Zombie/ Community Management RP

[Polyphemus]

So, a lot of zombie RPs here tend to fall into the same mold- group of people wanders aimlessly and kills a ton of zombies along the way. Which is well and good, but I'd like to try something a little different.

Specifically, in a lot of zombie fiction the main characters seem to come across other settlements or communities, typically always with some kind of gimmick. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're evil. I think it's time the story of that community is told.

What I have in mind is something like the television shows The Colony or perhaps Jericho. After the rise of the dead and other associated cataclysms, you and a few other refugees (perhaps forty or fifty) fled into the prairies of Kansas and taken over the campus of a small four-year college. Now it's just a matter of running the settlement.

There will be a lot of discussion and a lot of difficult decisions to make. What's a bigger priority for the group, getting the power back on or the water running? Can we feed everyone? Do we accept that group who's asking for shelter? Do we reach out to other communities? And how about that very charismatic preacher who claims this is God's judgment?

Of course, there will be fighting against zombies and possibly other survivors. What kind of place your little community becomes is up to you. Will it be peaceful and democratic, militant and despotic, a bunch of cannibals, or something else altogether?

So, anyone interested?

[teapotshark]

I could be down. I like the idea of centring on the community, interpersonal relationships and building a settlement. University campus is a not so widely seen kind of post-apocalyptic settlement too.

[Taniel2Shot]

I'm interested in this. Could be really fun.

[Revans Exile]

Possibly interested.

[LokiLeo789]

You have my interest!

[DaDrummer676]

Interested, do you have plans for what the colleges will look like/work like? Is their going to be some sort of government, council, sort of deal?

[Polyphemus]

Interested, do you have plans for what the colleges will look like/work like? Is their going to be some sort of government, council, sort of deal?

@DaDrummer676

I've got a map made of the campus which I will share with you all. As regards your second question, that is the point of this RP. It is going to be up to the players to set up a government or council. Alternately they could become despots, or just let everyone run around anarchically. All about that choice.

[teapotshark]

It is going to be up to the players to set up a government or council. Alternately they could become despots, or just let everyone run around anarchically. All about that choice.

@Polyphemus

This element will be really fun. How will you keep it active and flowing?

[LokiLeo789]

Sounds really fun!

[DaDrummer676]

<Snipped quote by DaDrummer676>

I've got a map made of the campus which I will share with you all. As regards your second question, that is the point of this RP. It is going to be up to the players to set up a government or council. Alternately they could become despots, or just let everyone run around anarchically. All about that choice.

@Polyphemus

That sounds like a cool idea, I'll be looking forward to the OOC!

[Polyphemus]

This element will be really fun. How will you keep it active and flowing?

@teapotshark

Well, this is by design player-driven, so if everyone is engaged it'll be a snap. I'll mainly just try to figure out rewards or consequences for your actions and choices. Say, for instance, you decide to send out a radio broadcast to any other survivors that might be out there. That might cause an influx of refugees, or an attack by bandits. Figuring how to deal with either of those problems can make for good play.

Alternately, I might introduce external events or crises. For example, I might have an outbreak of disease in the community, it'll be up to you guys to decide on an appropriate course of action. Is it better to risk search parties looking for valuable medicine, or just euthanize the sick to prevent spread? These are the kinds of tough calls you have to make.

[LokiLeo789]

Sooo, excited!!

[teapotshark]

Well, this is by design player-driven, so if everyone is engaged it'll be a snap. I'll mainly just try to figure out rewards or consequences for your actions and choices [...] Alternately, I might introduce external events or crises.

@Polyphemus

This is shaping up to be a really fun and interesting roleplay. I love the choice-and-consequence set-up. I'm definitely in.

[Red_massa]

You have my interest in this, nothing I love more zombie influenced stuff!
I also love the idea of consequence/reward.

[Amelian Draco]

This seems like something I could get behind. You have my interest

[FiroIV]

This seems interesting. I was in one of these some time ago, but it never took off. I'd love to participate if possible.

Questions:
1. How active does a player have to be. My schedule is pretty tight these days and given my track record RPing i can probably make a decent length post (A good few paragraphs) twice a week.
2. What sort of roleplaying level are we thinking of here?
3. With regards to all the characters I'm assuming the player characters are "key" characters that make stuff happen, and have some sort of special characteristic.
4. This is kind of a suggestion more than anything, but wouldn't it be ideal for each character to have a set goal that they wish to accomplish, and have a set community goal, a form of crisis that everyone is also trying to accomplish, but the personal goals may get in the way.
* For Example let's say we have "Nurse Fred" his set goal is to secure a clinic for the sick and injured, but the current goal is to find food, immediately, as such he has to set aside his own plans for now to go with the group.
5. This is kind of a wild guess, but i'm getting a Dead of Winter vibe from this RP.

[Darkraven]

It sounds like a CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) instead of an RP... Which would be a problem. The former is just one guy writing a story with an audience who chooses the outcome of a chapter. It seemed like the focus will be put on the community rather than the individuals that comprise it, which would contribute to this issue. But of course, nothing much has been planned yet, so I wouldn't know.

You could always choose to combine both approaches I guess? In a normal RP, the GM chooses what happens next, but if we throw in a few CYOA elements, which is what you plan to do, then what happens next seems to be left up to the RPers. I find this approach interesting.

Just thought I'd throw this out there. I'm already involved in 2 Zombie RPs, one which is going slow and the other which seems to be stuck on an interest check, so... I guess I'll be open-minded and see where this interest check goes. Subscribed!

[McHaggis]

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[Polyphemus]

Very glad to be getting so much interest and discussion, let me take a moment to address a few of your questions/ concerns.

Questions:
1. How active does a player have to be. My schedule is pretty tight these days and given my track record RPing i can probably make a decent length post (A good few paragraphs) twice a week.
2. What sort of roleplaying level are we thinking of here?
3. With regards to all the characters I'm assuming the player characters are "key" characters that make stuff happen, and have some sort of special characteristic.
4. This is kind of a suggestion more than anything, but wouldn't it be ideal for each character to have a set goal that they wish to accomplish, and have a set community goal, a form of crisis that everyone is also trying to accomplish, but the personal goals may get in the way.
* For Example let's say we have "Nurse Fred" his set goal is to secure a clinic for the sick and injured, but the current goal is to find food, immediately, as such he has to set aside his own plans for now to go with the group.
5. This is kind of a wild guess, but i'm getting a Dead of Winter vibe from this RP.

@FiroIV

1. As active as you are comfortable with. As far as post length goes, I'm more concerned with quality than meeting some kind of arbitrary minimum length.
2. I'm going for high casual. I want people who are able to deal with mature themes and serious consequences. If people are coming to this RP expecting to play a 16 year old katana-wielding Navy SEAL, they are in the wrong place.
3. Players are welcome to do as they will with their characters. If they'd rather sit back and watch everyone make decisions, they're free to do so, though I doubt that would be much fun.
4. This is a great idea! I think I will incorporate this.
5. Not familiar with this. Google tells me this is a board game, so I will ask my friends who are hobbyists in this field.

It sounds like a CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) instead of an RP... Which would be a problem. The former is just one guy writing a story with an audience who chooses the outcome of a chapter. It seemed like the focus will be put on the community rather than the individuals that comprise it, which would contribute to this issue. But of course, nothing much has been planned yet, so I wouldn't know.

You could always choose to combine both approaches I guess? In a normal RP, the GM chooses what happens next, but if we throw in a few CYOA elements, which is what you plan to do, then what happens next seems to be left up to the RPers. I find this approach interesting.

Just thought I'd throw this out there. I'm already involved in 2 Zombie RPs, one which is going slow and the other which seems to be stuck on an interest check, so... I guess I'll be open-minded and see where this interest check goes. Subscribed!

@Darkraven

Your concerns are not unfounded.

The way I envision this, my role as a GM is more reactive/ voice of reason. So, to use an example from before, say someone convinces everyone else to go along with their idea to handle a disease outbreak. It's my job as GM to say, "well, here's something you may not have thought about" or "here's how the NPCs react to your decision". It's up to me to be on my toes and develop the situation realistically. I have no intention of railroading people to fit my plot. The area I do intend to take tighter control is the action sequences, if you're in conflict with zombies or other survivors.

So yeah, in sum it's a little more like your proposed solutions. I hope I've explained myself a little better.

Anyways, with this level of interest I will begin work on an OOC as soon as I am able.

[Darkraven]

Hmm... I like your style. I guess I'll make my interest official.

These days I'm casting my net a little wider. RP survival rate is weak these days. :( And the ones I've joined don't look so good. I think they might be bitten and might wound up dead anytime soon XD But really, I hope that's not the case because they're quite awesome.

It's funny that you should mention a Katana-wielding Navy Seal, because the character I've been using happens to be a Katana-wielding UN peacekeeper from Japan (To explain the Katana, it's because he's a medical officer in the 2nd Kyonshikirapeitai Division, an army unit put together hastily that specialises in combating zombies). He's balanced by not excelling in modern warfare due to being forced into the military, having had a long and fruitful career in medicine before. His most recent medical stint was as a... *drumroll* pediatrician :) So he's good-natured and pacifistic and would have preferred to spend all his time with children if it weren't for the dead deciding to join the tea party.

He happens to be quite popular, having been accepted (though only tentatively by the GM in the second RP, who will defer to her Co-GM) twice on last count. I plan to reuse him again here if this RP really takes off, as my alternative (I don't see a half-mad but hardened 10-year-old girl leading a camp or sitting in its committee, do you?) wouldn't work here.