirt
Arms: Watch on right arm. Chainmaille bracelet on the left
Legs: Black jeans, chainemaille belt.
Feet: Black steel toed boots.

Starting Gear:
Backpack
Contact solution
3 pairs extra contacts
2 pairs spare glasses
1 bottle asperin
cell phone
sony walkman MP3 player
charging cables for both
duct tape
bug spray
sun screen
butane lighter
box of matches
pocket knife
crowbar
set of 6 pliers
white sneakers
leather belt
wallet with $100 ID Credit card
2 other black T-shirts
3 pairs of socks

Weapons
Battle pick. Held in belt
Black Machete. Taped to outside of backpack in a cardboard sheath
Sword (no sharpened edge but a really solid blade. It will crush bones easily) held on belt
Dagger taped to right side of backpack in cardboard sheath
Spear (not confident it will hold up long but it has a really sharp blade) in tube on my back
Old shotgun (single shot 16 gauge 43 rounds) carried.

_
________________

World War Z: Do you have what it takes to survive a zombie apocalypse?

Great news everybody! I have officially finished the character sheets for everbody and the weapons are now pretty well balanced. I'll be providing a link soon to allow you to view and save them to your computer. Now I'll prepare a few combat examples, if there are any specific examples you are looking for, please let me know.

Also, for those who have yet to post an intro, please to so soon so that we can move on with the story.

Perfect timing! I'm wrapping up the last few paragraphs of my intro post (although it's starting to look more like short story), and should have it up within two hours.

And then we can get this show on the road.

P.S. My intro posts are always monsters. They'll be much shorter once the RP gets moving.

I'll have it posted tomorrow evening.. (my timezone, mates)
Going to get some sleep, now.

Shit! >_<

I left the character sheets on a flashdrive back at work. I'll upload them tomorrow, sorry guys.

Hey guys, I didn't know if you all were reading the other threads I've been posting in, but I'm going to be shipping out to Army Basic Training on July the 8th. I had no idea that it was gonna be this close, but I am still going to play for as long as I'm here. Once that training is done with, I'll be going on to advanced training (an additional 10 weeks) but I will have computer access during that time. Everything will be back to 'normal' around December. Sorry to push this on everyone, but like I said, I had no idea that they were making my ship out date so soon after my paperwork got finished.

I'll make an intro post, and depending on how far along we are when I leave, maybe I could switch control over to one of you guys and resume after I get done with my initial training...

Congratulations DeadEye. Good luck in Basic Training! :medievalfight:

Uhhhh.... Ya....

I think I went overboard. I had to triple post because it was nearly triple the word limit. O_o

DeadEye: Even if nobody wants to take your character, we can allow him to hold his position somewhere until you return, in which case you can make another intro post explaining how you made it back to the group. Or you could always come back as a new player with the new level of training.

2401: Do work!

Loki wrote:2401: Do work!

*furiously does work*

amidoinitrite?

2401:
As per forum rules, you may want to move your OOC stuff in here.

Your post looks good, although Yonkers fell on the 15th, but asie from that you have a pretty good idea as to how things are turning out and the events you pointed out are well suited for this RP. Nice work.

Just so you know, you arrived at the meeting point about 8 hours ahead of time. So could you either mess with your timeline a bit or simply put in some filler action until it is 8:00PM?