Okay, well, I've been on a long hiatus, and now I'm actually rather prepared to post something. First post, but I'm known by the same name over on the Wiz boards, so its not like I'm not used to this or anything. This is my campaign setting, the Zombie Slayers. Its a bit,... Un-traditional, so please bear with me and give me the light of day to actually get this strange concept of a CS into the light. This isnt by any means supposed to be a book-quality review of the campaign information that would allow you to play in the setting,... Its merely a brief overview. Muar.
The ZS
Long ago, a great empire sprawled across all of the known land, clenching the world in an iron fist. This was known as the Kasidan Empire, named after its ageless emperor Sebrin Kasidan. A great rebel army -known as the Scarlet Scarf- finally overthrew the Kasidan Empire. However, the empire blessed the world with law and control, as opressive as it may have been. When it fell, the Age of Chaos began. Lawlessness overtook the world, and in the end it was no particular army or warlord that brought about order. It was those with technology, men and women after nothing but wealth and power. While the world may have finally been divided into individual nations and powers, the real driving force behind the world ware the megacorporations. Now, as the tides of war are begining to form, a mysterious fog-like cloud appears, spreading death across the world.
The ZS, short for "Zombie Slayers" was a campaign setting by accident rather than design. Originally starting as a funny comic that spoofed everything that was Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Eternal Darkness, and any other "scary" game that my close friends and I decided to parody. That being said, a lot of those flavors and themes are still with us today, even if the majority of the setting and themes have changed since then.
The World. In the current world of the ZS, we are just now getting out of the "Wild West" time period, that is, the late 1800's, early 1900's. There are some slight differences (mostly vehicular technology) but otherwise that's the basic theme of the world. Predominated by war, enhanced by subterfuge, and underscored with the thread and dread of a "Death Siege," the world of Idis is a chaotic and confusing one at best, a time-bomb at the worst.
Terms. These are not things that we need to come to, but rather thing that will help in the making of sense as I continue to elaborate. The aforementioned "mysterious fog-like cloud" has been recorded to have originated from Mount Tempest in the Unforgiven Lands. This appears to be a dull mustard-yellow in color, and causes those who inhale it to be affected with a strange disease that causes them to die and return from that state as mindless flesh-eating monsters appropriately labled as "Zombies."
Locales. The world of Idis is dynamic and far-reaching with many flavorful locations and ruins to visit. The primary region of the planet would, on earth, be something like from the arctic circle to Egypt, from the Mississippi river to Berlin, though slightly farther west and south have been mapped. However, most of the planet remains uncharted, leaving exploration and epic journies to be commonplace among adventurers.
Adventure. In the profession of adventuring in ZS, two things are incredibly high. Profits and casualties. The rarity of healing magics mean that would-be heroes will have to be extra careful and make their choices wisely. The history of the world is in hidden in plain sight for any who search hard enough, but thanks to the Kasidan's document wipe-out even in which all public and private records of history were burned, the current world repeats the mistakes of the past over and over again without fail, and nearly nobody bothers to even worry about the past; the present is much more present. Heroes may get caught up in war or the Zombie Slayers themselves, or exploration projects, or sent on a mission to travel across the dangerous plains to deliver an important message or package to its reciprient, or they may be from some of the less-developed regions visiting the might of the technological empires for the first time. Whichever path they choose (as an individual, or as a group) the danger is as high as its ever been. One of the most common adventuring hooks is most certainly- What is the real history of this world? Is it truely the lard that the Kasidan Church continues to spoon-feed us? Or is there something more?
The Land Itself. While the locales may be dynamic and far-reaching, the lands between are incredibly parilous. Due to Idis' close proximity to its sun, the planet is naturally more dry and arid than normal; savhannas and deserts are commonplace. While the lands themselves are dangerous, the most dangerous opponent is the Carrion Crawler (which has nothing to do with the Monster Manual creature). These massive insect-like creatures are usually about the size of a cow and have a strong carapace, sharp pincers and maws, a cunning intellect, and a sense of pack-unity. United under a massive queen, which is usually the size of an elephant, these creatures form underground colonies which are usually invisible until one finds oneself standing atop it surrounded by the monsters. In very few places of the world, lush forests and meadows are abound. In many more places of the world, vast poisonous and toxic wastelands spread like butter on toast.
The History. The brief history given above is just that- brief. Its meant to give you a feel for how things stand at the moment. The most important part of that, however, is that the Kasidan was the one that ruled and controlled all information. So what really happened? The Kasidan Church (which still exsists and is the most powerful non-coprorate entity, and is very well more influential than some companies) states that the Kasidan religion was always here with us, and that God created the world to epitomize his teachings, created his angels to teach us, and created the saints to be the paragon of examples. The world has never not-known God. Many people beleive this, though some are more curious as to what really happened. Long ago, there was a widespread nation called Istaraq. This nation was benevolant in its teachings and promoted the learning of things over all else. Istaraq was also one of the most magical places on the planet, and the amount of magic invovled in everyday life could be equatted to Eberron. They worshiped a god known as Dune, the Sand Father, and all was good. Many forms of magic came out of Istaraq then and the nation flourished. However, they grew too close to some massive power, and legend has it that Dune came down to the planet and summoned a great sandstorm, burying Istaraq alive and causing a massive uproar of dust and sand which blotted out the sun and temporarily froze the planet over. Those few that survived this cataclysm made their homes on the mountains, and eventually, this was all that humans knew. Mountain homes seperated by massive oceans of ice. Then, something extraordinary happened. A great disc of flame nearly struck the planet, skipping off the southernmost atmosphere and throwing rubble and fire down to the surface, superheating much of the south pole. This caused a chain reaction which lead to much of the world's water supply being evaporated and toxic. The planet warmed and the humans descended from their mountain homes. It is said that at some point, Dune guided a group of several powers to destroy an encroaching evil that he only called The Scourge. Not much is known about this entity except that he was massively magically powerful. This creature was defeated during the rise of the Kasidan Empire. The history is essentially the same from here on out. It should be noted, however, that nearly nobody knows of the actual world's history before the Kasidan Empire, as stated above.
Magic. Now, a setting like this doesn't seem to support much magic. And that's right, it doesn't. It should be noted, however, that some magic does, indeed, exsist. The chance of seeing a robed wizard is so unlikely that it may as well be impossible. But those with the right contacts (or the bravery to delve into the ruin of Istaraq) may be able to recover paths of magic that are yet unknown or still uncommon. In the more technologically advanced regions, magic is incredibly rare, but the farther from a major city you go, the more magical things are (likely) to become. Magic in ZS is very different than magic in normal Dungeons and Dragons, however. It is more a mysticism than anything else, and actual spellcasters are very rare indeed. The magic of ZS is much more Shadowdancer magic than it is Wizard magic, meaning, that the magic available isn't neccessarily of the spell sort, more of the ability sort. Many magical creatures exsist in the shadow of humanity, such as Vampires (which are very different in ZS) and Lycanthropes (only slightly different) though any race with real spellcasting ability does not really exsist. In the life of the common man, magic may seem wondrous and extraordinary. From the above information, it may even seem like it doesn't fit with the setting at all. But for the life of an adventurer, who travels the world and makes many friends and enemies, such strange magical occurances and abilities would be nothing new. Now, as stated, this seems to clash with the setting's overbearing technological and more desperate feel, but it does fit, you just have to know what flavor you're looking for. The magical abilities in ZS could most be equated to something one would see in Pirates of the Carribean. Its very exotic, but not really anything like spells, and usually causes nothing but trouble for those who dont know to interract with it. As far as spells and actual spellcasting is concerned, the majority of spellcasting could be related to the game Eternal Darkness. For those who haven't had the experience of that, it could be more related to a Call of Cthulu system, for the most part.
The Cloud. While not much information about the cloud specifically is available, information is much more prevelant (but still quite rare) about perephenelia on the cloud. The Cult of the Triad, a cult of devil-worshipers, is known to frequent locations hit by the cloud in order to gather research material or capture zombies for release later when they need a distraction. This group has minor invokers and demonbinders, more concerned with converting as many people over to their relgion than anything else. More information to follow.
Classes. Okay, onto some of the meat of this setting. This will be brief and simple. There are only three base classes in ZS. That's right, three. They are known as the Warrior, the Noble, and the Adventurer. Here's the catch. Two of those three (the Warrior and the Adventurer) have available paths, paths which (using the Warrior as the example) could grant you a favored enemy, rage, smite, or some other ability. That being said, the list of "classes" expands greatly, so dont shoot me down too soon. More to come.0
The Zombie Slayers. Okay, now we get onto the campaign setting's namesake. The Zombie Slayers are, essentially, a mercenary force of specialized soldiers that make a profit off of hunting down and mopping up the cities affected by the cloud. Also, these soldiers will take jobs from nearly any employer that needs use of their services. In a campaign sense, the Zombie Slayers are small, but very skilled (usually level 5+). They are a rather open organization and accepting of all origins; as long as a character has the drive and want to go out and kill things for money, they are a potential addition to the force. Other than just killing things, the Zombie Slayers are often called in to handle other situation, such as Carrion Crawlers and operating as bodyguards for those that feel uneasy about their situations with vampires or lycans. Their leader, Hunter Burton, is a exceelent shot and a master of several forms of martial arts. Joining the Zombie Slayers has no real cost, but is just like joining a rather lax military organization.
And that's all for now, folks.
Well that's interesting. But how is the fog supposed to turn people into zombies if they know that the yellow cloud means zombyhood for all? Causing the zombie status should be a more active process, like this (http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?the_taken).
Good question. That's something I haven't quite figured out, cept that I'm thinking its rather psudo-intelligent,... Like a swarm of some sort, or rather, what it is at the moment is it drifts from a high to a low altitude,...
Not quite the best explanation,... But its what I got at the moment. :p
Anyways. I'm gladly open to suggestions, and I'm thinking perhaps there's more than one? This is the sort of thing that I need assistance with, because you prove a very good point. I somehow need this to be connected with that (meaning the Zombies and Tempest Mountain) but it does, indeed, need to make sense.
QuoteTerms. These are not things that we need to come to, but rather thing that will help in the making of sense as I continue to elaborate. The aforementioned "mysterious fog-like cloud" has been recorded to have originated from Mount Tempest in the Unforgiven Lands. This appears to be a dull mustard-yellow in color, and causes those who inhale it to be affected with a strange disease that causes them to die and return from that state as mindless flesh-eating monsters appropriately labled as "Zombies."
If the fog travelled in small randomly appearing cyclone patterns, it would add to the fear/horror potential.
I can see zombie fighters in 19th century type diving gear to protect themselves from the gas while fighting/researching the scourge.
And religious nuts trying to bring their followers into the fog...
Are you familiar with the old early eighties cartoon,
The Spiral Zone?
Hmm, now that's an interesting take on it. I do like that, but,... If you could elaborate on what exactly you mean by that? If they can still see it coming, they can still clear out before the fog gets to them,... I like the idea (I think?) I'm just not sure what exactly you mean by it. Sorry, no sleep.
And as far as religious extreamists go,... There's several groups, both afilliliated with it and those who are just plain crazy.
And no, I cannot say that I am familiar with that cartoon.
Well, a small tornado/cyclone could travel faster (65mph+) than a person's ability to get of its way. It might also have an erratic course. And it could only happen at night (my fav).
The Spiral Zone was a massive(globe spanning) area of disturbed atmosphere that turned the unprotected into zombie like creatures. Though, once out of the Zone, you could be restored easily, if I recall correctly. It was pulled for being too creepy for daytime kids' tv.
Yay cowboys!
Yay megacorps!
Yay zombies!
Unlikely mix for the win!
Be sure to mix it up a little.
A single type of opponent (one without ranged weapons, at that) can get dull. Pit people against people. Pit people against stationary gun turrets in the ruined megacorps (who are probably responsible for these clouds anyway). Pit people against horribly mutated flora and fauna. Diversifying opponents is a GOOD thing.
Oh, I absolutely agree, beejazz. I have many other forms of opponents that these guys can go up against.
Hunchbacks- Hunchbacks are massive, enhanced muscles allowing them to move at great speed and really damage foes. They have long claws and are more cunning than the average monster. On their backs, massive tumors develop, giving them a hunched-over apperance and their name-sake.
Reavers- While not as fast at distance as a Hunchback, Reavers are incredibly cunning and are always pack-hunters. Their entire heads are taken up by their mouths. They hunt using tremorsense, and have no actual hands; all their forearms are taken up by long, scythe-like blades.
Those are just two of the creatures that I've got planned for, and of course the mutated flora and fauna are always a big one.
A cyclone would very much work, but as I was typing I had another though, if this cloud was more actually a cloud (instead of a gas) of small airborne parasites or somesuch. Is just an idea, like to get some thoughts on it.
QuoteA cyclone would very much work, but as I was typing I had another though, if this cloud was more actually a cloud (instead of a gas) of small airborne parasites or somesuch. Is just an idea, like to get some thoughts on it.
Yes, the cloud as a swarm of parasites would be very kool!
I updated the information above with some more stuff- history, magic, and some cloud information.
As far as the parasites are concerned, it would explain a lot about the cloud. It would be semi-sentient, and capable of moving in and infecting an area at great speed,... And would its sentience would allow for it to descend at night with reason rather than just for flavor purposes.
As for clouds=parasites, try reading Michael Criton's Prey. he has the clouds be a cloud of nanites, and there is no zombie-ness, but was still a very fun, very well written novel, and it was the first thing that came to mind with the idea of clouds of zombie causing parasites. Great stuff, I want more!
Hmm, I'll have to head down to the library later and pick that up.
As for the cloud, I think parasites will probably work best. Alternatively, I need opinions on the feel for the magic stated above. It seems like it should work, but I'm a bit suspicious of it.
Updated the meat and potatoes with some lite class information.
And added information on the campaign setting's namesake. I could post a large, lengthy explanation of the history, but I'm unsure about it. Dunno, I may have more later...