OOC

[Antman9]

OOC Schtuffs

[wolfpack]

If we are making characters on who we actually are should we post a bit of our backgrounds to see what kind of skill overlap or lacking the group has?

[Rex]

I was thinking the same, but not much we can do about it at this point.

[Antman9]

I was thinking the same thing (RE Real Life Skills). I've got a few ideas about that.
I'm currently reviewing the rule set, it's a bit diff that the original version. Currently condensing the rules (to be posted soon). I'll be posting a few questions here shortly to get us started.

[Antman9]

I have a few more news articles that are rough drafts. Just need to clean them up and post. Let me know if you're not interested in this aspect of the game and I'll discontinue the News Posts.

[Antman9]

I updated the Game Mechanics thread

[Monsieur Rose]

I like the flavor posts.

About the 'social media' posts, I think posting in a thread here may be interesting. I'm good with giving it a try.

[OGRE MAGE]

The articles are great!!!

I like the social media idea as well, though I don't consider myself well versed in the concept.

[Antman9]

Yeah, RE: Social Media...I have a Facebook account, but I never ever log in

I may put up a thread tonight and see how it goes. I don't want anyone/everyone to think it's necessary though. if you want to use it and find it adds to the immersion of the game, then by all means use it, otherwise no worries

I will post a third News Article tonight. I think I may do more short posts than longer ones. I'm going to try and get one or two every day or two. I'm working on the starting thread now: Session 0 - Pre-Outbreak (haven't named it yet)

[Antman9]

I have the Social Media thread up now. Made an initial "Sponsored" post. As i stated previously, I don;t expect everyone to use this thread. If you don't use it, that's cool. Just another example of RL.

I'll make NPC and Sponsor posts there as i think of them. Hopefully I'm painting a decent picture for Outbreak Level 0

[OGRE MAGE]

Dude! I’m blown away by your game prep so far!

This seems like its going to be an epic game!

[Antman9]

Dude! I’m blown away by your game prep so far!

This seems like its going to be an epic game!

Thank you sir. I try. Also, always open to suggestions and criticism. This is everyone's game. I'm just facilitating the experience (or at least trying to)

[Antman9]

An Outbreak Level Primer:

Outbreak Level
Much of what happens to characters in-game is determined by the “Outbreak Level”, often abbreviated as “OL”. The higher the number of OL, the further away from an intact society the game takes place. As such, the span of time between Outbreak Levels is not measured in years. It’s generally measured in milestones where certain aspects of society crumble. A scenario may have it that society free falls from OL1 to 3 in a matter of months but will cling onto OL3 for decades before sleeping to OL4.

OUTBREAK LEVEL 0
This is most peoples’ frame of reference for what is normal. There is no disruption of commerce. Citizens go about their day as if nothing at all is amiss.

OUTBREAK LEVEL 1
The initial onset of a conflict. Many facilities are intact, and most familiar surroundings are unscathed. Panic is setting in, and the world that the characters know may change forever but society is nowhere near the precipice of chaos. The majority of the population could be unaware that anything is even awry.

OUTBREAK LEVEL 2
It is apparent this is severe crisis. Most people have at least heard something is wrong. The threat is escalating, and most people are abandoning their posts if not obligated by the military or government. If they haven’t already been jammed, cities no longer have passage via major freeways and most side streets are likewise unnavigable. Public utilities start to become unreliable at best.

OUTBREAK LEVEL 3
Panic sets in. Martial Law is formally declared, and non-essential business halts. The government sets up tight enclaves where they can exert control and provide protection. All who fall outside of that territory will fill the void of leadership with their own “tribes” with varying levels of sympathies towards centralized government and other outsiders in general. Characters are often allied with one or more of these factions that emerge.

OUTBREAK LEVEL 4
The “Fall” is now something of history. Resources are all but spent. Technological development is set back sometimes by centuries. Even if the opponents were defeated, the social conscience of the populace will still be forever scarred. There is no assurance that things will be normal again.

OUTBREAK LEVEL AND STARTING GESTALT LEVEL (points)
Scenarios starting at different Outbreak Levels mean that characters have demonstrated considerable survival acumen. As a result of this, new characters that start at Outbreak Levels other than 0 have access to a larger pool of Gestalt Levels to represent this greater experience. You may allow characters who start scenarios at different Outbreak Levels to have the following bonus Gestalt Levels:

• OL 0: no bonus
• OL 1: +5 Gestalt Levels
• OL 2: +10 Gestalt Levels
• OL 3: +15 Gestalt Levels
• OL 4+: +20 Gestalt Levels

[Gerrin]

Work has been nuts. Promise to try and get a character going tomorrow

[Antman9]

Work has been nuts. Promise to try and get a character going tomorrow

No worries Gerrin. Most of the stuff we're doing now is role-playing based. I'm expecting to flush out the characters and their abilities as we move forward. This game can be complicated, so I'm trying to house-rule a few things for simplicity sake. I think everyone will like what I come up. Just focus on getting the SPEW-AI stats from the website and make your list of life experiences/skills/abilities. We'll flush out the rest as we move along.

[Gerrin]

So do we need to list the stuff we can basically lay our hands on IRL if the outbreak occured?

[Antman9]

you can go ahead and start putting your list together if you like.

One thing to keep in mind (for everyone), is that we're trying to imitate RL, so if you currently have a "Go Bag" that's good, if you don't keep a Go Bag in RL then you wouldn't put one together for your character now, Unless...the circumstances in the game world progress/dictate that you would/should do that.

In this campaign we're starting at Outbreak Level 0, which means your In-Game character/circumstances closely resemble/match your RL circumstances today/now (June 4, 2019). Try to think about what you "would do"/"do do" normally in RL, and then role play that in-game. Hopefully that wasn't too confusing.

Unlike a normal D&D rpg where we would document our gear and weapons, and have that on our character sheet...or in a more advanced Outbreak Level, where Zombies are already walking around eating people's faces, we're starting out with the Real Life phase (everything is normal/peachy-king, you go to work, come home, eat ice cream, etc.), then we'll move into the "Oh Shit! There's F#@$!#& Zombies eating people's faces!!! What do I do?!" phase.

In-game, your character will have the opportunity to see the S#!@ coming and plan appropriately, in-game. We'll role-play out dialog and actions/plans as the sitch escalates (in game). Things will start slow for a few days then escalate quickly.

Hope that helps

[OGRE MAGE]

Sounds Awesome!

[wolfpack]

I just happen to be one of those paranoid preppers you read about who believe we are constantly just 3 days away from the total breakdown of society. So I have things like bug out bags, a pantry full of canned goods, stacks of cases of water and ammo, body armor, etc.

[Antman9]

Okydoky folks. I've finalized the initial timeline outline and outbreak scenarios. Here is the schedule for the next few weeks. Please take note that the Days are categorized first as "In-Game" then as "Real Life" (RL). Take note of the RL dates for each In-Game day. They jump to a week per In-Game day, but we'll see how that goes. They may take longer depending on what everyone wants to do. The titles for each day should give you an idea of what I have planned for those In-Game days as far as plot development. I expect the majority of role-playing to kick in on Day 3 or 4 for you guys. If you guys are good with this plan, I'll proceed on schedule this coming Sunday, and then we can play the longer week time frames by ear, depending on what everyone does. We can discuss options here in the OOC thread.

Outbreak Level 1: Orientation

• Day 1 Sunday June 9th 2019 (RL Sun 6/9): Strange Sightings
• Day 2 Monday June 10th (RL Tues 6/11): Bring on the Seabees!

Outbreak Level 2: Induction

• Day 3 Tuesday June 11th (RL Thur 6/13): Escalation
• Day 4 Wednesday June 12th (RL Sat 6/15): The Bite is On!
• Day 5 Thursday June 13th (RL Sat 6/22): Word of the Day “Chaos”
• Day 6 Friday June 14th (RL Sat 6/29): The Jig is Up.

Outbreak Level 3: Fallout

• Day 7 Saturday June 15th (RL Mon 7/8): Lock Down!
• Day 8 Sunday June 16th (RL Sat 7/13): Make or Break Time!
• Day 9 Monday June 17th (RL Sat 7/20): Abandoned
• Day 10 Tuesday June 18th (RL Sat 7/27): Let it Burn
• Day 11 Wednesday June 18th (RL Sat 8/3): Smoldering Slag Heap
• Day 12 Thursday June 20th (RL Sat 8/10): Like Shootin’ Ants