Chapter Four: Going East

Chapter Three: Seattle, WA

In Seattle, the exhausted survivors find the city under siege by both the dead and the military. The survivors are detained by the Navy and conducted to the commandeered MS Westerdam, a makeshift refugee camp on the water. They escape, fearing another outbreak on board, and head to the city. There they meet up with other survivors in a fortified Costco, including Craig Williams and "Sonny" Gupta, who had barely escaped from the overrun Seattle Zoo.

Bonding quickly in the Costco, some of the survivors sneak out to rescue Craig's grandmother and steal a city bus. They rescue a CDC bureacrat who tells them that time is running out- the government is planning to initiate their "Black Swan" protocols and destroy the lost city with nuclear weapons. Just before they load their bus to depart, one of the Costco survivors tries to poison and murder them all in their sleep. In the ensuing chaos, the zombies breach the defenses, and Bongbong heroically holds them back while everyone else escapes.

The remaining survivors race through North Seattle with Craig at the wheel of the bus. They hear bridges being blown and see fighter planes creating walls of fire to seal the city. They navigate through the blockades, fight off zombies and other crazed survivors, losing some of their own on the way. By dawn, the ragged crew makes it clear of the city in their shattered bus, driving East toward Utah with the glow of a burning Seattle behind them.

Chapter Two: Baranof Island, AK

The survivors are picked up and brought to Port Alexander on Baranof Island. They watch as Coast Guard helicopters go to the ship to bring others to Sitka, and later hear that the Air Force sunk the cruise ship in international waters.

The government arrives in Port Alexander, intent on destroying any traces of the infection. Kitkat and Bongbong choose to flee, taking an Indonesian ship's cook named Arti and a wounded college girl named Emily who was a passenger from the ship. They meet a shiftless pilot named Jack Casey who agrees to fly them north for a price. They are chased by helicopters and lose control of the plane when Emily succumbs to the infection in flight.

The group makes their way to Jack's illicit marijuana farm to hide, only to find that it is overrun by the dead crew of a once-friendly family of fishermen. They hold out and gather supplies, waiting for daylight. They find a survivor of the family, named Jody, who agrees to help them take the boat and go to Sitka to rescue Jack's daughter, Julia.

In Sitka, they find the government quarantine has failed, and they have just enough time to meet some new friends- Chico and Rita- before the dead begin taking over. The group fights through to Sheldon Jackson College, where they find Jack's daughter in the care of her grandfather and other survivors. They are confronted by one of the rare high-metabolism zombies, who unleashes the hordes into the fortified school building. Knowing the situation is untenable, the survivors take the girl and flee to the harbor, where they steal a seaplane and leave for Seattle.

Chapter One: The MS Amsterdam

An unlikely group of survivors- including passengers, crew, and hotel staff- take refuge in a chain locker on "Deck Zero" of the MS Amsterdam, hiding from the growing chaos above. Eventually a few of the survivors attempt to reach the bridge to signal for help. This group includes the Filipino crew members Kitkat and Bongbong, a park ranger named Dave Schmidt, and officer Mertens of ship security. They find the Security team fortified in the command offices, and that the bridge and communications are inaccessible behind a horde of the walking dead.

Seeing that many of the lifeboats have already been launched, the group makes a desperate attempt at escape, meeting other friendly and murderous survivors along the way. In particular, a group of ethnic-cleansing Indonesians, led by "Captain Budi" are attempting to take over the ship and clear it of the dead and everyone else. In the end, the survivors depart with half their number, broken and terrified on a lifeboat bound for Alaska.

Where it Began

"The ms Amsterdam is the third ship to bear the name of the Dutch capital in Holland America Line's more than 130-year history. Built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera, Italy, the ms Amsterdam blends the very latest in shipbuilding technology with the artistry, personalized touches and superior service that has made Holland America Line one of the highest-rated cruise lines in the world."

Carrying approximately 1300 passengers and 647 crew members, the MS Amsterdam is on its return voyage from the Alaskan Panhandle when news of some form of global pandemic begins to filter through the ship's communications. Although the Amsterdam's Safety Officer assured the passengers that they were in no danger, the medical staff began preparing and trying to gather information.

Hours after leaving Ketchikan, Alaska en route to Victoria, Canada along the Outer Passage, panic began to sweep through the ship- bloodied crew members running through the Lido Restaurant, screaming in Indonesian; elderly passengers in bright-orange life vests crowding the promenade, full of questions; stern-faced officers attempting to create a sense of calm as they quietly load their emergency sidearms. No matter what they say, something has gone very, very wrong.

(Primary sources for this zombie story include Walking Dead, World War Z, and the 2007 Remake of Dawn of the Dead. When in doubt, fall back on those stories for how things work.)

Player Character Creation

Create a primary PC using fairly standard creation steps:

  1. Divide 11 dice between the three Pools
  2. Take the three Innate Abilities at Adept, Competent and Unskilled
  3. Determine your PCs Profession specialty and start that ability at Competent
  4. Add another skill at Adept and three at Competent
  5. Take 1 Secret and 1 Key
  6. Use 10 Advances to further develop Secrets, Abilities, and Keys

Non-Player Character Creation

Create 3 additional NPCs to be associated with your PC; these will be played by the other players in your introductory scene, and may develop into ongoing characters:

  1. Give the NPC a name
  2. Give them 2 dice in each Pool
  3. Assign Innate Abilities as above
  4. Assign a Profession, as above
  5. Assign four additional Abilities (one at Adept, three at Competent)
  6. Note personality traits and motivations, possibly expressed as Keys