little bump

How did it start? Nobody knows. If they did, they are probably either dead or a zombie. If players demand an explanation, its fucking magic. Infections are just silly.

It is transmitted by biting. After being bitten, you die within 4 hours. 5 - 20 minutes after that your body comes back to life. Oh, and it can also infect animals. Most of the plague is spread by crazed rats and birds biting people.

Most governments close their borders and do their best to stop the plague when they find out. It ends poorly for almost every government. Some isolated nations might still be functional.

Because of the combination of incubation period and being transmitted to animals, it is all over the world.

75 percent of zombies are slow and shambling, 24 percent can run as fast as a person and never get tired. 1 percent are superhuman in some way.

I'm playing a Moros Scelesti with Death 5, Matter 5, and Life 4. He's created a plague that basically turns people into phyrexians. It spreads through spores in the massive living metal mushrooms within his sanctum catacombs that he is using as a testing ground. If he drops the Ban on the place (or if he dies and thus can't recreate the spell), it'll spread rapidly by air, infecting man and plant alike until it is stopped or until all life is an unholy amalgam of machine and animate corpse flesh.

>>12507999
thats why i hate nwod, there is no control

The start... heh, well, I didn't MEAN to let it loose so suddenly... I made it, oh of course, simply because I had a bad day. Most humans are idiots, you know? Shame, though, that it had to get loose...

Transmission? Airborne. You simply have to be near someone to get it. After all, bodily fluids and orifice get so rotten after a few days, it's hard to keep a fresh coat of saliva for bite-infections.

Oh, mine are the runners. Occaisionally someone almost doesn't get infected, but they only become something special... Heheheh...

Governments tried combating it, of course. Organization is a powerful thing, and there are still some pockets left untouched. Ah, but not matter, with every failed gas mask, with every soaked suit taken off a moment too soon, it spreads, and made worse by the three days of carrying before one quite suddenly starts desiring delicious brains. Most people don't know to quarantine, and if they learn once or twice that all is not as it seems, they don't see three days so much as a paranoid "everyone's a carrier"outlook, so they just shoot each other. Whoooops~♥

Now the only survivors are the ones I liked. The smartest of the population. All idiots wiped out. Oh, I could tell you how THAT works, I suppose...

But I'd rather cough on you and wait a week first. Can't go spoiling my little secrets to the unworthy, now, can I?

>>12508115
"How to write a fucking insufferable character 101."

>>12507988

Except for Madagascar, right? Because they have like, ONE seaport and airport. And they shut it down because some fucker in Mexico starts sweating.

Also, what's with the whole "running" zombies? They're decaying; wouldn't that imply a degradation of muscle tissue and the ability to move quickly?

What's this? An opportunity to mention the Zombie Classification System I've been working on? Why, thank you!

I've taken the liberty of devising a simple system that categorizes them based on Science Zombies vs Magic Zombies, Slow Zombies vs Fast Zombies, Mindless Zombies vs Clever Zombies, method of virus transmission for Science Zombies (bite-only, blood-to-blood, or airborne virus), whether or not they necrotize, and the amount of violence necessary to destroy them (Vulnerable to all violence, requiring a headshot to kill, or immortal).

I've been writing flavor text detailing how zombies of each type might behave. I've got about 5 pages on Word in 10 pt font. I'm about a third done.

After the first two days of work, I've been taking a long-ass break. It's hard to come up with Zombie tactics for dozens of different varieties of Zombie.

>>12508137
I think the scary part is when they DON'T make sense. They defy logic, take all your assumptions and throw them back in our face with a side of black, gooey blood.

After all, if you can't logically predict them, you can't outthink them nearly as easily, and that makes surviving them a whole lot harder.

If I ran a ZomPoc campaign, the players would never see the zombies. They might hear them, but if you saw them you'd be fucked.
The game would focus on resource management and conservation of supplies, roleplaying challenges in dealing with other NPC survivors, and maybe once in a while attempting to take out a single zombie.

>>12508149

I don't know. The slowly, shambling, hordes of undead sound more terrifying to me in a much more psychological manner. Sure, you can kill one, two, maybe even twenty of them at once. You can outrun them. But they will always be there. Slowly shuffling towards you. Moaning incessantly, sometimes muttering broken phrases and words that are the remnants of their once-human brains. While you can run and fight, you can't hide. Because they are always hounding you. Just slowly chasing you. The terror of knowing that they will always be there, that you're living on borrowed time, is better to me than the whole "fast zombie" idea.

tee hee hee.

i need a monocle and top hat.

>>12508147
What about different kinds of magic zombies?

>>12508241
I've got three classifications set in the system, but I haven't gotten to them on the list, yet, so I haven't really fleshed out what eat means (I'm almost done with Slow Clever Science Zombies and their varying subtypes, so I'll be to Slow Mindless Magic Zombies soon)

I remember having a clear idea of what the differing types were, which means it'll all come back when I get to them.

>>12508137
............Shut up......and fuck Madagascar

>>12508221
Eh, this strikes me as a metaphor for death. The slow and unavoidable that catches up to us all.

The real terror of being eaten comes with monsters. After all, how many children fear being snatched and devoured by a swift, ambush predator in the closet, versus an unstoppable creep? Basic human fear, man, basic human fear

>>12508271
I've never heard of anybody starting in Madagascar, either.

Maybe they've got some kind of uber-powerful death force for anybody who's sick?

>>12508275

The inevitable death is also a basic human fear.

Hell, facing one's own mortality is something most people seem to not want to do.

In any case, on zombie ideas:
What about those weird little parasites that control ants/snails and make them do weird shit so they get eaten? What if that's the basis for zombification? Doesn't matter how patient zero got infected; guy just does. Parasite travels to brain, chills there and controls individual while carving out their brain and breeding like crazy. Transmit via bite, as usual, mainly through pupae-laced saliva in infected individual's mouth. No other methods of infection, except perhaps eating zombie brain matter.

Can't think of any excuse for mutations and fast zombies.

>>12508325
That... works, actually. Based on hormone imbalances, we might be seeing some very Left 4 Dead style fuckers cropping up...

>>12508325
>parasite-made zombies
>can't think of what would make them fast

Because you're fast. Parasites don't make you unable to run. In fact, animals infected with parasites that affect behavior often move as fast as they can toward their goals. Parasite Zombies would actually be more likely to run than shamble.

>>12508339

Sex crazed zombies?

Or ones with constant ADRENALINE running through their systems?

... and for the kicker, ADHD/depressed zombies. Comical relief, I guess.

>>12508357
>Depressed Zombies
>Emo Zombies

They cut themselves. The parasites in their blood spray out, infecting people in a wide arc. Comedic? Yes. Dangerous? Yes. Win? No.

>>12508354

They could also get over the psychological aspect of tiredness giving them better endurance.

The live zombies also lend an air of SCIENCE to the campaign, making an end game possible.

>>12508354
only because the adrenaline boost has shut down their bodily/mental ability to prevent themselves from hurting themselves with overexertion. Remember, class, that a human can and WILL lift a car off their child - then need to go to the hospital for internal bleeding from their muscle fibers literally pulling themselves apart.

>>12508385

Unfortunately they are also more easily damaged than the typical undead zombie, trauma that would kill a human would kill a zombie. They could avoid shock deaths and blinding pain but a good chest shot will kill just as well as the brain shot

>>12508385
They would probably fit best into my system best as a variant of SLOW, VIRAL-BITE ONLY, HEALTHY, MORTAL-ALL VIOLENCE, MINDLESS.

This actually makes them a part of the Mortal Class, the most realistic, but easiest to kill.

the sgc has been infiltrated, give every player a card tell them that it will either say they are a gouald spy, or an sgc team member, the twist is there all goauld spies and have to find who the spy is.

what a twiest

>>12508409
Heh.

Meant FAST.

My bad.

>>12508418
>SS13 round where everybody is traitor

Seems unlikely.

>>12508400
Pretty much, you would need an instant killshot. Anything less is only going to slow them down, and not by much.

Depending on how badly imbalanced hormones get, super hardening bones and thickening of protective muscles might make that harder than it sounds. And to be fair, killshots with anything short of guns ARE harder than they sound.

which brings about the following idea:

what if the Black Plague caused zombies?

>>12508325

Oh, and then, maybe, a mutation will occur in one/a few individuals. In which case they somehow retain their higher mental functions. Like speech, reasoning, etc. Now, before you scream "Mary Sue!" or "that's basically a ghoul from Fallout!" hear me out. You see, having a massive hive of parasites (now mutated) in a person's brain has, for the zombie, resulted in a smart zombie. That has a hive-mind kind of thing; as in, it says "we" instead of "I" kind of thing. It is now a fusion between host and parasite (now a symbiote, I guess) which think and act as one.

Of course, as this new breed infects others, the new zombies are similarly intelligent. Cut forward to many infections later, you have the makings of a Lovecraftian thing going on, with the intelligent zombies manipulating the dumb ones into traps and shit, then dragging off people into underground lairs for breeding purposes to supply them with more host bodies...

Fuck the standard "runner zombie," this shit sounds more fun.

the only safe haven is Madagascar, which closed their borders the moment a man in a faraway, remote location of the world sneezed...

>>12508430
>what if the Black Plague caused zombies?
...how has this not been done before?

>>12508449
You, sir, are awesome

>>12508430
So, basically the same thing, but with an airborne virus?

>>12508430

Live Zombies will be susceptible to bleed outs and trauma just as people are. Plus an "instant kill shot" is easier than it sounds with a gun. Most of the rounds you use will be 5.62, which is enough to blow off limbs

>>12508449

Also sounds like getting away from zombies, now we're just into the area of hivemind control, which HAS been done before

No one could've seen it coming, the way it did. Despite all the warnings about mad cow disease and what have you, tainted meat still made its way into every Wendy's and McD's in North America. From there, people started to display flu-like symptoms. No worries, it's just flu season again. Some managed to stave it off, carry on with their jobs, go on vacations. After all, you can't just blow off a business meeting overseas.

Once it finally hit in, they would go berserk, displaying animalism of the highest order; always hungry, they'd overrun restaurants and ransack the pantries for anything edible. Once that ran out, they resorted to feasting on other humans. Hormone imbalances brought upon by the contagion cranked their metabolisms into overdrive. Never tired. Always aware. Always searching. The greedier ones even enjoyed enhanced muscle growth, all the better to hunt with.

Eventually, of course, the resistance became more organized, and prey started to dwindle. As energy reserves ran low, they switched from their frenzied states into a kind of lethargic semi-hibernation, acting like the kind of zombies you'd see in those old 90's films. Movement slowed, wounds festered, and you saw less of those anomalies with biceps the size of basketballs.

The longer they went without nourishment, the worse off they'd be. The virus would systematically shut organs down, and digest them to fuel the host just a little bit longer. Some even lacked legs, or sat completely still in the corner of a dark room, until it sensed food. In a way, those were even more dangerous during the times of reclamation.

>>12508469
>bleed outs
Not if the parasites have changed the way blood works.

Sure, superclotting might result in a few more dropping dead of bad clots in their thighs, but it also means wounds would close faster and the zombies would ooze a thicker, pastier, daker substance than normal blood...

Combined with the smart Zombies, this could result in a human resistance forming. The password to get in? Cut your palm open and prove you have red blood.

>>12508449
Clever Zombies.

Got 'em in the system.

I'm actually in the middle of writing out fluff for them. I've got one group that just gathers together and pretends to be a safe human settlement. When a traveler happens by and asks for shelter, he gets it. They slip a drop of blood or two into his food and water, then send him on his merry way.

A few days later, he wakes up with an uncontrollable urge to infect others. He walks to the next real settlement, and sets to converting the locals in their sleep.

Era: 1700s Colonial America
Zombies: Slow and Fast
Transmission: Death
Cause: Unknown

Basically the time line takes place during the American Revolutionary War. The American Colonists are finally getting an upper hand against the British Redcoats thanks to Imperial Frances help. However things have gone from good to worse, when the dead from the battlefields are starting to raise again. For the first hour after resurrection they're basically fast zombies, less if they run more. Then rigger sets in all depending on environment and condition of the living corpse of course. Zombie's "lifespan" lasts ~2 years in the North Colonies or as many as ~7-10 years in Southern Colonies (climate).

A temporary truce between the colonist and the redcoats as they deal with the new threat. So factions between the survivors are going to be divided mostly between loyalist and separatists. George Washington? Zombie. Ben Franklin? Zombie.

Zombies don't transfer any virus or anything that like. A bite from a Zombie is still dangerous due to bacteria and infection. However anyone who dies becomes a Zombie however there are certain patches of ground (like holy ground) which this doesn't happen.

Weakness of the zombies are their heads, which is going to be difficult to hit with musket technology. So to kill a zombie you must go mano e zombie with a sword or musket w/ bayonet to the head. This can be difficult due to the number of zombies and the area you have to hit.

Zombies just want your brains and flesh, however they can't digest it and just feeling it will make them stop. So you'll frequently see former victims with bite marks on their head or missing skull bits and missing digits..etc.

>>12508492

Not clever, but actually intelligent. As in smart enough to build stuff. Maybe not guns, but weapons are a given. But they won't really act like humans - they think with a more of a "hive mind" kind of thing, and they probably see themselves as some kind of master race to the dumb zombies and regular humans.

>>12508512
THEY HAVE GENERAL WASHINGTON!

ALL IS LOST!

>>12508016
I could have done the same thing in Ascension with fewer dots so you can get off your grognard high horse. The whole theme of the game is "power corrupts", and to that end I have a character who has dedicated himself to becoming powerful at all costs. Now those costs are starting to pile up on him, and he may have already doomed the world to any number of things in his quest for power.

On the plus side he is rocking an awesome army of living metal encasing dying flesh, such that he's survived an attack by the adamantine arrows, a pair of guardians of the veil, and a coterie of vampires. And being a fuckawesome necromancer, they all serve him now, with undying zeal.

>>12508526
Clever's just my classification. Clever vs Mindless.

There's wiggle room. It's not as in-depth as it could be.

I'm not an Aspie.

>>12508526
What's to stop the dumb zombies from attacking the smart zombies, though?

Sure, they don't infect them, but could the sheer violence not be enough to make them semi-threatening?

>>12508541

Oh, okay then.

The phrase "clever girl" now seems to have much more meaning here.

>>12508526

I think that starts wandering away from the "Zombie" part. It sounds awesome don't get me wrong, but its not really zombies

>>12508557
Also, clever's got variable definitions. In the US, it's something like sly. In Britain, it's just another word for "really smart."

*shrugs*

>>12508552

Probably whatever stops regular zombies from attacking each other.

Plus, it was kind of implied that somehow the smart ones are able to "command" the dumb ones. Maybe through pheromones?

>>12508552
Generally, zombies are assumed to have a supernatural IFF.

I mean, it's never outright said in any system WHY they can tell an infected from a human, but they always can. Probably supposed to be pheremones or something half-assed like that.

I've had in my mind an idea for a paragon type zombie
Ie the first zombie, he controls the others, which are mindless

His mind isn't strong enough to actually control every zombie, so the best he can do is mass them and point them in a direction, but being able to do that adds something to the dynamics of fighting them. He can set traps by having zombies wait in good positions and such.

Lastly he can bring zombies to his lair and his presence causes massive mutation, thus allowing for super zombies.

However he isn't THAT intelligent. He's basically on the the order of a regular human maybe a bit less. He also has no real motivation or thought other than "infect/kill everyone else"

>>12508558

True, but the smart ones are a minority. Like, maybe a handful of them, trying to produce more of themselves. They are, essentially, the regular parasite-zombies but with a greater control and retention of the hosts' mental capabilities. They're still going to try to chomp down on you; they may not do it right away.

>>12508591
So, like that black guy zombie from Land of the Dead, only he causes mutations?

(ALL HE WANTED WAS A ZOMBIE BAND TO PLAY IN HIS GAZEBO!)

>>12508492
>>Clever Zombies.

Then they are not zombies, they are contagious cannibals.

>>12508610
And the ones who rot as they move and can only be killed by shooting them in the head?

Still not zombies?

>>12508604

I was thinking more of large, mostly immobile pile of flesh off in some godforesaken basement somewhere, but whatever works for you I guess.

Also its like a telepathic link type thing, not really a direct communication

>>12508610

Who may or may not worship an eldritch-horror like diety who is beyond comprehension without a mass of hive-mind parasites living in your brain.

>>12508619
Patient Zero is...the Overmind?

I may have to alter Zerg Quest...

>>12508629

Ya maybe. I dunno, in my mind he's basically harmless himself. He has no telepathy other than zombie control and mutation, but that only works on zombies.

This isn't really a campaign idea, I'd edit it for that. He's just a... a source. His one giant eye will look at you with menace if you manage to see him, but he can't do anything other than summon more zombies and only if they are close enough to get to him.

Every single human in the world is infected. It takes only the loss of control of your limbs for the parasite to take effect. It was in the shots that they gave the children.

The children started getting sick. Massive internal hemorrhaging, vomiting blood and begging for their parents. We had to quarentine them. They started doing experiments on the corpses of the kids. Attempting to fix their fuck up.

Go figure, the Pharmaceutical companies fucked us once more. They knew there was going to be an uprising, so they decided to make an end game.

The bacteria, a strain of Bacterial Menengitis, infected the spinal fluid of the children, and then used the abundance of stem cells to adapt, to become respiratory, reproductive, or other parts of organs. That was 3 generations ago. Every single person that is alive today has the virus, and the trigger has been set off.

The corpses reanimate after a 2 hour incubation period, in which the bacteria cells begin feeding off the host. "The Skins" as they're called, are agile, they're less intelligent then they were then they were alive, but they retained rudimentry skills. They knew how to open doors and elevators, open gates, climb fences and trees.

But then they started breaking down. All the cells that weren't infected were eaten, now the bacteria is starving and decaying, all we have to do is wait it out while the skins fall apart.

They've gotten slow and stupid, they're a shambling mass, except for the ones that have eaten... It seems that if they have a food source, us, the ones who didn't die, and didn't trigger the virus, who are still full of tasty cells for them to devour, they last longer, they're hardier, and they're fucking meaner.

It's a waiting game now. And a game to see who can rack up the highest body count.

>>12508660
>Every human being is infected
>It's a waiting game

No, it's not. It's Game Over.

>>12508692

I think he meant between the survivors, now.

>>12508692
The survivors don't know that they're infected. You're alive as long as you can stay alive. You either survive, or you don't.

Also, some people could be immune, like how some are immune to certain strains of Meningitis.

lots of SCIENCE zombies in this thread.

I prefer my zombies to be completely unexplained. However they arose, they're full abilities and actions everything about them is a mystery.

Eventually you might come to some conclusions like "all dead people turn into zombies" or "only bites cause zombifications" but the onset was so rapid any real understanding of why these things are is non-existent.

Zombie Virus as per some mutation of the virus that some wasps carry on their stings to make the caterpillars defend their young suicidally, except that it spreads the disease.

Upon catching it, it has similar effects to rabies, and some other lyssaviruses at first, but soon the virus becomes more particular, and shuts down many higher brain functions, leaving only the impulses to hunt and feed. At first they are still fast, but their violent disregard for their own wellbeing means that they soon damage their ligaments and muscles, and fall into a shambling gait. The virus controls the victim and causes it to seek out uninfected prey. Eventually the host dies, but even then the virus is not done with the body. The corpse continues to shamble after 'essential' bodily functions have stopped, flesh decomposing, organs dying, but still the zombie shambles. There is speculation that the body is still functioning enough to keep the few functions vital to the virus alive, without wasting any on other functions that the host needs to truly survive.

One the virus speads to another species, it will quickly ravage the population, however, like most viruses today, it must mutate to cross these boundaries.

There are some variations to the virus, where in a small percentage of cases some strands of higher brain circuitry are kept intact. Maybe enough to open a door, or more commonly, enough to hide and stalk their prey. Other bodies will bloat with corpse gas. A corpse that has been dead for some time will have long hair and nails, these parts growing well after death, and being dirty and likely to spread contagion (although not as likely as a bite, which has an 80% contamination rate). Other variations of the virus have been seen as well. In cancer patients, the unrestrained growth of tissue continues after death at an accelerated pace, creating fleshy bulbous sacks of contagion, which burst is a spray of pus and gore as the zombie attempts to spread it's virus.

In other people steroids cause huge, hulking zombies, or lost limbs give the zombie a jagged bone weapon with which to impale you. The zombies don't feel pain from a very early stage in the contagion, and will not be stopped except by complete destruction of the brain. Some muscles will continue to twitch violently after death, and it's not unheard of for zombies to continue clawing in their death spasms.

http://fuckwasps.com/post/84207111/more-creepy-mind-control-wasps-get-me-my-tinfoil

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/tropical-plant-mind-control-chemical-ants-bidding.php

http://scottthong.wordpress.com/2006/10/30/mind-control-wasp/

http://www.damninteresting.com/mind-controlling-wasps-and-zombie-spiders

>>12508727
Zombie Classification: "Roy" Variant
Era: 2010 / Apocalyptic
Movement: Slow and Fast
Transmission: Bite/Death
Cause: Meningeal Parasite

The bites are usually lethal- the parasite is highly tenacious and to beat it requires an immune system that is nothing short of freakish. There have been bite survivors, even people immune to the plague, but these are a fraction of a percent of the remaining population.

Most important is preventing the bite. Now, given that the zombie is bound by SCIENCE! let's take a logical approach. First, durability. Let's say that they are no more durable than the human body, but the only true vital organ is the brain, where the parasite resides. More accurately, one must breach the pia mater. The brain is quickly devoured, forming a sort of nest or cocoon around the parasite (an offshoot of the liver fluke), and while this affords many benefits, sufficient trauma to breach the lining of this cocoon is instantly lethal to it.

This is not to say that shooting a zombie in the chest won't slow them down- the parasite preserves useful biological processes. Alveoli daw in oxygen and the heart pumps blood while it can; sever blood vessels and muscles lose their source of energy. Slashing the jugular can put a zombie down, if briefly. A shot to the heart similarly severs oxygenation. However, the parasite will initiate anaerobic processes in the muscles, and the body will simply destroy itself chasing down prey. Healing does no occur in a zombie, all damage is permanent.

Quick guide:
Destruction of the knee: shambling zombie.
Destruction of both legs: crawling zombie.
Destruction of heart: disabled zombie for the next few minutes.
Decapitation: bitey head.
Destruction of brain matter: dead zombie.

More notes on request, ja?

>>12508876
This is fantastic. I'm going to have to make this game happen now.

Combine this:
>>12508876
with the FUCK WASPS!, virus stages and potential variations in:
>>12508859
and
>>12508865

and we have ourselves a fairly decent science zombie. Though 'devouring' the brain? What if the creature devours the brain slowly, and that accounts for the different stages. While at first it devours the parts responsible for higher brain functions, it eventually moves on to more and more essential parts, until the zombie can only shamble and bite and what signals are leaving the brain are entirely made by the parasite, now fully grown?

@Featherball:
How long would a zombie survive for?
Odds of passing it on though bites?
Could some parasites perhaps effect glands, causing special zombie types. IE. One sub-species causes the pituary gland to go crazy, and causes ridiculous growth, leading to giant hulking zombies?
Incubation period before zombification?

>>12508865
>http://fuckwasps.com/

I love the internet.

>>12508967
Agreed

>>12508957
That's a good question.
>Unlife expectancy?
I would guess dependent on whether the bacteria in the gut survive. If they do, they will devour the zom-body within a month or two. If not, theoretically such a lifespan would be indefinite. Feeding, however, I would guess is a necessity- the parasite needs some form of energy to continue life processes.
>Bite transmission?
What if the zombies find an alteration in their salivary glands? That would make it 100% or near it. Otherwise, it would have to be through either eating zombie brains, or otherwise ingest something with the parasite in it. Don't headshot zombies near the river.
>Parasite variants?
There's nothing to stop it- though the mutations might be more subtle. Given that the original body has stopped producing new cells, this might look more like the Flood in severe cases rather than a Tank or Witch (Left 4 Dead style); meaning the parasite went apeshit growing new structures, and the original host is barely recognizable. Another variation is fast zombies- the parasite starts forming its own ligatures on the body's limbs, granting greater and more durable motility. Maybe they have salivary glands made to spit. Maybe they have enhanced sensory capabilities and a way to alert other hosts. Maybe a parasite gains some form of intelligence (1:1million odds on that, though). There are a thousand different, subtle, and/or plausible mutations.
>Incubation period?
Could be a few days, could be years- the time period would be consistent, but arbitrary. There's no way to tell.

Anything else I can do for ya, friend?

I like the "humanity fucks itself over with its own hubris" idea, so I'd go with something like ...

A pharmaceutical company in the near-ish future develops a retrovirus which testing shows can literally arrest the aging process with no ill effects. People can still die via injury or disease, but they won't age from the time they become infected. Most governments approve the manufacture and sale of it with the caveat that anyone who wishes to use it must undergo sterilization to avoid rampant overpopulation.

It's sold at a moderately reasonable price in order to maximize profits: Selling it an an exorbitant price to only the super-rich would be possible but not nearly as lucrative. Thus, the majority of middle class people in the industrialized world opt to take it, with only those who plan to have children in the near future abstaining. The poor are left to age and die as normal. (However, since it's transmissable through blood, a black market in the blood of purchasers develops.)

(cont.)

>>12509128

(cont.)

For the first year or so nothing goes wrong. People who have deliberately infected themselves show absolutely no signs of aging and even experience increased vigor, although this is an unforseen effect that didn't arise in the clinical trials. Still, no one is too concerned. Then, abruptly, the infected begin to complain en masse of dramatically increased appetites and severe insomnia, which can only be immediately treated with dangerously high doses of sedatives. A flurry of studies can find no apparent cause except for the intended effect of the virus itself. The pharma company is forced to offer free antiretroviral treatment regimens to those who wish to undergo them, and many do, but things are progressing a bit too fast, the symptoms are getting worse, and the treatment is a bit too slow to stave off catastrophe.

The infected begin to become delusional and paranoid, possibly from utter lack of sleep, of which they can get none at all, and are constantly ravenous, so much so that they'll eat anything they can get their hands on. Anywhere food is available is raided and ransacked by delirious mobs of immortal psychotics, until existing supplies are entirely exhausted. The government response is ineffectual given that many in the police and military are likewise affected, and because officials are quickly losing the ability to formulate rational plans of action.

And once all the food is gone, human flesh starts to look pretty tasty.

PCs are of course poor people who weren't able to afford the treatment and have yet to be torn apart.

>>taken derfely
Yes, captcha, this is intended to be taken derfely.

thread archived
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12507912/

Seriously is there just a lack of good threads or did people forget to archive the awesome discussions?

>>12509194
There was a drop in archivable content. There were many good discussions, a lot of shitty threads, but few threads that were truly exceptional.

>>12509204

Ok, I've seen the metathreads, didn't think it was so drastic (seriously look back a few months in the archives, quest threads don't dominate nearly so bad)

Anyway at the risk of accidentally making this a meta-thread:

Has anyone considered the Dead Space style zombies? They would probably only work in a horror campaign environment but I like that all of them are mutated horrible creatures-that-shouldn't-be.

The intelligence is rudimentary but allows for ambushes and such, the ability to combine corpses to make super zombies is just a cool idea and the "activator" zombies make for interesting combat.

And while we're on the subject whats everyone's thoughts on fetus/baby/child zombies? Horrifyingly common (kind of made me cringe when I realized how many fetii (fetuses?) I'd killed in Dead Space) or uncommon but horrifying when it does happen?

>>12509136

Addendum: "Zombies" are fast, and also relatively smart, though absolutely batshit crazy. They can still reason to an extent but aren't great at thinking long-term or developing plans of action, and find it fairly impossible to organize. They may randomly hallucinate and flip out at shit that is not real, so if you get lucky, one that's chasing you could hare off after its own imagination instead, but it's not likely.

They are perfectly willing to eat each other so they tend not to be found in groups, although they'll occasionally develop a temporary truce--these tend not to last long, and only happen when there's a more easily obtained food source at hand. They can talk, and have occasional moments of lucidity, but generally tend not to make a lot of sense.

In appearance they often look sort of like meth addicts who have hit rock bottom, and also are spattered in the blood and guts of their victims. In fact, they're still living, breathing humans in every way, and can still feel emotions, pain, etc. Many have died of starvation. Although it's not clear whether they actually *need* to eat more than uninfected humans to survive, they do need to eat at least as much, and food is getting very, very hard to find.

In short, imagine a crazy person, as crazy as you've ever seen, ought to be in a straightjacket in a padded room and such, then imagine them in the desperate depths of starvation, and add a willingness to engage in cannibalism (since any who weren't are starved to death by now).

>>12509248

Actually zombies in space generally is a poorly explored field. I have to admit the atmosphere of Dead Space made me want more, though it was horribly badly executed in the actually fear inducing department.
One of my favourite parts is the realization that common military tech is woefully ineffective and the mining equipment is the best option. The almost overly industrial feel of the ship was fantastic and the background sounds (pipe crawling, tools being dropped) never failed to make me nervous.

Anyway the necromorphs are a good zombie variant, making them far more lethal without also making them industructible (seriously human fists are pretty weak) plus the limb destruction mechanic could be used to fantastic effect

>>12509248

Fetus/baby/child zombies are terrifying. End of discussion

>>12509326

I didn't mean the end of the zombie discussion...

>>12509320
>>12509248
I would think that Dead Space zombies are their own thing- consider, they are the sum of their parts. Weapons generally work on the principal of disrupting the vital organ first- i.e. kill as efficiently as possible. Given that the necromorphs have more in common with a motile fungus, disassembling the threatening bits is the only option. Given, I'm pretty jaded, and an engineering major. All I see are grotesque puzzles.

Then again, taking either the zero-G or the dangerous components idea separately are ways to come up with something original.

>>12509326
I can see that for most folks.

But see, I worked social services for three years.

The whole "OH NO, BABBY ZOMBIE WAT DO?!" issue of zombie movies will NOT be an issue with whatever group I'm in.

Animals and insects also become mutated from the zombie virus- They don't get any bigger, they just get an immense craving for human flesh and an inability to feel pain.

Imagine setting a nice safehouse up in the woods far from the city. And every deer, bear, bird, wolf, *ant, bee, and spider* in the forest start converging on it.

>>12509411

I've decided that if small mammals and insects can be infected there is virtually (read no) hope for survival. There just isn't a way to defend against that kind of threat that is less than a fortified bunker with air scrubbers and pressure seals at every entrance. If you leave to defend or scavenge you die because some tick or mosquito bites you.

A vampire-style or zombie-style epidemic where a mutation changes girls into catgirls and guys into their servant drones.

The catgirl spreads it with an intoxicating bite that paralyzes and transforms a victim. Sinking her teeth into an artery can produce a new catgirl or a slave within a minute, whereas a victim escaping with a bite on the leg will change slowly over a few hours.

On most girls, the ears shift upward into triangles, and the coccyx extends to about arm's length. Their fur depends on which type of cat the girl matches best (e.g. shy or polite = house cat; strong and outgoing = tiger or mountain lion). Teeth and nails grow longer, and eyes get slit pupils and reflective inner coating. Brain function is often altered severely, replacing human speech and behavior with feline sounds and instinct.

A slave boy is utterly infatuated with the catgirl who bites him, putting her health and pleasure first and attending to her every need. A bite from another catgirl may either convert him or paralyze him with indecision, but will almost certainly start a catfight.

Superior constitution and intellect can grant some resistance to these changes. A girl's tail may be shorter, or human ears may stay (this could explain those four-eared ones we see sometimes). There may be remnants of some human functions, like speech and trade. A select few even retain some of their personalities and relationships.

>>12509470


Now this is all assuming you're judged worthy to join or to serve. Youth, looks, and fitness will greatly help your chances. If a catgirl doesn't wish to turn you, you are either dinner or fair game to her. The same goes for slaves and catgirls that are no longer liked nor wanted.

The result? Pretty much the standard mutant apocalypse story, yes. Civilization gone, constant battle against an ever-growing horde, drama of loved ones turning into them, allegory for human society ("are we really any different"), etc. It might sell the catgirl concept way better than simple cute anime characters have, though.

>>12509400
Disgusting is not necessarily scary, da? Why SAW never appealed to me- just made me feel like vomiting. Also, Jigsaw was a self-righteous prick and someone needs to buttfuck him with a lemon zester.

Then again, I'm so desensitized after living in my shitty Philly apartment, I've started acting like my old characters. For example, planting a pen knife in your sternum hurts, but watching your would-be mugger's terrified expression? It is a feeling of the purest glee.

>the prouneg
Yes, captcha, it was the prouneg.

>>12509480
>"I think I know that guy!"
>my face

>>12509512
You're a furfag?

>>12509528
Heresy, you say?

But no, furry stuff constitutes about a fraction of a percent of my porn archive. Out of a hundred gigabytes, maybe ~700 mb is devoted to not-so-human ladies.

...wow. I just realized how much porn that is.

>>12509554
Get help.

>>12509554

That's almost half my hard drive. In porn.

Yes, I have a shitty computer, but still.

>>12509554
wow, and I thought my 64 gigs was alot..

I...am really surprised.

I got dragged away from my computer, and holyshitwhatjusthappened...

I've never had a thread archived before. And all this zombie stuff is fucking awesome.

Thanks, /tg/!