No More Room In Hell

[Ciaran]

“No More Room in Hell”

ZOM-BIE: (Zom`be) n. also ZOM-BIES pl. 1. An animated corpse that feeds on living human flesh. 2. A voodoo spell that raises the dead. 3. A Voodoo snake god. 4. One who moves or acts  in a daze “like a zombie.” [a word of West  African origin]

SOLANUM: THE VIRUS

Solanum works by travelling through the bloodstream, from initial point of entry to the brain. The virus, through means unknown, uses the cells of the frontal lobe for replication, destroying them in the process. All bodily functions cease during this period. By stopping the heart, the infected subject is rendered “dead” though the brain remains alive but dormant while the virus mutates its cells into a completely new organ. The most critical trait of this organ is it's independence from oxygen. By removing the need for this all-important resource, the undead brain can utilize, but no way dependant upon, the complex support mechanism of the human body. Once mutation is complete, this new organ reanimates the body into a form that bears little resemblance (physiologically speaking) to the original corpse. Some bodily functions remain constant, others operate in a modified capacity, and the remainder shut down completely. This new organism is a zombie, a mamber of the living dead.

Symptoms
Below is an outline of the process once a human is infected by the virus.

Hour 1: Pain and discolouration (brown-purple) of the infected area. Immediate clotting of the wound (provided the infection came from a wound).

Hour 5: Fever (99 – 106 degrees F), chills, slight dementia, vomiting, acute pain in the joints.

Hour 8: Numbing of extremities and infected area, increased fever (103 – 106 degrees F), increased  dementia, loss of muscular coordination.

Hour 11: Paralysis in the lower body, overall numbness, slowed heart rate.

Hour 16: Coma.

Hour 20: Heart stoppage. Zero brain activity.

Hour 23: Reanimation.

Solanum is extremely contagious and 100% fatal. Physical contact with infected blood or saliva always result in infection. Ingestion of infected flesh results in permanent death unless the victim has open mouth sores. Solanum is fatal to all living organisms, though humans are the only organisms that will reanimate. Parasitic insects such as mosquitoes reject infected hosts 100% of the time. All animals will instinctively run, swim or fly away from zombies.

KILLING THE DEAD

Destroying a zombie may be simple, but it is far from an easy task. Zombies require none of the physiological functions that humans need to survive. Destruction or severe damage of the circulatory, digestive or respiratory system will do nothing to the walking dead. The only way to kill a zombie is to remove the head or to destroy the brain. There are a thousand ways to kill a human, but only one way to kill a zombie – the brain must be obliterated by any means possible.

OUTBREAKS

Class  1
Low-level outbreak, usually in a Third World country or First World rural area. The number of zombies in this class range from one to twenty, human casualties range from one to fifty. Media coverage, if present, look for common stories  like homicides  or “accidents”. This is the most common type of outbreak and the easiest to go unnoticed.

Class 2
Urban or densely populated areas are included in this level of outbreak. The number of zombies range from twenty to one hundred, human casualties may reach as high as several hundred. A larger the number of zombies will spark an  immediate response. Local, state and even federal law enforcement will be on hand to help and additionally there will be a low-level military response. These units will often take a non-combatant role, due to the panic from civilians, providing medical assistance, crowd control  and logistical support. Class 2 outbreaks almost always attract the press, unless the outbreak happens in a truly isolated part of the world, the story will be reported. This does not mean, however, that it will be reported accurately.

Class  3
A true crisis. Class 3 outbreaks, more than any other, demonstrate  a true threat posed by the living dead. Zombies will number in thousands, encompassing an area of  several hundred miles. There is no chance of a media black-out or cover-up story. Even without media attention, the sheer magnitude of the attack will leave  too many eyewitnesses. All law enforcement will be replaced by units of the regular military. A state of  emergency will be declared for for the infested zone, as well as neighbouring areas. Expect  martial law, restricted travel, rationed supplies, federalised services and strictly monitored communication. All these measures, however, will take time to implement. The initial phase will be one of chaos as  those in power come to grips with the crisis. Riots, looting and widespread panic will add to their difficulties, further delaying an effective response. While this is happening, those living within the infested area will be at the mercy of the undead. Isolated, abandoned and surrounded by ghouls, they will have only themselves to depend on.

Class 4
Living in an undead world, all hope is gone.

PLAYING THE GAME

The Setting – A Rough Guide

The City
The story takes place in a fictional country called the United Civilized States, a country based slightly on America, but with English influences.

The large metropolis, Ravenholm City, where the RP takes place, is a mix of modern, 1950's retro and Gothic architect (think Gotham from Batman: The Animated Series). Skyscrapers stand tall, reaching as high as the clouds in the dark, polluted skies. Crime and unemployment rates are higher than average, Ravenholm City is a very difficult place to “make it” despite the city being known as “the city of hope”.

The Plot
The game will begin during a Class 2 outbreak, eventually leading into a Class 3 outbreak. The  origin of the Virus is unknown though a guerilla journalist has made a claim that it was the work of Medicom, a special medical research company, who released it on purpose. This is not the first time Medicom have been accused of controversial issues. If it was Medicom, it is unknown if it was accidental or not.

The Rules
1.Basic RP rules apply
2.Unless you're part of the Law Enforcement, or have a good reason, you probably wont own a gun. If you do have a gun, you wont have a lot of ammo, a few rounds at most.
3.Supplies will be low, this includes ammo, food, fuel, and whatever looters can get their hands on. You will be able to pick up a few bits and bobs here and there, but if you go around finding magical crates full to the brim of machine gun rounds and jet packs, you will be in trouble.
4.Unless you're Arnold Schwarzenegger, you wont be able to carry everything you find. Each character can have a ruck sack at the start, or can pick on up if they find one during the game. Each character can hold up to 4 items without a use of a bag, or 8 items with  use of a ruck sack.
5.Improvisation is the key to survival, use whatever you can to help get yourself out of danger, since real weapons will be limited.
6.Weapons CAN be found, e.g. A pistol in a Police Station, but will be very limited. Also characters, even those trained with weapons such as  guns wont be getting the instant headshot like many Hollywood Zombie films, your character will miss a  few times at least.
7.The final rule of the bunch, have fun... and try not to get yourself killed.

BIO TEMPLATE

(Template used with permission from Pho)

Name: (put a full name, first & surname, witha nickname if desired)
Age: (this one is self explanatory, but you can have anyone from 10 to 100)
Gender & Sexuality: (in case the name doesn't make it obvious, or you really want a more obscure gender then put that here. Sexuality is optional, but for those who wants gay/lesbian/bi/transexual the option to put it is there)
Nationality: (where your character is originally from, ie, where they were born and raised)
Occupation: (this will say 'job', 'student' or 'unemployed', so put what job you have, that you are a student and what you study, or just that you are unemployed)
Appearance: (everything from height, weight, eyes, hair - the characters physical description)
Style:[size=10pt][/size] (this is the style or typical clothes that your character wears - such as 'often wears jeans and tshirts' or 'suits for business, polo shirts for casual' etc, also if you want to put any personal items the character always keep on them or always wears put that here.)
Health: (this covers whether the character is exceptionally fit or unfit, and also any injuries/disabilities the character may have, physical or mental)
Strengths/Skills: (put here things that your character is particularly good at, or even qualified in)
Weaknesses/Fears: (put here things your character is particularly crap at, or unable to do, and also any fears they have that are unusual or prominent - ie, 'fear of beards, extreme phobia of spiders)
Goals & Ambitions: (put here everything that your character is working for and wants out of life. this can be anything from wanting to get married with kids to wanting to be prime minister)
Family: (here goes who is in the characters family and what state they are in, so it'd go:
Fred Bloggs (father, deceased)
Jane Bloggs (mother, 47)
Jim Bloggs (brother, missing, 22)
Sarah Bloggs (sister, 18)

and afterwards put generalfamily history, such as any family feuds, anything important worth mentioning about the family or any of its members that isn't necessary to put into the background)
Background: (put here a rough summary of your characters life so far, highlighting any important events)
Personality: (self explanatory!)
Inventory: (What do you have with you at the start of the game? Read rule 4 for information)

The only restrictions I have on characters is that they have to be realistic (hence why I'm using the Alt Life Bio template), I'd prefer it if people stuck to just one character at a time but I will allow people to have two characters if they wish, other than that there are no restrictions on what your character can be or can do, as long as it stays in the boundaries of the rules and realism.