Zombie Apocalypse - Before...

[brujon]

You are going in your merry way. Every day you awake, brush your teeth, have your breakfast, drink some coffee, go to work. Each day is as normal as the day before... But you suddenly start having visions. Visions that increase in intensity. In these visions, one year from now, there is a zombie apocalypse. The signs from your dream start happening, and you come to the realization that the visions are real. Everyone else is clueless about it, but one year from now, there will be a zombie apocalypse.

You have been given an year to prepare for the coming apocalypse. How would you do it? Assume you are a regular person(maybe even yourself), with regular wealth, and regular skills. How would you prepare? Is this a campaign you would be interested in playing, and if so, in which system?

[Ravens_cry]

I would play a scientist at White Plateau.
When subject #616 of the Post-Mortem Reanimation Project gets out of hand, I take out my emergency shotgun and pull an xkcd. Game over, everyone can go on living their lives, as it should, because any Zombie Apocalypse we have a chance to nip in the bud would die before it got to Zombie Mild Annoyance levels.

[prufock]

Buy/build a bunker. Begin hoarding weapons and ammunition, hoping to never have to use them. Also hoard food and bottled water. I would like to have enough to last 2 years. Eventually the power will cut out, so a few generators, the tools to repair them, and fuel to run them will be necessary as well (fuel will be rationed for when I reallllly need it). Have protective gear. Build myself a suit out of kevlar if possible. Ever seen the bear attack armor. Get some of that.

Oh yeah, move somewhere where it is A) regular mild temperature year round and B) low population. It will be difficult to find a place with both of those criteria, but get as close as I can. Also make sure it's not a place where there are regular natural disasters.

Start working out, mostly for endurance. Running is important, building for both speed and distance. Start taking emergency first aid and some basic medical classes. Stock up on medicines I might need and other medical supplies.

Write out all of my visions and send copies to people I trust and people in the media and government. Explain what will happen, and what I think they should do when it starts to happen. They will almost certainly dismiss this, but maybe some of it can get through. Post it online as well.

My bunker will also be stocked with a few items for entertainment that don't take up too much space. A couple boxes of books, some playing cards, a harmonica and acoustic guitar with spare strings.

Have some sperm frozen and buy some eggs from different female donors. Start stockpiling my own blood and have the equipment necessary for transfusions, just in case.

That's a start.

[Yora]

I guess I would go to northern norway. Remote, few people, yet still relatively good infrastructure and not so far away. It also should be easier to get weapons than in other parts of europe because of the wild animals, so you can easily dispatch the one or two zombies that make it up there.
And come winter, the zombies get frozen solid, however I'm not sure what happens when they thaw in spring.

[Funkyodor]

Need liquidity at the beginning: So borrow as much money you can against all your assets to hire someone to find and purchase a house in an out of the way area, preferrably next to some water & woods. Pay to have it enhanced with decent refridgaration & solar heating/charging, reinforced windows/doors/grates. Slowly acquire guns & ammo, long shelf life food, generators, bikes & motorcycles, gas. Hunt around the grapevine for a loan shark to borrow money from if you run low. Pay for an insane internet connection and download as many movies/shows/porn as you can (creature comforts are awesome). Last week purchase perishable foods, frozen goods, radios, batteries and such. Plan for as many friends & family as you like so the moment before the apocalypse you can invite them for a house warming. Don't fill them in till after they see it on the news.

[Calanon]

And come winter, the zombies get frozen solid, however I'm not sure what happens when they thaw in spring.

You would be better off in a mountainous desert region

The Ice would better preserve the zombies for months or even years if possible, while if its a moderate temperture the Zombies will decompose even quicker to the point of either:

1. Becoming Skeletons and thus threats you can take out with a baseball bat

2. Truly die

To be fair this would take longer than the classic "Boom! headshot" method but meh... safer than normal... Depending on where you are, you might be better to survive, for example if you live near a military facility (like I do) than you can probably get a more steady amount of food, Realistically a Zombie Apocalypse can be so easily nipped in the butt that in todays modern society unless you live in a Metropolis you can easily survive.

[TheCountAlucard]

nipped in the butt

Not to be one to nitpick, but it's "nipped in the bud." That's how the idiom goes - it originates from gardening terms, see.

[Dr.Epic]

Warn all the clerics, paladins, and anyone else with abilities specifically harmful to undead. Oh, I'd also multiclass to cleric to get me some turn undead.

[Calanon]

Not to be one to nitpick, but it's "nipped in the bud." That's how the idiom goes - it originates from gardening terms, see.

Hmm... didn't know that
Thanks

[Dr.Epic]

I guess I would go to northern norway. Remote, few people, yet still relatively good infrastructure and not so far away. It also should be easier to get weapons than in other parts of europe because of the wild animals, so you can easily dispatch the one or two zombies that make it up there.
And come winter, the zombies get frozen solid, however I'm not sure what happens when they thaw in spring.

How would they get frozen? They're kind of dead already and don't have to worry about body temperature.

[Re'ozul]

Make a list of all visions that are supposed to happen in the next month.
Make a list of things bound to happen in the next week.
Get a notary to validate the week-list and put it in safe deposit.
Send the month list to 20 or so government organisations and the media (one of them is bound to keep it around even if only to laugh at it).
If notified by someone outright, give them means to access safe deposit for validation of capabilities.
Once government arrives (black ops or else), go with them and cooperate to utmost capabilities.

[Edog]

How would they get frozen? They're kind of dead already and don't have to worry about body temperature.

He meant the liquids in their bodies would freeze solid, so they couldn't move. Not sure this would work on 'old' zombies, though--how long does it take for the fluids to drain out? Will they ever?

Still, though, I support the XKCD solution

[Dr.Epic]

He meant the liquids in their bodies would freeze solid, so they couldn't move. Not sure this would work on 'old' zombies, though--how long does it take for the fluids to drain out? Will they ever?

Would they even have fluids? Not to mention, I think they'd just end up braking any frozen streams of fluids. They're undead, so it's not like body fluids freezing would cause them to die and I think they'd have enough strength to just move.

[Weezer]

Would they even have fluids? Not to mention, I think they'd just end up braking any frozen streams of fluids. They're undead, so it's not like body fluids freezing would cause them to die and I think they'd have enough strength to just move.

Unless the zombies are really, really strong I doubt they'd be able to move if all the liquid in their body froze. We are 70% water after all, and the bits that aren't mostly water are things like bones which don't aid movement. Don't forget that every cell is filled with water and the space between cells is filled with water.

[Ravens_cry]

And come spring comes freezer burn as the water inside the cells expands and explodes the cells. If destroying the brain kills zombies, boom, you just destroyed the brain and hence the zombie.

[Traab]

Hmm, if I was in a D&D type of universe and I knew a zombie apocalypse was coming? First off, id find as many churches that hate that sort of thing and warn them so they can prepare. Im sure there are plenty of methods for confirming my story as truth. Secondly, id specialize in heavy armor, and either a mace, or a blade. A mace would work well for crushing bones and crippling zombies, or their skulls and killing them, a sword would be good for decapitations, and removal of limbs.

I wouldnt go into a cleric class just for rebukes and such though, I mean, this is just one armegeddon out of thousands that happen in D&D from time to time, I dont want to pigeonhole myself into holy destroyer of the undead, if the next end of the world involves needing a disjunction skill to survive. Id probably go for a wand or something with the ability to either repel, or damage the undead, just for emergencies. Then I would attach myself to the biggest church of whatever deity hates the undead, and work for them until the zombie plague is done.

[Emmerask]

Would they even have fluids? Not to mention, I think they'd just end up braking any frozen streams of fluids. They're undead, so it's not like body fluids freezing would cause them to die and I think they'd have enough strength to just move.

They still need muscles to move their bodies, if these muscles are frozen solid then there simply is no movement, if only partially frozen and enough force is applied they would simply rip their muscles in half one by on resulting in equally no movement.

Also if it is the "generic needs his brain functions still" zombie then a frozen brain pretty much means a destroyed zombie. It can´t do anything while frozen and the un/freezing process will render the brain unusable (cracks in the brain due to expansion/contraction).

If it is some kind of magical zombie on the other hand which does not need its brain or muscles to move... well then we are pretty much doomed anyway short of destroying every single cell of the zombie should not stop it.


For the first type of zombie I think Canada, Sweden, Finland etc are the best bet for survival. Low amount of population density, good Infrastructure, good hunting grounds for food, and pretty cold winters.

[navar100]

Evaluate who among my friends and associates are "the jerk" character, the staple in all zombie movies. Plan on not having him around me when it happens.

[Emmerask]

Is the jerk also the stupid ****** one that gets bitten and doesn´t tell anyone?
Because that one doesn´t have to come along too

[Traab]

Is the jerk also the stupid ****** one that gets bitten and doesn´t tell anyone?
Because that one doesn´t have to come along too

Generally the secretly bitten one is a loved one of another member of the group. The only solution? Bring only single people, no relatives allowed! That way we have no emotional connection to each other and thus have no reason to hide the fact that someone is bitten.

[Mastikator]

And come spring comes freezer burn as the water inside the cells expands and explodes the cells. If destroying the brain kills zombies, boom, you just destroyed the brain and hence the zombie.

If all the cells in the body were to burst, wouldn't that liquidate the previously frozen zombie? There'd be nothing but a skeleton covered in goo.

[Tyndmyr]

You are going in your merry way. Every day you awake, brush your teeth, have your breakfast, drink some coffee, go to work. Each day is as normal as the day before... But you suddenly start having visions. Visions that increase in intensity. In these visions, one year from now, there is a zombie apocalypse. The signs from your dream start happening, and you come to the realization that the visions are real. Everyone else is clueless about it, but one year from now, there will be a zombie apocalypse.

You have been given an year to prepare for the coming apocalypse. How would you do it? Assume you are a regular person(maybe even yourself), with regular wealth, and regular skills. How would you prepare? Is this a campaign you would be interested in playing, and if so, in which system?

If I'm myself, my preparations consist of laying in a little extra food, some specific electronic parts, and a giant pile of ammunition. Note that in a year, I can afford a rather ridiculous pile of ammunition.

Also, are these bog standard zombies? Cause if so, I'm gonna beat it by shooting every last one of them personally.

If I played it...I dunno about the system, but I'd want to accurately model my current, diverse quantity of skills. So, probably not D&D.

[Metahuman1]

Generally the secretly bitten one is a loved one of another member of the group. The only solution? Bring only single people, no relatives allowed! That way we have no emotional connection to each other and thus have no reason to hide the fact that someone is bitten.

Alternatively, make sure everyone is armored pretty much all the time when there not doing something that specifically requires them to be unarmored.

Then, make sure that there only able to do the things that specifically require them to be unarmored while there in a secured location where they'll have enough warning of an attack to get armored up again before getting close enough to get bitten.

And yeah, Bear attack suit sounds like a plan.

[Tyndmyr]

Generally the secretly bitten one is a loved one of another member of the group. The only solution? Bring only single people, no relatives allowed! That way we have no emotional connection to each other and thus have no reason to hide the fact that someone is bitten.

No. Ever seen what happens when you have a pile of single people together, all under stress? Emotional connections happen.

Just solve this problem by not executing the bitten. Treat them(continue trying new things when they fail), and arrange the situation such that if they turn, they are not free to bite you. Isolation in a room, restraints, whatever. Any chance at life is better than none.

Also, I'd probably arrange to have a party on the last day of normalcy before it hits. The guest list would be chosen carefully.

[Metahuman1]

No. Ever seen what happens when you have a pile of single people together, all under stress? Emotional connections happen.

Just solve this problem by not executing the bitten. Treat them(continue trying new things when they fail), and arrange the situation such that if they turn, they are not free to bite you. Isolation in a room, restraints, whatever. Any chance at life is better than none.

Also, I'd probably arrange to have a party on the last day of normalcy before it hits. The guest list would be chosen carefully.

This makes sense to me actually, and given that you've got time to prepair, you could work it out so that EVERYONE you choose to have with you to try and save has set aside for them the means to render them harmless to the group if there bitten.

Then when everything goes to hell, you show them these and tell them "Here's the deal, you will tell me of one of these things bites you. You will tell me if you even think one of them bit you, rational or not. We will check, carefully, in good light and such, and if you were in fact bitten, will try everything we can think of, but while we do you will be kept restrained and Isolated. I will not be the executioner, but I also won't allow everyone else to die by refusing to take precautions. "

[Bosaxon]

Generally the secretly bitten one is a loved one of another member of the group. The only solution? Bring only single people, no relatives allowed! That way we have no emotional connection to each other and thus have no reason to hide the fact that someone is bitten.

Rule of my crew: Physical inspections upon return to safe zone. Bite=death. Refusal=Death. I will not allow my team to be infected due to someone's fear of death if they're going to die regardless.

[Tvtyrant]

I would.... Cause all the countries in the world to begin mobilizing for a world war, thus ensuring that the maximum number of people are armed on the day the apocalypse breaks out.

[Emmerask]

That would be quite a feat to accomplish:

Assume you are a regular person(maybe even yourself), with regular wealth, and regular skills.

I certainly would not know how to cause the third world war, similarly telling everyone about the impending apocalypse would most likely earn you a very quick stay in a nice room with beautifully cushioned walls

[brujon]

The point of this exercise is to see what kind of ideas people come up, when they have 1 year to prepare. Normally, when you play a doomsday zombie scenario, when you start it, **** has already hit the fan. Having one year to prepare changes things: Dramatically. (Zombies are Romero Zombies)

For instance, knowing that one year from now there is going to be a freakin' apocalypse, why on earth would i want to have a house? I'm going to sell material posessions ASAP. I'd also pick up the biggest loan i could afford at a bank, even go to money sharks and such, and generally gather as much money as i possibly could, all the while postponing payment to next year. (But i know that will be never).

I'd buy a farm at a plains type location(At least 400km from any major city), relatively big, but small enough that it can be covered by 3 teams of 3 people patrolling it. First order of business, i'd build a massive freaking wall surrounding the farm. Barbed wire on barbed wire, with pits with spikes on the bottom, towers spread out every 500m for surveillance. Next, i'd build a fort. A not so big fort, but big enough that it could stand ground against hundreds of zombies should the walls fall. Above-ground, the fort would be mostly a gym/boot-camp, with lodgings and habitations below ground in camouflaged locations, with filtered air ventilation, bunker-like structure. Armory would also be underground, and the generators would be above-ground in the fort.

Next, whilst the fort is building, i'd sign up for training in the most hardcore manner possible, i mean, 16+ hours a day of intense training regime. Firearms, weight-lifting, endurance running, hand-to-hand combat, and brush up on basic chemistry and physics. I'd also collect a relatively nice collection of books (PDF format as to save space, some ultra-important ones also in book format), and set out to recruit people that i trust to do the same. Goal here is to gather no less than 30 people, but no more than 50 people. Multiple genetic make-ups, so spanish, african, asian and middle-eastern descent would be optimal. This is so to maximize genetic variation, so that a small population can most optimally remake humanity with minimal cross-breeding.

People with varied intelectual backgrounds too, is a desired thing. Especially people with knowledge in essential areas, such as food producing, firearm maintenance and production, construction, etc...

That said, in the last weeks before the apocalypse, spread out multiple threats and early warning signs througout the perimeter surrounding the farm. Make it so that when the zombies start coming, you'll be seeing them coming. The farm needs to be self-sustainable, and the goal here is to resist for at least 5 years (More than enough time that any flesh on the zombie's body has already decomposed).

[The Reverend]

Dang you internets list my 4 page treatise tapped out in my phone.