Turn 0: Character Overview, Exploration, and Combat MechanicsThe first day of the ten most important days of your lives has dawned. You arrive at the hospital, some of you worn out by the trek. You take a moment to observe your fellow good Samaritans: in the coming days, you will surely have to trust each other and rely on your combined skills to accomplish your goal. After reading the notes below, please take notice of your character's conditions that I have listed.
Character OverviewMost actions, provided that they are reasonable will automatically succeed. However, if there is a chance of failure, success will either be determined with a coin toss, or the roll of a 6 sided die. Nevertheless, there are a few vital conditions that you need to be aware of regarding your character.
Sleep - Not all of you traveled the same distance to get to the hospital. Some of you are exhausted (this starting condition was determined via a coin toss) and should ideally dedicate half of the upcoming turn (either the "day" or "night") to sleeping. Those of you who are not tired can choose to sleep, in order to get it out of the way. As listed in the rules, there will be penalties for not sleeping. I'll be keeping track of your sleeping "vitals", but will not warn you outright if you have overexerted yourself - however subtle cues regarding your actions will be provided.
- While anyone can put on a good sprint to get away from a ravenous horde, it's a completely different matter to lure them around all day. As it stands currently, Jimi is the only one capable of "kiting" the zombies for any lengthy duration of time.
- Some cues are more effective for civilians, while others are more effective than zombies. Some civilians are unlikely to investigate disturbances if these sounds/noises were as likely to be caused by the mindless undead as they were by sentient life. Demonstrate intelligence and they will come. Zombies are far easier to lure. In a perfectly unexcited state, you have to stand just out of arm's reach in order to get their attention. But whether it's smart to get that close in the first place is a decision you'll have to make for yourself. On the other hand, zombies that have been excited or whipped into a frenzy are a different story altogether.
In the event that you do have to fend off a zombie, your ability to succeed unscathed is given by a risk rating. Combat is resolved with a single 6-sided dice roll. Success results in a kill, while failure is hazardous to your character's heath. In ideal conditions, against a run of the mill zombies:
No Risk: Firearms automatically score a kill. (100%)
Low Risk: Roll of 2-6 is a success. (83%)
Medium Risk: Roll of 3-6 is a success. (67%)
High Risk: Roll of 4-6 is a success. (50%)
Extreme Risk: Roll of 5-6 is a success. (33%)
However zombies are stupid, and in any engagement, if the players outnumber the dead by a factor of 2 to 1, you will automatically succeed: I assume you're intelligent enough to trick them and get in a lucky shot. So, divide and conquer: because ammunition is limited and once they run out, even the best Low Risk weapons will result in your fatality, given enough rolls.
You may give any weapon to a friend at any time, provided you are in the same zone and that they have the necessary proficiency. For example, only Roderick and Lozz can use the gun.
If you fail in melee against a zombie, you will be injured. To determine whether or not you are infected, I will flip a coin. You will not know the result of this coin toss. If the infection is successful, I will roll a 6-sided dice to determine how many "half-turns" you have remaining before you transform. Once injured, I will send you a PM on anything your character may be experiencing, though whether these cues are actually symptomatic of a transformation, or purely out of psychological worry from your character, will be left as guesswork. Furthermore, whether or not you choose to share your symptoms with the group is also your choice.
Hastur
Legal Sex: Male,
Weight: Heavy
Role: Forest Firefighter
Notable Items:nylon backpack, calculator, bowie knife, combination shovel
Hastur looks worn out and exhausted by his long trek to the hospital. Aside from shouting, he does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with his flesh, he cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using his bowie knife, he can engage the zombies with medium risk to his person. By using his combination shovel, he can engage the zombies with low risk to his person.
Desmond
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Heavy
Role: Chocolatier
Notable Items: Big personal binder of new cutting-edge recipes.
Desmond looks energetic. Aside from shouting, he does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with his flesh, he cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using his big book of recipes, he can engage the zombies with high risk to his person.
Ottofar
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role: Musician (Piano)
Notable Items: Piano Wire
Ottofar looks worn out and exhausted by his long trek to the hospital. Aside from shouting, he does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with his flesh, he cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using the piano wire, he can engage the zombies with high risk to his person.
Phantom
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Average
Role: Dog Walker
Notable Items: Tom (dog), dog leash, plastic bags, running shoes.
Matthew looks energetic. With the aid of his dog, Tom, a 10yr-old Alaskan Malamute, he is effective at attracting civilians in hiding. The barking is very effective at attracting and holding the attention of zombies with no danger to himself or his dog. By using his barehands, he can engage the zombies with extreme risk to his person.
Kashhyk
Legal Sex: Female
Weight: Light
Role: University Student (Chemistry)
Notable Items: Backpack (Textbook, Notepad, Pencil case), Mobile phone, Multitool
Lozz looks energetic. Aside from shouting, she does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with her flesh, she cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using her heavy textbook, she can engage the zombies with high risk to her person. By using her multi-tool, she can engage the zombies with high risk to her person.
Eagle-eye
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Average
Role-Surgeon
Notable Items: Bottle of Whiskey, Scalpel, latex gloves.
Marcus looks energetic. Aside from shouting, he does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with his flesh, he cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using his scalpel, he can engage the zombies with high risk to his person.
tehstefan
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role : Policeman
Notable Items: a box of jelly donuts, a whistle, a baton, pepper spray, and a loaded revolver for a total of 12 rounds (including spare ammo)
Roderick looks energetic. His whistle is effective at attracting civilians in hiding. His whistle is effective at attracting and holding the zombies attention. By using his baton, he can engage the zombies with low risk to his person. By using his pistol, he can engage the zombies with no risk to his person.
Thatdude
Legal Sex: Male
Weight: Light
Role: wannabe pro skateboarder.
Notable Items: A skateboard, an oversized black hoodie, a black hat with skull and crossbones on it (worn backwards) and a skating competition trophy (only won by him being the only competitor on the day)
Jimi looks energetic. Aside from shouting, he does not possess any reliable means to attract civilians currently in hiding. Aside from tempting the zombies with his flesh, he cannot reliably hold zombies' attention for long. By using his skateboard, he can effortlessly disengage and escape from the horde without tiring himself out. By using his skateboard, he can engage zombies with low risk to his person but with a fair chance of ruining his board.
Hospital & EnvironsNorth of the Hospital: Gas Station
Ottofar and Roderick arrived at the hospital from the north. During their brief time passing through, they noticed the following details: The lights inside the station are off. However, the bright logo of the gas company is very bright. There are no vehicles parked at the station. There are 2 zombies outside the gas station. They are stationary, silent and appear to be completely fascinated by the neon light. A detailed exploration may reveal the interior of the gas station in addition to finer details that may have been missed..
West of the Hospital: Supermarket
Lozz and Jimi arrived at the hospital from the west. During their brief time passing through, they noticed the following details: The automatic glass doors to the supermarket are open and powered down. The supermarket is dark, except for a faint mysterious light emanating from within the supermarket. There are several cars parked neatly in the supermarket parking lot: the vehicles appear to deserted. There are no zombies outside of the supermarket. A detailed exploration may reveal the interior of the supermarket in addition to finer details that may have been missed.
East of the Hospital: City Park
Hastur, Desmond, Matthew bumped into each other as they were arriving from the east of the city park. During their brief time passing through they noticed the following details: The park is open and unremarkable: featuring large city trash cans, park benches, lamp posts, a swing set, slides and a few picnic tables. There are 8 zombies at this location. Originally stationary and silent, the presence of the living has excited them into action. They now move with a shuffle and emit quite groans. A detailed exploration may reveal finer details that may have been missed.
South of the Hospital:
No one arrived from the south of the hopsital. However, you can see that there is a large apartment complex to the south. A detailed exploration may reveal finer details that may have been missed.
The Hospital Lobby
You are all gathered in the hospital lobby. The main entrances to the hospital are to the east and west. At the eastern entrance the wide sliding automatic doors are currently powered down and closed, but the glass has been completely shattered. The western entrance also features sliding automatic doors, they are currently powered down and closed: the glass is intact. You conduct a brief search and discover the following details:
Just inside the eastern entrance is the main waiting area. There are many ergnomically shaped plastic seats nailed down to the floor. Small pieces of glass litters the floor. The lights in the hospital are off, but the hospital is lit by the golden sunlight streaming in through the windows. A smiling flaxen-haired receptionist is sitting in a glass booth adjacent to the waiting area: the booth is somewhat dim. As you approach the booth, you realize that the receptionist is grinning widely - too wide! In an instant, the zombie is excited by your presence and slams herself against the glass with surprising speed and force. You notice that the lower body of the zombie-receptionist is missing. The door to the booth is locked.
There are emergency fire-escape stairs in the south and north of the lobby: these stairs may lead to other floors. The elevator is in the northern area of the lobby. The doors are held open with a bloody severed leg, but the elevator shaft appears to be empty: the elevator must be stuck on another floor. A solitary and frustrated groan emanates from the bottom of the elevator shaft as you approach. A floor directory is posted beside the elevator. As you make ready to figure out the layout of the hospital, Marcus interrupts:
Since Marcus is a former employee at the hospital, he is able to describe the layout of the hospital in far more detail than you can glean from the simplified directory.
Rooftop: Helipad with lights. The small generator for the lighting and the controls are located on the rooftop. The only way to get here is by using the northern stairs. The helipad lights are currently off.
Floor 8: Recreation room for hospital personnel. The hospital director's office is located here. You wonder if the keycard is in his office or if he had kept it on his person before the outbreak. The is the topmost floor accessible by elevator.
Floor 7: Recovery. All manners of rooms (singles, doubles, communal ones with curtains) are on this floor.
Floor 6: Storage. This is a high-access area that stores transplant materials. The doors are shatterproof. The hospital director, and a few head doctors have this keycard.
Floor 5: The Hub: The nurses station is located on this loor. Many admitted patients and new arrivals are re-directed to this floor. There is a loudspeaker system here. Unlike the lobby, the hub's speaker controls extend to all floors. Detailed patient and hospital personnel files are also located on this floor. The hospital has recently updated its records from a paper based file-storage system to an electronic one. Marcus informs the group that new records are on the computers, while older records is probably both digital and paper.
Floor 4: Intensive Care Unit. Marcus didn't work in the ICU, but obviously has respect for the work they do on that floor.
Floor 3: Pediatrics. There are a number of examination rooms, as well as a large waiting & play room for children. The hospital also holds "storybook" time every Wednesday. Long term child-patients are also hospitalized on this floor.
Floor 2: This is the cafteria level of the hospital. He knows there's a kitchen on the same level, though he's never been there: he's perfectly content with the self-serve espresso machine available to doctors. (Well, it gives him an excuse to walk around with a metal thermos during work anyway).
Lobby: There is a loudspeaker system in the lobby. The controls for it are in the receptionist's booth. There is also an internal phone line inside the receptionist's booth that can connect to all other floors of the hospital.
Basement: Morgue, all the recently deceased are interred here. His former autoposy is definitely undead and lurking. He is unsure if there are others. The elevator can be accessed via the elevators as well as the north & south stairs.
Sub-basement: Marcus doesn't know what's in the subbasement. But he does know that only the elevator and southern stairs can reach it: the northern stairs do not connect to the sub-basement.
For this turn, you can carry out 2 actions (one for day, one for night):
-As you are all in the lobby right now, you may exchange any items as a free action.
-You may interact with anything listed in the lobby as a free action.
-You may conduct a "detailed examination" of any zone (None of the zones, lobby included, have been explored in detail yet): this costs 1 action. Unless you provide combat orders, you will automatically try to escape from zombies to the nearest "explored" floor: currently the lobby.
-You may sleep for 1 action. Note: Those who wish to avoid penalties must dedicate 1 action to sleeping between Turns 1 and 2, another action either in Turns 3 or 4, etc. You may move to any floor to sleep as a free-action. You start your next action in your current room.
-You may choose to stand guard (choose a zone) for 1 action. You must tell me your combat behavior if zombies show up. (You can escape to an adjacent zone, engage in combat, or if applicable, carry out sleepers to safety. The first sleeper is automatically carried to safety. The second one must roll 1-6, the third must roll 2-6, so on so forth.)
-If you have some way of attracting attention, you may also spend 1 action in any zone (whether it has been explored in detail, or not) attracting attention. Unless given combat orders, you will automatically try to escape from zombies to the nearest "explored" floor: currently the lobby.
-You may choose to spend 1 action point to scout out 3 floors (you will receive a brief description, similar to the one for the supermarket). You must tell me your combat behavior if zombies show up. In this mode, you will attempt to keep exploring rather than retreating.
Poll
5 (35.7%)
Author
Topic: A good Samaritan in a time of chaos [On Turn 4/10] (Read 17313 times)