The Last of
Us
The Sun Sets
in the East
Regardless
of why you went, your trip to Beijing was a vacation that you wanted to
remember. The chance to escape from the weight of your day-to-day life and
experience something out of the ordinary. Something great that could help you
escape your own reality and marvel at some of the greatest sights known to man.
Everything
was going well, surprisingly. Great sights, marvelous food, and the chance to
meet people from all walks of life (And even the chance to have made a friend
or two out of them). Hey, that evening you may have even gone out to live the
night life. Yes, through all the good that was coming there was always a shadow
hanging over it. Maybe you felt it, maybe it was someone else feeling it that
you picked up on. But it was there.
It started
off quiet, slow. Word of infected crops. Strange infections causing strange
behaviors in other places. It wasn’t anything that hasn’t been over-covered
before with new and scary diseases. They all disappeared sooner or later, or
were at least contained. It didn’t stop, though. In fact the sheer force of its
explosion couldn’t have been foreseen at all. Suddenly your guide disappears.
Sirens, near and far, going off constantly. Word of the airports across the
country being closed, along with the borders. All the guests are told to remain
in their rooms, but many panic and try to run for the airport anyways, or
perhaps the embassies. They never return.
And then the
screams started. Beyond the illusion of safety your hotel room provides you
hear them. Screams. Yelling. Gunfire. Streets that had been emptied, and now
patrolled by police and military to keep anyone and everyone from leaving, were
bathed in chaos. Suddenly people are dragged into the streets, and those
suspected of infection ended before they could spread it further. They get closer
to your hotel.
Do you flee
to the streets or do you stand your ground? Do you place your hope on the mercy
and good judgment of others or do you go it alone and leave those you travelled
with to their fate? Is there any hope of survival in this foreign land, and
could there be possibility of escape from the chaos of the urban jungle? All
that becomes clear is that survival is the only rule as the shadows grow around
humanity and the Sun sets in the East.
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The Last of Us: The Sun Sets in the East
is a survival Role-play set in the realm of The
Last of Us where the world is plunged into chaos and destruction of the Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis(Cordyceps)
fungal infection. It will be utilizing rules from Savage Worlds , select survival and group concepts from State of Decay , as well as
storytelling and character interaction modelled after The Walking Dead (TV show and game ) . All of it expanded on a quite different scale with none of the
limitations, and as little scripting as possible.
Players take
the role of a tourist/visitor or a native in China, within the city of Beijing,
during the Cordyceps pandemic, starting in the waning hours before the mass
hysteria. They will be able to make a character of any background or
personality and put them to test against both the infected and, perhaps the
greater threat, the darkest parts of a desperate humanity. Not only will they
be in control over the fate of their own character, but all those whom they
come into contact with, who they may agree to take in or turn back to face the
horrors of the world alone.
As stated
before, this is a survival role-play with no scripted plot or far ahead in
advance chain of events. The direction of the game will be almost entirely in
the hands of the survivor group. Every choice will have a consequence, not all
of them being obvious (Or immediate). And as the players must expand their
actions in the mundane tasks of survival, they will be faced with many
different scenarios that will either make them stronger or start chipping away
at them piece by piece.
Permanent
death is a reality within this setting. No character is out of death’s reach,
or worse: That of the Cordyceps infection. Death is going to be a common
occurrence among the group, with the players’ own created characters being
slightly more resilient “Wild Card” characters. Survival will depend heavily on
management of resources, planning, and utilization of strengths. Players whose
character died will be given option to create a new one or leave the game. If
the latter is chosen the open slot will be advertised to the community.
Sorry,
but badasses like Joel came from twenty years of survival by sheer will. Since
this is when the infection first begins, all characters will start as ‘novice’
rank at the bottom of the ladder, no matter their background or training. This
pandemic will change everything and everyone will adapt and grow stronger in it
or fall. So why am I
posting this here? Community interest and support, of course! Currently we are
at four players, and a GM. I can support one more to join. KEEP IN MIND: We are text-only. No voice will be used for the running of this campaign. Roleplaying will be done through text, so if you are not interested in writing out emotes and are not interested in attention to detail, this campaign is not for you.
Beyond the
normal “advertising for players” scenario, I am looking for support and great
ideas! To start, this will be my first time running the Savage World rule set.
I’ve all the materials needed and as far as mechanics are concerned I have
learning to do, but I feel that I will grasp it fast. I don’t know everything,
but I would like to make connections with those that have experience running
survival/zombie/horror RP and Roll20 games. Any lessons learned in the course
of playing (or being the Game Master of) said games would be greatly
appreciated! So would any tips!
As for
ideas, I would love to hear those that people have which they would want to see
in game of this setting/genre. While I certainly have some of my own, I am aware there are
many I haven’t thought of and I am more than open to hearing new ones! HOWEVER,
to keep it from the players I ask you send a private message to me about them.
I am
planning to run this in a variety of ways. While Savage Worlds is, obviously,
setup for miniature play. I find miniature play, at ALL times, to be tacky and
awkward. Often it makes visualization too reliant upon the tokens and map.
Therefore I plan to have map/token play only in sessions of complex
combat/stealth scenarios. I will also not be making any grand maps or superbly
made tokens. At least not at this point in time. Overhead maps, basic drawings,
pictures, and portraits will make up the majority of combat overlay. In between
role-play and non-combat heavy scenes will be mostly text with a backdrop
picture to set mood or idea. Usage of sounds and music will also be added. As
much as Sound Cloud will give me. Should support and interest really get big in
this, and our ambition get even bigger, I may find a venue to post chat
logs/screenshots as it unfolds. Who knows what else?
Saturday, 21
June the discussion and planning session was held to get the setting decided
upon. I will post updates and amendments to this thread continuously. If you have
any questions feel free to send a private message or post them below, along
with any other comments/tips/things to watch out for or keep in mind. While
this is a small group playing, I would like to have a community of awesome
role-players behind me to make this great! Thank you for taking the time to
read and, if you share any wisdom or knowledge, double-thank you! Current (Active) players and their characters: (GM) Phalanx - Jasper Lee Ari - Sarah Albrand Dwrean - Frank Dodson Storme - Carson Volkov Rumboozle - Nikita Chesnokov __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ((Last Update: Thursday, July 17, 2014 )) This is not affiliated with Sony or Naughty Dog and is not official in any way. The Last
of Us ©2013 Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. The
Last of Us is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. Created
and developed by Naughty Dog, INC. TL;DR: If you scrolled down just to find this, I really don't want you as a player.
