Does a post apocalyptic roleplay count as Sci Fi?

[Tally Cat]

Also, does such a roleplay sound interesting to any of you? I'd love to grab 2 or more people to join up with me in such a roleplay. I have a basic background for it so far and I always love to hear other peoples' ideas.

[Shani]

I think it can count as sci-fi! It depends on the other elements of the setting :3 For example, Adventure Time is set in a post apocalyptic world, but that's more of a fantasy.

Anyway, I would totally be interested! I've already been in a couple post apocalyptic RPs in the past and have some characters I could use.

[The Nobody]

I would also say it counts. And I would also like to try it out. I still have a few character ideas from the time I tried such an RP of my own.

Here's the link to the short description of the setting, in case you're interested. Some parts might be confusing, so any questions are welcome.

[Tally Cat]

Well, the roleplay is not quite as expansive as yours, Nobody, from what I have read of it just now. It will start with no more than a dozen people(including player and non-player characters). A handful of people, two or three, are living in a bunker that was abandoned after the cold war ended(give or take a few years). The bunker has a lot of supplies in it, from food to medical supplies(most of which the people in the bunker don't know the function of) to some guns and ammunition. The issue for them is, one of their people is suffering symptoms of an internal injury of some kind that none of them can diagnose because they have no medical expertise. A short while later, a group of ~ six people shows up and one of them is a doctor. There may or may not be an injured person in this group that could use their medicine. Basically what I'm getting at is that each side has something the other needs, in one case desperately. The concerns are that the six or so people would be a drain on the food and water in the facility, as well as running the risk of using up too much air resources as well(the bunker has a filtration and cycling system with limits) with most of the equipment being well beyond its expiration date and much of it rusting(making the elevator more safe than the stairs, in this case. There is power, but some of the stairs are falling apart)

In the outside world, something of a nuclear disaster has just occurred. None of our people know a lot of specifics about it, but many of the world's major cities have taken multiple hits from thermonuclear weapons, as well as outlying research and missile silo areas in the deserts and tundras. The problem was originally caused by a Chinese computer program(non sentient) falsifying tactical data that NATO forces were moving in on them and that several off-shore launches had already been made targeting China's cities. This was not true, but they didn't know better because one can't exactly look up in the sky and see a missile that is so high up. This caused them to launch their nuclear arsenal at the United States, Great Britain, and other NATO countries. Russia, still having a considerable nuclear arsenal, retaliates against China to protect its economic and political interests, also given the fact that China's attack seemed completely unprovoked and thus not worth backing.

Back to the main groups. As I said, both are rather desperate. The three people in the bunker were basically best friends before the end of the world even happened, so there is a bit of idealistic thinking("well she just needs a doctor" or "we can't just let her die, I would die myself before letting that happen") going on there. These three stumbled upon the base when out camping and hunting(for their first time). With them they had a very limited supply of ammo and food, and some radio and first aid equipment. The three walk into a house, hoping it will offer them shelter from the too-close-for-comfort nuclear detonations very nearby to them, and realize that the house is a front for a cold-war nuclear missile silo and fallout shelter(on a sidenote, there is still a missile in the silo, but it has no chance of functioning and its safeties are still turned on. Also, the bunker is powered by a nuclear reactor.)

I am not sure if the characters in the world are anthropomorphic or just regular humans. Thoughts?

[The Nobody]

I think that being expansive is one of the factors that might have stalled my RP. It might have been much faster if I just started it like "you are all exploring a derelict ship" or something.

As I understand, the game starts just after the nukes fell, few days at most. (Unless "give or take a few years" refers to "are living in a bunker" instead of "after the cold war ended") This means no nuclear mutants or wasteland veterans, at least at the start. Well, I think that's okay with me.

Also, the three people that start in the bunker must have some common back-story, since they're supposed to be friends. What about the ~six that come later? Are they also some sort of friends, or strangers to each other that were forced to band together?

As for the characters, I like humans. I like humans a lot more than anthropomorphic animals. Some of the benefits (at least, they are benefits to me) is that mutations are much more obvious in humans, and should freak out the characters a bit more. Another thing, playing in a human-populated setting does not exclude sentient animals - just make them mutants, or escaped lab subjects, or both. But if you decide to play with anthros - well, that's not an obstacle to me.

[Tally Cat]

Still deciding on anthros or humans... probably humans because I just know more about that anatomy, honestly. Anthro anatomy is kind of vague and is often up to interpretation(how 'feral' or how similar to 'human' they are). When I said "give or take a few years" I was referring to "after the cold war ended" so yeah we are at the cusp of the nuclear apocalypse here, no more than a week has passed. These six human survivors are looking for refuge because radiation is still a prominent issue, and in real life people die from radiation and aren't just mutated by it like in the Fallout series at times. I'm trying to think of how the six came to be together as a group. I don't think they are all besties or anything. At most they are co-workers and acquaintances. The doctor is a surgeon, I'm thinking, and he/she leads the group of six. The doctor does not have to be a player character. In fact, I already am formulating possible plans in my head about a surgery they'd be doing, assuming that one of the people in the bunker is indeed internally injured(badly busted ribs, internal bleeding, or maybe they have appendicitis, I don't know. It will be up to whoever ends up playing this character)

Some extra things I wanted to add. The bunker, as much as it has supplies that all ~nine of the people need, it is also in bad shape. The only systems that work at full capacity, truly, are the elevator and the nuclear reactor which is at the bottom floor(and provides all of the bunker's power). The air filtration system, if not fixed or at least worked on, cannot actually support all the nine people for the long term because it can't cycle the air fast enough for the carbon dioxide of nine people not to eventually kill them. I believe this is a project the characters will be working on. Also, the water filtration is not perfect. It is not irradiated, because the plumbing draws from an aquifer. The issue is that the water ends up tasting disgusting, and without proper testing equipment, the team doesn't know for sure if it's bad. I also have a tentative list of the skills that a couple of the three people will have(which again will depend on who plays who yadda yadda):

One of the people (male or female, doesn't matter) is a [former] car mechanic and is also something of an electrician, so they know how a lot of systems in the bunker work(despite the computer hardware and software being from the early 1990's). They also have radio equipment(a 'home base' radio, and two handheld) which they may choose to use for parts to fix up the bunker's existing radio if it happens not to work.

One of the people is very very good at mathematics and perhaps at the beginning, prepares a list of everything with estimated times for it lasting attached to each respective supply. They kind of think too much

Either one of these people could be the injured one, but I think I will be playing the former mechanic and that he/she will be the leader of the three in the bunker.

For absolute clarification, the bunker has a massive blast door at its entrance within the house's basement. The three, luckily, found it open. They closed it shortly after, however, for fear of the radiation leaking down into the basement(as it has been shown to do in real life). This means that the crew of six literally CANNOT enter the bunker without the three allowing it. It is called a blast door, so of course explosives will not work on it. This is the kind of door that is literally meant to take a near-direct nuclear detonation and not even crack.

Thoughts? By the way, Nobody, do you have any IM programs that I could chat with you on? We are in different timezones, but I chat with others from Ukraine so it's probably not an issue.

[Shani]

Darnit, I would have liked to play the former mechanic Oh well, I don't think I should be taking on any leadership roles anyway with how long it takes me to post sometimes... I'll definitely be joining, though! And I won't mind going with humans either; my original post-apoc char was a human.

[The Nobody]

I'm on MSN, if you still use it. I also might re-enable my google-chat (and XMPP, if it tells you anything). I'll send you a message with the contact info.

[Tally Cat]

So what do you guys say to posting characters for this RP on the Sci Fi characters forum, and I'll do the same?