So, you're sitting at home, talking to your mother on your new "Scriff Inside" telephone. A pretty nasty thunderstorm is brewing. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes the outside utility pole. The phone explodes in your hand, and you are sprayed with a shower of gold colored liquid. You pass out.
Upon awakening, you find yourself laying on pavement outside. It's dark, twilight hours. Sitting up and looking around, you find you're laying in the middle of the street in a downtown city area. Tall buildings on one side of the street. In the dim light, you also see about a dozen or so humanoid figures in a loose group shambling towards your general direction. They're far enough away that you can barely make out their details.
Please bear in mind that this is the first time I have ever run an RPG of any kind. I can't promise anything spectacular, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you are.
No pressure, I'm sure it'll go well.
I'll pat myself and make sure I'm still in one piece. Wonder what that was? This looks like a strange place though, I wasn't drinking how did I lose track of where I got to? This is going to be a long day.
I'll stand up and gather up my stuff quickly. I'll keep an eye on the group coming towards me as I do this. (I assume my stuff is nearby, if not I'll just get up and straighten myself. I'll be packing it into my backpack otherwise.)
When the group gets closer I'll greet them.
"Hello, can you tell me where I am? I seem to have blacked out."
Couple of observational questions.
Is the pavement smooth and well kept or broken and pot hole ridden or somewhere in between?
You said tall buildings on one side of the street, what's on the other side?
Is the dim light from lamp poles?
Keep asking questions like that. Keep me on my toes. BTW, I'm not rolling dice at the moment. This is the opening, and I'm just playing it.
The pavement is worn and not well kept. It looks like it's been sitting unattended for a long time. The dim light is from the moon and the fading sun. No street lamps, no electricity at all as far as you can tell. The other side of the street is open. It's a field.
As you are gathering your stuff, the group stops suddenly, 50 yards away. One of them seems to sniff the air, then they all turn on you and break into a dead run towards you. As they approach, you see that their skin is rough and mottled, not unlike tree bark. Their clothes are torn and ragged. They don't look very friendly. When they close to not more than 40 feet from you, you hear the roar of a diesel engine approaching. A garbage truck passes you from behind, plowing into the group, breaking into a 180 degree skid turn, running them over. Only 2 of the figures are left standing. Two men in their late 20s dressed in jeans and Hawaiian shirts jump out of the garbage truck. One has a sawed off shotgun and the other a pistol. Between them, they quickly make short work of the remaining figures.
In an accent not unlike Bill and Ted, the man with the shotgun approaches and calls out "Hey dude, you a human? If you're a human, you better get in the truck and come with us."
Oh yeah, and I'm not replying to this again today, even if you do.
"What were they? And of course I'm human what else would I be? Where am I?"
I'll get into the garbage truck as I'm saying this. I'll a little stunned by what just happened.
Questions:
I'll continue to compose my posts in this format just to keep things at a constant. I don't actually have any questions that weren't addressed
Fine with me. I like replying as soon as I read things though so that my reaction isn't over thought. That's why I tend to reply very quickly. As to the questions I'll do what I can to keep them up, but can't guarantee they'll be a constant. You seem to be doing very well so far by the way. Also, I tend not to care whether the referee is using dice or not. In order to play a game I must trust my referee, the dice are just there to make decisions when you can't make up your mind in my opinion. As such I'll never criticize you for not rolling.
The guy with the shotgun gets into the driver's seat. You're in the middle, the other guy is in the passenger seat.
Driver: "Get a load of this guy. 'If I'm not human what else would I be?' (laughing) Oh, my bad man. I forgot to introduce us. I am Bill S. Logan"
Passenger: "And I am Ted Theodore Preston, esquire."
In unison: "And together, we are ZOMBIE KILLERS!!!!!!!!"
Driver: (Speaking to you) "So dude, you just get into town or what?"
You get the distinct impression that they are very friendly, but not too bright. Surfer dudes.
The truck starts rolling down the street, into the blackness which is the fading day.
"I'm Mike A. Washer and yeah, I just got into town. Not exactly sure how. Think I may have had too much to drink. I owe you guys for saving me, didn't even realize they were zombies until it would have been too late. Think I can join you guys killing zombies? I could be your apprentice, it'd be awesome! I don't have a weapon though, but I'd be happy to help any way I can."
Questions:
Does the truck have headlights? High beams or regular lights? How far forward and how effectively to the side can we see in the darkness.
Is the truck automatic or manual?
Driver: "Hey good to know you Mikey. We heard some smoke and rumors about some plant virus that got into the human population. It turns people into zombies, then after some time, they go and plant themselves in the forest. Weirdest crap I ever heard of. Me and Ted here, we have an awesome time running these guys down. So Mikey, what kind of weapons would you be into? Guns or melee? You into computers? Don't let our appearance fool you. I'm a grade-A extraordinaire computer hacker. Ted here, he was in the Olympics. In that cross-country skiing shooting competition. He won the silver medal, before all of this came down. He's a wizard with that 22 he carries."
Passenger: "Don't sell yourself short there Bill. You drive this truck like a genius. After the world fell apart, and all the laws went to hell, we just reverted back to our primal nature. Living large, having fun, and killing anything that looks like a tree."
The headlights are on high, you can see a pretty good distance. The truck is an automatic.
Depending on what kinds of weapons you're after determines where they drive.
Now I see why "What's his name?" is such a terrible question, for sure. I can't even keep these two straight.
"I'm pretty good with a computer, I have my laptop with me actually."
At this point I'll pat my backpack, as a method of gesturing.
"As to weapons I think I'd feel more comfortable with a gun, keep a nice little distance between those zombies and myself. No idea what type of gun would be good to use though."
I always give characters names that in some way I find funny or are related to the primary way I view them. Not always possible but when it is it helps.
In unison: "The Survivalists."
Driver: "It's these two brothers and their uncle. If you got the coin, they got just about any gun you could imagine. The uncle was Special Forces in Vietnam, one brother was Special forces in Desert Storm, and the other.... He's a goofball, but don't piss him off. He's got enough black belts to wallpaper a room. These guys are armed to the teeth."
They drive for a way, running into a zombie here and there as they go, until you get to a large, apparently abandoned apartment building. The parking lot is dark, save for the headlights on the truck. From what little you can see, the parking lot is infested with zombies. The truck drives through them, without regard.
Passenger: "In case you're worried that we're going to hit a person, don't be. People have enough sense to get out of the way of this thing."
They take you into an apartment. It is a standard 1 bedroom. The odd thing is that there are holes in the walls, leading into other apartments. In the walls, and the ceiling. Rope ladders hang down from the holes in the ceiling.
Ted: "They got this place cut out like a maze. You can go through the walls and into any apartment in the building."
They take you through a labyrinth of apartments to meet three men. Two younger, twenty something, and one older, early to mid 50s. They are dressed in camouflage battle fatigues, and are indeed armed to the teeth. Guns, grenades, claymore landmines, rocket launchers, all manner of stolen military hardware.
The older man greets you and says "So, what can we do for you?"
I was thinking of three openings. You get jumped by zombies, and saved by one of three characters. It would either be The Garbageman, The Survivalists, or The Big Amish Farmer (who is who you would have gone to see if you wanted melee weapons.) I chose the Garbageman because they had the vehicle, the others would just take you inside and hole up.
Before we get there.
"What type of money do we use here? I don't have too much on me unfortunately, how much will I need?"
At the Survivalists:
"I need something to defend myself and hunt zombies with, but I don't really know anything about guns. Bill and Ted say you should be able to help me?"
Questions:
I liked the garbageman opening for two reason. It established that computers exist, so somewhat established the technology level and also like you said the movement kept the excitement level up.
I'm not certain that I was entirely clear about your situation. The world has gone. It's an apocalyptic scenario. No electricity, not much in the way of civilization, no laws. It's more or less every man for himself.
"What type of money do we use here? I don't have too much on me unfortunately, how much will I need?"
"Look around you man. Paper money is something we burn to keep warm. Coins are something we melt down to make bullets. Money is worthless. You can trade them for it, you can work for it, or you can promise to do them a favor. They're pretty easy going actually, willing to lend a hand. Don't be too concerned about it. They will probably help you out if you help them do some work around their place. How do you think I got this sweet Remington sawed off?"
"I need something to defend myself and hunt zombies with, but I don't really know anything about guns. Bill and Ted say you should be able to help me?"
The uncle says "Well, you show us what you got to trade, and we'll show you what we have to sell."
I saw "Flask of whiskey" on your sheet. What kind of whiskey is it, and how large? That's a good place to start for trading.
I liked the garbageman opening for two reason. It established that computers exist, so somewhat established the technology level and also like you said the movement kept the excitement level up.
Just wait till you see what's in the back of the truck.
I'll set my backpack on the ground and get the items out as I mention them.
"I have a flask of good whiskey, tools for fixing things (pulling out the pliers, hammer, hand saw, screw driver, screws, nails, and caliper), a nice portable tent that's very light, different types of tape. I could also help out and fix things pretty well, if you would like."
Questions:
So the two younger members allow the uncle to do all the talking? What are they doing during this?
I had a decent idea of the world, but I wanted to be sure
Last post for today.
How large is the bottle of whiskey? I need to know that so I know how to handle this.
The uncle says "What kind of work can you do? Any special skills?"
So the two younger members allow the uncle to do all the talking? What are they doing during this?
Well, he is their leader. The two younger men are watching you, keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't try to rip them off. Otherwise yes, the uncle does all the talking.
It's not a bottle, it's a metal flask. The flask holds 3.5oz.
"I've redone rooms before, put up drywall, fixed up holes, repaired roofs, I'm a wiz with sound equipment. I'm also great at following direction if there's anything else I'd be needed for."
It's not a bottle, it's a metal flask. The flask holds 3.5oz.
That's too bad. If it was at least a 1/5th, you would have gotten a shotgun. This is the first GE roll of the game!!!!!! (YAY!!!!!!) I'm using that site you suggested. Is there a way to save the rolls? Anyway, let's see what we got. And we have a roll of 18, which is slightly bad.
Uncle Bob: "Sound systems? Can you help us install an intercom monitoring system in this place? We're trying to set up surveillance. Do you know anything about cameras and whatnot? If you scratch our back, we will be more than happy to scratch yours."
Oh yeah, you also notice that the apartment building that you're in is the first well-lit by electricity building you have yet seen. There's sheets of plywood and metal covering all of the windows, so that the light is only visible from inside.
(Doing Therapy)
"If you have the cameras and cables I can run the system, audio or video. The audio will be a grade A system, I can work wonders with audio equipment. The video surveillance I can't do as much with but I don't see why I can't get one up and running, I've tinkered with stuff like that before."
I don't think setting up the video surveillance would fall under
2@8 Sound Tech &Development/Repair T 10@3
but I'm assuming the audio segment does. For the video segment I'm not sure what the related skill would be, but setting up video cabling is essentially the same exact process as audio, and I'm good at that as well, I'd say high amateur in whatever skill it would be. I've had to set up video to record a couple dozen concerts I've run.
You can save the set-up, such as number of dice and what to add by setting it up like you'd be rolling and then click the saved button. You'll need to enter a name for it, such as GE and then you'll just need to click that button to roll.
Edit: I think I posted before you edited the post, otherwise I just got excited and forgot to read the end, just editing to respond to that section as well.
What type of metal does it look like? I study metals in college, along with polymers, I can identify different types of steel from one another and definitely steel from iron. The reason I'm asking is is it a conductive metal and I'm curious whether my knowledge of metallurgy and polymers will be useful for them.
Are there outlets? Any clear source of power? Humming of a local generator perhaps?
"If you have the cameras and cables I can run the system, audio or video. The audio will be a grade A system, I can work wonders with audio equipment. The video surveillance I can't do as much with but I don't see why I can't get one up and running, I've tinkered with stuff like that before."
And the second GE roll of the game. Do they have that stuff? And we have a roll of 16. Neutral.
Uncle Bob looks at Bill and Ted. "You guys got anything like that?"
Bill: "Dude, we got about as much video and audio surveillance gear as you got guns. Why didn't you ask us sooner? That stuff don't grow on trees though. How are we gonna work this out?"
Bill looks at you "So dude, what can you do for us?"
I don't think setting up the video surveillance would fall under
2@8 Sound Tech &Development/Repair T 10@3
but I'm assuming the audio segment does. For the video segment I'm not sure what the related skill would be, but setting up video cabling is essentially the same exact process as audio, and I'm good at that as well, I'd say high amateur in whatever skill it would be. I've had to set up video to record a couple dozen concerts I've run.
Well, it just so happens that I have a 2 year technical degree in electronics, and I've hooked up a sound system and video system or two in my time as well. It's similar enough that I don't have a problem with it falling into that category. I'll give you 1@10 video systems. As the players have to trust the referee, so too must the referee trust the players. Since it's not yet set in stone, I'm not yet rolling. Where in the book do I look for these mechanics? Don't tell me the mechanics, tell me where in the book to look.
You can save the set-up, such as number of dice and what to add by setting it up like you'd be rolling and then click the saved button. You'll need to enter a name for it, such as GE and then you'll just need to click that button to roll.
Actually I meant so that you could see the rolls. It would just help my paranoid conscience. BTW, do me a favor. From now on, do not reply to a post of mine until it is time stamped at least 1 hour old. I have a tendency to edit the posts. Yeah yeah, put it in a WordPad, but this is sooo much easier. Last post for today. If I don't stop now, I won't stop at all. Next is after midnight tomorrow.
(Doing Therapy)
Two
Edit: I think I posted before you edited the post, otherwise I just got excited and forgot to read the end, just editing to respond to that section as well.
(Funny) Now you see why I told you to wait an hour!!! As the referee, that's my table rules. Wait an hour before reading or replying to a post of mine. And if you want a similar courtesy, just ask.
What type of metal does it look like? I study metals in college, along with polymers, I can identify different types of steel from one another and definitely steel from iron. The reason I'm asking is is it a conductive metal and I'm curious whether my knowledge of metallurgy and polymers will be useful for them.
It's just standard sheet steel. I don't know enough about metals (although my character does) to be more specific than that.
Are there outlets? Any clear source of power? Humming of a local generator perhaps?
Yeah, things are plugged into outlets. You don't hear a generator.
(Doing Therapy)
"Well what do you guys need? You saw what I have, and heard part of what I can do. I can work metal pretty well too, and given the right tools I could make us some really nice polymer compounds, could give that ride of yours even more of a kick with a harder outside surface for all the ramming it does."
I don't know where it is in the book. I ordered one but something went wrong with that and it got canceled, I'll try again but I think MJ had mentioned something about there being a printing issue currently. I'd look in the table of contents, I imagine that video systems has to be int he same level as sound, I'm geussing it's either T10@3 or T10@4.
As to seeing the rolls, that's really not necessary. I'm not a very paranoid person and I trust you.
As to the waiting an hour, that's easy enough, I'll just put mine in notepad and wait an hour. Then I'll check back and make sure everything is the same and then post. :)
I like this world a lot so far by the way.
In case you haven't figured it out, you kind of have to read Bill and Ted like Bill and Ted. That's the basis for them.
Bill and Ted, in unison: "Dude!!! Armor the truck?!?!!?!"
Ted: "We've been wanting to do that for a while. I've lost count of how many times we had to fix the front end on that thing. You gotta deal!!"
Bill: "How long would everything (the video work and the truck) take to finish?"
Uncle Bob: "Let's see. There's 24 apartments in this building. Intercom in all of those, and some outside cameras. Maybe 10 or so should do it. Yeah, how long would that take? Mike, I respect a man who works hard for what he wants, so I'm giving you a choice. When everything is finished, you have your choice of a tactical shotgun, Russian made assault rifle, or a pair of 9mm pistols. What will it be?"
Bill: "Oh yeah, and if you can trick the truck out like you say, you just made friends for life."
Ted (To Uncle Bob) "You guys of all people know how dangerous it is out there at night, what with the zombies being super charged and all. They're not nearly as dangerous in the daytime. You guy don't mind if we crash here for the minute, do you?"
Uncle Bob: "Of course not. We got all the room you could ask for. Pick an apartment. There should be provisions and bottled water in all of them. No running water, but there's a 5 gallon bucket for toilet needs. Hey, if it's good enough for us, it's good enough for you."
Bill and Ted in unison: "EXCELLENT!!!"
"I'd say each part should take me a couple of days, don't want to put a hard deadline on it as I want to do a quality job and if I hit a snag it'll take a little longer. I'll almost definitely be done within the week."
"For the armoring we're going to need to find an abandoned car or junkyard. Know where any of those are? Preferably older cars, they have more easily stripped metal. Also do we have access to a welding torch? I can do this without it but I can do it better with one."
"As for the surveillance system a blueprint of the house would be very helpful. That or someone walking me through as I set things up. The main point is I need to know which rooms I'll be using to run the wires outside."
I'll rest tonight, looks like tomorrow is going to be fill with a lot of work.
Assuming Bill and Ted are willing to take me to a junkyard or abandoned car I'll make sure to bring my backpack with me. I'll be using the hammer, pliers, and screw driver.
I'm going to use the outside sheet metal of the car, along with the undercarriage to create a hardened grill for ramming. I'll do the same for the sides and rear of the Garbage Truck. I'd estimate it would take 3 cars for the full thing, only one has to be a metal exterior, so anything decently old.
I told you to wait an hour before replying to mine. I also abhor Double Standards. When I got here, your post was timestamped at 43 seconds. Is it OK for me to reply to your posts immediately? I waited about 20 minutes, just in case.
Bill: "Oh don't get us wrong dude. You're not gonna be doing this all by yourself. We could have set this up for them. They just never asked. It's all of us together. You write up a list of everything you need to do all of this, (Cameras and armoring the truck) and we will go and get it tomorrow. I'm sure we can find all of that."
Uncle Bob: "And I would never expect a man to take sight unseen a weapon he was going to be trusting his life to. There's zombie targets outside. We'll take you up and let you get the feel for the guns before you decide. We can do that right now."
Russian assault rifle: 30 shots, longer range, powerful, heavier weapon weight
9mm pistols x2: 15 shots each, shorter range, not so powerful, lighter weight
Tactical shotgun: 8 shots, short range, powerful, heavy weapon weight.
They will let you shoot all of them to decide.
Since you said you're not really into guns, I would recommend either the assault rifle or the two pistols.
No need to wait for me. I've edited posts twice so far here on GO, and it's always been because of grammar.
"The list should be easy enough. We'll need a lot of cabling obviously, if we can find a building with built a built in comm system we can salvage the panels from that. That would be optimal, most larger commercial buildings should have them. For each one short of the 24 we need for that we'll need speaker cones and a switch. It won't look as pretty but it'll work. It'll need to be a small diameter speaker cone though, it needs to double as a mic and a speaker. 3 to 5 inches would be perfect. For the video aspect we'll need more cabling, the cameras, and enough tv's to display them."
"I'll go try out the weapons now then. Thank you."
I'll go to the zombie targets and test each weapon. I'd decided on the 9mm as soon as you mentioned it. Portable is sometimes nice, and having two guns is sometimes nice.
I do want to try each one though, in case having cursory knowledge of the weapon helps me in the future.
Not the game post, that will come after midnight. I just wanted to say that refereeing is a lot more difficult than MJ makes it look. I'm starting to understand this a lot more than I previously did before.
Everything you need to know about skill checks should be in the chapter on Skills; video is covered under Tech 10@ electronics, connected primarily to photoelectronics.
--M. J. Young
This sheet I have for him isn't all that accurate. What is your tech bias?
So, to learn the skill, we add his area bias, whatever that is, plus his BRA, since he has an instructor to use a gun, half of the instructor's BRA, rounded up, plus the instructor's skill as an example (since they will demonstrate) minus the number of the target skill. Roll a 100 sided dice, if the number is under that, he learned the skill. Is that right? Reply quickly.
And when is the bias doubled?
I interpret reply quickly as an exemption from the waiting one hour limit. If not I apologize for this post.
I believe the basic skill learning premise is:
BRA (In this case mine would ed level for tech, which is 2@2)
+Bias (In this case my sound tech and development/repair at 10@3)
+Instructor bonus if there is one (half Instructors BRA, unsure of what the tech BRA's are exactly, I know ed level is one of them, and my highest for them)
+Example Bonus if there is one (SAL of example)
+Teacher/Trainer bonus if there is one (not sure how exactly this works, I could look it up and make an inference but it doesn't matter in this instance)
Edit: +Bias of world
-Target Bias
This would include my RSV and target value however I believe, since I'm actually firing the weapon.
I believe RSV is (Intuition+Hand/Eye+Intelligence)/3 I believe this is also rounded up, so that's
(1@7+2@3+1@9)/3
or 59/3 so 1@10 RSV
Edit: The lower of either my bias level or the worlds bias level is doubled during skill use. While learning it is just the world bias, regardless of what my bias is.
I interpret reply quickly as an exemption from the waiting one hour limit.
You would interpret correctly. And the 1 hour posting limit only applies to actual game posts. Wait an hour before replying to game posts.
This is why I wanted the player to be an experienced referee. Maybe you are, but apparently not at Multiverser. I asked Behind the Screens, so I'll wait for a reply there.
Sorry I won't be able to answer every question with certainty, doing what I can though. I'm fairly certain my breakdown is accurate though.
You're probably right. It looks right from what little I could understand of the chapter and what I know. We'll wait for MJ.
And ya know what? Don't apologize for that. I'm honored just that you're letting me run the game at all.
This I will keep in a word pad file.
I just did the math your way, and got a 47% chance of success, and that seems really low for all of the bonuses. Without the instructor bonus, you would only have a 6% chance. Guns aren't that difficult to learn to shoot, ya know? That could be right, however.
It's a 6@1 skill. Is that -6 or -61? I did -61.
(Doing Therapy)
I'll run my calculations by you, I'm pretty sure their right and you may find where you made a mistake through them. Or possibly point out where I'm making a mistake.
22(2@2 BRA ((Ed Level)))
+103(10@3 Bias)
_______________
125 (subtotal)
+11 (instructor bonus ((half 2@2)))
_______________
136 (subtotal)
+30 (2@10 example bonus)
_______________
166 (subtotal)
+15 (15@10 world bias bonus ((only counts level, not intensity)))
_______________
181 (subtotal)
-61 (6@1 target bias level)
_______________
120 (total)
Actually I had a lot closer to that when I did it before. I wasn't sure if 10@3 meant 10 or 103. I'm still not sure. Let's wait for MJ.
(Doing Therapy)
I believe the basic skill learning premise is:
BRA (In this case mine would ed level for tech, which is 2@2)
=22
+Bias (In this case my sound tech and development/repair at 10@3)
=125
+Instructor bonus if there is one (half Instructors BRA, unsure of what the tech BRA's are exactly, I know ed level is one of them, and my highest for them)
The other two are intellect and intuition, and for ordinary and extraordinary humans that's between 1@1 and 2@10, so +6 to +15
=131 to 140
+Example Bonus if there is one (SAL of example)
He said yes, there was an example, and that means at least 1@1 but in this case at least 2@1 and maybe as high as 3@10, so +21 to +40
=152 to 180
+Teacher/Trainer bonus if there is one (not sure how exactly this works, I could look it up and make an inference but it doesn't matter in this instance)
I think from what was said that these people are not skilled in teaching or training, so we'll exclude that.
+Bias of world
Level only, but it looks like this world had genetic engineering at some point, so probably 12@ unless it has since dropped to 11@, which keeps the computer skills viable
=163 to 192
-Target Bias
Which is as noted 6@1 so
=102 to 131 percent chance to learn the skill.
I'm not sure how you got something so low.
This would include my RSV and target value however I believe, since I'm actually firing the weapon.
If you are learning the skill by firing it at a target, that would be correct; that usually happens with weapons when you learn to use them under fire. Probably you're just shooting it in the general direction of nothing, so the RSV wouldn't apply and the target has no target value, but if they want to teach you by having you shoot at zombies, that would be different.
I believe RSV is (Intuition+Hand/Eye+Intelligence)/3 I believe this is also rounded up, so that's
(1@7+2@3+1@9)/3
Ranged Strike Value is only (Intuition+Hand/Eye)/2, which is (1@7+2@3)/2=1@10 (that is, 17+23=40, 40/20=20, 20=1@10).
The lower of either my bias level or the worlds bias level is doubled during skill use. While learning it is just the world bias, regardless of what my bias is.
I think that statement is correct but unclear.
When you are learning a skill, the relevant numbers are:
- Character’s Decimalized Area Bias 0 to 160
- Character’s Decimalized Best Relevant Attribute 11 to 40
- Example’s Decimalized Skill Ability Level 0 to 40
- 1/2 Instructor’s Decimalized Best Relevant Attribute 0 to 20
- Teacher’s Decimalized Teaching Skill Ability Level 0 to 40
- World Area Bias Level -15 to 15
- New Skill Decimalized Skill Bias Level -160 to 0
When you are attempting to perform a skill you've already learned, the numbers are:
- Character’s Decimalized Skill Ability Level 11 to 40
- Character’s Decimalized Best Relevant Attribute 11 to 40
- Lesser of World or Character’s Area Bias Level Doubled -30 to 30
And again there will be sit-mods on many skills. In particular, if it is a combat attack, you'll find in the collected tables in the back of the book:
- Character’s Decimalized Skill Ability Level 11 to 40
- Character’s Decimalized Best Relevant Attribute 11 to 40
- Lesser of World or Character’s Area Bias Level Doubled -30 to 30
- Character’s Ranged or Martial Strike Value 11 to 40
- Defender’s Target Value or other Defensive Offset 11 to 40
- Size Modifier including Position -58 to +? Range Modifier -? to 20
- Movement Modifier -? to 0
- Cover Value including Armor -? to 0
- Targeting Skill Sit-mods 0 to +?
- Evasion and Defensive Skill Sit-mods -? to 0
- Other Situation Modifiers (Sit-mods) -? to +?
--M. J. Young
OK, I don't really have character sheets on the NPCs. If anyone reading wants to help me make them up, I would be extremely grateful. Glantri, that includes you. Two former Special Forces soldiers and their companion whom they have been training for years.
Uncle Bob: 2@10 SAL, 2@2 BRA, Bias of 10, doubled to 20. Base chance of 72% for all weapons. 2@ SAL, 2@ RSV, Base Lethal weapon raised to Obliterative, base damaging raised to Annihilating. They're shooting from the roof of the apartment building, so I'm going to say medium range, -10% penalty. 62% chance of success.
They take you through a labyrinth of apartments finally to one which has a ladder door in the ceiling leading to the roof. The roof is covered with rows and rows of solar panels which apparently provide the power for the building.
Ted: "We installed all of these."
On the roof, overlooking the parking lot, you see dozens of zombies aimlessly walking around. Bob takes aim first with the Russian assault rifle. (Roll 37) He fires, and a zombie's head explodes and it falls over. The other zombies react to the shot, and begin milling this direction.
Bob: "Don't worry, they do that all the time."
He then demonstrates the 9mm pistol. (Roll 97) It jams, and he shows you how to clear the jam. Taking aim again, (Roll 52) Another zombie in the parking lot falls over dead.
The zombies begin milling towards you a bit faster than before.
He gives the assault rifle to you "Just do it like I showed you."
10@3 bias, + 2@2 BRA, + Bob's 2@10 SAL, + half Bob's 2@2 BRA, + world bias of 15, - 6@1 skill. 120% chance of success, -10% for the range, 110% chance
You take aim with the Russian assault rifle. (Roll 28) You hit a zombie in the parking lot for 5 intensities. It falls over, moans, groans, then gets back up and starts shambling back towards the apartment. You now have 1@1 use large explosive driven slug thrower.
And since it's the 9mm that you want, and you have over a 100% chance of success, let's have some fun
Bob then hands you the 9mm pistol. You take aim and fire (Roll 73) 1@2 SAL small explosive driven slug thrower.
As you're aiming, a zombie climbs up on the roof and gets directly in your line of sight. You shoot him for 4 intensities. He falls backwards off the roof.
Bob: "Holy crap!! Everyone back inside, NOW!!!"
So you all run back to the ladder door and get inside. Bob latches the door.
"So, what do you think of the guns now?"
Uncle Bob: 2@10 SAL, 2@2 BRA, Bias of 10, doubled to 20. Base chance of 72% for all weapons. 2@ SAL, 2@ RSV, Base Lethal weapon raised to Obliterative, base damaging raised to Annihilating. They're shooting from the roof of the apartment building, so I'm going to say medium range, -10% penalty. 62% chance of success.
Uncle Bob should have gotten his RSV as a bonus to hit and a penalty equal to the zombies target value I believe.
10@3 bias, + 2@2 BRA, + Bob's 2@10 SAL, + half Bob's 2@2 BRA, + world bias of 15, - 6@1 skill. 120% chance of success, -10% for the range, 110% chance
Since I was shooting at a target, even while learning, I should be getting my RSV as a bonus and the targets TV as a penalty. It didn't matter here, but this is for learning so the principle is important.
As to helping create the character I'll let you know what I think of, for the most part I'd say create it as we go.
Onto the game:
"They can climb buildings?! I mean, obviously the answer is yes, dumb question now I guess. I really liked the feel of the 9mm pistol. Just felt right in my hands, you know what I mean?"
To tell you the truth, I had no idea this was so complicated from the referee's end. Live and learn, ya know?
Sorry, I knew I was missing something in the numbers. As you said, it didn't really matter. I'm keeping things like that in a file on my computer to make them easier to recall.
Bob: "Glad you like the guns. You can keep them until the work is finished. I trust most folks until they give me a reason not to. Besides, no point in fighting with other humans when we got more than enough undead to go around. Never seen one do that. Climb a building like that. First time for everything I guess. These zombies are strange. At night, they can move like lightning. They're stronger, they're faster. In the daytime, they're slow moving and mostly harmless. We think they get power from the sun and use it at night."
Bill: "And don't forget the Creakers, maaaan. Most zombies, they're skin is just as soft as human skin. The Creakers though..... They were these Arnold Schwarzenegger looking dudes in real life, when they zombified, something happened to their skin. It's like a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of fresh oak. Very tough SOBs. They're called 'Creakers' cuz when they move, their limbs creak like a tree branch swaying in a breeze."
Then the younger of the two brothers steps forward. "Hi Mike, I'm John. Whatever you do, don't run away from any zombie. Run towards them and try to get out of their line of sight. Once they lose sight of you, they forget about you pretty quickly. Me and Brian found this out the hard way. He used to joke that, if we were chased, he didn't have to outrun the zombie, he just had to outrun me. Well, I fell down while we were being chased. It lost sight of me. It kept after him. As long as I stayed outside its vision, it didn't pay me any attention. Never saw Brian again....."
The other brother comes forward and says "I'm Richard. I'll show you guys where you can sleep."
Oh yeah, and keep me on my toes with the math too. If I make mistakes like that again, remind me. We should probably reroll too. Not this time of course, but in the future. I didn't do the shotgun. I think it's a skill check and a GE roll.
(Doing Therapy)
Yeah, running a game can be an insane amount of work. More or less depending on the players you have.
As to missing the numbers it's not a problem at all. I'll point them out in the future too. I don't think rerolling after a correction is a good idea, but that's just how I'd run it. However you want to is up to you.
Bob: "Glad you like the guns. You can keep them until the work is finished. I trust most folks until they give me a reason not to. Besides, no point in fighting with other humans when we got more than enough undead to go around. Never seen one do that. Climb a building like that. First time for everything I guess. These zombies are strange. At night, they can move like lightning. They're stronger, they're faster. In the daytime, they're slow moving and mostly harmless. We think they get power from the sun and use it at night."
"Thank you very much Bob, I won't let you down. I won't give you reason not to trust me, I'm a man of my word."
Bill: "And don't forget the Creakers, maaaan. Most zombies, they're skin is just as soft as human skin. The Creakers though..... They were these Arnold Schwarzenegger looking dudes in real life, when they zombified, something happened to their skin. It's like a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of fresh oak. Very tough SOBs. They're called 'Creakers' cuz when they move, their limbs creak like a tree branch swaying in a breeze."
"Their skin actually looks like wood? How flammable are they? Has anyone ever lit one on fire?"
Then the younger of the two brothers steps forward. "Hi Mike, I'm John. Whatever you do, don't run away from any zombie. Run towards them and try to get out of their line of sight. Once they lose sight of you, they forget about you pretty quickly. Me and Brian found this out the hard way. He used to joke that, if we were chased, he didn't have to outrun the zombie, he just had to outrun me. Well, I fell down while we were being chased. It lost sight of me. It kept after him. As long as I stayed outside its vision, it didn't pay me any attention. Never saw Brian again....."
"That's good to know, would never have tried that myself. So by that logic that zombie up there will have forgotten about us by now?"
Past that I'll just go to sleep. Lots to do tomorrow. Did Bob give me the 2 9mm that were talked about before or just 1?
Questions:
None really. You've been doing a very good job so far.
Mechanics Question:
The way you described how a shotgun would work isn't that only if you're shooting with the intention of hitting an area? You can still aim it with your percent chance to hit and deal damage or you can aim it and hit a number of targets based on GE roll if you succeed the skill. This is how I understood it at least.
"Their skin actually looks like wood? How flammable are they? Has anyone ever lit one on fire?"
Ted: "Nah maaan, you're not following. Their skin doesn't look like wood, their skin IS wood. It's fresh, it doesn't burn very well, and it's really difficult to put a hole in. Those bastards are really hard to put down."
"That's good to know, would never have tried that myself. So by that logic that zombie up there will have forgotten about us by now?"
John: "They forget about you within seconds of losing sight of you. We think these things are some kind of plant/human crossover. They're about as intelligent as houseplants."
As far as the guns, you got 2 9mm pistols, four 15 shot magazines, loaded, and 200 rounds of additional ammo, for a total of 260 rounds.
Uncle Bob: "And if you ask me nicely, I'll even throw in a couple of holsters for them too."
The older brother takes you to the next apartment. It's furnished just as you would expect a 1 bedroom apartment to be furnished. Bed, couch, etc. In the kitchen is a single burner propane stove and cupboards full of canned food and bottled water.
"Help yourself to anything to eat or drink. No running water."
The first two conversations seem to be at an endpoint, just going to acknowledge with an ah ok, or similar response.
Uncle Bob: "And if you ask me nicely, I'll even throw in a couple of holsters for them too."
"If it wouldn't be problematic that would be awesome. Wouldn't want to be a bother though."
I'll follow Bill and Ted's example for dinner, if everyone is making their own can of food I'll do the same, if we're splitting a number of cans I'll help in the preparation and then eat with them. After which I'll go to sleep, taking my contacts out and putting them in my contact holder.
Tomorrow morning I'll change into new clothes, wearing my grey and black sleeveless and
cargo shorts.
Uncle Bob: "No problem at all. I just like to know my stuff is appreciated."
He produces a pair of black nylon holsters from a closet.
"They can go on either the right or left side. There's a pouch on the front to hold those extra magazines. One per holster."
So, you have the gun and spare magazine in each holster.
***********
Bill and Ted heat up some beef stew and some vegetables. You enjoy a hot dinner before sacking out. Bill and Ted both sleep in the bedroom on the double bed, they offer you the couch.
************
The next day, you awaken to find Uncle Bob talking to Bill and Ted.
"You guys are gonna put a cowcatcher on that rig of yours right? So you're gonna go see Angus? Can you make a delivery for me?"
Bill and Ted in unison "Of course dude!!! What's in the box?"
JOHN!!!! STOP!!!!! NO MORE TILL AFTER MIDNIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!