Base Builder- Zombie Apocalypse rule set

[narcotic_platypus]

a modified g4e rule set for a game based on 28 days later and left for dead with PC base building.

basically the idea is to a have a modified rule set for a specialized zombie apocalypse campaign. the inspiration for this rule set is 28 days later, Left 4 Dead, and Minecraft.

unfortunately what follows is just my ejaculation of thoughts. they may be totally out of order but please bear with me:

Basic Gameplay (or what the general format of the campaigns will be)
general game play will follow a very basic concept (of three phases):

1. players are scattered and must meet up
2. players must select a base of operations
3. players scavenge for materials to improve their base as well as ammo, food, etc

this is completely up to the GM. but this is the concept i'm working off for the moment. as far as game play is concerned parts 1 and 3 play much like left 4 dead but can be modifed as needed. the idea here is that looking around for stuff is easy for PC's provided they don't make to much noise, but getting it back is slightly harder. when i say slightly it should be very possible provided they don't do anything overly stupid.
Building(or the second phase of gameplay)
the building system works through combining raw materials (bricks, barbed wire, etc) to create base defenses or repair damaged ones. this phase my also include the setting up of traps, etc.
for example the most basic material for base defenses is sandbags. literally just bags of sand.
all the different base defenses require a form of knowledge. this can be found through back history or perks. for example, military background would give a PC access to some mid range complexity "blueprints". all the defenses in the game are reasonably standardized by these blueprints. there is different levels of complexity as well as construction. every one has access to the brick wall blue print. the level of construction may depend if they have mortar or not. if not, the wall will be weaker. also if the character has no prior experience (character back story or in game) then the wall will be weaker. all defenses will also take a certain amount of time to completed, measured in half hour blocks.
Equipment(or the stuff available to characters)
no character will have access to any equipment that does not fit their back story. for example, a lawyer will not have access to fully automatic weapons, but may have a fire Axe.
equipment also has conditions, and as such all weapons must be maintained over time or replaced. melee weapons degrade much slower than fire arms. poor condition firearms are likely to jam. if the condition is bad enough, they may break beyond repair (both firearms and melee weapons).

Morality(or players choices)
i'm a big fan of playing on morals. this can add an extra level to the game play.
through out the game, "uninfected" NPC's can be found which can help around the base. children NPC can very often become Dependants for PC's. found NPC's can be harmed by the zombies, leading to a moral choice for the characters: "are they infected?" "should we kill them?" "can we risk leading them back to base?"
for example, a master gunsmith may have lost a leg and need to be carried back to base. this would mean that one of the PC's would need to carry the NPC, leaving the group exposed. on the upside, the PC's would then have their guns in better condition and would jam less, etc.
subsequently, if the part is only male characters then those characters would stop seeing the point in living and eventually go crazy. if a female is found and then raped by one or more of the PC's then the PC with the highest moral values may loss faith in the right for humanity to exist and go crazy and kill the party members.
other moral choices may include the treatment of animals.

this is all i have in some structure. other ideas include:

• a higher purpose (it isn't good enough to just survive)
• including of government troops
• food stores and used by dates
• population size/ control
• types of zombies (set types or leave up to GM?)
• vehicles (maintenance/ skills, etc)
• leveling system (how flexible it is, how it will work, etc)

this is very rough ideas. feel free to completely demolish them with your own views. all feed back (that is constructive) is more than welcome.

[King_Ming]

First of all what tech level are we looking at here?

[narcotic_platypus]

sorry. TL8. with character restrictions between 7 and 9.

[King_Ming]

We are going to need these:

Zombie encounter roll table:
The number of zombies
The general stats of them
and what types of zombies are in the group.

Infections:
How the infection happens
How fast it spreads

Also if Supernatural advantages and such will be allowed.

[Nymdok]

We worked these up a while back. YOu may find them useful :)

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=65034

Nymdok

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by narcotic_platypus

Basic Gameplay (or what the general format of the campaigns will be)

general game play will follow a very basic concept (of three phases):

1. players are scattered and must meet up
2. players must select a base of operations
3. players scavenge for materials to improve their base as well as ammo, food, etc

• a higher purpose (it isn't good enough to just survive)

I LOVE the zombie genre!

A higher purpose is nice, but its not really laid out as such here. Most importantly, what are thier Higher purposes?

Bunkering up is not too difficult, but having the players sit in a protective shell isne really all that exciting.

If you want them to do more than 'just survive' try these options.

PCs need to

• Scavenge for radio equipment to contact government forces.
• Clear/Hold/Build/supply a Hospital for those govt forces to treat injued and maybe even reseach a 'cure'.
• Expand the radius around the hospital to include caches of weapons/ammo/fuel so that the troops that come in can be resupplied.

as always, I recomend World War Z.


Nymdok

[narcotic_platypus]

the higher purpose is exactly those things. it's feel that other than providing a few examples, this should be ultimately be left up to the GM. but basically it is comprised of finding a cure, reaching a zombie free zone, restarting the human population, escaping the continent, re-establishing a human government, eradicating zombies from an area then fortifying and defending that area, etc.

base expansion is practically part of the bunkering up, so this isn't really a higher purpose as such. it is more as the PC's find more human NPC's they need more space, and so expanding and defending becomes the real idea. this also ties nicely with balancing politics of the survivors.

the idea of this rule set is to move past simply role playing a single character and move into a more complex scenario, with things such as base defense, searching, medical treatment, morality issues, politics, science, etc is all part of the campaign.

i haven't had a chance to look at your zombies, but I'm about to. thanks for the link =) and please share this threat around, i like having varied opinions. they always balance arguements.

[Zedmore]

think about maybe not just starting the campaign in line with the first outbreaks. you could create a world were survivors are trying to rebuild the government or find a cure. This would allow greater diversity of quests as players could work for different factions and survivor groups. This may also tie into the morality system choosing between trying to rebuild society or pillage the last remnants of it.

Or perhaps instead of throwing a party into this world open it up to them after the first three game phases. Maybe they pick up some signals on a radio and set off to find the last bastion of humanity/ the camp of a raider warlord. and then play there parts in each society.

[narcotic_platypus]

good idea. i'll keep them in mind. but trying not to go into campaign specifics at the moment. but...
those are part of the higher purpose of the game. which is introduced after about the 2nd or third cycle of scavenge/ rebuild.
i also had in mind that the PC's them selves could in some situations, be that "last Bastion" or "raiders camp" and set up society there way. if you have seen the film defiance (with Daniel Craig) then you'd understand what i mean. (roughly about Jews hiding in the forest and creating their own political (socialist) system and procedures, etc).

the land reclamation is losesly based off the UFO: aftermath (great series, and cheap, if you notice it in EB i suggest you invest the $10AUD).

but enough with my cheesy plugs:

the types of zombies you suggested Nymdok are great, i'll definitely reference their design if not use some of them. i will also be needing to modify other types of zombies that fit particular situations (i'm playing with the idea that only a few macro organisms are immune to it) so for example, an oversize mutated spider that is like a roof mounted turret or builds webs to catch men, etc.

on the issue of morality, i also want to introduce un-infected animals. so that they could be used for hunting (dogs) and moving stuff (horses) but if food supplies are running low they could also be eaten.

as far as base construction goes, i don't know if i should restrict it to limited blue prints which can be found in the world, or allowing the PC's to develop their own set of blue prints:
having set blueprints is far far easier for the GM and forces the PCs to work inside limitations
having Player created blueprints means greater creativity as far as base construction but means that the GM has more headaches.

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by narcotic_platypus

the types of zombies you suggested Nymdok are great, i'll definitely reference their design if not use some of them. i will also be needing to modify other types of zombies that fit particular situations (i'm playing with the idea that only a few macro organisms are immune to it) so for example, an oversize mutated spider that is like a roof mounted turret or builds webs to catch men, etc.

Thanks! That thread was alot of fun!

As it turns out, I did a spider thread too :)

http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=67310

Originally Posted by narcotic_platypus

on the issue of morality, i also want to introduce un-infected animals. so that they could be used for hunting (dogs) and moving stuff (horses) but if food supplies are running low they could also be eaten.

LOVE This idea! Especially when the livestock runs out! If the survivors dont eat, the zombies will overrun them due to weakness, but if they turn canibal, what separates them from the zombies? Makes for thorny moral dilema I think.

Originally Posted by narcotic_platypus

as far as base construction goes, i don't know if i should restrict it to limited blue prints which can be found in the world, or allowing the PC's to develop their own set of blue prints:
having set blueprints is far far easier for the GM and forces the PCs to work inside limitations
having Player created blueprints means greater creativity as far as base construction but means that the GM has more headaches.

It depends of course on what your looking for. I'd go with whatever hospital blueprint you can find on the web, and then work it from there. As an alternative, you could rough map the hospital from Left 4 Dead. I dont recommend letting the players make their own.

Nymdok