The Fall – Ep01
Amongst the RPGs that piqued my interest was Z-Land. As you can deduce from the title, it has to do with zombies. I liked what I read from the ruleset. It’s d100 skill based, but quite less crunchy than the BRP family. The different theme compared to what I’ve played so far will also allow me to tap into unused inspiration reserves.
Z-Land has three different periods you can play in, depending on the number of years after The Fall. The future is bleak, and the further from The Fall, the worse humanity has it.
The setting is dark, horror, and with concepts that are unnerving, and there are no punches pulled as I quickly discovered even during character creation.
Character creation can be completely randomized, something that I enjoy for solo gaming, so I went along with it, every single thing that you read below for my character has been randomly rolled. Most of the results have an effect on the character’s skill set.
Marten Markell
39 years old, Male, Right handed
Ivory skin, Blonde hair, Hazel eyes, Average build
Childhood
Q: Do you remember your parents?
A: Something happenend to mum
Q: What happened to mum?
A: Killed by the character
Q: How large was your family?
A: Small family
Q: What is your relationship with God?
A: I leave him alone and he leaves me alone
Q: How strict were your caregivers?
A: I got smaked when I needed it
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: On the run from enemies
Q: Who was the greatest influence on your childhood?
A: A fictional character from my favourite book/tv show/movie
Q: How do you feel about your childhood?
A: Angry
Teen Years
Q: Who was your best friend?
A: A bookworm
Q: What was your favourite subject in school?
A: Gym class
Q: How did it go with your first crush?
A: Cheap, and by the hour
Q: Did you lose anyone?
A: Fate spared me
Q: How do you feel about your teen years?
A: Angry
Q: The turning point in your young life was when you…?
A: Got an addiction. I don’t know what is worse, the substance I take or the withdrawal pains if I don’t
Adulthood
5 terms (15 years) in Hospitality services
1 term as a Street Cop
1 term as a Private Security
Q: Found your soulmate?
A: No
Q: Did you lose someone?
A: A parent
Q: How many of your loved ones have stuck by you throughout your life?
A: Only half remain
Q: How do you like to spend your free time?
A: Learning new things and bettering myself
Q: What is most important to you?
A: Power and the will to use it
Skills
- Athletics 35
- Broad craft 32
- Burglary 44
- Constitution 38
- Deceive 36
- Diplomacy 52
- Drive 30
- Fight 37
- Fine craft 30
- Intimidate 31
- Intuition 31
- Investigate 38
- Logic 32
- Luck 42
- Might 42
- Perception 30
- Shoot 36
- Stealth 31
- Wealth 35
- Will 38
As I explained above the game is dark, and this is reflected by the results I got. As is the concept of many living dead tv shows, a lot of characters don’t talk about their past before The Fall, and this is the route I’ll follow with my protagonist – I don’t want to delve in there unless the story will require it. Marten is 39, his childhood was broken with a lot of trauma, and the teen years weren’t any better. He carries a lot of anger, not suppressed, but managed to survive somehow. After 15 years working in hospitality, he made a carreer change to enforcement. He tries to make himself better, better skilled, more powerful, so that he doesn’t have to rely on anyone.
To start the game randomly rolled on one of the 10 scenariors provided in the rulebook for this era, and I got ALONE IN THE WOODS.
You have had enough of the world and decided to take a break. You and your party went for a short camping trip; just you few and the great outdoors. No people, no civilisation, no phones, no tablets or computers. Just the wilderness and your camping supplies.
You tramped, you hiked, you fished; all in all you enjoyed yourselves that day and your campsite for the night was already set up and the food was already cooking. When you went to bed you couldn’t be happier with your decision to get away from it all.
Until you were awoken by a scream that didn’t sound like any animal you knew. It couldn’t possibly be a person as you were so far out and hadn’t see anyone all day, but what else could it be? And why were they screaming so horrifically…
Q: Are there more people than Marten camping together?
A: Yes, but they’re missing. Marten had gone on the camping trip with two friends, Roy and Micah.
Q: Does the sound come from far away?
A: No
Darn, I was hoping I’d have more time available.
A shiver runs down Marten’s spine as he hears the screams once more and realises that whatever let out that unnatural scream must be close by, as the sound reverberates on the tents. He fiddles around his tent to find his gear in the darkness. He quickly puts on his shoes – he feels like there’s no time to tie shoe laces – grabs his camping hatchet and flashlight, and carefully pries open the tent zipper to look outside.
So I made a call here that Marten would have typical camping gear. A hatchet isn’t out of the question, a survival knife either. They’d have fishing gear, bedrolls, tents, backpacks, flashlights, lanterns. A hunting rifle isn’t out of the question either – but I’ll have to ask the Oracle for this. I felt like the quickest option to draw something to feel safe would be the hatchet or the knife.
Q: Is there a Plagued in sight?
A: Yes
Q: Is it someone Marten knows?
A: Yes. It’s Micah.
Marten: Perception (Normal): 41/50: Success
Q: Is there signs of struggle? (Likely)
A: Yes. There’s blood all over Micah’s mouth, hands and shirt.
Marten looks at his friend. All covered in blood. Something terrible must have happened. He even has blood all over his mouth. Marten’s mind races 1000 miles per hour as he struggles not to let off a scream.
Marten: Willpower (Challenging): 73/38: Failure.
Marten lets off a scream and received a Minor Mental Wound.
Marten screams, and trying to compose himself he yells “Oh shit! Micah! You scared the shit out of me! Are you alright mate? What happened to you? Where’s Roy?”, and he peeks out, standing tall out of the tent, but Marten’s hand is still stiff, holding onto his hatchet with all his strength as if his life depends on it.
Micah lets off an unearthly scream and lunges at Marten. Adrenaline kicks in, and from fight, freeze or flee, Marten, in this split second decides to fight.
Round 1
Initiative: Marten has Athletics 35, Micah has Athletics 60 (As Plagued) and goes first.
Micah vs Marten: 23/60 vs 55/35: Marten receives a Grievous Wound to the Torso.
Marten: Constitution (+0): 26/38: Success
Marten vs Micah: 49/37(-5): Failure
Micah jumps on Marten, and with speed and agility Marten hadn’t seen before, it slashes and bites at him. Marten avoids the shock of his wounds, and tries to hack back at Micah with his hatchet, but misses.
Round 2
Micah vs Marten: 43/60 vs 78/35: Marten receives a Location Destroyed hit to the Torso.
Micah, controlled by the plague chews and tears at Marten’s guts. For a few split seconds of disbelief Marten looks at his own life being eaten away from him. He never stood a chance.
Summary
That was – intense. Okay I can see this working in a group game, because this is deadly, but for solo you need to be extra careful. I also wanted to be extra fair, and didn’t try to give any meta knowledge to my protagonist, which, in combination to the scenario, led to his demise.
So my line of thought was, that since the three of them were the only ones around there, it’s most likely that one of the friends turned during their REM sleep, and attacked the other friend before they could make a sound. Unfortunately the Oracle verified this, which means that it all was close Marten both in terms of distance but also of relationship. Disbelief kicked in, and the distance was too short to run or hide before being detected. As soon as I saw the different combatant stats, Marten stood no chance. Perhaps if he had a rifle or a gun, there could be an opportunity. If the scenario played otherwise so that Marten would witness a Plagued attacking another hapless human first before himself, then he might have the knowledge to avoid them.
I want to give this game another chance, so I’ll create another character and roll another random scenatio. Perhaps I’ll end up in a Funnel style game like DCC.
Kedric Cedeno
30 years old, Male, Left handed
Black skin, Brown hair, Hazel eyes, Average build
Childhood
Q: Do you remember your parents?
A: Both were alive
Q: How large was your family?
A: Small family
Q: What is your relationship with God?
A: As long as it doesn’t affect my day-to-day life
Q: How strict were your caregivers?
A: Best friends with the “naughty corner”
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: In a boarding school
Q: Who was the greatest influence on your childhood?
A: A celebrity
Q: How do you feel about your childhood?
A: Peaceful
Teen Years
Q: Who was your best friend?
A: I didn’t have a best friend
Q: What was your favourite subject in school?
A: Mathematics
Q: How did it go with your first crush?
A: I fought with my best friend over them
Q: Did you lose anyone?
A: My crush
Q: If you lost someone, what happened?
A: An ill-fated journey was their end
Q: How do you feel about your teen years?
A: Indifferent
Q: The turning point in your young life was when you…?
A: Found a starving, dying animal and nursed it back to health. It became your my companion
Adulthood
4 terms (12 years) as a Private Investigator
Q: Found your soulmate?
Q: How many children did you have?
A: Two
Q: Did you lose someone?
A: Your spouse/lover
Q: How many of your loved ones have stuck by you throughout your life?
A: I have more loved ones around me than I can count
Q: How do you like to spend your free time?
A: Creating beautiful things that will outlast me
Q: What is most important to you?
A: Power and the will to use it
Skills
- Athletics 38
- Broad craft 42
- Burglary 36
- Constitution 30
- Deceive 33
- Diplomacy 35
- Drive 43
- Fight 30
- Fine craft 33
- Intimidate 36
- Intuition 33
- Investigate 37
- Logic 36
- Luck 32
- Might 35
- Perception 30
- Shoot 32
- Stealth 31
- Wealth 43
- Will 33
This time the results are not so dark, but traumatic none the less. Marten is 30, his childhood was good, but during his teen years he lost his crush during an ill fated journey. As an adult, he found his calling as a PI and married and had two children. His wife died, being the second person so close to him that he lost, and he had to raise his two kids by himself, thankfully the grandparents were there to help. He’s social and believes strongly in family, but even more he knows that the world changes by those in power, and these are the values he goes by.
To start the game randomly rolled on one of the 10 scenariors provided in the rulebook for this era, and I got LONGEST ELEVATOR RIDE.
People get stuck in elevators all the time, and this time it happened to you and your party. Maybe you were in a hotel or staying late at the office, but just before dusk you few got into an elevator and it stopped working between floors.
The hatch at the top won’t open and you can’t get through the doors, all you can do is wait. The voice at the other end of the emergency line said they’ll be a few hours, but you’ll be staying until dawn and there’s no cell reception inside the elevator.
When morning comes, you awake as the elevator moves down one floor and opens. It won’t work anymore and you are still several stories up, so it’s the stairs for you.
Out through the windows you can see smoke and fire coming from buildings and you can hear… noises… coming from the floors below you. It sounds like someone left a hungry dog or something here overnight…
Since it’s a very generic scenario (more like a plot hook) I need to set up the scene, so I’ll ask several questions before my PC acts.
Q: Are there more people than Kedric in the elevator?
A: Yes, but it’s only two strangers.
Donjon: Drake Leath: Male Parapsychologist. Str 13, Con 7, Siz 14, Int 13, Pow 14, Dex 8, App 8, Edu 8, San 70. Drake is tall and slender, with red hair and brown eyes. He wears a dark suit and a flat cap. Drake compulsively insults others.
Donjon: Felicia Locke: Female Minister. Str 12, Con 12, Siz 12, Int 11, Pow 6, Dex 9, App 9, Edu 15, San 30. Felicia has an angular face, with brown hair and dark amber eyes. She wears a designer skirt and blouse and green scarf. Felicia believes that mankind will inevitably destroy itself.
Q: What do they do? (Detail Check)
A: Disfavors NPC: Felicia. She runs out of the elevator, clearly panicked.
Q: What floor are they on? (2d6 pick highest, 6 explodes)
A: 5th floor
Q: Is it a hotel (or an office)?
A: Yes
Q: Was Kedric staying at this hotel?
A: No, the person he investigates is
Q: Is it Drake or Felicia?
A: No, it’s someone else
Donjon: Harlan Castiglione: Male Police Detective. Str 11, Con 7, Siz 13, Int 15, Pow 4, Dex 12, App 10, Edu 13, San 20. Harlan has trimmed black hair and hazel eyes. He wears a dark suit and carries an automatic pistol. Harlan seeks to discover why he cannot remember anything from yesterday.
Q: Is the hotel in Kedric’s home town/city?
A: Yes
Q: What is the hotel like? (Detail Check)
A: Disfavors thread. The hotel is an old hotel is an old building with only one elevator and one set of stairs.
Gear: I think it’s most likely that Kedric as a PI on the job has a cellphone, a 9-mil pistol, a lockpick kit, and other tools of the trade.
A small note here about the Donjon results. I use the results for Call of Cthulu Modern, so there are things like BRP stats, which I won’t use, but might serve as good pointers to use in the future if I need to populate some Z-LAND stats.
“The Ark Vacation Inn” is not the best hotel in town, but that’s where Kedric’s mark, a Police Detective named Harlan met his lover. Harlan’s wife had hired Kedric to gather information about her husband’s cheating to gather enough evidence as she planned to file for divorce. He had just planted the bugs in Harlan’s room and was on his way down the elevetor when the power was cut. Trapped inside with him is a man and a woman.
The hatch at the top won’t open and they can’t get through the doors, all they can do is wait. The voice at the other end of the emergency line said they’ll be a few hours, but they’ll be staying until dawn and there’s no cell reception inside the elevator.
Kedric’s mind went to his kids. They would be staying with his parents for the night, but he was supposed to be back before morning.
During the night the strangers get to know each other by name and a few more general chit-chat to help everyone relieve of the stress of being trapped inside.
When morning comes, they awake as the elevator moves down one floor and opens. It won’t work anymore and they are still 5 stories up, so it’s the stairs for them.
Out through the windows they can see smoke and fire coming from buildings and they can hear… noises… coming from the floors below. It sounds like someone left a hungry dog or something here overnight…
Felicia exclaims “it’s about time” and just runs out, before Kedric has a chance to call out to her.
Drake looks at Kedric. “For a wise clergy person, she sure has no patience.”
“Something is off, for certain.” Kedric replies. As they’re out of the elevator, he tries his cellphone to see if he can get a signal. His mind is at his family. But the line is dead. Kedric composes himself.
“We should take the stairs.” Drake says. “Let’s be careful about it.”
Kedric nods, and they walk down the corridor.
Q: Do they hear screams?
A: False presupposition. Screaming is the least of their worries. They see Felicia running back to them.
Q: Is she wounded?
A: Yes
Q: Where?
Hit Location: Left Leg
“Help me please, help!” she says as she gasps for air. There’s blood coming from a wound on the top of her left thigh. Kedric instictively put his hand on his pistol, as Drake runs to her.
“What happened?” Kedric asks, as Drake grabs Felicia to assist her.
Q: Is the stairwell closed?
A: Yes
They hear loud pounding on the door to the stairwell.
Drake takes her scarf to bandage her wound.
Q: Is there a bite mark evident? (Likely)
A: No
Q: Does Felicia say she was bitten?
A: Yes, but she doesn’t emphasize it.
“Some crazy dude in the stairwell, he assaulted me, bit me! I barely escaped from his grasp and closed the door behind me! He’s freaking crazy still pounding at the door.” Felicia says as she whinces in pain.
Kedric pulls out his 9-mil.
“Woah, woah dude!” Drake says. “Where did you get this?”
“A man needs to protect himself.” Kedric replies.
Q: Is the stairwell door transparent?
A: No
Q: Is the stairwell as expected?
A: Yes
“Come, I need your help.” Kedric says to Drake. “You get the door open, and I’ll warn the guy to stand down. These doors open outwards as it’s a safety standard.”
Q: Does Drake agree?
A: No, and he’s not even discussing it.
“Fuck no! People don’t go assaulting and grabing straners for no reason. There’s a dark entity taking over them I tell you. Didn’t you hear the demonic sounds overnight? I am not putting myself in harms way.” Drake responds.
“There’s no other way out, and we’re on the 5th floor!” Kedric explains.
“So let’s stay on the 5th floor! We’ll wait it out.” Drake says.
“Felicia needs a hospital, and I’m worried about my family. I’m getting out of this door. I’d appreciate it if you helped, but if you don’t just stay out of my way.” Kedric is stern.
“You’re the man with the gun.” Drake says. “Just don’t get us all killed with your heroics.”
Q: Is there any improvised weapon Drake can find in the corridor?
A: Yes. A fire extinguisher.
Felicia is sitting on the floor, resting her back against the wall, while Kedric approaches the stairwell exit.
Drake grabs a fire extinguisher and stands back a reasonable distance as Kedric opens the door carefully. The banging on the door hasn’t stopped for a single moment, and what unnerves Kedric is the growling and hissing.
Kedric knows from his training and his work experience that if he has any advantage with a firearm, it’s nullified unless he has the range, so he gives a nudge to the handle bar to open, and quickly steps back, aiming with his pistol at the same time. “Stand down man! I’m gonna shoot you if you advance!” He shouts.
A pair of hands grab the door from the opening, and an enraged man opens the door wide open, at the same time letting an unearthly scream. His mouth is covered in blood and his gaze is lost, but focused on the very first thing he sees. Kedric.
Q: What is the distance between Kedric and the Plagued?
A: Near. The layout of the corridor doesn’t allow for much room, and Kedric didn’t have much time to step back.
Q: Is it more than 6 meters? (the distance the Plagued can walk in one turn)
A: Yes, and, it’s 15 meters
The crazed man runs towards Kedric, and Kedric opens fire without a second thought.
Round 1:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 29/(32+16): Hit: Hit Location 92: Right Leg: 29+20=49 Damage: Significant Wound.
The Plagued moves (60-10 due to the Significant Wound) 5 meters towards Kedric.
Q: Does Drake assist? (unlikely)
A: No
Kedric shoots a round at the crazed man’s leg, but he is unfazed and moves closer to Kedric. ‘This is unreal’ Kedric thinks. Drake stands back with the fire extinuisher in his hands, frozen.
Round 2:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 58/(32+16): Miss
The Plagued moves (60-10 due to the Significant Wound) 5 meters towards Kedric.
Q: Does Drake assist?
A: No, but he’s close and may draw the attention of the Plagued.
Q: Does Drake scream? (unlikely)
A: Yes, and he’s lost it.
Kedric shoots again, but misses, and the man despite being shot at, closes the distance more. Drake seems to have lost it. He lets of a scream at the man, shouting “Stop!!!”.
Round 3:
Q: Does the Plagued change targets? (likely)
A: No
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 01/(32+16): Hit: Hit Location 10: Head: 1+20=21 Damage: Significant Wound.
The Plagued moves (60-20 due to the Significant Wound) 4 meters towards Kedric.
Q: Does Drake assist?
A: Yes
He’s charging (+20) and flanking (+5)
Drake vs the Plagued: 26/(35-15+20+5): Hit: Hit Location: Right Arm: 26+30=56: Grievous Wound: Constitution: 46/(70-10): Success.
Kedric shoots a bullet that hits the man in the head, the blow just flinching his skull. Drake screams and hits the man with the fire extinguisher landing a blow that would break the arm of a normal person.
Round 4:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 94/(32+16): Miss
the Plagued vs Drake: 66/(60-10-15): Miss
Drake vs the Plagued: 62/(35-15): Miss
Kedric shoots and misses, while the two men in melee avoid hurting each other.
Round 5:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 62/(32+16): Miss
the Plagued vs Drake: 66/(60-10-15): Miss
Drake vs the Plagued: 05/(35-15): Hit: Hit Location: Left Arm: 05+30=35: Significant Wound
Kedric misses another shot, as the melee makes it hard to find a clear target. Drake hits the other arm of the man with a return blow of his fire extinguisher.
Round 6:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 95/(32+16): Miss
the Plagued vs Drake: 76/(60-10-15): Miss
Drake vs the Plagued: 25/(35-15): Miss
Kedric shoots and misses, while the two men in melee avoid hurting each other.
Round 7:
Kedric shoots (Aimed): 40/(32+16): Hit: Hit Location: Head: 40+20=60 Damage: Grievous Wound: Constitution: 94/(70-10-10): Failure, the Plagued falls in shock.
Kedric puts another bullet in the mans head, and he falls.
Adrenaline is high. His heart is pumping blood, he feels every single throb. He looks at Drake, who in a moment of rage keeps hitting the man with the fire extinguisher to the head, until only a pulp remains.
“Wha- what just happened?” Kedric asks, “why… didn’t he stop, I shot him so many times…”
“Rabbies? I’ve heard it can make you paranoid and aggressive.” Drake answers. “Which means… she’s got it too.” He points at Felicia.
“None of your parapsychologist opinions?” Kedric tries to give a humorous tone.
Drake scoffs. “This is as real as it gets… right?”
“If it’s rabbies, she should get to a hospital, get a shot, but first we must get out.” Kedric says.
They walk to the stairwell.
Now, it’s certain that they’ve been heard, but I need to stop here and pause, for one simple reason. The ruleset. It has some cool (borrowed) concepts, but it’s too complicated at places where it should be simpler, and too simple at places where it should be more complex.
I will choose another ruleset to run it, but using the same theme and story.
Possible ruleset options are:
- Mythras (excellent ruleset but too crunchy at times, and not focused on Modern themes)
- Basic RolePlaying (too generic but I have no experience in it and will need to read and modify to my tastes)
- Savage Worlds (great all rounder but too pulpy, though can be modified to be more gritty) – NOTE: The link is to the previous SW edition which I’ll use.
So between Mythras and BRP, I decided that BRP is the better option because:
- it has zombies and maniacs which can work as the lifeless and the plagued respectively
- it can use the CoC stats from donjon as is
- it has features like Sanity, and a good degree of verisimilitude
- it has Modern Character Creation which I can use as is
- it has Optional Rules which can modify the game to my liking
Between BRP and Savage Worlds, I finally decided to go with Savage Worlds because:
- it also has Setting Rules, and it’s very easy to create a few more to fit this setting
- it allows a single character to survive (which is very important in solo games)
- it’s very easy to run a modern setting
So, I’ll be using SWEE, with the following Setting Rules that I will apply.
Location counts
Unless it was a Called Shot, for every Wound inflicted roll on the Injury table to see what the Hit Location was. This is very important for the Infection spreads and for killing zombies. (See below).
Infection
For every Wound received when fighting the Infected, you must make a modified Vigor roll to see if you were infected. If you were infected, the infection location is important, as a Limb can be amputated to stop the spread. Infection spread time period is 4 hours minus one hour per infected wound, to see if the infection spreads to a nearby location. After the head is infected, once another infection spread time period passes, the victim turns and becomes Plagued.
the Plagued
Living humans who have completely gone through the infection
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d6
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Special Abilities
- Feels no pain: the Plagued receive a +4 bonus to recover from being Shaken
- Fearless: the Plagued are immune to Fear and Intimidation
- Why won’t they die?: the Plagued can receive two Wounds before becoming Incapacitated
the Lifeless
Those Plagued and infected (but not turned) humans that have died and risen back to life
Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4-2, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4
Pace: 4; Parry: 3; Toughness: 5
Special Abilities
- Feels no pain: the Lifeless receive a +2 bonus recover from being Shaken
- Fearless: the Lifeless are immune to Fear and Intimidation
- Running wild: the Lifeless always perform Wild Attacks for +2 to Fighting
- Why won’t they die?: the Lifeless can receive two Wounds before becoming Incapacitated
- Headshots: a single Wound to the Head will take out a Lifeless
Converting Kedric
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d4, Intimidation d4, Investigation d6, Knowledge d4, Lockpicking d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Pace: 8; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
Edges: Brawny, Fleet-footed
Hindrances: Overconfident
Gear: Lockpicks, Cellphone, Glock 9mm
It’s certain that the shots have been heard throughout the hotel. The question is if there are more Plagued coming their way.
Kedric: Notice: 2: Failure
Q: Does Drake search for a better weapon? (likely)
A: Yes
Q: Is there any fire axe?
A: Intervention. Advance Plot.
As they head down the stairwell, Drake scans with his eyes to see if there’s any other makeshift weapon to carry. The fire extinguisher was too heavy to be carried around. He notices the fire cabinet, but before he has a chance to open it and look for a fire axe, they hear shooting and a lot of screams similar to what the ones the crazed maniac made.
Carefully they run down the stairs , and once they’re in the lobby they can see through the glass windows outside. A handful of people armed with firearms are shooting at a mob of crazed maniacs running at them. Some of the maniacs have just run out of the hotel. The rest of the scenery doesn’t look any better. Overturned cars with broken windows, or burning, blood pools everywhere. Shattered glass panes and an overall mess. It looks like a riot.
The three of them look at each other terrified.
Kedric as overconfident wants to go help the group of fighters.
Q: Does Drake try to stop him? (Likely)
A: Random Event. NPC Negative.
Descriptors: Starting Ambush
NPC (Drake/Felicia/Outsiders): Felicia
Their backs to the wall. Questions running abound in their heads, with the guns blazing outside, Kedric’s overconfident nature kicks in. He believes that if they group together with the other armed people they stand a chance against the crazed maniacs. He steps off to move towards them, Drake tries to intercept him, but then, their attention turns elsewhere. Another crazed person jumps from behind the counter. She’s a receptionist, with a huge wound on her neck, the bite mark is evident. She screams and jumps at Felicia who was leaning next to the counter.
Round 1:
Initiative: Drake Joker, Kedric Ace, Plagued 9, Felicia 3
Drake looks around for an improvised weapon: Notice: 1+2=3: Failure
Kedric shoots (Double Tap) at the Plagued: (6,1)+3+1=10: Hit with a Raise: Location: 8: Guts: Damage: 5+4+2+1=12-6:Wound
Plagued Spirit Roll: 6+4-1=Raise.
Plagued attacks Felicia: 1+2/Hit: Location: 5: Guts: Damage: 3/5: No damage
Felicia tries to run away: 6+2-1=7 meters.
Drake looks around the room for anything useful to defend himself, as Kedric fires two shots at the crazed maniac, both hitting the chest. Despite the hits, she is still standing, and claws at Felicia, scratching at her clothes, as Felicia runs back towards the other end of the room.
Round 2:
Initiative: Kedric 10, Plagued 5, Drake 4, Felicia 2
Kedric shoots (Double Tap) at the Plagued: (6,4)+4+1=11: Hit with a Raise: Location: 5: Guts: Damage: 5+5+4+1=15-6:Two Wounds: Dead
Kedric shoots another couple of rounds, right at the chest and with blood spewing from her mouth, the maniac drops.
Kedric counts his bullets, he’s spent 11 already. At this rate, he won’t make it home. He searches his pockets for a second clip.
Q: Does Kedric have a second clip on him (unlikely)
A: Yes, Intervention. Entity Negative.
Entity (Kedric, Drake, Felicia, Ousiders, Mob): Kedric. He loses his second clip.
Kedric draws a second clip, but with the adrenaline rush and the stress, he drops it, and fumbles it somewhere in the mess of the reception hall. He needs to find it!
Drake looks around for a makeshift weapon.
Okay, so it doesn’t make sense for plain failure, aka Nothing happens here. Each roll must have an associated cost, otherwise we can roll forever until we find what we need. So the question is not if Drake will find a weapon or Kedric his clip, but if they manage to do so before another Plagued enters the lobby.
Kedric: Notice: (6,1)+2=8: Success with a raise. He finds the clip.
Drake: Notice: 5: Success. He finds a papercutter. Not the sharpest tool, but it will do.
In the meantime, the fight outside continues. What does it look like?
A: Fear
The group of strangers outside blasts off several of the crazed maniacs, but their enemy seems unstoppable. Soon they’re overrun, and no further shots are being heard. Only the wicked screams.
“It’s the end of the world I tell you!” Felicia tells them.
“First HKEV, then this, do you think they’re connected?”
“Hell, it was an encephalitis virus. Why shouldn’t they be connected?” Drake says.
“There should be some emergency services on a hospital or police station nearby. We should head there.” he proposes.
“I need to find my kids. I’m worried about them.” Kedric disagrees.
“They could have gone there too, right?” Says Drake. “Is there a chance the local police station is on our way? you said you live in this town right? we should make a plan.”
Q: Is the police station on their way to his home?
A: Yes, and it’s close to the hotel.
“Alright, yeah. The Ark Town PD is just two streets north and one west. It’s no deviation to my route. Perhaps we’ll find some help there.” Kedric nods. “But we can’t go out this way.” He points his head to the crazed mob.
“We’ll use the service staff exit.” Drake proposes. “There must be an emergency layout somewhere close to the stairwell. Also this-” he points at the Glock “-should be a last resort only. Let’s move silently, because the shots seem to draw them close.”
Kedric nods, and tries to be less itchy with his trigger finger.
Session Summary
I really love how this theme played out. The Scenarios are more than enough to get you started because it takes only a short amount of time (or oracle questions).
I am still not 100% sure that Savage Worlds is the best choice to run this theme with the main worry being that balance is in favour of the PCs, but I’ll wait to see how this plays out in the next session(s) as well.
Now Kedric needs to find his family. Perhaps I’ll use my Secret Oracles deck rules or just ask an Oracle question if he manages to arrive at his home. This adventure is dark, but befitting to the theme. Z-Land really gives the character background enough for proper modern objectives in case of an apocalypse.
Benjamin J Marra, and 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
Benjamin J Marra 4:09 am on June 18, 2023 Permalink |
What oracle were you using for this session?
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giorgis 9:20 am on June 18, 2023 Permalink |
It’s a homemade hack based on Recluse. I love the False Presuppositions mechanic of Recluse but I find it happens too often, and I miss the Interventions from MUNE and Random Events from Mythic. So I plugged these in in certain probabilities. Hope that makes sense.
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Benjamin J Marra 11:27 pm on June 18, 2023 Permalink
I love Recluse as well. I also dig Mythic and use it on Foundry VTT quite a bit. How did you incorporate the MUNE and Mythic aspects into Recluse? Have you written a post about it already?
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