biteys: (Default)
NIMBO ([personal profile] biteys) wrote in [community profile] turnout2024-06-29 09:53 am

WEEK 1

WEEK ONE


!
the beginning of the end

That’s what’s playing on repeat on a tape recorder, when the survivors come to.

Characters will find themselves in a humble, American townhouse, which other than being a bit dusty, is still mostly clean. All characters will be sprawled out on the floor and furniture of the living room, in front of what looks to be a giant portal. Characters will also notice they have a seemingly indestructible silver wristband around their wrists, and they have nothing with them but the clothes on their back.

Take a look around, and you'll realize that everyone in the room is likely a stranger. Aside from the tape playing, there's little explanation or proof that what's being said to you is even true. For all you know, one of the people in the room could be responsible for you being suddenly taken here.

Exploring the house's many rooms will reveal that there are small stockpiles food, water, weapons (a few guns, a few bats, a few knives), and maps, along with a large, strange container of blue liquid. The maps all chart a route from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and sport detailed recommended time stamps on them. Strangely, the recommended path occasionally diverges into two separate routes.

Upon searching the house, Haru Okumura finds a set of notes, while Leontuzzo Bellone finds a separate set. They are free to keep these notes to themselves, or share them with the group.

Nothing has anyone's names on it — not the notes, and certainly not the supplies. Everyone will have to compete for the same things. Or maybe all of you can be civilized about this, before anyone goes hoarding weapons and food? Maybe you can even introduce yourselves, while you're at it. For some strange reason, every window and door in this place is locked (and impossible to break), and will be for at least 72 hours, as if someone wanted you all to be cooped up together for a time before heading out.

Most interestingly, in the deepest basement of the house, there's a room with a large, heavy dresser shoved in front of it… and a low moaning and banging emanating from the other side. The door’s slightly ajar, and a closer look reveals a zombie is the source of the sound. Context clues around the basement, like the PhD in interdimensional travel hung up on the wall (for a Dr. Bei), hint that the woman inside is whoever left you this cryptic message - the woman who brought you here, allegedly. But she's long long gone, only this monster left in her wake. It seems she was smart enough to lock herself away to prevent you from being harmed, at least... and it'll give you a preview of the threat that looms outside.
sewer diving
After 72 hours have passed, one and only one door unlocks – in the very same basement that the zombie of Dr. Bei can be found. It leads down to a dark, dingy tunnel that connects to the sewers. Not only is the smell awful, but (non-infected) rats scurry about, keeping to the shadows – but the smell of any of the food you've taken from the house will attract them. Careful!

The party will need to create some light to navigate their way out and keep the rats at bay, or they’ll be bumping around in the dark for quite a while. Now might be a good time to share if you have some matches, or a special talent for being a lantern. Mercifully, there's only one exit that actually opens down in this labyrinth, as if it's a route the Doctor designed to take all the time.

At one point, Puppy falls into the sewage, and loses something they brought from the house.

oh! that's a baseball

Once characters make it out of the sewers, they’ll be a day’s travel to the first mark on the party’s map: “Dodger’s Stadium.” The road they’ll have to hike to get there is winding, curvy, and uphill, which will give the party a good overview of the now dilapidated Los Angeles, along with the many abandoned buildings and cars that litter the place. The stadium itself looks to have been cleared of threats and fashioned into a safe spot a long time ago, as all entrances but one have been completely welded shut. The high walls keep zombies out, and the winding path up here deters most of them from even approaching.

Inside the stadium, there’s some baseball merch (and equipment) to scavenge, not to mention some really old peanuts! Delicious. Maybe there are even some old fireworks laying around this place. Setting up camp here won’t be very comfortable… but at least it’s very safe. A luxury the party won’t have for much longer, if the map is anything to go by. You'll be heading through the city, next, so rest up while you can.

!
week one objectives

➤ make acquaintances with your fellow travelers
➤ decide what to do with the zombie of dr. bei
➤ arm yourself with what you can find
➤ scavenge some portable food from the house and while traveling
➤ make camp at the stadium
bicth: (pic#17160430)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-07-04 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
It's risky for the rest of us, too...

[ It's more than just the danger of it getting out, to her. ]

Corruptors — that's what we call things like that — come from Mania. Your Mania can increase from feeling more scared, or being in places with high contamination, and once you get too much of it, that's it for you. [ unless you are an x man. don't worry about it ] I don't know if that thing down there works the same way... but leaving her there seems like a bad thing waiting to happen.
302: (because mainstream people don't)

[personal profile] 302 2024-07-06 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ he nods easily at her explanation. That makes sense. Or, rather, it lines up with how he'd understood the "other world" and its workings when he was there; it's hard to say any of it truly makes sense. Being contaminated by fears, or by some unknown higher power - it's not so different from what happened to Eileen. ]

You think it might affect us if we leave it there...?

[ that part is different. He hasn't gotten any headaches from being near that thing, like he had with the victims before, but the idea that it's spreading some corrupting influence without him noticing is far from impossible. ]
bicth: (pic#17160444)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-07-06 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
I'm just saying it's possible. Being around Corruptors makes it easier for you to turn into one yourself. For normal people, anyway.

[ She shrugs — she can only go off of the monsters and apocalypse she's dealt with personally. ]

Maybe that's the point? Maybe we're all "not normal," by their standards.
302: (Default)

[personal profile] 302 2024-07-08 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ he likes to consider himself a pretty normal guy, but maybe she's right. He can't really say that anymore, can he? Even if he doesn't have the scars to prove it, he was a sacrament, too... ]

... Maybe. They did choose to bring us here, specifically.

[ but she's right. almost unconsciously, he shuffles slightly further away from the barricaded door and the monster behind it. ]
bicth: (pic#17160407)

[personal profile] bicth 2024-07-08 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, because they weren't good enough to solve this on their own...

[ She accents her rude comment with a little hmph, not feeling bad in the least about saying the quiet part out loud. In her view, they needed their help so badly they didn't even bother to ask, which is pretty pathetic and cowardly — the gangs in her hometown would probably never let themselves endure such a blow to their pride. ]

For whatever reason, they want to hide behind us and let us do all the hard work, right? Each of us must be pretty amazing, then.