[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/65755/posts/ooc?page=1#post-2041324]The New OOC[/url] [center][img=http://www.pictureshoster.com/files/x0ws7qb8kic5uf4gm4wl.png][/center] [indent][i] Someone said we should write these things down – said the world needs to know who we are after all we’ve done. After all we’ve been through and all we’ve sacrificed. I guess the heroes in the history books of our youth don’t really matter as much anymore. Not after all of this. We forget too easily the faces we didn’t look at long enough and the stories that mattered only at the time. The people, the places, the events that helped shape what became of us… they need to be known.[/i][/indent] [i][indent]So, welcome to Hell. There are no red men with horns, wings and pitchforks dancing amidst flames here. There’s not many men left at all, I imagine. But, there’s us. And we’re still here.[/i][/indent] [i][indent]- The Author[/i][/indent] --- [hider=Then] [indent][i]It’s been five years since it all began. Five whole years, and it’s so different here. It’s dangerous trying to live in this world, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m afraid of it. It must have been 2015, back when the sky was lit up with a meteor shower. God, was it beautiful. And bright – so damn bright. I remember people gathering on this beach, looking up to the sky on picnic blankets and towels, and just watching. Doing nothing but watching. Every news station claimed meteors fell all over in places like New York, Vancouver, Beijing, Norway – pretty much every country in the world had at least two or three. That night, when the world watched the stars in one collective daze… I guess it was the last time Earth felt a lull, a little dabble in peace since before we arrived. To a lot of us, it was a significant night. Because, after that, everything once beautiful would rot or run, and we’d never catch a break again. Not for a long while. It was the last time everything truly felt okay. It was about a week after that when people started falling ill. At first it was just a rapidly-spreading virus that brought on a cough – a simple, innocent cough. Then a fever, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue would follow. And it took you over so fast that you barely had time to say your whole-hearted goodbyes. Over time dementia and aggression overcame them. They weren’t human after that point. And they attacked everyone. They’re cannibalistic, violent and don’t feel pain. They’re mindless, they’re ruthless, they’re just… horror, embodied by humankind. It all happened so quickly, within a few days. Nowhere really had any time to prepare. America alone was quickly trying to control the situation, but the military didn’t last. Either they were that overwhelmed by the Infected, or it just wasn’t worth trying. Entire cities were engulfed overnight, and by the two week point, there was no U.S. military or government. No stability or security in North America, and Central America was far worse off than we could ever be. Everything just crumbled so easily. There was no contact to the rest of the world. There was just us: those luckily unlucky enough to survive. And this book is about us.[/i][/indent] [/hider] --- [center][img=http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/045/a/a/new_york_ruins_by_jonasdero-d35covg.jpg][/center] --- [hider=Now] [indent][i]By now, it must be the year 2020. It’s hard to keep track of what month it is, let alone which day. The world is a much different place. People have erected safe zones, known as “Havens”. They’re fortified towns where upwards to a few tens of thousands of people still live. Most people make a living by taking up whatever work they come across in the Havens. Most of the time it’s work no one wants to do. Thankfully, there are still good-hearted people in most of these Havens. When everyone banded together to defend themselves against the undead and make these refuges, it was like we finally remembered we’re reliant on each other to survive. Now it’s either you’re a part of the team, or you’re worthless. Some people scavenge for supplies in old cities and towns, some people farm, and some people guard the walls of their new homes. As long you’re doing something to benefit the rest of us, you’re good. That’s how Havens work. There’s more undead these days than there are Infected. I guess that's a win on our side. The Infected are those who contracted the virus and become animalistic. They become delusional, incoherent and agitated. Eventually they’ll become aggressive. It’s best to put them down before that point. The undead are what become of the Infected. It takes roughly twelve hours for the virus to take full control. They undead are slow, mindless, just always wandering. They don’t notice anything but prey, and they spend days on end hunting down that prey. One on its own isn’t bad. It’s when there’s a swarm of them that you should be worried. Where there’s one, there’s probably more. Be aware of that. There are other things. Offshoots of the Infected, I guess you could say. Things that are more terrifying. Pray to any god that will listen you never come across one of them. The other main threat is, naturally, us. Not all humans are working to make it a better place. You’ve got groups like the 1007th, the hardcore militaristic group that conquers Havens and settlements with the promise of protecting the havenfolk. It’s all a big lie to gain power and control. Martial law, constant monitoring, conscription and total lack of freedom for those under the 1007th is what you’ll find. Not enough people know about the realities of the 1007th. It’s a shame not enough people will listen. There’s also the Condemned. They’re not just one group; they’re a bunch of groups who all spawned from the same root: prisoners. Those who escaped from jails across America that banded together and became roving leagues of raping, killing, torturing nomads. There’s no reasoning with the Condemned. They’re a collective slaughterhouse. There are others. Too many, if you ask me. But that’s Apocalyptica. No one stays calm and collected after the end of the world. Some say “either you kill or get killed,” and maybe they’ve got it right. Some of those organizations sure believe it. That’s our life for you. A dry, dirty, deadly, ever-changing place. Welcome to Apocalyptica.[/i][/indent] [/hider] --- Welcome to Apocalyptica, the long-running, gritty survival/horror/zombie RP. This RP takes place five years after a major apocalyptic event in which most of the world was ravaged by a virus that turns those infected into the undead. This RP will follow the day-to-day lives of random survivors scattered across North America striving to get by in a corrupt, damaged world still trying to rebuild itself. By this point it’s difficult to remember which run of Apocalyptica this is (I believe this is its sixth or seventh), but each time we’ve looked for the same type of people: talented, strong writers who not only want to revel in the gory goodness of a zombie RP, but who are world-builders, creators and those who enjoy a good sandbox RP. There’s no definitive plot (not yet). Either as a group, a bunch of groups, or all individually, we’ll build it as we go. When we’re all working together to flesh-out this world, it becomes a lot of fun, and that’s what we’re aiming for. On that same note, we expect realism. Your characters will get banged up, break bones, lose limbs, lose friends, and mostly lose their mind. They should never escape each fight unscathed. It’s not as much fun that way if you don’t make your characters struggle every now and then. Who doesn’t like playing psychopath and making the innocent suffer repeatedly? In terms of posts: last run we used Google Docs to construct group posts together, and we’ll plan to use it again. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s basically an online word document we can all access so we can all write and edit together in one place. It’s a little easier than sending PM’s back and forth. You’ll get the hang of it; it’s real handy. If, after all that reading, you’re still interested: [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6331/posts/ooc?page=1]the old OOC[/url]. Run over to that there link and have a looksee at what the world is all about. Most of the Havens and some of the organizations will survive, but for the most part, the rest is up to us. Lastly: if you want to start on a CS right away and don’t feel like waiting for the OOC to be up, write away, youngling! We don’t go by the traditional CS template; rather, we prefer a written description of your character in first-person as if they’re writing about who they are. Include things like: name, age, their strengths and weaknesses, a photo/written description, and their life before and after the apocalypse. Anything else you may want to add, feel free to. If you need examples, you can find a list of old CS’s in the old OOC link provided.