D20 Zombie Survival Campaign

Game Master brent brent

All of everyone characters are going to start walking around the city in different locations

Sam walked down the empty street in the middle of the day. It was hot, and she was tired, hungry, and thirsty. But she was alive. She hadn't spotted a Zed for several hours but was still making sure to keep where she lots of escape routes. Felt like just yesterday she was back at the Atlanta Field Office working a normal case, and one short weekend trip to Lake Allatoona later... well this is what's left of the city. The FBI Special Agent now was alone armed only with a replica rapier she looted from a sporting goods store, a roll of duct tape, her badge, and her years of investigative experience. As the sun continued to rise, she could only hope her fencing skills would translate to using the more lethal weapon and that she could find some other survivors soon...

I miss the hangover... Manny thought to himself. At least then I was distracted from all of this.
Manny quietly stalked through the street, in the center of which a large city bus had been overturned. Blood caked windows and the smell of death kept him from investigating further. I'm gonna need a way out of this hell. Car isn't gonna make it though. Kind of wish I learned to use a motorcycle, but now sure as hell isn't the time to try.
Step by step, avoiding broken glass, he moves in a determined manner.

Guilt was striking him. Guilt that he hadn't died with the rest of his station as it came under attack. Guilt that he didn't even consider going to help. Guilt even for hiding for days in his home, listening to the screams, the gunshots, the explosions and of course, the ever present moans of the undead. Out of food, the water lines cut off, Manny was forced to set out into the world.

Consolidating, part of the story will be in my background

It is the middle of the day, alert as ever, Tom is walking down the small township's main street giving anything where a crawler or lurker could be hiding a wide berth. Up ahead, he sees a figure but cannot tell if it is a crazy cannibal, a raider, or a normal "decent" human being. Not taking any risks, he chokes up on his long steel crowbar bearing the marks and blood of World War Zombie or at least Civil War Zombie. He looks left and right as he cautiously proceeds down the road to the unknown figure. Tom currently does not see any firearms so in order to save ammunition and possibly attracting any nearby zeeks, he uses his crowbar for now. Although he has a silencer attached to his 9 mm, there is still a chance to ring the dinner bell with each shot. The street is currently clear of bodies or Tom would be smashing in their heads as he passes the bodies. One of his invasion of the crazy people rules, is to not let anything with meat and an intact skull remain with an intact skull. In the last two weeks, he has run into problems with leaving seemingly dead bodies keep their intact skulls.

Tom mutters to himself in a whisper, "You can do this Tom, not everyone is crazy or criminal!" Tom continues to cautiously proceed towards Sam, holding a long crowbar like a baseball bat, and very alert.

Samantha take a cha check against Tom's fear check which essentially is a wisdom check if Sam fails and Tom's fear overcomes him he has to do something reckless.

Manny take a spot check as you are in the bus across the street from Sam and Tom about 80 ft. away

1d20 - 3 ⇒ (9) - 3 = 6
Well this may end poorly :)

Here's Tom's will check unless you are rolling it?

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

If I'm about to be attacked from behind, I assume I get to try to detect his presence, so in case they are needed:
Spot (for a shadow cast behind me): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Listen (for noise Manny makes): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Spot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

A little late on my part, but correction to my listen check: it is for any noise Tom makes, not Manny. My apologies.

Aw, man...

Spencer walks down the street, his hands in his pockets, his hood up, his bag secured tightly to his torso, the strap across his chest diagonally. His gaze is constantly shifting around, looking everywhere, hoping that he'll see one of those... things... before it sees him. I just wonder what the hell they are. Sure look like people, but they sure aren't...

Looking up at the sun, Spencer notices the time of day has to be around noon. Normally, I'd be heading to lunch after a session, then off for my jog... He looks around. Well, at least I'm getting my aerobics. And moving stuff takes care of the weightlifting, I suppose. He sighs softly. Nothing quite makes up for the bag, though--not keen on the thought of trying to box one of those monsters.

Deciding to take a break, the welterweight walks until he finds a car with the door open. Checking to make sure it's empty, he sits down and fishes an energy bar out of his bag. At least I have these, he thinks, his gaze also falling on the flashlight he threw in. But water's important, and sooner or later I'm gonna run out of spots to find that. Hopefully I find a person soon.

As he eats, slowly, Spencer keeps his eyes and ears open for anything.

Spot: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Listen: 1d20 ⇒ 19

EDIT: Okay, so Spencer will probably hear stuff, but not likely to see it... Also, I'm wondering if zombies in this are immune to nonlethal damage like undead usually are. More for ideas of what Spencer's done up to this point than wondering if he actually stands a chance against them. I.e., could he have "punched out" a zed that attacked him, whether by actually killing it or by just knocking it out/down?

Spencer hears noises coming from farther down the street. Manny watches from the bus as the confrontation between Sam and Tom escalates as Tom motions to his pistol.

Sam and Tom determine the Init order @Spencer did you take a feat that makes your nonlethal damage lethal

Tom's paranoia is playing havoc on his deductive reasoning and he exchanges his crowbar for his black handgun with a silencer, and begins to aim it at the unknown moving figure. He remains quiet and continues to proceed towards the target. Tom eyes widen with fear, begins to sweat profusely, and whispers, "80/20, 80/20, 80/20 odds of success."

Init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

LOL, my turn to roll low. Da GM, how much have I lost it or is it an all or nothing state of paranoia? Spence, you need Combat Martial Arts. Unless there is a new feat, it is the only unarmed feat that generates lethal damage.

Seeing the scene before him, his mind springs into action. No no no no no!

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Manny Rushes with all he's got to get in front of the woman, raising his arms, palms out, in a placating gesture.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Easy there pal, easy does it! Put down the gun and come on out slowly. She's alive, and so am I."

Spencer looks up suddenly as he hears someone shouting down the street. Living people! Shoving the bar in his pocket, the man grabs his bag and moves down the street, though he still tries to keep some cover, keeping low as he jogs and trying not to step on any of the broken glass or rubbish on the street. So quickly things go to sh*t...

Move Silently: 1d20 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 2 - 5 = 13
Hide: 1d20 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 2 - 5 = 2
Penalty for moving quickly

As for lethal damage, I have not taken that yet. It didn't make sense for a boxer to train himself to kill with his fists--at least not Spencer, who's a sportsmanlike athlete. I'll probably take CMA next level as my bonus feat--I just wanted to check whether or not he'll be at all effective against zed with his fists.

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Spotting the potential attacker, Sam spins around seeing the man with the gun.

Move Action to pull out badge
She flashes her badge (for whatever it means now) and puts a hand on her sword:
"Whoa! Put the gun down! I'm not... I dunno affected or whatever. Look normal! I'm an FBI agent, just calm down and lower your weapon."

Move Action to pull out rapier.

Tom take a wisdom check on DC 10 with a -5 penalty for paranoia striking if you fail you have to start running because the paranoia is consuming your actions. I am also going to make a check to see if any nearby undead hear the conflict and determine how many I will use their constitution score for their wisdom. The DC is 15.

Listen Check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

The undead moans or whatever activity they are doing drowns out what most of the conflict is.

The longer you guys fight the more chances the undead will get to roll for listen checks

Now standing between the two armed individuals, a hand up, palm outward toward each, looking back and forth.
"Ok now, let's calm down here folks. No need for anybody to get hurt here. I'm officer Mendoza of the Atlanta PD, Badge number 83099. Let's all put away our weapons and quiet things down, before some of those things show up."
Here's hoping they don't ask about the badge...or lack of uniform....or the gun. Hell, here's hoping the just don't ask anything.

We have been mostly quiet thus far so I will just mark the roll of 6 up as Karma role playing ... LOL

Tom jumps at the presence of Manny and now aims his handgun at him. Not the first time that Manny has been on the other side of a gun. However, the first time in a long time he did not have his own service pistol to even up the odds. Tom looks over his shoulder for an escape exit which is most likely from wince he came. He begins to mumble in a whisper, "60/40, 60/40, 60/40 chances of success."

Considering Tom's fear, the handgun is pretty stable and leveled at Manny.

Will check: 1d20 + 1 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 1 - 5 = 1

LOL, Run FOREST Run!!!!

Tom mutters in a low voice, "F- this!" and takes off like a college wide receiver from the direction he originated from. He tries to keep in the center of road to help mitigate from being jumped and stays clear of things that can be hiding "crazies".

Tom's speed is currently at 140.

You gotta be kidding me... Manny thinks to himself, as the gunman flees down the street. He's gonna draw them out and onto himself. And if I'm not careful, onto us.

In a stern but calm voice:
"Maam, I'm going to need you to put away the weapon. We need to move on, and right away."

Manny scans the area visually, and listens carefully for any moaning.

Spot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Listen: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Spot (looking over Manny): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"APD, huh?" Sam asks disbelief as she fails to spot a badge or anything else on his person that would identify him as law enforcement. She sheaths her sword and offers her hand while flashing her FBI ID and badge in the other. "Special Agent Samantha Bowie. So... Shall we stop the panicked guy before he gives away our location to every flesh eater in the metro?"

Poking his head out, Spencer sees a man with a gun take off from two other individuals, one with--Hell, is that a sword?--and a badge in her hands. Relying on simple instinct, the young man runs out and tries to push the runner back. (Resolving as a bull rush. A little wonky what with initiative, but maybe treat like a readied action to move into Tom's path and then into his space as he's running. If for whatever reason I can't do this, just let me know.)

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Bull Rush: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

"APD, huh?" Sam asks disbelief as she fails to spot a badge or anything else on his person that would identify him as law enforcement. She sheaths her sword and offers her hand while flashing her FBI ID and badge in the other. "Special Agent Samantha Bowie. So... Shall we stop the panicked guy before he gives away our location to every flesh eater in the metro?"

Manny gazes over the FBI badge. FBI eh? What's she doing here?

Diplomacy to show sincerity.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Um Spencer you can try to bull rush him provided you strike before he does because I'm pretty sure in the position he is in he is not going to hesitate to shoot you

Undead's Check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Sorry disregard that last check I forgot to throw in the other modifiers

Undead listen check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

The Undead start to shift towards the sudden disruption nearby.

The way this is going to work is I'm going to roll a d20 and Manny will be 1-5, Sam will be 6-10, Spencer is 11-15, and Tom is 16-20

Undead attention: 1d20 ⇒ 15

The Undead start to shift towards the figure bolting at another trembling figure holding a gun poised.

So, Da GM, do you want me to roll anything else? Like, an opposed initiative check? As it stands, it seems like in round-by-round "combat," this round Tom has taken the Run action (full-round action, so he can't attack), while I've double-moved into his path and space and initiated a bull rush. If he gets a chance to shoot, he gets a chance to shoot, but it seems like he wouldn't by the rules.

By the rules, Spence is probably right. Realistically and speaking from experience, I think Spence would get shot or get shot at because Spence has to come from the front into the middle of the street to intercept Tom or Spence would not catch Tom (120' vs 140'). This is one of those gaming gray areas and I personally don't want to shoot Spence but my character is scared and armed. Now we have zombies in the mixed.

On the other hand, one could look at the rules for readied actions and such as Spencer waiting until Tom is nearing a good interception point, at which he darts out the rest of the way to push him back. And looking at the Run rules and the penalties to AC, it seems implied that running is an all-out sprint that consumes all your focus, making it less likely that Tom would notice someone coming quickly in his peripheral vision. It's all up to the GM in the end, though. And I'm accepting if Spencer's actions get him wounded.

I would agree with the fact that if you are running as fast as you can in one direction you would be entirely focused on running, however also Tom may have a burst of animalistic survival mode where his eyesight and hearing will be increased as well as his eye-hand coordination. With that being said I guess if Tom is able to pass a listen check to hear Spencer coming then he could take a shot however to show the sudden change only a natural 20 will show a hit. I think that shows the randomness of him despite all odds turning around to shoot but then again the greater possibility of him getting tackled by a boxer. Also Spencer and Tom will take an opposed initiative check to determine order if Tom succeeds after the listen check then he may take the near impossible shot. I personally like the fact that I threw that paranoia in just to help influence random actions in the characters it makes things more interesting

I will also roll to determine how many zombies are at Spencer's position. I will make the roll and divide it by 2.Remember the longer you stay there the longer the zombies will have to track you

Undead's number: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Undead Listen Check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Six decaying figure move toward the figure of Spencer and Tom.

"Ah hell, here they come. Come on Agent Bowie, now would be a good time to get out..while we still can."

I will post after I know the results of my rolls. I am glad who ever is enjoying the paranoid dynamics, but this loss of control is driving me nuts ... LOL. I took it to add more dynamics to add to the role playing and it fits the genre. I hope I can steadily improve the paranoia.

Spot: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Listen: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Opposing Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Alright, you've basically got the Listen check. I'll roll for the fun of it...
Move Silently while double-moving: 1d20 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (20) + 2 - 5 = 17
Opposing Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
And my Strength check was 15.

Sam is about to leave but then with great annoyance turns around,

"We have to go help them. The best way to survive is more people who are unaffected. Plus I can't just sit back knowing they will die..."

She draws her sword and heads towards the zombie horde.

Move Silently: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Tom is sprinting as fast as he can down the road, he hears and spots a single figure trying to sneak up in front of him and is slightly distracted by the other more obvious (6) decaying "crazies".

"Lady, you're out of your mind. The more noise we make, the harder it's going to be to get out. We can try to get that other guy over there, but I think the one has got way too much of a head start."

Crazy people...This is a nightmare.

Manny turns and rushes toward the dead converging on the other man.

So Tom beat Spencer's silent move check as part of an opposed check meaning that Tom hears Spencer however Spencer reacts faster to Tom turning around so he can't get off a shot. Also Sam the zombies are going to take an opposed listen check for your move silently and I am going to test for more zombies and who they are going for and how many

Undead Listen check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Sense Presence of Humans: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Number of zombies coming: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Eight more Zombies approach Spencer and Tom's conflict as Sam and Manny attempt to save them.

Sam isn't seen by the zombies as they are entirely focused on the scene unfolding before them. The initial 6 zombies are almost upon Spencer and Tom and are 15 ft away.

Now we are going to start a round by round combat phase with the groups of 6 and 8 zombies coming and Sam can attempt to start a surprise round against the zombies but only she can since she is move silently out of sight of the zombies

Assuming my bull rush tackle worked...

Spencer immediately tries to steady the man he ran into. "Calm down, huh?" He holds up his hands. "Nobody's trying to hurt you."

Then he hears the zed footsteps behind him and turns to see them. "Sh*t. They're trying to hurt you." With that, he takes off at a jog away from the creatures. Double move in the opposite direction, thank you much.

Rapier attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Sam aims her sword for the back of the head of one of the zombies chasing the others, and then she turns to Spencer as he tries to flee.

"Grab him, we have to get out of here."

Tom looks at Spencer with wide eyes and then at the slumbering crazies. Perhaps this stranger is correct? Tom looks around for the quickest escape from the biggest threat, the zombies. Tom runs in the best direction or takes the best route to escape.

Spencer pauses by the woman long enough to nod. "You too, though." If Sam doesn't come with him, he hangs back to try and help.

The rapier did not sink deep enough or do enough damage to the brain to cause the zombie to be truly dead it merely stumbles forward and continues its pursuit.

One of the zombies makes an attack Sam

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Damage If a hit: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Tom is not into fighting zombies hand to hand especially a group of them. Therefore, he looks for the best hole to escape through and goes in that direction, "Oh, I have got to get out of here! Chances of success are very low!"