I am running a d20 modern PBP.I want to keep it as close as possible to the core rulebook. Standard character creation. This campaign is going to have to survive in a Zombie invasion as you might have assumed from the title. Since it is a zombie apocalypse and money has lost a lot of value (because it cant kill zombies and you cant eat it). I am taking away wealth bonuses and replaces it with something called (SH) searching hours. For example, a cell phone is roughly 9 wealth bonus/searching hours, well to get it you must go to the logical place you would find it (Verizon store) then you must tell me how many SH you are willing to devote to finding it, based on the amount of time you spend and the relevance of the area to the item I will tell you if you are successful.
However, I don't care if you spend a week looking your not finding a tank in a grocery store. Also before during your character creation you get 15 SH to spend on different items that are listed in Core rulebook.
So to get a cellphone it would 9 SH so 15 - 9 = 6 so you have 6 SH left.
During the days because you have 24 hours in a day you start the days with 24 SH. However I recommend that you spend some of it sleeping because fatigue can cause you to overlook things and possibly fall asleep while running from a zombie horde.
The world has descended into chaos. There is no government, no laws, no safety. It happened and no one could have predicted it. Everything had been normal then jobs, security, and satisfaction with life. All that ended when you heard the screams of the lost and the relentless moaning of the undead. Money and luxury do not matter anymore. All that matters is your will to survive and your skill with a gun or blade. As you watch the horror that is engulfing the city farther into chaos you quickly grab items and escape the zombie hordes. You no longer work in a corporation, you no longer work with investors and entrepreneurs. You work with farmers, gatherers, and hunters. You work with survivors........
Sweet!
Been waiting for a d20 modern game and a zombie apocalypse one at that! How did you know?
Haven't cracked this book in a while but I'm leaning towards a Fast hero.
Dotting for interest. Either a smart hero, or a charismatic one, if the swindler from d20 future is allowed.
Some quick questions
How long has the zombie invasion been happening?
Do we have any idea what started it?
Where in the world are we starting out?
The zombie invasion is just beginning however it is not as intense as when it initially started. It's more of survivors looking for a place to stay. So I would say its been started maybe a 2 weeks ago.
No, there is some rumors passed by very little trade between bands of humans but no solid evidence of the cause.
Most likely the city then diffusing into rural areas since the more populated areas result in more zombies
Also the post brent brent made is one of my aliases I just forgot to change the post as. That's the background story on the campaign.
I'm interested. I like zombie survival, and I was even considering putting up recruitment for my own modern zombie game (probably using the somewhat-developed Modern Path, a Pathfinderized version of d20modern). I'll have to find my information again, but I may look at a Strong or Tough hero, since a couple others have been taken (and I like the idea anyway).
Dotting interest.
1. Are we just surviving by our wits or did we expect the ZPOC to be upon us or a mixture of?
2. Are we prepared or unprepared or a combination of both (You have your BoB (Bug Out Bag) but miles from any of your possible survival locations?
3. What is our location in the US?
4. What kind of Zeds, Zeeks, or whatever are we dealing with. Undead (Traditional), NBC (Zombieland), or Nanotech (Unsophisticated Borg), or we don't exactly know. Are they Type Romero, Type The Walking Dead (Fast until rot), or fast all of the time, or we have not had to time to observe?
5. Are zombies a known genre to us or unknown like in The Walking Dead. Supposedly, the genre does not exist in The Walking Dead.
6. Is this the SRD?
I'll probably be fast hero and/or multi-class into Fast/Smart Hero.
@ Anderlorn - Its surviving by your wits. Your going to be on your toes a lot your characters are very unprepared and its like the walking dead
where the characters are unknown to the undead. The location I would say probably around Alanta, Georgia that's the scenery of the location.
We are dealing with mixtures of different kinds of zombies.
Ha, that may change my character concept, then. I was actually working with the idea of a tough cop who'd been working the streets... Little too like our Walking Dead hero, eh? I wasn't big on the idea anyway, I'll see what I come up with.
@Da Gm - Since we are in the US, can I play a neophyte Prepper (aka Survivalist).
Basically, a survivalist without a survival compound\retreat. He was saving up for one until Day Zero hit.
1. BoB - Eberlestock Gunslinger Tactical Pack
2. (2) Firearms - (1) Bullpup Carbine (Tavor TC-21), (1) secondary side arm.
3. Earth tone clothing, hiking boots, 5.11 Tactical Vest or similar vest.
4. Etc.
I guess I should say my persona will be a neophyte Prepper if permitted.
I would have to say no to the prepper/survivalist for one reason. Just because I want to highlight the unpreparedness and surprise I would prefer if the characters had little or no survival training or experience.
Also if everyone could post their characters background story (what they did before the invasion started , Virtues or vices in their past, etc.) and their stat crunch all in one post just to make everything organized and not all over the place and recruitment ends 6/28/13.
I would like to put forth an idea.
Trane Loften was an intern at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta when the zombiepocalypse broke out. He realized that the cure would not mean a hill of beans if everyone was eaten by zombies or civilization fell.
Many years of medical school taught him how to heal others and do some field research. Rather then sit in the large building with the suits, Trane took to the streets to do what he could to help. As an anti-establishment type with a history of computer hacking, he did not trust 'The Man" one bit to handle this crisis correctly. He was originally from San Antonio, Texas, so of course he took his firearm collection with him and his laptop and smartphone.
Smart hero angling to be a field medic or field researcher.
Note: This is the alias I will use, but not as a ratman alchemist. He will be geeky premed student if selected.
Da GM -
How about this path?
Fast Hero - Occupation: Technician
He would be more of a maintainer\hacker of computer systems and networks. And not an inventor of Operating Systems and New Hardware.
I actually know a geek who fits this category, although not sure how good of a marksman he is. The last time I talked to him, he had (6) CCIE certifications and was into body sculpting.
For those that don't know ...
If he is going to be a hacker/maintainer of computer system. But seeing that the characters are just trying to survive I can't think of a reason other than contacting help and depending where you are looking for one it can be a lot of trouble to get. You can pursue your maintainer of computer system, but I would recommend a mechanic like path like trying to get vehicles that are damaged repaired or helping to break into a vehicle without setting alarms off. I just think you would encounter more chances to use those skills more than maybe hacking which if you are trying to get help I wouldn't understand why you would do that. Just a word of advice however above all being a technician is fine if you want.
True enough and perhaps a character like Trane's can fulfill both medical and computer techie. In a real life ZA scenario, I think there will still be a need for someone to have computer skills but not as a primary or secondary ZPOC skill.
Looking at the rules, I will still be a technician for my occupation but I will focus in other skills.
Playing around with ideas, still. Haven't yet decided whether to go strong or tough, but I'm thinking I'll make a blue-collar type. I keep playing around with an exterminator, so he's probably going to end up something like Vasiliy Fet from The Strain trilogy (if you know those books).
Playing around with ideas, still. Haven't yet decided whether to go strong or tough, but I'm thinking I'll make a blue-collar type. I keep playing around with an exterminator, so he's probably going to end up something like Vasiliy Fet from The Strain trilogy (if you know those books).
Hey Loup, do you want to be the mechanic and I'll take structural? Why structural engineering? To build things to keep zeds out longer than someone who doesn't have structural engineering. He can also assist in building things on to vehicles.
Hmm, I can always take Blue Collar too and focus on things a cowboy would be good at - animal handling, riding, perhaps a little dabbling in mechanical? Horses will probably be a better mode of transportation outside graveyard cities. Escaped elephants would be good too.
Why horses?
1. You do not have to worry about fuel.
2. You do not have to worry about finding parts.
3. You do not have to worry about starting it while the horde moves in.
4. Much faster than a zed or super zed.
5. It is an early warning system.
6. Depending on the zombie, it can be used as a distraction to escape.
7. It can be a friend.
8. It can be used for food and clothing.
9. On average, do not generate as much noise as a motor vehicle.
I agree that horses are (one of) the best mode(s) of transport in the event of zombies. And it wouldn't be hard for characters to figure that out, either, I should think.
I just finished up the crunch for my current character, a tough hero who's got a set of brass knuckles just begging to knock in some zombie skulls. Of course, that's not a great idea in a lot of cases... But it works well enough, and they're a lot easier to get than a gun. He actually ended up more like a side character from The Fall.
However, I'm not against swapping stuff around to make him more of a mechanic or such. But I'm not sure how much a Tough hero would fit that... It's hard to make one good at much but surviving when you're out of practice like me.
This will be the name of my character ...
I am keeping my character Fast Hero and Technician Occupation - my (3) skills will be structural, knowledge physical sciences, and repair.
Just a quick synopsis, a more in depth background to come.
He was a architectural engineer with a minor in mechanical engineering. He worked on cars when he was younger and still does off and on to maintain those handy skills. He belonged to a gun club and has a few other hobbies which I will list later.
He attended SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture)(By the way, #2 in the nation after Cornell), then moved to Atlanta Georgia to a large Architecture firm designing structures of all sorts for corporations, the wealthy,and the middle class.
He was out at the gun range squeezing a few rounds when the range was attacked in force by zombies who were drawn to gun fire. He barely escaped from becoming human sushi.
@Da GM
Do we use wealth to start out with and then convert to SH?
~Anderlorn
Trane has Zombieland loaded on his smartphone.
He plans to observe the rules regularly!!!
Good cardio and avoiding public restrooms are at the top.
Trane, Da GM stated there is no Zombie genre is in our character's world. However, that doesn't mean we can not create our own zombieland rules.
Ah, looks like Tommy boy there is covering our mechanical needs. Unless needed, I think I'll keep Spencer Collins as he is now. Still running over fluff in my mind to get it sound, and who knows? He might end up changing around later on.
I do second Anderlorn's question of whether we can use Wealth to get gear along with the 15 SH, or not.
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I'm thinking of creating a Dedicated Hero, who was part of the FBI pre-zombie apocalypse. Heavy in the investigative skills and skilled with a pistol.
Special Agent Samantha Bowie - Dedicated Hero, Insightful Talent Tree, Investigative Career
29 year old female
Sam was born in Denver, Colorado, and after graduating from CU Boulder joined the FBI. She has been stationed out of the Atlanta Field Office ever since graduating from the Academy. Initially it was quite the culture shock for her to be in the South, but she was growing accustomed to the pace of life and the city itself. She is a goal-driven to a fault and will do whatever it takes to accomplish whatever task is in front of her. She has a keen eye for detail that has served her well in her career and is first to volunteer for anything that needs done.
Driven to her profession out of respect for father, a local cop who was killed on duty, Agent Bowie loves her job and gets great satisfaction out of solving cases and righting the wrongs caused by crime. However, she is still greatly haunted by an unsolved case from when she was still a junior agent. A string of child abductions across several states in the South with grizzly scenes left behind. Occasionally bouts of insomnia will hit her as those images hit her in her dreams, and she turns to less desirable forms of self medication found in her liquor cabinet.
Right before the zombies hit, she was on vacation out at Lake Allatoona when radio reports first started coming in of the disaster. She escaped with her life, but it didn't seem most of the others back at the agency were as lucky.
Also for stats and HP, are we doing a point-buy or rolling on the thread and using those numbers?
Alright to help clear some concerns and questions.
@Sersi-You are rolling on this thread and using those numbers. I also had said in the first post that I wanted to keep this as close as possible to the core rulebook, I would like things basic but in the complicated world of a zombie land. However I am going to be editing things in the core rule book to make them more adapted to a zombie environment.
@Loup Blanc and Tom Arpat- In the rare times you do meet human traders or a passing caravan you would use money, but because supplies have more uses than a piece of paper. Supplies will be a more accepted form of currency however, on page 204 of the core rulebook it shows item costs and purchase DC you will use that for Example: You want to search for $5 dollars the SH for that would be 2. If you want your character to have money as the things he quickly grabs with his 15 SH you may. But supplies can also be traded for money depending on how the trader feels about using money rather than ready-to-go goods.
Also if you may have noticed I did say at the beginning of the day you have 24 SH in a day but you may sleep some of it. For things like a Hummer truck is costs 34 SH however, you may do long term searching where you may pool the SH out of your day to reach 34 SH. I understand you may say well how come it costs 34,"everybody's dead! it shouldn't be very hard?" Because it is hard to look for one that doesn't have engine problems or it completely bolted shut that you don't want to risk setting the alarm off. However if you are someone who can take care of vehicle problems you may cut the cost in half.
Ah, okay. And rolling sounds good; I was working with the "elite" array from back in those days and disliking it quite much.
=16
=8
=10
=15
=16
=11
I'm happy with those. Now to see how Spencer evolves, if at all.
Looks like my stats (equivalent to a -2 point buy) make me a nonsurvivor :-(. I don't think a 130 IQ (13INT) will get you through med school.
Last recruitment using rolled stats these were my rolls
4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 5, 3) = 14
4d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 6, 2) = 20
4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 6) = 15
4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 6, 1) = 11
4d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 4, 6) = 20
4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 4, 6) = 16
I wasn't selected because my character would have been 'too good'.
Trane, if that set doesn't qualify you for a reroll I don't think anything does. Stop rolling rigged dice!
= 12
= 13
= 17
= 14
= 14
= 13
Hmm. Yes. These will do nicely.
Good good, this will also help me more with my background as I get closer to finishing the stats and etc.
~Anderlorn
Sersi here. This is the character I am submitting (still tweaking a bit. Info in the profile)
=15
=14
=13
=13
=11
=5
Oh My... 5... That is well... Something...
Uh oh, we are broke another Da GM rule because we are either blind, getting old, or too spastic.
Anyway Da GM, can use we create a consolidated post of this *** into "Discussion" and/or just post our character links?
Also if everyone could post their characters background story (what they did before the invasion started , Virtues or vices in their past, etc.) and their stat crunch all in one post just to make everything organized and not all over the place and recruitment ends 6/28/13.
In addition, can you please consolidate the rules into Campaign Info when you have some time? I would do it for you if I had admin access to the thread. That "may" help mitigate redundant questions and "oversight".
Thanks for your time and bringing Zombieland to us applicants!
~Tom (Anderlorn)
Okay ill take care of that
Da GM - not to strike a bad nerve, I am just making sure I understand. Except when trading with people, we know SH will be used to search for goods/gear after Zero Hour or Day. How about character creation? Standard Wealth check for that or are we going right into role playing scrounging for gear to equip our characters?
Are you allowing any changes in restrictions? I noticed that silencers (Suppressors) are military restricted. However, with a $200 ATF Class 3 Tax Stamp and a clean background, you can legally own a silencer in GA. This is only for character creation, who cares what the restrictions are during the ZPOC. The problem is the old philosophy of what you have before Z-day, you will have definitely have during Z-DAY.
Now why does Tom have one? Good question, he primarily uses it to improve accuracy by reducing gas flow and placing weight on the end of the barrel, it looks cool, and he had some friends tell him about the $200 tax stamp. In addition, the preppy gun club he belong to was receiving a lot of noise complaints so in order to stay active, the gun club enforced all members to add a silencer to their weapons. It was both a snub and to reduce the noise to comply with the complaint by the Gun Club.
~Anderlorn
If allowed a reroll
That was almost a 10pt buy
@Tom Arpat- There are no restrictions because one reason most of the standing army and law enforcement are DEAD! Unless for some reason a corrupt soldier or law enforcer try's to bend the law you don't really need a license. However since you did need a license before Z-day to own specific weapons such as a pistol. I have thought up a solution you may carry one simple weapons from the core rulebook that you may include in your character's items. I will allow a Beretta 92F to use with a single attachment except the detonators. However if you do carry a weapon you must incorporate in your character's story that they have a case of paranoia. The paranoia may cause specific drawbacks to your character's chances of success and might cause loss of sleep. I am including paranoia to help balance the fact you have an advantage by having a weapon. Most of the weapons you get will be found.
@Talmonis- I no problem with a former policemen. However do not try to recreate the hero from the walking dead try to do something original.
@Da GM, so I am looking at dropping all 15 given on a MAC-10, as my character is a fed and would see the importance of looking for a weapon as soon as possible. And as it seems from the guidelines set out, I wouldn't be able to just come with my service pistol standard (Glock I believe for FBI?). And well... given my rolls. A Melee weapon isn't too practical... (5 STR). Does that sound reasonable to you?
Da GM, before taking a paranoia, I want to see if having a Beretta 92F with Suppressor is worth the trade off. Extreme Paranoia could help feed the undead or become one of them. I take it a Colt Carbine (semi-auto) with suppressor is too powerful? Personally, I think that would actually fulfill the paranoia category more. However, I do understand your reservations as well.
Ooh, I see someone else is looking at a tough hero now (and actually going police, which is what I'd done originally. Huh). Anyway, I'm going to switch Spencer into a Strong Hero.
Not sure whether to go with paranoia or not, especially considering his stats... I probably won't.
Not sure whether to go with paranoia or not, especially considering his stats... I probably won't.
Normally I would agree with you, although a paranoia in Zombieland fits. Let's see what the paranoia does and if there are choices for it?