The End of Days - a Post-Apocalyptic Nation RP There ain’t any big cities anymore. New York, London, Berlin… They’re all graveyards.
Premise:
It has been two months since the dead started risin’ across the globe – just long enough so we’re not all running about like headless chickens, but not enough for this whole… kerfuffle to have sorted itself out.
What? You ain’t mad at me calling the ‘end of the world’ a kerfuffle, are you? What can I say: I’m an optimist.
Estimates say most of the human race are dead, scattered to the wind. The cars on the highways are tombstones and there’s no real way to travel across the good ol’ US of A. It’s worse than that. Everyone who was in this province when the apocalypse started are stuck here, and I bet over half of them have kicked the bucket themselves in the panic with no real organisation. I hear that’s starting to change, though; I hear groups are starting to form here in the Yellow Gullies, leaders are starting to come out of the woodwork.
I hear you’re one of them.
So you’ve got a following. Big deal. If you ain’t strong enough to seize this land and all her holdings for yourself, well… The zeds are gonna get you, aren’t they? That is, if the other people don’t first.
The Battleground:
Well, that’s a bit pessimistic of me. There hasn’t been any over-the-top bloodshed yet. All I can say is, “Welcome to the Yellow Gullies, and may your stay be a wild one.” It’s a chunk of land that’s a fair size but not entirely fortunate: it’s fenced in by pretty much impassable roads to the east, west, and south, all swarming with the dead. Hordes like to come in from those directions now and then, so you’d best be on the lookout.
“Why can’t you escape to the north?” I hear you ask. Well, there’s a bit of a problem, that being the mountain range – the Crags. Experienced climbers only, or at least, that’s what all the signs say.
Anyway, on to the beefy stuff: resources. There’s a whole lot of untapped wilderness around here, but I’m guessing you’re not looking to be spending half of your time collecting berries and then sitting in the outhouse ‘cause they turned out to be poisonous. There are a few lil’ towns – villages, but we don’t call them that up here – all with different supplies left untapped and dangers to overcome. Some of them might even be inhabited. Since this ain’t a national park, there’ll be a ton of hamlets and holiday cabins around too, and I’m sure some of them could be fixed up. It ain’t my job to know about all of that; it’s yours.
Remember to keep everything that is subject to change up to date! [color=ffbf00][h3][b]Basic Details[/b][/h3][/color] [b]Settlement Name:[/b] [b]Government Type:[/b] (Monarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy, etc.)
[b]Starting Location:[/b] (A description of the area you would like to start in. Mention at least how many buildings, how large the area is, how secure it is (not very at best) and its starting resources. Preferably have many areas to improve upon. Subject to GM approval.) [b]Currently Controlled Regions:[/b] (For the beginning, either circle the area you will claim, or describe it, giving location on the map, nearby landmarks, etc. Include color to be used for the key - hex code or RGB, please! (or CMYK, if you're a weirdo) (be reasonable - for example, the Rocinha Hollow starts with 4 hexagons. If it is reasonable with your description above, then it will be allowed.))
[color=ffbf00][h3][b]Demographics[/b][/h3][/color] [b]Total Number of Citizens:[/b] (Max 50 at the beginning.) [b]Potential Military Force:[/b]
[color=ffbf00][h3][b]Textbook Information[/b][/h3][/color] (If a historian were to write a textbook, what would they say about your settlement?)
[b]Brief History:[/b] (Feel free to add on to this as time goes on, but it’s optional.)
[b]Current Policies:[/b] [b]Strengths:[/b] (Will you be known for your elite military? Do you have this really amazing… well, [i]something,[/i] that just HAS to be noted? List them here.) [b]Weaknesses:[/b] (Are your citizens incurably obese? Is your leader corrupt? Etc.)
[b]Leadership:[/b] (Who runs the settlement, be it one person or a council.)
[b]Other:[/b] (Anything left out that you feel should be mentioned? This is the place!)
[b]Name:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] (Picture, drawing, description, whatever. No anime.) [b]Values:[/b] [b]Goals:[/b] [b]Strengths:[/b] (Optional.) [b]Weaknesses:[/b] (Optional.) [b]Bio:[/b] (Optional - can be as detailed as you’d like.) [b]Other:[/b] (Anything left out that you feel should be mentioned? This is the place!)
All the usuals. No god-modding, power-playing, etc.
If you have a question, please ask BEFOREHAND. It is a lot less work to just ask instead of potentially having to rewrite everything, so you’re really doing yourself a favor by doing this.
(Co-)GM word is law. If we say something has to be changed/done a certain way/etc., it is probably for a good reason.
Dice rolls are to be done in 1d10 (one 10-sided die) format. I will trust you to be honest with your rolling – that is, no repeatedly rolling until you get a favorable result, or flat out making up a number. Do not abuse my trust. Anyone found to be dishonest in any way will be immediately banned from the roleplay, no exceptions.
Resource Management:
Everything, except thinkin' or reflectin' on events gone by, requires TIME to do. This isn't the city out here, and it never will be. We work in MONTHS that go by like clockwork as we take thirty day chunks out of life to work our way through. A DAY means a lot out here.
All times as shown below are negotiable, so if you’d like to deviate, say the word and we’ll judge it fairly. – Narrative:
0 DAYS
– Legislature
1 DAY
– Building Project:
10 DAYS – Gathering supplies, planning and resources.
~5 DAYS – Construction, but be realistic with size, length of project. May be overruled.
– Treaty/Declaration of War:
3 DAYS
– Battle:
10 DAYS for attacker; 8 DAYS for defender.
DAYS left at the end of the MONTH will not roll-over, so tough luck! If you run out, you cannot perform any more actions (other than narrative) until the new month starts. There is one exception to that, however! If you are attacked (and not the attacker) you may take part in the battle even if you are out of days)!
Dice-Rolls:
Out here, we do things fairly. Sorta. There’s a lot more shades of grey when it comes to combat in real life than there ever were in video games or make-believe.
We use dice here to dictate the outcome of various events, but it’s a very simple rule system: – Both parties roll 1-10, and the difference between the modified rolls determines the victor. The modified roll is the 1-10 roll plus the number of map tiles your settlement controls, and a modifier from battling too recently.
0 – If you both rolled the same, it’s a stalemate. Both parties are allowed to continue the battle, retreat, parlay… etc.
1-3 – A Pyrrhic Victory, too close to be considered a true victory. You might have won, but you’re left licking your wounds with many casualties. MODIFIER TO NEXT BATTLE: -3
4-6 – A well-deserved victory. Your party’s defeated its foe and while you did suffer casualties, you are able to march on with relative ease. MODIFIER TO NEXT BATTLE: -1.5
7-9 – A decisive victory. Well, there’s certainly no doubt as to who the victor was. You’ve won at no cost to yourselves, but will you charge on or are you satisfied with what you’ve won? NO MODIFIER:
10+ – Massacre. This’ll go down in history, boys, as a complete and utter slaughter. The enemy’s been wiped out, and you’ve lost little to nothing. Only a fool wouldn’t continue onwards! MODIFIER TO NEXT BATTLE: +3
Note: Modifiers’ll be removed after the MONTH is over with.
Similarly, a roll is also used to determine the success of your actions, though without a modifier. The number you roll determines the success/failure on its own, and again, it’s a 1-10 roll. – 1 – Whatever you tried to accomplish turned into a hot mess, and it would have been better not even trying in the first place. -5 DAYS – 2-4 – It was unsuccessful. Your law did not go well with your citizens or the construction collapsed/burned/vanished as if smote by the Almighty. It could’ve been worse, though! -3 DAYS – 5-7 – It’s been a pretty moderate success, this time around. Some people like it, some people dislike it, but nobody’s going around threatening violence because of it. -1 DAY – 8+ – A total success! Yeah, people love food stamps, who would’ve thought? Maybe your civilisation isn’t such a bad place after all!
But What About..?
– Food and Medicine (Etc…) – It only takes an action of 2 DAYS to gather an amount of food equal to the amount your people will need for a month and perhaps it can even be entirely avoided by building a farm of sorts. – Disasters and Random Events – There will be random events, but in the essence of fairness, the whole region (as in, everyone’s settlements) will be facing the exact same thing at the exact same time. It will be up to you how you deal with them, and how many DAYS you spend sorting out potential problems… or not. Just be prepared for the consequences. – Population Growth – You can spend DAYS to recruit survivors too, though not at a 1:1 ratio, of course. As long as it seems fair, we’ll allow it.
The region is a fictional province in the northern United States. This map will be kept up to date with borders, infrastructure, points of interest, etc. Your choice of starting location will be added to the map after you claim it. The key will be expanded as necessary. NOTE: The uninhabited settlements are not your options of places to start. They are towns, villages, whatever that are infested with zombies. You can start in one if you want to, but your land will most likely be separate from them. (Save for full image)
Feel free to start writing settlement sheets! Put them under the character tab, and @McHaggis or myself will take a look at it.
March 30th, 2015 - For the beginning, either circle the area you will claim, or describe it, giving location on the map, nearby landmarks, etc. Include color to be used for the key - hex code or RGB, please! (or CMYK, if you're a weirdo) (be reasonable - for example, the Rocinha Hollow starts with 4 hexagons. If it is reasonable with your description above, then it will be allowed.)
Settlement Name: Whickerwood. Government Type: Oligarchic Monarchy
Starting Location: Whickerwood is named after the surrounding area, Whickerwood Fields. Whickerwood proper is the sight of an abandoned ranch that has become home to the population, it features 6 farm houses, a barn, a workshop and a grain silo (converted into a tower to survey the surrounding area, though it still retains it's storage qualities). Whickerwood is at the center of an expansive area of grassland, flanked by the city and forests, there is 50 acres of farmland that belong to the plot, though only around 20 is used, as the population is not large and they don't have the equipment to plow all the land. The boundary fence of the area has long since rotted away, marking no boundary to where the plot starts or ends, making it susptable to attacks. Another major problem is that a highway is not far from the plot and sometimes small groups of the dead wonder into the area, though they could handle them easily by just shooting them, it would only serve to call more over, so they just wait for the dead to stumble away and leave them be. Also because it's not situated next to any natural sources of water, Whickerwood use to run off of plumbed irrigation but because municaple facilities have long since shut down, long trecks are needed to get water from the city.
Currently Controlled Regions: The plot proper, it's all the inhabitants can handke right now.
Demographics
Total Number of Citizens: 18 Potential Military Force: 5, there are only 5 rifles and limited amounts of ammunition.
Textbook Information (If a historian were to write a textbook, what would they say about your settlement?)
Brief History: (Feel free to add on to this as time goes on, but it’s optional.)
Current Policies: Strengths: (Will you be known for your elite military? Do you have this really amazing… well, something, that just HAS to be noted? List them here.) Weaknesses: (Are your citizens incurably obese? Is your leader corrupt? Etc.)
Leadership: (Who runs the settlement, be it one person or a council.)
Other: (Anything left out that you feel should be mentioned? This is the place!)
Announcement: Map has been finished, you may now claim your land.
For the beginning, either circle the area you will claim, or describe it, giving location on the map, nearby landmarks, etc. Include color to be used for the key - hex code or RGB, please! (or CMYK, if you're a weirdo) (be reasonable - for example, the Rocinha Hollow starts with 4 hexagons. If it is reasonable with your description above, then it will be allowed.)
I took a bit of a larger village, but it is a few downtown-isn district separated by rural backwater. By the way, if I sound like a sailor in the post, I am trying for a theme but I will tone it down upon request.
They shrunk my territory... It was meant to include borders with the mountain and forest. Also, how do you get a 0 and a 10 on a 10-sided die?
As McHaggis said, your land was shrunk to be fair. To have one settlement start with 4 tiles, another with ~22 (I counted, don't remember the exact number though) is a very large gap. If, for example, your settlement was to battle McHaggis' at the beginning with your 22 tiles, you would be guaranteed to win even if you rolled a 1, and she rolled a 10.
Speaking of which, thank you for pointing out the 0-10 roll. That was an oversight, and has been fixed.
I'll start accepting sheets soon, probably right after I finish mine (probably later tonight.) Also waiting on people who expressed interest previously to get their sheets up, and/or for more people to join, hopefully.
Why would land matter considerably? I might win because i have more able-bodied adults, but having land doesn't automatically mean you can defend it...I also didn't see land scores in the mechanics. Also, you are welcome.
Both parties roll 1-10, and the difference between the modified rolls determines the victor. The modified roll is the 1-10 roll plus the number of map tiles your settlement controls, and a modifier from battling too recently.
Of course in a real situation you would be right, but it would be too complicated to factor actual population, strength, etc., so factoring in the amount of land is a compromise. Generally, if you have more land you are probably going to have more men to fight for you, and be stronger. I know it isn't necessarily accurate, but it is the simplest solution without having people sort it out amongst themselves, which could result in arguments over which side deserves to win more, etc. Besides, a dice roll takes random chance and luck into account, which is always good
You realize...absolutely NOTHING in warfare is random right? The most large, adaptive, and adept army will always succeed. Get it is a game...but I think adding a division problem of your active military citizens is fair.
@UltikanaRe Strategy, weather, element of surprise (or lack thereof), traitors... Sure, this can be reduced significantly with good planning, adaptability, discipline, etc., but imo it won't be as easy as you may think.
I get what you're saying, and agree with the fact that the largest, strongest army will always succeed. Size of the army is generally going to increase as the amount of land you control increases, so adding the # of tiles approximates this. Strength of the army isn't as easy - beyond allocating additional modifiers to the construction of barracks, siege equipment, training sessions, etc. (all of which I definitely feel are reasonable, and are perfectly okay with me as long as the values are reasonable. They aren't mentioned in the OP, but it is mentioned somewhere IIRC that I am lenient about creative stuff like this as long as it is reasonable. If this is not mentioned, then I will add it), there isn't much more that can be done. There is already a modifier for battling more than once within a short period of time, representing fatigue, homesickness, etc.
