Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse (Character Creation)
Zombie Aopc-Fur-Lypse
(A reader-driven character-based story for So Furry)
Character Creation
For those of you interested in submitting a character for the upcoming reader/player driven
story, Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse, please review the below submission guidelines for creating a
character. Each character is required to be your own original creation; please do not submit a
character created by someone else, whether that character be corporate (from Disney, as an
example), or private (someone's persona/fursona). This is about one of your own, original
ideas. You're more than welcome to use your own persona/fursona, just be advised that said
character might not survive.
Also, while elements of this story are action-movie based, this is not Pokémon, nor is it
Dragonball; characters will not have super powers nor will they be able to shout out an attack
and have flashing strobe lights distract their foes amidst a torrential beam of electricity
shot out of their (whatever applicable bodyparty one would choose).
Please limit your character submissions, as no player can have more than 1 character accepted.
Focusing on really fleshing out one character will probably get you a better chance of
approval, but if you REALLY want to do all the work of submitting five or six characters I will
be more than glad enough to give them all the attention they warrant and be fair in my
selection of which one I choose to include.
Remember: you may or may not have a character chosen to be present in any one of the
storylines. Please do not take this as a personal affront to you; I am simply selecting the
most interesting, suitable, and pertinent characters to include. If this goes well, there may
be future stories/games that you could have a chance on joining too. That being said, here are
the submission guidelines and character information you will need to submit your own personal
creation into Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse.
The first step to any character creation would be to consider a concept. Concepts may be as
specific as "Third grade teacher who is struggling with an identity crisis after her husband
left her for a younger woman" to something much more general "policeman". In general, the
concept should give you enough of a guideline to help mold your character into a believable
inhabitant of a world not unlike our own. Once you have your concept, consider (and answer)
the following questions:
What's your character's name? (this can be anything you want)
What's your character's race? (mundane furries only, no mythological -see below for
exceptions-)
What's your character's sex/gender? (sex is genetic, while gender is sociological)
What's your character's occupation? (what, if anything, do they do for a living?)
What's your character's greatest success thus far?
What's your character's greatest failure thus far?
What's your character's sexual preference? If bi, which way do they lean? Any kinks?
What does your character think of his/her life? (before the zombies, of course)
What does your character have worth living for?
What's the ideal zombie-fighting death for your character?
What's one interesting quirk about your character?
Finally, provide a physical description of your character and a brief description of their
attitude, mannerisms, and what their life has been like up until the point when things start
going to hell. This can be any pertinent information you'd like to make certain is included in
the story when your character gets some focus.
Once you have these base considerations down, now start considering the different traits that
will come into play that will either help your character down the path of survival, or else
help your character down the path to a zombie feast being held in their honor.
Each character has ten traits. In the beginning, players may distribute a total of 50 points
among these traits in order to provide a quantifiable description of their character.
Remember: while 5 points in each trait create a well-rounded character, these characters are
also average. Also remember that average, unspectacular characters are usually the first to
die in any good horror movie. As noted, you have 50 points to distribute among the ten traits.
The traits and their descriptions are as follows:
Influence: A character's ability to interact with others and get what they want. This can be
through leadership, intimidation, seduction, inspiration, cajoling, or any other numbers of
methods used to control or guide their group members. In roleplaying games, this trait is more
commonly known as "Charisma".
Survival: Not everyone is suited for living in the depths of the wilderness with nothing but a
knife and a chord of rope. This particular embodiment of Survival is more about a character's
knowledge of their surroundings, the city itself, if a chain link fence is good protection
against a certain type of zombie, and how to get from "Point A" to "Point B" while minimizing
encounters with the living dead.
Tenacity: Though everyone has something resembling scrupules, there are those who are willing
to sell their morality cheaper than others. This trait refers to how down and dirty someone is
willing to get in order to survive. Someone with a low Tenacity rating will probably be more
of a team player, even if that results in them playing the role of bait. Someone with a high
Tenacity rating puts survival ahead of fair sportsmanship. Remember: you need not run faster
than the zombies-- just your friend.
Agility: When you're trying to evade a horde of zombies it helps to be physically fit. This
trait is an overall expression of how well your character moves. Whether it is running,
jumping, swimming, climbing, or dodging grabby decaying fingers, Agility will help you get the
job done.
Youth: This is an important trait for two main reasons. First, the younger you are the more
likely you are to survive longer in a horror movie since a kid getting ripped apart is the kind
of horrific image best left until later in the film. Second, this trait contributes to factors
such as modifying your physical capabilities. 0 points in Youth is the equivalent to being a
geriatric survivor, 5 puts you in your late twenties to early thirties, and 10 pmeans you wouid
be a pre-teen. Keep in mind that this trait is purely for 'cinematic significance', and
putting too many points here reduces your survivability in other areas.
Awareness: When the lights are dimmed down and you are surrounded by the rotting stench of
garbage, sometimes you have to learn to rely on other senses. If you're standing in the middle
of a city intersection and a horde of undead are coming from SOMEWHERE, it might be nice to
have an idea which way to run. This trait signifies a character's ability to perceive the
world around them through the use of all of their senses.
Luck: Sometimes, all it boils down to is being in the right place at the right time... or
else, not being in the wrong place at an inopportune moment. This trait has the least direct
significance on a character's ability to survive except in those 'certain circumstances' where
all someone has to go off of is a hope and a prayer. In that case, it's the only thing that
matters.
Ingenuity: Knowing how to get things done without the correct tools. This can be anything
from picking a lock or hotwiring a car to administering first aid without a kit. While lower
points in this trait could help a character figure out how to craft a spear out of a broom
handle, a kitchen knife, and duct tape, those with more of a focus on this trait might actually
be able to manage a decent zombie-crushing machine if they come across a welding shop and an
old '92 Ford Festiva.
Vitality: When physical staying-power matters, this trait is the one to focus on. This is a
combination of someone's stamina, fortitude, and physical will. A character with a high amount
of points in this trait can take a lot of punishment and still run for a few miles.
Conversely, a character with low Vitality might be athsmatic, out of shape, or sickly. Or
maybe... just maybe... they might already be infected. (This is where a character with high
Tenacity will shoot them between the eyes, just to be safe).
Endurance: If Vitality is PHYSICAL staying-power, then Endurance is MENTAL staying-power.
While some people might fold like a paper bag at the first sign of danger, those with a large
number of points in this trait are more likely to keep on going long after a lesser character's
willpower has been spent. With all the horrors of an Apoc-Fur-Lypse, sometimes it's a good
idea to keep your wits about you, and that is what Endurance is for.
The final step to character creation is to add the plot-hook element for your character. While
any future-victim in a zombie apoc-fur-lypse can be created with a little descriptive measures
and throwing points around, the true thing that will help your character stand out is their
unique "something special" that sets them apart from the others. Here are a few examples, but
you're more than welcome to come up with some of your own.
Celebrity: This character has all 10 points in Influence but is actually even more
attention-grabbing than would first be believed. This character has a call to fame in such a
way that people naturally tend to defer to them simply because they're so well known. While
this might be helpful for the character getting their way, also bear in mind that many horror
movies end up 'off-ing' the rich character or the famous character or the politician or
what-have-you either as comedic relief or to strike fear into the audience who think that
celebrities are immortal.
Urban Guru: This character has all 10 points in Survival, but actually seems to know things
well beyond the scope of even the most knowledgable city-goer. Sometimes people live somewhere
for so long that they get a sixth sense about a place. This character has a natural knack for
getting around amidst the zombie apoc-fur-lypse and can provide endless amounts of aid to a
group. Sadly, most urban guru type characters usually end up dying at the most important time,
and rarely live to see those they fought to save survive.
Sociopath: This character has all 10 points in Tenacity, but is even less team-oriented than
the most hardenend criminal. This character actively seeks ways to get ahead and will stop at
nothing to ensure their survival. If the zombies could talk, you could bet that the Sociopath
would work every angle to orchastrate the fall of the surviors in order to ensure his or her
own safety. In darker stories, this is the character that survives, while in even some of the
bloodiest of horror flicks, this character usually gets what's coming to them before the final
credits.
Very Young: This character has all 10 points in Youth, but is actually even younger than
pre-teen. For the sake of the story, this character is probably between eight and ten years of
age, which gives them a step-up on the survivability meter because, after all... kids usually
survive a zombie horde better than the adults. That's believable, right?
Psychic: This character has all 10 points in Awareness, but his or her senses transcend normal
ratings. While not as 'main-stream' reality as other elements to the horror genre, the psychic
can sometimes be used to great effect. A character with this plot-hook can sometimes sense
things that could not otherwise be perceived. While this is endlessly useful to a group of
survivors, the Psychic often ends up with a realization or understanding that they won't be
with those who survive, creating some very dramatic moments before the very end.
Comedic Relief: How you survived up until this point is anyone's guess. While this character
probably has a 10 in Luck, they might also just be the kind of person that might not completely
mesh with the group. Most horror movie officinados are pretty familiar with the comedic relief
as a force that remains through the majority of a storyline. Sometimes, that character manages
to survive... or else they end up taking one fall too many at the heightened climax of the
action.
Military Operative: A step above a policeman, this character is probably in the zombie zone for
a reason, and likely came prepared. This character probably has a few 'survival-aides' that
will make short work of small groups of zombies... just remember: when it comes to dramatic
moments of character death, usually it's the heavy-hitter that goes out with a bang.
Mythological: This character is not one of the standard animal-types. This character might be
a dragon, or a jackalope, or a unicorn, or any other number of species... maybe even a "gasp"
human?!?! While this does not confer 'magical powers' to a given character, it does provide
them a nice plot hook, and that always helps survivability in a horror movie.
Deadly Distraction: Something other than survival rules this character's need to stay alive.
Perhaps a character's irrational need to get back home to his or her pet, or maybe a hope
beyond hope that their parent/loved-one/kids somehow still survive-- whatever the reason,
they're prone to get themself and their fellow party members into more danger than might
otherwise be necessary. This character usually either dies horribly because of their endless
hope, or else they succeed and create the single, warm moment within an otherwise dark and
dreary story of horror.
Dark Secret: This hook has a wide range of possibilities. Perhaps this character knows
something about the zombie apoc-fur-lypse or, may have been instrumental in causing it?
Perhaps the character is an escaped mass-murdurer who managed to fight out of a prison during
the chaos caused by the zombies. Whatever the secret, this character will probably have a
central role in the story... but with all the focus comes a high chance for a really nasty
come-uppance, as almost always happens with someone who has a dark secret in a horror flick.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Please consider any kind of story-hook to be suitable
so long as it fits in with the horror genre. You are encouraged to come up with a hook that
fits your character and helps flesh them out (more hooks based on having 10 points in a trait,
for example). Also note that, while many of these hooks appear to be benefits, many of them
also carry a large amount of sigma in the horror movie genre and may actually help contribute
to your character dying faster despite their seeming usefuless.
The last step to submitting a character for the Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse is to post your character
on a journal that reads "I Want to Survive the Zombie Apoc-Fur-Lypse.". Shortly, I will also
post a journal providing the method for posting a character. Within your journal, please also
provide a link to the first post on this topc, found here:
http://sofurry.com/page/131743
Also stay tuned for methods on how you can increase your character's chance of survival (or at
least importance) in the story/games! Thanks for tuning in folks, and good luck on surviving
the upcoming apoc-fur-lypse!