Have you tried this in play?

Nope. This is total experimentation at this point.

Does it take a good hit for one to score a wound?

I'll have to double-check the unarmed combat attacks of zombies to confirm, but yes...it's my expectation that it'll take a Good success or better to score a wound. And, since no one will be wearing "armor" in a modern setting, that means any wound damage will transmit the virus.

I suppose any armor could downgrade the damage or are you going to improvise hit locations so they can end up biting unprotected hands, etc.? This sounds like a pretty cool way to do it if it all works out.

Nope. No armor. No improvised hit locations. I'm going to make it so the zombies are slower than the living. So, much like in The Walking Dead, your best bet is to keep moving away from the zombies. Of course, there'll come a point in the adventure where I do intend to corner the heroes. That's when we'll see where the chips land.

In GURPS, the zombies have been simply deadly, sometimes even in ones and twos.

The same situation should apply in Alternity. If zombies gang up on someone, they're going to be in dire straits. No doubt about it. And, if someone wants to get in close with a zombie, they're going to need to initiate some grapple/pin tactics if they want to avoid any chance of getting bitten.

A few of our guys have gotten good at beating them down but....Essentially, if any damage gets past armor (and we pretty much have none) then you're getting infected. It takes a pretty good HT (health) roll to not get it...at least we haven't seen anybody make the roll yet.

It'll be the same deal in an Alternity-based game. Anyone who gets "exposed" to the virus will still have a chance to fight it off (meaning, the exposure simply wasn't enough to get them infected in the first place). But CON feat checks against disease (especially one as virulent as the zombie bug in The Walking Dead) won't be easy to avoid. You get bit and you're likely a goner...eventually. And that's really the important part. Just because the bite accelerates things doesn't mean you die right away. So, the heroes in this game can continue to help the others in surviving. They'll just know that eventually, they'll succumb and become a threat to the group, as well.

Should be fun. :->

So I thought I might give it a go now...

Oh man, I liked Alternity. I still haven't quite forgiven 3e for causing it to get canceled.

I SO wanted to play Dark*Matter, but never had the money for the books nor the interest in my gaming group. I love my little gang of mass murdering grave robbers, but as we don't get together even once a month at times D&D/Pathfinder is all they want to play.

sigh.

I SO wanted to play Dark*Matter, but never had the money for the books nor the interest in my gaming group. I love my little gang of mass murdering grave robbers, but as we don't get together even once a month at times D&D/Pathfinder is all they want to play.

sigh.

We tried the QSR, I was the pilot.

It was a great little adventure :)

I may be more into rules lite systems nowadays but I liked this one nonetheless

DungeonmasterCal wrote:

I SO wanted to play Dark*Matter, but never had the money for the books nor the interest in my gaming group. I love my little gang of mass murdering grave robbers, but as we don't get together even once a month at times D&D/Pathfinder is all they want to play.

sigh.

We tried the QSR, I was the pilot.

It was a great little adventure :)

I may be more into rules lite systems nowadays but I liked this one nonetheless

Starfall; STAR*DRIVE novel came in the mail today

really good so far

I always liked Alternity. I was on the Living Verge staff (Alternity Star*Drive Organized Play) when WotC acquired the Star Wars license and announced plans for Living Force. The campaign staff decided that they wanted to go out with a bang instead of whimper because it was clear that the setting's days were numbered.

I always liked Alternity. I was on the Living Verge staff (Alternity Star*Drive Organized Play) when WotC acquired the Star Wars license and announced plans for Living Force. The campaign staff decided that they wanted to go out with a bang instead of whimper because it was clear that the setting's days were numbered.

Interesting.So what was it? That 'bang'?

I recently got my hands on Alternity and Star*Drive. I'm really eager to give it a go with one of my gaming groups. Reading though it all, it's a real shame it didn't get more support. If it weren't for name recognition, I'm sure it would have beaten the pants off D&D 3rd.

I ran my group through The Killing Jar for Dark*Matter. While they did enjoy the story, some had a hard time adjusting to the different mechanics. My players are a bit stubborn. Once they got the gist of things, the play moved quickly. The only thing that really slowed us down was that I spent a lot of time looking up skills because we were new at this.

I would love to run it again and I will but it will be with StarDrive and this time the players will all make their own characters instead of choosing through a dozen premades. I think they will feel a bit more attached and have a better understanding of what they can and can't do. Besides, they all want to play something other than a human.

I also LOVE Alternity. I'm sure Neil has me beat, though.

Anyway, I'm currently running a modified Dark*Matter game. It's more supernatural than aliens and we are enjoying the mechanics a lot. (My campaign notes are here: http://dmgaming.pbworks.com/w/page/59882409/Alternity%20-%20Urban%20Fantasy %20-%20Denver )

My group and I recently tried a lot of games. Dresden RPG, Star Wars Saga, Castles and Crusades, Shadowrun 4E, Vampire Requiem, Exalted, d20 CoC, as well as 3E and 4E DND and PF. At the end of it, we decided to go with Alternity. And my players completely surprised me by saying that they thought that Alternity was a very good system that could be used for nearly anything and they would enjoy it. I was caught off guard by that!

I have found Alternity to be a very good system mechanically that also allows my group to tell the stories we want. It's heroic but has elements of realism there. Really glad we are using it!

sieylianna wrote:

I always liked Alternity. I was on the Living Verge staff (Alternity Star*Drive Organized Play) when WotC acquired the Star Wars license and announced plans for Living Force. The campaign staff decided that they wanted to go out with a bang instead of whimper because it was clear that the setting's days were numbered.

Interesting.So what was it? That 'bang'?

Sorry, my computer was stolen so I never saw your reply. A big interactive with multiple groups. Group A had to take down the shield generators (equivalent) or Group B would die (this was only a small part of the interactive). As far as I know (and I've been doing living campaigns for a long time), that is the only time where PCs could have died with absolutely no control over their own fates because the other players failed. It was an epic battle and everyone was happy to see the campaign go out on a high note.

@stroVal wrote:

sieylianna wrote:

I always liked Alternity. I was on the Living Verge staff (Alternity Star*Drive Organized Play) when WotC acquired the Star Wars license and announced plans for Living Force. The campaign staff decided that they wanted to go out with a bang instead of whimper because it was clear that the setting's days were numbered.

Interesting.So what was it? That 'bang'?

Sorry, my computer was stolen so I never saw your reply. A big interactive with multiple groups. Group A had to take down the shield generators (equivalent) or Group B would die (this was only a small part of the interactive). As far as I know (and I've been doing living campaigns for a long time), that is the only time where PCs could have died with absolutely no control over their own fates because the other players failed. It was an epic battle and everyone was happy to see the campaign go out on a high note.

Sounds like a good idea though.Sorry about your computer, I hope you were compensated in some way

Sounds like a good idea though.Sorry about your computer, I hope you were compensated in some way

I was insured, with replacement cost coverage, and it was still pretty much a joke. There were over $3K in items stolen and a $1K deductible. I got a check for $500 for everything (after depreciation) and another $200 when I replaced the computer and monitor. I can get additional money if I replace other stolen items in the next 18 months.

I was disappointed, the stolen computer was about a year old and I expected it to be completely replaced with no out of pocket cost, but that didn't happen. Since I am in the process of buying a house, there just isn't money available to replace some of the other lost items.

@stroVal wrote:

Sounds like a good idea though.Sorry about your computer, I hope you were compensated in some way

I was insured, with replacement cost coverage, and it was still pretty much a joke. There were over $3K in items stolen and a $1K deductible. I got a check for $500 for everything (after depreciation) and another $200 when I replaced the computer and monitor. I can get additional money if I replace other stolen items in the next 18 months.

I was disappointed, the stolen computer was about a year old and I expected it to be completely replaced with no out of pocket cost, but that didn't happen. Since I am in the process of buying a house, there just isn't money available to replace some of the other lost items.

:(

:(

Thank you. Money spent replacing stolen items and putting in a security system isn't available to buy a house, but the situation could have been far worse.