Panacea - Zombie Apocalypse RPG

[LORE:

• The U.S government funded a classified, covert research project to formulate a universal cure by creating biologically and genetically engineering a chimera disease made from a combination of bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, and parasites. The project only hired well-trusted and capable scientists for this project. The purpose of this project was to make a universal concurrent cure and vaccine for all known diseases.
• The chimera disease was called PANACEA, meaning Pan-Anti-Contagion Enhancing Agent.
• The project took place in an underground research facility in New Jersey.
• Initially, the disease did actually cure minor ailments such as the common cold and the flu.
• Noting the potential medical breakthrough, researchers kept genetically enhancing the strain of the disease, improving the potency of its effects. However, the more they attempted to enhance the disease to act on diseases previously thought uncurable, the more unstable the disease became.
• One day, a breach in containment protocols freed PANACEA. The disease spread itself throughout most of the research facility, infecting many researchers and staff on-site.
• At first, the infected didn't show any noticeable symptoms for the first few hours, going about their day as normal. But later, the transformation began violently. The infected researchers shifted into pale skin, bloodshot eyes, and an uncontrollable urge to devour other living beings besides their own.
• The research facility turned into a bloodbath soon enough, most of the researchers have been killed or infected. Some may have survived and escaped.
• The chimera disease soon spread into Bowmann, a nearby city from the facility. The disease bided its time, infecting a few people in the city silently.
• Hospitals in Bowmann saw an abnormal surge in cases, people reporting in sick with flu-like symptoms; fevers, chills, coughing, and nausea.
• It soon became disastrous, as the final stage of the disease began to manifest in the patients, turning them into raging, bloodlusted zombies and quickly ravaged hospitals, killing and infecting every person in their way. It soon quickly spread outside and onto the streets.
• Within 48 hours, the city was engulfed by zombies, torn by the mass killings from the infected. Even police proved futile too.
• This caught the attention of the entire country, forcing the president to announce a state-of-emergency lockdown and conducting a nationwide martial law to combat the epidemic. The government quarantined the entire state of New Jersey, preventing people from going in and going out. Quarantine zones to contain the disease's spread. It was proven useless, as the disease's airborne nature quickly infected every quarantine zone.
• The outbreak soon spread to other parts of the world, the infected travelling to other countries to escape the disease unknowingly carrying it all along.
• In just under a month, the entire state of New Jersey fell into ruins. Military forces have been overwhelmed and the infected had largely inhabited most of it, from cities to the rural provinces.
• The government, underequipped and unprepared, failed to contain the disease's spread. The disease soon spread from state-to-state, the entire country falling into hysterical panic.
• Soon, the USA had collapsed into chaos, the disease having spread throughout the entire country. Government, and society as a whole, had collapsed.
• Two months since the outbreak, the nation had fallen into chaos. The remains of the U.S government had unified into a militant faction with a zero-tolerance policy on survivors, either killing them on sight or capturing them for research on a cure. People who survived the outbrea try to get by in this strange new world.]

[INFECTED: The PANACEA disease comes in three generations of zombies:

• One - A "One" zombie, also known as a "Predator", "Hunter", or "Monster" is the first generation of infected who were afflicted with the original strain of the disease during the first day of the outbreak in Bowmann. They are defined by their thickened muscle mass, grotesque and necrotized skin tissue, and pale eyes. A One is extremely fast, being able to sprint great distances without tiring. They are stronger than a healthy human due to their thickened muscle mass, being able to rip off limbs and overpower virtually anyone. They are driven by rage and uncontrollable urge to cannibalize. "One" zombies possess nearly human intelligence and possess remarkable cunning. For military and scientists, they are referred to as "Alpha Strain." A "One" zombie is EXTREMELY RARE throughout the entire country, and most typically reside in Bowmann, the ground zero of the outbreak. Their existence is doubted by some survivors due to how rare they are to come across.
• Two - A "Two" zombie, also referred to as a "Runner", "Sprinter", or "Screamers" are infected individuals who were directly or indirectly infected by a "One" zombie through bodily contact such as bites, scratches, lacerations, and more. They are defined by having a greenish hue in their complexion, bloodshot eyes, and decomposing body. They are less powerful than a "One", but are still able to move at running speed and are just as strong as a healthy human. They are unintelligent, acting on pure instinct and rage. They usually yell out of rage whenever they spot a living being. For military and scientists, "Twos" are called "Bravo Strain." They are more common than a "One", but are still pretty uncommon compared to a "Three." They will appear rarely.
• Three - A "Three" zombie, also referred to as a "Walker", "Scrambler", "Freaks", or just "Zombies" are the most common generation of zombies, and are seen everywhere. They are infected individuals who have been infected by a "Two" or another "Three." They are the closest thing to a traditonal zombie, defined by their slow, limping movement, extremely pale skin, and bloodshot eyes. Their body starts out pale but overtime turns into a disgusting brown-greenish hue due to decomposition. They are weak, slow, and brainless, making them easy targets in isolation. But they are a dangerous threat in groups and hordes, and "Three" zombies have a herd mentality, often grouping up with other "Threes." For military and scientists, "Three" are referred to as "Delta Strain."
• Ferals - A feral are infected individuals who did not succumb to the zombification process of the disease but had their mind rewired that turned them insane and homicidal. Initially, they were people who were immune to the disease. However, the disease adapted to their immunity and hijacking their mind instead, turning them feral. They appear just like a healthy human, but with bloodshot eyes and an extremely angry look on their face. They act on instinct and rage. Military people call them "Carriers." They are mindless and unintelligent. They tend to yell due to their uncontrollable rage. Ferals are RARE and RARELY appear. Survivors call the Ferals crazies, mindless, or savages. Note: All zombies can survive any blow to their body, and can only be killed by destroying their brain.]

[VIRUS:

• PANACEA is a chimera disease made from the mixture of bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions and parasites. It transmits through bodily contact (bites, scratches, lacerations, etc.), and is airborne.
• When someone gets infected with PANACEA from a zombie, they don't immediately feel anything for the next few hours. After 12 hours, the symptoms manifest and they are stricken with a high fever and chills. After a day passes since their initial infection, they turn aggressive and violent, before eventually transforming into an infected.
• There is no known cure or treatment for the infection. The disease spreads to the body in minutes, so amputation is useless. Antivirals or antibiotics are useless as well.
• If someone dies during their infection, the disease will reanimate them.
• The disease caps out at the third generation, at the "Three" zombie type, as that is its limit.
• The disease is the most potent in Bowmann, the origin of the outbreak. Being infected in Bowmann can turn an individual into a "One." and can only be prevented with gas masks.
• The airborne strain is diluted in other places, airborne infection anywhere else only infects people into a "Three".
• ONLY some scientists and survivors of the original facility know the truth that PANACEA is a chimera disease made from a classified government project.]

[SURVIVOR KNOWLEDGE:

• Survivors have varying beliefs about the origin of the disease, such as it being a virus, divine punishment, a Russian bioweapon, an ancient disease, etc. Survivors are completely OBLIVIOUS about the truth.
• Most survivors still believe that amputation and medications can suppress or even stop the disease, despite both not working at all.
• Survivors have different names for the zombie disease locally, but most agree on calling it "The Virus."
• Most survivors think that PANACEA is a VIRUS. Unbeknownst to them, it is a chimera disease.
• During the first day of the outbreak, the government PUBLICLY told everyone it was a flu-like virus, which it isn't.
• Most survivors are OBLIVIOUS and UNAWARE of immunity to the virus.
• Survivors tend to use nicknames for the zombies, such as "Scrambler", "Walker", "Freaks" or "Zombies" for Threes. Same with "Runners","Sprinters" for Twos, and "Predator", "Monsters" for Ones.]