587 replies to this topic

[Luckylyn]

I remember in the general thread that people had fun discussing how they might survive if the events of Walking Dead actually happened.

I'd head to Amish country since a society that doesn't rely on electricity would be essential.

[Doom]

I still say get to an island. Zombies (in this show) don't seem like they would swim. Houseboat?

[HelenBack]

Military base in a very cold area? If freezing doesn't stop zombies, it'd surely slow 'em down... beds, stockpiles of weapons and food, generator at least for a while... built to be easily defended... this was my favorite idea when the show first aired.

Might be hard to get in, though. Plus, stuck in one place (and you know at least one guy there is going to be either totally unhinged, or a massive jerk, or both). I think I'd feel the need after a while to travel, and see what was happening in different areas, even though it'd be dangerous.

So, I guess, adapt! Learn some basic weaponry and food-gathering, etc., general survival skills; find out as much as possible about how to go undetected by the walking dead; then set out - with as many as I could get to go with me! I'll only have to outrun them, after all. Besides, it'd be nice to have company, though louder than solitude.

Oh God. I just basically described the set-up of the band of idiots on the show, didn't I?

:facepalm:

I would so not survive this.

[Vaya]

I just finished World War Z, like this morning.

I am pumped and ready for the apocalypse!

[maia160]

I still say get to an island. Zombies (in this show) don't seem like they would swim. Houseboat?

That is exactly what I was thinking! I would find an island with a small town and land suitable for farming so that necessities would be available. Since the town is small there would be less zombies to kill off before moving on to the island.

[HWavoidance]

Step 1: Find Daryl Dixon
Step 2: Do as he says
Step 3: Live

[Doom]

There's a gonna be a lotta dyin before a select few accomplish Step 1. Made me wonder though - what's going down in Hawaii? You'd think it would be a paradise, but since flights go in there, it's probably likely that they got infected too. I may have to alter the suggestion to islands too small to have an airstrip. Even then, you've got boat problems. And with a houseboat, how are you going to eat? Not good...not good.

[Garnet77]

Step 1: Find Daryl Dixon
Step 2: Do as he says
Step 3: Live

LOL! Yes, this is what I'd do. And might I add:
Step 4: Shag Daryl Dixon

[HWavoidance]

Apparently he needs it. Norman Reedus stated in an interview that he's trying to play Daryl as a total virgin. If you check out his facebook page, most of the comments are regarding women who want to help him out with that.

If there were a ZA, I think I'd be hiding out at a department store in a small, out of the way town. Preferably a two story Target that I could rig so I could go up and down on an alternate mode (rope ladder, maybe) after axing up the stairs/escalator. Also, I'd want to be somewhere that the Target would be selling guns and ammo, and plenty of it.

[Vaya]

There's a gonna be a lotta dyin before a select few accomplish Step 1. Made me wonder though - what's going down in Hawaii? You'd think it would be a paradise, but since flights go in there, it's probably likely that they got infected too. I may have to alter the suggestion to islands too small to have an airstrip. Even then, you've got boat problems. And with a houseboat, how are you going to eat? Not good...not good.

Islands are good if you have a force large enough to clean it off effectively AND there are enough resources there to keep such a force sustained for a long time. Hawaii seems like a good place for that. In Day of the Triffids there is a group on the Isle of White and another in the Channel Islands

But one problem, and this comes up in WWZ...sea zombies.

[Doom]

These zombies seem driven by smell though. And I don't think they could smell fresh humans over a sea. Probably not even a lake. Thanks for reminding me about Day of the Triffids. I watched that five or so years ago and what stuck with me was how the narrator says "Day of the Triffids!" in the intro.

[Vaya]

If you can Doom check out the 81 BBC production, which is closer to the book and takes on a more zombie apocalypse atmosphere.

Water zombies also come up in Land of the Dead, but yeah in this its unlikely. So far.

in WWZ specifically water zombies occur because a number of people die while trying to swim out to ships while carrying the virus, become zombies and then drag other swimmers down. Its actually pretty disturbing shit

[irishmaple]

I saw that older BBC production at an impressionable age and have never had so much as a houseplant since. The more recent production was fine but it didn't live up to my memory of the older one. Otoh, the newer one had Dougray Scott!

Survival wise, I think Morgan and Duane have the right idea albeit for sentimental reasons. They're in a smallish town which was mostly abandoned at short notice so there's lots of homes filled with useful stuff and little competition for the resources. There seemed to be a finite number of zombies too so picking them off as they go along will keep the numbers low. I think they are wrong to stay in one spot (although again that's for sentimental reasons) and would be better served to set up boltholes in various parts of town, with escape routes planned out and go-bags stashed for quick exits. They need to think about evading migrating human predators as well as zombies so staying in one place isn't smart. One of their hideouts should definitely be a mall within biking distance. And not motor bikes like those silly people in Falling Skies. Most predators are not deaf!! Sooner or later, they'll have to come up with a longterm plan but for short-term survival, I like their odds.

[Iguana]

Survival lessons learned from the first ep of season 2:

- teach your kids how to follow basic instructions. And to run towards help, not away from it. (Seriously. All that downtime in Camp Dinner Bell and no one gives the girl some basic woodmanship skills?)

- Do not have moral qualms about taking what you can find when you find it. (I'm looking at you, Lori.) At this point, the whole world is a graveyard, and the dead don't care if you borrow their clothes.

- Apparently, in the Zombie appocalypse, deer will be armed. Approach them with caution.

[Darmys]

King Island. Just need to make sure I have a group with me large enough to clear it. Provided there aren't zombie cows etc that island once cleared should be good to support a gene pool large enough that they don't start inbreeding before I'm not around to care about that.

Oh yeah if the Zombies don't get you the inbreeding will

[henriPootel]

After you set up your camp and perimeter (by which I mean giant house with giant fence, not death-inviting tents), find the biggest truck you can with a nice thick bull-bar. As you go about your daily looting, keep an eye out for walkers and when you find them run the fuckers down. Drive over until the skulls stop crunching, rinse off the truck before you go home. Do this every day.

Edited by henriPootel, Oct 18, 2011 @ 2:51 AM.

[Doom]

That would be too noisy and gas prohibitive I'd think. Think about how many zombies they showed in downtown Atlanta, and keep in mind there was a tank there. They had a tank and still lost.

[spineofsnake]

We used to live next to a super creepy old dilapidated cemetery, so I'm proud to say I already have a zombie survival plan.

1) Gather my immediate family and get the hell away from all urban/population dense areas.
2) Travel through rural areas and only stop to loot weapons, gas, food and water. Only allow people with practical survival skills to join (no charity cases!)
3) Drive straight up to northern Canada, Northwest Territories to be exact. It's remote, low population density, rich in resources, and zombies would starve trying to get across the tundra.
4) Set up camp on a hill with good visibility. Only allow people out to forage and hunt. Maintain constant guard duties, pick off zombies as they approach.
5) Do our best to survive and repopulate the species. If my man for any reason, God forbid, wasn't there, I would consider accepting Daryl as a replacement ;-)

Flaws in the plan?

[morrigan2575]

Spears would be a really good weapon against zombies and should be easy to make.

[Doom]

Flaws in the plan?

Food, and the weather! Yikes. Without power, those are going to be some cold months. And caribou (or whatever limited animal supply is out there) is bound to turn into your Gilligan's island coconut. Caribou steaks, Caribou salad, Caribou sandwiches, Caribou tea...

But in the latest episode of TWD, they didn't show anybody eating, so why think about food! Heh.

[Vaya]

Flaws in the plan?

cold, you would need a heating source that was efficient and not relying on fuel which you only have in short supply. Wood goes quickly and is actually grossly inefficient. Also you would have to pack a sufficient food supply that would last you and your party at least a year. Also medical supplies.

WWZ spoiler there is a whole thing that people are told to go north because the zombies will freeze, which they do, but so do many of the people who run out of food and heating supplies. There's a not too subtle hint that they resort to cannibalism before the first thaw

Double standards on membership. No charity cases, but immediate family is automatically in. Many people have hidden talents and can be taught, , its hard to judge what is and isn't a "charity case" off the bat. But also, what if your immediate family has no practical skills? What if one of them gets injured or sick?

In Day of the Triffids there is a point where one group declares that they cannot take men who are blind, but they can take women who are blind, because they can produce babies who can see. There are no exceptions to this so husbands have to be left behind.

A place rich in resources isn't good enough, are those resources exploitable, are they worth exploiting? The most important resource you need to sustain a long siege is the space and sufficiently fertile ground for growing crops and a water supply that cannot be tainted by disease, like rotting corpses. This would mean ground water. Do you have the skill and resources to to tap a well and bring the water up (I do by the way, well the skill) Do you have an easy and non power intensive way to remove waste? Septic systems are also space intensive, and they must be far enough away from your water source.

For most of this you need man power, which means your "no charity" policy is even less reasonable. Like I said, practical skills can be learned by most people, and you would need plenty of people so you can divide the labor appropriately. Even book keeping and entertainment. Because once you have a large group of people, you need to keep them organized and from going insane.

I'm sure I can think of more, but this is a good start.

[taiko]

For most of this you need man power, which means your "no charity" policy is even less reasonable. Like I said, practical skills can be learned by most people, and you would need plenty of people so you can divide the labor appropriately

I agree, the basic skill looked for when choosing special forces soldiers is mental toughness. People who will not quit or eat a bullet and leave their mates with a hole. That is the basic skill Deputy Grimes brings along with retaining his Sheriffs uniform as a show of authority in a chaotic world. The practical stuff is what trapping rabbits and cutting firewood? Perhaps you will get lucky and find a doctor like Dr Lawson of Royal Pains who is able to MacGyver medical treatments

[HelenBack]

Spears would be a really good weapon against zombies and should be easy to make.

Excellent idea. I think most people could manage to make a spear with a bit of practice. The hard part would be letting them get close enough to use the spear, but it makes a lot of sense as it'd be quiet.

[NYC2007]

The only problem with a spear is the walkers tend to attack on masse which makes hand-to-hand combat risky.

I like the finding a remote spot - farm land for instance and hiding out.

Edited by NYC2007, Oct 18, 2011 @ 10:23 AM.

[Vaya]

Spears actually do take a certain amount of skill, especially for head shots, and they would have to be sufficiently sharp to penetrate the skull.

Your best bet is a bludgeoning weapon, this requires the least skill and upkeep in terms of hand to hand. Obviously the best defense is one where you dispatch them at a distance.

[taiko]

Defense in depth, a spear to keep a walker at distance and a mace or short sword for close range work. You still will eventually get outnumbered an overwhelmed just like the Greek phalanx and Roman Legions

[HelenBack]

Machete, also a good thing to have IMO. Most people could probably use one just fine. Might be hard to find, depending where one lives.

[morrigan2575]

Defense in depth, a spear to keep a walker at distance and a mace or short sword for close range work. You still will eventually get outnumbered an overwhelmed just like the Greek phalanx and Roman Legions

Yeah that's what I was thinking, no so much spears for throwing but enough to keep them at a distance and another weapon to go in for the kill. True if there's a big enough heard you won't last particularly long but zombies are slow and stupid so you'd think humanity would still be top dog.

[Vaya]

Yeah that's what I was thinking, no so much spears for throwing but enough to keep them at a distance and another weapon to go in for the kill. True if there's a big enough heard you won't last particularly long but zombies are slow and stupid so you'd think humanity would still be top dog.

you would wouldn't you?

Except zombies are able to spread quickly, and are not impressed with our usual shock and awe tactics (something which comes up quickly in WWZ)

[Milan23]

I always thought taking over a military compound would be a good idea - not a base but there are often reserve centers with enough defenses to at least allow you to sleep at night. But then I'd worry about being surrounded with no way out.

Vaya - WWZ, great book - the parts about the north were especially chilling.

Edited to ask a question - not sure where else to ask this...please point me to the right spot if this is not appropriate. If you were bit in the arm/leg or foot/hand, would it be possible to amputate and avoid the spread of the virus? Along those same lines, if you had an open sore and got zombie guts into it, would you get the virus?

Edited by Milan23, Oct 18, 2011 @ 12:59 PM.