DR expansion

[dargo83]

nice occ i like it dude. you have anything else we would like to see them.

[Tearstone]

Thank you so much for you input Rhom. I wasn't sure if i was going to make an OCC at all but then i realized i might as well for the sake of anyone who really likes my stuff.

Heh, yeah, i figured the name was off but i just couldn't think of anything that sounded "gangsta" and already wasnt taken. The name was originaly just there to make other fear the gang. If i come up with somthing else ill update it.

The way i intended it was that every gang member learns some of the skills that the other OCCs know, but aren't as good in doing it. They can fight, just not as well as reapers, they know how to save humans from zombies, they just arent as efficient as Shepherds, ect ect. I might look into this some more, see if i get any other comments on my OCC. If i find multiple people suggesting the same thing i will probably change some things up.

Glad to see i am inspiring some one. Keep the reviews coming and i should have some more stuff up in a hour or two from this post. I have some zombies and monsters i am stating out and should be done soon.

As far as the name thing, look at Juarez in Rifts. There is a gang called the Guardians and they are fairly universally feared except by the common citizen, and their goals aren't too much different than WCA. One can make a fearsome name for themselves through their actions. Plus I personally think the name "Guardian" is similarly descriptive of what this gang does as "Reaper" is to what they do.

As for the skills, it seems like a bit of a stretch to have every member of what is effectively a street gang be that generalized. If you want, look at it this way; in the real world, street gangs have members they know are better at thuggery, con-artistry, blending in, working on their cars and other areas. Also, they have members who are just simple layabouts who don't do squat except rob gas stations and sell drugs. I don't see the WCA as being much different in this regard, even if their overall goals are different. As I said before, "jack of trades" is valuable, especially if a group is generalized, but individual members are not.

Look at this as an opportunity to make them similar to the Reapers, but make them something distinct from them by constructing the OCC a bit differently.

Sorry for the thread necromancy.

I'm joining one of Revan's games where this gang is in play, and the character I am running has ties to them, and personally I think that the generalized nature of the gang, focused on civilization building is good, but I agree that the members themselves would be more specialized.

Lets look at the biggest gang in the world: Law Enforcement. There are many officers and agents and many different sub 'gangs' such as local PD, Sheriff departments, state police, FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE and so on. Within those groups, they are usually broken down into administrative roles, investigative, enforcement and so on. Some that work for the local police department aren't even police officers, just clerks doing paperwork. There's S.W.A.T., K-9 (Hound masters anyone?), Bomb Squad/EOD, bike cops, motorcycle cops, and other variations of patrol officers.

Same goes for the military. Several main branches, and each branch has a focus. Within those branches, each soldier has a job or MOS that they do, as well as regular duties.

Any organization of sufficient size begins to have specialization within it's ranks, as well as a generalized set of abilities. Not everyone has the same strengths or weaknesses, and not everyone has the same interests, or can do the same jobs, or even wants to. As such, people adapt and find niches, or make use of things that they're really good at, playing to their strengths.

Anyway, this leads me to the character I worked up which may or may not work directly with the WCA (the name hasn't changed, despite years going by since they were proposed) is a Scrounger, with the background of being a band roadie, and may have had past affiliation with members of the WCA before The Wave/The Turn.

[whassupman03]

Hello...

Sorry for the thread necromancy.

Personally, I wouldn't mind...

So you wanna be a West Coast Assassin huh? You think that you can just put on one of our jerseys and one of us? You got anoder thing commin' if that’s what you be thinkin. Being one of us ain’t easy, I ain’t gunna lye but there is a certain amount of respect that goes with it but you have to be ready to sacrifice all that you got and more. Training ain't easy, we teach you how to fight rough and dirty and then we teach you how to fight those freaks out der so you can help others. Shooting a gun, how to run, how to find what you need, you'll learn it and you will use those skills to further the cause. Now you may be thinking “you be crazy, what the hell kind of gang helps others? Shouldn’t you be lookin out for yourselves?” I get that question more often then not and each time I wanna pop a fool but that’s just the old way I think talkin. The WCA is all about help out man because if we don't stick together, them ****** zombies are going to win and we don't want that. We work just like the Reapers, were here to help and that's what we do. I ain't never met Brad Ashley but he is one bad mofo and I would shake his hand if given a chance. Remember the most basic rules and you'll survive.
Speech given to new recruits for the WCA,
Jackson “The Savior” Mason.

The West Coast Assassins were originally a gang based out of Fresno California and are one of the few that survived into the Apocalypse. Founded out of fear and hate in the spring 1997 by a few local boys who were tired of all the violence in their neighborhoods. They went around town, looking for anyone who was dealing drugs, pimping, or commuting other crimes and ran them out of town with a combination of scare tactics and subtle killings. The gang quickly rose to power as more and more local teens heard of their caused and quickly joined up but it wasn't until the Summer of 1998 that they found their colors. It is rumored that Mason and some of his closest members were walking through town when they saw a graffiti mural dedicated to them on a Fresno under pass of a ninja surrounded by a teal and blue backdrop. The gang took these colors to heart and can always be seen wearing some kind of light blue and teal clothing.
It didn't take long for the new gang to realize they had to start arming themselves and claiming their territory, as well as develop a style of communication for the gang. The leaders came up with a style of tagging, using shapes, letters and colors to denote places of interest and such (For further information see below). To protect the neighborhoods they claimed members would intercept shipments of arms going to other gangs, and take the guns off dead enemies. In the following years up to the wave, the membership in the gang swelled to well over 300 members, mostly young boy looking for a way to protect themselves and their families.
When “The Wave” struck the US, the WCA were one of the first gangs to mobilize and protect themselves. Any member found to have gotten sick was shunned so as not to get anyone else sick and if they survived, they were allowed back in. As the dead started rising the WCA took action and fortified their neighborhoods and helped dozen of families stay alive. About a month after the wave had stopped killing, the leaders of the WCA realized that they had helped their families, but what about the families all over the country? In a few short days, Jackson Mason and his closest gang members armored up a few cars, took what supplies they needed and headed out to the unknown to save others, on a personal mission to revive humanity.
Unlike Reapers, the main goal of the WCA is to build safe havens where humanity can begin to rebuild themselves, not to kill zombies. Haven built by Jackson and his gang are usually built in suburbs that have been cleared of zombies and are a few miles from any big town. These havens will be fortified by connecting houses together with large walls of junk and scraps that are crude, but effective none the less. Haven will contain anywhere from a dozen to upwards of 200 people and are usually self sufficient with a combination of farming and raiding near by empty towns and cites. The walls or houses themselves will usually be tagged with the Teal Circle and WCA as a sign of protection and pride.
Joining the WCA only requires a willing to dedicate oneself to helping any one who is willing to accept it and only those who deserve it. The WCA never discriminate against anyone and are always willing to look past someones past if they can show they are willing to change. Women are equal to men, as are all races and anyone found to “be hatin” is expelled from the gang.

Tagging.
Taggin up places be important, and not just because it looks cool, but because it can help save others. I came up with the code when I was just starting the gang and ya know what? It works, so don't be hattin on it. Now each little tag has it's own meaning and learning the code can mean the difference between a good day and a bad day. You never wanna mix up the colors on tags because you could confuse someone and get them killed.
The first tag you’ll learn is what we call the home tag. This goes on any building that we live in, or any building where people under our protection live. Just paint a teal circle and put in it WCA, simple as that. It ain’t well known but if you do it enough,it might catch on and others will learn to seek these places out.
After that we teach you the home tag you start some of the tags that lead others away from danger and to supply areas. A red X with an arrow is point in the direction of a place you don't want to go, weather it be a bandit camp, Death cult, or a **** ton of zombies. Leave these on the road or on a sign to warn others if you can.
Green circles will an arrow point to where some of our towns can be found. These are usually placed every 2 miles or so or at places where you need to turn or what ever. Place these when you are leaving a safe haven, and make sure they point in the direction your coming from. It may slow you down but i've heard stories that it's saved more then a few lives.
Next we get down to houses that are tagged that we don’t protect, basically, raidin houses. We always tag the front, and sometimes the back door because that is where most people enter, ya dig? A big teal X means the houses has been raided by us and is pretty much clear and clean. A Yellow scrawl or shape means the house has supplies still but is infested with the undead and should be cautioned. If there be a red scrawl, it means its the home of some crazy person that you don't want to be messin with.
What we usualy do when we go raiding is leave two guys at the front door to watch out for them damn zombies and hold a spray paint can at the ready. If we have to split fast one of them can tag the door and then we make our escape, make sense?
The teachings of Tagging
Jackson “The Savior” Mason.

I love it! This is excellent work, and I can easily see a lot of potential here. A lot of things can happen, and I would almost certainly expect a bit of cooperation between the WCA and the Road Reapers in creating safe havens, because it looks like their methodology in safe haven planning is quite similar, according to readings in Dead Reign Sourcebook 4: Fear the Reaper. So check it out! But anyway, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03

[Tearstone]

I need Fear the Reaper and Graveyard Earth

[whassupman03]

Hello...

I need Fear the Reaper and Graveyard Earth

I highly recommend them. Dead Reign Sourcebook 4: Fear the Reaper is very good for detailing the Road Reapers, and the book has a lot of neat stuff about them and other things. And Dead Reign Sourcebook 5: Graveyard Earth is handy for detailing the rest of the world, and while the material inside is "tuned" to having the Wave happen in 2008 (The original publication year of Dead Reign), some creativity can be used to start a campaign in another direction, and there are hints in the book to help you work with that. But still, please take care; thanks a bunch, and have a good day.

whassupman03