- Q1: How do we want to deal with character death?: Create a new character, not based on you, using point buy system or the pre-gen cards in the Survival Guide.
- Q2: Is anyone interested in using a Social Media thread to imitate Real Life? We'll utilize a Social Media thread, but only those who are comfortable using should do so (as in RL)
- Q3: Is anyone interested in having their family/friends/other be present in the game (not as in they play a character, but as in you the player would manage them as resources to be protected/managed/etc.)?
- Q4: Starting Location?
- Outbreak: Undead 2nd Ed - Intro Manual (FREE)
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/223734/Outbreak-Undead-2nd-Edition--Survivors-Guide (presently $15)
DECISIONS
- Preferences for the Real Life Option
- Players will use the online SPEW-AI to determine their character stats.
- Character Abilities & Skills would closely match those of the player
- Starting gear would be what each player owns today (in real life) and can carry within reason.
- Hybrid Approach to Long term survival: Establish a Stronghold when the time comes and perform foraging/recon trips.
- May need to establish multiple Strongholds depending on how the campaign goes.
- Elimination of the threat (actively perusing some way to eliminate the scourge from the planet/city, etc.)
- Starting Point: Start prior to the Outbreak. A few weeks maybe? Depends on how things move along in my head
- Starting Campaign Setting Considerations: Present Day
- Local: Urban (small town)/Rural Suggestions?
- Apocalypse Type: Native/Manufactured Virus
- World: Familiar (the world we know today, i.e. New York City, Dalla, LA, etc.)
THE DICE
- % Dice
- Two 10-sided dice (referred to as d10s). It is recommended that one of the dice be labeled 0 – 9 and the other be labeled 00 – 90. Rolling these dice together creates a number between 1-100 and is used to determine the result of Skill Checks. This is also called d%.
- Rolled during the Resolution phase to determine how much Damage is inflicted on a target. A roll of “6” can be counted as a “0” in certain circumstances, such as a character attacking or is attacked with a source of damage that is not particularly effective against the target, or in certain Formations & Tactics. Additionally, a roll of “6” signifies an exceptional hit, is counted as a “5,” and a second d6 is rolled for additional damage. If a second “6” is rolled, that is counted as a “0” and a third d6 is rolled, etc. and so on.
- Rolled to determine if a piece of Gear is exhausted or broken after repeated use. Add one die (d6) to the Dice Pool per Depletion Point on the Gear used. A roll of a “6” when treating gear in a reckless manner, under extreme duress, can have “Explosive” results.
- Rolled to enhance the Difficulty, adding the result to the d% roll to reduce the chance of a Skill Check’s success. A roll of a “6” is treated a s a “0.”
- Rolled to indicate the Resolution order. Each Action (including movement or other non-check related Actions) will add one or more die (d6) to the dice pool and the rounds resolve in order from the lowest die Result to the highest.
- A roll of a “6” on Difficulty, Speed, or Damage dice can result in unwanted attention or imperil the party under certain circumstances. The ZM will add 1 to his Risk pool to spent on Hazards and opponent upgrades.
SPEW Attributes
- Strength (Sb)
The physical power and endurance of the character. Strength is not just a measure of physical power, it’s also a measure of endurance and overall health.- 5-10 Infirm
- Minimal physical activity in daily life and in work. If your lifestyle puts you at serious risk for heart disease as far as diet and exercise, then you probably fall into this range. This range can also describe someone who is physically small, like a child.
- While you are by no means an athlete, you are missing only a few critical components in your lifestyle to make you a healthy and strong person. You either have a good diet or exercise (if somewhat infrequent), but it is not routine.
- You incorporate several positive routines into your lifestyle that make you a generally healthy person. You eat right, exercise with a fair amount of regularity, and your heart rate is excellent.
- You stick to a rigorous exercise regimen and a strict diet. Generally, if your Strength is this high then you are an athlete of some kind.
- You are an Olympic-class athlete. This requires daily upkeep by diet and exercise to maintain.
Perception (Pb)
The measure of the character’s senses and special awareness. Much of Perception is linked with the ability to see and hear. If someone is reliant upon prescription eyewear or hearing aids, their Perception may be lower than average. Another crucial component of Perception is reaction time. Being able to think quickly is a trait that is absolutely vital to survival. Therefore, Perception is also a measure of applied intelligence. If a person is clever but not booksmart, they can still benefit from a high Perception score, as Perception is just as much a measure of their senses as it is one’s ability to understand and perceive the world around them.- 5-10 Oblivious
- You are either exceptionally detached from the rest of the world or you suffer from enough handicaps to your senses that you are dangerously unaware of your surroundings.
- You are not very aware of your surroundings but you are not completely without mental or sensory facilities. You are smart while lacking common sense, are handy but are without much intelligence, or are not particularly intelligent but very aware.
- You are not outstanding in your intelligence or in the acuteness of your senses. You may be outstanding in one or two categories but you probably have one or two serious setbacks. More likely though, you are unremarkable in any respect.
- You have both high cognitive function and are well practiced in the use of your senses to a high degree. You either score high in contests of accuracy, in tests of intelligence, or are above average in both. Very little escapes your attention.
- You possess a very high degree of intelligence and supplement your intelligence with added physical and mental dexterity. As a rule, someone who is Astute will have high scores on tests of accuracy or in intelligence (but not both), while someone at the Prescient level will score high in both, to a level that is achieved by few.
Empathy (Eb)
The ability of a character to relate emotionally to another. It not only determines the preferred method of survival (determining if a Character will be a loner or work well with a group), it also shapes every reaction a character takes to obstacles in an outbreak. Scoring low on Empathy indicates decisiveness and quick thinking in a situation that might paralyze someone who is too empathetic. In fact, a low score on this Attribute is a good indicator of one’s ability to survive on their own. People with high Empathy are the glue that holds groups together by keeping peace among members who would otherwise turn on each other. Someone with low Empathy will see someone with high Empathy as a hopeless idealist and themselves as a realist. Someone with high Empathy will see someone with low Empathy as rash, selfish, and uncaring while seeing themselves as level-headed and calm. Empathy also affects how easily you are coerced into doing things by other people, especially those in distress. In this way, a person with high Empathy is sometimes taken advantage of. Answering a call of distress has been the end of many would-be heroes, and though selfish, it is one more advantage a person with a low Empathy score will have. While someone with high Empathy will be psychologically bogged down by moral conflict, a low Empathy person will simply act, albeit in their own self-interest.- 5-10 Apathetic
- You are completely unhindered by moral quandary. You are decisive but also almost entirely self-serving. This is especially true if you possess high Willpower Ratings. If someone like this has a low Willpower, then they are just dangerously ambivalent.
- You are remarkably callous to the feelings of others but are not without mercy. You will only consider your actions when you or someone you care about is being affected. Even under these circumstances, you still consider actions based on serving your own interests.
- You are not remarkable in your ability to empathize. You care deeply about helping others, only if you know them. You are not as inclined to help someone you don’t know unless you know you will be unharmed in the process or if it means saving a life.
- You are very selfless and would give little thought to helping others, even if your own life is in danger. You can potentially be bogged down by moral quandary, but this often allows you to make a fair and reasonable judgement, which makes you an ideal mediator.
- Your selflessness is legendary, and you are known widely for it. You are generous with your time and will almost never hesitate to lend your aid. This does mean, unfortunately, that the descriptor of “Saint” often becomes that of “Martyr.”
THE DICE
The mental resolve and patience of a character. Defining Willpower is not easy. Some indicators of Willpower are one’s stress management, patience, reliability and ability to complete sometimes tedious or stressful tasks. Low Willpower is characterized as being impulsive, skittish, and unreliable. Ratings in Willpower can be described as follows:- 5-10 Fearful
- This is Willpower that is so far below average that you are flighty, completely compliant or unreliable. You are unable to handle most of life’s stresses and will seek safety both physically and psychologically.
- You can withstand most mundane situations, but will crack under pressure given time. This kind of person dislikes stress and avoids it at all costs but is capable of handling work stress. They may also be extremely jumpy.
- You are unremarkable in regard to stress management. You can handle work-related or situational stress without much adverse effects to the performance of your duties, but you will be unable to cope with extreme stress without a strong emotional support structure or formal counseling.
- You can handle almost all mundane stresses. It takes quite a lot to startle you.
- You are nearly impervious to stress and will rarely crack under pressure. This sort of person would be a combat veteran or someone who has endured similarly nightmarish events in their life. If a person has high Empathy as well, they are also exceptionally brave.
- 5-10 Infirm
GAME MECHANICS
- Core Mechanics
- Encounters
Consist of action that are performed during conflict, are not routine, and performed under extreme duress.[/color]
Skill Checks (d%)
Roll d% against your appropriate skill.
Attribute Bonuses
An Attribute Bonus is the tens digit of the S.P.E.W. Attribute. For example, a S.P.E.W. Attribute of 32 gives an Attribute Bonus of 3, while a S.P.E.W. Attribute of 26 has an Attribute Bonus of 2. Whenever this is needed, it is denoted in the following way:- Strength Bonus = Sb
- Perception Bonus = Pb
- Empathy Bonus = Eb
- Willpower Bonus = Wb
Survival Points (Sp)
A resource reflecting efforts characters have taken to improve their odds of survival. Earned when undertaking Missions & completing Objectives. Can be used to increase Gestalt Level or acquiring Gear and activating special Tactics in the field. Can be lost when a character is injured or dies by allowing the player to spend (Sp) after suffering a fatal injury.
Gestalt Level (Gl)- A statistic that measures a character's knoledge. A reflection of practical experience.
- Used to advance character Core Attributes, SKills, & Traits.
- Starting Gestalt Level: 1 + (year of player age rounded down to max 35) + (1 every 5 yrs >35)
- Gestalt Abilities (Ga): PLayer abilities that fall outside of the scope of the rules (Abillitites/Skills not listed).
- The ZM may award (Ga) to players with experience in certain subjet matters. For example: An electrical engineer would be able to read diagrams/schematics to determine how to repair a generator without making a check or penalty, as long as they have parts and spend 6 doing it.
Competence Points (Cp)
Number of Competence Points you have access to during a session.
A character can only use up to 3 Cp in any one Turn.- How to Use (Cp)
- Add a bonus (DoS) to the dice pool during Check Phase of any Encounter.
- Remove a (DoF) from the dice pool during Check Phase of any Encounter.
- Allow a character to accomplish a Task of periods of time without making SKill Checks to alter the time cost to do so.
- Add special benefits to Tactics during the Intent or Check phases based on a character's special Abilities/Skills.
- Every character has a total of 5 (hp).
- When a character's (Hp) have been reduced to 0 they die (in most cases).
- Each (hp) lost is a result of Injury which incurs additional problems and penalties as more Damage Dice are allocated.
List of Injuries a Character has incurred & still need to be healed, along with theor associated Magnitude.- Many Injuries have associated "nasty" effects based on the Damage Dice "Aggraveted" to it.
- Most Injuries cause a loss of 1 (Hp) regardless of the number of Damage Dice associated with them.
- Many Injuries also reduce Maximum Damage Threshold (MDT) & cause several detrimental penalties.
- An Injury always has one or more Damage Dice assigned to it to represent the extent of the Injury.
- Acquiring An Injury
A character who takes Damage Dice that pushes thier total over their (MDT) must move any number of Damage Dice from those assigned to them to one or more INjuries until the Damage Dice toal is eaual to or less than their (MDT).
Treating An Injury
Surgery
Injury Magnitude
Reduction in Damage THreshold & Injury Magnitude
- +1 (Cp) per Health Point remaining
- -1 (Cp) per untreated Injury
- +1 (Cp) per Morale point
- -1 (Cp) per Tier of Psychosis Disadvantages
- +1 (Cp) per Strcuture Bonus
- +1 (Cp) per 10 yrs of life
- +1 (Cp) per (Sb)
- +1 (Cp) per (Pb)
- +1 (Cp) per (Ea)
- +1 (Cp) per (Wb)
- +1 (Cp) per Tier in an ABility used in the previous session
- +1 (Cp) per Tier in relevant Ability that represents a Profession
(Cp) cannot be carried over to a new day. At the start ove every new day, (Cp) are recalculated.
(Cp) Survival Point Rewards
Any remaining (Cp) can be exchanged at the end of each day as follows: 1d6 (Sp) per 2 (Cp).
Abilities
Intrinsic, unique attributes of your character that are part of your character's pre-crisis personality or proactical experience. They generally allow faster SKill advancement rates, Training Value bonuses, and/or special rules.- Professional Experience
- Abilities that reflect formal, professional training and experience acquired prior to the Outbreak. These Abilities are almost impossible to develop afterthe start of an Outbreak.
- Tiers of Professional Abilities can only be chosen during Character Creation.
- Often support one or more Skills.
- May grant unique and useful features.
- Often grant modifiers to a Training Value for ceertain circumstances or Gear categories.
Skills
Represent a character's %Chance of success in a specific Skill. Skills are broken up into Basic, Trained, and Expert Skills.- Basic Skills
- SKills that are easily procaticed and advanced.
- Can be attempted without Kits or Gear.
- Unsupported: d6
- Supported: 2d6 Pick Highest
Trained Skills- Skills that are not innate, but require a certain amount of deliberate practice to reliably accomplish.
- Unsupported: 2d6 Pick Lowest
- Supported: d6
- Specialization: 2d6 Pick Highest
Expert Skills- A Skill that represents something that can only be done reliably with an exceptiona; amount of practice and often professional experience.
- These skills are often only performed once every period of Time, instead of as a normal action during an Encounter.
- Unsupported: Can't Advance
- Supported: 2d6 Pick Lowest
- Specialization: d6
Skill Advancement- Players can spend 1 Gestalt Level to advance a Skill. Advancements can be done during a game/session.
- When rolling for Skill Advancement, if a "6" is rolled, the player can roll an additional d6 to advance that skill furher. Only one additional roll can be performed per Skill Advancement.
Skill Checks (SC%)- Skill Checks represent how a character interacts with the world, and can be used for both Actions & Save Throws.
- (SC%) rolls will determine the (Ds) or (Df) for an Action.
- Time Requirements can be reduced by means of (Ds) in a (SC%), and conversly with by (Df).
- Groups of characters can work together and pool their efforts in cirtain curcumstances to reduce Time requirements.
- Performing Skill Checks
- Roll a d%
- Gain 1(Ds)for every 10 points above the %Chance listed
- Gain 1 (Df) for every 10 points below the %Chance listed
- Performing Skill Checks
Skill Summaries- Base %
The formula used to determine the percentage chance of success.
Dice Pool
The dice a character rolls to make that kind of Skill Check.
Triggered Effects/Save Throws
Effect options for resolving (Ds) or (Df) generated form the (SC%) roll.
Modifiers to (SC%)
Any potential bonuses or penalties that apply to a particular Skill Check.
Environmental Modifiers- Some Skill Checks modifiers will be contingent on Enbironmental Modifiers (EM). The ZM will apply EM based on whatever environmental features are in play (good or bad).
Save Throws- A Save Throw is a Skill Check taken outside the normal Intent-Check-Resolution (ICR) turn order.
- Typically done as a response to an opponent's action.
Training Value Bonus- Associated with certain Abilities and the Prime Attributes associated with that Ability.
- What a character adds to their Attribute Bonus to determine what kind of Gear Bonus they can gain when using the following tupes of Equipment:
- Archery Gear
- Long Gun
- Bludgeon
- Pistol
- Piercing
- Throwing
- Slashing
- Martial Arts
- Athletic Gear
- First Aid Kits
- Swimming/Diving
- Climbing Gear
- Medical Gear
- Tools
- Command App.
- Recon. Gear
- Value
- Firefighting
- Survival Kit
- Vehicles
- Encounters