Inspired by HP Lovecraft, World War Z, and a few other things. Based off of [url=http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=3400159&postcount=12]this post[/url] from [url=http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/index.php]alternate history forums[/url] [note that you'll have to [url=http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/register.php?do=signup]register[/url] to read it, regrettably]. 

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[img=http://i.imgur.com/9rk7SpN.png]
More than just Zombies go "bump" in the night...[/center]

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The zombie apocalypse happened ten years ago. 99% of humanity is dead, but the species lives on. In enclaves and isolated spots, we survive. On mountain-tops and tropical islands, in arctic wastes and underground bunkers, we survive. And for the first time, there's a glimpse of hope. The hordes don't appear to be increasing in number. If we can hang on, we can reclaim the cities, spread back into fertile and easily-farmed lands, and rebuild. That is, if the other horrors lurking in the night don't beat us to it.

It came without warning. One day was normal, and the next featured all the dead rising from graves simultaneously. Millions died in that first wave of attacks, and then many of those millions joined their undead brethren. Humanity knows no cure. The recently dead are burned, and where fires are ill-advised, shot in the head. Oftentimes, both. Heavy sleepers have taken to wearing signs around their necks to avoid accidents. The internet is fragmented, and if you're lucky enough to have electricity, the only access to electronic information is from whatever happened to be stored on it at the time. Most places are cut off except for the brave or insane wandering traders and caravans full of the desperate. 

As devastating as the apocalypse was to us, it seemed to have finally tipped the balance and unveiled the creatures of the night. Strange traders come from the far north, supernaturally strong and quick-witted, but awkward in gait and misshapen. Every village has rumors of creepy men and women that cursed this or that household, or rules the mind of a distant city's leader with malevolent purpose. A plague of anemia creeps across continents, and some whisper that entire villages have disappeared overnight. Strange flittering noises, as if from enormous rats, haunt underground bunkers, and pets disappear to the earth. Large monsters stalk the wilderness, assaulting unwary caravans and traders. And from Africa comes tale of strange cults in the desert sands.

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This is a horror-based, classic "save the world" adventuring sort of RP. You'd start in the small human village of Losille (note that you don't have to play a human) at the foothills of the rockies in the southwestern United States. 

[hider=Species]
Vampires - Territorial bloodeaters that would be mindles but for their immortality; currently considering a technological human farming scheme (involving keeping humans in comas and breeding them while they're still asleep); keeping tabs and records on all the human settlements; led by a very stodgy "old-blood"; zombies are a nuiscence to them at worst, as even those bitten retain their intelligence (if they're old enough to have intelligence), though zombie-vampires are pariahs. 

Ghouls - underground carrion-eaters, having some sort of relationship with "giant ancient worms" deep beneath the earth. Seriously endangered and some communities nigh-unheard of since they holed up from the zombies. Still, though, they remain lords of the underworld, and tend to charge rent for anyone seeking shelter there.

"Egyptians" - They're the inspiration for Egyptian gods, live very deep underground, and mostly only do confusing and seemingly pointless rituals if they're awake at all, but tend to annihilate anything directly in their way; also called upon to defend tombs from desecration and take the duty seriously. A few nonconformists are eager to do something about this whole zombie problem, but are "discouraged". Pretty immune to the zombies on the whole, though; something about their skin causes zombie bites to barely pierce the flesh at all.

New Men - Mary Shelley's Frankensteins. Under serious threat from these damned zombies, as they no longer have a means of reproduction (hard to use rotting flesh as an arm), and are susceptible to the contagion themselves. On the other hand, they're quite strong and intelligent, and willing to hack off bitten limbs, so few get infected. They're working on cloning (of limbs) to fix the lack of supply. Rather distressed by the vampires, and split between wiping out the vampires (and humanity, as well), or being humanity's saviors. Very divided on this issue. Tend to be a bit of body-mod afficianados, too. There are quite a few nonhuman-shaped New Men wandering about.

Witchy-Folk - Folktale witches. They egotistically believe that they've had a hand in Mankind's destiny (they haven't). "Herding stray cats" is a good indication of the community's powers of organizaton. Because of these two traits, they're often the source of cults and secret societies. Very susceptible to the zombies; 90% are dead. Mostly taking refuge in/hiding within/enthusiastically meddling in the remaining human communities. A few took up with the New Men, much to the shock of the New Men, who didn't know they even existed. Mostly hate vampires and don't trust ghouls. Long-standing truce with the other aberrations, which is holding, for the moment, but they're lack of numbers may change this.

Skin-Changers - Green-loving were-____ (wolf, bear, tiger, jaguar) hippies, partly upset and partly pleased with the zombie apocalypse. Pleased because Man can no longer pollute the Earth, but upset because the conveniences of Man's society (ex: Fast Food, indoor plumbing) are gone. Not that the zombies can kill them in any meaningful numbers. Not pleased with the vampires' plans. Dubious toward the New Men.
[/hider]

[u][b]Character Sheets:[/b][/u]
[hider=Human]
|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Human
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Job:
|Backstory:[/hider]
[hider=Witch]
|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Witch
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Power: [Choose from curses, flight, healing, mind-warping*, or other (must be approved!). *Mind-warping is a subtle thing. If you want to control someone entirely, you have to be at their side for months, devoting your entirety of magical focus to them, and even then there are... slip-ups. Not to mention the exposure. If, on the other hand, you want to convince a complete stranger to haggle the price of a tomato down, you'll be able to do it in a few minutes.]
|Artifact: [Choose from a familiar, potion-making book (poisons, herbs, acids, super-alcohols, and all manner of temporary mental effects), scrying mirror, or other (must be approved)]
|Backstory:[/hider]
[hider=New Man]|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: New Man
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Limb Modifications: [If all your limbs are human, leave blank. Note that every advantage ought to come with a disadvantage.]
|Organ Modifications: [If all your organs are human, leave blank. Note that every advantage ought to come with a disadvantage.]
|Backstory:[/hider]
[hider=Skin-Changer]|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Skin-Changer
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Were-form: [Bear, Jaguar, Wolf, Tiger, Panther; Chupacabra and Seal require GM permission (ask in a PM)]
|Backstory:[/hider]
[hider=Vampire]
Note: for story/party relations reasons, it's reccommended that you play a vampire that's ostracized from the community for some reason or another

|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Vampire
|Age: [0-200: feral, unplayable | 200-500: Young, mostly driven by blood-thirst, but more attuned to instinct and a bit quicker than their elders | 500-800: Adult; capable of transforming into a cloud of mist or bats twice a week or so | 800-1500: Respected; capable of transforming on a whim, owns at least a small estate and human servants, unplayable | 1500-2000: Elder; retains human and vampire thralls, terifically clever but somewhat slow in movement, unplayable | 2000+ Founder of a bloodline, ruler of a majority of the community; if they've survived fueds for this long, then they are extraordinarily capable and should be obeyed at once]
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Backstory: [/hider]
[hider=Ghoul]|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Ghoul
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Ghoulish Specialty: [Choose from stealth, perception (example: extraordinarily heightened sense of smell), Underworld (knowledge of how to get from A to B in a foreign place underground without running into any of the less-savory monster's burrows), or other (must be approved). Note that all Ghouls are capable of aforementioned abilities, but each is extremely good at one thing in particular - their specialty.]
|Backstory:[/hider]
[hider=Egyptian]|Name:
|Gender:
|Species: Egyptian
|Appearance: [Pictures okay, but please use a hider for large ones]
|Forbidden Lore: [Egyptians generally have more knowledge about the older forces in the world (though true knowledge of their gods is hidden except to those still serving underground). This lore allows them advantages in certain situations. Choose from Places of Power [ancient sites of worship and how to perform the proper rites to appease ancient gods], Society [a general instinct towards where societies are, what kind of society they are, and how to get past red tape], Identification [to know what an object really is and it's purpose, also works on seeing the true species of anything], or Other [please specify (has to be approved)]. 
|Backstory:[/hider]
Anyone up for it?