¤¤ Rated M for MEGAVIOLENCE, Adult themes, bad language and MOTHERFUCKING ZOMBIES ¤¤
Greetings and well met. Now - let's get right down to business to defeat the huns err.. i mean to explain the premise of this RP, shall we, good sirs and madames? It is a "guided" survival/adventure RPG. "Guided" meaning that there will be a GM or a DM, whichever term you prefer, in charge of forwarding the plot and managing all the trials and tribulations that you will come to face. It will not be a linear railroad, but there is a central plot in mind. Speaking of which...
Spoiler: Go ahead. Read it.
The year of our Lord 2012. Nearly a week's worth into the aftermath of the Outbreak, the once glorious civilization of man already grinding to a complete halt. The first signs of this calamity were met with pompous sensationalism, with the media overblowing the news of this new "plague" out of proportion in hopes of boosting their ratings. The fear dollar was a big dollar afterall. Just another consummate armageddon slash doomsday scare.
It did not occur to you how bad it really was - until the man on the news channel reassured you that everything was going accoring to plan. There is no reason to panic. The Outbreak was under control, and you are to remain calm and stay indoors.
And then - the news anchorman was no more, as the TV sets either displayed static or a notice that the program will return shortly due to technical difficulties. Soon, the power went out. Along with the gas lines, water, public transportation, police, military and all those other fringe benefits of civilization. But at this point, you needed no more briefing. It was clear to you that you were facing...
A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE.
Now. You might have guessed already that this RP will contain zombies. You are correct. Brush up on those survival tactics, because you will bloody well need them. First things first - Let's explain how this will work in detail. The GM will occasionally (well... frequently) make posts that describe the actions of the NPCs, the environment and events in general or pertaining to the entire party. This narrative is what will lead the plot forward. I have the tendency to refer to them as "macro". A few qualities to be kept in mind:
¤ Storymode ("macro") posts are applicable to and valid for all players. They describe the objective reality.
¤ Onto the second note - they cannot be directly altered by the players themselves (ever seen a character question his script in a cheeky act of leaning on the fourth wall? Well you might have. But in that case it was all a part of the script.)
¤ Players, however, have limited privileges to make their own storymode posts. They cannot directly contradict or derail the central plot + a few other quid pro quos and limitations that you will find out about later.
Following so far? Ok. Some GM posts will concern only specific players. It will be marked appropriately. Sometimes, the posts wont contain any story info, but rather directly assume the control of a NPC or a monster (e.g. a zombie). Both of the latter scenarios are referred to as "micro". So you have the macro (story) and the micro (characters, NPCs). The players get to respond to the macroposts and those microposts that concern them. But here's the catch. It isn't always completely freeform. You see - this aint no Burger King. You dont always have it your way. (It's McDonald's - you'll be loving it). To be more precise:
"FREEFORM" ¤ Normal RP rules apply and players may do whatever they wish. With curcumstances that follow. All GM posts - macro and micro, unless marked otherwise, are considered "freeform" posts, meaning players are free to form their own riposte and story posts until stated otherwise.
"MULTIPLE CHOICE" ¤ In the post (which can be either micro or macro), the GM will offer several options. The corresponding players MUST choose one out of the set of available options.
"SUGGESTION" ¤ The GM offers you a solution / course of action. You may or may not apt for it.
"INVOLUNTARY" ¤ You are godmoded by the GM. You cannot reverse or negate anything in an "involuntary" post. Sucks to be you, Broseph. But fear not. Those events are exceedingly unlikely. Note that this ISNT exclusive with suggestion and multichoice. It can happen that you get an involuntary suggestion or multichoice (you just choose what, the gm does it)
Bet you're feeling down under the weather already. But but but daddy GM.. what happened to creative freedom? Dont i have lordship over my own character? T.T You're a meanie, daddy GM! ... Allow me to kick you while you're down and present the requirements for being even eligible to participate on the RP. Up up, and away!
R E Q U I R E D ~ [ M U S T ]
> Quality writing and commitment. I Plan on this being a long-term RP.
> One post per day on average. Period. No excuses and bullshit tossed around. It just doesn't work
that way. A structured RP would just take way too long and there are other logistics at work (posting order and dependency) if you post every sunday if you're feeling like it.
> Be willing to cooperate and colaborate with other players to make combined posts.
> Be OK with the way this RP will be conducted and concede to occasionally have less than complete control over what happens to their character.
F O R B I D D E N ~ [ M U S T ' N T ]
> Godmode other players or GM-micro'ed NPCs or monsters. This goes without saying.
> Try to derail plot with nonsensical bullshit, troll or have fun in any shape or form that goes at the expense od others.
> Extreme powerplaying. This is actually impossible to pull off as the game will keep you in check [coming soon] but it is nonetheless a major **** move towards other players.
> Speedpost. Seriously. Work together (PM) to solve those trivial dialogues / acknowledgements and post them together.
> Ditch the RP. 2-3 days without activity and you're out, your character killed or ceded to someone else. If you make a reasonable explanation for your absense [inb4 cats in microwaves], this can be extended a bit.
> Be a zombie. Seriously. A zombie apocalypse survivor being played by a zombie? I dont think so. I see what you did there. You gonna sabotage the party's efforts by leaking info to your zombie comrades. I dont think so, buddy. Shoo.
Oh. And there's one more thing. As you might have noticed, the RP isnt quite freeform. In addition to that, you have one more [key] limitation. The actions of your characters should remain within the accepted realistic bounds. The realism bar is usually set very low, meaning you cant get away with going super saiyan or forcing weird and unlikely plot twists. The story, however, callously ignores this limitations and will do PRESICISELY THAT. Let's face it.. your chances of surviving this, a mere untrained and underequipped civilian as you are.. against THOSE odds.. But but but.. Daddy GM ~~ no. No. Now you're just ******* with me, right? I mean that's just ... Hold your horses, Silver! There is a little quirk in this RP that will put the "G" into it. One little unique turning point that negates this massive disadvantage the ragtag group of survivors are put in. Those shiny little shields. They represent the acceptable suspensions of disbelief and deviations from the standard, both in terms of plot convenience for your characters and their performance. In other words..
Your personal powerplay gauge.
Allow me to elaborate further.. you have a certain amount of shields available. You start with 10. They will be deducted automatically when you, as a player:
Make a positive assertion [claiming that something exists or did happen] about your character's acts that are above the "realism" bar. {e.g. "I sommersaulted and decapitated the zombie with a single blow whilst death metal music growled in the background"}. Autohitting is included in this, when the power difference in obviously not in your favour.
Make a positive assertion about the plot, the environment, the NPCs that isn't quite congruent with the plot or is juuuust a bit too convenient for you [trust me, i'll know when you're leading me on. I've been doing it for nearly a decade]. {e.g. "I looked around and found a fully gassed up, working condition chainsaw in the corner of the alley"}
You are automatically protected from something that would otherwise kill or incapacitate you. The shield stands for something, you know. It's your plot armor. Your script immunity if you will, since you are, after all, the protagonist of this show. {e.g. "The .50 cal missed your neckline by a finger's width, even though the marine sniper fired nearly from point blank. Lady luck must be smiling on you today."} The story will invoke this automatically when needed.
Spoiler: You may want to read some more Q&A and tactical advice..
> Shield usage is a core mechanic of the RP and since it is a metagame concept, metagaming isnt merely forbidden, but required.
> Find your center. Know that with zero shields, your character is a generic stormtrooper. A redshirt. A random bystander in a zombie apocalypse. Nearly anything kills you in one go, and you will have no second chances.
> Find your center. With full shields, your character is the "protagonist". However, if the other party members die, you will be alone against insurmountable odds. If you do not forward the plot or complete objectives, you will never advance. And if you are surrounded and unarmed because you hoarded shields to the last possible moment, well.. that bar will only delay the inevitable. For a little while.
> Make sure you dont send a shieldless player to complete a very random or dangerous objective, for obvious reasons.
> It is possible to get shields back. How? The more plot involvement and the more objectives you complete, the more shields you get [but none of this can be accomplished without first wasting some.]
> PvP agression is a terrible idea, because you will both, particularity the offender, lose a great amount of shields. It is, however, not outright forbidden.
> Shield cost is proportional to the effect. THE MORE YOU USE A CERTAIN ACTION OR CATHERGORY, THE LESS SHIELDS IT WILL COST.
> Let us ruminate on that for awhile. if you, say.. tend to always absorb lots of hits that trigger your shield protection, it will eventually cost less and less, letting you effectively step in the line of fire to cover other teammates that would otherwise lose far more. Like to use improvised weaponry in an all-or-nothing risky attack move? The more you do it, the more dangerous and reliable (not to mention cheap) your moves become. My personal favourite: What would happen if you dont focus on fighting at all, but instead work your shields on the plot, environment and interaction.. it would eventually mean you could easily "bend" the circumstances to your favour without los.. whoops. Cant say too much.
Awright you zombiecidal maniacs. You grabbed your pillz and the autoshotty, you have a chainsaw grafted to your right arm and you've memorized all the quotes from George Romero's movies. When do we start? We start now. In order to apply for the actual RP, you have to post in this thread, expressing your interest. Along with this, you must either make an introductory post, or post a CS / skeleton of your own formal. I wont restrict your freedom here.
Spoiler: The plot thickens..
"I repeat, all survivors are to report to the designated evacuation area C-21, located in the city park."
The chopper whooshed past the tall office blocks, some of which were already engulfed in smoke and flames. It was a terrible sight to see how quickly the unstable equillibrium of civilization is broken. Looters and raiders have ransacked the area even though the military was drafted onto the streets..
That is, until the military themselves were infected. It was not a pretty sight.
"I repeat, to all survivors in this area: Report to the designated evac area C-21, located in the city park."
The sound of the megaphone echoed through the streets. The last ditch effort from the combined military, police, border patrol and volunteer forces to evacuate the city seemed almost like a moot point. The survivors were mostly cowering away from the hordes of looters and infected alike. Waltzing out in the open would be akin to suicide. But so would be to remaining here. The military evac is about the only option that remains for you, the unarmed, lone, hungry and underequipped deer caught in the headlights of the zombie apocalypse. What to do next? It was up to you.
PM / post of you have any questions.
Last edited by ultramoron; 07-30-2012 at 12:24 AM.
If you’re looking for more players, don’t forget to make use of all the features that RPA has to offer. You can submit your game to the Roleplaying Games Directory here and if you post here, you can ask the Staff to advertise your roleplay in their signatures.
About the CS.. you may or may not post one. You can keep it entirely implicit if you want to. I'm not too picky about those things. I guess..
Age, gender, build, overall fitness and health, any applicable skills, inventory, background, personality and appearance would be in order. You are free to pick&choose or even add your own.
Fitness and Health: Physical strength is excellent, health is regular, no diseases or anything. Some broken bones form the past, but none new.
Skills: Fighting - distance and close / Artistic skills as well / Handling weapons - any kind, but best with whips and knives / Stealth
Inventory: A backpack with two guns, three knives, a picture of a waterfall that is old and crumpled, a pair of shorts and a pair of shirts, a water bottle, and some gum.
Appearance:
Eyes ice blue, change with emotions.
Personality: Solid, guarded, quiet, sly, mysterious, and cold.
Background: Abandoned at birth, left to a brother who led a gang, Atsila grew up in a gang, and has never known any other life. Not much History, but I do not see much use.
Last edited by LittleLionFire; 08-19-2012 at 05:57 PM.
IF YOU LOOK TO THE HORIZON, YOU WILL SEE A LONE FIGURE STANDING ON THE EDGE OF AN OUTCROP. YOU MIGHT THINK THAT IT IS A HE, BUT NO. ITS A GIRL. THAT GIRL WANTS TO JUMP, TO LIVE HER LIFE TO ITS FULLEST, TO LOVE AND LAUGH. TO SPREAD DISASTER AND LAUGHTER TO THE FAR CORNERS OF THE WORLD. TO HELP, AND TO BE.
THAT GIRL IS ME.
Glad to have you aboard. Do you want to start this right away or should we wait for a few more players and they can hop in later?
Explanation: As you may have noticed, the RP is a GM - player interaction (microposts) plus player - player interaction (colab and proty progression). So if you wish, we can start off with a little "prelude" that i have had in mind..
Read the rules carefully again. It's kinda like your "plot points" or "drama points" that you can allocate towards either powerplay or plot involvement. Plus they act like a passive instant-death-and-other-baddies blocking shield since you are the main cast and all.
Occupation/Skills: Collage Student on break, studying to become a lawyer. His skills include mild acrobatic skills, like balance and concentration, above average upper body strength, and increased endurance. He was taught hand to hand combat and how to use most guns around the age of ten, and retained most of the knowledge.
History: Obsidian was born into a wealthy family in the UK, one that chose to teach him the Ways Of Old, and how to better understand the ways of the future and past. At age six he was taken on his first hunting trip. The first evening he landed the biggest buck, picking up his fathers talent for new-age firearms. At age ten, he began yoga and hand-to-hand combat, one to balance out the other as he studied his culture and modern-day firearms. At seventeen, he announced to his family he wished to leave for the USA, a balance he'd never been, to study law and become a lawyer before returning home.
Personality: Reserved and Cunning, and always calm. He is generally nice to people, sweet and gentle with friends. He does not believe in true love or passion, as a result he is a dispassionate person when it comes to relationships.
Last edited by SlenderJen; 07-29-2012 at 07:43 PM.
[M] Survival/Adventure RPG {ULTRA MODE}
Make a positive assertion [claiming that something exists or did happen] about your character's acts that are above the "realism" bar. {e.g. "I sommersaulted and decapitated the zombie with a single blow whilst death metal music growled in the background"}. Autohitting is included in this, when the power difference in obviously not in your favour.
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