Potential Zombie Outbreak

[EnlightenedVagabond]

Okay, so I am running my first BTS game since I was in grade 5 on Tuesday, lotta a pressure. I am using pre-gens, and its a decent sized group, now I am doing the normal BTS style mini adventures like dealing with haunted houses, things that go bump in the night, vampires, ghouls and such... But I had this idea of an shady pharmaceutical company getting ahold of this occult artifact that they have been using to create a sort of "anti-aging" pill, but they have been secreting small doses into peoples medication, unforseen circumstances, couple people take this medication in the small town of Ravendusk, south east of Seattle where the Pharma Corp is located and they 'turn' into seemingly mindless zombies...

Now these zombies can bite and infect other people like normal zombies, and it can become a serious situation if not handled properly. I am aware vaguely of the Dead Reign books, however I do not own them nor will I own them in time for me to play this scenario out.

What I want is some troubleshooting as to how the players can STOP the outbreak, or failing that how can I contain it should they screw up... I was thinking of having the outbreak directly tied to the artifact and if that is destroyed the outbreak subsides and all 'zombies' revert to normal people they were before the 'turn'.

Any ideas? thoughts? Some of my group are experienced in Palladium, most havent ever played BTS let alone a Palladium game, but all of them tend to be big Zombie and supernatural horror fans.

[Cybermancer]

This thread over at the Lazlo Society has a zombie outbreak in it, the actions of the 'player characters' as well as the strategy by some government(?) agency to contain the outbreak. The cause given in this scenerio is different from the one you want but there are still many story elements that can be adapted as you see fit.

In addition to Dead Reign, there are some Rifter articles that were the inspiration for Dead Reign that you may find useful. Unfortnately I don't remember which ones and I don't have access to them at the moment. Maybe someone else will be able to help you out.

[mrloucifer]

In addition to Dead Reign, there are some Rifter articles that were the inspiration for Dead Reign that you may find useful. Unfortnately I don't remember which ones and I don't have access to them at the moment. Maybe someone else will be able to help you out.

I got this one CyberMan.

He's referring to the Rifter #45, which is the same issue that Lord Z's inspiring and irreplaceable "Court of the Tarot" submission was printed. As I understand it, the "Another World of Zombies" article was the original idea of the Dead Reign game, which itself was originally planned to be a BTS sourcebook or a sort. The creatures in this article are those that were cut when Dead Reign went in another direction. The "Organ Grinder" Demon is a favorite of mine.

I used this material in one of my adventures, there the group visited one of the small islands of Washington state. There "was" a science facility on the island that was creating these zombies and conjuring the demons to it. So the group has to basically shut down the facility and keep the zombie outbreak from leaving the island... if the zombie made it to mainland, there would be no stopping them! It was a great adventure! Al of the the Dead Reign books (some of my writing shows up in Dark Places btw) and Rifter #45 would make great additions to your game.

And to Pimp Lord Z's article a bit more, owning the Rifter #45 would give the added bonus of including the Court of Tarot to your BTS game.

[EnlightenedVagabond]

I used this material in one of my adventures, there the group visited one of the small islands of Washington state. There "was" a science facility on the island that was creating these zombies and conjuring the demons to it. So the group has to basically shut down the facility and keep the zombie outbreak from leaving the island... if the zombie made it to mainland, there would be no stopping them! It was a great adventure! Al of the the Dead Reign books (some of my writing shows up in Dark Places btw) and Rifter #45 would make great additions to your game.

And to Pimp Lord Z's article a bit more, owning the Rifter #45 would give the added bonus of including the Court of Tarot to your BTS game.

Interesting, I will have to get a copy, sadly I only have up to Rifter 42.

I like the island idea, I might go with that... Ive got a whole "current" season of Supernatural vibe going on here, someone like "Dick Roman" running things behind the scenes, though not a leviathan. Something else, entirely.

[mrloucifer]

I like the island idea, I might go with that

It went REALLY well in my game as the island was a playground of strange activity and what not that wasn't in the public view, allowing my to create really bizarre situations and things that you don't always see in BTS.

[Blindscout]

Some potential RL flavor for you scenario;

I happen to live east of Seattle, further south of me (full SE of Seattle)
is the town of Gig Harbor. In Gig Harbor is the company Metagenics their slogan is
"Better Health through Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine". Seems like they could
be doing the research you are talking about. Using real locations and companies
might help add to the verisimilitude of the game.

As far as the Island idea goes, there is Vashon Island in the Puget Sound, smack dab
on the SE/NW line between Seattle and Gig Harbor.

I hope all this helps and you and your players have a blast!

[mrloucifer]

Blindscout, I may have to put you in retainer... ALL of my games take place in the Seattle area as the more I read and learn about it, the more BTS worthy your neighborhood seems. Having access to someone who lives so close would have tons of great advice I imagine.

[Blindscout]

Blindscout, I may have to put you in retainer... ALL of my games take place in the Seattle area as the more I read and learn about it, the more BTS worthy your neighborhood seems. Having access to someone who lives so close would have tons of great advice I imagine.

Weeeell Mr. Lou,

My retainer fees are pretty steep. Each question you want to ask will cost you the time it takes you to PM me and the time you spend waiting for my response! Pretty steep, eh?

And if you end up running a game that I can attend I want to play a psi-mechanic!

[EnlightenedVagabond]

I like the island idea, I might go with that

It went REALLY well in my game as the island was a playground of strange activity and what not that wasn't in the public view, allowing my to create really bizarre situations and things that you don't always see in BTS.

I dont suppose you have that adventure in an emailable format do you?

[mrloucifer]

I don't suppose you have that adventure in an emailable format do you?

Sadly I do not. Not all of my games are a preplanned out as I'd have liked. That one was more off the cuff (and relying on before mentioned books) than anything else. I know I'm the 1st one to say you should always plan ahead for a BTS, but some games don't need to, and some are just funner going right off the cuff.

[mrloucifer]

And if you end up running a game that I can attend I want to play a psi-mechanic!

Psi-Mechanics and blind scouts will always be welcome in my games.

[Blindscout]

And if you end up running a game that I can attend I want to play a psi-mechanic!

Psi-Mechanics and blind scouts will always be welcome in my games.

I had a psi-mechanic as one of the NPCs in my BTS 2095 game and I fell in love with the class, really want to play one as a PC now.

[mrloucifer]

I had a psi-mechanic as one of the NPCs in my BTS 2095 game and I fell in love with the class, really want to play one as a PC now.

While my favorite is the Diviner, I really enjoy the Psi-Mechanic as well. Now that you bring it up, I've not had a lot of Psi-Mechanic interest in my games, either at home or at cons (I think Ive had only one Pregen Psi-Mechanic played in all of my games).

In my opinion, Psi-Mechanics offer a lot of creativity and diversity, so for those of you who haven't yet, go create and play one, I think You'll like it.

[mrloucifer]

Why yes it does Willus, good memory! If memory serves, it has an intro for the slouchers and the runner zombies that were fully fleshed out in the main book. They would offer enough details to get you started if you don't have the main book by the time the game gets going.

[Blindscout]

Why yes it does Willus, good memory! If memory serves, it has an intro for the slouchers and the runner zombies that were fully fleshed out in the main book. They would offer enough details to get you started if you don't have the main book by the time the game gets going.

Zombies......fleshed out......

[Cybermancer]

They'd be skeletons otherwise.