Zombie/28 Days Later/Crossed Scenarios

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I'm not going to say a Bacterial/Virus hybrid couldn't happen in the age of Biology and Eugenics. I'm not sure what kind of gene-splicing it might take though.

I'm inclinedto keep it simpleand make iteither/or, each can present challenges thatin a postapocalyptic scenario are difficultto dealwith.

[madmikechoi]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Zombie movies are fun to watch. Zombie RPG scenarios/campaigns...they have all the reality of a stuffed blue elephant to me.

I thought watching zombie flicks/Walking Dead was watching stupid people doing stupid things and occasionally paying for it.

That said I will stay away from the greater Atlanta area when there Necropocalypse kicks off

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by madmikechoi

I thought watching zombie flicks/Walking Dead was watching stupid people doing stupid things and occasionally paying for it.

That said I will stay away from the greater Atlanta area when there Necropocalypse kicks off

I liked the walking past M4's on their way to the CDC. I would have picked up a couple of rifles and a lot of mags.

If you consult other game books, especially GURPS Zombies, there are a couple of conversions you can look at, "Lugtrek" and "CORSY".
The SJG line editor had suggested 20% infected at the start of an outbreak, one could do this by a "TOT" of having mutated strains with altered infection times.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by madmikechoi

I thought watching zombie flicks/Walking Dead was watching stupid people doing stupid things and occasionally paying for it.

That said I will stay away from the greater Atlanta area when there Necropocalypse kicks off

Haha. Yeah it's the epitome of that. I read a few of the comics, which are marginally better than the TV series, but the series is essentially a soap opera with zombies involved. When I talk to fans, they hit the right demographic. Most fans are not interested in how things work, how to survive, or what would be a truly gripping story; they just want to identify with people and see it as a kind of video game with a dramatic narratie. In fact if you look it up on TV tropes, there's a belief that if people behaved intelligently it would somehow be boring. I don't believe this, but many artistic people seem to.

[The Dark]

Originally Posted by Enfield

Thanks for the tips. I'll try to see if I can find a copy, but if not I may do some rules juggling with Call of Cthulhu, whose supplements have a number of melee weapons. (For instance I have the Dark Ages and Cthulhu Invictus setting books.)

Taking a look at CoC 6e and some of the supplements, and comparing them with More Guns!, I came up with a quick and dirty conversion. I ignore pluses, so only the die type and quantity matter.

Weapons with a base damage of 1d4 in CoC do 1 die of damage in T2K and do not have STR bonuses.

Weapons with a 1d6 base damage are either Dam 2 if they are primarily stabbing weapons or 1 + 1/2 Str if they are slashing/striking weapons.

Weapons with a 1d8 base damage are Dam 2 + 1/2 Str if one-handed and Dam 2 + Str if two-handed.

Weapons with a 1d10 base damage are Dam 3 + 1/2 Str, and 2d6 is Dam 3 + Str.

A weapon with CoC base chance 25 or higher is considered to have standard chances to hit. For each 5 percentiles below 25, the weapon is -1 to hit in T2K.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by The Dark

Taking a look at CoC 6e and some of the supplements, and comparing them with More Guns!, I came up with a quick and dirty conversion. I ignore pluses, so only the die type and quantity matter.

Weapons with a base damage of 1d4 in CoC do 1 die of damage in T2K and do not have STR bonuses.

Weapons with a 1d6 base damage are either Dam 2 if they are primarily stabbing weapons or 1 + 1/2 Str if they are slashing/striking weapons.

Weapons with a 1d8 base damage are Dam 2 + 1/2 Str if one-handed and Dam 2 + Str if two-handed.

Weapons with a 1d10 base damage are Dam 3 + 1/2 Str, and 2d6 is Dam 3 + Str.

A weapon with CoC base chance 25 or higher is considered to have standard chances to hit. For each 5 percentiles below 25, the weapon is -1 to hit in T2K.

Thank you, yes that makes a great deal of sense.

The way I once put my views on typical zombie/infected movies is my response to the three scenes where "The Walking Dead" shows large animals being killed. In one case this is a tiger, in 2 it is a horse. I said "Imagine getting six of your drunk friends together, then try to catch and eat a live horse with your bare hands and your teeth."

So teeth, hands and nails don't do that much damage, unless you are very well trained. Some might argue that a highly trained martial artist or hand to hand combat expert of whatever sort might do more damage, but they cannot do MORE damage than say a large knife, club or other melee weapon. Therefore if such weapons CAN kill someone but may not in inexpert hands then they should not do the kind of slaughtering, mutilating damage that happens in the movies save by some fluke. So this certainly helps with that.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by The Dark

Taking a look at CoC 6e and some of the supplements, and comparing them with More Guns!, I came up with a quick and dirty conversion. I ignore pluses, so only the die type and quantity matter.

Weapons with a base damage of 1d4 in CoC do 1 die of damage in T2K and do not have STR bonuses.

Weapons with a 1d6 base damage are either Dam 2 if they are primarily stabbing weapons or 1 + 1/2 Str if they are slashing/striking weapons.

Weapons with a 1d8 base damage are Dam 2 + 1/2 Str if one-handed and Dam 2 + Str if two-handed.

Weapons with a 1d10 base damage are Dam 3 + 1/2 Str, and 2d6 is Dam 3 + Str.

A weapon with CoC base chance 25 or higher is considered to have standard chances to hit. For each 5 percentiles below 25, the weapon is -1 to hit in T2K.

Dark Conspiracy 3 AKA "Conspiracy Lives" had more melee weapons in it.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Enfield

Thank you, yes that makes a great deal of sense.

The way I once put my views on typical zombie/infected movies is my response to the three scenes where "The Walking Dead" shows large animals being killed. In one case this is a tiger, in 2 it is a horse. I said "Imagine getting six of your drunk friends together, then try to catch and eat a live horse with your bare hands and your teeth."

So teeth, hands and nails don't do that much damage, unless you are very well trained. Some might argue that a highly trained martial artist or hand to hand combat expert of whatever sort might do more damage, but they cannot do MORE damage than say a large knife, club or other melee weapon. Therefore if such weapons CAN kill someone but may not in inexpert hands then they should not do the kind of slaughtering, mutilating damage that happens in the movies save by some fluke. So this certainly helps with that.

I've held a carved tiger's tooth from Thailand, I believe a tiger could damage/ destroy zombies pretty quickly.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I'm not going to say a Bacterial/Virus hybrid couldn't happen in the age of Biology and Eugenics. I'm not sure what kind of gene-splicing it might take though.

Don't forget prions, which can damage the brain.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

Don't forget prions, which can damage the brain.

YEP! Prions are so new that only about a dozen Prion-induced diseases have been documented (Mad Cow being one of them). They are even smaller than viruses and have the ability to damage the subject's DNA too. Unfortunately, ALL of the Prion-induced diseases are FATAL. Still, a Prion COULD be responsible for the disease in question, there would just be NO CURE.

[Jason Weiser]

I was about to suggest prions....and perhaps it is a research project that gets away from someone.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion

The main issue, Prions take years or decades at times to incubate. Or, at lesst the ones we know about?

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Jason Weiser

I was about to suggest prions....and perhaps it is a research project that gets away from someone.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prion

The main issue, Prions take years or decades at times to incubate. Or, at lesst the ones we know about?

I was leaning towards a bacteria. Give it flu or cold symptoms, and let it begin to build up in the brain of people who "beat" the illness. With mutations with a series of shorter incubation times so all the infected "turn at once, a Time On Target event.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Jason Weiser

I was about to suggest prions....and perhaps it is a research project that gets away from someone.

Eerily topical. Synthetic Brain-Destroying Human Prions Created In The Lab For The First Time

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Targan

Eerily topical. Synthetic Brain-Destroying Human Prions Created In The Lab For The First Time

That bumps up prions on the pandemic list. Especially the "hide in the brain" part. A synthetic variant escapes and goes on a world tour.....
DC1's "Darktek" had the Viral Phage, which used bacteria to attack viruses. It was researched in the USSR. Since Kansas is to have some labs for research, perhaps a Russian familiar with the old phage data was there. The PC's could be one of several factions looking for him. The T2K !E "dements" could be victims of such a thing as well.

Well, I will think up something that might inspire a scenario or two.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

That bumps up prions on the pandemic list. Especially the "hide in the brain" part. A synthetic variant escapes and goes on a world tour.....
DC1's "Darktek" had the Viral Phage, which used bacteria to attack viruses. It was researched in the USSR. Since Kansas is to have some labs for research, perhaps a Russian familiar with the old phage data was there. The PC's could be one of several factions looking for him. The T2K !E "dements" could be victims of such a thing as well.

Well, I will think up something that might inspire a scenario or two.

I like it. A little "Dark Detour" now and again keeps things in Twilight2000 interesting (as though WWIII isn't enough of a nightmare).

[.45cultist]

DC3 has a scientist career I can use. I'm thinking of statting every thing and giving three sets of motivations for campaign options. Add a couple of competing expeditions to the mix and go for it.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

DC3 has a scientist career I can use. I'm thinking of statting every thing and giving three sets of motivations for campaign options. Add a couple of competing expeditions to the mix and go for it.

A man after my own heart.

[.45cultist]

After re-reading the V2 stats and responses about infected life expectancies.
What if the infected were a feral Typhoid Mary? Damaged survivors who can infect others. As for the next two stages, either there were two variant strains created during the outbreak, or some victims need to roll vs health or relapse, creating the slower types after being ill again. This also raises the specter of infected multiplying the old fashion way.

[.45cultist]

Going with the premise of a bacteria based infected, Genetics is from TNE:


Dr. Anthony Williams
EXP NPC

Driving: 11
First Aid: 13
Genetics: 15
Observation: 12
Physician:13
Russian: 11
Small Arms/ Pistol:10

Pick one motivation package to fit your campaign:

6 Spades, 5 Hearts

3 Spades, 8 Diamonds

Ace Diamonds, 10 Clubs

Dr. Williams will own a 9MMP pistol he bought after receiving threats from radicals at work. He studied the use of phages to target specific bacteria resistant to eradication. Given a lab and time, determined by the GM, He will begin a trial of Phage and Vitamin C on infected.


The PC's securing the good doctor doesn't end the campaign, he needs a lab, specific materials and unharmed infected too!

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

After re-reading the V2 stats and responses about infected life expectancies.
What if the infected were a feral Typhoid Mary? Damaged survivors who can infect others. As for the next two stages, either there were two variant strains created during the outbreak, or some victims need to roll vs health or relapse, creating the slower types after being ill again. This also raises the specter of infected multiplying the old fashion way.

It does indeed. Thanks for this one, I will add it to the list of mutations or variant strains.

[Enfield]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

Going with the premise of a bacteria based infected, Genetics is from TNE:


Dr. Anthony Williams
EXP NPC

Driving: 11
First Aid: 13
Genetics: 15
Observation: 12
Physician:13
Russian: 11
Small Arms/ Pistol:10

Pick one motivation package to fit your campaign:

6 Spades, 5 Hearts

3 Spades, 8 Diamonds

Ace Diamonds, 10 Clubs

Dr. Williams will own a 9MMP pistol he bought after receiving threats from radicals at work. He studied the use of phages to target specific bacteria resistant to eradication. Given a lab and time, determined by the GM, He will begin a trial of Phage and Vitamin C on infected.


The PC's securing the good doctor doesn't end the campaign, he needs a lab, specific materials and unharmed infected too!

Yeah this kind of NPC and plotline is very good. Generally in this kind of scenario such NPCs are like 'treasure' to a D&D character; they can accelerate the plotline and establish stuff worth fighting for. As you say this can lead to other adventures on a large or small scale.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Enfield

Yeah this kind of NPC and plotline is very good. Generally in this kind of scenario such NPCs are like 'treasure' to a D&D character; they can accelerate the plotline and establish stuff worth fighting for. As you say this can lead to other adventures on a large or small scale.

I did reject King Clubs, King Diamonds as I didn't want a RE villain.

[.45cultist]

Using the PC rule no stat can be "0", here is a quick reference...…

Elite: STR 8/ AGL8/ CON8/ INT8/ EDU1/ CHA1
Vet : STR7/ AGL7/ CON7/ INT7/ EDU1/ CHA1
Exp: STR6/ AGL6/ CON6/ INT6/ EDU1/ CHA1
Nov: STR6/ AGL6/ CON6/ INT6/ EDU1/ CHA1

Should the virus reduce INT at all?
civilized behavior is a function of EDU, so they can be savage and cannibalistic.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Targan

Eerily topical. Synthetic Brain-Destroying Human Prions Created In The Lab For The First Time

Just fu**ing wonderful -- why do scientists come up with this stuff? Isn't experimenting on real prions enough for them!!?