School of the Dead
-[Choosing this option gains 4 points]-
You’ve been working in this school for quite a while now, and the kids always got on your nerves. Now, they’re trying to eat your brains - so much for half term break.
As the title suggests, with this scenario you start in one of the regional schools, surrounded by zombie children as usual. You start in one of the classrooms/corridors (random chance), and it’s pretty much just the same as a regional school, except from the fact you’re right in the middle of a horde of angry child zombies. This will prove a tough challenge of quickly getting an improvised weapon to fight your way out the school, as the starting professions don’t give you much power in terms of weaponry:
Starting professions:
Janitor (Default): Costs 0
Starts with: Mop, light jacket, t-shirt, pants, socks, boots. (And bra/panties/gender dependant stuff.)
Starting Skills: None
[color=green]You earned a living from sweeping up chocolate wrappers and picking chewing gum from under tables. Now the only thing you’ll be sweeping are the brains of the dead.
[/color]
Teacher: Costs 1
Starts with: Poetic novel, marker (or pen, whatever it is), blazer, dress shirt, skinny tie, pants, socks, dress shoes. (With female clothing variant n’ stuff.)
Starting Skills: Speaking (3)
[color=green]You’ve been teaching kids for the whole of your life, and they’ve mostly listened to your teachings. However, the dead won’t write out lines for eating you alive.[/color]
Sports Teacher: Costs 2
Starts with: Baseball bat, baseball, tank top, shorts, socks, sneakers, runner pack. (If a whistle existed I’d put it here)
Starting Skills: Dodging (2) Speaking (2)
[color=green]After a career of teaching kids the arts of sports they mostly hate, the zombies around you refuse to do laps, even at the blow of your whistle.[/color]
I thought it would be a pretty cool option to fight your way through hordes of zombie children and have a school as a starting place. Perhaps a Headmaster could be a thing too, if someone can think of something for that. The reason I haven’t put a student as an option is because I’m pretty sure the schools on CDDA are primary schools. Playing as a child is something I’m not sure about, but it could be added if I’m wrong. Thoughts…?
If we’re assuming they had a little bit of time to prepare the gym teacher should probably have time to strap on Football armor and grab a baseball bat, still, sounds interesting.
Psh, I played an eight-year-old who made it the better part of a year before a lab turret happened, though I had to finagle her traits to simulate it and NPCs obviously didn’t notice/care. Dig in and go for it.
Elementary Student: Costs 0
Starts with: t-shirt, jacket, panties/boyshorts/briefs, jeans, socks, sneakers, backpack, wrapped PB&J sandwich, bottle of milk or juice, maybe a book (could be a children’s book, but that’d imply like a first-grader; one of the simpler/more age-appropriate other entertainment books might be better, or maybe a new youth novel).
Variants could be added for club members or sports team members, possibly with a single rank in a relevant skill or two, or maybe a relevant book.
Lore end of things, the schools were likely used as shelter-in-place or other such evac points (unless someone’s got a better reason for why the kids are still present?).
Teachers would likely have been with their classes, maintaining calm, etc. Biggest problem I see is maintaining credibility: why aren’t you dead & rezzed already? Your students are.
[quote=“KA101, post:4, topic:8645”]Lore end of things, the schools were likely used as shelter-in-place or other such evac points (unless someone’s got a better reason for why the kids are still present?).
Teachers would likely have been with their classes, maintaining calm, etc. Biggest problem I see is maintaining credibility: why aren’t you dead & rezzed already? Your students are.[/quote]
Probably incredible dumb luck, just like everyone else. (Or, if you’re a student instead of faculty/staff, possibly having the sense not to listen and running off alone where you weren’t in immediate proximity with a bunch of your classmates who just turned and are looking for a meal, though non-school starts work just as well for that: my bratling had an Infected start in a house, presumably after surviving an encounter while on the run. Though she wasn’t actually at school; she was on her way to her first martial arts class.)
could have some schools who have successfully garrisoned and be a npc static area that wants food, and has lots of kids and such… “recruit the students later when they get bit older”
[quote=“KA101, post:4, topic:8645”]Lore end of things, the schools were likely used as shelter-in-place or other such evac points (unless someone’s got a better reason for why the kids are still present?).
Teachers would likely have been with their classes, maintaining calm, etc. Biggest problem I see is maintaining credibility: why aren’t you dead & rezzed already? Your students are.[/quote]
Isn’t it possible to tweak starting locations? EG spawn in a classroom with an impassable, but transparent few blocks by the doors, but is smashable by a single person “pile of desks” or something similar?
For that matter, I know my middle school had a fully stocked fallout shelter in it, maybe a change to the regional schools? “You knew about the fallout shelter under the school and made your way to it.” kinda thing?
[quote=“EkarusRyndren, post:7, topic:8645”][quote=“KA101, post:4, topic:8645”]Lore end of things, the schools were likely used as shelter-in-place or other such evac points (unless someone’s got a better reason for why the kids are still present?).
Teachers would likely have been with their classes, maintaining calm, etc. Biggest problem I see is maintaining credibility: why aren’t you dead & rezzed already? Your students are.[/quote]
Isn’t it possible to tweak starting locations? EG spawn in a classroom with an impassable, but transparent few blocks by the doors, but is smashable by a single person “pile of desks” or something similar?
For that matter, I know my middle school had a fully stocked fallout shelter in it, maybe a change to the regional schools? “You knew about the fallout shelter under the school and made your way to it.” kinda thing?[/quote]
I was about to say something about locking themselves in a broom cupboard, but if that can be added then that works a lot better + makes infinite more sense.
That is a great idea, but if the fallout shelter is stocked, it basically turns the scenario into an LMOE start where you just happen to have a lot of tiny zombies on the surface.
That is a great idea, but if the fallout shelter is stocked, it basically turns the scenario into an LMOE start where you just happen to have a lot of tiny zombies on the surface.[/quote]
Doesn’t have to be stocked. XD Not to mention it’s probably a safe bet they normally aren’t stocked, or the contained items are hideously expired.
The biggest problem with npcs i see is . They are far from realistic.
I would realy like to help a comunity of humans survive and all but they:
do not need food.
do not sleep.
have no humanly needs whatsoever afaik.
still behave batshit crazy overall.
Well, yeah, detailed NPC stuff is obviously a ways off. I’m sure this includes any new settlements or developments in that regard, as well as anything that affects interactions with NPCs in any way more detailed than “higher/lower Persuasion chance, higher/lower Intimidation chance, higher/lower chance of NPCs wanting to shoot you on sight.” (Example: an elementary student would probably have an easy time convincing adults they’re not a threat, and some adults may feel more inclined to help them, but they’re probably not going to really respect them and unfriendly survivors might see them as easy robberies. Some of this might be able to be simulated with existing architecture, but other stuff, like any unique interactions or actual protectiveness or insistence on you following them instead of the other way around, isn’t happening right now, I imagine.)
[quote=“Valpo, post:12, topic:8645”]The biggest problem with npcs i see is . They are far from realistic.
I would realy like to help a comunity of humans survive and all but they:
do not need food.
do not sleep.
have no humanly needs whatsoever afaik.
still behave batshit crazy overall.[/quote]
They /used/ to eat food. Though this consisted of lighters primarily.
Still, playing with Static NPCs on late game basically turns into a poser pizza delivery service… …Mmm pizza.
I’m such an awful person that I’ve actually been having fun turning ideas for this over in my head. So fuck it I’m just gonna post the “professions” I’ve thought up for playing one of the students. I’m not totally sure of their balancing or costs or yada yada, but I felt like adding to the thread anyway. I hope they’re fitting and evocative, in any case.
Skater Girl/Boy: Costs 0
Traits: Skater
Starts with: t-shirt, hoodie, boyshorts/briefs, jeans, socks, pair of rollerskates, fingerless gloves, pair of elbow pads, pair of knee pads, skid lid, plastic bottle of sports drink (2)
Starting Skills: Dodging (1)
You love to skate! At least now the grown-ups aren’t telling you where you can’t roll.
Church Kid: Costs 0
Starts with: flag shirt, jacket, panties/briefs, pants, sneakers, knit scarf, holy symbol, backpack, wrapped PB&J sandwich, plastic bottle of milk (2), King James Bible
Starting Skills: none
Your parents were… you know the type. Flag-waving patriots who showed up to church every Sunday and dragged you with them. Sadly, it seems like God didn’t save them. Will you draw strength from faith to get through the dark days ahead, or is the Cataclysm proof there is no loving god?
Juvenile Delinquent: Costs 0-1?
Starts with: t-shirt, hoodie, boyshorts/briefs, jeans, socks, sneakers, fingerless gloves, cigarette (20), lighter (100), 2 hairpins, slingshot, marbles (40), comic book
Starting Skills: Melee (1), Marksmanship (1), Dodging (1)
You never cared for grown-ups telling you what to do and they didn’t like it, and that’s how you ended up spending most of your days since the age of six in the principal’s office. They told you to stop getting in fights, but now you have countless fights ahead of you in the dark days ahead. They told you that you should listen, but not listening and running off on your own instead is the only reason you’re alive while your classmates and teacher are dead and out for your blood. Man, you really should’ve played hooky today.
Rich Elementary Student: Costs 0-1?
Starts with: dress shirt, jacket, panties/boyshorts/briefs, pants, socks, dress shoes, skinny tie, tie clip, stylish sunglasses, knit scarf, wrist watch, messenger bag, glass bottle of mineral water (3), PDA, cell phone, Adderall (10), money bundle, How to Succeed in Business
Starting Skills: Speaking (1)
Your parents were busy, wealthy, important people, who wanted you to have every advantage, and to excel in everything, and to be “successful,” whatever that meant. They got you all the tutors, they shopped around until they found a doctor who’d give you all the Adderall they wanted you to have for studying, they started teaching you about how to influence people and conduct business at a young age… if only they’d ever let you experience childhood, or ever shown you their love. You’re certainly not getting either one now.
Prepper Kid: Costs 1-2?
Starts with: t-shirt, jacket, panties/boyshorts/briefs, cargo pants, socks, boots, knit scarf, backpack, granola (4), plastic bottle of clean water (2), pair of scissors, magnifying glass, flashlight (off) (100), first aid kit (1), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Cataclysm
Starting Skills: Survival (1), Fabrication (1), First Aid (1)
Your parents were crazy. They thought some “cataclysm” was coming. They were furious when your school objected to them putting a knife and matchbook in the mini survival kit they insisted on you carrying at the bottom of your backpack, but they put in a pair of scissors and a magnifying glass instead, and taught you everything they could, however ridiculous you found it. But the worst came to pass: they weren’t crazy. Now you’re glad they made you haul that little kit around. They taught you so much, and yet there was so much more you could have learned from them. You can hear their teachings in your head as you look at your surroundings and see things you could conceivably press into service all around you, that you might never have thought of had your parents not insisted on preparing you for the end of the world. What’s still not clear is whether it’ll be enough to get you out of here alive, but it’ll have to be. You didn’t get a chance to tell your parents that you’re sorry you thought they were crazy. The only thing you can do for them now is what they always hoped you would do in the dark days ahead: survive.
Bionic Elementary Student: Costs 2-4?
Starts with: dress shirt, jacket, panties/boyshorts/briefs, pants, socks, dress shoes, skinny tie, tie clip, stylish sunglasses, knit scarf, wrist watch, messenger bag, glass bottle of mineral water (3), PDA, cell phone, batteries (100), money bundle
Starting Skills: None
Your parents were busy, wealthy, important people, who wanted you to have every advantage, and to excel in everything, and to be “successful,” whatever that meant. They went so far in the pursuit of making sure every test would be an A+ and that you’d be “successful” that they had you outfitted with bionics to make you smarter and never forget anything. And now, you are facing the most dire test yet, and once again you had better succeed, or else.
Bionics: Enhanced Memory Banks, Cerebral Booster, Power Storage Mk. II, Battery System
Speaking of which, I have a question: what kind of age groups do the schools on C:DDA range from, and what would the average age for a zombie child be?
[quote=“Jakers, post:17, topic:8645”]Damn, I want all those professions.
Speaking of which, I have a question: what kind of age groups do the schools on C:DDA range from, and what would the average age for a zombie child be?[/quote]
I do, too! I’m glad I managed to make them sound like interesting beginnings to a character’s story. How’s the balance, though? Deciding exactly how many points each “profession” was worth, or just what kind of stuff it should get for whatever point cost, was kind of difficult. (In fairness, it’s not always super-clear where the lines are drawn for the already-existing professions, either; Martial Artist and Scoundrel both costing 2 points, when the Scoundrel gets more skills and arguably significantly better starting gear, is an example.)
As for the age groups served by the regional schools, they send really mixed messages on that front. I’ve only seen lockers at junior high on up, for instance, but I’ve also never seen desks that actually store anything (I’ve seen wire baskets under the chair, but the desk part itself is only a flat surface with no storage) at the grade levels that have period rotations and thus actually call for lockers. You also find lots of books that are just really weird to find in an elementary school (example: erotic novels don’t seem like elementary reading, not just because of “inappropriate”-ness but because I don’t imagine many elementary schoolers would actually be that inclined to read picture-free treeware smut when the Internet exists), and yet, almost all of the zombies are child-sized, suggesting these are not high schools. I’m sure it’s a pretty low priority, but I could see adding different school types at some point, with different layouts, furnishings, loot, and monsters. For instance, a high school would have lockers, but the loot in students’ desks would be sparse at best (and the “desk” tile might actually be a table tile); high schools would also have higher-end loot (more complicated books, and possibly drugs or other more adolescent/adult things in lockers); and child-sized zombies in a high-school would be outliers, with most of the zombies being vaguely adult-sized or maybe a new “adolescent zombie” filling the gap.
As for the average age for a zombie child… I don’t know about the average, per se, but I’d imagine the age range starts at “large enough to support a critical mass of blob” and ends at puberty. So I dunno, 5-12?
Regional, so probably fixed classrooms and running to 7th or 8th grade (elementary + junior high). We have chem labs in 'em, after all.
Balance is way light IMO. Understandable as profession balance has always been In Flux. :-/
Some general pointers: access to fire and a cutting implement at game start are significant factors, as is storage/protective gear (the submissive’s suit is pretty decent protection, forex) and skills. I try to price skills at the initial point-buy cost, so a point in a skill is half a point added to the profession cost. Blackbelt is actually quite discounted, FWIW; Martial Artist will get buffed in a bit and I might see about rebalancing Scoundrel.
Bionics are worth at least one char point per, possibly more. It’s very difficult to get someone who starts with the IT, for example.
Addictions and lack-of-gear are about the only ways to make a profession less expensive, unfortunately.
Skater: go full blades and/or have the Skater profession; since xe has a hoodie for storage and is rather mobile I’d charge a point or two.
Church: I’d go -1, actually, since no access to fire/cutting at the start and IMO pretty lousy starting clothing. But that’s me.
JD: Perhaps a minor nicotine addiction, but a point or two sounds OK.
Rich kid: Messenger bag and Adderall are probably worth a point or two, even with the dress shoes. PDA, cell phone, and watch are nice-to-have but I’m not sure they’re worth a point.
Prepper: Gear’s worth a point for the volume (cargo pants + backpack from the start!), the nonperishable food’s probably worth a point and if not then the scissors/magnifier/first-aid definitely are, and 1.5 chargen points worth of useful skills. HHGttC doesn’t really fit but I understand why it’s there (represent the parental lessons). I’d like to charge for it though. (The Hitchhiker profession has crap gear to start, by comparison.) 4 points, I’d say.
Bionic student: Interesting question whether a kid could medically get bionics installed–physical ones would be out thanks to the “growing” thing, mental ones might physically work and theoretically would be better installed young so the kid’s brain gets used to the connection.
Same gear as the rich kid; the membank is situational and useless if one turns off skill rust, but +2 to IN is worth at least two points right there. Thinking 3 points for this one, possibly 4.
It might just be where I grew up, but my elementary school actually had a dedicated science lab room for the teachers to use. Then again, I don’t know that it was a fully-featured chem lab, so point. (It was strange in other ways, too: my junior high had rotations, and the regional school was actually a full 1-12 school with the high school at the other end of the same large building. I came from a small town.)
Fair enough. I did have the chargen window open to compare to adult professions, so I’ll explain my reasoning as I go through, though I can understand if the response to some of these is “the adult professions need to be rebalanced too,” as has been mentioned. Also I may be approaching from the perspective of an experienced player who’s past the point of needing good starting gear/skills to get through the early game, so I may be undervaluing them relative to the balance points you’re aiming for.
[quote=“KA101, post:19, topic:8645”]Some general pointers: access to fire and a cutting implement at game start are significant factors, as is storage/protective gear (the submissive’s suit is pretty decent protection, forex) and skills. I try to price skills at the initial point-buy cost, so a point in a skill is half a point added to the profession cost. Blackbelt is actually quite discounted, FWIW; Martial Artist will get buffed in a bit and I might see about rebalancing Scoundrel.
Bionics are worth at least one char point per, possibly more. It’s very difficult to get someone who starts with the IT, for example.
Addictions and lack-of-gear are about the only ways to make a profession less expensive, unfortunately.
Skater: go full blades and/or have the Skater profession; since xe has a hoodie for storage and is rather mobile I’d charge a point or two.[/quote]
I did include the Skater trait. I also went with rollerskates because that’s what the roller derby player starts with and the rollerblades description mentions that they’re hard to dodge in but the rollerskates description doesn’t. It occurs to me these may not represent the actual difference in effects between the two, so if you recommend rollerblades, that works. The hoodie struck me as not quite being worth a point, and the Skater does lack a cutting tool/fire–does this balance out to 0, or might knocking the point of Dodging off do it?
Starts with backpack, food (perishable, but it’ll help them get through the first day or two alive, which is pretty much the timeframe where starting gear is that important anyway), holy symbol, and KJB. I’d figure it should actually dovetail very well with a Spiritual character, but I could see not wanting to balance around it. I did consider giving them fancier clothes, like the Rich Kid, and actually calling the “profession” the Pastor’s Kid or something, but I got the inspiration to take it in more of a right-wing American guns god and whatnot jingo direction, as CDDA already includes a lot of stuff that reads kind of like a satire of pre-Cataclysm American society (I actually found a house with about a school’s worth of zombie brats and the three tables with an American flag, KJB, and large quiver all right next to each other, oh my god).
Yeah, I was approaching from the direction of adult professions that start with cigs or cannabis but no addiction. Then again, a lot of those don’t come with skills right out of the gate, either. I took away the JD’s backpack (originally all of these professions had backpacks) because they were getting a bit too over-prepared for my tastes, and I limited the skills to one point each in fairly generic combat skills because this is basically the “fighter” profession for a demographic not known for its fighting prowess (pre-pubescent brats). Double-checking the gear list, they snuck some interesting things in (cigs, a firestarting tool, slingshot), but those were largely there for flavour and I could strip them out for balance purposes and possibly slip in a blurb about the principal being an asshole who took your slingshot. This would work even better if principal’s offices spawned juvenile contraband (i.e., cigarettes, lighters, slingshots, marbles, comic books, handheld game systems, etc.). Maybe they already do and I didn’t notice last time I rampaged through a school.
Also, I’d considered giving them a leather jacket, but decided that would be a bit too over the top.
I don’t really imagine the PDA/cellphone/watch are worth a point, either; the watch makes the PDA and cellphone pretty extraneous except as a shitty flashlight and something to rip apart for batteries (so not totally extraneous I guess). Also, the rich kid starts with no cutting implement or firestarting tool, so I imagine that’s -1 point of balancing, but I did consider that the fancy clothes dovetail well with Stylish (probably not a good balancing point, granted). I did consider giving them a gold watch instead of a regular wrist watch, but that’d probably age them too much, and the “fancy watch” is also probably going a bit overboard. I also considered giving them fried morel mushrooms or a boiled (quail) egg in a bit of jest about rich-people dietary habits, but decided against it. You’re probably right to regard the point of Speaking and the copy of How to Succeed in Business as being beneath-notice at this point in NPC development.
You’re also right about the Adderall being pretty good. I hadn’t considered that fully–starting with a powerful stimulant like that is pretty much a guarantee that you’ll be able to outrun zombies on your way to safety, making it a very survivable start for a player who knows Adderall works as a “run like hell” drug and not just a study drug.
The HHGttC was just something that seemed to fit, somehow; I also considered the Zombie Survival Guide, but its inaccuracy would probably make their parents balk. I compared to the Survivalist when balancing, so I figured it should definitely cost less than 3 points–some of the gear is a bit better, some of the gear is distinctly worse (can’t butcher, lacking a very nice early-game weapon in the survival knife, can’t start fires without direct sunlight, no 6-volume liquid container wearable on the waist), and the skills are much worse–but this is definitely one of those points where I expect the response to be that the Survivalist is too cheap. That said, I probably wouldn’t choose this profession if it cost 4 points, but that’s my experienced-player perspective talking again. I’d rather downgrade/remove some of the starting items.
[quote=“KA101, post:19, topic:8645”]Bionic student: Interesting question whether a kid could medically get bionics installed–physical ones would be out thanks to the “growing” thing, mental ones might physically work and theoretically would be better installed young so the kid’s brain gets used to the connection.
Same gear as the rich kid; the membank is situational and useless if one turns off skill rust, but +2 to IN is worth at least two points right there. Thinking 3 points for this one, possibly 4.[/quote]
I could see 3. I was comparing to the bionic boffin, and compared to that, this profession gets fewer bionics and no skills, though the messenger bag is nice. I’d also argue that to an experienced player the Cerebral Booster bionic is actually worth at least slightly less than two points of raw INT, since if the points went into INT instead, you’d be able to get another +2 by installing a found Cerebral Booster later. That’s that specific perspective talking again, though.
Also yeah I figured it’d raise some questions, but I made the assumption that certain bionics would be possible to install in a child without causing absolutely horrific problems as they grow. (And it’s too bad that many wouldn’t, too: can you imagine how awesome Hydraulic Muscles would be for an Str 6 character who needs that boost of Strength to do things like move furniture or open manholes? At least adrenaline injectors and the adrenaline pump are still a thing.) That said, it also occurred to me that it’d probably be controversial and likely a bit experimental, but it’s also intended to be a bit of commentary on the (nigh-abusive) lengths to which affluent parents push their children to succeed, as suggested by the blurb.
Also, good catch on the similarity between Rich Elementary Student and Bionic Elementary Student. They’re forks that actually began as the same concept until I decided to drop in a non-bionic version. The starting toys actually are a bit different, though: the Bionic Elementary Student loses the Adderall, which means it doesn’t have the Rich Elementary Student’s significant advantage in fleeing alive. They also lose the point of Speaking and the copy of How to Succeed in Business, though this is fairly unimportant, and they gain a stack of batteries (probably unnecessary if bionic characters start with full power storage; somehow I haven’t started as a bionic profession yet).
Also, I’m glad that this didn’t get put in the “too unpleasant to happen” bin. I didn’t actually expect it to, given that I figured a child surviving can’t be more unpleasant than hordes of children dying and becoming zombies, even if there may be spider jerky made in a jury-rigged cooker powered by fat carved from the bodies of the walking dead involved (have I mentioned that survivor mess kits are awesome?), but it’s often a touchy subject.
How’d I do on the blurbs, by the by? I know they need some editing/pruning, especially ones like the Prepper Kid, but I had fun. If this has any chance of making it into a future update I can do some editing and maybe come up with some more professions.
I also went with rollerskates because that’s what the roller derby player starts with and the rollerblades description mentions that they’re hard to dodge in but the rollerskates description doesn’t. It occurs to me these may not represent the actual difference in effects between the two, so if you recommend rollerblades, that works. The hoodie struck me as not quite being worth a point, and the Skater does lack a cutting tool/fire–does this balance out to 0, or might knocking the point of Dodging off do it?