Survivors

[Deo]

THE PITCH Game Name A Dead Utopia Game System DnD 2e Theme Urban Undead Survival Flavour Dark, Unsettling, Mildly Gory Plot Summary First, a note. This is my FIRST PbP module. So I will tell you right now, it may look a bit rusty. Though I have played 2e for a crazy long time, and you can -hopefully- expect some good DMing. My spelling and grammar is painful, I know.. But I can only ask forgiveness. Welcome to our perfect Utopia of Lankhmar! Here in our beautiful city, you will find yourself at the peak of your bliss! Everything here will suit your every need, and you will find that our grand city will surpass and truly meet all expectations that you could ever have. As you walk down the famous Carter Street, you will find the pleasantries to be overwhelming and the people to be more friendly than your own family! The stores are full of imported products from around the world to treat you like a god on Temple Street! And never shall you walk through the streets in fear of pickpockets or other criminal scum, for here in Lankhmar, we have the full protection under the honorable City Guards, who will protect you and your family to the death and beyond! And never, ever, will the great walls of the city fall to evil! ...Or so they said... For here in the Dead Utopia of Lankhmar, civilization is in anarchy. The population is dead The King is useless The guards don't protect us past death And the dead are walking. The city has been dead for three weeks now. No one has any hope of living through the next. Currency has become essentially useless.. The thought of trading for anything is absent from everyone's mind. Their are a few strongholds where the survivors have set up a haven.. Though a single thought of safety would be entirely miss-guided. Doom lurks over everyone, death certain. The horrors of the city are overwhelming. Humanity spares no mercy to another. The King and his circle of advisers are presumed dead. The entire royal district is locked in. Everyone thinks to escape.. But the walls of Lankmar are towering and impossible to scale. And the gates... Are closed. No one knows how this evil was unleashed upon the city. Nor does anyone actually care, on that note. The survivors only follow one law now: Survive. By ANY means necessary. You have managed to survive and make your way to the haven on Barter and Silver street. You have lost next to everything, and right as you think your safe... You find yourself being smashed upside the head by a Zombie. Deities- I will think about this further.. For now, I want to say Greek Mythology. I refer you to the AD&D book Deities and Demigods. This is, however, subject to change in the future. Just keep this in mind for now Races- Human: The most prevalent in Lankhmar's society. They are the royals, the nobles, and most of the government. Elves: Elves are famous for their immense brilliance, and are looked at very highly. Though, unfortunately, the Elf population is quite small. They are looked at as the pure forms of humans sometimes, almost like Demi-gods. Elves are never Royals, though they consist in the government for larger positions. Half-Elves: Surprisingly, this is a very rare. Because elves are looked at as demi-gods by half the population, when an Elf and a Human have an offspring, it is considered an abomination for a human to breed with such a powerful being. Halflings: The "Little People" of the city are mostly just ignored. Many people discriminate against the Halflings, though it is not considered unholy or a disgusting thing to be a Halfling. They are mostly commoners, some are merchants and others are simple jobholders. It is practically unheard of for a halfling to be in government. Gnomes: Very discriminated against. The Gnomes are commonly pressed into lives of crime, and thus only are discriminated against more. Though, they are quite clever and quick witted.. Their is a secret ring of thieves of entirely gnomes, who have a huge variety of technology-advanced equipment. Dwarves: Next to nonexistent in the city. Their has been a long war between the Mainland and the Dwarven Kingdom. Most population of dwarves are slaves or prisoners. A free dwarf is a rare sight. Kobolds: The Kobold race is entirely slaves. Their are societies of Kobolds living in the sewers and underground the city, though they rarely see the light. Slave kobolds always are servants to their masters, doing chores and duties around the house for a chance to live another day. Others: The city has always been full of suprises. Some rare and odd beasts are brought in through the circus or as entertainment, and others are found and enslaved. The strange population of other beings in Lankhmar is quite a sight to see. (Talk to me personally about another race, i'm open to working something out.) Classes- Fighters: Guards and veterans are very common, lots of people at least know how to swing a blade. Paladins: The Paladins in Lankhmar are mainly Temple Guards. They commonly dedicate their lives to making the city a better place, though are oppressed to guard duty. The war hasn't called out the Paladins for a very long time. Rangers: Hunters and the like don't exist inside the city walls. The closest thing to a ranger in the city are the guards themselves. Their are archerers stationed inside the walls, and some guards are trained to track. Wizards: Magic is a crime inside the city walls, unless with a permit. This doesn't stop the talented ones from doing a little useful magic here and their, but it is heavily fined when caught. Clerics: Priests of the churches, the Clerics are almost always confined to the life of a herald or monk. Magic is a rare thing in the Priest society, though when a Priest is know to have a Magical talent, they are brought in and taught to be Paladins, and Temple Guards. Druids: Nonexistent inside the city. (Unless you have a REALLY good reason.) Thieves: A thief in the city is a sight seen every now and then. They mostly stay out of sight, but thievery is a major crime. Punishable by death. The thieves guild fell apart fifty years prior, so thievery is unplanned and a last resort. Bards: A 'Bard' can mean anything from a scholar to a bar musition in the city. (Please provide specification of a job when making a bard) Others: (Ask. I have most books, just let me know.) I want experienced, good RPing players. I plan on this campaign going for quite a while. It is not a hack-and-slash, and will be divided 60% roleplay, 40% battles. That of course changes on you, the players. But its also important that you guys are willing to make the game fun, and have a laugh from time to time! I will be choosing 4-6 good characters to face the horrors of Lankhmar. Houserules and Character Creation There are a set of houserules that I will be applying. This again is subject to change, but i'm mostly happy with what i've got. Magic: Add up the total of every spell per day for your level. This is the total number of spells you may cast every day or rest period. Spell levels don't matter. As far as spells go, you must find a scroll or a book that contains the spell, then you permanently memorize the spell. You will come across different spells at different times, and will get the spells slowly. Weapons: Bonuses to weapons just means a more well-crafted weapon, unless stated otherwise. Turning Undead: No kills, no turn. A successful turn means that you either stun or do a certain number of damage. Will have a chart up later. Healing: You may heal as many times as your level x2. You must first know the healing spell. As for when your characters start, you will be very limited on gear. You will only have 20 gold pieces of items, and the cloths on your back. For your application, show me that you will do good in the campaign and that you RP well. That being said, it doesn't have to be LONG to be good. In fact, please don't make me read a book for your application. Character Name: Doy Race: No Dragons. Class: See above for information on classes Appearance: What your hair color is, what your skin tone is, how long your nails are, Ect. Personality: Quite important, really gives me a good idea of your entire character. Background: Tell me who you were before the outbreak. Also go a bit into what your Character did when the outbreak started. RP Sample: Explain in good detail the story of your character trying to get to the nearby haven, but then falling to a Zombie. Picture: Not at all important, but always fun! Remember to put your picture here, and not after the appearance. It's actually kind of funny. I found this module in a local bookstore.. It was handwritten. When I asked who wrote it, the manager of the store told me that it was his personal pride and joy. I borrowed it, though the module itself required you to have a map or a city generated. So I am using the CITY of Lankhmar.. I am NOT using any module for it or such expansion to the story. I will be going more in detail and writing more of the story out as the applications come in. Please ask all questions on your mind.

Now then, here's what I want from you all in here. First, go ahead and post your original application. Allong with your app, I will want you to also roll your stats.

Stats will be, as mentioned before, 4d6 drop the lowest. You will be aloud to roll two different stat sets; you will choose the one you prefer.

Once you have your stats, go ahead and delete the set you don't like in an edit. (Also, I can see -all- deleted rolls, so no point in cheating, yeah?)

[jaredh]

Character Name: Mace

Race: Human

Class: Bard (Gallant kit)

Appearance: Mace is the quintessential ladies man. Tall, handsome, hair neatly trimmed. His smile lights up every room, and his prose makes many a woman dreamy. His music is catchy. He's exactly what you expect a bard to look like. He currently doesn't look up to the task though. He's still got his trusty longsword and lute. But the times have certainly taken a toll on his game.

Personality: True love. Where has it gone? It was gone before this mess. Mace's love of life and love of love itself drive him. He's typically a jovial guy, but the current events have put a twist on his outlook. Its kinda hard to pursue life and love when surrounded by death. His code of conduct drives his decisions, and it guides his personality.

Background:
Mace comes from the countryside south of town. He's young, foolish, and full of life. His father is the head of the guard for a wealthy land owner and as such, he was exposed to all manner of cultural influences as he grew. His love for poetry grew from his mother, his love for jousting from his father, and his love for magic...well that's not something gentlemen tell....

Mace rode into town on his trusty steed for the yearly tournament after a falling out with his father, who doesn't seem to love life as much. Hopeful to make a name for himself in the city, imagine his surprise when on his third joust, what can only be described as a zombie made its way into the games. Then another.... Officially, Mace is quick to note he "won" the yearly tournament and is due all the rewards therein seeing as, as far as anyone knows, he is the only survivor of the tournament.

Since then, he's lost his lance, his horse, and everything else save his longsword and lute. He survived these past three weeks on his wit, his skill with his lance and sword, and, most importantly, his ability to woo the ladies. The first few days, many of the tournament jousters were used against the dead in organized lancing runs. Mace was quite adept at it, killing what might approach a hundred of them from his trusty steed's back. Alas it quickly became clear nothing would slow the effects...the resistance fell quickly and organized response fell into dis-array.

Near the end of the first week, after the tournament grounds fell, he fled towards the sea, hoping beyond hope to find a way beyond the walls to the water. On the way there, he came upon the lady Dion and her party, by chance, who (after using his charms) granted him safety in her largish home near the docks. Unfortunately, it wasn't impregnable, and yesterday was over-run. Mace, lady Dion, and several guards fought their way to the haven only to be over-run.

Mace expects this location to also be overrun soon, and his current poetry reeks of doom. He fought gallantly to save the lady Dion, but his efforts (again) were in vain, as the lady fell just steps from safety.

RP Sample:


Love.
Where have you gone?
What have we done wrong?

Life.
Why have you betrayed us?
How can we revive your flame?

Death.
Why do you walk?
Go back to where you belong.

Stats (from OOC thread)

STR - 12
DEX - 16
CON - 12
INT - 13
WIS - 11
CHA - 16

I'm toying with swapping STR and DEX in this number setup.

[bonedaddy1974]

Character Name - Xander Darkwaters

Race - Human Age - 19
Class - Ranger with the Stalker Kit from the Complete Rangers Handbook
Alignment - Neutral Good

Stats-

Str-13
Dex-13
Con-16
Int-16
Wis-14
Cha-13

Appearance -

Xander is 5'3'' tall and weighs 125lbs. He has black crew cut hair with blue eyes. He has a scar that starts at the scalp line running across his right eye and half way down his right cheek. Xander walks with a limp favoring his left leg which bows slightly. He dresses in as plain of clothes as he can so that he stands out less in a crowd and blends in better.

Personality -

Xander is a soft spoken and doesn't raise his voice except on rare occasions. Unless he has something important to say or is asked a question he would rather just sit back and observe the going ons around him. That's not to say that he can't get his point across or get people to answer his questions he would just rather do it in a more intelligent and effective manner. Xander is more of an intellectual than physical person and is more at home working out his brain than muscles.

Weapons of Choice -

Sword Stick from complete Thieves Handbook - 1d6/1d8 dmg, 4lb wt, medium pointed, 25gp cost
Half Staff(Scabbard) from complete Ninja Handbook - 1d6/1d3 dmg, 1lb wt, small blunt
Stiletto from complete Fighters Handbook - 1d3/1d2 dmg, 2/1 10 20 30 ranged, 1/2lb wt small pointed, 5sp cost
Razor from Al-Qadim setting corebook - 1d2/1d2 dmg, 1lb wt, small edged, 4sp cost

Background -

Xander was born into poverty. His parents were common pickpockets and beggars. As Xander got older his parents would use him as a lookout to keep out an eye for the City Guard. When Xander was 8 years old his parents decided to try to break into a jewelry shop one night so they could make a big score. They left Xander out front as a watch when they broke in. The City Guard happened along and noticed lights in the shop. Before Xander could warn his parents the guard stormed the shop and grabbed him.

His parents were sent to prison for their crimes and Xander was sent to an orphanage. Xander didn't fit in well with the other kids at the orphanage and spent most of his time alone in study. He spent the next 4 years mostly keeping to himself and expanding his knowledge on any subjects he could.

When Xander was 12 years old and older man who worked as a barber came in looking for someone to be his apprentice. Even though Xander was more of a wallflower his attention to detail caught the man's eye and he took Xander off the orphanage's hands. So Xander became the mans apprentice and with his studious nature quickly learned the trade.

For the next 6 years Xander continued to practice the barber profession and became very good at it. He was amazed by how much information he was able to learn while servicing his clients. It's like they didn't even notice he was there and would talk about just about anything in his presence.

One day a couple of guys that Xander knew were members of the Assassins Guild was talking about a job while in the shop. Xander overheard that they were planning to try to assassinate the king at his next public speaking event. Xander wasn't the biggest fan of the king but he didn't want to see him assassinated either. So he went to the City Guard and told them what he had found out. The guard set up a sting operation and caught the potential assassins before they could complete their plans.

Some how the Assassins Guild found out that Xander had snitched them out and sent some thugs to take him out. The thugs attacked Xander one night as he was closing up shop. They would have succeeded in killing him if the king hadn't of been grateful for what Xander had done and sent some of his personal bodyguards to keep an eye on him. The bodyguards ran the thugs off and saved Xander's life. But not before major damage could be done. Xander was severely cut across the right side of his face almost blinding him and his left leg was broken in multiple places.

The bodyguards took Xander back to the palace to heal from his wounds. After several months of healing Xander was able to walk again but with a limp. The king saw potential in Xander and had him start training with his intelligence agents so he could serve the city as a spy on the street gathering information. After several more months in training learning how to fight when he had to and gather information without being found out Xander was ready to go to work for the crown.

After only a couple of weeks serving in his new position the Zombie Plague broke out stranding Xander in the slums district. Xander is now trying to make his way back to the royal district and service to the king. He is trying to figure out what caused the plague and any way to stop it before everyone in the city is killed.

Roleplay Example -

For the last 3 weeks Xander has been trying to make it across town and to the royal district. But with all the undead everywhere he turns it has been a slow process. It seems like for every 2 miles he makes it towards his goal he has to backtrack a mile in the wrong direction to avoid a hoard of zombies he couldn't sneak pass or fight his way through. At this rate he'll never make it there.

He's seen other survivors during the last weeks but they were all going in the wrong direction towards the main gates or docks hoping to find someway out of the doomed city.None of them knew what caused the plague or anyway to combat it. They could care less about saving the city and only wanted to save themselves. Why couldn't Xander be like them and turn the other way heading towards safety? Why did he have to feel like it was his responsibility to figure out a solution for this problem? Why did he have to agree to work for the king in the first place?

The sun was starting to set and it was a lot more dangerous to try to travel at night since if you used any kind of light it would draw the shambling beast towards you. Xander had to find somewhere safe to rest and quickly because all the sneaking and fighting he had to do today had worn him out. He kept his eyes open for a spot that he could defend if attacked during the night yet still escape from in a hurry if he had to.

Up on the corner of the next intersection,of what he thought was Silver and who knew what else since he had gotten so turned around,there seemed to be a building with all it's doors and windows still intact. He quickly looked around and didn't see any zombies in the area so he dashed out of hiding towards his sanctuary for the night.

As he passed an alley just a couple of building from his target out of the gloom came a mass of undead horrors. It was as if they knew where he was heading and were waiting for just the right moment to make their move. He quickly dodged to the side to avoid their outstretched hands and tried to draw his sword out of the cane that he was carrying in his left hand.

All of his attention was focused on the zombies,and not watching where he was going,so he didn't see the rotting carcass of the dead dog in front of him. His feat tripped over the remains and his lame left leg went out from under him as he tried to regain his balance yet still keep out of the advancing mobs reach. Xander tumbled to the ground taking a hard fall on his side causing him to loose the grip on the sword cane he had been trying to ready for his defense.

The cane went flying off somewhere in the distance landing with a heartbreaking clatter. Xander rolled onto his back and started sitting up. The relentless minions of undead were mere feet from him and surrounding him from all sides ready to devour him as their next meal. Xander knew it was helpless but he refused to just sit there and not give them a fight for their supper. So he drew his only weapons left, a shiny extremely sharp razor that was tucked into the hem of his right boot and a slim pointy stiletto from a sheath strapped to his left forearm.

He looked towards the intersection and his salvation one more time and saw that he had come within 25' of the safety that the secure building promised. Then the enemy was upon him and all he could see was zombies as he slashed with the razor and jabbed with the stiletto while screaming at the top of his lungs, "Come get some you maggot ridden walking dead."

Warning: rolls have been deleted from this post.