Mike Taylor
02-06-2008, 03:08 AM
Lifted from some set-up material I created for the Taking It Back campaign I want to run for AFMBE. I put this together for new players who might not have an idea of what to do.
Tools of the Trade: Here’s the basics that every zombie hunter should try to acquire before taking on the shambling hordes. I know that a lot of you think that high tech gadgetry and heavier firepower should be on this list, but these items are generally easier to get and less expensive to purchase. They also assume that you’re living in or near a reasonably-sized population center.
1. First Aid Kit: Let’s face it, in this line of work you’re going to get hurt. A good kit will have painkillers, gauze, tape, bandages, disinfectants, ointments, and so on. You can buy them ready-made or assemble them on your own from off the shelf goods. Of course, if the zombie’s bite is infectious, nothing short of the Divine can save you (more likely than you might think).
2. Flashlight: Actually, several different sizes are a good idea, but a good 2 C or 2 D cell one is decent enough to start with. Make sure you have plenty of spare batteries. It’d be real bad if you found that rot you were hunting and the damn Duracells went out.
3. Axe or Machete: You’ll probably want to own both at some point, but starting with one is sufficient. Unlike a gun, they don’t need a permit to own them, they don’t need fuel or ammo, and all you need to power them with is some good ol’ elbow grease. Chainsaws are great for carving up rots, but they’re noisy and they need fuel to operate. Swords? C’mon! How many of those display pieces you’ve seen at those little curio shops in the mall are actually battle-ready? Very few. Most will lose their edge or break after a few solid blows. The real deal costs a lot more money and (usually) has to be ordered through a catalog or online service.
4. Pocket Knife: Really, guys, the uses for the good ol’ pocket knife are endless. They may not do much good in hand-to-hand with Jimmy Pussbag and the rest of the shambling horde, but a knife can still be handy in the strangest situations, just ask Angus McGyver. Hell, Victorinox even makes a Swiss Army Knife with a USB Flash drive built-in. Don’t believe me? Ask your local Radio Shack. Whatever you do, buy a GOOD knife. Don’t go for that cheap dollar store crap.
5. Duct Tape: Much like the pocket knife, there are a lot of uses for this, most of them involving binding something or holding something together.
6. 2-Way Radios and/or Cellular Phones: It’s probably not a bad idea to have both on your person when you’re out capping zombies because some areas have lousy or nonexistent cell phone coverage (like the deep woods, inside an office building, or down in a subway or cavern).
7. Portable Tool Kit: Again, one of those items which have a multitude of uses, including improvised weapons. The ones most suitable for your line of work will usually have at least one claw hammer and one set of pliers, a few
different sizes of flathead and Phillips head screwdrivers, one or more wrenches of varying sizes, as well as a variety of screws, nails, nuts, bolts, and washers. Like the first aid kit, this is one of those things that you can buy ready-made or assemble on your own.
8. Shotgun *: Preferably a 12-gauge and one that holds more than two shots. Five to seven-shot tube magazines are fairly common, though nine-shot tubes exist as well. The right load can turn a zombie’s head into a puddle of rotten goo in one shot.
9. Rifle *: Just on sheer availability and affordability, hunting rifles are going to be your first choice. There’s all kinds of calibers available for hunting all kinds of animals, living and otherwise. Military-style weapons (including semiautomatic versions) are usually more costly and can attract unwanted attention in certain circumstances.
10. Pistol *: Probably the least bulky of the three firearms types listed here. Whether you go semiautomatic or revolver is a matter of personal taste. Semiautos can usually hold more, but they have a tendency to jam. A revolver carries fewer rounds and needs a speedloader to replace spent shells, but they are less likely to jam (fewer moving parts) and are more flexible with the type of ammo they can use. For example, a .357 Magnum can use both the .357 rounds and various .38 caliber rounds.
* Make sure you’ve got a decent supply of ammo... and always save the LAST bullet for yourself.
Like I said before, there’s lots more stuff out there that a zombie hunter could find especially useful, but these suggestions are enough to get you started.
Kuseru
02-06-2008, 11:03 AM
While this is a useful list, I had some problems with it, as well as some comments.
Lifted from some set-up material I created for the Taking It Back campaign I want to run for AFMBE. I put this together for new players who might not have an idea of what to do.
Tools of the Trade: Here’s the basics that every zombie hunter should try to acquire before taking on the shambling hordes. I know that a lot of you think that high tech gadgetry and heavier firepower should be on this list, but these items are generally easier to get and less expensive to purchase. They also assume that you’re living in or near a reasonably-sized population center.
1. First Aid Kit: Let’s face it, in this line of work you’re going to get hurt. A good kit will have painkillers, gauze, tape, bandages, disinfectants, ointments, and so on. You can buy them ready-made or assemble them on your own from off the shelf goods. Of course, if the zombie’s bite is infectious, nothing short of the Divine can save you (more likely than you might think).
2. Flashlight: Actually, several different sizes are a good idea, but a good 2 C or 2 D cell one is decent enough to start with. Make sure you have plenty of spare batteries. It’d be real bad if you found that rot you were hunting and the damn Duracells went out.When choosing a flashlight, look for one that's heavy duty and durable. Maglights are always a good choice, especially since they can double as bludgeons, or even work as a hammer in a pinch. However, a waterproof flashlight may be just the thing you need.
Also, you don't need more than one flashlight, the extra weight (including spare batteries) just weighs you down for no good reason. Sure, a backup mini-flashlight (especially if you've got a tac-light on your main weapon) can come in handy in some cases, but it isn't a necessity.
3. Axe or Machete: You’ll probably want to own both at some point, but starting with one is sufficient. Unlike a gun, they don’t need a permit to own them, they don’t need fuel or ammo, and all you need to power them with is some good ol’ elbow grease. Chainsaws are great for carving up rots, but they’re noisy and they need fuel to operate. Swords? C’mon! How many of those display pieces you’ve seen at those little curio shops in the mall are actually battle-ready? Very few. Most will lose their edge or break after a few solid blows. The real deal costs a lot more money and (usually) has to be ordered through a catalog or online service. Actually, I recommend the Axe over the Machete. It's more useful in secondary applications unless you're picking up a good, weapon quality machete or related knife (kukri for instance). Unfortunately, finding a good quality machete is generally more difficult.
4. Pocket Knife: Really, guys, the uses for the good ol’ pocket knife are endless. They may not do much good in hand-to-hand with Jimmy Pussbag and the rest of the shambling horde, but a knife can still be handy in the strangest situations, just ask Angus McGyver. Hell, Victorinox even makes a Swiss Army Knife with a USB Flash drive built-in. Don’t believe me? Ask your local Radio Shack. Whatever you do, buy a GOOD knife. Don’t go for that cheap dollar store crap.
[INSERT]
7. Portable Tool Kit: Again, one of those items which have a multitude of uses, including improvised weapons. The ones most suitable for your line of work will usually have at least one claw hammer and one set of pliers, a few
different sizes of flathead and Phillips head screwdrivers, one or more wrenches of varying sizes, as well as a variety of screws, nails, nuts, bolts, and washers. Like the first aid kit, this is one of those things that you can buy ready-made or assemble on your own. I'm lumping these two items together because there's a key note that concerns both of them. YES! Get a Knife, it's the most versatile tool around. When picking a knife though there are some additional considerations available. Which is why tools get lumped with the knife. Pick up a Gerber or Swiss Army Knife (preferably with the more basic features rather than the exotic ones), they're sturdy, dependable, and allow you to have a small item which provides a variety of functions. Key features to look for in a multi-tool (yes, I recommend the Gerber over the classic Swiss Army Knife) are the knife blade, pliers, philip's head screwdriver, flat head screwdriver, and can-opener. Of course, the tool features of a multi-tool aren't as versatile or user-friendly as the tool itself, which means you may want to get some tools to help in those situations. This includes the knife blade as well, which is where I recommend getting either a good folding knife or a good fixed blade knife (avoid the Rambo-esque, cheaply made "survival knife", though if you can find a good quality version, go for it) in addition to the multitool blade. A fixed blade knife also has the advantage of being lashed to a pole to make a fairly decent spear.
5. Duct Tape: Much like the pocket knife, there are a lot of uses for this, most of them involving binding something or holding something together.
6. 2-Way Radios and/or Cellular Phones: It’s probably not a bad idea to have both on your person when you’re out capping zombies because some areas have lousy or nonexistent cell phone coverage (like the deep woods, inside an office building, or down in a subway or cavern).
[SNIP]Nothing really of note here. Duct Tape is good. Radios/cell phones are nice, but not a necessity.
8. Shotgun *: Preferably a 12-gauge and one that holds more than two shots. Five to seven-shot tube magazines are fairly common, though nine-shot tubes exist as well. The right load can turn a zombie’s head into a puddle of rotten goo in one shot.
9. Rifle *: Just on sheer availability and affordability, hunting rifles are going to be your first choice. There’s all kinds of calibers available for hunting all kinds of animals, living and otherwise. Military-style weapons (including semiautomatic versions) are usually more costly and can attract unwanted attention in certain circumstances.
10. Pistol *: Probably the least bulky of the three firearms types listed here. Whether you go semiautomatic or revolver is a matter of personal taste. Semiautos can usually hold more, but they have a tendency to jam. A revolver carries fewer rounds and needs a speedloader to replace spent shells, but they are less likely to jam (fewer moving parts) and are more flexible with the type of ammo they can use. For example, a .357 Magnum can use both the .357 rounds and various .38 caliber rounds.
* Make sure you’ve got a decent supply of ammo... and always save the LAST bullet for yourself.
Like I said before, there’s lots more stuff out there that a zombie hunter could find especially useful, but these suggestions are enough to get you started.
On Firearms. Forget carrying all three of those with a decent supply of ammo. It's not worth the weight. Get the Rifle, a decent caliber will work best (5.56mm, .30-06, or 7.62mm would probably be best, considering their effectiveness and how easy it is to get ammo for them). Carry plenty of ammo for it. Get a backup weapon, generally the pistol. Shotguns are quite useful, but take up lots of room for little return unless you can get something like a Stakeout Ithaca model, sawn off shotgun (which has some problems of it's own), or one of those nice, hard to find, underbarrel shotgun attachments for a rifle.
Now let's look at the 10 items Mike left off his list.
1. Rope: One of the most useful tools you can carry, if you carry enough of it. The main consideration here is that the rope is strong and durable enough to be used as climbing rope. While there are climbing accessories you may want to consider, none of them will do much good without the rope. Get rope!
2. Lighter or Matches: Being able to start a fire is a good thing. Lost your flashlight or ran out of batteries for it, no problem, make a torch. Cold and wet and need to dry out before you get ill, no problem. Need to cook something and you don't have access to a stove, no problem. Need to light that group of zombies on fire after you just splashed them with the gas you found, no problem. In this case the personal choice of light or matches depends more on preference than utility. Avoid books of matches and cheap stick matches if you can, they tend to take up more space, and don't always work the greatest compared to the other options. Cheap plastic disposable lighters are fairly good, don't take up a lot of space comparatively, but tend to run out of fuel or have other problems when you need them the most. Zippo style lighters work well, but either run out of fuel or have the flint wear down (though a little forethought in keeping some fuel and flints on you takes care of that). For matches, the best kind are the storm/lifeboat style matches, these tend to be strike anywhere, water resistant matches that come in their own waterproof container.
3. Carrying Capacity: Okay, you're putting together all kinds of equipment and tools, now how are you going to carry all that? Sacks (of a variety of types, and don't overlook plastic zip-lock style bags for waterproofing your other items) can be useful, but what you really need is a backpack of some sort. While a nylon or canvas knapsack will be fairly common, easy to find, and not too difficult to carry, you may want to look into getting a more professional grade of backpack, especially for those longer hauls and when you want to carry more items. Just because a sea-bag is a huge bag with packstraps, doesn't mean you want to go hiking for any distance with one. Of course, having a backpack is only the first step. You don't want to throw all your stuff in (or on) the backpack, after all, it's on your back so you generally can't get to everything all that easy. You may want to look into getting some other types of carrying gear as well. Tactical vests and other military-style gear generally have lots of little pockets scattered about so you can store a bunch of things you need more quickly than the stuff in your backpack. Old-style web belts with attachments or even newer-style belts with attached containers (cell phone cases, knife sheaths, and some other items are fairly common) can be used as well. Even a fanny-pack style container can be useful. Aside from the carrying capacity of these containers, it's wise to keep in mind waterproofing as well.
4. Clothing: Yes, the style and types of clothing you select are important as well. Keep three key features in mind when choosing clothing. How durable the clothing is. Whether or not the clothing has capacious pockets. How waterproof the clothing is. Other things to keep in mind is how appropriate to the climate/weather the clothing is, and having spares of key items like underwear and socks.
5. Footwear: When choosing footwear, look for something tough and durable. A good pair of boots or shoes will be your best friend in the long run.
6. Clothing Accessories: When choosing clothing, don't just consider what's covering your torso and legs, there are other clothing accessories out there which can be just as useful and vital. Belts, while generally used to hold up pants, can also be used for other things, such as carrying additional items or containers, or as improvised material for securing or tying something else. Scarves, bandanas, and other bits of loose clothing can double as a head or face covering to prevent a variety of problems, as well as being used to tie stuff up. Lastly, head covering, either a hat or helmet, should be considered for protective purposes.
7. Gloves: Rounding out our wearable equipment are gloves. There are three basic types of gloves one should look for. Cold weather gloves or mittens to protect one's hands from the environment. Working gloves made of leather or some other durable material for handling items which may cause damage to the hands. Lastly, rubber gloves, which have two sub-types of consideration, the surgical style of glove which will prevent medical problems when handling things that are chemically or biologically hazardous to one's health, and electrical gloves which prevent you from getting shocked when dealing with electrical and electronic items. In the former case, these kinds of gloves are fairly lightweight and easy to carry, but tend to break when handling sharp objects. In the latter case, well, unless you're doing something special, these aren't that useful (though they can double as the surgical type of rubber glove in a pinch).
8. Rope Round 2: This isn't about rope itself so much as rope's cousins. Your main consideration for rope should be whether or not it will support your weight while climbing. Since such good rope can be hard to come by, you probably don't want to generally waste it doing other ropework that could be handled by something else. Like nylon cord, which is fairly durable, won't generally support your weight for climbing (unless you buy some really expensive stuff, and even then you're taking your chances), and is easier to cut up into smaller chunks for a huge variety of uses. Tying up people or things is always useful, but I like to use nylon cord for lashing things together, particularly poles and staves. Cord's also good for setting up tripwires and some other trap-related fixtures. Technology has also given us an interesting new alternative for simple tying of objects, zip-ties. These can be useful for securing rope, gear, people, and other objects, and you can generally carry a bunch of them around with you.
9. Rations: Hunting zombies can be hungry or thirsty work, so it's always a good idea to keep some food, preferably food that won't spoil easy with you. Additionally, having a water bottle, canteen, or (if you can get one) a camelback with you will help cut down on pesky little problems like dehydration, not too mention having some other uses (for either water or the container itself).
10. Personal Hygiene Kit: Last, but not least, it's probably a good idea to put together a simple little kit for taking care of your personal hygiene. First aid is all well and good, but keeping clean is one of the best ways to stay healthy. Good things to include are a mirror, foot powder, soap, shampoo, shaving kit, and toothpaste/toothbrush/floss, though you may want to include some other items as well.
Jurgen
02-06-2008, 04:48 PM
Kukri? Pass on that one, if given a choice of handheld blade I'll always pick a Smatchet. It's a fairly standard peice of kit for WW2 British soldiers and can be picked up easily (at least here in the UK, via the magic of Auction houses, charity shops and everywhere else a widow goes to sell her dead husband's trophies of his naational service). Granted it is a pure combat weapon but it doubles as a hammer, cuts better than a machete and doesn't shine. I think that makes it a perfect bit of kit for Zombie hunting.
Also note on rope I agree wholeheartedly that wires/cables make a suitable replacement for real rope, finding a 20ft peice of rope lying around is hard, finding 20ft of co-ax or multicore wire is a peice of piss and they will quite happily support the weight of a slightly heavier than average man (I weigh 13.5 stone and I've shimmied up my ariel cable more than once).
Personal hygeine kit is a bad idea I think, if the apocralypse happens tomorrow I'm more concerned about getting supplies, tools and weapons than soap and B.O basher, but undercrackers are a must have.
Gloves are a must, workmen's gloves can be used for all types except the surgical, but even then it's possible in a push. They're warm, waterproof, rubber lined, hard as hells to tear and mean you don't actually have to touch anything, they do mean you lose more than a little manual dexterity though so it's a double edged sword.
Footwear you're bang on for the most part, big stompy workmen's boots, toecapped and insoled, hobnailed if you can do it. The only problem sturdy boots and shoes leave is they suck for climbing fences etc, and are a real pain to run in so you better hope you can take out everything you're hunting all at once, because if you get massed pegging it is no longer an option.
Lighter, again totally agree. Plus cheap disposeable plastic lighthers can be used as an incendiary trigger or distraction weapon. Buy a 20p lighter and throw it hard at a nearby brick wall to see what I mean, making sure of course there is nothing flammable or explosive in the vicinty.
Carrying capacity was always my biggest concern, that's why I took up fishing, while a military tactical vest is great the likelihood of getting hold of one in reality isn't very high, but a fisherman's vest can do the same job, albeit with a little less protection (unless you plump for the chainmail weighted ones used by those crazy arse river fishing loons, but they can be a real drain on energy), bumbag I agree, backpack I'm not so hot on, I always in real life carry a leather knapsack (true D+D gamer) so I don't see why my character can't. You can fit a hell of a lot in them and in a push they can be used as a melee weapon for VERY limited periods. Belt is bang on, but toolbelt is better.
Enough of my ranting.
sableagle
02-06-2008, 04:50 PM
Roll mat and waterproof outer bag for sleeping bag. You don't need the sleeping bag unless it's cold. Sleep fully clothed in the outer bag on the roll mat, and roll 'em together to strap to your pack.
Weapon cleaning kit.
A waterproof and windproof sheet large enough to throw over the whole party and hold in place by sitting on the edges, with loops to attach it to trees as an alternative, is a marvellous thing.
Sewing kit!
Stove and fuel. The stove's a tiny little piece of metal that folds out, and there's three days' fuel in waxy block form in every 24-hr ration pack. The fumes are unhealthy, but it'll boil water for tea, hot food and sterilising the sewing kit before patching your mates up.
Spare bootlaces. These are covered under "string" above, if it's the right size. If not, get some.
One small, fine metal file. That axe is going to be hard to use and not particularly effective if you can't put an edge on it.
Water bottles. If you've got steritabs and a buddy, you can both drink from one bottle while the other bottle's being chlorinated. If you've alone, you want two. There's also a straw thing that allows you to safely drink from a puddle in the road. Get some for emergencies. Carry a pair or two of fine tights or stockings, too, for use as filters.
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