Welcome

[Mr. Handy]

You sure can! Look through the Character Sheets thread (one of the stickied ones at the top). You may choose one or more characters to play. Multiple characters are recommended, as the game is very lethal and characters will die. You can have three, or four if you're really up to it.

You don't need to read the first two chapters in The Story So Far if you choose only characters newly added in Chapter 3, and there are still several available. Almost all of those are in the Through section. Currently the only new characters available in Over are Dr. Bernard Smith and Lucy Armstrong (both of whose players are missing), but they won't have much to do besides talk until Chapter 4 starts, which is months away. There are no new characters in Under at this time. The new characters available in Through are:
2nd Lt. Rebecca Doolittle
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane (abandoned by player)
Airman Thomas Cole
Airman Greg Applebee (abandoned)
Amanda Deeds
Lewie Newton (abandoned)
Ernest Granger (abandoned)

Once you've made your selections, post them in the Character Selection and Discussion thread. I'll send you their secrets, and then you can start posting once you've read those and caught up on what your characters have done so far in Chapter 3. In the Locations thread there is a thread history for each surviving character that will tell you which threads to read. Players are not allowed to read the threads their characters haven't been in. The Rules and Guidelines thread also contains helpful information. Welcome aboard!

[JeXus]

Hello all, I'll be taking over Ernest Granger from now on!

[Ferrum]

Uhm... Hey.

There room for an utter newbie to squeeze in and play a character or two?

[Mr. Handy]

Yes, there's still room! Most of the new characters for Chapter 3 have been claimed, but you can still play Airman Greg Applebee, Amanda Deeds, or Dr. Dale Owens in Through. I'll also allow you to choose Joe Soarez, since his player never started playing the game. In the Over section, Dr. Bernard Smith and Lucy Armstrong are still available, but they won't have much to do besides talk until Chapter 4 begins, which is still months away. If you want to play characters that have been around longer, you'd need to read the first two chapters (or Chapter 2 if you want characters that were added in that chapter). When Chapter 4 starts, there will be many more characters added, so you can always pick more at that time.

[Ferrum]

Ok, sure. I'll take Greg... He sounds like my kinda psycho...

Just so you know, this is my first ever attempt at anything CoC based, or forum based... I'm reading the quickstart rules now, and I've read your guidelines thread but go easy on me, ok?

[Mr. Handy]

No problem! I'll help you with any rules questions you have. This is a lethal game, however, and Applebee is already badly wounded and half-insane, but he might just get through this alive if you use your head. I'll send you his secrets in a few minutes. To catch up on his story, read Unhappy Landings first. The Out Of Character comments there are also a good tutorial for applying the rules, rolling dice, and combat. Then you should read Iroquois Down, and finally The Siege. Once you've caught up, you can start posting in The Siege when you're ready. Remember not to read the other In Character threads that your character hasn't been in.

[Ferrum]

Cool, thanks.

I'll keep that in mind ^_^

The way I see it, if I play and like it, I can add more characters as they become available... If I play and dislike it, I can drop out, and I've only affected one character.

I'll start reading those threads. ^_^

[ImpInTraining]

Hi all. I'll be jumping in at the start of Chapter 4. See you there... maybe... if you're quick enough to keep away from those hungry critters.

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome aboard, Imp! Chapter 4 should be starting in a couple of weeks, and I hope to start posting character sheets about a week from now. At that time I'll be moving the old character sheet, OOC, and other threads into the Chapter 3 subforum and locking them. New threads will be placed in the Chapter 4 subforum.

[Alex Tru]

Hi everyone I am Alex. I'm a big fan of both zombies and roleplaying so when I saw the first two chapters over at NMA needless to say it cought my eye. While I have not read the full chapters I glanced at several parts of the story and it seemed like a lot of fun. So I sent off a private message to Mr. Handy and he was kind enough to let me join. I haven't really role played over a forum before but I am more than willing to learn. I after looking at several in game posts by Mr. Handy and others I think I get the general idea. I'm looking forward to playing with you all.

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome, Alex! You might want to read the Rules and Guidelines thread while you're waiting for the new character sheets (which should start to appear within days). It has a lot of information that can be useful to new players.

[Alex Tru]

Welcome, Alex! You might want to read the Rules and Guidelines thread while you're waiting for the new character sheets (which should start to appear within days). It has a lot of information that can be useful to new players.

Thank you. I have read over the guide lines and several posts in Chapter 3. I think I understand most of it but we will see. Please forgive any mistakes I may make.

[Mr. Handy]

No problem. The beginning of Chapter 4 will be like a tutorial to help new players ease into the game and existing players to refresh their understanding of how it works. I should be able to post the new character sheets tonight, and then you'll be able to choose which ones you want to play.

[beertender]

Wow, gotta say i am impressed with everythign you got going..trying to read up on everything and understand what im suppose to do...Hope i can figure it all out in time. would love to try and play

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome, beertender! The first thing you should look at is the Character Sheets thread in the Chapter 4 subforum to see which character or characters you'd like to play. Any that aren't played by another player or the Keeper are free for you to select from, but you'll probably want to choose from the ones newly added in Chapter 4 unless you want to read a lot of backstory. Fortunately, the vast majority of the characters are new. Don't worry if you don't understand the stats and skills yet, just be aware that higher numbers are better and pick the sorts of characters you'd like to play. There's still a wide selection from which to select.

The instructions for selecting characters are in the aptly named Character Selection and Discussion thread in the main forum, on page 5 of that thread. Just reply in that same thread with your decisions, and I'll send your the characters' secrets in a PM.

The next thing you'll want to check out after you've picked your characters is the Rules and Guidelines thread. You don't have to memorize it or even read everything there, just skim it and refer back to it as needed. Then you'll be pretty much set. Feel free to chat in the OOC thread in the Chapter 4 subforum. You don't need to read the first three chapters unless you want to play the characters who survived them, and you should not be reading the Chapter 4 IC threads at this point. Once you've picked your characters you may read IC threads for your character, but you may not read the other IC threads. This keeps the suspense higher and prevents you from knowing things that your character shouldn't know, helping keep out of character knowledge separate.

The locations and weapons thread is a useful reference too. It will help you keep track of where your characters are and what they have, and it also contains a thread history so you know at a glance which threads you're permitted to read. I'll add in hyperlinks there eventually, so that clicking on the thread's name will take you to the thread (or the relevant portion of it).

[Pickman37]

Hi Mr Handy,

I am looking to join the campaign. Keep in mind, I'm a total noob to PbP and have only watched others play on the first site I discovered, which was the Federation Space site a month ago. I just discovered this site four days ago but am interested in participating. I could take on two of the pre-generated characters for Chapter 7 unless you believe it would be more appropriate to just run one until I have a handle on things. Either way, I have been reviewing the Rules and Guidelines post. I believe the keys here would be registration at Invisible Castle and understanding how to use the Spoiler and Spoiler Button Tags. If there are other areas I should focus on, please feel free to let me know.

As for character selection, do I choose from the Chapter 7 Character sheets post?

Thanks for the help and hopefully I'm not a burden here as a green rookie....

Have a good one!
Pickman37

[Mr. Handy]

Welcome, Pickman37! Don't worry about being new to play by post. A lot of players in Zombie Apocalypse have been new, and I can help you get started. It's perfectly fine to start with two characters, or even three, as long as you have the time. You can always add more later, too.

One important thing to note is that you shouldn't read IC threads that don't have your characters present. Even then, you shouldn't read the parts before your character entered or after your character left. There are helpful hyperlinks by each character's name in the Locations and Weapons thread in each chapter that will lead you through that character's story so far.

When you've decided which characters you want, you should post your choices in the Character Selection, Creation, and Discussion thread. The following new pregenerated characters are still available:
GOLD
Airman Jason Baker
Airman Carolyn Wagner
Airman Peter McBain

SWORD
Staff Sergeant Larry Dauterive
Tricia Barrett
Jake Bell
Mary Bell
Clyde Bell
Veronica Bell

All new pregenerated characters in Omaha are already claimed, but new characters can be created there. I recommend taking one character in Gold and one in Sword.

Once you've chosen your characters, you can read their IC threads up to the present to catch up on their stories, which shouldn't take long for the new ones. I'll also PM you with your characters' secrets. Once you've read those, you can start posting in your characters' threads.

[Pickman37]

Thanks Mr. Handy.

I should be ready in the next few days. I have some unexpected RL issues to deal with tomorrow but should be able to get set up over the weekend. Once I have things sorted out, I should be good to roll and ready to put in the time!!

Cheers!