Novice player looking for a game

[Dreamer]

Heya,
I am looking to get absorbed in an enthralling CoC game. I've been the Keeper of a few face to face adventures but haven't had the opportunity to ever play in one. So I am familiar with the rules and game world and will eventually like to Keep for an online session, but only looking to play for now. Oh yeah, I've been beyond the Mountains of Madness.

[Mr. Handy]

Zombie Apocalypse is always looking for new players. It's a modern era game, and it's a Blood Brothers type of campaign, so it does not involve the Mythos as such. It has its own mythology behind it, some elements of which resemble those of the Mythos. Chapter 4 just started recently, and there are still plenty of newly added characters available, so you could join in with little or no catching up needed. All characters in this game are pregenerated, at least for now. You should choose one or more of them if you want to play. Each character has secrets, and I send them out after players select their characters. It's recommended that you choose more than one, as this game is highly lethal. Full instructions are in the Character Selection and Discussion thread, but you'll have to go back a page or two from the end.

[Dreamer]

I just recently subjected myself to every zombie film ever made, or close to it, so I'd be interested.
But I'd like to know if this will include any investigation or research and the more subtle aspects of CoC, or is it just a shoot-em-up?

[Mr. Handy]

It is more survival horror than investigative horror, but there's a lot more to it than shooting. There will be plenty of shooting at zombies, but that alone won't keep you (or the group as a whole) alive. There are some investigative aspects, but there's a lot of time pressure. Every minute literally counts, but there's not enough time to do everything you want (or need) to do. Planning and prioritizing is key, and so is getting everyone to work together. Characters have their own agendas, and they won't always cooperate with each other, even though this may end up being detrimental to everyone's survival. There are some subtleties too. Scientific skills have shown themselves to be useful, especially when looking at the big picture. There are also other nasty things out there besides zombies, and not all of them can be defeated with gunfire. Searching for clues and finding out their weaknesses will help you deal with them, but doing that takes precious time. Going in guns blazing can get everyone killed (and has, or nearly so). Library Use hasn't seen any use yet, mainly because the characters hadn't reached a library in the first three chapters, nor have they had four hours to sit down and do reserach yet. That may change as the game progresses.

The Character Sheets thread in the Chapter 4 subforum shows everyone's character sheets (without the secrets) as well as which ones are played by which players and which are still available.

[Dreamer]

Sounds like fun. Where do I start?

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome aboard, and it is fun! You'll find a link to the main forum in my signature, and you can also get there from the site's home page, in the Modern section, or by clicking here. The Character Selection and Discussion thread has instructions. This link goes directly to the instructions for Chapter 4 character selection. The only big change is that there are now six new characters being added to the Sword section. One has been claimed already, but there are still five available. The addition of the new characters is described here.

The character sheets themselves are found near the top of the Chapter 4 subforum, and the link is also here. Look the characters over. Any characters that are not played by the Keeper or by another player (you'll see text in blue or green, respectively, to that effect below the character's name [and picture, if there is one]). There are well over 70, and most of them are still available. Dead characters are indicated as such in red, but nobody has died in this chapter - yet. Once you've decided which ones you want, let me know by posting in the Character Selection and Discussion thread, and I'll send you their secrets. You are advised to choose only characters added in Chapter 4 (and this is the vast majority of them), unless you want to go back and read a lot of material from one or more earlier chapters.

Most of the characters have already started. You'll want to catch up on what they did at the beginning of the chapter by checking the Locations and Weapons thread here. The locations thread tells you where each character is and what threads he or she has passed through, complete with links to the post in each thread where the character entered. You should read the IC threads for your chosen characters, but don't read any of the other IC threads! This limits OOC knowledge and keeps suspense and tension high.

The Rules and Guidelines thread here will help you get started. Since you're an experienced Keeper much of this will be familiar, but some information is specific to this game. There are also instructions for how to use Invisible Castle to roll dice and how to use spoiler button tags on the forum. You should look this over while you're waiting for your characters' secrets.

Once you've received your selected characters' secrets (probably not until Tuesday night) and read their IC threads, you can start posting in them. You can also start posting in the OOC thread in Chapter 4 at any time to talk to me and your fellow players.

Have fun!