Zombiepocalypse

[Slortar]

It pretty much does what it says on the cover.  Guns and zombies, done micro.  

http://69.51.142.222/spylite/Zombiepocalypse.pdf

I've designed it as an addition to SpyLite ( http://69.51.142.222/spylite/) , but it'll probably work just fine with MicroModern, too.

2 lean, mean pages.

[Darth Cestual]

Excellent work Slortar! Zombies make everything better.

[Slortar]

This is true.  A day without zombies is like a day without sunshine.

[WildWalker]

THAT is COOOOL!!!

Summed up the whole genre in two pages.

Brilliant!

WildWalker

[Slortar]

Thanks for the enthusiasm.  

[Slortar]

Now updated with some rule and monster edits, 4 more Actors, a section on improvised weapons (chainsaws, lawnmowers and garden gnomes, ftw) and the inevitable bug fixing.

It's now at a meaty (fleshy?) 3 pages.  *sigh*

[WildWalker]

Beleive it or not I liked the two page one better. Do you still have it somewhere? I overwrote my copy and I wanted to compare the two to see why I thought the other one was better.

I have a theory...
WildWalker

[Slortar]

Sadly, no.

Hm.  Differences, off the top of my head:

Fear, re-written to have a more traditional d20-based mechanic.  New version is more concise and less punitive to players.

Two of the Dials folded into Unremarkable.

Wording slightly changed on a few of the other Dials for clarity.

Gooey and Standard Zombies reworded to allow Grab and Bite tactics.

Fixed a few typos in Zombie section.

Added Ravens and Raven Flocks.

Zombie Plague buffed up so it's more of a threat if it's being used in a game.

Typos/errors corrected in Actor list.

4 more Actors added.

Improvised Weapons and Weapons List added.

Major difference, I'd say, is that it's 3 pages long instead of 2.  In MicroLite terms, that's War and Peace length.  

[WildWalker]

I'm still wrapping my brain around it but I think I know what makes this seem less good to me even though there is more and better material.

I think it has to do with the paradox that more stated possbilites seems to reduce the overall level of acceptable "virtual" possiblities. Have just a few and I feel like I am allowed and encouraged to extrapolate. Have a ton and I feel like I shouldn't need to. In the middle and I feel like the job just wasn't finished...which is just weird because there is more and better material added to a product that was very finished.

Okay...that makes no sense...I guess I'm back to stumped.

Gotta tell you, though...I LOVE the ravens, ...I watched the Resident Evil movie 3 weeks ago with my wife and she can't LOOK at a crow without freaking out.

Oh I can't wait to run a zombie game with this...<cackling evilly>

WildWalker

[Slortar]

Actually, that makes perfect sense.

It's like the difference between having a Lego set to play with and the entire content of a Menards.  I'd be kinda stumped with all of Menards sitting in my back yard.  Legos, however, rock.

Oddly enough, I did a Resident Evil marathon on Sunday with a few friends and the crows reminded me of my dreadful lack of undead flappy things in my game.

[WildWalker]

Okay, I had to do it. Here is a Movie Length adventure.

“36�
 Need a map. I'd use one of the big ship maps from Traveler or Buck Rogers XXVc or Star Fronteirs but I'm sure you could find other good ones.

Opening Text:

It was a pretty good party. Actually it was a GREAT party. Plenty of good looking beings of all stripes and the intoxicants just kept flowing.

Y’all are not really sure who though it was a good idea to use the newly built mass transfer grid to go “someplace different� and “cure what ails ya’� all in one hit but someone randomly spun the dials and y’all translated to wherever “36� was, giggling and laughing the whole way.

Until you woke up at the other end screaming as a pain that feels like 10,000 needles rips through your body with the force of a compression bomb.

Something about that transition just wasn’t right…really, REALLY, not right…

Entry room: There are 20 transition beds with a digital clock above the bed counting down from 60 minutes. All of them are filled with people the players came through…and lived (take 1d6 damage)…the rest literally scream themselves to death as you watch.

Let that scene play out for 5-7 minutes and then have the power cut out and the entire room goes to emergency lights. A calm voice from the station AI then comes from the speakers on the wall and says, “I am sorry to inform you that the main power grid for Station 36 has been compromised. Someone has turned off the coolant feed to the reactor on Level 7. If coolant is not restored in 50 minutes I will be forced to scram the reactor. There will not be enough power to maintain the return lock if the reactor is scrammed. I apologize for bothering you with this but my powered peripherals have been damaged and I cannot restore the flow myself. I will print you maps and show you where to go and what to do to restore the reactor.�
Keep a timer so you can keep things moving and remind them every 5 minutes. “You now have…45 minutes.� “You now have…40 minutes.�

Pass out the maps and let the people get a plan and get happy…or at least until they find out that the door is locked. Then drop the bomb. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience but I locked it to protect you. You may need to watch for the crew. They are not really well. You now have 30 minutes.�

Then the pounding on the door should start. Zombie pounding. And groaning. And screaming.

The way out is the duct work. The problem is the rats. Chittering zombie rats. Enough for a small horde for each of your Players. They should get attacked when they pull the grates off. The Players should be able to stomp them or find improvised weapons and win pretty easy and they shouldn’t get inundated but you should get a good scream out of it.

Once they get out of the vents they should be able to hear the group of shamblers punching at the door. If they sneak well they might be able to miss them. If not they should get chased and either have to react or get away. Either way they should run into another couple when they open the elevator unless they manage to get around them. They should get ambushed when they hit Engineering.

They should be pretty confident once they shut down the reactor and the AI tells them they can now go home…unless they don’t make it in time…then you can do the final scene in Engineering.

If they make it then the lights should come on and they should make it back to the entry room where the AI will then say, “I’d like to announce the good news that you’re friends have awaken.� And open the door…to a brand new horde of zombies…

And that is where I would end it… no resolution…no die…no kill…

WildWalker

[Will]

Talk about a killer GM.....

[WildWalker]

Yup.

Seriously, I could see a group hammering through all of the nasties and that just doesn't feel like a zombie movie to me.

Of course I could be wro... <urk> <gurgle> <CRUNCH> <drip> <drip> <drip>

WildWalker

[Slortar]

Oh, that's beautiful.

I don't know which way I'd go with that--make it System Shock-ish or have it be Space Vegas.  It's an awesome scenario either way.

Definitely agree that happy endings are NOT in genre.  

[greywulf]

Frontpage'd!

Brilliant, as ever, Slortar