Player Characters of
COVID-Z
Player Characters
The main function of this campaign is a plot-driven story line with characters trying to fight against zombies and the living who would gain from the suffering of human survivors. Unlike traditional campaigns where characters exist in a society that affords some aspect of safety and comfort, this campaign relies upon a greater need for player teamwork, as the main antagonists and their unique abilities will preclude many of the individualist attitudes. All players will randomly select their own Survivor O.C.C. sub-class with an additional perk card to help round out the character. Humans are the only race allowed, as the campaign begins with life as normal before the zombie plague strikes civilization. Experience points are awarded based on gameplay, not just killing enemies. Levels are not listed below, but all characters should stay in a familiar grouping. Alignments are limited to any non-Evil alignments.
Frank Burns [Bailey]
Human male anarchist survivor: criminal/professional thief 4
Growing up on the road, Frank Burns had far from a normal childhood. Moving place to place with seemingly a new school every year, he traveled with his father, picking up an assortment skills which allowed him to parley into a life of crime. Going his separate ways from his family after high school graduation, Frank moved to the West Coast for the rich pickings of Los Angeles. Having attracted the attention of the police for one to many high-profile jobs, he sought anonymity in Baja Mexico only to be arrested by the local constabulary when his hubris in the small town of San Vicente got the best of him. Watching from his jail cell, he had a first hand view of how the Wave overcame the small town, but maintained a steady head, enough to contact members of the 4077 to rescue him. As an English speaker in a foreign land, he chose to stay with this group of Americans until he can get back to his home country.
2nd Lt. Hanna “Honeycut” Heller [Jennifer]
Human female unprincipled survivor: soldier/spec ops: espionage 5
Growing up in Boston, Hanna Heller was raised by loving family and was eyeing athletic scholarships at an early age until the military caught her eye after an encounter with an ROTC teacher at a high school open house. Understanding she could give more to her country, she attended West Point, graduating in the top half of her class, and was posted at Army Intel in Washington D.C. for several years while honing her craft. During the early weeks of the Coronavirus pandemic, she was ordered to track down any connections to the Chinese military, and did find one source, an Egyptian physician named Dr. Boktor. Before she was able to able to meet with him in Tijuana, the zombie apocalypse covered the globe forcing her to flee south, eventually having her encounter another group of Americans: the 4077.
Benny “B.J.” Johnson [Jerry]
Human male scrupulous survivor: athletics/strongman 4
Benjamin (Benny) Johnson was always big for his age, and his parents both agreed to involve him in sports as soon as he was able to walk. It helped that his neighbor was Jeff "The DC Bomber" Smith, who worked with young Benny on being able to defend himself in a fight after coming home one day with a black eye. Being fascinated with athletics overall, it was body building which appealed to him most, leading him to Huntington Beach, CA to participate in his first California’s Strongest Man Contest. Since then, B.J. has been active in the strongman circuit using his image to help promote local sports beverages in Los Angeles.
Maxwell “Mad Max” Q. Klinger [David #1]
Human male anarchist survivor: weapons expert 3
Texas native Maxwell Klinger was raised outside of Abilene by parents whom society would label as "preppers", actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. This survivalist mentality was passed down to their son, who was raised to believe that someday civilization would fall. Working with various paramilitary operations gave him the skillset and the connections to gain employment as quality control with EAU Systems in Houston. While attempting to save American citizen holed up in a church in the zombie-infected town of San Vincente, clogged streets forced the party's vehicle caravan off their intended path and through residential backyards. When attempting to turn sharply, Klinger's truck lost control crashing into a new pool construction area. Surrounded by undead and suffering PTSD, he committed suicide by grenade.
"Trapper" John McIntyre [Jason]
Human male unprincipled survivor: factory worker 5
Although he has gone by many different titles, real or otherwise, John McIntyre grew South Los Angeles as his family lived paycheck to paycheck. “Trapper”, as he was nicknamed, had a gregarious personality and friends knew him as someone who could talk his way out of any situation that he found himself ensnared. Realizing the military was the best way to get out of his neighborhood, he enlisted in the military, and was placed on the fast-track for the Army Rangers. However, he was wounded during a training exercise and honorably discharged. Looking for work, he found employment at a west coast Tesla factory for several years. As the zombie apocalypse crippled civilization, he was saved by the 4077, but separated and traumatized by the situation. When the group encountered him later, he believed he was a "space marine" sent to clear the planet of heretics.
Staff Sgt. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly [Tommy]
Human male scrupulous survivor: soldier/communications expert 6
An only child living near the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, Walter led a simple life until adulthood was thrust upon him with the passing of his father when he was only eight years old. His mother never wanted to talk about his father's passing, and Walter always sensed there was something to it when locals skimmed over the topic as well. With limited resources to live on and wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, Walter enlisted in the Army straight out of high school. His specialty in communications led to his stationing in Houston at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, as quality control for infantry vehicles being shipped overseas.
Staff Sgt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce [Joe]
Human male unprincipled survivor: soldier/combat mechanic 5
Benjamin Pierce is a Texan by birth, being born and raised by his parents in Houston. As a young man, he was raised as the product of his parents both having spent time in the Army. Although both had retired, his mother's experience as an officer lent her to recognize that Benjamin would excel in the military, and he was sent to the Marine Military Academy in Harlingen right before he decided to enlist in the Army rather than go the officer route. Eventually, his years in the Army led to his being stationed back in Houston at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, as quality control for infantry vehicles being shipped overseas.
Jeffe Sanchez [David 2]
Human male unprincipled survivor: lawn & landscaping/gardener/groundskeeper 6
Jeffe Sanchez was born as the seventeenth child of the Sanchez family, in humble conditions at the Pacific coast town of Camalú to his parents who both worked the soil as local farmers. Not being content with the life ahead of him, Jeffe left his family at an early age looking for the wealth connected with the local Arellano drug cartel, where his background in agriculture was quickly put to work. Years past and as Jeffe grew older, his desire to continue this lifestyle waned, although his desire to smoke his product was ever prodigious. Eventually, the cartel found disfavor with his service, and he was re-assigned to taking care of the expansive properties that belonged to the Arellano family. Being granted a leave to bury his parents after they had succumbed to COVID-19, the zombie apocalypse forced him to flee north where he connected with a group of American trying to return to Texas.
Faith “Nurse Kelly” Skylark [Kelli]
Human female unprincipled survivor: private detective 5
Faith Skylark grew up in Houston living as an only child with her mother. She graduated from Bellaire High School, spent a brief period studying for a law enforcement degree at the University of Houston, until she decided to transition away from the idea of working for a police department and instead deciding to work for herself. This move was fueled by learning her ex-husband was a serial cheater, and how the law was unable to protect her best friend from an abusive husband. Faith has a natural curiosity and exceptional memory for small details, such as car license plate numbers, and in soon after college, she set up a detective agency, Reliable Findings, in Houston. With her mother, little brother, and her fiancé and his extended family passing from the Coronavirus, she joined the 4077 after the zombie apocalypse arose while she was trying to get away from it all in Cabo San Lucas.
Jack Steele [Mike]
Human male unprincipled survivor: criminal/assassin 5
Jack Steele was born in Tokyo to an American father and a Japanese mother. As a U.S. government contractor, his father moved the family to Tokyo for better opportunities but was too late to recognize his wife's family connections to the Yakuza until both of his teenage sons became involved in organized crime. Being bilingual in English and Japanese allowed for young Jack to fall under the influence of the Tokyo underworld as a hitman, and it was not until Jack's father called in all his markers with a U.S. black-ops cleaner named Brock Samson, that Jack was sent away to the West for contract assassin work with the U.S. government. Damien, Jack's younger brother, was not so lucky and remains a member of the Yakuza.
Frank Burns by Tomasz Zajda, 2nd Lt. Hanna “Honeycut” Heller by ASP Inc, Benny “B.J.” Johnson by Jürgen Bauer Pictures, Maxwell “Mad Max” Q. Klinger by Jamie Smith, "Trapper" John McIntyre by RPG Dynamite, Staff Sgt. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly by Efrain Gonzalez, Staff Sgt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce by Jakob Owens, Jeffe Sanchez by Elvie Lloyd, Faith “Nurse Kelly” Skylark by New Africa Studio, and Jack Steele by Sammy Sander.
Artwork for ASP Inc, Jürgen Bauer Pictures, Ragne Kabanova, New Africa Studio, and Tomasz Zajda on this page falls under Adobe Stock Standard License.
Artwork for Efrain Gonzalez, Jakob Owens, RPG Dynamite, Sammy Sander, and Jamie Smith on this page falls under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.