[Outlive Outdead] Priority Mail OOC

Klivian

Premise: August 1953 - The United States Postal Service shipment from Colorado Springs, Colorado to Los Alamos, New Mexico is a milk run. Every day, a small convoy of trucks drive six hours through the desert loaded with packages, mail sacks, and bulk crates. It's normally an uneventful drive where the biggest worry is falling asleep. The postal workers assigned to the route today, however, will be lucky to make it to their destination alive as a new horror is stalking the desert, searching for prey to satisfy its hunger.

Genre: Survival
Setting: American Southwest, August 1953
System: Outlive Outdead (playtest version)
Players: @Heir, @Sakutian

Character Creation:
Stats - Follow the instructions in Act 3 (page 10) to create stat up your character.
Background - You must include that you are currently working for the Postal Service and got assigned to this long haul route. Your background beyond that is open to you.
Motivation - Choose your New Motivation at this time, however it won't come into play until a later time when you realize the world has changed.
Starting Equipment - I'll dole out starting equipment once I see your character.

Sakutian

Glad to be playing in this.

I'm going to try and put my character together before I have to leave for work but I have a rough concept I'd like to throw out so you know what I'm up to.

Basically I'm planning on playing a WWII veteran who returned from the war haunted by what he had seen on the battlefield. He took a job working in the post office because he liked the idea of doing something where no one's life was in his hands, and where he was unlikely to face a battle to the death with enemy forces. I'll probably make him to be pretty good at combat, not great at winning people over since he was just a grunt.

Sorry I know that is an awfully rough concept.

Klivian

Lovin' it, Sak.

Heir

Cool, will get something written up today. I'm home sick, so I'll be on and offline most of the day.

Sakutian

Klivian can I have permissions to creat my own talent using the guidelines outlined in the rulebook? I'd like make some sort of a firearms talent to represent George's experience with guns.

Heir

@Klivian, what apocalypse stage is this in?

Klivian

Sure thing. Same goes for motivations.

Klivian

I don't have the book in front of me but it's the very first one. As far as you know it's just another day at the office.

Sakutian

Here is my character. Hopefully I didn't mess anything up. Sorry I know he's pretty generic but I liked the idea and it is pretty different than what I usually play.

Name: George Spinner
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Occupation: Former soldier, current postal worker.

Background: George’s dad died serving in the trenches during World War I, he grew up with nothing more than a photograph on the mantle next to the medal he’d received posthumously. Growing up he imagined war to be full of heroes and glory. When World War II broke out he decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps and enlisted in the army against his mother’s wishes.

After basic training he found that war was not what he’d expected. The horrors he witnessed on the battlefield continue to haunt him to this day, but he did his duty. Just before Germany fell George took a bullet to his leg which left him in a hospital bed until the end of the war. Rather than continuing with his military career behind a desk he went back to the states and looked for steady work.

The best he could find was a job working for the United States Post Office. Government work agreed with George, it was structured and no one was asking him to charge any bunkers this time around. He’s spent the last few years quietly trying to forget what he did for his country, but every night he wakes up and limps to the bathroom to get a hot water bottle to soothe his aching leg. And he always hates catching a glimpse of his own reflection in the mirror when he does.

Attributes
Control 14(16)
Fight 9(20)
Flee 15(17)
Hide 10(19)
Repair 14(16)
Scrounge 10(20)

Talent: Crack Shot(-2 to TN for causing damage with firearms)

Serendipity: Not This Time (Prevent one break regardless of dice roll)

Setback: Something Fell Off (Cause one wound to a zombie NPC)

Motivations: Old (Never leave a man behind), New (Never become one of those things)

Equipment: Pistol, binoculars

Klivian

Wow. That's anything but generic, Sak.

Stats look good. Full disclosure though. You might break on Control more than not. It makes for great roleplay potential and fits with his haunted past but its one of the few breaks where you run the chance of commiting suicide.

A shotgun is a little much to take on the route but I'll let you carry your old service pistol.

Klivian

Woops nevermind. Fight and Flee have suicidal breaks, not Control.

I should mention this is only my second time running this system so please help me should I stray from the rules unintentionally.

Heir

Will get up stats later, but I think my character will be someone who wasn't fit for the Army for whatever reason (physical limitation like sight issues or something). Instead spent most of his life either working in a factory, or as a drifter doing odd jobs over the years. I've got some rough stats worked up, will get more here in a bit.

Heir

Also, Sak, where did you find the Talent for Crack Shot? I didn't see it on the list of talents.

Sakutian

I think I'll keep my control break where it is for the moment. George is haunted but not as crazy as your average postal worker quite yet. Swapped my shotgun for a pistol.

Heir I made up the Crackshot Talent.

Klivian

Sak, I got back home to pull ul the rules and I think "firearms" is too broad of a category for a custom talent. Would you be okay with narrowing it to just rifles, shotguns, pistols, or something?

Sakutian

Yeah, how about pistols?

Klivian

Works for me!

Heir

Name: Robert Zimmerman
Gender: Male
Age: 39
Occupation: Former factory worker/drifter, current postal worker.

Background: Robert grew up between passed off from one foster home to another, with occasional stints at orphanages and juvenile correction facilities. He never felt like he belonged anywhere, and always dreamt of having a family of his own some day.

Upon getting his GED at age 20, Robert attempted to join the army as various countries' war machines began to build up. However, just like when he was a kid, he wasn't wanted. Specifically, he is deaf in one ear from a fight he got into as a teenager. Not being able to find acceptance in the military, Robert found a job helping to build tanks at a factory in San Francisco. For a while, he actually felt like he was a part of something bigger than himself. But when the war ended, so did a lot of the jobs he was skilled at. Having a hard time finding a career, he began to wander the American Southwest, taking on odd jobs at various farms, auto repair shops, and really anywhere he could make a buck. Many nights were spent out in the wilderness, living off the land, which suited him just fine.

Secretly, Robert has always wanted to have a family of his own...someone to love him like he always dreamt of as a child. Finally finding a job as a postal worker, he hopes that having a steadier job will help him finally settle down and find the right girl.

Attributes
Control 12(17)
Fight 11(18)
Flee 13(18)
Hide 14(17)
Repair 9(19)
Scrounge 11(17)

Talent: Knows where to look (-2 to Scrounge tN for finding a part needed to repair something)

Serendipity: Better Than That (reroll a failed attribute check)

Tired of This Shit (Cause a human to break regardless of the dice roll)

Motivations: Old (Find Someone to Love You), New (Show Everyone You Can Survive On Your Own)

Equipment: knife, tools

Sakutian

Is Robert going to hate George because he was actually in the army?

Heir

I'm sure he'll resent him somewhat, or feel intimidated by him.

Klivian

Love both characters, guys.

A few notes on some of the more fiddly mechanics:

Self Officiating
This game is fairly self-officiating which is nice for a PbP. Once I set the stats of an opponent, you guys can roll any opposed checks as necessary for your post.

Plot Points
You each start with two Plot Points. You may at any time (before or after a roll), pay one Plot Point to add OR subtract 1d4 to your roll.

I'll doll out Plot Points for acting in line with your old OR new motivations.

Karma Points
You each start with two karma points. You may:
- Give 2 karma points to the GM to use your Serendipity
- Give 1 karma point to the GM or the player to force them to use your Setback
- Give 1 karma point to a player to use their Serendipity. The owner of the Serendipity may allow the paying player to actually use the Serendipity and pass the karma point along to the GM. OR he may betray the paying player and keep the karma point in which case the paying player can't use the Serendipity

The GM has a pool of karma points also and baddies with Serendipities and Setbacks. I pay the targeted player similarly when I call in my Serendipity or Setback.

Combat
Movement - This isn't a tactical game so I won't necessarily be drawing maps and expecting precise movement. It will be more cinematic. I hope to be able to describe the setup well enough so that I can just annotate the range between each player and each opponent. Eg Robert<->Zombie 3 = L3. Then Robert can do something like, "I make a running dive behind the crate in front of Zombie 3" making Robert<->Zombie 3 = L1.

Move & Attack - You may move one length and attack on your turn. To move your full speed AND attack, you must first succeed on a Flee check. If you fail the check, you trip (or something similar) and cannot attack.

Counter vs Block - You may counter only ONE attack per round. All others must be blocked.

Zombies always block - I will post stats for the baddies so that you can make your roll and the opposing roll yourself.

Klivian

Okay guys, I'm gonna kick this thing off later tonight.

I need a Flee check from each of you. In this case, Flee represents you driving the truck.

Your old cargo trucks are equipment giving you a +3 Roll and a +1 Break on this check.

Sakutian

Do you want us to make our rolls using an online roller like invisible castle and then post them?

Sakutian

Either way, here is my Flee roll...

2d10+3= 14. Crud.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3762961/

Looks like George is going to get eaten before we even start.

Klivian

Sakutian wrote: »

Do you want us to make our rolls using an online roller like invisible castle and then post them?

Yeah, that'd be good.

Sakutian wrote: »

Looks like George is going to get eaten before we even start.

Mayyyyybe....

Sakutian

See, I've GMed alot and I can hear the evil gears turning in your head through the internet. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens though.

Klivian

True, this is just *normal* GM evil, though.

You'll know it's true GM evil when you make a roll and I spontaneously start explaining how rerolls/fate points/force points, etc work

Heir

Drive that truck! (2d10+3=13)

Geesh, thank goodness for the +3

Sakutian

It would have been funny as anything if we both wrekced into one another as a zombie horde descends on our route Heir.

Heir

Yeah that would have been pretty great.

You know, curious...can you use a truck as a weapon against a zombie...would that be a flee check or a fight check?

Klivian

<steeples his fingers> Exxxxcellent.....

IC thread is up!
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/169250/outlive-outdead-priority-mail-ic

Klivian

Sakutian wrote: »

It would have been funny as anything if we both wrekced into one another as a zombie horde descends on our route Heir.

Ahem.... that actually happened in my RL session Lead truck wrecked and the trailing slammed into it from behind.

Heir wrote: »

You know, curious...can you use a truck as a weapon against a zombie...would that be a flee check or a fight check?

I played it that trying to avoid stuff with a vehicle was a Flee check. Trying to cause damage was a Fight check.... I could be persuaded otherwise, but the rules seemed kinda vague.

Heir

Yay!

Klivian, nice opening. I'm guessing we haven't seen anything peculiar yet, or really anything yet.

Would a repair check do anything whatsoever at this point with George's truck?

Klivian

A repair check will let you know how bad the damage is and what you'd need to fix it (if possible).

Sakutian

I get the feeling that George is just going to roll badly until he comes face to face with a reaper.

Sakutian

George is thinking there is some drunk with his head smashed to bits by falling cargo back there. But he isn't taking any chances.

Klivian

Sakutian wrote: »

George is thinking there is some drunk with his head smashed to bits by falling cargo back there. But he isn't taking any chances.

This is probably why George survived the war.

Heir

No worries, looks like Robert is going to shit his pants anyways.

Sakutian

They're shaping up to be the Abbott and Costello of survival RPGs.

Heir

Kliv, can Robert still make a fight check to block an attack when zombie attacks him?

If so...here you go. Fight Check (Block) (2d10=3)

Fail fail fail. I'm guessing based on the wording that the knife only comes into play when trying to damage someone, not for blocking an attack. Not that it'd matter this time anyways.

Sakutian

You could use one of your plot points.