The beginning of the end for Urban Dead

A few weeks ago I sent my other survivor away on vacation from his home South Blythville because nothing had happened at Marven Mall since I'd rejoined the game. I took him to a bad suburb on bad information and he died there. I'd never really tried the zombie life, and I had about 1100 unspent XP, so bought some zombie skills and roamed around for a while. It was fun, but when someone revived me I decided it was time to go home.

While I was gone, the RRF brought down the mall, and as I write this they are finishing off the neighborhood.

There are about 80 of them.

In Dowdney Mall, someone had painted an overconfident boast that there were 400 of us and only 60 of them. Two days later the mall fell.

I think Malton may be falling once and for all. Many people don't realize that hundreds of apparently groupless ferals are actually in at least three well organized groups, and a lot of them genuinely dislike survivors. This wasn't a problem when it made for a fair fight, but lately it's starting to look like a problem.

Building ruining & ransacking were a big setback for us, and the newly increased need for hospitals, though I approve of it in theory, seems to have tipped the balance. Before this, things would tip in one direction or another, but these changes were unique because they've shortened the length of encounters. It's now impossible to prevent a takeover if the zeds approach a stronghold correctly - even if they don't have death cultists working for them, which they generally do. The most we can manage is to flee from one set of buildings to another and rely on the fact that they don't quite have the numbers to occupy every TRP at once.

The balance is once again 60-40. The last few times that happened we had an important advantage: It was more fun to play a survivor. Being in a permanent cycle of retreat and recovery takes a lot of that away. No AP for joking around, no radio fun, no sense of permanent residence and having neighbors, no patrols or hunting PKers or rescuing people.

There must be something we can do, but I'm drawing a blank. Now that I know I like being a zombie, the idea of zombies taking over an entire district or more doesn't bother me, but if they take over the whole town there will be no game to play.