A buddy of mine from work is starting up a Zombie Run campaign using the Savage Worlds rules, by Pinnacle. The campaign takes place 2 months after Z-Day in NYC, on Manhattan island.
In this game, as being tasty morsels, one much create multiple characters that all go into a pool, so that when one gets eaten, another can be brought up to PC status quickly. Here are my 4 concepts:
Male Nurse:
Leslie Stephanopoulos is a male nurse, 31, of Greek decent (dark, wavy hair, dark complexion) who is defensive about both his chosen (and much beloved) profession and his perceived effeminacy. He is quick to anger by any insult about his masculinity, but is too compassionate and pacifist to do much more than pout about it. His medical skills are somewhat basic, as he has never had any intention of progressing much farther than his current level of education/profession. While somewhat fussy and negative, he is truly caring about the well-being of those around him, even those who may mock him. He tends to be overly cautious and often has a “we’re safe here, why leave?” attitude.
Almost Retired Cop:
James “Jimbo” Lawrence is an overweight, white-haired Caucasian man of about 60 who has been on the Police Force in northern Florida for decades. He has, in the last 3 years, moved to NYC to be closer to his (now missing) daughter, who, unfortunately, has advanced cancer and was receiving treatment in a nearby hospital. Jimbo has a calm, even-keeled attitude and a soothing, folksy voice to match. While a decent marksman, Jimbo has always preferred to let a calm voice and sincere attitude resolve his conflicts, both on his personal life and out on the beat. Surprisingly strong for a man of his stature, he has been proficient in immobilizing and detaining troublesome suspects with a swift, unexpected action during a calming talk. He was 6 months from full retirement when Z-Day occurred. Jimbo is very likely to sacrifice himself if he knows that it will save his companions.
Hibachi Chef:
Lee Ho Fook, 24, is a young man of Thai, Japanese and Caucasian decent who has been an employee of a local Benihana Japanese hibachi steak-house for nearly 5 years. He was easily the highest paid chef there, due to his unique affinity and skill with the knives, his gracious showmanship and his exotic good looks. Shy and quiet, Lee never says two words when one will do. As mentioned above, he is unusually talented with his knives and possesses an above-average dexterity. Lee is a long-time fan of Asian martial-arts cinema, superhero comic books and garish horror movies. Lee is utterly, almost obsessively, preoccupied with the logical ramifications of the Zombie Apocalypse. Why did it happen? How did it happen? What powers the undead?
Dirty Laundry TV Reporter:
Kirk Henley, 38, has the chiseled jaw, classic good looks, and commanding baritone voice of an actor. However, his time in NYC has long since withered away any shred of innocence, optimism or sincerity he once had. Now, as the lead ‘journalist’ on the trashy investigative-reporting/paparazzi show Dirty Laundry, Kirk has instead honed his instincts, cunning, hawk-like powers of observation and oily charisma into a razor-sharp edge. The ease with which he can get another person into divulging something they had not intended to, trip over their own words, or somehow incriminate themselves, makes all but the most confident of people wary of him. Those that are familiar with his show often recognize that it has done just as much harm as good… he doesn’t care if he’s exposing a crooked politician, reporting a corporate cover-up or blowing the lid off of a celebrities affair. The outcome, for good or ill, is immaterial to him: only the ratings matter. Kirk is extremely concerned with his own preservation and is self-centered, but his fear of the zombies (and his fear of being alone) more than assures that he will not double-cross his survivor companions, unless it is for an extremely good reason. Kirk will never volunteer for anything dangerous, no matter how vital and will actively, even violently, protest anything that will put him in a position that will leave him alone for any amount of time.
Whatcha think?
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Sam Harris is a noted historian, writer of philosophy and outspoken atheist. I have read his work and, by and large, agree with his message and conclusions.
This is certainly one of those times that i am full agreement with him. The topic? Sarah Palin.
Sam has written his thoughts for Newsweek and they break down, very succinctly, why i am horrified that Sarah Palin is a heart-beat away (or is that a “heart attack away”) from being one of the most powerful people in the world.
I URGE you to read this. http://www.newsweek.com/id/160080/page/1
Here are a few choice paragraphs…
Let me confess that I was genuinely unnerved by Sarah Palin’s performance at the Republican convention. Given her audience and the needs of the moment, I believe Governor Palin’s speech was the most effective political communication I have ever witnessed. Here, finally, was a performer who—being maternal, wounded, righteous and sexy—could stride past the frontal cortex of every American and plant a three-inch heel directly on that limbic circuit that ceaselessly intones “God and country.” If anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could.
The point to be lamented is not that Sarah Palin comes from outside Washington, or that she has glimpsed so little of the earth’s surface (she didn’t have a passport until last year), or that she’s never met a foreign head of state. The point is that she comes to us, seeking the second most important job in the world, without any intellectual training relevant to the challenges and responsibilities that await her. There is nothing to suggest that she even sees a role for careful analysis or a deep understanding of world events when it comes to deciding the fate of a nation. In her interview with Gibson, Palin managed to turn a joke about seeing Russia from her window into a straight-faced claim that Alaska’s geographical proximity to Russia gave her some essential foreign-policy experience. Palin may be a perfectly wonderful person, a loving mother and a great American success story—but she is a beauty queen/sports reporter who stumbled into small-town politics, and who is now on the verge of stumbling into, or upon, world history.
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I like the word “Borked”. Simply from contextual clues, one can easily determine it to mean “broken”… its just a more fun way to say it. Like many other words added to the internet-speak lexicon, it began existence as a mere misspelling: “Borken”, where the “r” and the “o” have been accidentally transposed by a careless typist. Now, this word, “Borken” is pretty funny on its own, as any Swedish Chef will attest to. The common (and often hilarious) transmuting of adjectives into verbs, and vice versa, is a further corruption that this word has had to endure for the greater good. No longer is something merely “Borken”, it is now just totally “Borked” (bork bork bork!).
Try throwing out it in a real conversation… i guarantee you that your audience will do little more than bat an eye at the word and will seamlessly assimilate it and perhaps even integrate it into their own vocabulary.
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