Long while no post, and welcome back ... I was waiting to write the follow up until we had the second part of our "pilot episode" of the game together and complete. If you all remember, the first session touched on the inidvidual back stories for each of our protagonists - what was happening to each when "Day Zero" (aka Day Z) arrived. For session two and three, we flashed forward four weeks as the world changed and civilization crumbled under the weight of change ...
Our story opened with Maria Consuela and Doc Vago attempting to scavenge the 'cure' for an associate in the bowels of Iowa Methodist Medical Center. Prior to the fall of society, rumors abounded that the CDC had a cure, and our heroines were looking for it in hopes of administering it to their friend, Alejandro, who had been bitten. Unsuccessful in their attempts to find the cure, the women took what they could and made their way out of the building, through walker infested parking lots and green areas, to meet up with Shane - their driver.
Problems ensue as Doc attempts to sneak through the scattered horde, only to find herself running a gauntlet of walkers and getting nearly beaten to death in the process. Carrying her associate the rest of the way, Maria finds Shane and he pops up to give them cover from the walkers and loads up in his stolen panel van. Escaping through the streets littered with abandoned/destroyed vehicles (civilian and military), the trio quickly attempted to make their way back to Shane's safe house, located beneath the Garden nightclub on the east side of the Des Moines river. Their drive is interrupted as walkers and a military truck intervene, causing the van to tip and slide into the bridge abutment on Grand Ave & 1st street in downtown.
The crash quickly attracts the attention of a small pack of walkers, who decend upon the truck, and Sweeney - who was coming up the river walk from his own mission. Moving quickly with the injured doctor, the group made their way down the river walk, avoiding most attention from the walkers on the streets above. Making their way across the old railroad trestle bridge (the only bridge still intact without walkers), the foursome are alerted to another presence as they hear shouts and barks from about 2 blocks over.
They round the corner to see Corky sitting in the middle of the street eating some fruit snacks, bodies of dispatched walkers surrounding him, and his dog, Sparky, barking in warning. The group of four becomes six, as Sweeney and Shane hastily bring Corky and Sparky along to clear the street ... and seeing his potential value for group survival.
Two days pass, as Doc and Maria both are forced to spend time healing from their wounds, thankfully neither being bitten. Alejandro is not as fortunate, as he is spared further misery - the group knowing that the rumors were little more than false hope spread by the government. Another, more pressing matter presented itself, however, as food becomes a commodity in short supply. Shane suggests a supply run for food and medical supplies and the group selects a handful of target locations. As a quick loot of a local medical outlet proves to be less than fruitful, the group encounter Carlie and her two kids holed up in the Mexican tienda near I-235 and 15th. Carlie is convinced by Sweeney to join the fold for protection of herself and her children, while food is salvaged from the store.
Stopping by "Mercy Capital" (the old Des Moines General), the group runs into Billy, a 19 year old farm boy stranded in the city, and barricaded in the reception/office area of the hospital. A brief encounter with walkers outside, along with an unsuccessful initial raid is enough to convince the group and Billy to join forces for survival. Returning to the safe house as the sun is setting, the group is resigned to waiting out the night for now, with hopes of better luck in the morning ...
The morning comes to find Shane gone from the safe house in the night, and Sweeney up on the adjacent rooftop, attempting to study his prey. Realizing the grim situation of food and transportation, the group loads up into a stolen SUV to head down 14th street - in search of another vehicle and food. Leaving the kids behind, the group slowly makes its way down 14th to Aztec Motors. Attempting to work quickly, the group begins to dispatch the dozen roamers when all hell breaks loose.
A stray shot shatters the driver side window of a Chevy Tahoe, setting off the anti-theft alarm on the SUV. Maria quickly worked to disable the alarm and start the vehicle, but was not quick enough to avoid attracting attention. Quickly the group, while spread out, ran the risk of being swarmed by more walkers - each walker dropped seem to bring at least one more. Cut off from the group, Maria urged the rest to get out of there and finally started the SUV. She sped away to the south, attracting the attention of the walkers, as Corky took the wheel of the other SUV, and turned the group north towards the safe house.
Already deflated from the feeling of failure and the loss of Maria, the group returned to the safe house to find Carlie's kids stranded on a fire escape with two walkers below them. Gaining the attention of the walkers and quickly dispatching them, the group ran to the youngsters only to find them scared and bitten ...
24 September 2012
11 September 2012
shaping a world in ruins ...
If you have read the Walking Dead comic or seen episodes of the show, you are familiar with the state of the world, as it exists. Entire cities abandoned by the living, surrendered to the risen dead - all of whom were once living beings. Vehicles often abandoned or wrecked, left to lie in the roads and streets - serving as little more than obstacles for those who remain ... however the timeframe is short enough that the world has not begun to crumble around the living - a topic that tends to be a favorite of dystopian/post-apocalyptic writers. Buildings have been abandoned, however they have not begun to crumble in most places - mother nature may have wreaked her havoc in some ways, but not to the point of worldwide destruction. However, nature will still proceed on its normal cycle, as if nothing has happened to mankind. So, how does one craft a world that doesn't exist, in a location familiar to the PC's?
That is the task that I face with my "world" inside the game. In my previous runs as a D&D GM, one can take liberties on descriptions of the land - it is all fantasy, craft and manipulate as the GM requires. A game set in the 'real world', however, does not offer that same option. I cannot make a building not exist because it does not serve my purpose - especially if that building is one that is familiar to the players. My game is set in Des Moines, a city that all of my PC's are very familiar with.
So, instead of crafting the world, I get to do the next best thing - manipulating what has happened between our prologues and the start of 'chapter one'. What has happened to our city now that it is overrun by the walking dead? What actions did civic leaders take prior to their downfall? Were structures damaged or destroyed in an attempt to hinder the dead? What remains of the city's "normalcy" from before? What "toys" will be at the disposal of the PC's as they decide how to approach the city and her new challenges?
Key to the future, to me, are the two rivers that form two of the downtown borders - the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. A number of bridges cross these rivers prior to their merger on the SE side of downtown ... what happens when some of these thoroughfares are missing?
The group has already shown, in the prologues themselves, the ability and willingness to be daring, to think outside the box ... something I look to push even further as their world opens up. Since I am running the game "sandbox style" (giving the PC's relatively free run of the city), it will be a challenge for us all. How do they get from here to there and how many challenges can I put in their way? ;)
That is the task that I face with my "world" inside the game. In my previous runs as a D&D GM, one can take liberties on descriptions of the land - it is all fantasy, craft and manipulate as the GM requires. A game set in the 'real world', however, does not offer that same option. I cannot make a building not exist because it does not serve my purpose - especially if that building is one that is familiar to the players. My game is set in Des Moines, a city that all of my PC's are very familiar with.
So, instead of crafting the world, I get to do the next best thing - manipulating what has happened between our prologues and the start of 'chapter one'. What has happened to our city now that it is overrun by the walking dead? What actions did civic leaders take prior to their downfall? Were structures damaged or destroyed in an attempt to hinder the dead? What remains of the city's "normalcy" from before? What "toys" will be at the disposal of the PC's as they decide how to approach the city and her new challenges?
Key to the future, to me, are the two rivers that form two of the downtown borders - the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. A number of bridges cross these rivers prior to their merger on the SE side of downtown ... what happens when some of these thoroughfares are missing?
The group has already shown, in the prologues themselves, the ability and willingness to be daring, to think outside the box ... something I look to push even further as their world opens up. Since I am running the game "sandbox style" (giving the PC's relatively free run of the city), it will be a challenge for us all. How do they get from here to there and how many challenges can I put in their way? ;)
06 September 2012
Prologues ...
I have shared thoughts with you, my readers, in regards to some of the ideas and concepts going into this game (and believe me, I have plenty more left to share as we go on) ... but the time has come to cover the first night of our story ... but first, a perspective concept at hand.
Another gamer/GM friend of mine (Mr Becker) has often described how he views and runs games as part of a TV show. Breaking down adventures and even gaming sessions into individual (or multiple) episodes within a show. For that, I always hearken back to a series like Battlestar Galactica (the newer version) or Brisco County, Jr, or even the X-Files (for that matter) ... and I am definitely drawing influence from the Walking Dead, since it is a direct influence upon the game. The first episode (Days Gone Bye) introduced us to Rick Grimes, giving us a glimpse at his "prologue" story, while serving for a sort of "then and now" view of the world.
I borrowed directly from this concept, with some further exposition, for each of the five members of our intial survivors: Carlie, Sweeney, Corky, Maria, and Doc Gee. One by one, their stories were told as any good story should be told - involving each character as their story played out, all literally within hours of each other on a seemingly innocent day in June.
Carlie
We were first introduced to Carlie, a battered mother/wife/soldier who has been shipped to Des Moines, preparing for her second deployment to Afghanistan. Much to her dismay, her husband has traveled with her and her children (age 7 and 5) ... the tension has reached a head when Carlie comes home a bit too late to find her drunk husband waiting on the couch, Faux News on the TV. The tension the couple has shared peaks, as Carlie's husband once again decides to teach her a lesson through beating.
As will happen with battered souls, Carlie finally has had enough, and she fights back, trading blows through the Army provided apartment located on grounds at Fort Des Moines. Through chance and luck, Carlie gains the upper hand, and twice puts her husband through the living room coffee table. The second time for good - shattering the glass of the table, and putting a permanent end to the cycle of abuse.
As she comes down from the adrenaline high, Carlie witnesses her first walker attack live on national television as a field reporter is brutally attacked and bitten on camera. Struggling to process all that has happened, Carlie hears a meek voice behind her asking "Mommy, what happened with daddy?" ... leaving her with some difficult decisions to make ...
Sweeney
Jumping from night to earlier in the same day, we met Sweeney, a stranger in a strange land - a hunter from the Southern US visiting Iowa to poach deer. A successful visit is coming to an end, as the modified freezer in his truck bed is nearly full of poached meats, but Sweeney finds himself on a rare hunt, tracking two deer - a doe and a buck, by all appearances. Moving through the woods, with his crossbow at the ready, Sweeney stumbles upon an unexpected blood trail and a new set of tracks - human boot prints.
Giving a pause to the deer hunt, Sweeney follows the blood and boot prints, stumbling upon a moonshine still. Further inspection finds a pair of shotgunned bodies lying near the still itself, shine and money undisturbed. As he sets about the still, one of the dead men rises to his feet, chest and left arm blown apart by the previous attacker, and attacks the southerner. A brief, violent struggle ensues and Sweeney is able to bring down the previously dead man with his hatchet.
Taking leave of the still (and liberating some shine and the satchel with money), an injured Sweeney quickly hobbles back to his truck ... only to find a Jasper County Sherriff's Deputy inspecting the covered truckbed and calling the plates into his dispatcher. Without hesitation, the bloodied Southerner opens fire on the deputy, firing a bolt into his back before taking return fire himself. A quick, brutal firefight ensues ending with Sweeney standing over the dead deputy. Knowing he is on limited time, and bleeding out himself, Sweeney makes his escape in his now wanted truck, as sirens wail in the distance.
Corky
Around the same time, a special "hero" came upon his life changing experience. Corky, a retarded janitor at Des Moines East High School, was mowing the back yard at his grandmother's house on the east side of Des Moines, that mid-afternoon. Having lived with his over-bearing "good Christian" grandmother for most of his life, Corky was used to doing all of the hard work and taking the beating from his beloved grandmother. He was at fault for all that had happened in their lives, he deserved the beating she gave to him. (Yes, folks, she made Mommie Dearest look like a fucking saint.)
Busy in his work, Corky did not see the man attack his grandma, but he heard her screams over the mower. A faithful grandson, as always, he rushed to her aid to pull the vicious attacker from his bloodied caretaker. In desperation, Corky took a bat from the garage and bashed in the skull of the (unknown to him) walker ... but it was too little too late. The damage was done to his grandmother, and she was left breathing her dying breaths.
Unable to think, Corky carried her inside and tried to call 911, but the call went unanswered. Faithfully, Corky sat next to his grandmother that night as she died in her home. In a moment of clarity, Corky quickly walked to the basement and gathered a few of his things into his trusty backpack and headed back upstairs with his faithful sword in hand. Surprising him upstairs, however, was the risen corpse of his grandmother. Making a run for the front door, Corky escaped the house screaming, running through the darkened streets towards his own sanctuary - East High School.
Maria
That night, east of the city, Maria Consuela was having a day like any other - completing a cocaine deal for her employers within the local Mexican mafia. Traveling to the metro waste landfill in her SUV with her bodyguard (Ese) and 3 associates following in a repurposed UHaul, she was looking towards the end of another assignment for her bosses. Her life with the criminal underground had brought her north from Oaxaca, by way of the brothels of west Texas and central Colorado.
Following her set protocol in her meeting with the man known only as Thomas, Maria soon found herself surrounded and another deal gone south. Her men ambushed, Maria quickly followed her instincts and ran from the gun fight, leaving Ese to provide her cover. With one associate still alive, the trio attempted to make their escape in two separate vehicles, however fortune was not on their side. Ese took a shotgun blast as he ducked into the heavily damaged SUV, and the associate rolled the U-Haul attempting to make his escape.
With a blown out front tire, Maria guided the SUV towards the entrance and escape ... only to lose control and sideswipe a concrete divider. Barely escaping with her life, and forced to crawl over a moaning, struggling Ese, Maria limped out of the facility yard, with men too close behind. She disappeared into the woods, relying upon her sense and experience to make her way back to Des Moines. Upon her return to the city, she came upon an apparently abandoned truck at the Git N Go convenience store on the east edge of the city. Procuring it for her own, Maria didn't look back and sought out medical attention.
Doc Gee
Late that night, Dr Gee Vaggo (Vah-go) had her hopes for a quiet night at home shattered by her ringing cell phone. Still in shock from losing her practice to the fallout from the recession, the young doctor turned to a more private practice, using her contacts from Denver to become a medical aid provider for portions of the Des Moines criminal underground. Quickly establishing contacts, she found a much more lucrative practice that also provided a significant thrill as a side effect. Treating various wounds, in addition to common ailments, allowed Dr Vaggo to pad her pocket book, and put her previous worries behind her.
However, her life would change with this phone call ... she was summoned to a trailer on the south east side of the city, by a recurring client she knew as Holmes. Through his rushed spanglish, Gee learned that Holmes' son was bitten badly by something unknown while playing, and the boy was likely dying. Grabbing her medical kit and rushing out the door, Gee soon arrived to find a bloody mess within the trailer. The boy's side had been bitten, torn, and chewed upon something, but definitely not any kind of local animal. A quick inspection showed to her the boy had nothing left, as his intestines had been ruptured by the mauling. In an attempt at mercy, Doc injected the boy with morphine and he soon drifted away.
As she attempted to explain what she had done for the boy and his family, the sad calm within the room was shattered by the guttural moan of the turned boy. He instantly sunk his teeth into his mourning mother's neck, ripping her apart and covering them both in her blood. Horrified, Doc stepped back as Holmes attempted to pull the flesh eating boy from his mother's neck. Sensing unbroken flesh, the boy snapped into his father's arm, tearing flesh and muscle from bone. Screams of anguish and fear filled the trailer as Doc quickly made her escape into the night, her mind left trying to process the horror which she had just been witness to.
The world has begun to change for these five characters ... and many more yet to come. The dead shall walk the earth ... no one is truly safe.
Another gamer/GM friend of mine (Mr Becker) has often described how he views and runs games as part of a TV show. Breaking down adventures and even gaming sessions into individual (or multiple) episodes within a show. For that, I always hearken back to a series like Battlestar Galactica (the newer version) or Brisco County, Jr, or even the X-Files (for that matter) ... and I am definitely drawing influence from the Walking Dead, since it is a direct influence upon the game. The first episode (Days Gone Bye) introduced us to Rick Grimes, giving us a glimpse at his "prologue" story, while serving for a sort of "then and now" view of the world.
I borrowed directly from this concept, with some further exposition, for each of the five members of our intial survivors: Carlie, Sweeney, Corky, Maria, and Doc Gee. One by one, their stories were told as any good story should be told - involving each character as their story played out, all literally within hours of each other on a seemingly innocent day in June.
Carlie
We were first introduced to Carlie, a battered mother/wife/soldier who has been shipped to Des Moines, preparing for her second deployment to Afghanistan. Much to her dismay, her husband has traveled with her and her children (age 7 and 5) ... the tension has reached a head when Carlie comes home a bit too late to find her drunk husband waiting on the couch, Faux News on the TV. The tension the couple has shared peaks, as Carlie's husband once again decides to teach her a lesson through beating.
As will happen with battered souls, Carlie finally has had enough, and she fights back, trading blows through the Army provided apartment located on grounds at Fort Des Moines. Through chance and luck, Carlie gains the upper hand, and twice puts her husband through the living room coffee table. The second time for good - shattering the glass of the table, and putting a permanent end to the cycle of abuse.
As she comes down from the adrenaline high, Carlie witnesses her first walker attack live on national television as a field reporter is brutally attacked and bitten on camera. Struggling to process all that has happened, Carlie hears a meek voice behind her asking "Mommy, what happened with daddy?" ... leaving her with some difficult decisions to make ...
Sweeney
Jumping from night to earlier in the same day, we met Sweeney, a stranger in a strange land - a hunter from the Southern US visiting Iowa to poach deer. A successful visit is coming to an end, as the modified freezer in his truck bed is nearly full of poached meats, but Sweeney finds himself on a rare hunt, tracking two deer - a doe and a buck, by all appearances. Moving through the woods, with his crossbow at the ready, Sweeney stumbles upon an unexpected blood trail and a new set of tracks - human boot prints.
Giving a pause to the deer hunt, Sweeney follows the blood and boot prints, stumbling upon a moonshine still. Further inspection finds a pair of shotgunned bodies lying near the still itself, shine and money undisturbed. As he sets about the still, one of the dead men rises to his feet, chest and left arm blown apart by the previous attacker, and attacks the southerner. A brief, violent struggle ensues and Sweeney is able to bring down the previously dead man with his hatchet.
Taking leave of the still (and liberating some shine and the satchel with money), an injured Sweeney quickly hobbles back to his truck ... only to find a Jasper County Sherriff's Deputy inspecting the covered truckbed and calling the plates into his dispatcher. Without hesitation, the bloodied Southerner opens fire on the deputy, firing a bolt into his back before taking return fire himself. A quick, brutal firefight ensues ending with Sweeney standing over the dead deputy. Knowing he is on limited time, and bleeding out himself, Sweeney makes his escape in his now wanted truck, as sirens wail in the distance.
Corky
Around the same time, a special "hero" came upon his life changing experience. Corky, a retarded janitor at Des Moines East High School, was mowing the back yard at his grandmother's house on the east side of Des Moines, that mid-afternoon. Having lived with his over-bearing "good Christian" grandmother for most of his life, Corky was used to doing all of the hard work and taking the beating from his beloved grandmother. He was at fault for all that had happened in their lives, he deserved the beating she gave to him. (Yes, folks, she made Mommie Dearest look like a fucking saint.)
Busy in his work, Corky did not see the man attack his grandma, but he heard her screams over the mower. A faithful grandson, as always, he rushed to her aid to pull the vicious attacker from his bloodied caretaker. In desperation, Corky took a bat from the garage and bashed in the skull of the (unknown to him) walker ... but it was too little too late. The damage was done to his grandmother, and she was left breathing her dying breaths.
Unable to think, Corky carried her inside and tried to call 911, but the call went unanswered. Faithfully, Corky sat next to his grandmother that night as she died in her home. In a moment of clarity, Corky quickly walked to the basement and gathered a few of his things into his trusty backpack and headed back upstairs with his faithful sword in hand. Surprising him upstairs, however, was the risen corpse of his grandmother. Making a run for the front door, Corky escaped the house screaming, running through the darkened streets towards his own sanctuary - East High School.
Maria
That night, east of the city, Maria Consuela was having a day like any other - completing a cocaine deal for her employers within the local Mexican mafia. Traveling to the metro waste landfill in her SUV with her bodyguard (Ese) and 3 associates following in a repurposed UHaul, she was looking towards the end of another assignment for her bosses. Her life with the criminal underground had brought her north from Oaxaca, by way of the brothels of west Texas and central Colorado.
Following her set protocol in her meeting with the man known only as Thomas, Maria soon found herself surrounded and another deal gone south. Her men ambushed, Maria quickly followed her instincts and ran from the gun fight, leaving Ese to provide her cover. With one associate still alive, the trio attempted to make their escape in two separate vehicles, however fortune was not on their side. Ese took a shotgun blast as he ducked into the heavily damaged SUV, and the associate rolled the U-Haul attempting to make his escape.
With a blown out front tire, Maria guided the SUV towards the entrance and escape ... only to lose control and sideswipe a concrete divider. Barely escaping with her life, and forced to crawl over a moaning, struggling Ese, Maria limped out of the facility yard, with men too close behind. She disappeared into the woods, relying upon her sense and experience to make her way back to Des Moines. Upon her return to the city, she came upon an apparently abandoned truck at the Git N Go convenience store on the east edge of the city. Procuring it for her own, Maria didn't look back and sought out medical attention.
Doc Gee
Late that night, Dr Gee Vaggo (Vah-go) had her hopes for a quiet night at home shattered by her ringing cell phone. Still in shock from losing her practice to the fallout from the recession, the young doctor turned to a more private practice, using her contacts from Denver to become a medical aid provider for portions of the Des Moines criminal underground. Quickly establishing contacts, she found a much more lucrative practice that also provided a significant thrill as a side effect. Treating various wounds, in addition to common ailments, allowed Dr Vaggo to pad her pocket book, and put her previous worries behind her.
However, her life would change with this phone call ... she was summoned to a trailer on the south east side of the city, by a recurring client she knew as Holmes. Through his rushed spanglish, Gee learned that Holmes' son was bitten badly by something unknown while playing, and the boy was likely dying. Grabbing her medical kit and rushing out the door, Gee soon arrived to find a bloody mess within the trailer. The boy's side had been bitten, torn, and chewed upon something, but definitely not any kind of local animal. A quick inspection showed to her the boy had nothing left, as his intestines had been ruptured by the mauling. In an attempt at mercy, Doc injected the boy with morphine and he soon drifted away.
As she attempted to explain what she had done for the boy and his family, the sad calm within the room was shattered by the guttural moan of the turned boy. He instantly sunk his teeth into his mourning mother's neck, ripping her apart and covering them both in her blood. Horrified, Doc stepped back as Holmes attempted to pull the flesh eating boy from his mother's neck. Sensing unbroken flesh, the boy snapped into his father's arm, tearing flesh and muscle from bone. Screams of anguish and fear filled the trailer as Doc quickly made her escape into the night, her mind left trying to process the horror which she had just been witness to.
The world has begun to change for these five characters ... and many more yet to come. The dead shall walk the earth ... no one is truly safe.
24 August 2012
the Characters
An important key to any good story - whether book, movie, TV series, or game - is the characters involved in the story. Think about it - Firefly is just another space-western without the likes of Mal Reynolds and his crew of misfits; where is Seinfeld without Jerry, Kramer, George, and Elaine; and the Lord of the Rings is not the epic "trilogy" without the Fellowship of the Ring. The same is very true with games, especially when one is talking about tabletop RPGs. Every RPG, regardless of type (D&D, 4.0, D20M, Dragon Age, Call of Cthulu, the list goes on), requires PCs (Player Characters) to help "tell the story" ... the villain(s), the monsters, Cthulu himself are all meaningless within the world if the PC's aren't there.
Anyone familiar with the Walking Dead (comic or TV series) knows the importance of the characters within - from Rick or Carl down to T-Dog or Allen. The characters are what make this zombie piece stand apart from any other. Moreover, Kirkman has assembled what could be considered a "motley crew" of character types throughout the 100+ issue run of the comic, characters who fit multiple roles - some common and some very unique. The same can be said for the AMC series, as the show's creators (including Kirkman and Frank Darabont) have given us familiar characters and new ones, while also excluding others for the adaptation.
It is because of those characters, and the importance of the characters in the series, that I am excited to run my own Walking Dead based D20M RPG. And it is because of my own group's characters that excitements has grown. I spent part of the day yesterday trying to figure out how I was going to get a mentally challenged janitor, a Latina drug/gun/people runner, a black market doctor, a southern "hillbilly", an abused, fed up ex-army "single" mom, and a badarse driver (who happens to be gay) into the story and bring them all together into one friendly little group. What's more, I will definitely have to build upon that group with NPCs (Non Player Characters) to keep flavor alive and ensure no one is bored with what is going on. Yes, folks, this is likely to be a game with a heavier "role playing" aspect and a mere "hack and slash".
More than just the 'good' PCs/NPCs are those the party will encounter during the game itself ... as Kirkman has even shown, not everyone has the best of intentions in the world gone dead - there are thieves, murderers, cannibals, rapists, sadists in the world - many of whom would have done no such thing prior to hell unleashing on earth. The story is survival - how far would even the best intended soul go to keep themselves and those they love alive? Even the protagonists of TWD go to great extents to protect those they love - Rick has murdered more than one man for preservation, and he is not the only good guy to do so.
My own character development and exploration is something that gives me thrills thinking about for the game - a GM can only go so far in "developing" zombies, their personalities don't lend to much growth. Characters like the Hunters, Negan, and (everyone's favorite) Philip the Governor ... people who would grow in rank and power in the dead world. Already ideas are brewing in my mind ... hope the party is ready ...
Anyone familiar with the Walking Dead (comic or TV series) knows the importance of the characters within - from Rick or Carl down to T-Dog or Allen. The characters are what make this zombie piece stand apart from any other. Moreover, Kirkman has assembled what could be considered a "motley crew" of character types throughout the 100+ issue run of the comic, characters who fit multiple roles - some common and some very unique. The same can be said for the AMC series, as the show's creators (including Kirkman and Frank Darabont) have given us familiar characters and new ones, while also excluding others for the adaptation.
It is because of those characters, and the importance of the characters in the series, that I am excited to run my own Walking Dead based D20M RPG. And it is because of my own group's characters that excitements has grown. I spent part of the day yesterday trying to figure out how I was going to get a mentally challenged janitor, a Latina drug/gun/people runner, a black market doctor, a southern "hillbilly", an abused, fed up ex-army "single" mom, and a badarse driver (who happens to be gay) into the story and bring them all together into one friendly little group. What's more, I will definitely have to build upon that group with NPCs (Non Player Characters) to keep flavor alive and ensure no one is bored with what is going on. Yes, folks, this is likely to be a game with a heavier "role playing" aspect and a mere "hack and slash".
More than just the 'good' PCs/NPCs are those the party will encounter during the game itself ... as Kirkman has even shown, not everyone has the best of intentions in the world gone dead - there are thieves, murderers, cannibals, rapists, sadists in the world - many of whom would have done no such thing prior to hell unleashing on earth. The story is survival - how far would even the best intended soul go to keep themselves and those they love alive? Even the protagonists of TWD go to great extents to protect those they love - Rick has murdered more than one man for preservation, and he is not the only good guy to do so.
My own character development and exploration is something that gives me thrills thinking about for the game - a GM can only go so far in "developing" zombies, their personalities don't lend to much growth. Characters like the Hunters, Negan, and (everyone's favorite) Philip the Governor ... people who would grow in rank and power in the dead world. Already ideas are brewing in my mind ... hope the party is ready ...
22 August 2012
hit point theory and reality
One of the major differences between real life and gaming is the presence of "hit points" in the gaming world. Hit Points (or HP) represent the amount of "vitality" that a PC has within a game (whether that is table top or video). Most often, in gaming terms, a character's hit points increase as they level up ... Operating that a person becomes "stronger" or "more vital" as they gain experience. This is, of course, not quite what happens in the real world.
As we age, our vitality does increase - a healthy adult is able to do more and undergo more stress/damage than a child does. This is a natural progression that has little to do with experience -my genetic disposition, certain actions, and specific life choices will determine what my vitality is ... and how many HP I have. Speaking from experience, in D20M terms, I am definitely closer to a Smart or Dedicated hero type - I can hold up well, but I am definitely not physically "tough" enough to take a lot of serious damage. I am average.
This is, of course, not the same for any game played with "experience points" - as your character will inevitably fight bigger, stronger, more fierce "bad guys" as the game progresses. To keep up with the game progression, the hero/heroes become stronger and "more vital" as their HP increase with each level gained. It is an interesting dynamic that is featured in all of the common games - RPG, FPS, Third person (Assassin's Creed series), and tabletop.
It is that exact reason that causes me to buck convention and limit my PC's hit points in the upcoming Walking Dead game. The series (TV and comic) are set in a similar reality to the world we live in - a sort of "it could happen to you" glimpse at reality. What's more, there are limited ways that the characters can improve themselves ... sure, Andrea becomes a sharpshooter with practice, Michonne picked up a katana and taught herself how to use a blade effectively, and even Carl learned to shoot properly and accurately. However, none of the characters gain "life" or vitality from their experiences through 101 issues. They survive (fortitude, not life), adapt, and heal (many times over) - but a character like Glenn doesn't become able to take more damage inflicted upon him by someone.
This is one area of great importance I have taken into my game. My PC's are capped out at second level hit points ... because their "enemies" aren't going to progress. They are facing Roamers and Lurkers - not some 20th level behemoth of Sephiroth proportions, with 200 HP to spare. At worst, they will face numbers and likely other humans who may not be so nice ... just look at the Governor or Negan. With limited healing and even more limited HP, I hope to put a little fear of 'god' in my PCs, without driving them away from the table ... after all, sometimes it's better to climb up a building and run, than it is to face down 2 dozen walkers with only a Beretta 9mm and a machete ...
As we age, our vitality does increase - a healthy adult is able to do more and undergo more stress/damage than a child does. This is a natural progression that has little to do with experience -my genetic disposition, certain actions, and specific life choices will determine what my vitality is ... and how many HP I have. Speaking from experience, in D20M terms, I am definitely closer to a Smart or Dedicated hero type - I can hold up well, but I am definitely not physically "tough" enough to take a lot of serious damage. I am average.
This is, of course, not the same for any game played with "experience points" - as your character will inevitably fight bigger, stronger, more fierce "bad guys" as the game progresses. To keep up with the game progression, the hero/heroes become stronger and "more vital" as their HP increase with each level gained. It is an interesting dynamic that is featured in all of the common games - RPG, FPS, Third person (Assassin's Creed series), and tabletop.
It is that exact reason that causes me to buck convention and limit my PC's hit points in the upcoming Walking Dead game. The series (TV and comic) are set in a similar reality to the world we live in - a sort of "it could happen to you" glimpse at reality. What's more, there are limited ways that the characters can improve themselves ... sure, Andrea becomes a sharpshooter with practice, Michonne picked up a katana and taught herself how to use a blade effectively, and even Carl learned to shoot properly and accurately. However, none of the characters gain "life" or vitality from their experiences through 101 issues. They survive (fortitude, not life), adapt, and heal (many times over) - but a character like Glenn doesn't become able to take more damage inflicted upon him by someone.
This is one area of great importance I have taken into my game. My PC's are capped out at second level hit points ... because their "enemies" aren't going to progress. They are facing Roamers and Lurkers - not some 20th level behemoth of Sephiroth proportions, with 200 HP to spare. At worst, they will face numbers and likely other humans who may not be so nice ... just look at the Governor or Negan. With limited healing and even more limited HP, I hope to put a little fear of 'god' in my PCs, without driving them away from the table ... after all, sometimes it's better to climb up a building and run, than it is to face down 2 dozen walkers with only a Beretta 9mm and a machete ...
20 August 2012
the dead walk
"... you find the alley entrance in front of you choked off by walkers ... you've backed down the alley, only to find yourself pressed against a brick wall ... luckily for you, there is an old fire escape ladder just to your right. Checking your pistol, you realize you only have eight shots remaining ... and many more walkers wanting to dine on your flesh ... what is your next step?"
if you have stumbled upon my blog from elsewhere, you may be feeling a bit confused ... well, fear not blog adventurer (or maybe you should fear and head to the "next blog" link above), this is merely the home for a new homebrew 3.5ish ed RPG that I am running, set in Robert Kirkman's bleak future of "the Walking Dead". While I am not crazy enough to follow the graphic novel, or put any of my player characters (PC's) into the roles see in the comic or show, we will be playing under the same greater storyline, only in a significantly different location ... my current home, Des Moines IA. I intend to borrow more from the graphic novel than the TV series, given the wealth of information on those pages exceeds what is available on the show.
I plan to use this blog for a number of different purposes - thoughts, GM notes, recaps, ideas - so feel free to drop in often. We have 3 PCs (and 1 NPC) created, with 2 fleshed out, and 1 more to go. It will be an interesting ride, as the majority of our happy little group will be gaming first-timers. This leaves me with a bevy of untested waters and ideas that may or may not work with this group. In the coming week or two, I will introduce you to them each and give you a little backstory before we get to game time. I should be able to fill in time with some of the ideas and basic concepts that we will be using ... starting with the setting.
The Setting
The comic and show are both set in modern day Georgia, with Atlanta being a major backdrop in the TV series season 1. Since I am keeping with that "real world" theme and feeling, but not wanting to risk delving into an unfamiliar city, I chose to set our game here in Des Moines. All of my PC's either live in Des Moines or are familiar with it, so I am using this to drive home the severity of damage that would be done to familiar sites. Severity to the extent that one of my PC's (who is also my fiancee) and I have had multiple "what if" conversations about the city after a zombie apocalypse. This concept was brought up to me by a fellow GM on a game that he previously ran set in Des Moines. The familiarity adds a little extra oompf for the PC's. I am hoping to capture that ... and then tear it down.
Setting the game in DSM also means that I am "safe" from coming into conflict with any of Kirkman's characters and potentially portraying them incorrectly/incompletely. This also gives me the liberty to create my own characters with their own personalities, strengths, and flaws ... and do I ever have some ideas! Playing in an area my PC's are familiar with and a setting they all understand, gives me the opportunity to craft a better game for them and a better experience ... one that will keep them coming back session after session.
if you have stumbled upon my blog from elsewhere, you may be feeling a bit confused ... well, fear not blog adventurer (or maybe you should fear and head to the "next blog" link above), this is merely the home for a new homebrew 3.5ish ed RPG that I am running, set in Robert Kirkman's bleak future of "the Walking Dead". While I am not crazy enough to follow the graphic novel, or put any of my player characters (PC's) into the roles see in the comic or show, we will be playing under the same greater storyline, only in a significantly different location ... my current home, Des Moines IA. I intend to borrow more from the graphic novel than the TV series, given the wealth of information on those pages exceeds what is available on the show.
I plan to use this blog for a number of different purposes - thoughts, GM notes, recaps, ideas - so feel free to drop in often. We have 3 PCs (and 1 NPC) created, with 2 fleshed out, and 1 more to go. It will be an interesting ride, as the majority of our happy little group will be gaming first-timers. This leaves me with a bevy of untested waters and ideas that may or may not work with this group. In the coming week or two, I will introduce you to them each and give you a little backstory before we get to game time. I should be able to fill in time with some of the ideas and basic concepts that we will be using ... starting with the setting.
The Setting
The comic and show are both set in modern day Georgia, with Atlanta being a major backdrop in the TV series season 1. Since I am keeping with that "real world" theme and feeling, but not wanting to risk delving into an unfamiliar city, I chose to set our game here in Des Moines. All of my PC's either live in Des Moines or are familiar with it, so I am using this to drive home the severity of damage that would be done to familiar sites. Severity to the extent that one of my PC's (who is also my fiancee) and I have had multiple "what if" conversations about the city after a zombie apocalypse. This concept was brought up to me by a fellow GM on a game that he previously ran set in Des Moines. The familiarity adds a little extra oompf for the PC's. I am hoping to capture that ... and then tear it down.
Setting the game in DSM also means that I am "safe" from coming into conflict with any of Kirkman's characters and potentially portraying them incorrectly/incompletely. This also gives me the liberty to create my own characters with their own personalities, strengths, and flaws ... and do I ever have some ideas! Playing in an area my PC's are familiar with and a setting they all understand, gives me the opportunity to craft a better game for them and a better experience ... one that will keep them coming back session after session.
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