This idea came to be while I was watching a film called The Reader. Auschwitz, of all things, made me think of Cataclysm. Imagine that.
I’ll admit that this seems more like a thing for Cataclysm 2 but I’ll leave it here for now.
So. Survival.
You start out in an isolated camp. You are caged, trapped. In your cell you see a makeshift bed and no items. You are wearing some very basic ragged clothing. All you can do is wait.
You wait. You are interrupted by a bang and clang coming from your cell door. It opens. An NPC stands in the doorway. He is wearing a uniform and wields a handgun. He is a guard. “Come with me”, you hear him say.
You approach the exit and the NPC starts moving. Outside your cell you see more cell doors lining the walls and a large open with with tables and chairs in the middle. Nothing valuable to pickup from what you can see but you decide to walk around and have a closer look. “STOP!” The NPC shouts at you, warning you to not stray too far from him. "Either you follow me or I put you down."
You follow him. You pass through multiple small rooms. Some rooms have decaying human corpses in them, others have more guards. Some guards converse but you don’t get enough time to fully make out what they are talking about.
You are led to dimly lit area with tools for manual work. “Get to it”, the NPC guard tells you. A list on the wall reminds you of your duties and regulations.
WORK HARD OR BE PUNISHED.
NO LESS THAN 10 PRODUCTS PER SHIFT OR YOU FACE PUNISHMENT.
STEALING EQUALS DEATH.
You are by a table and a bin. Tools litter the table and loose scrap and various machine parts fill the bin. You decide to make what you can from the parts as the NPC guard watches you. You finish. “Place it on the table, keep working.” You keep going, trying another craft. The NPC scolds and beats you. Fighting back would mean your death so you are forced to take it. The guard beats you with both his pistol and a baton. “That’s useless! What are you doing?!” Guess your craft wasn’t up to snuff.
You are hurt. The guard tells you to keep working, to do a better job.
You work. Other workers arrive at other stations, guards following them. They are all forced to work.
Sometimes the guards, your own included, walk around and converse. They smirk and laugh as they pass each other various items…
Stuff like this. In this case a prison escape. Lots of room for trickery as you plan an escape. Or, you know, be happy with your life as a doormat punching bag, eventually leading to a bloody death. Befriend a guard or captive, try something that way. Sneak nails, wood and tape to your cell every few work days to assemble a weapon. Keep it hidden. Use yo’ brain to get outa the shit! Find out why you’re a captive, who’s keeping you there. Or, violently bust out in order to start your life anew… in the damn zombie apocalypse! Who knows, maybe a zombie horde will storm the facility and give you a chance to escape.