HinterWelt Fora

So, Theo and Linda helped me out with a bit of Alpha testing the other day. Theo approves of the "Dice Game" and actually seemed to be getting when he needed to roll and when it was a good thing by crowing "I win!". So, at least one of them approved.

Linda and I (with Theo rolling) set two characters against each other. This is standard procedure when we are running an initial test of a system (either one of our own or someone else's).

The Chars (PDF 400K)

Jane Houston is an MP and deadly. Jack Vole is a Pastry Chef and not so deadly. Cole is a 12 year old boy. I have to say, char gen went well and I don't think Cole was terribly disadvantaged but not the equal of the adults. I like the skill classifications (Childhood, Mature, and Professional) which allowed the adults to be differentiated from the child without making playing a child useless.

So, Linda played Jane and she was able to kill the boy and Jack most of the time. When Jack got lucky he would critically wound Jane before she finished him. Body armor made all the difference on this. Cole, with his baseball bat had little chance but occasionally would get a whack in. Also, numbers made a difference. When Jack and Cole attacked Jane she would have to split her bonus and that would give Jack a chance to use his gun. So, the combat works pretty close to how I want it. An individual would be a counter to any one infected or even a human with less training or an inferior weapon but runs into troubles when facing large numbers of opponents.

The Quickie Mart
So, we ran a little adventure where the "Family" needed groceries. They decided to try a quickie mart in the small Illinois town of Frankfort. It looked deserted but that is the way these things always look before they go bad. Jane used Stealth (Move) at a difficulty of 20 to approach unseen. The difficulty was set at 20 as a moderate difficulty since it is located on a cornet without much cover. She had a skill total of 9 and rolled a 12 which equaled 21 and made it. Once up to the store, she climbed the ladder to the roof and her Hunting skill (TOT: 5) to spot any Infected nearby. Difficulty 15 (Easy for the same reason the Stealth was hard) and spotted no one. She waved Jack and Cole in.

She climbed down and met them at the front door. She asked if they could see anything and Jack said it was too dark. They cautiously open the door and proceed in weapons at the ready. Most of the store's food is either gone or rotted. They decide to do a search more in depth for food and Jane uses her Hunting skill while Jack and Cole make unskilled attempts. The Difficulty is 18 (Moderate) and Jane has a TOT:5 while Jack and Cole get no bonus. Cole gets lucky and rolls two 6s (allowing him to roll again and add) and gets a total of 24. Jane also makes it and they find a locked storage room door. Jane shoots the lock and the door opens.

On the other side are 2 Infected. They entered through a window that has had the bars ripped out. They have a half eaten corpse with them. Jane, Jack and Cole, although prepared, need to make a check for surprise. They all roll and add their Mind. Jack and Cole make the Difficulty of 16 but Jane misses and she will be unable to act this round. Jack takes a -2 to his Ranged Combat leaving him with a TOT:2. He goes first and shoots his 9mm in one hand and holds his Pastry Knife ready in the other. He rolls a 15 + 2 for total of 17 against the Infected Defense of 15. The difference is 2 which is less than the 3 designated for the 9mm and makes the resultant wound a Light Wound. He consults the 2 locations dice (at the beginning of play, the player designates 2 out of the three d6 as "Location Dice") and the total is 4 hitting the Infected in the right side of the chest. Cole goes next next with his Baseball bat. He has an Athletics (Baseball) TOT:3 and rolls a 16, hitting with a 4. The bat is rated with a Light Wound up to 5 so it is a Light wound that is dealt. His Location Dice read 10 and he kneecaps the Infected in the right leg.

Now the Infected attack. The one Jack shot attacks him. Jack rolls a 15 plus his Dodge TOT: 5 making his Defense 20. The Infected has a TOT: 4 of Unarmed Combat and rolls a 17 for total of 21 but with a -2 for 2 Light Wounds adjusting to a 19 and misses. The second one attacks Jane. She rolls Dodge TOT:10 and rolls a 12 for a total of 22. The Infected Unarmed TOT: 9 (ex-Boxer) and rolls a 15 for a total of 24 making it be 2. This equates to light wound and 2 Infection levels.

Next round Jane, Jack and Cole go first (players go first on ties) and Jane takes the lead. She splits her attacks with her M-16 (she has 2 attacks with it meaning she can split her bonus 2 ways and attacks 2 targets). Her first attack is a 15 plus Ranged Combat modified TOT: 6 of 21 but she has a -1 for the Light wound so it goes to 20. She makes it by 5 putting the damage into the Moderate Wound level. Jane has the Crack Shot Schtick so she places the hit in the head. He second shot is on the already wounded Infected. She rolls a 16 plus Ranged Combat Modified TOT: 6 for a total of 22 modified to 21 for her Light wound. Because the Infected has 2 Light Wounds his Defense drops to 13. She makes it by 8 dealing a Critical to the Head (Crack Shot Schtick) killing him. Jack jumps in and shoots the remaining Infected with his 9mm. He rolls a 12 plus his Ranged Combat TOT: 4 for a total of 16. The Moderate Wound on the remaining Infected drops his Defense by 2 making it 13 and meaning Jack hit by 3 doing a Light wound to his 9 (by Location Dice) or left arm. Cole swings away with a roll of 18 plus his 3 for Athletics (Baseball) to get a total of 21 against the Defense of the Infected (modified down 3 for wounds received) of 12. Cole makes it by 9 enough for his baseball bat to do a Critical wound. His Location Dice are 2 6s and that allows him to pick the location. He cracks the Infected's skull open.

In the aftermath, Jane gets patched up by Jack. He cleans the wound thoroughly and reduces Infection by 2 and allows the Light Wound to heal up over the next day.

The Questions Raised
1. Wounds: Do we want one pool or to have totals per location?
One pool, to me, seems reflective of how the body takes wounds. Remember, it is a -1 to all rolls for each light wound, -2 for Moderate wounds and critical disables to ares (-8 if applicable). Currently, each area can take Body in Light Wounds, 1/2 Body in Moderate Wounds and 1 Critical wound before being disabled. So, currently, we could have upto a -170 with a person who has a 10 Body and still be "functional". Yes, that would make any skill/stat check impossible many times over. Alternatively, with one pool, you would get the same Body=10 person at -17.

2. Initiative: Should it be a bid and keep as in you state it and it can go higher but you can never drop it or should it be flexible? This came up when Jack had taken a -2 to make sure he went first but then the Infected were running at 0 so he could have dropped it down. I am inclined towards, Bid and Keep as in you state what you are bidding, the GM rolls, and if you are ahead of them, great, if not you can increase, but either way, you cannot get it back.

3. Should First Aid heal infection wounds? I am inclined to say yes if they are treated within a few minutes of receiving the wound.

4. Should Schticks be powered by Karma (Mind + Spirit;recoverd by doing something related to Code)? I like this idea but Linda does not. She notes that something like Crack Shot would suck if you burned through all your Karma using it.

Hopefully I will have a copy of the Alpha rules up within the next couple of weeks.

Thanks!
Bill

_________________
HinterWelt Enterprises
Bill Corrie
815-557-7365

Should first aid heal infected wounds?

As a Gameplay mechanic I would be inclined to say yes,
in terms of "normal" infections (such as a festering knife wound)
I would also say yes, as you are "Preventing" it from becoming infected in the first place by doing "preventative" first aid (cleaning out the wound etc.)

In terms of an "infectious bite" from a zombie I would tend to say no
(just been watching George Romero movies again ) as all the "Documented Evidence" tends to lean against that, once bitten and infected a player will weaken and die, only to come back as a festering brain munching ghoul

Maybe if you chopped the arm off above the bite it would prevent the spread of the infection but anything short of that I would very much doubt to be of any use at all

Unless of course you are using the "Resident Evil - virus" hypothesis in which case it can be cured with a simple dose of antidote

I guess it all comes down to the level of game you want to play
a "Heroic" game will have an antidote and first aid will cure the infection, a "realistic" game will have little or no hope of prevention or cure

Alan Hume

Alan,
We are precisely using the virus approach. Specifically, an alien space ship crashes. It is basically, a big seed. It begins to grow a space tether with a station at the end as soon as it lands. It also releases a number of spores. The spores land and Thorn Plants grow. These Thorn Plants have Ormosil genetic delivery capsules. This is a tech we use now. ORganic MOdified SILica. They are organic nanobots that inject genetic material into cells they come into contact with. Originally, this was a mechanism that the aliens designed to be used on the algae of a primitive planet. The ship had malfunctioned and read earth as viable when it should have been passed over.

So, the Ormosil is too heavy to be air born but can be transmitted via bites, exposure to contaminated food, the Thorn Plants...

Essentially, the setting is bleak but I ALWAYS like to have hope in my games. I think that is where some edgy game designers go wrong, they take the fun out of the game by making it hopeless. I ran Vampire for way too many years and it was just depressing. By the end of the run, I had modified it so much it was really super heroes with fangs.

And yes, I know it is a departure from the genre. I seem to have that issue with my settings.

Thanks,
Bill

_________________
HinterWelt Enterprises
Bill Corrie
815-557-7365

Schticks could get points equal to your Karma to spend on the schticks each session. If they want to use schticks when they run out of points, then they can use Karma to power "extra" uses.
Alternatively, you could state in the definition of each schtick how often it can be used. Add a guideline for GMs to determine how often a new schtick should be used. I can see how some schticks are used more often, but have a minor affect on the game, and some schticks are used less often, but have a greater affect on the game, so perhaps some flexibility is called for.

That's funny, it's exactly how I described the game style of the Vampire players I know. In the end, nobody wanted to cry over their lost humanity. They wanted the kewl vampire powers!

I should update. Sorry guys.

I have gone a different way. No more Schticks. Now, we have Edges and Traits. Edges are super skills. Say you have Ranged Combat. You need to have a rank 5 or greater in it then you can take an Edge in Ranged Combat. Edges have ranks like skills and add to your bonus (Skill Rank + Stat + (Edge if you have it)). You also spend 1 Action Point each time you use an Edge. With Ranged Combat you would use it to say, hit a specific location or ricochet the bullet off a wall and hit a concealed target.

Traits are things like Paranoid, Kind Natured and Trustworthy. They add their ranks (they have ranks like skills) to certain skill checks. They are always on. They might have one additional think like MacGuyver allows adjusting the Scavenging Rolls. They do not use AP. They cost more than Edges.

So, I think we came to the same conclusion Scott, and this is how I altered the system. What do you think?

Thanks,
Bill

_________________
HinterWelt Enterprises
Bill Corrie
815-557-7365

Hey Bill,
that sounds pretty cool actually, for whatever reasn it makes me think of GAMMA WORLD, don't know why but it certainly isn't a bad thing

The virus is certainly the way to go to keep som ehope alive within a bleak setting (probably actually allows you to play a long running campaign too, which is always good )

I just basically got mocked and dismissed as a nerd yesterday when I met a couple of vampire players (in Games Workshop of all places)
just overheard a conversation about "chicks in RPG's" so of course I had to say "Where??!!" not exactly in my experience of the hobby

whereupon of course they made the connection (ie. I'm an old skool D & D man) and it all kind of went downhill from there (what a strange world thought when Vampire LARPERS think they are higher up the food chain than tabletop gamers from which it all sprang, why there is such a food chain in gaming I just dont know??!!

Ah yes, maybe I do...
one word... Furries

anyhow, the game sounds very, very good
is it going to be coming out as a book (probably a good time seeing as Palladium just released theirZombie game recently, it seems to be an ever green genre )

I need to sort out my finances so I can start going overboard as a frothing gameboy again (wait a minute... that's kind of how I ended up in this mess in the first place )

I owuld seriously consider making this a purchase though if it came out as a book, even on my budget

I do get a kick out of putting sometning back int o the hobby (even if it is only the odd purchase here and there, that's the problem though, so many cool guys and games to support, yet limited ability to do so )

hmm, you know, hte departure from the setting is probably a factor in your favour, something different, something new, not jsut another
brain munching frenzy (although I have no problem with that)

it should make you r game stand out

Do the thorn plants have tendrils,
well, specifically, animated, thorny tendril like branches that they can wrap their prey up in, lash out with if you get too close etc

maybe it sounds cheesy but I read something like this in a sci-fi or fantasy book sometime and I did like it

just a thought

Yes, the Thorn Plants move and within a limited area can lash out. They prefer to infect (it is their primary function) but will also prey on smaller animals and other plants.

Zombipocalypse is a cross between science fiction (you have the ship and you can have adventures in it), post apocalyptic (it is the zombipocalypse) and Zombie genre (a lot more like 28 days later but we also have living dead but in a different kind of way). So, no brain munching but you may get mauled or killed or infected by both the Infected and/or the Living Dead.

Bill

_________________
HinterWelt Enterprises
Bill Corrie
815-557-7365

it sounds a whole lot of fun, (and a whole lot of work too to be fair)

You guys amaze me though, where do you find the time to do so many cool things?!??!!!
Alan

Edges and traits sound good. The schticks sound fun though, and I wouldn't mind seeing them sometime in the future (perhaps in something light-hearted or pulpy).