Far away gas stations and people's houses.

Mom and Pop style stores. Home Depot, sears, warhousing

What you need is a bike, preferably one designed for rough terrain. Quick, doesn't need fuel, and MUCH quieter than a automobile.

Warehouses if there are any. No threat of them being looted early on and they're going to be in a district that isn't as populated. I live in a rural as fuck area and the thing that I think of is farm/tractor supply stores. They're got Everything in those, they're pretty much Wal-marts for people with large animal needs.

everyone knows about gas stations but most people don't know where gas comes from. what you want is a gasoline distribution terminal. this is the place where the fuel trucks go and get gasoline which is taken to the various gas stations.

also, seconding a bike. seriously. get one.

Camping outfitters.
You'd get tents, prepackaged food, bottled water, sleeping bags, first aid kits, hunting gear and all kinds of rope, cutlery, hand tools, emergency supplies and the perennial favorite, a shitload of shotguns.

One-stop shopping and most people would be too dense to figure out what it may have in the back room and be too busy cleaning the shelves.

In the back room, you might run into a few dozen crates of inflatable duck blinds, but you also might find the stash of old Y2K gear which never got around to being sold off.

warehouse or farming supplies store, if possible try for a grain storage place theres one in my city that would be pretty well zombie proof and is right beside a river. It is also full of food.

>>13678061
>>13678067
You two are morons.

>gas stations
BRILLIANT! Because everybody who left town won't think of that!
>Mom and Pop style stores. Home Depot, sears
Because nobody will go where they always go to get shit.

Here's an actually creative idea for OP. Something like a Comfort Inn or something. The kind with only 70 rooms or so. Why? Linens can be used for all sorts of shit for one thing. Chlorine if they have a pool. BIG FUCKING CANS OF GRAVY. Frozen English muffins. Waffle or pancake batter mix that only needs water added. All sorts of breakfast jazz thats usually bought for the purpose of lasting them months if need be. Usually they buy in bulk too. Plus all sorts of stuff for repairs. Mouthwash and all that other junk that will keep you clean and healthy over the long term so that your GM doesn't hit you with an easily preventable disease later on. Plus when it comes to raiding a hotel isn't going to be on everybody's first hit list.

>>13678070

Hope these aren't fast-zombies. You'd be a deadman. Good gas mileage and four wheel drive are going to be important. One of my favorite hybrids for this is the Subaru. Pic is a Loyale, the 5 speed versions get about 32 to the gallon and have plenty of area for supplies.

Fairgrounds gun and knife show. Interesting weapons and MREs. Also, jerky, lots of it. And knives, big fucking knives.

Damn... I wish I could afford firearms but I keep spending all my money on jerky...

>>13678138

inb4 cholera

>>13678107
You. Yes, you there.
That is awesome and you should feel awesome.
That said, any event which includes "zerg rushing the Wal-Mart" is destined to end poorly. Everyone acts as if they just randomly invented the idea of "lol, loot Wal-Mart".

Want an odd list of places people don't loot?
>Wal-Mart distribution centers
No, not the super-stores. The gigantic warehouses which have the supplies for the super-stores. As in, the ratio is ten-to-one.
>Factories
In the short run, you'll have fuel (from their generators), vehicles (parking lots, fleet cars/trucks), food (commissary, vending machines, lockers) and clothing (uniforms, lockers, lost-and-found). This is to say nothing of the stuff you'd find on the factory floor itself. If you find a place which makes custom RVs or limousines, you have surprisingly good odds of being able to make your own post-apocalyptic transportation, even with minimal skills in construction/engineering.

...and of course, if you find a place which produces ammunition, you are now the king of the world.

>>13678046
Forgive me if this sounds a little retarded, but you're drawing up a handiman, so why not your shop? If you're focused on long term survival, stuff like welding equipment, torches, metal, chains, etc. will give you the ability to create stuff to not only keep things going but also fortify whatever position you take for the long term. Other people are probably going to get food, so why don't you focus on bringing things that will help you in the long-term. Plus you'll get the choice stuff since nobody's going to raid a workshop.

Or maybe some place where you can get seed and stuff? Planting for the next season and all.

On the line that warehouses are on, wherever you find shipping warehouse there is also going to be a bigass garage for repairing semi's. It's going to have more tools than you can possibly carry, a large surplus of fluids for said vehicles (anything from oil to brake fluid.), most likely refrigerant, propane tanks, rubber gloves, industrial strength paper towels, and it's own large supply of fuel (Diesel). And then there's a huge warehouse a stones throw away to loot.

OP here. I'm not making any judgments yet, but I'm mostly bumping this for more ideas. There've been some great ones so far, and I'd like to get some more.

>>13678246
Listen to this man, OP, if only for one thing! Propane tanks are going to be extremely handy to you. You're probably going to be able to make valves and shit so that's going to be a priority for you. You can survive the summer, but can you survive the long, cold winter?

inb4HankHill

>>13678167
To expand on your idea, anon, why doesn't he include his last few businesses/residences he's worked at, as possible sources of both supplies and shelter?

If he worked on a greenhouse's roof, a mechanic's plumbing or a few items of heavy equipment near a construction site, he's got a bunch of leads on where to go and what to grab, just by hitting the last two or three stops he'd made.

And if he ever worked at a place with security alarms/coded entry, might he also have the codes to get in? Be kind of a low-end odds situation, but being able to hole up in a liquor store for a few days might be handy, moreso if if you didn't have to rip the doors or windows out just to get in...

>>13678149
>distribution centers
>>13678246
>other stuff there.

this.
And hit the yellow-pages (ok, the internet probably) to look for a wholesaler supplier. The places the supply other stores. they are smaller and more limited then the mega-distribution centers run under the walmart/sams/etc brand, but they are also common. And they hide behind unassuming names like Devco on their warehouses back in those light industrial development zones that no one visits.

I would imagine that without having had worked for one of the big retailers in one way another, i doubt, unless you live near one, that you'd know where to find the warehouse that one of these places is intaking its stock from.

However. what you could do, is pretty much hit warehouse DISTRICTS. Most of the time warehouses are not just sitting by themselves, there are sometimes entire blocks of them.

I actually work in such an area, have my little office right smack dab in the middle of one. It would be the perfect area to raid for supplies/hole up for extended periods. Few windows, lots of reinforced doors, heavy construction, lots of access to roofs, and there are tools, tools everywhere.

The smaller warehouses often contain metal working shops or small time car repair services, the bigger ones often contain all sorts of raw materials, and plenty of sturdy vehicles as far as the eye can see.

>captcha Rochelle, chrem
yes captcha, we've all chremed Rochelle at some point

Making a list of things you'll need to get. Ordered by importance
Food/Seed
Clothing (You'll need warm winter clothing depending on where you're settling)
Medical supplies (Not just medicine, disinfectants and clean cloth for bandages and soaking up blood.)
Fuel (For your vehicle, for your tools eg. chainsaw, welder/torch, tractor)
Weapons/Ammo (You'll need ammo for hunting game, along with killing zombies)
Tools/building supplies (Don't forget electrical supplies like copper wiring and plumbing supplies, most other things can be found or made onsite)
Misc. (Unnecessary items. Books, musical instruments, calenders, timepieces. I'd also place instruction manuals in here as their importance relies on the amount of knowledge your characters possess.)

What'd I leave out?

OP again.

One thing that I think I should specify. The GM told us that he has where we'll end up figured out. He said that we'd have access to water even after the services shut off and space to work with. I have no idea what he has in mind, but he's been watching a lot of Wold After Humans so I figure he's pulled some ideas from there.

When we asked about fast zombies, he told us not to sweat it. No further details than that.

He did say that we've been holed up for a week or so after the shit hits the fan before the game starts and he'll come up with reasons why we had to leave wherever we were hiding.

When I told him my character idea, he said that I could have a truck. Apparently most characters aren't getting one. He also let me know that we'll be in Saint Louis, for what that's worth.

Lastly, he also mentioned that there won't be a DMPC or any initial NPCs with us. We asked about family members and he just shrugged and said that they were elsewhere when things went bad and that they've been out of contact. Lastly, we all know each other.

I don't know if any of this helps, but I thought I'd mention it.

I think the big elephant that people are forgetting about is clean water. One guy touched on chlorine in hotels, where else are you going to find water-purifiers? You can find small ones at the local camping/hiking store. But you're going to need to be getting clean water for several people at least for a long time. When you get to your site, how are you going to get water when you're there?Freshwater stream, dig a well, set camp up by a lake? How does the disease spread and is it going to contaminate these things?

>>13678395
OP again. Your last question is one that we did ask: how are the zombies spread? Virus, magic, what? All he did was smile and refused to answer.

>>13678359
>Food/Seed
Don't forget bamboo. 1,001 uses, from vodka to to fuel to building supplies.
>Clothing
Bulk cloth (in bolts, if you can get it) works better than six cases of coats; with bulk cloth, you can put together generic clothes suitable to the climate/terrain.
>Medical supplies
Might want to factor bleach, alcohol, clean pots/pans and fresh/clean water into this area, as well. Being able to perform surgery is one thing; having a clean area/tools to do so is slightly important, as well.
>Fuel
Fit a snowplow to the front grill of a pickup; drag a plow behind a station wagon - you no longer need a tractor.
>Weapons/Ammo
Reasonably, yes. Don't forget hand-loading tools/supplies, as well. If you can reuse expended casings, you're doing a lot better than most would.
>Tools/building supplies
PVC, 2"x4", sheet metal and copper pipe; the seeds of a new foundry and steelworks, if you know how to build. Look up the materials required to make a tool shot which runs on natural resources (wind, water, heat... earth ... heart... wait...) if possible.
>Misc.
If you can fit it, take it; you never know if you'll be back in that area again and if you are, what storage capacity you'll have then. Worst-case scenario: you drop stuff on the move.

>>13678392

Alot depends on if your characters are going to try to contact their families and see if they're alive. Realistically that's going to be on all your minds, whether you play on it or not is your choice.

so everyone take a break to watch The Colony? (first one anyhow)?

rocking the awesome warehouse, they were.

St Louis huh?
step one, get out of the city.
step two, Get Out Of The City.

>>13678407
uh oh, a grin.
we're all dead and this is hell.

>>13678359
Money
Not so much that it becomes a hassle but enough to buy water or supplies off some one ignorant enough to take the money

also a CB radio might not hurt

>>13678433
>The Colony
Fuck yeah, the Colony.
I loved the second season, even if they were gigantic vaginas until the crazy old man showed up. In the first season, they were psychotics from day zero.

>>13678417
I laughed at the Captain Planet reference harder than I should have.

>>13678423
Yeah. I'm thinking that my character has a kid. He doesn't give two shits about the ex wife (or so he tells himself) but he'd really like to find out what happened to his daughter. He he runs into his zombified girl, I plan on him having a BSOD no matter what the other players/GM/dice say.

>money

what? no. you want things you can trade and money would be worthless if the government collapsed. cartons of cigarettes and alcohol are always popular barter items.

>>13678447
He made clear the idea that money would be useless, except to idiots. If someone offered me ten thousand bucks for a five gallon can of gasoline, I'd laugh while I set a bullet into their forehead. However, if I can sweet talk some fuckwit into selling me a five gallon can of gasoline for ten grand, I damned straight would.

>>13678433
My work schedule shifted and I couldn't watch the second season, but The Colony is part of what inspired my character. I don't want to play a genius or anything, but I know that most of the other players are making billy badasses, and I want at least one person to be the guy what knows how to make the actually useful stuff. Heck, I even took a little bit of cooking to make sure that I can justify being able to make a smokehouse.

And I know that I want to get out of the city, but I'm not sure if that's the game plan. Hopefully it will be, but we'll have to see how that goes.

...And please, don't make me think of how horrible this could actually be for my character. I've already been planning what his final words are going to be if things turn sour in various situations.

>damnings future
...Yes, captcha, I realize this will end in tears for somebody.

>>13678447
read the post again hurp durp

I was talking about ripping off some one who still thought money had value but not carting around more money than a bank.
This is a fresh apocalypse, not a 200 year, Fallout apocalypse. People would still have hope that humanity would resume as normal after a while and that the government will too.

St. Louis is a big city. Hell with supplies, just get the fuck out!

Considering where you are I suggest head North AS FAST AS YOU CAN until you reach cottage country and at that point the biggest threats for weeks will be wildlife. Also many cabins/cottages will have survival supplies and boats so you can just say screw roads and go for river travel.

rural co-op

>>13678619
>>13678596
>>13678511
Thank you for your help in suggesting places I should raid. I appreciate it.

I'm going to go ahead and head out, see if any of the other players show up early to talk with them about their ideas. I'll check the thread before game starts not only to see if there are any more ideas for raiding locations, but to show them the suggestions posted on here, and not ideas as to where we should bug out to before we even know the plot of the game beyond zombies everywhere.

>>13678639
oh! clinics!

Not the hospital, because those will all be, you know, either piles of zeds or something else gone wrong, but Urgent Care/CareNow/Local Care, any of those "local small chain clinic" facilities might be intact and overlooked.

medical supplies and drugs, some equipment and general goods.

>>13678694
An idea someone gave me in a different thread was private rehab clinics, as they've got their own ambulances (sometimes), drugs (varying by their respective clientele needs), sturdy walls/windows (as a rule) and food in their cupboards/pantries for their patients.

That, and the venerable choice of prisons or half-way houses, as those would be emptied within hours of a lolzombies scenario (seriously, who would want to stick around a jail?).

Okay, it turns out that I wasn't the only one who showed up early. One when the doors first opened, one shortly after. The dude playing the militiaman (does St. Louis even have a militia?) and the EMT dude.
Before I could bring up raiding places, the EMT's player tried to establish how we knew each other. We hit upon bowling league. A quick fact-checking shows that his character is a single father who's teenage daughter is currently on a trip to europe. We decided that he gives mine support over his own daughter. The militiaman decided that he'll be bowling with us.

I also confirmed that the girl isn't playing a combat monkey either, but that she's gearing towards a jack of all trades -- not horribly good at anything, but with a wide variety of skills. She decided it'll give her room to grow. The last player is going for former army with orienteering skills.

The EMT already had the idea to hit up a clinic, which is cool. The militiaman likes the idea of the distribution center. We're going to suggest the gal take the hotel when she gets here, and the army boy take the shipping warehouse. I'm going to go with my shop, or at least a shop.

>>13678906

Oh god, you're splitting the party? That's a death sentence right there.

>>13679072
No, we each get to have raided one location before game starts.

GM is late, which is cool. He actually warned us he might be a little late depending on how things went with his doctor's visit.

>>13679072
i think it is structured along the lines of "you went to such and such? ok, you found X, Y and z, and then you met these other survivors!(the party)"

If you are in a coastal city with shipping then hit up the docks. There will be warehouses stuffed full of all kinds of things and minimal people.

GM is here and approving everybody's characters and assigning our loot. I've agreed to shut down once he's assigned everything. Also, ex-Army dude insists on going to Shopco, but our favorite female gamer agreed to the hotel, and thought it was a really inventive idea.

First up was the gal. He approved her character, and seemed surprised by her choice. When she explained it, he approved. (That said, she shot herself in the foot when explaining her combat stats, saying that she rented a gun, thereby denying herself one at start.) After he had her make some dice rolls (one was even an 01) he gave her what she got: A thing of unopened waffle mix, three industrial cans of gravy, sheets, blankets, four buckets of chlorine, three big hotel boxes of cereal, two of each of the following jugs: OJ concentrate, grape concentrate, lemonade concentrate, apple juice concentrate, and cranberry concentrate. The only thing that she apparently dared salvage from the freezer was a box of butter packets. He said that she searched the rooms and didn't find much of interest besides clothes, except for one room. It had a guy who did himself in. She has a hunting rifle and a full box of ammo, save one bullet.

Apparently some of the rooms she could hear the zombies shuffling around in.

EMT is up. GM approved him, though gave him some flack over his combat skills. He didn't have any justification and just went "uhhhh." He did some point shuffling to lower them and ended up with some weaving skills from boy scouts.

Unfortunately, he didn't roll very well. Apparently it was already looted and all the drugs were gone. It didn't have a pharmacy, either. But they did leave a lot of gauze, crutches, scalpels, and stuff like that around. Enough that he was able to fill up his car. The GM did confirm, though, that he has his trauma bag with everything needed for on-scene treatment, so that helps a little bit.

A lighthouse would be an amazing place to hole up, provided you have the supplies. Good visability, a single staircase that could be held off with a single shotgun or a long pole, poking the zombies until they fall. And there would probably be loads of supplies, seeing as lighthouse keepers usually don't interact with the locals much.

This all depends on which continent your on, im a brit, but i've never heard of american lighthouses, but they must exist.

My turn. I justified my combat skills with "I'm not from the city. Note the farming skills." He accepted that just fine. Though he only let me have a .22 rifle for shooting possums. Better than nothing I guess.

BONUS! I told him that I was raiding my shop and he blinked at me as if I'd grown a second head. He told me to choose another location because that was a gimmie. I made sure if I could grab my tools and equipment and he rolled his eyes and said yes. SCORE! Going for the shipping warehouse.

Two good, two shitty rolls.

I got two of the big canisters of propane used for the forklifts. Three "huge" things of industrial plastic wrap. Various tools and equipment, but he didn't give details. Some oil lanterns and oil! A bag of cement mix. Crowbar. A solar shower, three camping mess kits, and some glow sticks. Enough packing tape to stun a yak (whatever that means). And a mace. What kind of a shipping warehouse did I hit up? Apparently I saw other goodies but had to split because a pack of zombies were approaching.

Up next is Army Boy.

>>13679453
>plastic wrap
Put it over windows to reduce glare from internal lights, if you stick some cloth to it. Also helps keep warmth in.

Major perk: can be used to collect rain water and with a little work with a hot glue gun, turned into storage bags/canteens.

>>13679397
If only we weren't mid-continent. I actually know of a few rather good lighthouses on either coast. Otherwise, if we're given a chance to roam, I'd totally suggest that as a place to hold up, since I know at least one of them has enough space to grow at least some food.

>>13679474
I wouldn't have thought of that on my own, but you also gave me an idea. I remember seeing on TV how they have to put a vapor barrier in homes, which is basically a sheet of plastic. I'm not sure what kind of plastic for sure (industrial plastic wrap is a bit beyond my comprehension, I'm afraid) but if we end up having to make our own long-term shelters, that might work nicely.

>>13679505
Industrial plastic wrap is the same stuff you see wound around crates and boxes when they're unloading stock at a Wal-Mart; they build a pallet full of goodies, then wrap it up in the plastic sheeting, tape it off and pack it into a truck.
tl;dr - its Saran-Wrap, anon. Nothing weird to it.

Also: see if you can get your collective asses into the brewery caves of St. Louis; beer, hideouts, in-house transportation and ... dude, its a cave. Need I say more?

Okay, just a bit of an argument between the player and the GM. Player wanted an assault rifle. GM said that he could have brought back everything but a firing pin. Player started arguing that he could, and forgot that our GM is ex-army, specifically supply. I'd laugh, but the annoyance overwhelms the humor.

...Maybe I shouldn't have felt so bad. This is going to screw us. Big time. He botched two of the four rolls. He's retired those dice for the rest of the day. How often do you see, in four rolls, somebody rolling 100 twice. Karma, maybe?

He got some yarn, at least. Four rolls of it. I don't think any of us have knitting skills. Most of what was left in the store was in the crafts section. He's insisting on grabbing anything even remotely useful. We've all been tossing out ideas from stuff we've seen in crafts sections. Most of what the GM is agreeing to doesn't seem useful enough to me to type out, but the dude who plays the EMT was writing it frantically. I take that back, I think the GM just threw us another bone. There's a lot of clay and mix that he got. That might come in very handy later. I'll ask later if it's the kind that needs baked. If the utilities go out, or have gone out, that might be a problem.

>>13679585
Use the clay and some birthday candles, using the lost wax method, to cast a firing pin from melted down knitting needles.

Also: yarn makes good tourniquets, a small sewing kit can be repurposed for a multitude of new options and never underestimate the value of a trail marker made from a roll of ribbon; a zombie would overlook it, but it would catch the eye of any humans who spot it.

Also: if you can, get a hold of small items from a dollar store: shaving kits, washrags, Handiwipes, toothbrushes, etc. Consider yourself about to take an extended road trip: how funky do you want to get?

Making this fast, its almost time. If you all want to hear how our game went, I'll post when game's done. Otherwise, no stress.

Militiaman got a rifle. Army boy is seething. He rolled well on the average. He got stuff for walmart pharmacies, not all of it as useful as we'd like. But he did get vitamins, flour, powdered milk and powdered eggs (a lot of it) LED flashlights, shittons of batteries, a bunch of camping stuff, tons of hygene stuff (the GM said a crate of it, I'll get more specifics later, but thanks for the suggestion because I nudged the GM with it) and he was rather insistent about getting as much salt as possible. GM let him. A bolt of fabric, cast iron skillet, random things of ammo (he didn't speficy) some books and a guitar. With that I flee for finding out what the plot is and actually getting in character.

>>13679685
Post us the outcome of the session, OP.
Good luck and Godspeed.

>>13679505
>our own long-term shelters

That would probably work. especially if doubled (a layer over whatever structure you built, then something like a layer of leaves, styrene foam, or failing that a light structure to create an air gap, then more plastic.

Other fun uses!
solar still to recover drinkable water from undrinkable sources/mushy wet vegetation. Might not be a huge problem, but something to keep in mind. can also serve, bunched up, as a halfway acceptable plastic rope/tie.

packing tape, also super useful.
and a crowbar.. handy..

>>13679685

go forth and prosper, Anticitizen One
build a bright zzombie proof plastic-wrapped new day!

Bumping for impending post-game

>>13681276
>Bump II: The Bumpening

Game's done, but I'll need a few to settle in and start typing everything up.

Before I get started, I want to explain about our FLGS. It's run by a guy that everybody swears up and down won the lottery. (He just blows it off with a laugh and says whatever. Not quite an answer, I know, but still.) It's a big old house that's been converted completely. The first floor is the actual shop, and it's gone through huge remodeling for it. The only room that hasn't been redone is the kitchen, which you can actually rent.

The second floor is where it gets really cool. The game rooms aren't very expensive to rent, depending on the deal. It's complicated, but since we get one every week, we get a discount, but since it's a closed door game, we get a slight hike. He likes to encourage people to watch games, no matter if its roleplaying, cards, or wargames. But everybody uses the tables in the first floor for that. I should also note that roleplaying, card games, vidya games, and wargames all have their own rooms on the first floor, which makes it even cooler. The second floor has the vending machines, too. The gaming rooms have a place where you can plug in your radio or ipod into with speakers built in, and they must have been soundproofed or something. It's actually a lot of fun and rather convenient in a way, doubly so for the free wifi and all the electrical outlets in all the rooms.

>>13684669
Anyway, to game.

This is why my GM is awesome. I think I was the only one to discuss my character concept with him in advance, but he rolled wonderfully with it. Within minutes he had explanations for why everybody was still in town. Militiaman (Gene) was got separated from his militia as they helped with evac, but swore he'd get any survivors he could find to safety before being forced to hide. Army Boy (Roland) met up with him shortly after his raid and the two stuck together. Gene then started to get in touch with the rest of us because he went through the contact list for bowling league: Beth had tried to keep her cell phone charged until power went out, EMT (Greg) found his land line still working, but he couldn't call outside the city, the same with me. Two weeks after the initial zombie explosion (GM's words, not mine) we decided it was safer together than apart. We'd also heard that somehow things were worse outside the city, though no confirmed reports. Gene's last communication with the militia revealed that they were having to fight their way to the fallback point. Not a pleasant thought.

Either way, our current locations were all found lacking for one reason or another. Gene and Roland had a rather secure position, but no handy access to water. I had my shop, which put me in a surprisingly similar boat. Beth was right by the Mississippi, but it was getting harder and harder to defend her place. Greg, oddly, announced that his home was both "fucked, screwed, and thirsty" leaving us all to laugh. Apparently, water lines only lasted a week, electricity was out, gas was out, though the phone lines were oddly up in most places.

>>13684702
We all met up at Greg's to help get him out before heading off to find greener pastures. Thus, we had our first taste of the undead. We also learned that there are two types (that we know of so far). We've dubbed them Shamblers and Lurkers, though they might be one and the same. Shamblers are your typical zombie. Lurkers will "play dead" (Haha, get it? Our GM is not as funny as he thinks he is.) laying motionless on the ground until you get close enough for them to wrap their mitts on you and try to bite you.

(In case you're wondering, we're basically using the system from Unknown Armies.) Once we realized "Hey, use your reach to bash the heads of the lurkers with melee weapons and don't waste ammo" we got him out quickly, taking careful routes to avoid known crowds of zombies and local crazies. Like the mandatory dude in a gun shop who was a little too eager to keep the undead or living from getting him, if you know what I mean.

Eventually, we found where the GM wanted us to hold up. Right by the river, on enough of a hill that flooding wasn't a huge concern, was a huge fucking house or small mansion, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Greg's player is our secretary, he who takes the notes, so he can give you the details. All that I remember is that the grounds were huge and best of all? Chest high wall around the entire place. We all made the note of razor wire as we hopped the wall. ("Razor wire?" "Oh, razor wire." "Fuck you! We're going with razor wire!" "Guys, please. Think long term. Razor wire!" "Delicious razor wire nom nom oh god my mouth!")

>>13684714
Turns out that the people who lived there had all decided that there was no way they were becoming undead and decided to escape using The Other Method. Oddly, power was still on, though twitchy -- the GM said it flickered in and out on occasion. We couldn't find a generator, so we're assuming that there was another source somehow. We're treating it like it might go away at any moment and doing everything we can. We got the front gate open and got our vehicles inside.

Upon securing the house (we insisted on a full house sweep, our GM can be a sneaky bastard at times) we moved the bodies outside and got to work burying them while making plans. (Yes, we probably should have burned them, but Greg made a point about how much burning bodies stink and the smell is hard to get rid of -- he used to be a volunteer firefighter for a few years. From what I've gathered, that's the reason why he quit. He doesn't talk about it much.)

>>13684736
Roland proved to continue of being That Guy AND a valuable member of the team. He said that he knew where to get razor wire, the GM asked him to roll for that, and he threw a hissy fit. In the end, he justified it by saying that he tried a few jobs after quitting the army, and listed off five that he failed at and the one he stuck with. One of them was construction, the kind that puts up razor wire. A few minutes later, he stated that Beth should get the master bedroom, something my character agreed with immediately -- two small-town boys in action.

We divvied up rooms (our GM had a map for the place, something that worries me in the long-run) and got some shut eye, Gene and Roland taking shifts on watch. We set into a plan of action: We'd unload the vehicles, and everybody else would take stock of what the house had while I started to get to work on coming up with ways to bar the windows from the INSIDE, in such a way that they'd be hard to get through from the outside, but we could make a quick escape if need be. I rolled poorly on that, but Beth (who actually had Engineering) made a really good roll that the GM deemed was good enough to cover mine. My next roll was far better, and I had a good plan on how to do it. The house only had the usual stuff that you'd find in a mansion, some of it useful, some of it less so. Though we were kind of surprised that the people who'd lived here hadn't set the security system. One of those things that we should have thought of BEFORE breaking in. The door hadn't even been locked. I'm going to have to figure out a way to get a copy of the keys made, as we're one short.

Do we know how others become a zombie? Do you need to be killed by one? Just a bite? Scratch? Dying from ANYTHING?

>awesome.jpg

>>13684782
Three days later, we're ready to head back out for more looting. Roland proved useful once again -- he pointed out that it's autumn, we have no heat, and it's only going to get colder here soon. We needed wood stoves. We went back and forth on where to go until I remembered that there are specialty stores for that sort of thing. We checked the phone book (or, rather, the GM checked his laptop) and found one. We all piled into Gene's and my vehicles: we had trucks, everybody else had cars. We decided we were using those for gas. Problem: Mine's a diesel, but that may work to our advantage if we can make biodiesel. Still.

We went out there without incident. No big problems getting in (power's out) and there weren't any undead inside, nor was it looted. Poor place for bunkering down and not much interest to looters. We got five wood-burning stoves (Greg's player made sure that they had systems to pull their own air from the outside, plus ways to heat the air that don't require electricity) all the piping for them that we could grab our grubby little mitts on, and all the tools we might need. We still had plenty of space in Gene's truck, so we went for some razor wire.

>>13684792
No, and that worries me. Apparently we all either had a day off we were spending just chilling in our homes or otherwise in "safe" locations and then suddenly ZOMBIES. ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE. Needless to say, we're surviving on bottled water until the wood stoves are set up, since we don't want to waste the propane on boiling water if at all possible.

>>13684833
The GM asked for driving checks, which we made. That's when we encountered the problem -- somebody was throwing moltov cocktails at us in an area where there was only a narrow strip to drive through. (I found that odd, since if we BURNED TO DEATH he wouldn't be able to loot the stuff in the trucks, but I digress.) We made it, but not before my truck took one to the hood. We got out fast, and used Gene's emergency kit to put out the flames. The GM didn't seem to mind, but said that he used up all of his small car-sized fire extinguisher. Mental note: get more fire extinguishers.

At the construction site, the GM made sure to point out that we didn't have enough space to pack all the razor wire we needed, but at least enough for half the fence. Good enough for us -- we could at least wire the front. Beth and I took some damage collecting it, but Greg patched us up. Roland used Beth's rifle to keep the undead clear from us. I'm a little worried about how much ammo he had to use, but when two packs of "at least 30, if not more" zombies are approaching, we didn't think much of it at the time.

Back home, we took the time to confirm that nobody had come to our roost while we were gone. A few rolls later, we got the razor wire set up without taking any more damage. We then settled in for the night, had a meal, and roleplayed a bit. We've made plans to hit up more hotels, the distribution center, and get more razor wire. Razor wire, food and non-hybrid seeds are our top priorities right now, followed by ammo, weapons, solar panels, and coffee.

Most of the rest of the session was spent role playing. The GM doesn't like us saying "Oh, I have X stats" to each other so one way around it that he approves of is for us to discuss our lives and hint drop our skills that way. We get to know where our characters are, personality and skill wise, and we get an XP bonus for role playing. Can't argue with that.

And that's pretty much it. Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Why Non-Hybrid seeds?

And when are you having the next session? Because this sounds fucking AWESOME.

>>13684911
Many hybrid seeds won't let you grow the seeds from what you grow. IE you need to keep buying seeds year after year. At least, that's what Roland says, and he's the only one of us with a garden. He called them "heritage seeds" at first, but then explained them as non-hybrids. Despite him being a bit of That Guy, he could be a lot worse. He's not THAT bad, he honestly tries to be a party player, and when he has it, he'll bring stuff out of his garden at game. It's kind of odd; both myself and Greg's player are almost carnivores outside of game, but when he brings some veggies to game with him, we're all over it.

As for when, every Friday. We used to have it in the evenings, but A) that costs extra, and the only person whose schedule didn't work with the mornings was Beth's player, and she ended up getting it off. (The company needed people to cut hours, and she volunteered if she could get Fridays off for game. Her supervisor is an old-school D&D player, so he pushed on her behalf.)

>>13684911
more reliable when it comes to collecting seeds from its crop and replanting. Some of the "best" seeds are borderline mutants that will produce a plant with fine fruit, but the seeds of that plant will bear shoddy fruit, or will even be sterile.

>>13684852
early warning system!
Start thinking about it. might be complex movement scanner cameras from radio shack, might be scavenged wire stretched around and between trees at the perimeter of the cleared space around the walls. Something to slow down zeds or any other invaders, rather then only finding out about the swarm when they start clawing the walls.

So then, are we to assume in one week's time, you'll be posting about your 2nd Session?

Because I am really curious to see how the party survives. Also, curious about the cause and transmission of the Zombie Cancer.

>>13684992
THURSDAYS. Not Fridays, Thursdays. Derp. Why do I keep doing that?

>>13685006
I'm going to push for low tech old school. Not just because I'll get skill use XP, either. We aren't sure how long power is going to last. Right now, we're using it like there's no tomorrow, charging car batteries until they're full, using power tools whenever possible, etc. But you're right, I'd rather know when somebody is outside the outer wall than knocking on the door asking for a cup of sugar or a cup of brains.

>>13685027
If you want! I wasn't sure that people would want to hear it to begin with.

I do know that when we asked about if the zombies looked decayed or not, the GM said not when everything started. Though he also did say that some of them were extremely stiff, and a few other questions revealed that the ones who weren't moving well were all dressed "nice." I was going to ask if they looked "nice but dirty" but he was already changing subjects. I'm wondering if they're unearthed undead.

>>13678046
You can search museums for effective melee weapons.
Swords, armor, clubs stuff like that.

creative-ish

Also hardware stores for power tools. Or even propane tanks and a lighter.

you'll need food so maybe resteraunts nearby. if you get weapons from the museum you can use them to break into houses or something. but a tent might be nice. stuff like that.

helpful I hope

>>13685063
old school was a good school.

simplest i can think of would be, like i said, some wires along the trees. knee height and chest height. Razor wire would be nice, but anything, even sturdy rope might help. Mindless shambling corpses should be tripped up a little or slowed to a stop running into the wire, and all the shaking could tug at bells, tin cans, etc.

Certainly makes me fear the worst. I can't speak for the rest of Anon, but I'd like to hear more.

>>13685134
I never would have thought of that. Getting in might be difficult, but it's worth a suggestion. I'll have to look into museums in St. Louis that might have handy stuff.

>>13685144
The razor wire is, admittedly, for defense against humans. The outer wall and gate should help us immensely against zombies, but it's only chest high. We all vaulted it easily, so another human (or more scary, a smart zombie if there are any) might be able to as well. This might give them pause.

I'll probably suggest a perimeter inside the outer wall of rope and tin cans. I don't want to advertise too much, after all. Though the razor we're putting up on the wall is plenty of that, I suppose. If we can find enough brick and mortar, I'd like to look into raising the wall higher, maybe even look into building a ledge so we can patrol it.

One of my biggest concerns is ammo. We went through a good portion of it for Beth's rifle, and most of the raided ammo doesn't work for our guns. I'm also going to push for us to pick up coffee. While I can see us using it, I also imagine it'll be good for trade. I honestly can't imagine that our GM won't put us in a position where trading won't be a viable option eventually.

Might I suggest raiding the local Marina? Or whatever the river based equivalent is. I'm really only familiar with salt water personally but the gist of it should be similar. Lots of people keep their emergency supplies on their boats when they are put up for the season. Things that aren't perishable and you have no reason to bring home with you when the season is over.

You could probably loot quite a bit. All sorts of maps, flashlights, flare guns, maps, batteries and plenty more stuff. Also, Marina's typically have related shops around them. You'll get bait/fishing supply shops or maybe even a Sea and Ski if you are lucky. Sea and Ski's may be a New England phenomena though. Anyway, you'd be able to loot some fishing supplies (seeing as you are overlooking a river and all), maybe some bait if you are lucky and it isn't all dead by this time. Plus you might get lucky. Sometimes stores happen to have shark suits to avoid getting chomped on by aggressive wildlife while diving. If it can stop a shark it can stop a zombie. Its essentially chain mail. If they've got that they might have a spear gun too.

That river might end up being your lifeblood. Plenty of food to be had out of the water.

If you're going to go back to get more razor wire try to get some chain link fencing too. Before it's set up it comes in rolls you can get some in a truck easily. You could use this on the inside of windows to block them, or I'm sure you could have tons of other uses. You could even unwind the fencing for a lot of wire.

Also for warmth and to conserve resources, you should use as few rooms as possible for living space. If you're all sleeping in your own rooms, you need to heat them all, etc. If you're all in the master room, which I assume is big enough for four, then you only need to use a woodstove to heat that one on cold days. Not to mention easily sharing blankets and shit. Plus all of you being there, your body warmth will help.

You should maybe think of making a boat for a fast escape if possible. A couple canoes banded together like a catamaran or something. With a raft floor. You could use chain link fencing for something like that, even. A little canopy to carry supplies on a vehicle.

If there's a big yard and you find yourselves with down time, you could dig tiger traps. Holes in the ground deep enough for someone to be trapped in, with the openings hidden. Someone unwanted walks onto them and is trapped.

Also you might want to think about moving abandoned cars from around your HQ into the interior of your compound. If you can find any, that is. Some might have gas. If not you could push them in. You could use them as barricades for your place, or even just as a resources you could strip. Taking an alternator from a car to build a wind mill powered generator for instance. Or the rubber tires for some make shift bite-proof armor. Or the car hoods or car doors or the vinyl from the seats. You can use a lot. Same for stuff in the house. Cabinet doors and the like.

Also, while the idea of bells or tin cans on the razor wire to alert you guys of intruders may sound like a good idea.

We don't know if the Zeds rely or use their Hearing as well. If they do, having wind-chimes or tiny cans on the fencing may be a bigger death trap than security system.

Esp. since you guys are low on ammo... Personally, the idea of holding up in a large house to me is a death trap...

>>13685314
I seriously doubt we'll find a shark suit unless we go further down river (a prospect I don't savor due to locks and dams) but the rest of that is a VERY good idea. Which also reminds me, we need to look into ways to get water from the river to our home that don't involve driving down and filling buckets and stuff, which is what we're going to have to resort to doing. Also, ways to purify the water beyond simple boiling. Mississippi water is nasty, from what I'm told.

>>13685317
Something else I never would have thought of -- the fencing. I'll make a note of that. I did realize that we should have grabbed all the rebar we could, but it's a little late for that. I'm also thinking cinder blocks, now that I'm actually thinking.

And thank you for your suggestions on heating! Not only will it be good to remember, but it'll also be easier for my character in the long run. I've claimed Beth as my little helper since she has some skills, and Gene has shown interest in learning, but it'll take a while for those skills to be built up to anything honestly usable on either of them. Which means my character is either housebound a lot as I work and they do the important stuff or I find a way to free up some of my time. Only doing one or two rooms instead of five might save me a bunch. I'll talk to the other players, see what they think.

As for skipping away on a boat, that might be a little tricky. I don't think any of us have boating skills. Still, I'll see if we can start learning from books or something.

Mental note, raid the mother fucking library. The house does have one, also see what kinds of books they have.

Dude, you obviously need to raid Gamestop and your local LGS.

>>13685314
Maybe wetsuits, too? I don't know how effective they are out of water for keeping people warm, but could be useful.

>>13685398
I thought of this too. Maybe you could put up tin cans and wind chimes, but keep them inside the house, the interior sides of doors and the like. Think about in small mom and pop stores, where there are those bells on the back of the door.

Your group is making some food in the kitchen. All of a sudden, you hear the bells at the front door. "Shit."

Also check sports and outdoor supply stores. Football helmets, baseball bats (wooden and alluminum), other heavy weapons, croquet mallets, etc. Lots of socks and shoes and underwear and shit. Might even have hunting gear. Waders that fishermen use to keep their legs dry. That's thick rubber. Useful to prevent getting bitten in the legs, possibly. Also have tents and sleeping bags and shit.

>>13685398
compromise?

perimeter Inside the wall at least, and talk to the others about an escape plan. Would fencing in a path down to the water be sane? just something to keep a swarm of zeds around your walls from gabbing immediately, as you skitter past, jump in your emergency boat and book it downriver?

No matter what is chosen- escape plan and mechanism beats getting dragged down when they finally chew through the walls of the strongest room you are hiding in.

>>13685442
>>13685436
>>13685430
>i should refresh before posting.

good then!
and even if you are not a master boat handler, being able to get into something that will get you to the Other side of the river will be at least an evasion of whatever you are running from at that moment.

>>13685369
>Taking an alternator from a car to build a wind mill powered generator
This is four levels of brilliant that I never would have thought of. I can do this. I just need to build a tower to put it on. Time to put the welding gear to good use and start teaching people the finer points of "DON'T LOOK AT IT WHILE YOU USE IT YOU MORON!" (Actually, I don't, not after the A-Team-themed game.)

Tiger traps might work well, too. Hmmm, I'll talk to Roland's player. He's good at that kind of thing. I might try and talk him into coming up with the idea himself. Not only will it give him something to do while those of us doing the technical work are working, but it'll make him feel more useful.

>>13685398
With things worse outside the city (apparently some roads and bridges were bombed. Strange.) holding up somewhere inside was as good an idea as any. It's a large stone house with a stone wall along the perimeter and a good sturdy gate. It gives us secure farming land, and we can fortify it. It's close to water. Honestly, staying in the city, I don't see many better options. Sure, if we get overrun, then getting out will be a bitch, but that's true for almost any location. Plus, this plays into the GMs plans, and as much as we do things that are outside his plans, we also know to take the plot bone.

>>13685436
...Why gamestop if power might go out at any time? Plus, I think I can safely say that at least two of our characters, mine included, wouldn't be the slightest bit interested in anything from a LGS.

>>13685530
The windmill is from the second season of The Colony.

I like the idea of the chimes being inside the perimeter, namely the front door. That's good.

Also, I would suggest having multiple tiers of walls if you guys can. You said adding to the chest-high wall. Why not have 2 chest-high walls?

Also. How many other Survivors have you guys encountered? ALOT of people are gonna want to target that big ass mansion you're all in.

Also, what sort of ammo have you found, and what guns?

Also, go for a high caliber pistol. It's light, easy to carry, and if you take a .357 or a .45, it'll blow a Zed's head to pieces. Alot better than a .22 or a 9mm, which will go right through. [The .22 might just buzz around their skull, which I guess it good too, but I'd rather see the head explode, and be positive myself]

Also, I don't live in St. Louis. But I know my local police used S&W .45 Pistols, and have Benelli Shotguns, and M4 Carbines in the Police Armory for Gang shootouts, and SWAT. I'd assume that the Police Station would NOT be a safe place to check out, but if you need ammo...

Perhaps you might find some Cops who've survived. Most stations were made to be semi-forts, especially here on the East Coast (NJ), after the Race Riots of the 70's.

Adding to security on the inside:

You could build barricades at strategic chokepoints inside of the mansion. You could use chainlink fencing or cinderblocks or whatever. Just one or two in a few hallways or something would be useful.

Adding to the front door or main entrance. You should put chimes on the inside of the door like said earlier. But you should also construct a cage around the door like in Lock Stock And 2 Smoking Barrels. If most of the other entrances are blocked up tightly, putting a second tier to the main entrance can help a ton.

>>13685442
Plus it might be an added layer of protection, at the very least. I'll put that in my notes. I have the feeling that I'm going to be the guy with a bajillion ideas that people are going to tell to slow down. NOT COMPLAINING!

>>13685442
Since we're getting the inside of the windows barred, windchimes inside is actually an amazingly good idea. Subtle, but easily identifiable. I like this.

Also, yes, sporting supply stores will be doubly worth looking into, especially if they have protein shake mixes and the like. We have a long winter ahead of us.

>>13685443
>>13685462
>Would fencing in a path down to the water be sane?
Worth considering, yes! Perhaps also build a canopy over it of some sort. Plus, it'll help if we need to walk to the water.

>>13685535
We haven't actually encountered many survivors that we know of. Moltov guy, sniper asshole, and a few deciding to make a last stand against a horde that we really weren't in a position to help. (I skipped over that, yes. Call it pride -- I wanted to help, and the GM had to ask "Are you sure?" twice before I got the hint.) That said, there could be a lot more hiding, not desperate or crazy enough to show themselves/attack us. Building more walls might be difficult at best. Remember, we still need to lug everything back home, and that would take a ton of materials. ...Maybe if we can find a semi with the keys inside. Beth has some lockpicking skill, but not carjacking.

As for ammo, I'm not sure offhand. I don't have a copy of the notes, and the only one allowed a computer at game is the GM.

You guys need to find a radio. The kind that police and military use. Could definitely come in handy, not to mention the plot hooks that could come out of it.

If it's possible, maybe loot pet stores. Could be some live animals there. And hey man, meat is meat. And I'm sure if you're desperate you could eat dog food.

You're going to want to be as quiet and invisible as possible.

If there are trees on the immediate other side of that small wall, chop them down. You can use the wood for stuff, plus it will take away the chance of someone using the tree to climb over.

But seriously, look at everything you can find, and use it for something. Trash can lids, trash cans, old carpeting, even. It's thick stuff. You could take some thick rugs and use it for something. Blocking windows to keep warmth and light it. If you bolt/nail/screw it in place it would be hard to remove from the outside. Shit is thick.

>>13685710
Thick rugs you could also use to climb over razor/barbed wire if you want to get in some place to loot.

Also you should get bolt cutters, etc. Maybe you already have them in your tools. You should find out.

OH, for hygiene stuff you're going to want a lot of toothepaste and shit. Baking soda can be used. Or just a toothbrush. Or when you get down on supplies, just rub your teeth with some course cloth and shit.

It's also worth mentioning that the GM had an insane amount of maps drawn up for buildings. I think he's going to draw up more based on our thoughts from this session.

>>13685710
Again, charging them is something that we'd be cautious about, at least until we got either a windmill or solar power going. I'm seriously thinking that the GM is going to pull our power plug but quick. We've talked about hitting up auto supply stores for car batteries. But yes, if we can, we might try and get radios of some sort. Also walkie-talkies, preferably the kind with earpieces. I'll bring that up.

There's not many trees within the immediate outside of the wall, but a few inside. We've already decided that we aren't cutting them down -- we don't know what kind they are, and we want to wait and see if they bear fruit.

Wait. Trees outside the compound will be cut down soon anyway. Firewood.

Right now we're focusing on immediate needs and then going for more obscure stuff. Roland's player is pushing for us to explore the surrounding houses, but that's a secondary concern at this point for the rest of us. We might change our tune once food starts running low.

>>13685761
Good point on the rugs! That would make life a little less painful, considering the damage I took. Also, yes, I have bolt cutters.

>>13685791
Something that I learned in boy scouts was just how multipurpose Listerine can be. Emergency disinfectant, a quick pep up for tired and worn feet... Speaking of which, I need to see if we have any Epsom salt.

Aside from all the specialty locations, don't forget about all the stuff near you. Neighboring houses, garages, etc. Tool sheds, too. Make sure you all have some big heavy coats and other clothes come winter. Warm hats. Scarves. Gloves.

>>13685863
>we don't know what kind they are, and we want to wait and see if they bear fruit.

this is where a library raid will help,
There is probably a big book "Identifying Fruiting Trees On The St Zombietown River Valley Area" or the like, with marking guides, etc. Something like that.

Here's some ideas. Thank me later.

Put brick down where you're going to put your wood stove. Put ceramic behind it. The last thing that you want is to burn down your safehouse by hot coals on carpet. They'll also absorb heat and radiate it. This is good.

You already have a way in mind to get water from the river to your safehouse. You just need to double it. A windmill. Build a second one for that purpose. Also dig a deep well. Don't let rainwater go to waste. Collect it in barrels. Get some sand and rocks and fishtank charcoal and put them in a barrel with a spigot at the bottom. Water filtration. Also boil it of course but that should get some nasties out that boiling alone won't. Just remember to change everything on occasion.

Get candles so you can go to the bathroom in the dark. Lighters and matches too. Batteries won't last forever. Not even rechargeable ones.

Get a bicycle and convert it into a power generator. Hook it up to an ipod charger or something. If you want to listen to music then you've got to ride the bike. A good way to keep energy consumption down.

Any place with a metal shop is your friend. Same with a wood shop. Each have their uses.

If you get a boat lock up a weeks worth of everything you might need on it. And I mean lock it up tight. Everybody should have a key to it that they keep on their person at all times. If you need to bug out you'll be thankful for it later.

If anybody looks at the chick and says the word repopulation you should smack them. You don't want to turn her into a baby machine and you'll also score points with her.

>>13685939
True, but most of those rely on leaves, which have already fallen for the most part. I'm going to drop some points into my Farming to see if I can use that, along with a book, to identify them come spring. That should come in handy.

>>13686160
Good ideas, one and all! I approve. That said, I'm not sure if any of us even stand a chance with Beth. Her player has yet to have a character to show interest in any PC that I'm aware of. Not that any of us would complain if she did, mind you... I think there's only one member of the group who hasn't harbored a tiny crush on her, and that's because he's gay.

Dont know if this is available near you but there are 12 stores in victorai australia that sell a wetsuit called shark skin aromour. Its for deep see divers who encounter sharks, somewhat obviouse. Its twice as strong as chainmail and is about a 1/4 of the weight, you can get gloves and slippers made from the same stuff effectivley covering everything exept your face. Combined with a fencing mask for visibility, I maintain this is the best zombie armour in existance. If sharks struggle to bite through it aombies are going to be fresh out of luck.

Fencing will be useful: but difficult and time consuming.
You can't just get big wound section of chain link and spread it out. You need sturdy posts in the ground to put it on. That means a lot of digging and concrete.
Having a sturdy fence up will be a lifesaver though.

And you have lots of plastic sheeting? Use it to collect dew and rainwater. Basically shape it into a big funnel over a water container. GM will probably demand a roll to see if you character could actually make it work though.