Left 4 Dead Zombies

[Ubiquitous]

Active Defense? Never heard of it, is that 3e or am I just dumb?

Also, consider rolling random-hit locations for scratching? You'd get around armored 'foes' better by aiming for the neck or bare arms. Also, Hunters take some kind of multi-strike/high Brawling skill? Or would them making All-Out attacks every turn cover the two hits a second or so?

Also, about the 'playing to the party's strengths and weaknesses' thing; since the L4D monsters have niche purposes already, you might consider just keeping some more than others around, rather than tailor them each time.

A Zombined Arms team, if you will. Eh, eh?

[Diomedes]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Active Defense? Never heard of it, is that 3e or am I just dumb?

Active Defenses are Blocks, Parries, and Dodges.

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Active Defense? Never heard of it, is that 3e or am I just dumb?

Also, consider rolling random-hit locations for scratching? You'd get around armored 'foes' better by aiming for the neck or bare arms. Also, Hunters take some kind of multi-strike/high Brawling skill? Or would them making All-Out attacks every turn cover the two hits a second or so?

Also, about the 'playing to the party's strengths and weaknesses' thing; since the L4D monsters have niche purposes already, you might consider just keeping some more than others around, rather than tailor them each time.

A Zombined Arms team, if you will. Eh, eh?

Active defense is an artifact from 3e (which oddlyenough) I never played. I play in a fantasy gmae run by a guy who still refers to them as Active defenses because in 3e there were also Passive Defenses. In 4e its just called Defense.

The Flailing Claws of the hunters could be either a rapid strike, or an AOA. I leave it up to the specific GM to decide which is more suitable.

Random hit location could be used, but the game normally shows them rending soft underbellies. Arms and necks are viable targets but aimed attacks dont really jive with the impression of savage flailing i get from them.

I dont balace them for each encounter, just for a specific campaign, like the GMs who will read this will (hopefully). If your game has a bunch of unarmed, Brawling Default, Dodge 8, no armor, 25 point regular joes in it, a Brawling 18, 2D cut claw damge wielding hunter is gonna shred that party in no time.

Should one Hunter be a sufficient challenge for a Party? Two? 8? I leave it for the individual GMs to decide how many should be a challenge.

Nymdok

[Ubiquitous]

You made it sound like your party would be tooled-out for this; guns, armor,. the works. I thought you were GMing the game and setting all this up for it.

As for hit location, I meant that 'wild flailing' could land blows anywhere and therefore avoid the armor complication if penetrating DR was an issue.

I'm picturing a Hunter ripping into a Delta-Force operator, just going at him with animalistic rage...and the operator's just lying there, hands behind his head, watching the Hunter claw at armor, waving off his concerned friends going 'Don't worry, leave him, he'll tucker himself out.'

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

You made it sound like your party would be tooled-out for this; guns, armor,. the works. I thought you were GMing the game and setting all this up for it.

As for hit location, I meant that 'wild flailing' could land blows anywhere and therefore avoid the armor complication if penetrating DR was an issue.

I'm picturing a Hunter ripping into a Delta-Force operator, just going at him with animalistic rage...and the operator's just lying there, hands behind his head, watching the Hunter claw at armor, waving off his concerned friends going 'Don't worry, leave him, he'll tucker himself out.'

I AM running this game. But the party I run is a bunch of Spec Ops/Gun Bunny types with High gun skills and no armor to speak of, that may not be the case for everyone.

The survivors in the game, for example, don't appear to be gun specialists by any stretch. If I were to balance it where the survivors in the game could drop boatloads of em, it would be little to no challenge at all for Battle hardened spec ops guys.

I see now what your saying about Hit Location tables and that certainly is a potential fix. Others might be Armor Divisor(really sharp claws cut through Kevlar), Beefed up Striking Strength etc.

Nymdok

[Ubiquitous]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

I AM running this game. But the party I run is a bunch of Spec Ops/Gun Bunny types with High gun skills and no armor to speak of, that may not be the case for everyone.

The survivors in the game, for example, don't appear to be gun specialists by any stretch. If I were to balance it where the survivors in the game could drop boatloads of em, it would be little to no challenge at all for Battle hardened spec ops guys.

I see now what your saying about Hit Location tables and that certainly is a potential fix. Others might be Armor Divisor(really sharp claws cut through Kevlar), Beefed up Striking Strength etc.

Nymdok

...Armor Divisor sounds hilarious, but one thing with Striking Strength would be you'd have to attack armor; average TL8 (What I'm assuming you're playing) police vests are DR 7, meant to stop most of 2d+2 (9mm pistol round GURPS-wise, if I'm right). Which'd mean to get through DR 7 you'd have to give them ST-whatever to get 2d+2...and then you'd pretty much have to call shots for the Infected, because getting hit anywhere unarmored with that much damage would be crippling.

Of course that's assuming you do it, I'm just spotting with what I think I can help with.

Speaking of armor, I take it that those Riot Cops from L4D2 will be a liiittle nerfed armor-wise if they ever come up?

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

Of course that's assuming you do it, I'm just spotting with what I think I can help with.

Speaking of armor, I take it that those Riot Cops from L4D2 will be a liiittle nerfed armor-wise if they ever come up?

Appreciate it!

Riot Cop Zombies wont actually come up in our games, remember we're at the Alpha stage of the out break, small areas where infection pops up. I've chosen to use this bit as an excuse for saying the Zombie plague is man made. It doesn't show up in a Disease sort of way, its deployed.

As my players have the skill for it, Full on Assault rifle shots to the Melon will hardly be a problem and its normally 5D versus a DR of about 12-14. So even if it did, its not a huge deal unless all they have is a pistol.

If you WERE to use them in a GURPS:L4D translation, then it STILL wouldnt really be a problem till about the TL where trauma plates come in (we are currently TL8 so I suppose it could). But honestly, how many riot cops wear trauma plates? Maybe the Israeli riot cops in Palestine?

Nymdok

[Cid SilverWing]

Here's some information you guys will find useful.

Common Infected:
Humans with IQ 6 (Bestial), DX 16, has and spends no FP, High Pain Threshold, Unfazeable, Doesn't Eat or Sleep, Berserk (Accessability: Spotting Survivors), Bloodlust (Don't bother with rolls, they auto-fail), Cannot Speak (-15), Attraction (Loud noises and flashlights, auto-failure again), Dark Vision, Oblivious (until Survivors shoot them)

Specials follow the same as above, but without Attraction or Oblivious

Smoker:
Innate Attack, Binding (Tongue, 100 yard range, victim gets no rolls for resist or break, causes crushing damage and suffocation), Noisy (Coughs, wheezes and hacks constantly while also emitting spores), upon death releases a suffocating spore cloud (Roll or suffer FP damage, I guess)

Tank:
ST 25-40, Injury Tolerance (Natural DR owing to hypertrophy of muscles), Noisy (snorts, pants and roars), No Fine Manipulators

Boomer:
Noisy (Burps and gurgles all the time), Innate attack, Vomiting (cause Affliction that draws the attention of all other Infected within 50 yards through auto-success Smell roll), explodes upon death (scattering vomit that does just the same), Easy To Kill (he's a fat piece of lard who's constantly on the verge of auto-detonation)

Hunter:
Innate attack, Pounce (Brawling/Wrestling, cutting damage from claws, must be Dodged, requires 1 or 2 seconds being crouched first), Noisy (only when crouched and preparing for pounce)

Spitter:
Innate attack, Acid Goo (splats the ground with a 5-10 yard big pool of Corrosion-damaging goo that deals exponential damage the longer it lasts, for up to 5 seconds), Noisy (slightly whiny), upon death releases a smaller pool of acid

Charger:
Refer to Tank, but ST 20, One Arm and auto-Berserks when it spots Survivors so it charges at them (indefinitely until it hits a wall before it literally grabs them and starts slamming them into the ground for Crushing)

Jockey:
DX 18, Innate attack, Pounce (Blind Survivor and cause panic, forcing him/her to move in any direction he leans), Noisy (he's in a permanent state of mania, go figure)

[Ubiquitous]

Originally Posted by Nymdok

Appreciate it!

Riot Cop Zombies wont actually come up in our games, remember we're at the Alpha stage of the out break, small areas where infection pops up. I've chosen to use this bit as an excuse for saying the Zombie plague is man made. It doesn't show up in a Disease sort of way, its deployed.

As my players have the skill for it, Full on Assault rifle shots to the Melon will hardly be a problem and its normally 5D versus a DR of about 12-14. So even if it did, its not a huge deal unless all they have is a pistol.

If you WERE to use them in a GURPS:L4D translation, then it STILL wouldnt really be a problem till about the TL where trauma plates come in (we are currently TL8 so I suppose it could). But honestly, how many riot cops wear trauma plates? Maybe the Israeli riot cops in Palestine?

Nymdok

I was half-joking; you were keeping a lot fo rules based in L4D practicals and my biggest ire was the fact that Riot Cops in L4D2 only die, SEEMINGLY EVER, when you hit them in the back (or the crotch, tee hee). Even with point-blank high-power rifle shots (although that knocks them down).

It bugs me, is what I meant.

Curiosity; the thought the Alpha Teams were supposed to wipe out interim populations; like, if Town A B and C are in a line, and A gets zombified, Alpha goes to shoot everyone in B so C doesn't come under risk.

Wasn't that how it was in the book?

[Nymdok]

Originally Posted by Ubiquitous

I was half-joking; you were keeping a lot fo rules based in L4D practicals and my biggest ire was the fact that Riot Cops in L4D2 only die, SEEMINGLY EVER, when you hit them in the back (or the crotch, tee hee). Even with point-blank high-power rifle shots (although that knocks them down).

It bugs me, is what I meant.

Curiosity; the thought the Alpha Teams were supposed to wipe out interim populations; like, if Town A B and C are in a line, and A gets zombified, Alpha goes to shoot everyone in B so C doesn't come under risk.

Wasn't that how it was in the book?

Didn't read the book, listened to it, but I don't remember that anywhere.

The Alpha missions was a one paragraph quote about the US' first response to the zombie outbreak. It was either in the Alan Alda bit or the Rob Reiner bit.

Currently, they are NOT exterminating nearby towns. TO facilitate this, I gave them Digital Cadaver Dogs that they can use to track 'stray' undead. This keeps them from exterminating any towns that don't need it. As these are 'Black' Ops and the government will disavow any knowledge, witnesses are eliminated. Killing innocent people just because they saw something is about as grim as I choose to get for this adventure.

Nymdok