Dangers of the zombie apocalypse

[Shadow]

The zombie apocalypse has occurred in Aleria. At least now we know who the enemy is and where all the danger is, right? Well, as is common in an apocalypse the instigator is just the first problem, but necessarily the most dangerous.

Don't get me wrong, the zombies are definitely a huge threat. Not only are they attacking and killing every living being they can find. Their attacks are highly contagious. Almost anything killed by them becomes a zombie. Even as little as a scrape from a zombie might infect someone and then they will inevitably turn sooner or later. The zombie tide seems indestructible.

The previous wars in Aleria didn't help, but the zombies have destroyed any semblance of society still left. There are no farms or supply chains still intact. Even much of the wild game has been killed or infected. The food supply has been decimated. You and your people must find enough food so that you don't starve. This will not be easy.

Unfortunately, everyone else is in the same situation as you and they don't want to starve to death any more than you. With everyone fighting over the limited amount of food left, humans and even some of the more intelligent monster races are forming clans to protect themselves. Some of them are gathering together so that they are strong enough to take what they want from others. It is possible to become allies with other clans, but when they are slowly starving to death, will they betray you?

Even within your own clan it isn't safe. Humans living on the edge are even more unstable than usual. Some people are just bad people and will betray your clan for gold, food, or for no discernible reason. Some will have personality conflicts with others that might lead to fights and maybe even killings. Some might not be happy with their share of supplies and get angry. Two men might like the same female and cause problems. You never quite know how different people thrust into a life and death situation will react, especially over time.

And last but not least, Aleria has always been full of monsters. They have survived wars, famines, plagues, disasters, heroes, gods, and many other things that have threatened their existence. A bunch of zombies isn't going to eradicate them either. Their numbers might dwindle, but they are surviving the apocalypse and still causing the usual mayhem: wars, uprisings, attacks, etc.

So what do you think is going to be the biggest danger to you surviving the Zombie Apocalypse in Aleria: the zombies, starvation, other clans, local in-fighting, or the surviving monsters?

[Zato]

Way cooler than my grandparents zombie games!

The term "monsters" always bugs me. It's human-centric, and we're the worst monster currently known in the universe. Doesn't sound like yours are any different. Seems racist against your other created species. "Monsters" seems to right away put them in a static place.

Other species, creatures, or aggressive lifeforms? I'm probably the only one that cares about details like this though, just finish it so I can play.

[Shadow]

Using the term monsters is just the easiest way to get everyone on the same page of understanding.

[Zato]

Originally Posted by Shadow

Using the term monsters is just the easiest way to get everyone on the same page of understanding.

It's the safest route I agree. Looking forward to seeing the creature, item, and other world detail lists. Website with some glossy details coming? The clan dynamics alone have this buzzing up to the top of my must play list.

[eyeball]

Hi all,

@Shadow: thx for the steam key I actually have multiple copies
of everything but Kiwis Underground. Drox was just the only one remotely eligible for the key. Anyway, huge fan here and delighted to learn of the new game...

I don't think it would be possible to label any of those things as the biggest threat as it would depend too much on circumstance. Say your faction happens to live outside a cave with and endless supply of rats and mushrooms, then famine is not going to be a huge problem. More likely defending that resource would be your highest priority.

Perhaps this would be a good thing to randomize at the start of the game.
Or set up each faction with different bonus's, thus affecting your strategy. Help the faction with the most food, or the best weaponry, you decide.

Aside from that:

To me the zombie thing seems more of a modern day concept, in a world of
monsters and magic, they would simply be undead. Perhaps consider a more
contemporary and industrialized timeline in Aleria. Something along the lines of Shadowrun or Steampunk. That way we can have zombies, monsters, magic and shotguns. I honestly don't see how you can have zombies without shotguns.

Medieval zombies just seem a bit off to me. But that's just my opinion of course.

Additionally, I think it would be cool if the zombies were treated as a faction. The protagonist would start the game infected. As he levels, he becomes more and more zombified. Thus gaining in power but at a cost of losing his humanity. This would affect his relations with the other factions.
The protagonist would ultimately have to decide whether to work towards
saving Aleria by ending the zombie threat, or spearheading it and conquering through devastation.

Thx for reading,

-Cheers

[LordGek]

If we're sticking medieval, IMHO, Eyeball has a point, zombies are a more modern take, for the most part, so why not go instead with the whole lineup of undead? Zombies and skeletons are just the foot soldiers to the nastier likes of ghasts, ghouls, vampires, and liches!

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by LordGek

If we're sticking medieval, IMHO, Eyeball has a point, zombies are a more modern take, for the most part, so why not go instead with the whole lineup of undead? Zombies and skeletons are just the foot soldiers to the nastier likes of ghasts, ghouls, vampires, and liches!

We haven't added any extra undead except for lots of different types of zombies but there are still skeletons, undead heralds, death knights, and liches. I'll have to figure out some good ways for the other undead to interact with the new.

[Crisses]

I would think that other undead would actually be in competition with zombies, because of the parasite. If the parasite is voracious and intelligent (opening description of the game) then it would not want other undead competing with it for food (living critters). Actually, is there any reason that a zombasite can't infect a skeleton or lich? That would be curious. Wraiths are probably off limits....and might be completely ignored.

Doubly interesting if every Zombasite also spun off a new ghost-like creature from anything sentient...double jeopardy. Or that could be saved for an expansion.... The disquieted soul ousted from its flesh in such a jarring and traumatic matter could be cause for worldly concern. And one's army, if one did happen to control the creatures, would be doubled in size. Two-for-one special....

I was also thinking that as far as racial hatreds go, Dark Elves would probably have these zombie parasites high on their list of needs to be destroyed on sight. At the same time that they might want to try to enslave the parasite...if it makes particularly nasty (voracious and uncontrollable) Dark Elves, then they wouldn't want the parasite wild in their midst. I would think they like their slaves to be slaves, not diseases that eat their ranks from within.

It might be good to add prisons to the game, laboratories, kitchens, and perhaps a few other similar "room construction" ideas. I'm playing Din's Curse, and it becomes a grind when skill points are spent and you're just looking for loot to boost your character. I have no other real reason to go into the dungeon other than Din's ultimate forgiveness. Give some monster creatures some actual home decor that might actually wield more items-of-interest (food, prisoners, etc.). Right now, with the exception of treasure rooms and armories, monsters live together strewn about without much sense to the character/player. In a survival game, characters/players will be paying a lot of attention to how to get in and get exactly what they're looking for.

Now, as for how zombasite spreads--does it spread between species? Harder? Equally? Rhetorical question, but species and even sub-species could serve as methods of slowing the disease's spread, so how creatures populate dungeons could make or break a scenario. [See also Plague Inc. for interesting ideas on how diseases spread.] Must the zombasite be transmitted by fluid exchange (bites), proximity, touch? Can it be caught from a corpse? That's another factor that can be changed per-scenario so that even the zombie infection rates are variable per-scenario. Or it can mutate and take on new traits (per Plague Inc.) over time.

Is the ultimate objective simply survival, or will there be an overall storyline in seeking/inventing/constructing a cure? Dark Elves will be hunting to harness and control it, humans might be hunting for ways to stop it...but survival, quarantine, and food will be top of anyone's lists.

Another thing that could be added to the game are other sentient species. So much focus on the monster types, not enough on the above-ground alliances and possibilities. We know there's other "pc-able" and above-ground races due to Kivi's Underworld. Dark Elves implies light elves, etc. These become more important if the disease in any given host has some trouble jumping between species. It could incorporate some of the Drox inter-species relations into the game.