"Can you help decide which way to survive?" Topic

Well I couldn't decide and what was the best next move for my survivors and my campaign halted.
So I thought why not ask this learned collection of survivors to vote on which way next?
The situation is. Its day 14 since the first reports. There 5 survivors, two of them just joined, held up in one of their houses. The police have just cleared the suburb of zombies but then cleared out over night. The streets a very quiet right now. link
The group has enough food for 3.5 weeks, 6 fire arms, a little spare ammo, 2 cars and a mini van plus enough fuel to keep them on the road for a couple of weeks.
The neighbourhood has a small grocery shop that's been looted but could still have more to give and three more houses that may contain people or supplies.

Blurry action shot of the group rescuing the last two members to join.
The options as I see them. Any other ideas please throw them in.
1. Pete's original plan. Raid that store and bar up the windows. The radio says to keep indoors until the army comes. We can already hear their helicopters over head.
2. Troy's idea. Get out of Dodge! Pack up the vehicles and leave tomorrow morning while its still quiet. It will only get worse.
3. Annie wants to Rally the community. Knock on doors and gather the neighbourhood. Together we can cooperate and share resources until help arrives. That's how people have survived disasters before.
4. Marge wants to compromise. Tomorrow raid the store and knock on doors. Let everyone know we leave the next day and invite them to join up!

Have the group vote on which plan since they are torn. High roll wins the vote. You have 5 people roll 5 d4 and 1 is plan 1, 2 plan 2, and so forth. One plan will win out over the others and if some of them don't come up on a roll it merely means that person was persuaded to try a different plan.

I think some form of voting dice off is a great way to decide. However as your (the group's) main factors to help decide are going to be down to how good their current situation is and how successful they might be at any of those missions then there could be some DRMs added into the votes for each character's deciding dice roll. Also each character's personal amount of influence and authority will have an effect on how likely they are to have their plan pushed through or even supported by another group member(s).

Main consideration here for me is supplies. How long can you survive on your food and water supplies? even with the extra meagre amounts to get plundered you're going to run out very quickly and that's when people get desperate and dangerous. Others may become a threat quicker than you would if their food supplies are less than yours.

I'd say no.2 is the best option assuming you have the fuel to get to somewhere that has a fresh or at least constant water supply. Most towns and cities are built on a river historically and that's not for no reason. When they leave they need to say that they are going to 'a cousin's house' at the other side of the city (if any neighbours ask) as that cousin has a bigger house and some more food. What you're trying not to do is start a panic and ripple effect of everyone seeing you leave 'in a hurry' and 'just to get out of the city'. Long term it looks like there's going to be a lot of disruption to society and a long time before any food delivery truck comes to any grocery store. With the police gone who's going to keep the population in check? A couple of groups that decide to 'go all Darwin' on everyone else and you've got a big problem. There's tons of factors to chuck in (and therefore needing a monster post) but I'd say a quick raid for long term supplies and then head for the hills before it all really goes south. Zeds stay where the meat is so if that's in the cities then get out. Oh and the army and national guard are only so big and will be used to protect whatever the government and military deem to be important. Your housing estate is unlikely to be top of their list… A

I would let all the characters state their case. Then, roll 1d6 per people skill counting successes. Keep eliminating the weakest argument each round until you have your winner.

You could also have the 'eliminated' models taking sides randomly (or not) of whoever is left so each additional model giving a +1 to the score of whoever they are supporting.

Your roll to see if the models that have lost out on their original argument/solution go one way or the other could be something like (roll a D6);
1. = They don't care anymore and just want a decision made. No side chosen, they abstain.
2. = they don't know still but are halfway between the ideas of the others put in a 'maybe' group to roll again to see if they take a model's side
3. = they go with the next model to successfully make a roll (and satay in the running for their argument). If there are two or more that succeed they go with the one with the best passed score. Equal models roll off randomly. Once they join up with someone they stay with them.
4. = they decide they were right after all and are back in the running! However they are bow undermined so all rolls at a -1 modifier.

In my zombie game I have various characteristics to roll for each character, with that in mind (and off the top of my head) here's some interesting ones that would effect the above test;
Persuasive = you can impose a -1 one other model's rolls, and a +1 to anyone who has lost out on their argument to see if they join the persuasive model
Unreliable = the model will never give a bonus to any group they join (affects group morale bonuses too, teenagers and kids auto have this trait.
Headstong = the model doesn't give up, re-roll failed test for the argument, but -1 to see which group they join

Ok, so this is an awful lot for a relatively small area of the game but this basic 2-tier type system is great to use for any decision making points in games. Its a little different to this I think from memory (I'm sitting in an airport lounge due to a 6 hour delayed plane…) but the theme and narrative feel is great as you see models switching sides etc. I would limit this sort of thing to 2 maybe 3 rounds of rolling, and maybe put in a rule or two for other outcomes such as two models end in an argument, a fight, not speaking etc. Enjoy! A

Secure store and then send most out to possibly rally the community and combine supplies. Start building water collectors from containers on the roof along with a garden as you might be there awhile. Send scouts out to possibly find more survivors and food, returning to base camp to refuel.

Ark3nubis' idea on morale/interaction is pretty good. In most modern zombie/PA movies it is the survivors that end up weakening themselves more than the enemy.

it is a decision the players need to make
take it away from them and give it to the dice?

let the players debate as long as it takes
just be sure to constantly remind them

THE CLOCK IS TICKING!

"The streets a very quiet right now"
while they argue the situation will change
other groups may spring into action immediately

what will happen overnight?

"The neighbourhood has a small grocery shop that's been looted but could still have more to give and three more houses that may contain people or supplies"
unless someone else gets to them first!

what if someone else organizes the townsfolk before they do?
etc

14 days since first report is still fairly early. people "know" what zombies are but are unsure how widespread the trouble is. most people are going to fall into two mindsets.

1. Protect our stuff and wait it out

or

2. We need to find somewhere SAFE

We'll start with option #2.

This is the MOST COMMON trope of RPG gaming, whether Fantasy, SCIFI, or Survival. The PC's are basically wandering kleptomaniac murder-hobos ransacking their merry way from one bad situation to another. Oh, they couch in in terminology like "greater good" or "Adventuring party" but it's whitewashing. They are a forraging party without anything to support but themselves.

This leaves Option 1.

Of the two, I think that #1 is the better choice, as it is what humans DO, they BUILD.

This can turn into an interesting game as the lack of civil services, increasingly desperate NPCs and dwindling supplies cause the PCs to "realize" that things AREN'T going to get better, and they transition from scavenging simply to survive, to resource-gathering and empire building themselves a better and better "colony". Like what Walking Dead's "Woodburry" or "The Prison" would turn into of it wasn't beholden to an episodic TV formula.

Draw a map, let the PC's gather resources and equipment. incorporate things like breakdown rules for vehicles, players or NPC's that get sick, necessitating a scavenging hunt for penicillin or a distributor cap for your 2.5 ton "Army Truck". Having to deal with "wandering murder hobo" groups from the OTHER side, aka what YOU traditionally have to do as GM. "Gee guys this is a NICE place you've built up for yourselves here. Too bad Lord Humungous wants to move in…

Turn it into an "empire building" game built on decisions like "Do we welcome those guys in, turn them away and hope they don't come back later to loot us, or kill them for knowing 'too much' (like that we exist)"

Just a thought

For me that's too RPG or gaming for my liking really. I understand the appeal of different players discussing until they decide in some way but then if I went that far I feel I would just be literarily be making the game up. The reason I like the dice is firstly it is a test like any other but done within the framework of the stats that the character has. So if they achieve it (whether shooting, or deciding where to go, or to make a reaction etc etc) then the choice you have referred to has resulted in you taking the dice test in the first place, it's just if it works out or not is down to the dice.

Also what about solo players, who would they debate with? It all depend I suppose what level of game play you want.

That post was in reaction to TNE2300's post by the way…

I vote for #4.

Thanks everyone for your interesting responses.
We have a tie though. Between.
#3. Annie wants to Rally the community and
#4. Marge wants to compromise. Tomorrow raid the store and knock on doors.
Any one want to help break the dead lock?

It looks like you are using the ATZ rules. Try a vote using the 'keeping it together' table. Have the highest scoring character get the winning choice.

Thanks Capt will do