Shoot 'Em in the Head: The Zombie Survival Horror RPG

[Byrd Man]

"But, Byrd, the RPGs are slow enough! Why add another game?!"

**** YOU! That's why! :cmad:

Screenname of the Proposed RPG’s Game Master: Byrd Man

Do You Have An Instant Messenger that we can reach you on for better conversation? (i.e MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ect.) And if so, what is your screenname?: mattj600@hotmail.com

Gamemasters/Assistant Gamemasters already chosen: None right now

How will the overall layout of the RPG be?: One-shot RPG with RPGs interacting among each other and ongoing multiple storylines going on. Players can choose between original characters they've created or a pre-existing character from the surival horror genre. That includes anyone from Tallahassee to Shaun and Ed to Rick from Walking Dead.

Premise of RPG, if it is a user created RPG see below for applicable additions to this Applicaton, (Must be a paragraph or longer).

Outbreak!

A virus has attacked the United States of America. Panic and chaos reign across the country. Those that fall victim to the strange virus die quickly and are transformed into mindless eating machines, craving the flesh of their fellow men. Those that are left have to fight with everything they have just to survive and avoid being eaten on a daily basis.

Will what's left of humanity be able to come together and rebuild, or will the undead menace be the end of all human life on Earth? Only you can decide!


What will this RPG bring to the RPG forums? (please write two complete sentences): Zombies! But seriously, the last Zombie RPG actually had a pretty good run. It'd be interesting to see if it can come back and get those posters interested in it. Walking Dead is coming out this month, so maybe the hype from that could get some interest going. Also, the RPG can bring BRAAINS!


Title Of The RPG You Would Like To Propose: "Shoot 'Em in the Head: The Zombie Survival Horror RPG"


Example Of Characters Application:



Shoot 'Em In The Head Character Application


Character you would like to play:

Original Character or Established? (If established, please state what medium your character first appeared in):

Basic history of the character up until this point:

Why Have You Chosen That Character?:

Two Complete Sentences Explaining What You Can Bring To This RPG :

Please provide a small sample post in the format you wish to portray your character in:

[Catman_prb]

Definitely. Have been thinking about this recently.

[Byrd Man]

Nice. I'm thinking about basing it all around a central city where all the survivors can rally and meet. Also, big ups to Soze for coming up with the idea to include characters from other medums. We talked about a zombie RPG a few months back and he had the genius idea to give people the option to play their favorite survival horror character.

[NiteMare Shape]

Yeah.


Count me in.

[wiegeabo]

I already have two characters in mind.

[Byrd Man]

Cool. So that makes four. Also, just in case you didn't notice, the RPG is finite. That way when you ****ers start slacking and the RPG loses steam, I can have zombies eat us all. :up:

[Keyser Soze]

Cool idea! I'm definitely intrigued.

*Calls shotgun on Rick Grimes!*

[Keyser Soze]

One question to consider, though. If we're allowing characters from all our favorite survival horror stories to be included, do we go for walkers or runners? The heroes of Zombieland had to face runners, after all. Do we have both kinds of zombies in existence? Perhaps the runners are a rarer breed.

[Andy C.]

I'm in, provided I get to fully exploit these handy concepts:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html

I'll be the one calmly drinking a beer in a cabin in the remote back woods, letting you suckers do things the hard way.

[Byrd Man]

One question to consider, though. If we're allowing characters from all our favorite survival horror stories to be included, do we go for walkers or runners? The heroes of Zombieland had to face runners, after all. Do we have both kinds of zombies in existence? Perhaps the runners are a rarer breed.

We could blend both, like you said. Perhaps walkers are the dead reanimated and the runners are actual humans who were turned into zombies by being bitten.

[Keyser Soze]

We could blend both, like you said. Perhaps walkers are the dead reanimated and the runners are actual humans who were turned into zombies by being bitten.

Yep, that's a possibility. Or we could always just choose one, like just go for the walkers and disregard the runners. Whatever people prefer.

[wiegeabo]

Just have the runners appear later in the game.

Just as everyone gets used to what's going on and actually get into a routine of how to survive the walkers BAM the runners start to show up and everything goes to hell.

[Byrd Man]

Alright, we'll do that. Start out with the walkers and then have them adapt and evolve into runners. Anyone have any preferences for the setting? Just some random city like Boulder, Colorado or a fictional location like Hype City.

[Carnage27]

I'm in.

[Byrd Man]

Well, then. I'd say we have enough for approval. All we need is MB's seal of approval and/or his participation in the game, which would be nice but he'd never do it. :cmad:

Anyway, he approves it and then I'll get working on the OOC thread.

[Batman]

Well, I was gonna approve it.... but I sense hostility, so it seems like I could be doing other things right now. :o

[Keyser Soze]

Alright, we'll do that. Start out with the walkers and then have them adapt and evolve into runners. Anyone have any preferences for the setting? Just some random city like Boulder, Colorado or a fictional location like Hype City.

I'd say it starts all over. In the UK if someone's playing Shaun, in and around Atlanta, Georgia for people playing characters from The Walking Dead, etc etc. Make it become a big cross-country road trip thing as people have to fight to meet up and form a group.

I recently read an interview with Robert Kirkman and Frank Darabont, and they said something that I think is relevant:


Darabont: But I remember the day - do you know what my favorite conversation with Robert was? We were just really starting to prep this thing and I had written the first two episodes. I had this question that I had to ask him. I got on the phone with him and said, "In this world of 'The Walking Dead,' in your comic book, can Rick walk into a video store and pick up Romero's 'Dawn of the Dead,' for example? Does the DVD for 'Dead Alive' exist? Does the zombie exist as a concept in this world, or is this thing that's happening unique and fresh to this?" I kind of had my theory, and he gave me the exact answer I was hoping you would give me. Do you remember what you said?

Kirkman: I don't at all. [Laughs] I'm sorry!

Darabont: He said, "No, I don't think so. In this world, you could talk about ghosts and witches and vampires and ghouls, but the idea of the zombie - a living dead creature, a person who comes back hungry for human flesh - doesn't exist in this world. It should be a unique occurrence to their perceptions." He said the same thing that I was feeling. Let's let this be fresh for them. That's why we never used the word zombie in the TV series. It doesn't exist as a pop cultural thing. If you could walk into Barnes & Noble and buy the Max Brooks book, it would just be weird.

Kirkman: The entire show would fall apart the second someone says, "Hey, it's just like 'Day of the Dead,' right?" Way too inside baseball.


And I think that's a good observation to make. Perhaps we can use the word "zombie", but the word only exists in a pre-Romero sense, and people apply it to what's going on. No one knows "the rules" of the modern zombie. The zombie outbreak in the Romero films, the zombie outbreak in The Walking Dead, the zombie outbreak in Zombieland... what if they were all happening at the same time? What if everyone was experiencing this for the first time, all around the world, at the same time?

[Byrd Man]

I like that, and it makes a whole lot of sense. Makes it a lot more scary for this to be going on and nobody having any ****ing idea of what's going on.

[Carnage27]

I'd say it starts all over. In the UK if someone's playing Shaun, in and around Atlanta, Georgia for people playing characters from The Walking Dead, etc etc. Make it become a big cross-country road trip thing as people have to fight to meet up and form a group.

I agree with this.

Also, are we going to know where the outbreak started? Like say something like the T-virus? Or is it going to be a mystery?

[wiegeabo]

I think that's the only way it's going to work.

One of the problems with the last game is that everyone kept finding excuses to have guns and weapons for their characters. But if the zombie outbreak is a totally new concept, then players won't be able to have their characters say "Oh, ****! Zombie outbreak! Better get to the nearest gun shop!"


On the matter of everyone needing to take a cross country trip to meet up with people...I'm iffy on this. It's sounds good in concept. But for a number of characters, that could mean a lot of solo arcs until they find a way to meet up. It also makes it difficult for cross country travel to actually join into groups. And nothing kills a startup game faster than solo arcs. Actually interacting with people is where a lot of the fun is, and promotes more regular posting.

I say have it hit San Diego during Comic-Con so Shaun can run from, and use a lightsaber against, zombie Batman and Striperella. :p

[Byrd Man]

Makes more sense to me if nobody knows what the **** happened or what caused it. Hard to figure out what's true and what's not in the chaos and panic that follows the intial outbreaks.

[wiegeabo]

Makes more sense to me if nobody knows what the **** happened or what caused it. Hard to figure out what's true and what's not in the chaos and panic that follows the intial outbreaks.

:up:

[Byrd Man]

I think that's the only way it's going to work.

One of the problems with the last game is that everyone kept finding excuses to have guns and weapons for their characters. But if the zombie outbreak is a totally new concept, then players won't be able to have their characters say "Oh, ****! Zombie outbreak! Better get to the nearest gun shop!"


On the matter of everyone needing to take a cross country trip to meet up with people...I'm iffy on this. It's sounds good in concept. But for a number of characters, that could mean a lot of solo arcs until they find a way to meet up. It also makes it difficult for cross country travel to actually join into groups. And nothing kills a startup game faster than solo arcs. Actually interacting with people is where a lot of the fun is, and promotes more regular posting.

I say have it hit San Diego during Comic-Con so Shaun can run from, and use a lightsaber against, zombie Batman and Striperella. :p

That also brings about the topic of timeline. Do we want to start out at day 1 hour 1 or skip ahead, say, a month or two weeks into the ****storm? I think skipping ahead could give players' time to meet up, form groups, and even get their hands on some weapons.

[Keyser Soze]

I agree with this.

Also, are we going to know where the outbreak started? Like say something like the T-virus? Or is it going to be a mystery?

I think it should be a mystery. How are we going to start it? With the zombie outbreak already in full swing, or do we ease into it?

[Carnage27]

That also brings about the topic of timeline. Do we want to start out at day 1 hour 1 or skip ahead, say, a month or two weeks into the ****storm? I think skipping ahead could give players' time to meet up, form groups, and even get their hands on some weapons.

Personally, I'd say skip ahead a few weeks. If someone wants to write about what happened to the character at outbreak they can do a flash back.

[Keyser Soze]

That also brings about the topic of timeline. Do we want to start out at day 1 hour 1 or skip ahead, say, a month or two weeks into the ****storm? I think skipping ahead could give players' time to meet up, form groups, and even get their hands on some weapons.

Personally, I'd say skip ahead a few weeks. If someone wants to write about what happened to the character at outbreak they can do a flash back.

Sounds like a plan. If we start a couple of weeks into the outbreak, then it's still new enough that no one knows what the hell's happening yet, but we can get right into the zombie action rather than having to deal with the gradual build-up.

[Byrd Man]

Just so we're clear. Game starts three weeks post-outbreak, players can start out in any location they want to, but if you're playing Shaun and want to interact with fellow RPers, you either have to have a damn good reason to be in the States or start rowing.

And, most importantly, Zombie fiction doesn't exisist. People have no idea what the undead is, except maybe vamps, so nobody knows that you have to shoot 'em in the head (see what I did there?!) and the fact that bites cause you to turn into the "Z" word. But at this point, people are starting to figure it out.

[Carnage27]

Sounds like a plan.:up:

[Keyser Soze]

Just so we're clear. Game starts three weeks post-outbreak, players can start out in any location they want to, but if you're playing Shaun and want to interact with fellow RPers, you either have to have a damn good reason to be in the States or start rowing.

And, most importantly, Zombie fiction doesn't exisist. People have no idea what the undead is, except maybe vamps, so nobody knows that you have to shoot 'em in the head (see what I did there?!) and the fact that bites cause you to turn into the "Z" word. But at this point, people are starting to figure it out.

This brings up another question. Are we going for the Romero/Walking Dead route, where everyone in the world is already infected? It's not being bitten that turns you into a zombie, it's dying - whatever the cause of death. Being bitten by a zombie simply gives you an infection that causes you to die.

[Byrd Man]

Working on the OOC thread now, since I take MB's comment as his way of saying approved.

I also slightly edited the application in case anyone wants to start working on it now. Just threw in parts about your character's skills and any items they may have on their person. I trust everyone here, so I won't remind you to be realistic with their inventory...but seeing as how the guy I wanna play carries a banjo in the back of his car....maybe I shouldn't judge.



Shoot 'Em In The Head Character Application


Character you would like to play:

Original Character or Established? (If established, please state what medium your character first appeared in):

Basic history of the character up until this point:

Character's Skills:

Character's Items:

Why Have You Chosen That Character?:

Two Complete Sentences Explaining What You Can Bring To This RPG :

Please provide a small sample post in the format you wish to portray your character in:

[Byrd Man]

This brings up another question. Are we going for the Romero/Walking Dead route, where everyone in the world is already infected? It's not being bitten that turns you into a zombie, it's dying - whatever the cause of death. Being bitten by a zombie simply gives you an infection that causes you to die.

I was looking to go that way if nobody has any objections. Most zombie movies I've seen that's always the case when someone dies, except maybe Resident Evil. I'm not sure about those movies and games, though.

[wiegeabo]

This brings up another question. Are we going for the Romero/Walking Dead route, where everyone in the world is already infected? It's not being bitten that turns you into a zombie, it's dying - whatever the cause of death. Being bitten by a zombie simply gives you an infection that causes you to die.

that's the route Walking Dead takes. If you die (or are bitten) you turn. And I like that. Like the article Cats pointed says, biting is a terrible way to spread disease.

Better that if someone you know dies, don't turn your back!

[Catman_prb]

I think this is the most activity I've seen on the boards for months.

[Carnage27]

I was looking to go that way if nobody has any objections. Most zombie movies I've seen that's always the case when someone dies, except maybe Resident Evil. I'm not sure about those movies and games, though.

In RE, the T-virus kills you when affected. So if you get it, it kills you while turning you into a zombie.

Either way is fine for me. Just as long as I get to blow some undead head off.

[wiegeabo]

In RE, the T-virus kills you when affected. So if you get it, it kills you while turning you into a zombie.

Either way is fine for me. Just as long as I get to blow some undead head off.

I prefer Kirkman's version. Everyone is apparently infected (or their corpses become infected after death). Once someone dies, they turn, unless their brains aren't intact. And if you're bitten, you slowly turn over time.

[Carnage27]

I prefer Kirkman's version. Everyone is apparently infected (or their corpses become infected after death). Once someone dies, they turn, unless their brains aren't intact. And if you're bitten, you slowly turn over time.

Yea, I really don't have a preference. Either one is good for me.

[Keyser Soze]

I prefer Kirkman's version. Everyone is apparently infected (or their corpses become infected after death). Once someone dies, they turn, unless their brains aren't intact. And if you're bitten, you slowly turn over time.

Being bitten doesn't turn you. It simply kills you - depending where the bite is, it can take as long as a few days for the infection to take hold. So if someone is bitten on the arm or the leg, amputation is an option, and can save the victim's life if done quickly enough.

[Byrd Man]

Have at it:
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?p=19078027#post19078027