Talk:Quartly Study Group historytwo

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questions

Q: Are you serious ?
A: Yes.

Q: What do you hope to achieve ?
A: We hope some zombies will lecture us on barhah.

Q: What is the strategic value of a lecture series, why don't you join us in combat at Caiger Mall/the Necrotech/Fort Creedy ?
A: Silly human, you'll only make yourself look silly in front of the zombies.

Q:

A:

A heartwarming tale

Snarfo said "I'm sure everyone's tired from the zmombies, so I thought I'd read you a little bedtime story. Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was a very happy little girl and her mommy and daddy loved her, even though she wasn't like the other little girls. You see, this little girl had a taste for BRAAAAAAIIIIINNNNSS! She and her parents were from a faraway land, you see, where eating brains was...well, not exactly normal, but they were considered a delicacy. Every once in a while, if you were good, and if you saved up all your pennies, you might be able to afford...said "a plate of delicious brains. But hard times fell upon the family, and they had to move far, far away from their home to a new place...somewhere around Lerwill Heights, I believe. Of course moving cost them quite a bit of money, and they did not expect to eat brains, or much else besides oatmeal and bread, for quite a while. But the girl was picky. After only a few weeks of oatmeal, she began to grow fussy. Zombina, her mother pleaded. Why won't you eat your oatmeal? Icky, the girl replied. Want brains. But we haven't any brains. Brains are too expensive. We must eat oatmeal, the mother explained. 'Don't like it,' the girl fussed, and she closed her mouth up tight. Try as she might, Zombina's mother could not get the child to eat her oatmeal. She made it hard and lumpy, and the girl would not eat. She saved her pennies and bought tofu and food coloring, and still the girl could not be fooled. Zombina's mother despaired. There were no brains to be bought in the new country. But her daughter insisted, and would eat nothing else. Seven days and seven nights passed, and still the girl had not eaten. She was growing thin and weak, and gurgling came from her stomach, and she moaned constantly, and yet would take no nourishment.Now, you might wonder where the girl's father was in all of this. Truth be told, he was working in Tarasius General Hospital. He worked very hard all day, and often worked late hours cleaning up after patients and messy doctors.He worked very hard, because he knew of his daughter's persistent longing for the sweet taste of brains, and he was determined to get some for her and end this long hunger. He thought, if I can only save enough pennies, I will buy brains for my little one"

Von Luthius said "Sir Fred of Eturia, thankyou for the warm welcome and link to the forum you use. You may know of one of my alts - xxxxxxxx, the leader of The xxxxxxxx xxxxx? Anyways, despite what the wiki says, they are still active and running around these parts."

Snarfo said "and all will be well. But no matter how hard he worked, it did not matter, because there were no brains to be had in all of Lerwill Heights. He travelled to the neighboring suburbs, but no market in all of Malton sold brains. "SHHHHH! I'm telling a story!!!!

Von Luthius said "Sorry Snarfo, I'll try and keep it down, just a historical note from me to add to the immense archives here! Also, I'm re-pairing cades down to LB! Also, Sarah Tonin, here is a pot of glow in the dark ink to help you read any manuscripts transposed!"

Snarfo said "Zombina's father searched his soul day and night. He had tried everything he could think of to get brains for his little girl, save one thing. It was dangerous, illegal, and very, very foolish. But this was his little girl, and he loved her very much, and he feared that if he did not act soon, she would perish from starvation. And so, even though it pained him to do so, he stole from the hospital a scalpel and a bonesaw. These he brought home and solemnly handed to his wife, for she too, had had the same thoughts though she found them to terrible to speak of. But she too loved Zombina very much, and could not bear to see her daughter waste away. Mother and father set out a plate of oatmeal and waited all night, hoping that it would be enough, for they had no other food.Father fell asleep, watching, but mother could not sleep. And finally, finally in the wee hours of the morning, a moose came by and began to lap up the oatmeal. With a mighty swing of her axe (oh, yes, she had an axe too, did I forget to mention that?) Zombina's mother cut off the moose's head. Then quickly, while it was still warm, she woke up her husband and together they tore back its skin and sawed open it skull and harvested the brains. They woke their daughter, who gobbled them down at once, even without any condiments to flavor them. The warm brains were delicious, and moose, having large heads, have enough brains to feed a very little girl for a week. The little girl was happy again, and with their new surgical implements and moose-trapping skills, the family was able to enjoy sweet delicious brains nearly every night. Sometimes the little girl even ate oatmeal as a side dish. Word spread throughout Lerwill Heights of this strange family, and soon the community was gathered around the house. 'What shall we do?' asked one woman. 'We must do something,' others insisted. 'To live this way is unthinkable,' a man agreed. And so they knocked at the door. Once, twice, thrice. No answer. Pounding on the door now. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! 'Come out!' Zombina, her mother, and father had been found out at last. If they did not open the door, surely the townspeople would break it down! So the father bravely went to the door, opening it slightly. He looked at the mob, then looked down, ashamed of what he'd done. He swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, 'Yes?' The man closest to the door opened his coat, producing a small knife and a wooden bowl. 'How much for a serving?' he asked. The father smiled, named his price, and served the man. Soon everyone was eating brains, seasoning them with their favorite topping and chatting gaily. Malton's first restaurant was a success! The father soon had enough money to quit his job at the hospital, but not before making a small donation to its charity fund, which was just enough to purchase a fine new scalpel and bonesaw.
Snarfo said ::tucks the blankies around QSG members and kisses them each on the forehead::"

Marina Nov 16th 2006

Marina said "Zombie spy! Hahahah, really, a real live sighting of killing someone because they were a zombie spy! I feel like my experience as a human is growing richer and more interesting every day. *hops up and down excitedly, dusts off the podium for the Quartly Study Group's first-ever lecture on Zombie Spies from the Zombie Perspective* "Now, if I was looking to eat one of you, I would perhaps not start by breaking down the barricades over in Philpotts… That is just the nature of having a location-based group; no spy is needed to guess where you might be located. As a matter of fact, for the thoughtful zombie horde, "spies" are useless. Even with a rotted brain, you can make an educated guess as to where your dinner is. Break into a mall, you'll dine on trenchcoaters. Then you'll find a hospital is a delightful source of doctors and new meat. And of course the really good game holes up in places that look as if they have no value… train stations, office buildings. Such has always been the case. A spy could do nothing but put names to the guesses, and oh, it's not your names we care about. Now, let's go into the ethics and sensibility of executing suspected zombie spies... If he has not had a chance to be human, is it not cruel to send him back to the streets for his sins as a zombie? Second, are those who have spent, and yes, enjoyed, their time as zombies so far gone as to be beyond redemption, in the eyes of humans? Is it inconceivable that one might sincerely want to try all that the world has to offer, with no ulterior motive? Third, and finally, have you considered that by rejecting and killing the "zombie spy," you may be sealing the doom of another survivor? Many zombies find, upon first opening their eyes after revivification, that they're weak as kittens. I literally could not hit any of you now, even if I wanted to. But as a zombie, I could rip down barricades, call my fellows, feed the horde, and of course snack on brains. Where am I more dangerous? So, in conclusion, in these times of deep trial, paranoia is good only for amusement. And believe you me, I -am- amused. Zombie spies indeed! Zombies laugh about "zombie spies," you should know. What a piece of survivor silliness. But… that may just be the bias of one who is, in turn, likely to be accused, killed and unceremoniously dumped onto the streets some day."
Marina said "*smiles slightly unsettlingly at the audience, bows slightly and returns to a quiet corner and her book*"

Just David on the 18th

Just David said "Ah ahm naah zhaar ah ahm annaarzaan!n mah zambah hran. Harman hambargarz arr barrah zazzah, ahn zambahz gabba haab zam arh zambahz arr hangr!. Zah, mabbah, zambahz grab Bang Bang harmanz bra!nz, bah nah harm Rabbahb Harmanz (RNA Rabbarz!). Zan, mannah bang bang bargarz, RNA rabbahz rabbahb Bang Bang zambahz, maar bang bang harmanz aga!n! Mannah bargarz! The basic point I tried to make there was that, while eating all of the humans is bad because zombies will go hungry, we don't need to go easy on them. Instead, zombies should eat all the trenchcoaters and leave the revivers. That way, there will be an everlasting supply of tasty bra!nz on offer! Of course, harman barragahz arr nah barrah naaz, so harmanz with construction should be discouraged. If it works, it's like a self stocking fridge! Tomorrow, I'll deliver a more eloquent speech about the role of sexual harrassment in ongoing seiges, especially between zombies and humans. Hopefully it will shed some light on the oft-misunderstood zombie courting rituals we often observe."

Snarfo leads the discussion on the 18th

Snarfo said "::dropping cookie crumbs as she speaks:: Thanks for having me Sir Fred, and everyone here. Sir Fred, in answer to your first question, receiving Flailing Gesture was a seminal moment for the Broadway Zombies as a performing troupe. We really had a lot of trouble choreographing our dance routines without it. Before Flailing Gesture we were limited to performance of Stomp! and Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk. After Flailing Gesture, we were able to perform more intricate numbers such as Stayin Alive and YMCA. However, I'm still looking forward to swaying and swinging, which will allow the performance of the seminal zombie dance number by Yvonne Rainier, Trio A. In response to your question about which skills younglings should acquire first, it really depends on the particular zombling's goals as a zombie. Performance zombies such as ourselves are always looking for any chance to see a show or perform as an extra and so for us Lurching Gait is a must. We use it to get to performance locations quickly, where if we are so lucky to be cast as an extra, the vocalizations of Graagh and GRAAGH! are often sufficient. These appearances build up a budding performer's reputation. But of course to really succeed as a performing zombie, one needs Death Rattle. The strategic zombie will actually delay acquisition of Lurching Gait in favor of an attack skill, so that she or he can level up more quickly as a result. Though it seems counter-intuitive to many zombies, it's more important to be efficient when you get to the location than to get to the location quickly. In response to your last question, the Broadway Zombies, being fully skilled zombies, don't generally attack malls or anyone, really. We might have a little snack while entertaining at a location (especially if someone is disrupting the show), but it makes little sense for us to consume our audience, as that might generate hostility toward our group. However, being zombies, you must realize that we have little memory of who we ate to get to our present skill level, or where we ate them.::attempts to drink tea, spilling much of it on her ragged clothing:: Oh, I almost forgot. I found this when we were performing at the zoo.::removes a copy of Animal Farm from the pocket of her bathrobe::"
Marina said "*applauds* Thank you, Snarfo!"
sarah tonin said "*applauds wildly* wow thanks for the incredible speach Just David, bah nah harm Rabbahb Harmanz (RNA Rabbarz!) is an excellent line!! Snarfo, i'm looking foreward to seeing a show put on outside of the library on some beautiful day, seeing a dancing Zed is only something i whitnessed at the Blackmore... but an entire troupe! it surly must be a sight Is there any form of Zombie Religion? The only references i've heard refer to 'Zambah G-zaz' being an 'azzgrabbar'. Other than that most zombie appear to be atheist."
Marina said "Hm, very interesting question. I cannot speak for the other groups, but for a RRF member, perhaps the closest we get to a religious experience is a good rousing BARHAH! after a meal... At some point I may give a talk on the word 'Barhah,' as for us the meaning goes very deep. However, in my opinion, the RRF in its heyday was more of a personality cult than a religious one. Though we did have Zombie Baby Jesus... I worked with him on propaganda at some point, actually. Though there is my good friend Critical Carl, who became obsessed with reviving the ancient warrior Ridlaegh; his experiments may interest you. http://forums.ridleybank.org/viewtopic.php?t=436"
Snarfo said "We in the Broadway Zombies are hedonists, which doesn't really qualify as a religion, but it's awfully fun. Marina, would you consider the camaraderie that comes with being part of a theatrical troupe a form of Barhah? I've always felt so."
Doctor Fallout said "So, has anyone contracted a zombie to give a lecture on the languages of the dead?"
Marina said "I've never been a theatrical type myself, but as I understand it, I certainly would... one meaning associated with Barhah is brotherhood, the esprit de corps... yes, I would certainly say I would consider that a form of Barhah."
SweetIrony said "Wow, great speeches everyone! Thanks for returning the book, Snarfo. Yes Doctor, I know a certain zombie linguist who would love to lecture on zombie language. Hopefully he can tone down the linguistic jargon though, keeps going on about alveolar stops."
SweetIrony said "Ok everyone, the cades are at VS+2, can we please leave them that way until Viruse gets inside?"
A zombie destroyed the radio transmitter.
dickhole spy killed a zombie.
Canuhearmenow said "I heard there is a lecture here"
Snarfo said "Hmmmm, well, I've never referred to any human as a ham bag, as I keep kosher myself. Harmanbargarz seems to cover most situations for me. I would like to discuss your views on neologisms in the community. For example, Andrea recently coined the term azzbag, which refers to a seat cushion. Though some of our members were unsure what Grabba ahn azzbag meant, much of our audience quite quickly figured out that we were asking them to take a seat for the performance. However, this is probably only understood in the performing zombie community; I doubt anyone outside of Malton City Zoo would even understand why we need such a term. This speaks to the highly specialized nature of zombie vocabulary. While Death Rattle is an evolving language, I do have my concerns that it may evolve to several different dialects to such a point that speakers of one dialect will not comprehend speakers of another. While we all retain certain linguistic features and expressions such as BARHAH which are understood by all, the isolation of the modern zombie makes linguistic diversity a foregone conclusion."

Zombie Love

Just David said "Good afternoon everyone, I think I'll step up and give my guest lecture now! Today I'll be addressing the topic of zombie courtship and sexual harassment in Malton. These are two commonly misunderstood facets of zombiedom. Zombie courtship has come a long way since the start of the quarantine, as zombies obtained new skills to help them in their quest for booty. Initially, with zombie speech severely limited to a drop-down box, 'Brnhr.' was where the joy lay. Zombies proclaiming 'Brnhr' were amiably informing their fellow zombies that they were there, they were square, and they were ready to rock and roll. It's worthwhile noting at this point that zombie copulation is often fatal. As zombies writhe together in the throes of passion, claws and teeth often come into play, and the copulatee tends to end up taking a dirt nap. This is known as "arbarg!aah" in zombeze, a rough equivalent of 'afterglow'. Humans mistakenly referred to these intimate tangles as 'ZKing', failing to understand that one zombie was gaining experience and the other was avoiding a headshot. Back in the days where a headshot cost XP, this was quite a reward! With the advent of death rattle, zombie courtship opened up to the human dimension. Brnhr remained a staple line between zombies, similar to 'Come here often?' in human terms. However, there were now infinite realms open to creative and amorous zombie Basic words such as 'Azz, Manbagz and Bra Bagz' were quickly picked up on. However, as many humans simply failed to understand the connotations of such speech, increasingly eloquent and descriptive zombie sexual language was developed. As the letters 'D' and 'T' are almost impossible to translate to Zombese, standard words such as 'Date' were out of the question. The zombie speech range meant that, to voice appreciation of a potential partner's assets, coarse terms were un 'Aaah, Mz. Harman haz naaz bra bagz! Ah ahm ganna grab Mz. Harmanz azz ahn maag mah zambah banana ram Mz. Harmanz ham bagz! Mmm, naah, Mz. Harman gaab mah ah gabbah… nnrrnrnr… aaah… Zambahgazm!' Such utterances were not directed as an offensive remark; the zombies were registering their interest as a willing sexual partner to the human in question, and in the absence of rejection, starting to 'talk dirty'. Tangling Grasp once again added to the confusion and hysteria surrounding zombies trying to take human partners. The implication was that the zombies were trying to kill the humans faster; in truth, they were simply hugging them tighter." Feeding Drag, while given the connotation of eating, is actually more closely related to having a threesome, or 'tag team', with a human who has demonstrated enough willingness to experiment that they've let a zombie bring them close to 'arbarg!aa' The latest dimension to zombie courtship came from Flailing Gesture. The motions closely resemble those used by males in nightclubs, with repetitive, basic arm movements combining with barely understandable words to convey a meaning. Education of humans on the finer points of zombie courtship should serve to clear up accusations of sexual harassment. If a zombie points out that a 'man haz nah manbagz arr banana annahmaar', then perhaps it's an insult. But zombies are sincere when it comes to coupling, and a zombie choosing a particular survivor to grab in a safehouse should be seen as a first date (dinner and a dirt nap), rather than a negative experience for the human party. Really what it comes down to is segregation. The humans view zombies as an inferior life form, and the zombies think the humans are far too serious and scream a lot. Zombie-human interaction should be encouraged wherever possible! To that end, noble groups such as the Upper Left Corner, zombie performance groups and the QSG are reaching out the hand of friendship to the other side and promoting peaceful relations. I hope we can create a revolution, friends! Until next time, when harmanz arr maagan barragahz, spare a thought for the baar zambahz ahn zah zraaghz! Nah haagz barh harmanz arr zambahz if there aar barragahz; only hate-talk and violence. Thank you for listening! Are there any questions? I'll be staying here for a few days, but I hear there's an excellent buffet in Shearbank waiting to be opened. crook4evr said "Hey hows it going"
crook4evr said "hey whats up"
Rockby Quickfoot said "Remember people, DO NOT barricade the building any further. We need to try to get Viruse inside of here."
Doctor Fallout said "Greetings fellow Librarians and Literates, and a special thanks to those who've agreed to help expand the Flame of Knowledge. Viruse is at Elgius now and I've let him know we're open, I hope nobody has eaten his muffin basket. I've also invited"
sarah tonin said "**applause** **applause**"
Doctor Fallout said "Foobarosa of Survivor Security Zone fame to stop on by for a visit. I found him at Turpin awaiting an office visit. His insurance checked out, so I wrote him a prescription."
sarah tonin said "Sorry to interrupt Good Dr. but I just need extend my hand to Just David again for his wonderful speech."
sarah tonin said "Who knew i was snubbing foreward attempts at love when i shook off a tangling grasp..."
sarah tonin said "Where would one go to seek out said hot Zed action, food court at the mall? or perhaps a classy club or pub?"
kip gillum destroyed the generator.
A zombie attacked you for 4 damage. The zombie's bite was infected! (You'll now take 1HP damage for every action you take, except speaking. Infection can be cured with a first aid kit.)
A zombie said "Graaaagh!"
Dale McGillicuddy said "clydeoosky, I sure as shoot hope you're hear for the lecture series. I'd hate to haffta open fire during this learning bonanza."
Canuhearmenow said "I have a question; How did you feel when you heard Caiger fell?"
Just David said "I was a little disappointed. Those Shacknews kids give Arbarg!aah ah bad name; I'm fairly sure that pack orgies only serve to foster the image of violence that most harmanz see when they contemplate the end stages of a Mall Seige. Still - about time! Sarah, that's a very good question. The way most people would define a fetish is an unusual fixation on a typically non-sexual object or body part. I'd contend that, considering zombies and humans are effectively interchangeable at the drop of a syringe, that neither is outside the bounds of normal sexual attraction to the other. Also, most people would see fetish activity as that performed by a minority. In Malton, the vast majority of zombies are very attracted to harmanz. There is also a significant proportion who pursue 'Brnhr'; neither is unnatural. I think what we are really seeing is a great tragedy of unrequited love between Malton's zombie population and the survivors. One day, there will be a great work of literature written about this apocalyptic love story!"

Glory to the Striketeam

Just David said "The zombie here is Clydeoosky; rotter; ID=620600. I'm thinking he's not friendly, but no-one is really injured; shall I remove him? OK, he's at 5HP (no flak) but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. After all, murder is a terrible thing! He might just be lonely. If you don't want a zombie in your library, then you can do the honours. Don't headshot him though, crazy liddle tacker! Wielded the might of a zombie strike team, eh? Yes, well, I feel qualified on this one. My 'good friend' is a member of the GMT Breakfast Club strike team of the RRF. During the recent fall of Caiger, I was in charge of the team's operations. We ransacked 3 hospitals in Darvall Heights, contributed to the fall of Latrobe, then repeatedly ransacked and held 2 outlying NecroTech buildings. Once the barricades are down, every zombie AP spent is attacking; no searches, nothing. We tend to average one kill per zombie who gets inside. That means that, even against superior numbers, we can do a lot of damage each and every day. Many humans will be demoralised and flee when they wake up and see 12 zombies inside their safehouse, so that works to the disadvantage of remaining defenders. Unless revives in the area are very fast (eg a green suburb), they normally can't... get back inside to reinforce the building within a day, so we can whittle numbers down and ransack a building most of the time. For example our strike team reduced The Whatmore Building in Yagoton from 130 to 50 defenders in about a week, then we invited another zombie group over for breakfast to finish off the rest in a big buffet! Pfc has a good point; for ferals, leading others to the buffet is the best route of harman killing. Against organised zombies, dummy barricading is much better than shooting them down. Ransack, of course, changed the paradigm; before it, strafers could run through a devastated suburb and zombies would wake up inside empty EHB buildings. For a strike team, everyone getting headshot (which is almost always the case when attacking a safehouse) means they have 42AP for the next strike; hitting a pile of EHB buildings without many brainz inside means lots and lots of wasted AP. Today, though, with ransack, zombies are much more able to present a powerful front where human-controlled territory in an area gets smaller and smaller as more buildings become ransacked. Systematic opening of remaining buildings assures a rout. The paradigm is reversed then, because rather than humans barricading for a 3:1 AP advantage over zombies, they must first kill the zombies, which (with searching and shooting) will take 20+AP per 6AP headshot (similar (opposite) ratio to cades vs claws) I feel that this reversal of the 'defensive AP' part of the game contributed to Caiger's fall; so many humans were out spending their AP trying to reclaim ransacked buildings early in the seige that their resources to respond to strikes were weakened. A lack of co-ordination in which buildings to selectively 'save' from the zombies was also crucial. They tried to take Latrobe against 100 zombies; that's well over 1000 pistol shots worth of 'zombie barricade' inside. There were 5 other nearby NTs! If a zombie horde was seiging Caiger and they saw Extremely super duper mega barricaded on one outlying building, they'd just say 'bugger it, try somewhere else first'. So the Ransack change forced a change how survivors needed to act. They didn't respond quickly enough, and the rest is history. So there you have it, a big lecture on zombies, barricades, ransack and other ramblings :)"
Dr Ransom said "Excellent, David. As your 'good friend' said... *pulls out solid state recorder and hits play* "
Dr Ransom said "'Hah! Zah harman ahz angrah! Zambahz zmazh zah barragahz, harm harmanz ahn ranzaag! Zan, bang bang man gaaz aaaah, zambahz ahn mah haam! Naaah! Ahn zan ranz. HAR HAR! BARHAH, brahz!'"
Doctor Mengele said "i healed the zombie" (24 minutes ago)

Who is this PFC ?

sarah tonin said "Only 200 at the blackmore this time, oh we'll be fine Sir Fred... *** starts stashing favorite books in ceiling tiles***... no need to go and scare everyone."
A flare was fired 7 blocks to the east and 14 blocks to the south.
Ropes McGurk said "could someone give me a heal the zombie clydeoosky keeps attacking me everytime he comes in"
Pfc Crud said "Just David would you say that complete anihilation actions, i.e. rooting out those last few dozen dummy barricading survivors from an overrun suburb, is something that strike teams and other organized groups take the time to do? What I mean is that given the kind of XP returns that you mentioned, 130 dead survivors inside of a week, it seems that ripping down dummy 'cades would be beneath such units attention or perhaps patience. I agree that ransack does prove a particularly useful tool in denial of resource buildings, but in my experience, a small and patient survivor group can essentially 'bore' a larger more organized zombie group out of an area by denying them sufficient 'return on investment'. Your idea of ransacked buildings with large zombie populations as massive XP sinks is also particularly interesting. Do you think that this will lead to more sophisticated survivor group strategies? From what several people said it sounds like the problem faced is one of 'lines of supply' where the retaking of resource buildings leaves no AP for cading, searching, reviving and offensive manoevers. I can think of variations of the same strategy to confront this. The first would involve a 'professionalization' or division of labour, where units would spend time outside of the combat zone rearming, and revive ques would be located at some distance near secondary NT buildings, basically a difused support system, enlarging the 'battle space'. the other version would basically use alts (zergs perhaps) to think this is even posible. Any thoughts on the 'survivor security zone' as an answer to the issues you raised earlier? http://wiki.urbandead.com/index.php/Survivor_Security_Zone"
Just David said "*Gets out notepad and jots down Pfc Crud's main points*"
Just David said "Well, your first point about rooting out the last few survivors is an interesting one. The smartest survivors are often the ones who are alive at the end, and killing them will nail home the victory and slow rehabilitation of the area. However, most of the time when zombies are doing the 'rolling ball of death' horde tactic, every building will be opened, by strike teams or ferals, and the clever survivors try to stay in front of/to the sides of the horde, ducking in to help out. With ransack, dummy barricading is much harder as I explained, so the best course of action is simply to wait for them to move on. Don't give zombies targets, and they'll go looking for them. number of survivors could completely transform a whole suburb; now, taking more than a few buildings at a time is difficult without large numbers (eg 5th of november). Often, it comes down to dedication on the Zombie's part. In Ridleybank, there are lots of zombies and they want to keep the turf. No matter how often they get shot, they will stand up and hammer on the 'cades, and eventually eat the people. It would take either a lot of organisation or very large numbers to counter this, and if that's the case, the zombies can move and inflict massive casualties elsewhere. Your next point was about survivor organisation. I think you hit the nail on the head, that if survivors are now to hold territory, they must have dedicated role and better co-ordination than before (if they're facing a strong zombie horde that is.) For something like the Blackmore Building, obviously keeping zombies out was paramount. However, keeping a source of FAKs and ammo was critical, and Nichols was providing that. When humans are acting individually, however, countering a ransack even by 3-5 zombies is impossible, so there has to be at least some co-ordination to step in, kill the zombies, rebarricade, and keep the 'cades up. If there ISN'T that, then the building will stay ransacked, and it makes it much harder to stay supplied. So what you're proposing about specific action teams is totally true. There should be groups with the role of Secure resource building X, Get FAKs, Get syringes and revive, etc. Obviously if there's a breach in the main building, it should be attended to, but having a specific aim and sticking to it will ensure the success of the operation in the long term. At Caiger, the Eastonwood Ferals, Feral Undead and GMT Breakfast Club helped Shacknews by holding down every single NT building in the area, and striking at other non-mall buildings. Survivors acting individually would shoot up a couple of zombies in a ransacked building (one of dozens in the area), but no-one would finish the job and clear the building, so the 'defending' zombies would just stand up again. That drained AP away from useful defensive measures. To get the adequate survivor co-ordination would be very difficult, but I think a group of 20+ could get some very effective operations happening if they tried, and were strongly disciplined. I'm not sure if it'll happen though ;)"
Flickman666 said "said I must say listening to all these speaches has taught me alot. ::As he enjoys his refreshments in the dark::"
Just David said "I'll check out the Survivor Security zone a bit later, my 'friend' is about to have some tasty Breakfast."
A flare was fired 14 blocks to the east and 9 blocks to the north. (12 hours and 9 minutes ago)
A flare was fired 13 blocks to the east and 4 blocks to the north.
SirensDiscord said "Wow, there's a lot of smart people in here. I'm just gonna leave, because you make my head hurt. Bye! Don't get eaten!"
darwins beagle said "Can someone please revive Mr. Luthius on turpin crest he's a stand up guy and it's sad to see him just swaying there...."
Scheffler said "I just revived Mr. Luthius. He should be joining us shortly."
A flare was fired 12 blocks to the east and 8 blocks to the north.
A flare was fired 10 blocks to the east and 1 block to the south.
Hesh Applewhite said "Hey, I'll be back on in about 2 hours for my speaking engagement. I'll also be fielding questions, if anyone has any."
A zombie destroyed the generator.
A zombie attacked you for 4 damage.
The zombie's bite was infected! (You'll now take 1HP damage for every action you take, except speaking. Infection can be cured with a first aid kit.)
Rockby Quickfoot said "Well folks, I don't know where I'm going yet, but I think I'm going to be moving out soon. I need some action and there's all sorts of people to help with these 40 FAKs of mine. Come tomorrow, I think Medic Quickfoot will be moving out somewhere. It's been real good in here. Glad I could finally fullfill that promise where I said I'd stop by Fred. You guys should write a book about the rest of these speeches so I can drop in and pick it up someday. Anywho, hopefully there will be another speech soon :D"

media and propaganda -- Urban Dead's great irony, by Murray Jay Suskind"

Hesh Applewhite said "One of the great ironies of urban dead has always been how zombies are required to have a high level of organization. Without a high amount of metagaming, most zombie sieges would be far too disfunctional to be effective. And without media and propaganda efforts, most zombie groups would not even exist. While RRF propaganda efforts have been around since well before I've played the game, they are perhaps the most legendary propaganda campaigns ever seen in UrbanDead. The zombie Uncle Sam was something I had a good chuckle at well before I even joined A little over a month ago, Papa Patrucio came around looking for new zombies to start up the Malton Herald & Sun again. He felt that RRF outreach efforts had waned and needed a shot in the arm with some fresh blood. I, already having a small bit of experience making propaganda from my days in Auxunit 10, stepped forward. Restarting the Malton Herald & Sun was a big task, but one of the funnest things I've ever done. Sorry I'm late. I got sidetracked by something else. I'll begin speaking in just a moment. Zombie ith some help from Marina, actually, I looked over some of the RRF's historical propaganda works, and with the work of a dedicated staff, especially poster maestro Talunex, I had plenty of support in my efforts. Often times, I am consumed now by figuring out new and funny ways to glorify the RRF and make fun of the harmanz. Again, Talunex had the great idea of putting classified ads in the MH&S, which is one of the most simple yet brilliant propaganda ideas I've ever seen. The news in brief segments often times contain our best work, explaining what's actually going on in Malton and adding a pithy one-liner or two. zombahz and harmanz, get their thoughts on things that people want to know about. And joke around with them. One of the truly remarkable interviews I did was with Ron Burgundy about a week and a half ago. I was interviewing this person that who is And I suppose that's why the people who play UrbanDead have gone forward with this ironic concept of Zombie media and propaganda. The is a bond that forms with the people who help you create something. The creative process is used to bring people together, even if it is to eat their brainz. That is all for my comments, I will now things to the floor for questions, as it looks like a few of you are active right now (didn't get sick of waiting an extra hour for me, I feel honored.)"
Marina said "Barhah, Murray Jay! As former RRF Propaganda Corps leader, I can't start to tell you how pleased I am to see new life given to it. You guys are awesome."
Hesh Applewhite said "Thank you. I actually did spend an entire evening going over the old Malton Herald & Sun articles (I really enjoyed your one about barricade strafers holding onto buildings for minutes at a time) as well as the old posters. I've been meaning to resurrect a few, but I keep getting excellent new work from the staff. You're a bit of an RRF legend in your own right, so I'm happy to see you here."
Marina said "*blushes* thanks! I'm nothing compared to Dangermouse, though... You know, I bet I might even be able to get him to come here and give a speech. I'm going to give it a shot, actually..."
Hesh Applewhite said "Hmm... I'll remain active for a few more minutes. I'll also be hanging out through Barhahgiving, so if anyone has any questions who isn't active, feel free to leave them with me. That's a great idea. I've never actually been in contact with him, so I'd probably pop my head back in for his speech."
Marina said "He's active in NW, he still does some stuff for NW RRF and also for another faction... Oh God, the witch trials... hah, he's still as sharp as ever, and a pleasure to work with..."
Hesh Applewhite said "Cool. I actually got inactive in NW really fast because of the whole 5th of November thing / new strike team taking up all my metagaming time. But I should put forward the few minutes it takes to play NW each day."

Open Discussion on Nov 23rd

dickhole spy said "DHG and co have made it safely down to for perryn. If ever you guys are in need of refuge, we'll set up a library in the fort for you"
Dale McGillicuddy said "So, by all appearances, we'll be in for some serious barhah action in the next couple days. I've saved a couple reviving shots to help clean up afterwards. Librarians, shall we regroup at the usual safehouse, or set a new'un?"
Dale McGillicuddy said "Heh... I checked out Creedy a bit yesterday. Just how defensible are the forts? Can the Illiterate types get in through the gatehouses?"
dickhole spy said "not unless they break it., the forts are quite defensible actually. eventually the zombies will want to leave"
darwins beagle said "**applause** **applause**"
darwins beagle said "For anyone that missed it i just made a word pad doc out of the last days speeches.... four pages, wow, four pages..."
Flickman666 said "said Hi sir Fred nice to see you too. And what a honor to be healed by marina thank you. I have really been enjoying these speaches."
Pfc Crud said "Wow, awsome commentary Just David. I've been playing this game for almost a year now and this is by far the most fun i have had. i love the fact that a simple, on the surface, online game like this can be so tactically and strategically deep, and at the"
Pfc Crud said "same time can hold such unplumbable depths of culture and community. The progression that Just David was talking about is one from chaotic anarchy through progressively more complex levels of organization into something else... a 'disciplined' structure similar to the pseudo military organization of the larger zombie hordes. I think Hesh, Marina and Sir Freds conversation about 'Zombie media and propaganda' was a perfect addition to that point in that it indicates the depths of both organization and comeraderie that are produced in responding to the increasingly complex problem of surviving and thriving as both 'sides' of the zombie-human conflict adapt to each other and to new rule sets. Just as in the creation of a real world society out of anarchic freedom, the gains secured by greater organization don't spring from nothingness, but are made in response to some perceived obsticle or enemy. As Marina said, when she sat down and had a lengthy discussion with her 'enemy' she found that she had"
Just David said "Nice speech, Murray! I love your work on the MH&S - I'm part of the GMT Breakfast club (in alt form, clearly), and your 'get to know a strike team' article on us was good fun :)"
Pfc Crud said "a great deal in common with him. Yet both of their organizations find their reason for existance in the opposition to the other. similarly as Hesh said. the best part of the game isn't in 'trenchcoating' but in sharing a laugh with familiar folks. And that's the rough beginings of a community out of anarchy. maybe this is only surprising to me because of a previous lack of mmorpg experience, but it's the kind of thing I have read about many times as a history student, and it seems both odd and remarkable to find it here, trimmed of all its physical trappings... in short, I love this game :) P.S. To all you RRF'ers I have never directly seen you in action, your reputation far preceeds you: more than a month ago an alt of mine in the far SE of the city was in a building that was attacked by several random zombies and one RRF member. The attack was beaten back with only a few losses, but the RRF zombie was identified and someone raised the alarm. When i woke up the previously packed building was almost empty as everyone tried to flee the area before the hammer blow fell. It turned out to just be a straggler, or maybe a small group, because no large assault followed. But in that first panic the RRF essentially won without fighting... Your reputation precedes you. :)"
Rockby Quickfoot said "OK folks. I'll be heading ot now. Glad I could visit this place in it's prime. I'm going to Shearbank to see how things go if Shacknews attacks. I still think this is our one big chance to hit em hard. Those stupid forts are worthless."
Marina healed you for 10 HP.
Dr Ransom said "Wow, a lot of great speeches and discussion! You guys are some tough acts to follow. I'm going to speak in greater detail later today, but I did want to address one point now, just introducing a point of terminology. The terms Zombish and Zombese refer to two different codes some zombies use. They are not languages; it would be like a harman going around speaking in Morse code. Now, the real zombie language, the one everyone actually uses, has been called Zamgrh or kiZombie in one article. However, I find that article to be flawed in many ways. First of all, it is prescriptive rather than descriptive; that is, instead of describing the way zombies actually speak, it tells them how they should speak. This means that only those zombies who have read that article can speak the form of zombie language outlined within it. Yet how many zombies read linguistic articles? Er... apart from myself, I mean? The other problem is that its author does some strange things like parsing hambargarz and somehow coming up with a verb 'barg,' which I have never heard any zombie using. When I originally read the article, I was unsatisfied and decided to study the zombie language myself, hoping eventually to write a descriptive analysis of the zombie language as actually spoken by zombies. I found it a little difficult to get close enough to make field recordings however, without becoming one of them... so that was how I came to join the ranks of the undead. But I digress. After months of study and analysis, I have come to the conclusion that the language spoken by the Zombies of Malton is a pidgin language, with English as its lexifier and an unknown true zombie language as its substrate. And so I have come to call it Zombie Pidgin English, or ZPE. Later on I will give support for classifying the language as a pidgin (or possibly creole), speculate as to the nature of the unknown substrate, discuss language variation in ZPE, and outline briefly some of the phonological and grammatical features of the language. I can also answer questions if anyone has any."

Goodbye David the 24th

Hesh Applewhite said "Hmm... I'd love to see Sonny or Ghoulius speak, but this harman alt of mine is in a group (albeit a small one) so I must be going. Thanks for having me. I may have to make my way back here sometime because this has been a lot of fun. Barhah!"
A flare was fired 9 blocks to the east and 4 blocks to the north.
Just David said "I must also take my leave, unfortunately; RRF operations bring my alt within dangerous proximity (you might want to flee) and I don't want to proximity-zerg. Oh, and it looks like Pfc isn't here anymore to hear my thoughts about the Survivor Security zone. Personally I think the idea is a good one, but getting survivors to work together in the manner necessary is like herding cats. Also, while it would provide a very defensible area, the only way survivors can really hold ground in the face of a true zombie wrecking ball (Shacknews, Big Bash in prime, Mall Tour) is critical mass in a single building, ala Caiger II. So while it would provide a defensible area, it wouldn't be an area that could 'hold' per se. It'd be hard for any zombie group to flatten the whole area at once if survivors played to their advantages, free running around etc, but... they don't. And considering it's right near Ridleybank, there's automatically an area which will be hard to continually colonise, and survivors trying to claim ground is like a red rag to a bull. I'll be interested to see how it progresses! I wish the QSG every success in their intellectual endeavours, and thank you all for the hospitality! I'm sure I'll stop by again in the future, though I'm not sure which side of the battle I'll be on - remember to follow the Arbarg!ah! I just took a little walk down to Eligius and after my pistol and cade spree there are still four inside and three knockin'.... Sonny is nowhere in sight..."
Pfc Crud said "Wow... that Fort is really insane... no freerunning inside means all the buildings are VSB, or else people can't move between them. It's a zombie feeding frenzy. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there :P"
A flare was fired 12 blocks to the west and 12 blocks to the south.
Dale McGillicuddy said "The fort would be nice, if'n there were something worth takin, but there's nothing you can get there that you can't from a mall, and a mall is more defensible. Oh, well. Maybe someday the army will airdrop in some rifles or something."

Darrien Creek

Darrien recently told me he's visting your library post-Blackmore's fall. I personally authorize him to speak on behalf of myself and of the YRC...though its not like anyone at the YRC really authorizes much of anything. ;) Do be patient with him and his speech impediment, however. We believe it may have been due to the significantly long period of time he went about as being a zombie before we initially tagged and revived him. --MorthBabid 19:42, 30 November 2006 (UTC)