Episode 734: A Call for Help

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Dave

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Zombie Cliche Lookout: Using Resources

The beauty of the zombie as a monster is that, on its own, a single zombie isn’t terribly threatening. Sure, it’s creepy and gross, but it’s also slow, clumsy, and has no particular abilities outside of lack of emotion and fatigue. Once you start having to deal with multiple zombies, however, they’re no longer a joke. A single survivor will be quickly overwhelmed, which is why having or being able to improvise other resources is an essential skill of any hero in the genre.

About this Episode:

Clark should be working with Vicky and the kids to get everyone ready to go as quickly as possible. That means gathering usable supplies and trying to get his charges mentally prepared for the challenges they’re about to face. To do that, he probably wouldn’t be in the bedroom, which is a problem since I needed Barb to quickly get him to help. Sure, I could have added a few more comics of her trying to find him and get his attention without also getting the attention of the zombies outside, but that seems like stalling and padding. Instead, I just made Clark a lazy ass, which probably isn’t too far from the truth anyway.

Discussion Question: Zombies and Stealth

I love the idea of being sneaky in zombie stories. Sure, it’s always fun to see a bunch of zeds get murdered in a zombie show or movie, but it doesn’t have the kind of tension I’m really looking for. A character who is outnumbered and either unarmed or underarmed, and afraid makes a much more compelling story to me. When it comes to zombie-based stealth, there are a lot of different approaches, from simply sneaking around like a damn ninja, to setting up complicated distractions. The question is, if you were in a zombie survival situation and weren’t able to take the direct (murdery) approach to dealing with the zeds, what do you think the most effective approach to sneaking around would be?

7 thoughts on “Episode 734: A Call for Help”

  1. Typo alerts: “To do that, he probably would be in the bedroom, which is a problem since I needed Barb to quickly get him to help.” Clark is in a bedroom, so I have no idea as to what Dave was thinking when he wrote this up! 😀

    It’s flagged because it needs to make better sense, contextually, it’s all wrong.

    “A character who is outnumber un/underarmed, and afraid makes a much more compelling story to me.” outnumber–>outnumbered This sentence could also be written better with regards to the un/underarmed part, my spelling checker keeps flagging that as a typo.

    “the direct (murdery) approach” Murdery — No such word in dictionary. What do you mean here? 😀

    • Yeah, that “would” was supposed to be “wouldn’t”. That’s a typo that makes a hash out of the whole paragraph. Nice work, me.

      Fixed the un/under thing. “Murdery” was just supposed to be funny, definitely not an actual word.

  2. The ninja’s way is always the way… Assassin Mode On

  3. Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!!

    They released trailer #1 for The Lego Ninjago Movie!!

    The ninja’s way… Just told you!

  4. *Rolls Stealth: gets + 0 to that skill :p*

    I feel for the poor group stuck sneaking around with my unstealthy self. The only trick I know is to push one of my team mates out into the street and shout “Come and get it!” before running the other way.

    Somehow I doubt this will make my team mates like me more…

  5. Wind chimes and rolling trucks.
    Wind chimes ALWAYS ring out at the weirdest moments and attract a lot of attention. To me it is always unsettling, because you’re sure there is no wind, animals, or other people in the area and then in that stillness of the moment… “Ethereal music” starts up in the background.

    A large scale one was used by “twd: the governor’s group” to round up zeds in a pit.

    Then once everyone is unsettled by the noises; in a few splatter-movies; a random runaway large vehicle comes from the direction the actors weren’t looking, even if it seems impossible.

  6. More deleted dialogue.

    Barb: Listen, I need you to do something.

    Clark: Yeah, what?

    Barb: Come out here and take a look at this duck. I want to make sure I’m not seeing things.