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Myshlaevsky
2009-10-29, 08:50 PM
So right now I'm planning out an urban zombie survival game. One thing I want to include are two % charts, rolled on at character creation, that give you random bonuses. I think I'll seperate these charts into Traits and Advantages. Traits will be someone about you, personally or physically, that gives you a bonus. Advantages will be items gathered at the last minute that help you chances (well, most of them).

What I'm looking for is ideas to fill out these lists to 100 possibilities.

Traits

Natural Immunity: You cannot be infected with the zombie virus.
Not Appetizing: Zombies have a lower chance to detect you.
One of Those Faces: Zombies have a % chance to pause when attacking you, remembering their former life.
All Creatures Great and Small: Wild animals are by default more friendly to you.
Well Rested: You can go an extra day without sleep without becoming fatigued.
Lucky: You may add or subtract 1% from all % rolls, including this one if you wish. If you change this roll you will lose the Lucky trait from this point on.


Advantages

Drew the Short Straw: You have half a match.
Man's Best Friend: Your pet has survived the crisis. Roll to see what your pet is.
Tallahassee: You have a box of twinkies.
Series of Tubes: You printed off 10d10 Google Maps pages before you lost your internet connection.
Mornington Crescent: You have a leaflet detailing all the metro routes and stations in your city.
Extra Ammunition: You have 6 extra rounds for your firearm, or for a random firearm if you do not currently have one.
Zombie Bait: For some reason, you had a lot of raw meat in your fridge. For an even stranger reason, you brought it with you.
Brought a Snack: You have 10 days of emergency rations.
Collector: You have a complete collection of rare baseball cards.


So obviously I'm missing a lot guys. This is a work in progress and I'll update it as I go. Any suggestions are welcome.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-29, 09:02 PM
What game system are you using? The Zombies! one?

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-29, 09:04 PM
What game system are you using? The Zombies! one?

Nah. I have no experience with that and in all likelihood it will be something bashed together out of percentile dice. I'm aware that might constrain suggestions a little, but just try to say what you want your idea to do if it does.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-29, 09:08 PM
Well, I'd suggest you pick up the zombies game. Even if you throw away the rules and cards right away, you still have a sack of a hundred zombies and a bunch of player characters. Plus, a city map. It's pretty reasonably priced, too.

And frankly, having giant swarms of zombies is half the fun.

The_JJ
2009-10-29, 09:14 PM
Cardio: You tire more slowly.
Limber up: You take few injuries for enviromental effects and phisical exertion.

Also, give bonus xp for checking the backseat, wearing seatbelts, and doub;e tapping.

Actually, the double tapping thing ought to be it's own reward.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-29, 09:19 PM
Cardio? Don't believe in it.

Deth Muncher
2009-10-29, 09:26 PM
Traits:
Athletic (runner): You can run for twice as long without being fatigued.
Athletic (lifter): You can lift/carry twice as much.

Advantages:
Marksman: You're exceptionally good at shooting. +1 to attacks with guns.
Big Gun Master: Where did you get that anyway? You have one big gun (flamethrower, rocket launcher, machine gun, etc) that you begin the game with, as well as a full clip (or fuel tank, or bandoleer of charges, etc).
Finder: You're good at finding useful things. Whenever you kill a zombie, there is a 5% chance that they will have something useful to you on their...corpse (several rounds for your gun, a Twinkie still in its wrapper, etc)

Cute_Riolu
2009-10-29, 09:29 PM
Cardio? Don't believe in it.

You don't believe in hearts? Are you a lich or something?

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-29, 09:36 PM
Well, I'd suggest you pick up the zombies game. Even if you throw away the rules and cards right away, you still have a sack of a hundred zombies and a bunch of player characters. Plus, a city map. It's pretty reasonably priced, too.

And frankly, having giant swarms of zombies is half the fun.

I'll be editing Google Maps with things like ruins, barricades and S.O.S. messages for my maps. The players probably won't see them, but I'll use them for description and reference.


Cardio: You tire more slowly.
Limber up: You take few injuries for enviromental effects and phisical exertion.

Also, give bonus xp for checking the backseat, wearing seatbelts, and doub;e tapping.

Actually, the double tapping thing ought to be it's own reward.

Cardio sounds good. I'm not sure if Limber Up will be worth implementing, nor am I sure if xp will be a component of the setting. I might include a chance for any one zombie to get back up, to encourage double tapping.


Traits:
Athletic (runner): You can run for twice as long without being fatigued.
Athletic (lifter): You can lift/carry twice as much.

Advantages:
Marksman: You're exceptionally good at shooting. +1 to attacks with guns.
Big Gun Master: Where did you get that anyway? You have one big gun (flamethrower, rocket launcher, machine gun, etc) that you begin the game with, as well as a full clip (or fuel tank, or bandoleer of charges, etc).
Finder: You're good at finding useful things. Whenever you kill a zombie, there is a 5% chance that they will have something useful to you on their...corpse (several rounds for your gun, a Twinkie still in its wrapper, etc)

Marksman & Finder should really be traits as well but are both good. Marksman will probably be an increase of 5% to shooting tests. Big Gun Master is neat but probably too much for this game - I might put it in without the ammunition. Athletic (lifter) is good and I will probably change (runner) to (sprinter) and let it make you sprint twice as fast. The fatigue thing will come under the above suggestion of Cardio.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-29, 10:07 PM
I've been tinkering with a zombie game system myself... I've got a trial running on another forum at http://forums.tauonline.org/index.php/topic,86320.0.html

Relatively simple, D6 based...my biggest problem has been being too lazy to update everything. Once I get the rules nailed down, Im going to develop a computer game from it, and work on getting some actually decent graphics for it.

BRC
2009-10-29, 10:09 PM
Traits
Winning Smile: you have always been charismatic, and will be better at influencing other humans.
Under the Hoodlum: A combination of basic automotive knowledge and a somewhat disreputable past means you know how to quickly break into and hotwire a car.
Justifiably Paranoid: You are very good at hearing Zombies coming for you and awake quickly and easily.
Pyromaniac: When you were six, you got a chemistry set. You used it to burn the garage down. You're very skilled at making improvised molotov cocktails.
The Bear Survivor: You deal additional damage with baseball bats.
Adrenaline Junkie: While in combat and for five minutes afterwards, you are not fatigued.
Dumpster Diving: You can salvage food and useful items from dumpsters
Advantages
BUZZ!: You grabbed some energy drinks which can be used to stave off fatigue.
Hey, Look, a Bird!: You have a pair of Lockpicks.
In Touch: You grabbed a wind-up emergency radio.

Dimers
2009-10-29, 10:10 PM
Traits:
Aura Reading: able to distinguish zombie from messy human or corpse on sight
Cool Under Fire: no penalties to actions from stress
Outta The Park: great at swinging blunt objects
Bullseye: very accurate throwing
Tiny Tim: size helps you get into small places and makes you a little harder to hit
Urban Planning Afficionado: map of the sewer system
Bloodhound: really sensitive nose
Mascot: you improve other people's chances when they're doing something to save you directly
Red Swingline Stapler: you deal extra damage with fire
Natural Blonde: zombies target you last out of any group
Watch The Elbows: better unarmed damage
Ventriloquist: can make your voice seem to come from up to 15 feet away
Illuminated: you actually have some idea of the true nature of the zombies
Scoobie Snax: You can perform beyond normal limitations for the right reward, which your friends just happen to have on them.

Advantages / Items:
videocamera
night-vision goggles
flashlight / electric lantern / kerosene lantern
beer
fishing rod
can of gasoline
set of lockpicks
stilts
rope
twine
disinfectant
hairspray
garden implements
blowtorch, with or without welder's mask
inline skates / skateboard
You Don't Have To Outrun The Bear: bicycle
caffeine pills / energy drinks
pulley / block-and-tackle
can opener
water purifier
bunsen burners
gas mask
rubber gloves
quiet shoes
running shoes
bag of marbles
bullhorn
walkie-talkies
extra batteries
car battery
wire clippers
wading boots
duct tape
goggles and swim fins

Dimers
2009-10-29, 10:14 PM
Under the Hoodlum: A combination of basic automotive knowledge and a somewhat disreputable past means you know how to quickly break into and hotwire a car.

Oh, well quipped, sir! :smallsmile:

BRC
2009-10-29, 10:15 PM
Oh, well quipped, sir! :smallsmile:
Why thank you.

Also, your "Outta the park" does pretty much the same thing as my "The Bear Survivor", the only difference appears to be that mine is an Inglorious Basterds reference.

Edit: Same with "Pyromaniac" and "Red Swingline Stapler". But as yours is an office space reference, it wins.

Lycanthromancer
2009-10-29, 10:35 PM
I've killed men with my bear hands: You're a blackbelt in ursine-style kung-fu; % bonus when fighting unarmed, and improved chances of decapitating any zombie you hit.

Psychic worrier: You have a sixth-sense when it comes to knowing where the zombies congregate.

Rabid gamer (MS Flight Simulator): You don't know how to fly a plane, but you can wing it well enough for government work.

Rabid gamer (Resident Evil): "I ain't scared of no ghosts zombies."

Rabid gamer (Minesweeper): Massive bonuses on sanity checks due to self-inflicted boredom.

Rabid gamer (Tetris): Your backpack/minivan/carry-on luggage can fit 50% more than normal.

Rabid gamer (Movie-to-game conversions): You're near-impossible to break via torture, since you already torment yourself.

Genre savvy: You've watched scads of zombie flicks and know exactly what NOT to do during a zombiepocalypse.

Y2Okay: Your basement-slash-bomb-shelter is still filled with bottled water, cans of SPAM, and medkits from when you (or your parents) panicked back in '99.

Fistful of BOOMSTICK: You have a shotgun and enough shells to outfit a small 3rd-world nation; you can reload much faster than normal, and have a better chance of an instakill.

Dirty old man: You have stashes of pornography, cigarettes, candy, and beer hidden all around town, and can use them as salable commodities.

I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV: You're a local celebrity, and people tend to listen to your advice before others, even if they're bona-fide "experts".

Fizban
2009-10-30, 02:24 AM
I don't have anything to add, I just needed to say that Lycanthromancer rocked. That is all.

Myshlaevsky
2009-10-30, 02:38 AM
I've killed men with my bear hands: You're a blackbelt in ursine-style kung-fu; % bonus when fighting unarmed, and improved chances of decapitating any zombie you hit.

Psychic worrier: You have a sixth-sense when it comes to knowing where the zombies congregate.

Rabid gamer (MS Flight Simulator): You don't know how to fly a plane, but you can wing it well enough for government work.

Rabid gamer (Resident Evil): "I ain't scared of no ghosts zombies."

Rabid gamer (Minesweeper): Massive bonuses on sanity checks due to self-inflicted boredom.

Rabid gamer (Tetris): Your backpack/minivan/carry-on luggage can fit 50% more than normal.

Rabid gamer (Movie-to-game conversions): You're near-impossible to break via torture, since you already torment yourself.

Genre savvy: You've watched scads of zombie flicks and know exactly what NOT to do during a zombiepocalypse.

Y2Okay: Your basement-slash-bomb-shelter is still filled with bottled water, cans of SPAM, and medkits from when you (or your parents) panicked back in '99.

Fistful of BOOMSTICK: You have a shotgun and enough shells to outfit a small 3rd-world nation; you can reload much faster than normal, and have a better chance of an instakill.

Dirty old man: You have stashes of pornography, cigarettes, candy, and beer hidden all around town, and can use them as salable commodities.

I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV: You're a local celebrity, and people tend to listen to your advice before others, even if they're bona-fide "experts".

I'll put in Psychic Worrier and "I'm not an actor, but I play one on TV.". Some sort of vehicular skill and packing skill could be appropriate. If I institute a fear system I'll institute a trait that helps resist it. Your item suggestions are a little strong to go down as attributes, but Dirty Old Man could work because you need to travel to retrieve the goods.


Traits
Winning Smile: you have always been charismatic, and will be better at influencing other humans.
Under the Hoodlum: A combination of basic automotive knowledge and a somewhat disreputable past means you know how to quickly break into and hotwire a car.
Justifiably Paranoid: You are very good at hearing Zombies coming for you and awake quickly and easily.
Pyromaniac: When you were six, you got a chemistry set. You used it to burn the garage down. You're very skilled at making improvised molotov cocktails.
The Bear Survivor: You deal additional damage with baseball bats.
Adrenaline Junkie: While in combat and for five minutes afterwards, you are not fatigued.
Dumpster Diving: You can salvage food and useful items from dumpsters
Advantages
BUZZ!: You grabbed some energy drinks which can be used to stave off fatigue.
Hey, Look, a Bird!: You have a pair of Lockpicks.
In Touch: You grabbed a wind-up emergency radio.

Adrenaline Junkie, Under the Hoodlum and Justifiably Paranoid will go in. I'll roll Dumpster Diving into Finder. I'd put in Winning Smile if "I'm not an Actor, but I play one on TV." didn't do pretty much the same thing and might still anyway. Some kind of melee trait will get put in. Hey Look, a Bird! and In Touch will go in as well.


Traits:
Aura Reading: able to distinguish zombie from messy human or corpse on sight
Cool Under Fire: no penalties to actions from stress
Outta The Park: great at swinging blunt objects
Bullseye: very accurate throwing
Tiny Tim: size helps you get into small places and makes you a little harder to hit
Urban Planning Afficionado: map of the sewer system
Bloodhound: really sensitive nose
Mascot: you improve other people's chances when they're doing something to save you directly
Red Swingline Stapler: you deal extra damage with fire
Natural Blonde: zombies target you last out of any group
Watch The Elbows: better unarmed damage
Ventriloquist: can make your voice seem to come from up to 15 feet away
Illuminated: you actually have some idea of the true nature of the zombies
Scoobie Snax: You can perform beyond normal limitations for the right reward, which your friends just happen to have on them.

Advantages / Items:
videocamera
night-vision goggles
flashlight / electric lantern / kerosene lantern
beer
fishing rod
can of gasoline
set of lockpicks
stilts
rope
twine
disinfectant
hairspray
garden implements
blowtorch, with or without welder's mask
inline skates / skateboard
You Don't Have To Outrun The Bear: bicycle
caffeine pills / energy drinks
pulley / block-and-tackle
can opener
water purifier
bunsen burners
gas mask
rubber gloves
quiet shoes
running shoes
bag of marbles
bullhorn
walkie-talkies
extra batteries
car battery
wire clippers
wading boots
duct tape
goggles and swim fins

You have so many suggestions I'll just bold the ones I'll be putting in. Some of the traits suggested by everyone overlap so I'll blend them in where appropriate. The melee talent will probably cover implements & unarmed, although I'm still unconvinced about a fire talent. Setting fire to everything is a terrible idea. All the items you suggested seem appropriate so they'll all go in.

Thanks so much for all the help! I'll edit these in later and tally up how many more I'll need to finish up the tables.

Deth Muncher
2009-10-30, 09:52 AM
I'm betting a "Sneaky" trait should exist. Something like...

Sneaky: You're good at sneakin' around. Zombies are less likely to hear you.

Also, under items:

10 ft pole.

Kulture
2009-10-30, 11:34 AM
Advantage:
Get your LARP on:
You begin with access to a set of rather shoddy armor, be that leather, padded cloth, or cheap aluminium chainmail, incurring slightly lower fatigue from wearing such armor.

"I'm actually right handed.":
You're a trained fencer, be it with epee, saber, rapier or anything all the way up to Zweihander.
You recieve a bonus to combat with your favoured bladed weapon.

"Murder strike"
You've learned that the blade is not the only useful part of a sword, and can use the pommel, crossguard and even the scabard (if applicable) as weapons.

"Jarate"
After an industrial crate of energy drinks and some experimentation in hte 90's, your urine is a lethal weapon when matured in anaerobic conditions.
If you possess a sealed jar of urine for more then 3 days of game time, its properties are similiar to those of Chlorine Trifluoride, melting through flesh, bone, steel, Asbestos and pretty much everything with ease.
Best be quick though, that jar won't last long...

"SPARTAA!!!AA!!A!!!a!"
Your religious fanatacism to the Spartan way has given you expert kicking abilities.
Any Zombies you kick that are on a gradient of more then 20 degrees are knocked back an extra 10 feet when you kick them while shouting a catchphrase.
Fall damage is also doubled.

"Fudge yeah, mint cake!"
Due to an unhealthy addiction, you have an unreasonable amount of mintcake stashed away in your house, roughly enough to feed 2 dozen people for a week calorifically.

"Crazy prepared"
Your house is pre-equipped with numerous caches of weaponry both makeshift and military, however, it's difficult to remember where you put them all.

"Vault dweller"
Your house has a panic room, vault or other secure area with limited supplies.
Be sure not to stay too long or rickets will set in.

"Meals rejected by everyone."
You have a cache of MREs stashes in your house, but they are the old British A rations (dodgy beef curry) or something similiarly inedible.
You've enough food for a month, but each meal prior to the first week requires a san check/will save.

"Combat monstrosity."
You've suddenly realise how much you love squishing heads like sun ripened tomatoes.
You're extremely brutal and efficient in combat, but must make a progressively higher san-check after each heavy combat session. (slow progression).

"(H)Anniebelle"
You too have discovered the cullinary qualities of long pork and you physically benefit from the act.
Consuming human flesh has no negative impact (outside of socially) on you, and infact helps boost some of your attributes temporarily.

"Did you see his head go?"
You're surprisingly lethal with improvised weapons such as ashtrays and snooker cues.

"What would Feng do?" (in-joke, you probably won't get it)
You're specially trained in the art of using staves and poles (sticks, not Eastern Europeans) as thrown weapons and recieve a bonus to hit and damage.

"You must have 4 levels in Frenzied Berserker, because you've got some supreme cleavage."
Bonus to seduction.

"Borderlander"
You gain immunity to san damage, but cannot wear armor outside of an overstyled leather jacket and must wear a gas mask or similiarly gimmicky and obtrusive headgear at all times or lose the benefits of this trait.

"You're on a boat!"
You own a boat, and may even utilise it with a trailer as a sort of mobile fortress.

"Equestrian avenger/ charge of the heavy brigade."
Your pet horse was killed by the zombies, and in retaliation have armored your horsebox into a mobile fortress.

"Karmageddon"
Those who wrong you have a habit of turning up horribly mangled or dead.
That's if they turn up at all.

"The Butcher, The Breaker, The Diaphragm staker."
Normally an unobtrusive person, you fly into a Kharn the Betrayer style fury when pushed too far.
Should you critically fail a sanity check due to a combat situation, you immediately enter a deathless frenzy state for X number of rounds, until completely destroyed or until all enemies lay dead.

"$300,100th cup."
Your coffee intake allows you to surpass human limitation.
consuming a normal overdose of caffeine allows you to enter a state similiar to the effects of a cocktail of speed and PCP.

jiriku
2009-10-30, 12:30 PM
ITEMS
wood-cutting axe
cordless nailgun (the power tool) with enough nails and battery charge for about 20 minutes of use.
5-gallons of gasoline in a bright red plastic container
a gas siphon
a snakebite kit
a handful of water purification tablets
a gas-powered coleman stove
a gas-powered lamp
a zip-loc bag full of various sizes of non-rechargeable batteries. half of them work.
a bottle of very strong prescription painkillers.
a bottle of penicillin pills.
a tire iron
a CHAINSAW! (needs gas)
an army surplus camo suit, offering a benefit to stealth
a wheelbarrow
a small sewing kit
a four-pack of fresh sharpie markers in black, blue, red, and green
a kinetic wristwatch with timer and alarm (self-winding, needs no batteries)
a cigarette lighter and a pack of cigarettes
a toothbrush and a pack of dental floss

TRAITS
Doomsayer: you've been predicting the end of the world for the past twenty years. It's nice to finally receive some validation. Bonuses against any sort of shock, fear, or emotional reaction.
Otaku: penalties to endurance, as you're not used to physical exercise. However, you know the location of every comic book store and hobby shop in town.
Cab driver: you know the city streets like the back of your hand.
Corrupt Evangelist: Clearly these are the end times, and you've missed the Rapture. Begin with penalties to observation as you wallow in self-pity. Converts to an equivalent bonus if you save someone's life and find new purpose.
Recent immigrant: you speak at least one other language in addition to English
Sports enthusiast: bonus to accuracy with thrown objects
town drunk: start with a terrible hangover. Bonus to combat with improvised weapons such as barstools and broken bottles.
Street prostitute: you've seen worse things than these hanging out after dark. bonus to stealth in dark areas.
construction worker: you know how to operate heavy machinery
Elvis fan: gain a bonus to any action that involves protecting your precious collection of the complete works of elvis presley, which you can't live without. take an equivalent penalty to all actions if the collection is lost or destroyed.

Lycanthromancer
2009-10-30, 12:33 PM
Super special awesome ultra special sexy transformation sequence go!: You have an alter-ego in the form of your other split personality, who has a totally different skill-set than you, and he seems to randomly pop up at times both opportune and completely inappropriate.

Screw the rules, I have money: You're obscenely rich, and though that means very little due to the collapse of civilization as we know it, it does come in handy sometimes when you want to 'screw the rules'.

My hair gives me strength!: Like Samson, your windblown super-sexy romance-novel locks allow you to perform feats of strength unthinkable by mere mortals. Or maybe it's due to the hundreds of hours you spend at the gym. .........nah, it's the hair.

I'm not gay, I'm just British!: You get massive bonuses when interacting with 10% of the population; the rest tend to ignore you.

Well, you’re clearly evil, but I see no reason not to trust you: Bastard you may be, but people still love you.

Don’t move a muscle, or we’ll shoot you with our invisible guns!: Your smooth-talking ways give you large bonuses when bluffing, even against mindless brain-eaters.

How many times do I have to kill you people before you stay dead?!: You've mastered the art of the sucker-punch; knocking zombies to half-health stuns them for a turn.

It’s symbolic of the relationship between me and my friends! That’s why it’s so small and fragile-looking: You gain a cohort best friend walking distraction. Use him wisely and well.

Lycanthromancer
2009-11-04, 01:08 AM
SOMEBODY doesn't like LittleKuriboh...