Roleplay / ZOOOOOmmxBIES

Zooooommxbies is a German Play By Post Game about a group of people trying to survive a Zombie Apocalypse in Sydney. The players create characters with different stats for overcoming the challenges the game master provides. The story is divided in different chapters, each featuring unique challenges which require a certain amount of characters to participate. A character's stats and the game master's dice decide if he/she is successful and can continue the game or fails and has to face the consequences — which are usually deadly for the character. Fortunately, there are also characters with certain special abilities that can be used to influence the outcome.

The game started in August 2012 and ended in September of the same year. A second season started in August 2013. A third season started in September 2015, loosely following the events of the 1st and 2nd season, set 21 years later. The third season ended three months later. It is the source for most of the tropes listed here.

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This roleplay provides examples of:

General Tropes

• Apocalypse How: They wanted to create Super Soldiers, they got Zombies.

• Boom, Headshot!: The easiest known way to actually kill a zombie.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Everyone's text has a personal colour to make it easier to know who's talking.

• Dying Moment of Awesome: The chapter ending missions and posts around them are usually a lot longer then the pure RP-posts and a more epic, including music, pictures and sometimes a gruesome death scene.
• Epunymous Title: The title refers to zombies and the forum which hosted this RPG.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Everybody who dies while participating in a challenge at the end of a chapter could count. However, there is also a special ability that allows a character to face a challenge all by himself, saving everybody else but dying as a result. Michail, Trevor and Kerosa make use of this.
• Game Master: Well, somebody has to plan the plot and roll the dice. Daen vom Clan is the Game Master for Zooooommxbies.

• Put on a Bus: Some players just straight up stop posting at some point or just leave the party. Sometimes there is an explanation in-game, sometimes there isn't.

Season 1

• Expy: Fawyer is one for James "Sawyer" Ford out of Lost.
• Team Pet: Machete, Helena's dog.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Most members of the group really disliked each other. There were fistfights.

Season 2

• Min-Maxing: Through heavy planning and a lot of lists, only one active player was killed in the whole season
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: With their decision to save themselves with the killswitch, the heroes doomed the world to be an post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Season 3

The apostle will guide us. Indeed she will.

20 years after the zombie apocalypse only few people remain alive. Those who survived live in small towns, scavanging the ruins of the old world to survive. Shengs Hope, Texas is one of these towns.

One night, a mysterious coffin appears on the shore - in it are the remains of patient 0. A group of heroes starts one of the most important journeys in the history of mankind to bring patient 0 - dubbed ADAM - to an old lab in San Antonio to synthesize the cure against the virus.

The roleplay started in early September 2015, and it took the players 3 months until they succeeded in their task. It is one of the roleplays with the highest wordcount in Germany, clocking in at around 750,000 words, written mainly by around 10 players and their game master, Daen vom Clan. It not only spawned most of the tropes listed here, it was also surrounded by a huge amount of hype, resulting in a lot of fanart made by some of the players and fans.

General Tropes

• Apocalypse Cult: The Cult of Vision and their love for zombies.

• Chekhov's Gun: The corkscrew Evi gets from Raoul has several appearances throughout the game and gets finally used to keep Pray and Blades save during her baptism.
• Doomed Hometown: Shengs Hope doesn't survive the departure of our heroes
• Dysfunction Junction: Most of the characters are broken in one way or another. Lancaster is incredibly aggressive, Leo likes to eat people, Haile was a designated Human Sacrifice and is basically mute...
• Elite Zombie: The mutations. Huge zombies with some resemblance to intelligence. They don't feel pain and are incredibly hard to kill. And then there is the Zombrilla in Chapter 4...

• Fire-Forged Friends: Almost all of the characters to some degree. Especially Leos and Hailes connection stems from their adventure in Riviera Beach in Chapter 1.

• Living MacGuffin: ADAM is actually still alive and holds the key to the cure in his blood.
• Near-Death Experience: Because of the players love for drama, this happens a lot. Almost everyone had one of these:
  • The first glorious Near-Death Experience happens before the game even starts, with Vincent almost dying because he swallowed some cork.
  • Lancaster getting surrounded by zombies and saved by Hailes jump from the crane in Chapter 2
  • Evi getting beaten up by the Zombrilla in Chapter 4
  • Haile gets stabbed by her father and only survives by an inch, hallucinating about Prudence and Helena
  • Leo getting buried under six zombies in the laboratory
  • Eryn almost falling from the float in Chapter 4 and a second one, when she almost died in her fight in Chapter 6
  • Howard getting soaked in zombie goo and starts to wildly hallucinate
  • Sheng almost drowns in the final showdown
  • Ellen getting bitten... by a cat
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Most of the raider clans. Raouls tries to invoke this with his crew, but fails miserably. Everyone just straight out refuses to call him "Guts", much to his dismay.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: invokedShengevi, Derryn, Leoman, Rhaioule and Roumeare.

• Team Pet: Snowball, the cat Eryn saves from Fawyer. Lancatser would have been an naming option.
• Teenage Wasteland: The most raider clans seem to be consisting of fairly young people.

• True Companions: The core group of characters and players grows together pretty closely. Haile always mentions how the group is her family.

Chapter 0

20 years have passed since the Zombie Apocalypse. Humanity rebuilt themselves in little towns all over the world. Shengs Hope is one of those little towns. Life there is not always good, but it's stable. Save. What could possibly happen?

• Awkward Kiss: Hailes first kiss with Raoul. She has no idea what he is doing, and he thinks she's REALLY good at playing coy.
• Bar Brawl: Sheng/Evi/Jäger versus Shaun/Steve. But everyone in the Dusty Derrecks takes some part in it.
• Easing into the Adventure: The roleplay starts a day before ADAM's coffin emerges and the journey begins. The players quickly fill Shengs Hope with life, though.

• Free-Range Children: Nobody really cares about the Ahladita-kids, even though Shengs Hope is actually really small and they are known to steal everything in sight.
• Frying Pan of Doom: What Eryn uses to knock out Raoul.

• Shipshape Shipwreck: The IHS Ahladita is rusty and almost completely ruined, but there are still a lot of people living in there.

Chapter 1 - Wave Shengs Hope Goodbye

After the arrival of ADAM on the shore the bravest people of Shengs Hope gather materials, food and ammunition to start their journey across Texas. Now is the time of the last goodbyes, sorrowful speeches and the rekindling of hope. Also, we really have to find a way to survive on the road.

• Almost Kiss: Evi almost gets crushed by a table, Sheng saves her, their faces draw closer... And then, Ranger appears.

• Decided by One Vote: Lancaster has one vote more and becomes the leader. He's not really into it.

• Sustained Misunderstanding: Eryn and Sheng talking about how love makes idiots out of everyone. He talks about Evi, she thinks that this is a VERY weird love confession.
  Eryn: I'm right here, you idiot?!
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Sheng and Evi. Both of them are horrible flirters and there is always someone interrupting the moment.

Chapter 2 - Charging Itza

Before our team can go north, we have to get batteries for ADAMs life support. In the area south of Shengs Hope live two possible trading partners: The clan Vulture and Sabals Keep - both factions are at war and the heroes have to decide who earns their trust.

• Barbarian Tribe: The Road Vultures count as that, with a hint of an Aztec motif and voodoo mixed into it.
• Faking the Dead: Will acts like a dead body in the church in Chapter 2.

• Mud Wrestling: The fights in the pit in the Vulture-camp are extremely muddy. Seeker and Leo don't use it that much, but Thorn and Haile are actively beating the crap out of each other with mud.

• No One Should Survive That!: Haile jumps from a building crane into a hoard of zombies to save Lancaster's life. He wasn't ready for this.
  Lancaster: Fuck... fuck fuck fuck... holy... Are you alright, girl?! Nobody makes that jump and lives
  Haile: ... faints
  Leo: Well, that was the Zombie Kill Combo of the day.
• Shout-Out: Romero and You Are are one giant Shout-Out to the classic play by Shakespeare. It doesn't end well, too.

Chapter 3 - No Hope Left

After days of travel the road towards San Antonio is blocked. But on the horizon we see Shengs Hope burning. Something happened in the little town - and our heroes have to investigate and find out where our friends and families have been taken.

• Fingore: Mum Perlmutter loses her fingers to a zombie bite.

• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Lancaster beating a Buccanear to mash with over 130 punches, one for every citizen of Shengs Hope.

Chapter 4 - River Revenge

The heroes follow the trails of the kidnapped townsfolk, but are blocked by an army of zombies guarding the only bridge on the way there. Not only do they have to find a way through the enemies, but they also have to deal with the local brothel and his eccentric owner, the clan Flame-Rider and a lost zoo with all kinds of danger living there.

• Doesn't Like Guns: When Leo, Evi and Haile find a perfectly fine hunting rifle in the zoo, they don't use it and just kind of awkwardly take it with them, because all three of them rely on melee combat.
  Evi: We're too Vulture for this.
• Elite Zombie: The Zombrilla is a huge silverback, completely driven insane by the virus.

• My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Chapter 4 marks The Reveal of the leader's real name.
  Jackman: I'M HUGH FUCKING JACKMAN AND YOUR ASS DOES WHAT I SAY AS LONG AS YOU'RE ON THIS BIKE!
• The Cameo: Fawyer is back! And he now has his own brothel

Chapter 5 - Crossroads

After months of travel the laboratory is finally on the horizon. But first, there is a whole new battle to be fought. If we go directly to the lab our friends and families, kidnapped by the cult, will die. Or we save those people, but at the price of maybe being to late to save the world. A hard decision, that threatens to tear apart the group...

• Jerkass Has a Point: Leo and Jäger. They vote for leaving the people of Shengs Hope to their fate and to actually go on and save the whole world by delivering ADAM.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Everyone loses their shit when Haile starts to talk.
  Eryn: Shiiiiiiiiit.

Chapter 6 - Never Forget The Alamo

San Antonio lies in ruins and the headquarter of the cultists, the lost Alamodome, brims with life. Our families are being hold there and we have to find a way in to save them. There are also other people and tribes still living in the ruins - but are they friends or foes?

• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Jäger and Haile use one to get into the Alamodome. Jäger doesn't take it well.
• Act of True Love: Sheng really wants to die for Haile's sake. He tells Evi he doesn't want to be saved. She doesn't listen.
• Curbstomp Battle: When Leo and Jackman confronted the Big Bad, both of them rolled an 1 on the dice. The battle was over... very fast. Leo cuts off Toskes head with one swift strike, while Jackman shoots him between the eyes. They are both completely flabbergasted how EASY that was.
  Jackman: That's it? He just kind of...died.
• Exploring the Evil Lair: Jäger and Haile explore the Alamodome in Chapter 6. Eryn and Lisa join the fun later on, disguised as zombies. And it works.
• Geeky Analogy: Jackmans plan for saving Sheng, Raoul and Wingman
  Jackman: ...That's the best plan since that werewolf thing I did in Van Helsing!
  Evi: That's a horrible plan.
  Jackman: Yeah, and Van Helsing was a terrible movie!
• Oh, Crap!: Jackmans reaction to the bomb in the hotel.

• Vomit Chain Reaction: Leo, Jäger and Howard all vomit inside of the hotel - although they all have their reasons for it.

Chapter 6,5 - Nearer Too Thee, Mother Earth

It's the evening before the final fight against the cultists. One last chance to say everything that needs to be said and to do everything that needs to be done. We are camping at a lost golf court, together not only with the saved people of Shengs Hope, but also with our sisters and brothers from the clan Vulture and with the remnants of the military force.

• Alone Among the Couples: That's how Blades feels in the band of teenagers.
• Bling of War: Ellen leads Kerosa, Raoul and Haile into her clothing chamber. Hilarity ensues. And they finally get some new clothes!
  Kerosa: ...Nah, I just need a bit of white fabric, golden details and hey, stallion, if we find you a shirt in one piece and maybe a leather jacket we can talk about a threesome!
  Raoul: No.
  Haile: ...No.
• Breather Episode: The sole reason for the existence of an interludium. After saving the Love Interests and all the other NPCs, it's time to lighten the mood before the final fight.
• Due to the Dead: Frank buries Mary and speaks a few words.
• Mangst: Jackman has a little breakdown, including some Manly Tears after finding out about Mary's death. Sheng isn't in a good mood either, but his angst is a bit more external.

• Shipper on Deck: Haile and Eryn are active Shengevi shippers.
• Wartime Wedding: Haile and Raoul, of all people. It's not really a wedding, but they exchange their amulets the night before the final fight. Kerosa is not amused. Leo isn't happy about this either, but for completely different reasons.
  Kerosa: But you're not married now or some shit like that, amirite? You didn't even have sex!

Chapter 7 - History In The Making

The final battle for the world has begun. While most characters protect the laboratory, there are a few special missions - deadly, dangerous and most possibly extremely important...

• Bittersweet Ending: After the final fight there are only few survivors, most romantic pairings have been divided by death and only 7 active players are left alive. And they can't stay together, but have to travel the world to spread the cure. There won't be a Shengs Hope ever again.
• Boring, but Practical: Some missions in the lab itself - repairing the solar panels and enticing away the dogs living there, for starters
• Cliffhanger: What happened after the first part of Hailes fight against Georgina and the betrayal by Raoul got a different post a few days later.
  Good night, sweet sister.

• Shout-Out: One towards Edward Snowden, who is second in command to the Skypeople - which are actually the remnants of the NSA.
• Suicide Mission: Taking the jeep to Georgina and killing her behind enemy lines. The mission is staffed with Haile, Eryn, Raoul and Kerosa and no one expects them to come back. It's one of the missions with the highest death rate.