Just out of curiosity, how many profiles do you have currently?
From TWD: Rick Grimes, Michonne, Glenn, Dale,
Jack Bauer
Main team from Scorpion
Starr from ZE
Clarisse Starling
From âLostâ: Jack, Sawyer
Dr. from âThe Last Shipâ
Natural Born Killers
snarky coward
scared teenager
Mallory Vorde (paranoid Hacker)
Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov
Mara Jade
2 Likes
Come to think of it, Sawyer would make a brilliant bandit leader in the apocalypse.
If I come up with anymore interesting characters Iâll holler.
1 Like
Bonk.
Name: Jeremy âRemy or Remâ Curtis.
Age: 22.
Gender: Male.
Orientation: Homosexual.
Profession: Police Officer.
Appearance: Remy stands at 6â2â with lightly tanned, freckled skin. Heâs got an athletic build from playing soccer through high school and college. Short dirty blond hair sits atop his head, usually styled into a bit of a fauxhawk complimented by muted blue eyes. He went through a bit of a rebel phase when he was younger, but he refuses to rid himself of his tongue and belly button piercings. Alcohol may or may not have been involved when those decisions were made.
Personality: Prior to current events, Remy was a confident young man with the dream to make a difference in the town he grew up in. Being a small town boy, he grew up with a natural confidence and charisma that exuded itself in all his actions. A busybody in his youth, he was team captain of his high school soccer team and pursued the sport through college while seeking an education to become a police officer. Never one to turn down someone in need, Remy always tried to help whenever he could, whether it be through a task or offering a shoulder to cry on.
Once everything started going downhill, Remy started to get demoralized. Being one of the newest officers in town, heâs never actually had to pull the trigger of his pistol before. Situations demand that he make choices, and if they happen to get him soaked in blood, so long as he manages to help someone, he doesnât mind the extra baggage heâll have to lug around for him. Heâs willing to carry that weight so others donât have to.
Attributes:
Strength | 45%
Dexterity | 60%
Agility | 40%
Stamina | 50%
Charisma | 65%
Intelligence | 40%
Willpower | 70%
Perception | 50%
Starting Skills:
Athletics (2): Beginner
Close-combat Weapons (2): Beginner
Driving (3): Adept
Electronics (1): Basic
Empathy (2): Beginner
Hand-to-Hand Combat (2): Beginner
Intimidation (2): Beginner
Medicine (2): Beginner
Persuasion (4): Advanced
Ranged Weapons (4): Advanced
Search (3): Adept
Survival (2): Beginner
Challenges: Fear of Heights. I would give him delusions, but only if it were to start later on in the game.
Playthrough:
- Calmed Black Beard and defused the situation. Tried to convince Lt. Daniels that Sergeant Jacobs is the least of their concerns right now. Split the gear with Jacobs, even if he wanted to arrest him.
- Rushed outside to help Lopez. Tried to clean his wound. Ultimately opened fired on White when the facts werenât lining up. Kinda hated himself for killing a living person and not managing to save Lopez.
- Ran outside to help Dante. Shot the two zombies with his pistol. Tried to offer sanctuary.
- Defused the situation at the neighborâs house; convinced them to leave the house in peace and to let the authorities deal with it.
- Told the calling son the truth about his parents. Read the fatherâs note out to him.
Goals: Meet up with Jaime and find somewhere safer.
Iâd end up labeling him as âThe Hopeful Rookieâ. 
2 Likes
well if everyone else is doing profiles Iâll do 2 if thatâs ok 
1 fictional character, 1 based on me. 1st one:
PROFILE
Name: spiderman sheila
Gender: Male
Profession/Background: Psychotic serial killer
Rank: Sergeant
Skill Points: 0
Hair Color: Green
Eye Color: Grey
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Zombie Kills: 14
Survivor Kills: 4
Location: City of Nightfall
Defense: 0
Damage: 7
Primary Weapon: M4 carbine
Secondary Weapon: bare hands
Armor: None
Clothes: Army Combat Uniform
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Delusions, Dependent Child, Kleptomaniac
HEALTH
Physical Health: 99%
Mental Health: 72%
Fatigue: 71%
Stress: 73%
PERSONALITY & MORALITY
Daring: 79% Cautious: 21%
Honorable: 19% Self-centered: 81%
Straightforward: 41% Manipulative: 59%
Practical: 81% Emotional: 19%
Civilized: 14% Depraved: 86%
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 50%
Dexterity: 50%
Agility: 50%
Stamina: 50%
Charisma: 70%
Intelligence: 70%
Willpower: 30%
Perception: 50%
Smiley Hated (16)
I chose all the evil options, choosing to be a dick to everyone killing lopez because reason, killing cowboy, forcing my nephew to watch the guy with the gold chain get mauled by zombies etc. Oh and killing my army buddies again because reasons.
2 Likes
Wow. Didnât know you could make a career out of that.
4 Likes
Anythingâs possible if you put your heart in it! You just gotta ~BELIEVE~
5 Likes
PROFILE
Name: Paul Campbell
Gender: Male
Profession/Background: Underground Fighter
Skill Points: 26
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Black
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: a skull tattoo on the upper back, a tribal tattoo on
the right arm, face scar, neck scar, chest scar, stomach scar, left arm scar,
right shoulder scar
Zombie Kills: 11
Survivor Kills: 1
SAFE HAVEN
Current Safe Haven: home
Location: City of Nightfall
Defense: 3
Damage: 4
Primary Weapon: sledgehammer
Secondary Weapon: bare hands
Armor: None
Clothes: Street Clothes
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Addiction to Nicotine, Short Fuse
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 70%
Dexterity: 60%
Agility: 70%
Stamina: 60%
Charisma: 30%
Intelligence: 40%
Willpower: 40%
Perception: 40%
SKILL LEVELS
Athletics (4): Advanced
Close-combat Weapons (4): Advanced
Cooking (3): Adept
Driving (1): Basic
Electronics (1): Basic
Hand-to-Hand Combat (5): Superior
Intimidation (4): Advanced
Medicine (3): Adept
Paulâs fighting career started very early. He was always the
largest and strongest among his classmates, and had a bad temper, which often
put him in a lot of trouble. He was always being sent to the principalâs office
for fighting. Since he was always getting suspended, his grades were very low,
which often led people to mock him, which resulted in more fights. He narrowly
avoided getting expelled, but was held back quite a few times given his grades.
Without many options, Paul became a bouncer in a local nightclub.
His career was short-lived, though, as he became more interested on what went
on in the club after-hours: fighting. The club housed an illegal fighting
system, where anybody could fight for money, from professional fighters down on
their luck to ex-convicts having a hard-time searching for a job. The only
rules were âdonât kill each otherâ and âdonât tell people about itâ. He met an
MMA fighter there, and considered joining his legal fighting team, but hadnât
made it into the team yet.
Paul quickly began making some money, but he also got some nasty
scars, making him even more scary-looking. He had to learn how to take care of
his own injures, since it would raise questions if he began showing up in the
hospital every week. Given he lived alone, he also had to learn how to cook his
own food, since eating fast-food everyday isnât a great way to get in shape for
fighting. He also had to drive himself around on his own, and figure out how to
use his computer alone. Paul also got quite skilled in melee combat, since the fights
allowed the use of such weapons.
Despite being short-tempered and aggressive, Paul cares deeply
about the few friends he manages to make. His fame in school as âthe large guy
who beats other people up and gets sent to the principalâs officeâ didnât help
him make many friends, so the few ones he had were always very close to him. Heâs
rather blunt, and isnât afraid of saying exactly what heâs thinking. He tries
to help people as much as he can, except when they upset him, then heâd go out
of his way to hind whatever the other personâs goals are.
Gameplay: Go outside, search for weapon, listen to Jaime, help
him, told Tony he wanted to make it into the team, Muay Thay (closest to
street-fighting that I could find), go right at Victor, kick to the chin (Paul
likes punches, but he got upset with Victorâs mockery and became more violent,
aiming for the head), knock Joe, rush the figures, call Jaime, worried,
bathtub, board it up, sledgehammer (probably will become his signature weapon),
have a meal (normal-sized), have to kill (sledgehammer and bare hands),
concerned, call Fred, call Fredâs mom, meet Fred for supplies, retrieve bag,
call Parker, TV, online, meet with Jaime, gather supplies and secure home, simple
breakfast, worried, check Fred, reinforce, chili-craft-mechanic-electrical, scout,
rush outside, grab bottle, stop to discuss, why he left his post, what caused
the injure, kill them (he got upset they lied to him), White, three-storey
home, climb, examine, answer, real name, say that his father is dead bluntly, lime
green door, gasoline-food-tarp-wood, first-floor, second-floor, kill, make
sure, antibiotics-bandages-soap-shampoo, rush outside, sledgehammer, offer more
help, visit rancher, kill zombies, sledgehammer, didnât deserve, repair, TV, cigarette,
check gear.
1 Like
Madness Begets Madness.
And Iâve always found that people like crazyâŚOr was it just me.
Nonetheless, cool character.
âProblems are just solutions that need a bit moreâŚWork, and I have a lot of work to do~â
Name: Raven Branwen (Doctor ! I didnât go through university for nothing)
Gender: Male
Profession: MAD Scientist (Itâs Soo Cool)
Skill points: 0
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Grey
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
German Shepard: Robin
Dependant: Sparrow
(Yes, Everything being a bird name is a bit of a theme)
Zombie Kills: 2
Survivor Kills: 0
Locations: City of Nightfall
Defence: 7
Damage: 0
Primary Weapon: SCIENCEâŚ
Secondary Weapon:Colt Python
Armor: None
Clothes: Lab coat
Primary Vehicle: Two-door Coupe
Challenges & Perks
Dependant Child, Fear of Hights, Pet Owner,
Health (?)
PERSONALITY & MORALITY
Daring: 79% Cautious: 21%
Honorable: 81% Self-centered: 19%
Straightforward: 59% Manipulative: 41%
Practical: 46% Emotional: 54%
Civilized: 78% Depraved: 12%
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 45%
Dexterity: 50%
Agility: 40%
Stamina: 35%
Charisma: 65%
Intelligence: 70%
Willpower: 55%
Perception: 60%
Skills
Athletic (1): Beginner
Crafting (4): Advanced
Electronics (2): Beginner
Empathy (3): Adept
Leadership (4): Advanced
Medicine (5): Superior
Ranged Weapons (3): Adept
Scavenging (1): Basic
Science (5): Superior
Search (3): Adept
Stealth (2): Beginner
Persuasion (1) Beginner
(Edit: I didnât realise that I had made my character so squishy compared to everyone else)
and hereâs me:
PROFILE
Name: Bruno Hill
Gender: Male
Profession/Background: 1st yearSociology Student
Skill Points: 5
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Brown
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: chest scar
Pet: Domestic Cat
Petâs Name: Merlin
Zombie Kills: 2
Location: City of Nightfall
Defense: 0
Damage: 7
Primary Weapon: baseball bat
Secondary Weapon: machete
Armor: None
Clothes: Street Clothes
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Night Blindness, Pet Owner, Visual Impairment
HEALTH
Physical Health: 74%
Mental Health: 72%
Fatigue: 81%
Stress: 65%
PERSONALITY & MORALITY
Daring: 31% Cautious: 69%
Honorable: 53% Self-centered: 47%
Straightforward: 50% Manipulative: 50%
Practical: 57% Emotional: 43%
Civilized: 62% Depraved: 38%
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 40%
Dexterity: 70%
Agility: 70%
Stamina: 30%
Charisma: 40%
Intelligence: 70%
Willpower: 30%
as you can see I probs wouldnât cope very well, Iâm visually impared(but there isnât a challenge as damaging as that) my psycho killer would do waay better lol.
1 Like
Gonna be honest this isnât related to ze but I wanna post this somewhere but I choose my gcseâs today
My first character was super squishy, too. She had no combat, survival or stealth skills at all. She was adept at leadership, persuasion, science and nothing else other than the default teenager skills. It took me three tries to survive to the end of the demo, though some of the deaths were just because I was curious what would happen if I left the house. Turns out, thatâs a bad idea when your two biggest skills are (1) daydreaming about quantum mechanics and (2) sitting with the cool kids at lunch.
Iâm pretty sure if there had been an option to try negotiating with the undead, my character wouldâve tried it and died again because thatâs who she was. I know for a fact she wouldâve organized her classmates into a zombie-hunting army if sheâd had the chance. Without that option, though, she mostly hid in the house checking her gear over and over again. When she did finally survive, I put 6 of her 7 bonus skill points into ranged weapons-- she did the math, and the math said: guns = better odds.
Interestingly, I had another teenager I made that started with ranged weapons, and she basically killed every zombie she ran across. She ended up with 22 bonus skill points, even with a much lower intelligence. Apparently kills = skills. That doesnât really surprise me, since hiding in your house doesnât seem like it would really offer much potential for personal growth. It does leave me a little concerned about the potential survivability problems of non-combat characters, though. My brainy character did get 7 skill points from something, but Iâm not sure what that was; the only thing she successfully accomplished was running away from the zombie that broke into her house. She had 70 Int, so maybe she got the points just for being clever.
1 Like
PROFILE
Name: Mark OâConnor
Gender: Male
Profession/Background: Private Military Contractor
Skill Points: 32
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Green
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: None
Pet: German Shepherd
Petâs Name: Marx
Zombie Kills: 12
Survivor Kills: 1
SAFE HAVEN
Current Safe Haven: home
Location: Chipper Ridge, Suburbs of Nightfall
Defense: 3
Damage: 4
Primary Weapon: AR-15
Secondary Weapon: M9 pistol
Armor: None
Clothes: Street Clothes
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Addiction to Alcohol, Dependent Child, Pet Owner
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 50%
Dexterity: 60%
Agility: 55%
Stamina: 45%
Charisma: 60%
Intelligence: 50%
Willpower: 40%
Perception: 50%
Note: It was supposed to be 60% agility and 50% stamina, but they go down after I finish distributing.
SKILL LEVELS
Athletics (3): Adept
Close-combat Weapons (3): Adept
Cooking (2): Beginner
Driving (2): Beginner
Electronics (2): Beginner
Empathy (3): Adept
Hand-to-Hand Combat (2): Beginner
Leadership (2): Beginner
Medicine (2): Beginner
Persuasion (3): Adept
Ranged Weapons (4): Advanced
Stealth (2): Beginner
Survival (3): Adept
Mark OâConnor is a slightly-Irish (although heâll be quick to remember you that his family moved to America before WWII) ex-Army Ranger turned Private Military Contractor in his mid 20s. Simply put, Mark has the personality of a frat-bro. He loves a good bottle of Whiskey, flirts with everything in a skirt, has a âlittleâ black-book thatâs bigger than most phonebooks, and would throw one party a day if he could. He also loves to prank people, always finds a way to crack a joke, is very cocky, and very, very snarky. When Mark is faced with a problem, failure is never an option. No matter how bad the situation seems, Mark is always confident in his ability to solve it. Heâs very good at what he does, and he knows it. He always does his best to help other people, but expect him to snark a lot about it. The more he snarks, the more he loves you.
Mark reached the rank of Sergeant in the U.S. Army Rangers before trying out Delta Forces, following his fatherâs footsteps. Things didnât turn out as he expected, however, and he failed his Delta training. This made him say âscrew itâ, and leave the Army. He ended up becoming a Private Military Contractor, although he mostly hangs around in his Companyâs bar telling funny stories from his time in the Armed Forces, and picking up girls. The closest he does to actually working is taking part in the weekly physical exercises, and giving tips to his co-workers about guns and tactics. Heâs also been throwing a lot of parties recently.
Mark was one of his schoolâs best boxers, and still has his mean hooks, devastating haymakers, and fast dodging to this day. He also took cooking classes in high-school, but claims it was strictly for the girls. Mark is very passionate about cars, and used to hang on his uncleâs garage as a kid. Heâs also quite handy with a computer. He trained to become a machine gunner in the Rangers, but got offered a position as a Designated Marksman because of his excellent accuracy ratings, and went with that instead.
While heavily favoring guns over blades, Mark is very skilled with a knife due to his close-quarters-combat training. He got some basic medical and leadership training while in the Rangers, but never had to use his medical skills in a real-life scenario, and had very little time to actually lead his unit before he quit, so these skills arenât very polished. Also, it is quite hard to take his orders seriously if you met his jokester side before his leader side. His military training made him survival-capable, and rather stealthy. Heâs always been good with talking, and is very persuasive, particularly with girls.
Gameplay: Examine, dispose, check, listen, a date during the apocalypse? (although itâs just a snark, heâd go on a date ANY time), Vivian, sheâs fine, rush over, Danger: Threat Zone, honestly like, agree because he wants to sit there, intercept, call Jaime, doing well, bathtub, board up, call, hug, gather, trench knife, AR-15, canteen-tent-bag, meal (large), can count on me, send nephew upstairs, sneak (AR and trench knife), anxious, call Sean, the government is doing their best (sarcasm anybody?), how are you, pain (sincere), need anything, seen infected, doing, have to go (didnât ask for supplies), call Vince, TV, trick, online, sleep, protect nephew, meet Jaime, normal meal, simple (who doesnât like oatmeal?), encourage, call Sean, check Sean, take both, kill, search for Sean and clues, food-glasses-pain killers, rush, stop bleeding, stop to discuss, leave post, who injured, kill, White, werenât good guys, scout (AR and M9), rush, AR, introduce, three-storey home, climb, examine, answer, real name, break the news gently, lime-green door, food-gasoline-tarp, first floor, second floor, kill, make sure, antibiotics-bandages-soap, rancher, kill, took the easy way out, approach to learn, knock and ask, boil water, repair.
Note: This is based on one of my real life friends. I only changed the name (although not by much) and some (very, very, very) minor details to preserve his identity lol
Hope you like this @JimD
PROFILE
Name: Aristotle âAriâ Salvatore
Gender: Male
Profession/Background: FBI Agent
Skill Points: 9
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Grey
Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, White or Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: a chain tattoo on the right arm
Zombie Kills: 8
Survivor Kills: 1
SAFE HAVEN
Current Safe Haven: home
Location: City of Nightfall
Defense: 3
Damage: 4
Primary Weapon: shotgun
Secondary Weapon: taser
Armor: None
Clothes: Police Uniform
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Dependent Child
HEALTH
Physical Health: 86%
Mental Health: 99%
Fatigue: 87%
Stress: 36%
PERSONALITY & MORALITY
Daring: 85% Cautious: 15%
Honorable: 80% Self-centered: 20%
Straightforward: 42% Manipulative: 58%
Practical: 40% Emotional: 60%
Civilized: 46% Depraved: 54%
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 30%
Dexterity: 50%
Agility: 50%
Stamina: 30%
Charisma: 70%
Intelligence: 50%
Willpower: 70%
Perception: 70%
Profession/Background: FBI Agent
SKILL PERCENTAGES
Athletics: 25%
Close-combat Weapons: 20%
Cooking: 25%
Crafting: 20%
Driving: 25%
Electronics: 25%
Empathy: 95%
Hand-to-Hand Combat: 20%
Intimidation: 85%
Leadership: 70%
Medicine: 25%
Persuasion: 85%
Ranged Weapons: 70%
Scavenging: 20%
Science: 25%
Search: 30%
Stealth: 70%
Survival: 25%
SKILL LEVELS
Empathy (6): Expert
Intimidation (5): Superior
Leadership (4): Advanced
Persuasion (5): Superior
Ranged Weapons (4): Advanced
Stealth (4): Advanced
Bacground Story and Some play through.
You were a bastard son of a notorious mafia boss, You and your sister were never acknowledged or recognized by him as his children so he left you to fend for yourselves when your mother died(you believed a rival mafia did this).
At a young age you and your sister grew up In the city of Nightfall with your Uncle.
You promised to yourself that you have one goal and that is revenge not only to your father but every known mafia and criminals.
you became a Law enforcer and joined the FBI ,this was actually easy because you inherited you fathers criminal mind, you know this kind of people inside and out but you didnât limit yourself to just them so you studied every aspect of the human mind and behavior, this extensive knowledge made you a valuable asset in the FBI, as an interrogator no one can tell you lies and you squeeze and exploit the truth out of them in various ways.
The chain tatoo on your right arm has a significant meaning for you, it means that once you get your arms on a criminal they can never escape your deep hatred.
While chasing a drug dealer you met Jaime who restrained him until you arrived you admired him for that he showed you that there is still good in this world, that admiration grew when you crossed paths again and got to know each other better when you were in vacation at Las Vegas, you tried flirting with him in a daily basis.
With you sister battling cancer you are left to take care of Kyle, so when the Apocalypse happened you are concerned with his well being because unlike your father family is precious to you. Your sisters death is devastating and you comfort Kyle as best as you can.
Your priority is to protect Kyle and teach him how to survive in this new world and meet up with Jaime so you three can survive together form a safe haven with other survivors.
You tried to help Lopez and killed White because you know theyâre lying but your nephew didnât understand this.
You tried your best to help others you helped fred contact his family, helped Dante and avenged Lopez.
In creating a safe haven you want to be with Jaime and perhaps romance him, you are overprotective about Kyle and everyone you love. You are an ideal leader you are intelligent with both high persuasion and intimidation. No one can lie to you because you are an expert in empathy and have high perception.
For us Squishy Characters, the Chapter Two bonus of receiving one skill point for every ten points of Intelligence you have is something of a god sent.
However I do believe that Jim is working on giving out points for maintaining high supplies of food and or water, saving survivors, looking after your pet and dependant.
Which should help characters who donât focus on combat skills.
(At least in keeping up with Characters those focus is killings Zombies, and by their nature receive to skill points for every kill they get.)
But in saying that I do kinda feel that the amount of skill points everyone in general are receiving by the end of chapter two is going to make having challenges (I mean in the game play sense, not in the character creation sense) a bit of a hassle.
Because your going to have characters with near mastery rank in some skills by the end of chapter three, (I have two already without killing more than two zombies for my Mad Scientist), while some characters (Due to their rather squishy nature) having only beginner rank in some skills. (Not that Iâm complaining or anything, I actually like the challenge BUT thatâs just the way I play most of my Characters.)
And thatâs going to make coding skill requirements for feats a nightmare.
Because giving people two points for every zombie kill is going to cause the general ability of their characters to sky rocket above that of those who canât, and because your going to have to raise the numbers required to meet challenges to keep the game entertaining for themâŚItâs going to make meeting those requirements for squishy-er characters rather difficultâŚWhich again I donât have all that my issue about.
I think the best way we can approach this is if we accept that our characters are going to suck in some fields of expertise.
And lower the amount of skill points given out for all characters OR we rise the amount of things that can give skill points OR give Job type skill checks here and there.
Edit Or better yet choose a weakness skill or skills towards the start that will either have a huge point cost to raise or just prevent the characters in question from raising themâŚ
In fact following that line of thought, weâve had the chance to choose skills and challenges, but adding weakness could be a cool way to balance everything.
(But I still feel the best Idea would be to ration the skill points given out a tad better and over a longer period of time Eg giving us a point for suriving the chapter, a point for saving/ killing a survivor, and a handful of points for dealing with zombie encounters rather than the number of zombies them selves.
Gving us a longer more drawn out journey to a small amount of power will feel more stratifying that just letting us exploit the system with high intelligence and killing zombies.)
Itâd be nice if you received points just for passing skill checks for specific encounters. I wouldâve liked to have seen some options for social skills in the demo, too. It wouldnât need to be every situation, but I literally spent all of my starting skill points on skills that were never used at all (leadership, persuasion, science). It wouldâve been wonderful if I couldâve talked Dee into letting the travelers go, talked the military people into leaving me with some supplies, etc. I havenât been through every story branch, though, so maybe I just missed something.
1 Like
True there really has not been much use for the aforementioned skills.
I do know before the update that you could use your science skill to create a bomb against the biker gang that attacks Jaime at the school.
But the science requirement for that was so âlowâ that my student and college student both made the check without fail.
But I digress, I would imagine that a Science skill will come in handy went we need to start doing so clever S**t, like make a vaccine, building a water purifier, becoming Walter White and other wise doing Mad Science.
But I donât know how much more there would be.
Though on the subject of leadership, I have a feeling that the only way this is going to come in handy is if it was a check to get people to join youâŚand or to prevent people wandering off like Jason in the first Zombie Exodus.
Edit Which would be interesting if we had Companions with conflicting morals, ideas, goals or backgrounds.
And the only way we can keep them working together is by either being a councillor, being socially smart or by being the best leader and keeping them in check.
With each check being either higher or lower so to speak,and with slightly different results.
Like a leader could end the argument right there, while a persuasive person may just simply forestall it.
For leadership, I think that could be useful for a number of things, provided you have other survivors with you. For example, if youâre defending an outpost and have a leadership skill of the required level, just add an extra option during the conflict that has the group working together to close a hole in the wall. If youâre attacking a raider camp, include an option to work together pushing an abandoned truck downhill into the leaderâs tent. If youâre trying to gather corn from a field, have a leadership option that efficiently sends people out into quadrants, increasing yield a bit. Stuff like that.
I thought Iâd share my âsquishy characterâ, in case itâs helpful.
I custom-created a character, a concert pianist. I would have appreciated an option to raise my skills more than one level at a time, especially since I began the sequence with fifty-nine skill points. That way, I feel like I could have decided âI want empathy level Xâ rather than sort of filling points into the most important skill sets to my MC first, and then adding the rest in a desultory fashion just to use points.
Chapter: 2
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Outbreak Day: 1
PROFILE
Name: Tegwyn Dyfnallt
Gender: Female
Profession/Background: Pianist
Skill Points: 0
Hair Color: Dark brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Race/Ethnicity: White or Caucasian
Distinguishing Features: None
Zombie Kills: 2
SAFE HAVEN
Current Safe Haven: home
Location: City of Nightfall
Defense: 0
Damage: 9
Primary Weapon: hammer
Secondary Weapon: pepper spray
Armor: None
Clothes: Street Clothes
Primary Vehicle: two-door coupe
CHALLENGES & PERKS
Vegetarian, Visual Impairment
HEALTH
Physical Health: 90%
Mental Health: 99%
Fatigue: 86%
Stress: 47%
PERSONALITY & MORALITY
Daring: 41% Cautious: 59%
Honorable: 75% Self-centered: 25%
Straightforward: 60% Manipulative: 40%
Practical: 54% Emotional: 46%
Civilized: 59% Depraved: 41%
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 30%
Dexterity: 70%
Agility: 50%
Stamina: 30%
Charisma: 50%
Intelligence: 70%
Willpower: 60%
Perception: 60%
SKILL LEVELS
Athletics (1): Basic
Cooking (1): Basic
Driving (2): Beginner
Electronics (3): Adept
Empathy (6): Expert
Leadership (2): Beginner
Medicine (1): Basic
Persuasion (5): Superior
Scavenging (1): Basic
Science (2): Beginner
Search (3): Adept
Stealth (2): Beginner
Survival (3): Adept
I envisioned Tegwyn to be very empathetic, persuasive, and observant to mirror the professional classical (and other) pianist background, hence also the basic leadership skills and interest in electronics (professional) and science (the university background and a generally curious personality). I intended her to be a very thoughtful, rational, but kind sort of person, and so far was delighted to be able to play her as such.
Iâve listed a few typos and some general thoughts below, and the list grew rather. Sorry.
Notes:
PROLOGUEâAnd so it BeginsâŚ
-This is a little thing, but shouldnât that either be âAnd so it beginsâ or âAnd So It Beginsâ?
-I liked the reference to Grandmumâs veggie soup on the page after I created my character. It immediately made my character feel very real.
Race: White or Caucasian
Hair Color: dark brown
Eye Color: hazel
Distinguishing Features: None
-Again, the capitalisation is inconsistent. I think itâd make more sense if it were âDark brownâ and âHazelâ to go with âNoneâ.
One contact within the proceedings, who requested anonymity, stated "those infected act hyper-aggressively, driven to spread the disease even at risk of personal harm.
-Thatâs missing an ending quotation mark after finishing the quote from the contact.
From: PrimeMatch Subject: Someone is interested in your PrimeMatch profile.
Thank you for joining PrimeMatch, the last dating site youâll ever need. We are excited to tell you that you have several matches!
Jake works as an investment banker. Hobbies include cycling, travel, and classic and romantic films. He is a social drinker who never smokes. A few of his favorite things: Laptop, espresso, wine. From Jake: âI am looking for someone to share in this adventure called life.â
Derrick works as a video game store manager. Hobbies include dancing, yoga, comedy and sci fi movies. He is a frequent drinker and smokes. A few of his favorite things: iPod, my cats, nightclubs. From Derrick: âLooking for someone to have fun with. You only live once!â
Clicking off the email, next you read the emailâŚ
From: Jake@PrimeMatch Subject: Accept the match with Jake
From: Derrick@PrimeMatch Subject: Accept the match with Derrick
-I didnât really want to accept a match with either of them, my MC was just fulfilling natural curiosity in reading the matches. A choice to accept neither match would have been helpful.
You take off your glasses and rest them on the desk. Everything turns hazy and blurry while you find a tissue and clean the thick, rounded lenses.
-I sort of wish I had contacts. And actually, having contacts (and maybe a junky backup set of glasses?) sounds even worse for an apocalypse, since they have a much shorter lifespan than glasses, though they have other advantages.
-I love the description of Chipper Ridge, and its quirky backstory. Itâs another feature that makes the game feel very realistic.
You whip out your smartphone and call the direct line to your sergeant, who informs you police are overwhelmed with calls related to similar situations throughout the city. He will send out a police unit to your location.
-This seemed odd. How did my custom-MC concert pianist know the direct line to âmyâ sergeant?
âIâm glad we could get together,â Jake says. âI havenât been to a movie in a while. What movie would you like to see?â
Danger: Threat Zone - a big, budget action movie.
Camp Survivors 2 - Abandoned! - a comedy.
Dying in Love - a romance.
Dead at Midnight - a thriller.
The Armageddon Defense - science fiction.
Breakfast at Sunset - a classic.
-Could there be a choice to defer to oneâs date? Especially since this particular MC hates movies anyway (another reason to ignore that online dating site, if ever there was one).
âSo, have you heard this virus or bacteria running through other countries? Some kind of super disease?â Jake asks.
âIâve heard about it, but itâs hard to know if itâs true or just hyped up by the news.â
-My high-intelligence, dabbles in science MC would have liked to make a comment about the obviously ill and somewhat demented person who was just making a scene in front of the theatre, here. Something like, âThough given that scene outside, it makes these rumours seem a little more reasonable, doesnât it?â
âThereâs my car!â Jake yells above the clamor. He tears past you, keys in hand, heading to a red sedan parked in the nearest section. Somehow, he doesnât spot the figure a few car lengths to her leftâa man, but not still a man.
-Not sure who the âherâ is in that final sentence, unless itâs his sedan . . .
âJust me and my cat. I got the TV and my new Xbox. Keep me busy,â Fred says. âOh, whatâs your catâs name?â
âCat. Or Booger. Heâs a city cat. I got one of them cut-out doors, and he comes and goes on his own. What about you?â You live alone, right?"
-Missing a paragraph break. Also I wasnât a hundred percent clear from the intro that I did, indeed, live alone (absent housemate?). It would have been nice if the choice made it clear that Iâd be lying to Fred.
âA shelter would be a great way to get help.â
âIf the government is running a shelter, I am sure it will be safe.â
âIâm not sure. Iâd probably check out a shelter but be ready to flee.â
âIâd never go to a shelter. The government canât make them safe.â
-I would have liked a choice that ran something like, âA shelter would be a great place to help people in need.â I could picture this MC doing basic cooking or first aid, or helping with the elderly or children, in a shelter setting.
Will grocery stores be open tomorrow? Being an excellent cook, you know how to stretch out your meals.
- I wasnât an excellent cook, though, I was just a basic cook. One level. I think my veggie-pianist MC pretty much lives off of salads and legume soups and seeds and nuts - definitely light on the cooking. Or is that partly a nod to my MCâs vegetarianism? If so, thatâs nifty (if perhaps slightly presumptuous).
After twenty minutes, you come across a frequency with only a few people discussing the highways of New Mexico, and you take your shot and ask if anyone knowâs Delroy, Fredâs Uncle.
-There shouldnât be an inverted comma in âknowsâ.
You let him know that Fred is alive and well and secure at home as we wait out the quarantine. Delroy assures you that all is fine in Sante Fe, they have over a weekâs worth of food and water, and their ranch home is locked up tighter than an âarmadilloâs back.â The National Guard has moved into the area, and nearby Albuquerque has been hit hard by the outbreak, requiring early evacuations. Delroy thanks you for contacting Thelma and putting her mind at ease, as she worried about her son. After saying goodbye to Delroy, you call Fredâs house and share the good news about reaching his mother and that sheâs doing well. You can tell this act has solidified your relationship with Fred, and heâd be willing to do anything to repay your kindness. In fact, he offers to give you food and tools should you need them and requests you call him should you want the supplies.
-A paragraph break someone in the text above would have made it more readable for me. Also, the âweâ in the first sentence seemed out of place, like it should be either âyouâ in the plural sense, or âheâ.
You step into your bedroom and skip the nightly pre-sleep ritual. Instead, you crash into bed fully clothed, with your hammer laid across your chest, ready at a momentâs notice to deal with whatever the outbreak throws at you. Gunshots, zombie cries, helicopters, military vehiclesâall join the sounds of the city in an unharmonious symphony, but somehow you fall asleep
-Goodness, that seems uncomfortable - may I at least put my hammer next to me on the pillow, or something?
You have enough food to last a few days but if martial law persists, you wonât be allowed to leave your home to restock.
-The game previously told me I had enough food for twenty days with normal-sized meals, so should that be âa few weeksâ instead of âa few daysâ?
You left your contact lenses in overnight, and your eyes feel dry and scratchy. Taking them off helps, so you put your glasses on for now to rest your eyes.
-Wait, so I do have contact lenses after all? At what point in the evening did I take off my âthickâ glasses (and my pianist MC would have them thinned, I would have thought - lighter and less clunky both for everyday wear and on stage, and at least for me reading sheet music or a computer screen is a lot easier with glasses because itâs an in-between distance) and put in contacts for some reason?
A garbage truck barrels past the corner of the street, its heavy motor clanking and sputtering. You pull the window shade down and cross the room to your closet. With the spring weather outside, you can dress in lighter clothes and donât need to heat the house. You flick the light switch but nothing happens. Has the bulb burned out? You try the lamp, and pale light shines through the room.
-This seemed odd on two points. If weâre not allowed to leave the house due to zombie-lockdown, why is there a garbage truck, or if the city really, really wants to send one, why doesnât it have a police or military escort? Also, when did the snow turn into spring weather? I had the impression itâd only been about five days since it was snowing - although I suppose the weather could have turned that quickly, especially in May.
You yank open the door and check your remaining food. You typically eat 2-3 portions per normal meal. Youâre not in immediate danger of starving but only have a few days left of food.
-Just an idea . . . as a veggie myself, nearly all of my food will survive for at least a week outside of the fridge, since itâs mostly produce (especially things like carrots, apples, potatoes, and so forth), not to mention that I could leave veggies safely outside in a crate or something with the cold weather. And loads of typical veggie-cooking food - dried or tinned beans and lentils, dry rice, nuts - are just fine without refrigeration. Of course hereâs to hoping my MC has some camping gear stashed away to boil water for cooking the dried stuff once the gas fails. Oh, and hoping thereâs enough water left.
-Speaking of water, I realise belatedly that the game never seemed to mention me going up and turning off that tap filling the bath and sink a few days ago. I knew letting my stereotypically-spacey classical musician MC leave water running was a bad idea . . .
You turn the burner on the stove and hear the puff of gas before the flame ignites. The sink also works, though water trickles out no matter how far you turn the hot or cold taps. Content that these utilities all still work.
-Incomplete sentence at the end (or maybe the full stop should be a colon or ellipsis?)
Ready to be part of a new era of human civilization.
Worried about my safety, trapped and isolated while a war rages outside.
Excited to face the challenges in the days to come.
Motivated to find other living people and help them to survive.
Anxious to get to work on securing your safety and survival.
Eager to take what I need to survive by any means necessary.
-The âyourâ should be âmyâ in the second to last choice here.
After finishing in the kitchen, you head to the living room. You hear the unmistakable noise of the garbage truck pass your house. You doubt the sanitation department is still servicing the area, so why is it driving through your neighborhood?
-Was noticing the garbage truck meant to happen more than once?
Check my gear.
Watch TV for news on the outbreak.
Craft an item.
Go to Fredâs house to find out why heâs not answering the phone.
Place a trap to catch animals for food.
Repair the damage to my home.
Scout homes in the area.
-I had stated my goal was to find Jaime, so it was odd not to see that as an option here, or at least to see some comment about why it wasnât an option.
Also, last I knew, Fred was answering the phone. I rang to tell him that his family was well enough, and thatâs it. Parker (is that the name?) was the one who didnât answer, and I havenât had the chance to try ringing him again - which I would actually like, as a logical next step. He may not have gotten around to checking messages, after all, or may not have gotten around to answering all of them considering the other events.
Crafting and home repair are not your strongest skills, but you do your best given your limited knowledge and resources. A serious amount of damage has been done to your house. First, you repair the front door by covering it with plywood boards and reinforcing them with 2x4s a few feet apart using bolts and screws to fasten the surfaces. Since the front windows were shattered, you cover the area with plywood and cut out some slits, so you can still see outside if needed.
In the kitchen, you repair the exterior surface to the door with strips of wood. The yard door is beyond repair and will require rebuilding.
-Maybe this is a Colorado thing, but as a city MC with little to no home repair ability, wherever am I finding all this wood? It seems like having that much lying around in a small house would have been just a termite attractor, especially now that Iâve had to put boards all round a grand total of three times. And where am I finding all these bolts and screws and nails? I hate to disadvantage my âsquishyâ mc, but I know even in my current rural location a lot of people donât have that kind of wood lying around. And I certainly never did when I lived in cities. I guess I COULD unscrew my interior doors and try to use them to brace up the external doors and windows. And take all the covers off the cabinets. That would work, if only I could find fasteners enough.
âYouâll need to find a way to get more,â Jaime says. âThis isnât going to be over anytime soon. It sounds like Colorado has been hit hard, as well as Philadelphia and Miami. Looks like weâre being quarantined. The military has setup checkpoints, and FEMA camps are going up outside of quarantined areas. Iâd be careful if you do go out. Thereâs news of widespread looting and rioting. Iâm going to check on some neighbors today and start gathering more supplies. Otherwise, Iâm staying inside. If you need me, though, donât hesitate to call. Iâll make my way there.â
âThanks, Jaime. Stay safe.â
-Again, it seemed odd that I couldnât ask Jaime about meeting up, since Iâd said that was my MCâs main priority. Not to mention piano-MC seems to be setting up to get eaten alive sooner rather than later, at least as things are now. No ranged weapons, for one thing.
âMaybe I should clean your cut, so it doesnât get infected. I can try to call am ambulanceââ
-That should be, âan ambulanceâ, not âamâ
All of Whiteâs answers seem suspicious, and youâre starting to wonder if her true purpose is to save Lopez or cover up the truth.
-I got this exact same paragraph twice, on two different pages, instead of âThis sounds increasingly suspiciousâ or something the second time around.
âWhat is the military doing to control or combat the infected?â
âWho or what injured Lopez?â
Bring up your suspicions to White and the other soldiers.
Talking is over. I kill these soldiers for what they did to Lopez.
Let them leave.
-This was interesting. My very persuasive MC would have liked the chance to lie and claim he looked infected (invent a second injury perhaps?) once I got the idea that White is lying, just because this looks very bad for Lopez and Iâm not really sure how to help. Option four did seem strange at this point, though, because I have no idea what (if anything) theyâve done to Lopez yet. They just keep making up vague things about desertion and posts and relief efforts.
White, Cowboy, and Croston exchange glances and then all take a step toward you. White is the first to speak. "With all due respect, sir the truth is overrated.
-Wait, they call civilian females âsirâ?
Even if you kill the two zombies, the man is surely infected and will turn. You see no reason to endanger yourself any further. You rush back to your house while the zombies feed off the man.
As you head inside and bar the door, you canât help but wonder if you could have saved the man had you done something different.
You check the timeâ 9:30 am.
-I know that middle paragraph is a standard phrase, but in this case Iâm pretty sure anything else my MC might have done would have led to one extra death. It seemed odd, especially since I didnât have ranged weapons or anything of that sort. Also, the time hasnât changed since I was last notified of it before the running man appeared.
You flip on the TV to an aerial shot of the center of Nightfall and a group of National Guard setting up a tented area, surrounded by heavy vehicles and barricades. Red Cross trucks line the sidewalk as personnel unload crates of supplies.
-I thought my electricity had gone out, since it mentioned my fridge was no longer humming. How was I watching television?
You check the timeâ 0:00 pm.
Next, youâŚ
-It was just 11:30 a.m. or so, I thought. Is that meant to be 12:00 p.m.? Surely itâs not midnight (which wouldnât be p.m. anyway . . . )
You slam your forearm into the glass, using your jacket to protect you from any sharp edges as it breaks. With a loud crackle, the pane shatters, and the shards fall and crash on the floor. Once youâve made a large enough hole, you slip your hand inside and unlock the door.
-Iâm holding a hammer; it seems like it would have been more sensible to break the glass with that.
You check the timeâ 0:45 pm.
Next, youâŚ
Check my gear.
Craft an item.
Place a trap to catch animals for food.
Visit the expensive rancher with the travelling neighbors.
-This was sort of interesting. I didnât really have any changes I could make to the gear, and Iâm not able to craft anything last I checked. Also, having just run into a zombie, I didnât fancy going straight back out and checking on another set of neighbors . . .
Thatâs all! It was quite fun and I was pleasantly surprised that my MC hasnât died yet. I liked all the exploring options.
1 Like