The year is 1934. Franklin D. Roosevelt is president, Flash Gordon has recently been published, and Bran Flakes remain America's favorite breakfast cereal. The Great Depression has sent scores of the unemployed travelling across the country to small towns in search of work, filling factories and farms with all sorts of drifters, from former stockbrokers to former bootleggers. In one such town in Pennsylvania, a strain of rabies has mutated into a virus that robs men of their humanity. This virus is known as "The Red Plague", named for the red sclera of the infected caused by internal hemorrhaging, and for its believed bloodborne spread. Our story follows a group of farmhands from Sweetwater's Tackett Farmstead, and those they encounter.
Our story takes place in the town of Sweetwater, Pennsylvania. Sweetwater is a quiet village with few tourist traps or frivolities; Aside from homes, the town has a few general stores, federal buildings, a school, several family-owned shops and a large, dried out lake for which the town is named. It is surrounded on all sides by scrubs of dense forests, craggy hills, and seemingly unending pine trees. One paved road to the highway takes travelers to Lancaster which is 30 miles south, all but abandoned. Sweetwater is very much the middle of nowhere. The Tackett Farmstead is about 5 miles from the town of Sweetwater -- though it remains in Sweetwater county -- separated by an exit off the highway and a long, twisted dirt road. Though it was originally a family ranch that was only self-sustaining, Farmer Tackett has spent the last thirty years making it into a profitable business, to the point that he has some fifty-odd men under his heel during the worst economic collapse in American history.
The farmhouse is a three story colonial house, painted white with blue shingles and shutters, encased in a porch that wraps around the building. The Farmer lives here with his wife and children, as well as a handful of women who live in a bunkhouse in the attic, who do the cooking and cleaning in the farmhouse. Being a wealthy man with a wife and two daughters, a basement full of liquor and an attic full of female workers, the farmer has a strict policy about farmhands entering the farmhouse -- Any man who does is either fired or shot on the spot, depending on their perceived intentions. The farm itself is 30 acres, surrounded on all sides by trees, though there is a buffer of waist-high grass between the farmland and the untamed brush, along with a stone fence wrapping around the farmer's property line. There is a small pig barn with ten pigs, a goat barn with four goats, and a chicken coop with roughly sixty chickens that mostly roam around the farmstead, coming back to roost in the night. There are two horses in the colored barn's stable, named Sammy and Sugar, although they are rarely taken out. Though the farm keeps animals, they are mostly consumed by The Tacketts or sold at county fairs -- Nearly all of the money made by the farm is through agriculture. The farm has a large cornfield, as well as five gardens and a small cluster of beehives used for honey. The men of the farmstead live in two racially segregated barns, though there is a degree of intermingling and fraternization between the two. The white barn is painted as its namesake implies, with a leaky tin roof and a red barnstar. The colored barn, standing opposite to its counterpart, is red with a black shingled roof, and stable on the ground floor for the farm's two horses.
Rhabdoviridae Hematemesis, colloquially known as "The Red Plague", is a highly mutated, hyperaggresive strain of rabies. The first cases being deer, the beginning of the outbreak started with reports of extremely aggressive stags charging at hunters. The virus enters the circulatory system and is quick to manifest itself into the victim, causing symptoms within minutes and full infiltration within an hour. As the virus infiltrates the host, they experience a spasmodic effect, Shaking the outer extremities in a rapid manner. Following that, seizures and frothing of the mouth will occur as symptoms progress, while infected blood is continually gibbered out of the due to internal hemorrhaging. The last stage is known as "turning", wherein a victim's eyes turn red shortly before suffering a stroke. After victims regain consciousness, they retain only a minimal amount of brain use, and have about the same mental capacity as a chimpanzee.
The Red Plague causes its hosts to permanently enter a primal state of murderous rage with a biological imperative to spread the infection or kill the uninfected and consume their flesh above all else. The infected are reduced to an animalistic state of permanent hostility and aggression, driving them to attack non-infected with no concern for their own safety and no moral inhibitions that could control their actions and behavior. The infected retain the ability to use primitive tools such as sticks and rocks, and can conceptualize simple plans if given enough time. In addition, adrenaline is constantly being produced and utilized by the infected body, as even days after the change, an infected specimen can perform display extraordinary feats of strength, agility, endurance (especially in pursuit of the uninfected), and ignore wounds such as stabbing, explosive amputation of limbs and even immolation. While the infected will attempt to bite their victims, it is usually as a means of either infecting or killing them, often by biting into the main arteries in their neck. The infected do not consume each other, and can recognize (and will readily eat) any and all edible food from canned goods to wild animals. Since infected specimens are still living human beings, they can be killed using means that are fatal to uninfected, though they will ignore any wounds that are not immediately fatal such as decapitation or destruction of the brain.
1. Respect the site rules, and be Fonz cool. Picture this RP as a table of friends roleplaying a weird west tabletop, and censor yourself accordingly. We can all joke around, just don't be a dick.
2. Don't make your character a protagonist. I see it too often and it irks me, so I'm outright making a rule against it in this RP. If your character could be the main character in a book, your character is either too talented, attractive, well-rounded, or virtuous for this RP. Or their name is too cool.
3. Characters might die. It's a Zombie RP, right? Characters who play to their strengths and weaknesses, even if their weaknesses are numerable, are more likely to live than gung-ho heroes who try to exploit or ignore their sheets.
Positive:
Hardy - You have high endurance. +1 Healthy - You are of significant size. +1 Thick-Skinned - You can withstand inclement and unpleasant weather. +1 Imposing - You are good at intimidating others, due to size or some other factor. +2 Sharp-Sighted - You have better perception than most. +2 Clean-Cut - You are attractive. +2 Agile - You are quick and light on your feet. +1 Sprinter - You can run faster, and for longer distances, than the average person. +1 Ambidextrous - You can use both hands with equal skill. +1
Boxer - You are skilled in unarmed combat. +1 Pugilist - You are skilled in hand-to-hand combat and unorthodox fighting tactics.+2 Prize-Fighter - You are skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of heavier, stronger foes. +3 Sharp-Shooter - You have experience with at least one type of firearm. +2 Field-Tested - You can wield two-handed tools as weapons, such as axes and scythes, with relative ease. +2 Quick-Thinking - You can make use of improvised weapons, such as bottles, broomsticks, and fire. +3
Light Sleeper - You wake easily at the first sign of danger. +1 Quiet - You make little noise, and are adept at sneaking around. +2 Local - You are knowledgeable of Pennsylvania's landscape, including towns and local shortcuts. +1 Amphibious - You are a strong swimmer. +1 Craftsman - You can build appliances, furniture, and small walls. +1 Artistic - You are skilled at an art, be it painting, poetry, sculpting, or some other craft. +1 Nautical - You know how to operate a sailboat effectively. +1 Fisherman - You can catch a fish, be it with a rod or net. +1 Observant - You are better at noticing traps, as well as your enemies' weaknesses. +1 Bilingual - You speak more than one language fluently. +2 Motorist - You are a skilled driver. +2 Veteran - You served in The Great War, and have a basic level of military training. +2 Felon - You have a criminal skill. +2 Intelligent - You are naturally smart. +2 Learned - You are literate and have a relatively advanced education, in comparison to the common man. +3
Woodsman - You can fish, identify edible plants, and create basic shelters. +1 Hunter - You are skilled at hunting, cleaning, and cooking wild animals of all kinds. +1 Rider - You are of above-average skill at horse riding, and are able to make use of a horse in combat. +1 Chef - You can prepare and preserve food better than most. +1 Medic - You can perform basic first-aid to a certain degree of skill. +2 Trapper - You can build complex traps, for capturing or killing animals or people. +2 Burglar - You can pick locks and disarm traps. +2 Doctor - You have extensive experience in more advanced medical operations. +3 Scholar - You are an expert in some scientific field. +3 Craftsman - You can construct relatively complex tools and structures, given the time. +3 Master - You have some particular talent in which you are an absolute expert. Please specify exactly what this is when you choose it, e.g. "Master Baiter". +5
Showman - You are a performer, skilled with impressions and disguises. +1 Reputable - You have a spotless and respected reputation. +2 Charismatic - You are eloquent, convincing, and at ease when speaking in public. +2 Animal Whisperer - You form natural bonds with wild animals. At least, the tamer ones. +2 Lucky - Things occasionally just go well for you. +2
Negative:
Clumsy - You are sometimes careless in your actions. -1 Lame - You have a limp. -1 Weak - You are not physically strong. -1 Ugly - You are not fair to look upon. -1 Loud - Your movements are particularly noticeable. -1 Heavy Eater - You need more food than most. -1 Myopic - You have bad eyesight. -1 Slow - You cannot move quickly. -2 Sickly - You have a persistent illness. -2 Frail - You have little stamina. -2 Old - You are elderly, with the decrease in stamina and memory that accompanies such a status. -3 Maimed - You are missing a limb. -4 Crippled - You have a physical problem that severely limits your mobility. -5 Impaired - You are blind or deaf. Hopefully not both. -5
Skittish - You frighten easily, and have trouble keeping your cool in stressful situations. -2 Shell-Shocked - Your experiences of war haunt you. -2 Churchgoing - You are of the righteous sort who might hesitate to kill. -2 Dumb - You're less intelligent than most. -2 Hot-Headed - It is sometimes difficult for you to think clearly.-2 Racist - You are do not get along with people of a specific race. -2 Not-Right - Your unintelligence stems from a learning disability or brain injury. -5
Abrasive - You are rude, and generally disliked for it. -1 Queer - You are homosexual, which is likely kept a secret. -1 Foreign - Your accent and strange customs makes you untrustworthy. -1 Unlucky - Things just don't tend to go well for you. -2 Proud - You are unused to harsh living conditions or menial labor, and unwilling to perform degrading tasks. -2 Drunkard - You have an alcohol dependency, and a tendency to get drunk obnoxiously and often. -2 Central Power - You a veteran of the German, Turkish, or Bulgarian army. -3 Reckless - You take unnecessary risks. -3 Untrustworthy - You are a habitual liar or a thief, and everyone knows it. -3 Kleptomaniac - You are compelled to steal with some frequency, especially when such items as you take are entirely useless to you. -3
Name: (Full name, including a nickname. Only give 'em a nickname if that's what you want them to be called.)
Age: (The farmhands are anywhere from 17 to 60.)
Appearance: (Describe your character in as much detail as possible. Don't list things like you're filling out a form, try to go the extra mile. Especially because you cannot use pictures. Make it more fun to read than descriptive, and make it no less than a paragraph.)
Personality: (Do you need an explanation? The more details, the better. Preferably, two paragraphs.)
History: (A brief synopsis of your character's life. I dunno, three paragraphs?)
Speech Color: (The hexcode color you'll use for your character's dialogue.)
Traits: (The value of your traits added up should be less than or equal to 4)
Inventory: (The items your character has on them -- every farmhand is given the same white shirt and black pants, so you don't have to include that. Accessories, tools, macguffins, etc.)
