I had an idea for a game, where people play one or more random
characters in a typical zombie-movie scenario. Bite/blood contamination,
slow gruesome death, reanimation as zombie, only head-shots/fire/etc are
effective. I was thinking of the standard zombie-movie fare, 0-50 point
characters. My goal here is somewhat Dawn of the Dead (2001). As opposed
to older slow-zombie movies, or powerful-hero movies like Resident Evil.
I was thinking of creating a pile of NPCs of the appropriate mix and
sorting them into rough point values. The players would each draw a
character or two (to keep the number of PCs around 6-8) from the pile of
starting characters (no children, cops, etc). The zombie threat is
vauge, but can be tailored to keep the characters moving - maybe the
source is a fungus spreading from the coast - so that they encounter a
series of obstacles and meet new NPCs. As PCs die, something I hope to
encourage, the player will pick a new character from the NPCs around the
group and continue. As players adopt a new character I plan to spend a
minute on each with some very basic roleplaying to establish back-story
and circumstances. For instance. A player might say that the NPC was at
school when the zombies first attacked and tried to save fellow class
members. A few rolls on the skills they suggest were relevant and we
discover how well they did. Obviously well enough to survive to here,
but a well-told backstory could account for a convenient NPC or two
joining the party - their jock friend, the nerdly guy, etc.
I'm not sure if players get rewards, in terms of points or equipment,
and how that would relate to the next character they pull. Should
players get points from the well-played actions of current characters?
Should they be able to use those points to purchase more powerful
starting characters, skill/stat upgrades for the selected character,
player/part items (chainsaw, food, map), or what? Do players get to pick
their characters, or should it be determined randomly?
Got any comments on the plot or world assumptions? Does requiring
head-shots turn the game into a NRA social? Do fungus-based zombie
plagues fall-victim to fire too easily? Should there be a cure the
players are striving for, is one even possible?
I'm hoping that the immediate goals inherent in a disaster game
(survive) will make it easy to play episodically, there's always
something to wrap up and something over the next horizon. The multiple
character aspect seemed neat, and like a good way to play a game at a
convention where making a character isn't practical.
Suggestions?
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