I have something of a varied history with zombies.
On the surface, it's an over-used cliche monster that lets us rationalize killing people. Zombies are intended to portray humans in an honest, sincere way that lets us kill them without feeling bad. Some of the most popular metaphors include consumerism, popular culture, and technological addiction.
But, there's a story that goes back even further than that. The Wikipedia entry (chill out, this isn't an academic or scholarly resource) says that a Bokor (A practitioner of Vodou, local to west Africa and Haiti) brings a body up out of a grave, and then it serves him. So, effectively, a robot. No consciousness, no intelligence, just decaying muscle. Of course there's variants of this, but this one is by far the most popular.
I heard a mis-translation once that I really liked. In it, a person was subdued with very heavy sedatives, then put in a casket. When they awoke, they'd open it up (the coffin was built deliberately easy), then find a man conveniently in the graveyard. He tells the victim (still up on drugs) that they are dead, and a walking anomaly. So, the person believes they are a zombie, and continue to do zombie-like things, usually minus the eating-brains part.
Obviously, not accurate, and there's a lot of holes in it. But it's still rather fetching. I like the idea of a normally non-violent zombie, just like we have normally non-violent humans. My theory goes as follows:
For whatever reason, a person re-animates. It could be magic (traditional explanation), it could be a brain virus (Max Brooks style), it could be radiation (the Ghouls from Fallout), but for whatever reason, someone comes to.
Bodies are in varying states of decay. Some brains will be more intact than others, and the same goes for musculature and other tissue. So, some zombies will be "fresher" than others.
At the top of the food chain we have ones that are indistinguishable from humans- complete cognitive functionality, the same body they died in, etc. These are the ones who were bitten (or however else the virus is transferred), but not eaten. They ran around, scared and confused, and reanimated without losing a heartbeat. By far the best off.
Near the middle is the classical zombie. Their brains and bodies have deteriorated from time, bad burial conditions, or they were partially eaten during the transfer. Either way, they have limited cognitive capacity, and diminished physique. These are the shamblers, groaning out "brains..." as they skulk around city streets and metro tunnels.
At the bottom of the food chain are the weakest. We could even call them crawlers. Only enough mental capacity to warrant mobility and food scrounging (mostly rotten meat in processing plants and grocery stores. Can't get anything that moves unless it's a very good day), and enough stamina to move from one place to another. Truly pitiful, they're usually plucked up and cannibalized by meaner, more capable predators.
To me, this makes the most sense, and is the most fun to play with. So, with the basics down, there's a few other things I've theorized:
-Mutations
Everyone loves mutant zombies. To mutate, all you need to do is augment your DNA, then tell your cells to go crazy. And, you'll need to eat a lot to be able to grow. Jagged, bony outcroppings will need a lot of chitin (or calcium) to grow effectively. If you want more size, you'll need to eat up.
-The Brains
Classically, zombies want brains. That's just how they roll. I always thought it was to make restoring their own easier.
Viruses reproduce by decimating the host material. In order to sustain the subject matter, there needs to be an intake of edible tissue. In this case, cognitive matter. So, zombies need to eat brains to get smarter, and keep their virus population up to status. Brains are ideal because they're brains. They are 100% what a growing zombie needs. I suppose substitutes would work, but the quantities and portions would have to be sufficient. Is there a substitute for brains? Tofu, maybe?
-Half zombies
A pregnant woman gets bitten. Not... that other thing.
A half-zombie may gain a form of immunity to a parasitic virus, but inherit other traits. This is a gray area, as no one else has really delved into it. The game Sonny best illustrates what I try to get at. He's a zombie, but it's not a big deal.
-Culture
One thing I enjoy pondering is how maximum-freshness zombies fit in with a regular human society, once they stop shooting at each other. It makes for an interesting background, even if Fallout has pretty much answered the question.
Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts
July 13, 2013
January 27, 2013
Flexibility and shotguns
Here's a little snippet from an RP I was doing last night, and I think a good example of flexibility.
The situation:
An investigator for the DoD (The story arc revolved around missing nuclear warheads) and a geologist (no relation, just a fun character) are going to the den of the town's local biker gang. They've been invited, with the promise of extra information in a seemingly impossible case. They know the bikers (The Flames) are involved, just not how much.
Once they arrive, they meet with the spiritual leader of the Flames, who just goes by Callahan. He runs his mouth for a little bit, then tells them he won't trust them until they do something for him- take a shotgun to the head of a crazy guy in the back room. Eric has been overtaken by Callahan's fiery oratory, and believes that he can only realize his full potential by "leaving this meat-sack of a body." Callahan thinks he's a lost cause, and want the players to mercy-kill him,"the way a true human would."
Callahan's a crazy, superstitious bastard.
The setup:
It's a test. The shotgun is loaded with a blank (the players never checked it), and Eric isn't actually crazy. What Eric is trying to do is goad the players into shooting him by acting wretched, depressed, and over eager for death. Callahan figures if the players actually shoot, it means they're willing to do "what's right," thus letting him trust them.
The complication:
Neither of the players wanted to kill Eric. The DoD agent already has too many ghosts, and can't justify killing to solve the case. The geologist has roughly the same reason, and is more interested in putting Eric through therapy.
As a last-ditch effort, Eric started to beg them to just bring the shotgun in, and let him do it himself. he offered the geologist some information she'd been looking for, in exchange for his own immortality (boom).
I admit, I did expect the players to eventually shoot Eric. I played him as hard as I could, and tried to get them into the idea of mercy-killing him. Wouldn't take. A bad GM would have tried to force the issue further, but I adapted.
The players were quite clever- they suggested Eric stay alive, so he can gather as much worldly information as possible while he's still human, and operating on a human level. Having no counter-point, I worked a solution.
The solution:
After about fifteen minutes (real life) of bullshit philosophy versus merciful intentions, Eric leaned against the wall, and checked his watch. "Good job, you passed. Shotgun shell is a blank, by the way." He mostly looked smug with himself, delivered some dialogue in a sane manner, and gave the geologist the information she wanted anyway.
They went to Callahan for their information, and he gave them this basic spiel: By choosing to reason with Eric, and keep him alive, they proved they're better than the average person, who would have just shot him. This dedication to human life (as well as some really good arguments) tells him they can be trusted as "real" humans, so he gives them the information.
But, he only does it after they promise him (as humans) that what happened in the building, stays in the building. He gives them everything they need to know, and his goons even hold the door open for them.
The icing on the cake:
On the drive back to town, the DoD agent remarked that Callahan is a complete asshole, and the whole thing was incredibly douche-baggy. Mission accomplished.
More thoughts:
This situation was designed to increase tension, and test player's morality. What are they willing to do to recover two (decommissioned) nuclear warheads? Will they kill in something other than self-defense?
If I was a really good GM, I might have been able to play Eric hard enough to get them to shoot him. But, I'm not perfect. So, I adapted. After the first three minutes of conversation, I was 90% sure they wouldn't kill him, so I was partially stalling for time. I had to figure out a good reason for Callahan to pass them for not killing. So, convenient character excuse: Make up some pseudo-religious crap, and keep going.
The message I'm trying to get across is: Be ready to adapt. If I'd railroaded them into shooting Eric, that wouldn't have been any fun whatsoever. But, I need to give Callahan a good reason for trusting them. I suppose I could have just had him remark that "life is sacred, and we should preserve what we can," but that's really unlike him. He's got more fire in his blood than that.
A good GM can react to just about anything and keep the story going- a great GM can make it look like that was part of the plan the whole time.
The situation:
An investigator for the DoD (The story arc revolved around missing nuclear warheads) and a geologist (no relation, just a fun character) are going to the den of the town's local biker gang. They've been invited, with the promise of extra information in a seemingly impossible case. They know the bikers (The Flames) are involved, just not how much.
Once they arrive, they meet with the spiritual leader of the Flames, who just goes by Callahan. He runs his mouth for a little bit, then tells them he won't trust them until they do something for him- take a shotgun to the head of a crazy guy in the back room. Eric has been overtaken by Callahan's fiery oratory, and believes that he can only realize his full potential by "leaving this meat-sack of a body." Callahan thinks he's a lost cause, and want the players to mercy-kill him,"the way a true human would."
Callahan's a crazy, superstitious bastard.
The setup:
It's a test. The shotgun is loaded with a blank (the players never checked it), and Eric isn't actually crazy. What Eric is trying to do is goad the players into shooting him by acting wretched, depressed, and over eager for death. Callahan figures if the players actually shoot, it means they're willing to do "what's right," thus letting him trust them.
The complication:
Neither of the players wanted to kill Eric. The DoD agent already has too many ghosts, and can't justify killing to solve the case. The geologist has roughly the same reason, and is more interested in putting Eric through therapy.
As a last-ditch effort, Eric started to beg them to just bring the shotgun in, and let him do it himself. he offered the geologist some information she'd been looking for, in exchange for his own immortality (boom).
I admit, I did expect the players to eventually shoot Eric. I played him as hard as I could, and tried to get them into the idea of mercy-killing him. Wouldn't take. A bad GM would have tried to force the issue further, but I adapted.
The players were quite clever- they suggested Eric stay alive, so he can gather as much worldly information as possible while he's still human, and operating on a human level. Having no counter-point, I worked a solution.
The solution:
After about fifteen minutes (real life) of bullshit philosophy versus merciful intentions, Eric leaned against the wall, and checked his watch. "Good job, you passed. Shotgun shell is a blank, by the way." He mostly looked smug with himself, delivered some dialogue in a sane manner, and gave the geologist the information she wanted anyway.
They went to Callahan for their information, and he gave them this basic spiel: By choosing to reason with Eric, and keep him alive, they proved they're better than the average person, who would have just shot him. This dedication to human life (as well as some really good arguments) tells him they can be trusted as "real" humans, so he gives them the information.
But, he only does it after they promise him (as humans) that what happened in the building, stays in the building. He gives them everything they need to know, and his goons even hold the door open for them.
The icing on the cake:
On the drive back to town, the DoD agent remarked that Callahan is a complete asshole, and the whole thing was incredibly douche-baggy. Mission accomplished.
More thoughts:
This situation was designed to increase tension, and test player's morality. What are they willing to do to recover two (decommissioned) nuclear warheads? Will they kill in something other than self-defense?
If I was a really good GM, I might have been able to play Eric hard enough to get them to shoot him. But, I'm not perfect. So, I adapted. After the first three minutes of conversation, I was 90% sure they wouldn't kill him, so I was partially stalling for time. I had to figure out a good reason for Callahan to pass them for not killing. So, convenient character excuse: Make up some pseudo-religious crap, and keep going.
The message I'm trying to get across is: Be ready to adapt. If I'd railroaded them into shooting Eric, that wouldn't have been any fun whatsoever. But, I need to give Callahan a good reason for trusting them. I suppose I could have just had him remark that "life is sacred, and we should preserve what we can," but that's really unlike him. He's got more fire in his blood than that.
A good GM can react to just about anything and keep the story going- a great GM can make it look like that was part of the plan the whole time.
October 25, 2012
Not Project Sunburn
Taking a break from the 'burn. Probably going to write more about it anyway, though. I'm on kind of a one-track mind ATM.
I was thinking more about the zombie breakout in Indiana, I've decided. The players, for whatever reason, have to leave town to talk to a guy (Milo?) in a radio station. He's a little paranoid, and falls into my habit of crazy people always being right- it's zombies! In a military base!
Officially, the project was an additive in MREs that would make the soldier more alert, and physically capable. But guess what? Zombies!
The players rush back to town to find two groups struggling for power- the Sheriff's men, and the Bikers. Because the town needs to be defended from... Zombies!
The players enter a speech challenge to decide who the massed crowd follows. If they side with the law, then the Sheriff himself will join them. If they join with the bikers, then Lorraine will join them- and stab Zombies!
The Sheriff's plan is to coordinate the local citizens, and set up a firing line. He really doesn't trust them to do anything else, which is probably true. The Sheriff himself has higher than normal defense, on account of his kevlar vest. He carries a shotgun and a tazer, good for electrocuting Zombies!
The bikers plan to make hit-and-run attacks on the zombies, because they're really good at that sort of thing. They are fast, mean, and get into fights for a living. So does Lorraine. She's an angry black woman who carries around an SS knife- "SS is Nazis. I hate Nazis. Hate is power. This makes me powerful." She is aggressive, and good at it. Her weapons are the SS knife, a revolver, and a bad attitude which she uses for shouting at Zombies!
Cue the required military base fight. The bulk of them are shambling towards the town, so the players (and their plus-one) are going to have an easy time getting in. At the end, there's a mad scientist ranting a raving to his shadowy cabal of overlords on huge screens. He pulls out a machine gun and poorly tries to shoot at the players. His skill with guns isn't worth dick. And in the end, the faces on the screens give a dire warning (dun dun dun!), and log off. The town, with whoever in charge, has defended itself from the Zombies!
It's short, sweet, and simple. I really wish I had thought of this before investing so much time in PS. Ah well.
And here's the required piece about PS. I've decided "Nasser" doesn't fit the criteria for Space Trooper names, and I'll change it to something like Mitchell, or Gomez. More later. Currently thinking of floor plans for the bunkers. And the basic EE fight rules. And the speech rules. And, most importantly...
... Zombies!!!
I was thinking more about the zombie breakout in Indiana, I've decided. The players, for whatever reason, have to leave town to talk to a guy (Milo?) in a radio station. He's a little paranoid, and falls into my habit of crazy people always being right- it's zombies! In a military base!
Officially, the project was an additive in MREs that would make the soldier more alert, and physically capable. But guess what? Zombies!
The players rush back to town to find two groups struggling for power- the Sheriff's men, and the Bikers. Because the town needs to be defended from... Zombies!
The players enter a speech challenge to decide who the massed crowd follows. If they side with the law, then the Sheriff himself will join them. If they join with the bikers, then Lorraine will join them- and stab Zombies!
The Sheriff's plan is to coordinate the local citizens, and set up a firing line. He really doesn't trust them to do anything else, which is probably true. The Sheriff himself has higher than normal defense, on account of his kevlar vest. He carries a shotgun and a tazer, good for electrocuting Zombies!
The bikers plan to make hit-and-run attacks on the zombies, because they're really good at that sort of thing. They are fast, mean, and get into fights for a living. So does Lorraine. She's an angry black woman who carries around an SS knife- "SS is Nazis. I hate Nazis. Hate is power. This makes me powerful." She is aggressive, and good at it. Her weapons are the SS knife, a revolver, and a bad attitude which she uses for shouting at Zombies!
Cue the required military base fight. The bulk of them are shambling towards the town, so the players (and their plus-one) are going to have an easy time getting in. At the end, there's a mad scientist ranting a raving to his shadowy cabal of overlords on huge screens. He pulls out a machine gun and poorly tries to shoot at the players. His skill with guns isn't worth dick. And in the end, the faces on the screens give a dire warning (dun dun dun!), and log off. The town, with whoever in charge, has defended itself from the Zombies!
It's short, sweet, and simple. I really wish I had thought of this before investing so much time in PS. Ah well.
And here's the required piece about PS. I've decided "Nasser" doesn't fit the criteria for Space Trooper names, and I'll change it to something like Mitchell, or Gomez. More later. Currently thinking of floor plans for the bunkers. And the basic EE fight rules. And the speech rules. And, most importantly...
... Zombies!!!
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