When does survival take a back seat?

[Ball Tripper]

What situation would ever make you do something not in the best interest of survival?

On the run and your best friend's leg is broken, do you help him even though the zombies might catch up to your slower pace?

Already got a full pack and there is a box of ammo beside a bottle of your favorite booze, which do you take?

If you're starving, do you run the pockets of the nasty rotting zombie you just killed for the small chance he might have a candy bar on him?



I'd like to think I could do a lot for the sake of survival but there are some things that would easily tempt me. If I raided a pharmacy in the ZPAW, I would very likely pass over the penicillin for the oxy contin.

[bandits1]

A few days or months or years of hiding, running from, and fighting zombies, I could see myself being stressed out enough to opt for a case of Budweiser or a bottle of Jack Daniel's over something more vital like medicine or first-aid supplies.

It would all depend on the person, the stess-level, and current immediate surrounding environment.

[Jimmy]

What situation would ever make you do something not in the best interest of survival?

On the run and your best friend's leg is broken, do you help him even though the zombies might catch up to your slower pace?

Yes, I couldn't live with myself knowing I left someone that I could have saved behind.

Already got a full pack and there is a box of ammo beside a bottle of your favorite booze, which do you take?

The ammo, I rarely drink.

If you're starving, do you run the pockets of the nasty rotting zombie you just killed for the small chance he might have a candy bar on him?

No, there are plenty of places for me to find food at. Why would someone risk the chance of somehow getting the infection by digging in a zombies pocket for a candybar? The chances are slim to none that someone would be stupid enough to put a candybar in their pocket.


I'd like to think I could do a lot for the sake of survival but there are some things that would easily tempt me. If I raided a pharmacy in the ZPAW, I would very likely pass over the penicillin for the oxy contin.

Penicillin would help your body heal from infection. Oxy would only temporarily stop the pain but over time it would destroy your liver. >_>


^^^^^^^^^^^

[Screwballgunnut]

My thoughts, put in the same format as Jimmy, I like his approach

What situation would ever make you do something not in the best interest of survival?

On the run and your best friend's leg is broken, do you help him even though the zombies might catch up to your slower pace?

Depends on how badly his leg is broken, how far it is to the truck/safety and what size of zombie horde we're up against. If its a compound fracture, in desperate need of complicated surgery, 15 miles from the compound in a horde of 7500, that becomes a case of either one of us will survive, or neither of us. If its 200 yards to the compound, he's got a minor break, and there are 15 zombies, hell yeah, the fights gunna be big time brawling.

Already got a full pack and there is a box of ammo beside a bottle of your favorite booze, which do you take?

Assuming its the right ammo for my rifle/pistol/shotgun, and Jack Daniels, well, then something less practical, like toilet paper or dirty socks, is going to get tossed out of the pack :evil:

If you're starving, do you run the pockets of the nasty rotting zombie you just killed for the small chance he might have a candy bar on him?

Given that I've grown up in the woods, living off the land, its gunna be a really bad situation if I'm THAT hungry. I can find dinner in some really unlikely places, and by eating things most folks would say, "You're not really going to eat that, are you?"

I'd like to think I could do a lot for the sake of survival but there are some things that would easily tempt me. If I raided a pharmacy in the ZPAW, I would very likely pass over the penicillin for the oxy contin.

Go ahead, take the oxy contin, tylenol 3, Zanax, or prozac, or what ever other "modern miracle" prescription drug. When you go space cadet, as almost always happens with those sort of pills, you'll get careless and the zeds get you, I'll be glad to divide your gear up between me and the rest of us

[JakAttak]

don't throw out Prosac in a Zed world might need something to up your spirits.

[Screwballgunnut]

don't throw out Prosac in a Zed world might need something to up your spirits.

Drugs affect people differently, but most of the people I see taking prozac seem to loose a bit of their sense, and tend to get very happy go lucky, not recognizing danger as quickly and such. Maybe I'm just too masochistic, but I'd rather accept hell than risk turning stupid because I decided to pop some pill.

[Faran Brigo]

That sounds more like Valium than Prozac, I've taken both by prescription. Valium might be useful because it will steady your pulse and won't impair your judgement if you take a small amount only.

[ashley]

Valium useful? Not for me... I have to take it before dentist appointments and it sends me for a loop. Makes me feel drunk.

[Faran Brigo]

Well, some people have more tolerance than others I suppose.

[UNDEAD FRED]

Heres another question

What if you found a starving mother and her child, and you have limited supplies, or you might have to risk your life getting them back to where your shelter is, or mother and child asked to be let in your shelter? Or just anybody that might need help, do you have that hero in you?

[Faran Brigo]

Hell no. I already want to flush children talking during the movie in the theather down the toilet, I'm not taking an annoying, snotty, useless mouth to feed into my shelter.

[UNDEAD FRED]

Hell no. I already want to flush children talking during the movie in the theather down the toilet, I'm not taking an annoying, snotty, useless mouth to feed into my shelter.


What if the mother was smoking hot?:lol:

[Faran Brigo]

There's just no amount of "hot" that would make me put up with an Edward Furlong. Except if I was going to use the kid as an emergency food source.

[Lian]

I'll just play it by ear. It's all anyone can do, everything is situational. :)

I'll tell you that unless my friend in dead or honest to god dying though I'm not leaving him behind. I'll figure something out but leave no man behind isn't just pretty words to me.

Survival simply isn't always enough. What's the point of surviving if you hate life? So by all means pass up the ammo and get the bottle of Jack. Or take both and leave something less vital behind like....that half empty propane tank for the pack stove.

And to be honest I'll be rooting through zombies pockets for anything useful anyway. The candy bar would just be an added bonus.

And I for one couldn't leave a mother and child behind to starve to death. Starvation sucks, to put it lightly, most people in industrialized society won't realize how much it sucks until something bad like this happens. Who knows they might even come in handy later on.

[JakAttak]

Maybe it's just the true cold hearted bastard I am talking but I wouldn't just leave injured people behind but I'd take their stuff and leave them with a pistol with one shot in the chamber then take the mag.

[Faran Brigo]

I'd like to think I'd shoot them in the head, it's safer. It's also a hell of a lot less cruel to bear that burden, instead of making THEM take that choice.

[JakAttak]

whatever helps helps you sleep at night.

[GunSlingerInferno]

If it was a short distance I'd pick him up and carry him, unless he is really massive. Long distances it still depends on the situation, there are some that I would abandon him, some I wouldn't, it is situational. I'd take the bottle of vodka and make the bullets fit somehow even if I have to put them in sock and tie it to my belt. And looting zombies, sure, I've touched worse things then decomposing humans.

[toe_tag]

Mmm I think in the initial weeks/months of an outbreak, most people would be thinking of survival, sure, but not in the long-term. If you'd look at the kinds of stores that were being looted, I'd bet most of them contained luxuries - like booze, smokes, not-so-nutritious foods, prescription drugs for misuse, insanely inappropriate weapons... this is because people are faced with a highly stressful, depressive situation, coupled with the breakdown of society - meaning all this luxury shit is free! And most likely most of your loved ones are dead. Thoughts of survival would be temporary, band-aid solutions. I don't think it would register that a full-scale outbreak could end it all, and that it probably won't be patched up by governments and armed-forces. Therefore most would group in their homes, defend their fort, indulge in electricity and gas and internet, without a thought that it may stop.

[Dave Of The Dead]

Everyone needs a break from reality, especially when that reality is a screaming, blood thirsty hoard of zombies pounding on your defenses night and day. Just like sleep rotation, chore, and guard rotation, there should be a break rotation. Hell yes I would pick up that Valium bottle next to that rotting corpse! Hell yeah I would break into a head shop and grab the biggest bag of Divinorum I could find. Whatever keeps me sane, whatever keeps me from losing hope, and whatever gives me a break from the hell of the ZPAW, I am going to use. Its time to hand your weapons over and drink irresponsibly.

[JakAttak]

as soon as you're safe drink up it will relax you and get you to sleep.

[UNDEAD FRED]

How about some chronic? would you raid a police evidence locker, or raid a pharmacy for some meds? Im not a drinker, but a few bongloads would get my head right

[Faran Brigo]

I'm thinking weed will actually boom in popularity post holocaust. I'm thinking it's going to be the significantly less dangerous than opiates, and about the only thing you're going to get after the ibuprofen, paracetamol, aspirin and other common pain medication runs out or goes bad.

It's also easier to produce than alcohol, although honestly I doubt beer will ever disappear.

[bandits1]

Ain't nothing like a boilermaker(or 5-6) after a long day/night of killing 148084 zombies just to get a fricken' strawberry Pop-Tart™ from the abandoned corner market.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5182/boilermaker002de1is7.jpg
...preferably Jack Daniel's and Killian's Red, please.

[mattifikation]

Survival takes a backseat when the car's in reverse. In other words, it always goes first.

Sure, relax and drink a few. But not until you've taken survival first, and made sure there's somebody else there to watch your butt 'till your sober again.

[Dave Of The Dead]

The biggest no-no drug for a ZPAW would be the ones who make you bat sh*t insane. PCP, LSD, or any hallucination for that matter is BAD!

[UseYourHeadCutOffTheirs]

Leave no one behind! When the ratio is more than 1,000 to 1 I think I want to save and help as many as I can. Of course taking and not giving when it comes to looters and renegades....


Drugs and alcohol other than pain killers for there prescribed use will not be something i will indulge in. I want to know that my brain and function is at top performance when it comes to staying alive. I don't want anything damping my ability to react and think in a deadly situation.

I must say though i am a natural born pothead....I will have to take a gb every once in awhile....Not too much though, I don't want to get sloppy or start eating too much precious food. Just the occasional juice box and gushers:lol:


I would LOVE a beer too! but only if I knew where I was was pretty damn safe for me to take such a risk as becoming drunk.

[Faran Brigo]

Survival takes a backseat when the car's in reverse. In other words, it always goes first.

It sounds reasonable, but I do think that being human, most of us have something (or someone) worth dying over in our lives, and that's fine. I for one think if the highest value for me was survival, my life would be pestilent and agonizing, since I know I will eventually die so it'd be fighting a losing battle. I want to have something worth more than survival.

[Augustus Desius]

I think survival never really takes a back seat, but there are many hours in the day to find pleasure after the chores of life are done.

To answer the questions though:
1: I would only leave them behind if they were sure to die, and then I would kill them myself as painlessly as I can possibly manage. I would fight for my friends life until the odds against either of us surviving becomes too slim to risk anymore.

2: Ammo first, I don't drink (tastes bad to me). Unless I was running dry on disinfectants.

3: I'll be pillaging the dead whenever possible, if I come across food that looks uneffected, I'll be a lucky man.

Depending on how long I've been in the ZPAW, I may just stay clear of the pharmacy all together. The compounds in drugs all have different corruption rates, and I don't know any of them. If it's still early on, I'll get there in time to find stuff, otherwise, no deal.

On Chronic, I've never done it, but I hear it's relaxing. If I'm in the right climate, I may try to grow some to help me unwind after a terrible ordeal, though I don't like the idea of using mood altering chemicals, especially inhaled variants.

Mother and Child: I would like to take the survivor route, but I don't know if I could. It's really hard to leave people to die when you may be able to help.

[beyerwrestler]

If my best bud was injured in anyway and there were zombies coming i would ruch to him and pull him along with me firing potshots behind me at the zeds.

As for the ammo or Dr. Pepper (I dont drink so that whatd be there :)) Id chug the DP and grab the ammo.

I dont even want to be remotely near the undead so i wouldnt go through any zombies pockets. But in my town there would be no problem finding food.
Im surrounded by groves of apples, peaches, almonds, grapes, and apricots. So id have enough to eat:drinking:

Well since im deathly allergic to penicillin and i oxy cotin really makes me ill id have to say id grab the important meds :drool:

[Zombreach]

These are easy questions:

1) I would definitely help my best friend no matter how badly broken her leg was or how far safety was. I couldn't live with myself otherwise.

2) I would definitely take the ammo first and the bottle of booze second (and only if there was room in my pack).

3) No matter how starving I was, I wouldn't eat any food found on a zombie. No food wrapper is resistant enough to rotting body fluids, in my opinion, to allow me to eat it. I would, however, search the body for other useful items. I have touched worse things. I can only hope I would have gloves though. :puke:

4) At a pharmacy, I would take only medicines that would be useful and that I am familiar with. No recreational drugs, but maybe some mild pain killers and relaxants.

5) Starving mother and child are coming with me. I agree with the "leave no man (or woman) behind".

Unfortunately, some of these decisions would get me killed. Maybe that is why I scored so low on the zombie survival test. :cry:

[Mitchell Withrow]

In the run and your best friend's leg is broken, do you help him even though the zombies might catch up to your slower pace?


No Zombie will catch up to me. I would ditch my pack and carry my friend to safety.

Im sure if we were in the run from Zombies by friend's adrenaline would be going enough for him to hop on one foot fast as I can jog. Espescialy with my assistance by carrying him.


Already got a full pack and there is a box of ammo beside a bottle of your favorite booze, which do you take?

:drinking: I would drink some boos, then take the ammo.

If you're starving, do you run the pockets of the nasty rotting zombie you just killed for the small chance he might have a candy bar on him?

Im not going through the Pockets of a Z-BO unless Im looking for car keys. PERIOD!

[DevilsRain]

When it is survival!

[Panther7]

i am a sucker for italion wine..

[Dagnammit]

It's worth bearing in mind that protecting a loved one or tending to an injured friend are both examples of empathy, which itself evolved as a survival drive - if you help others, others will be more likely to help you when you need it.

[Bob]

It depends on what SHE looks like.

[BioWeapon]

Family and Hot Chicks, after all, life isn't about surviving, but passing on your genes.

Close friends too - Cooperative behavior is advantagous - I won't go too much into it, but research "Game theory" and related things. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

Like in war .... everyone must be prepared to fight and die for the greater good, if they aren't the whole group is doomed. A group where every individual would give their life to save 50 other individuals will do far better than a group where every individual would sacrafice 50 individuals to save themselves.

If I know other members of the group would risk their life for me, I will do the same.

If you give me reason to doubt your commitment to the "defensive/group survival pact" your arse is on your own if helping it endangers my life.

If you look like you could be of use to me (badarse MoFo who I want watching my back, or a girl I'd like to ge ton her back), I would take a small calculated risk to help you, and we could build trust from there, as each person demonstrates they could be trusted more, the acceptable risk goes up.
If you are useless to me, and haven't been of use to me in the past (such as friend who saved my life, but is now blind and has a broken leg), I won't be taking any risks for you.

[secretcog]

My thoughts, put in the same format as Jimmy, I like his approach

Ya...what he said!

[JakAttak]

Giggity?

any way I've never been down with the whole "greater good" thing. In the gospel according to Jack I am the greatest good.

[UNDEAD FRED]

If your best friend got hurt, busted ankle, broken leg, ect.., but not a zombie bite, would you stand by your bro to the end, and try to save him/her? Or would you say later days? How far would you go for your team, or your best friends when the dead start to walk?

[UNDEAD FRED]

errrrrrr, got moved:x

[mattifikation]

is this my super hot chick friend or my kinda weird dude friend

makes a big different. my super hot shick friend i ould pretect until the end in acse she was like "whoa you actually are a DUDE wioth a PENIS and if i stopped dating douch hole fvck tards i might acutally realize that there are decent guys who like me also!"

that'd be pretty worth a zombie outbreak. yup.

[Dave Of The Dead]

is this my super hot chick friend or my kinda weird dude friend

makes a big different. my super hot shick friend i ould pretect until the end in acse she was like "whoa you actually are a DUDE wioth a PENIS and if i stopped dating douch hole fvck tards i might acutally realize that there are decent guys who like me also!"

that'd be pretty worth a zombie outbreak. yup.

I hear ya. When will girls ever realize that they don't have to be with an asshole to be "loved." Nice guys have dicks too!

Anyway, I guess it does depend on who is was in my team. If it were one of my top guys or gals, sure I would carry them to a safe spot or something. Even if they were injured, their knowledge will be a great advantage to planning and surviving in general. But if it were just some survivor we picked up who hasn't really contributed anything to our team, lets say my ex fiance who doesn't know how to do shit except eat, sleep, and bitch, then yeah, I would leave them. It would buy the more useful members time to get the hell out of there. So in the end, they finally contribute to the team's survival.
You may call me a cold hearted bastard and I know a couple of you have before, but really, if someone isn't willing to work and learn new skills to help the group, then they don't deserve to be in the group in the first place. I know surviving any kind of an apocalypse is probably the furthest from most of everyone's minds, but life is too boring not to try and learn new skills like shooting, building, electronics, tying knots for **** sakes! Its not hard and it doesn't take a lot of time! A hobby can save your life some day so pick one up you lazy bastards!

I'm sorry. That turned into a rant didn't it?

[1337ZM613HN73R]

If I raided a pharmacy I would raid the place and hopefully find as much welbutrin I can find... Without those meds, I would be more scared of myself sitting there with a gun, I wouldn't worry about killing anyone else, just myself.

[Bob]

One of my posts went MIA from this thread.

[kiltedninja]

Survival takes the back seat when you're too goddamn drunk to see straight and you still spell better than HomeliteXL.:lol:

No, but for serious, my current state of sobriety aside, I think that it takes the back seat when any real human life is in danger, and it's within your power to help them.

And people who will just fvck you in the ass aren't real humans, they're faker than fake, because a real human has compassion, and they understand the concept of 'you saved my life, so I'm gonna be loyal to you, to show how thankful I am.' People who are just lookin' out for number one, no matter who gets hurt are fvckin stupid.

[Sammo909]

Well, in the extreme cases of one person running down the street screaming like mad, followed by Zeds while I watch from my secure shelter I might have to leave them. They obviously can't handle the stress and they've brought a truckload of infected to my refuge, not to mention by the time I get up and out they'd be halfway down the block, not worth it.

With the best friend limping scenario, I'd give them a hand, how could I not?

Ammo vs. Booze, I don't drink so that's a no-brainer, less weight to unneeded supplies and someone to take watch while you sleep it off.

Starving and pickpocket a Zed? I find hunger pretty easy to tolerate, actually. I was a pretty fussy eater as a child but my parents wouldn't cater to my tastes so I simply learned to get by on less food. It's lingered into adulthood so as long as the growling stomach doesn't give my location away when I'm hiding I should be fine with sporadic meals.

Woman and child? That is a little tougher, my first instinct would be to help them, definitely. But would I take them to my refuge, further straining any resources I have? If I was already part of a group or had ample space and supplies that would be more likely but if I was surviving solo in a small refuge I might just help them get somewhere safer or spare some food and have to move on.

I don't like the thought of that.

[Dave Of The Dead]

Survival takes the back seat when you're too goddamn drunk to see straight and you still spell better than HomeliteXL.:lol:

No, but for serious, my current state of sobriety aside, I think that it takes the back seat when any real human life is in danger, and it's within your power to help them.

And people who will just fvck you in the ass aren't real humans, they're faker than fake, because a real human has compassion, and they understand the concept of 'you saved my life, so I'm gonna be loyal to you, to show how thankful I am.' People who are just lookin' out for number one, no matter who gets hurt are fvckin stupid.

I think it would honestly depend on the situation. If the person had a clean slate or maybe a couple fvck ups (meaning endangering the group not by accident, but because of their own stupidity), then I would definitely help them if I could. But if they were surrounded, injured, and screaming out to attract more zombies, then no. Its a no go.

Oh yeah and you're right, I'm not human. I'm a robot from the future with AI.

[bandits1]

Survival takes the back seat when you're too goddamn drunk to see straight and you still spell better than HomeliteXL.:lol:

No, but for serious, my current state of sobriety aside, I think that it takes the back seat when any real human life is in danger, and it's within your power to help them.

And people who will just fvck you in the ass aren't real humans, they're faker than fake, because a real human has compassion, and they understand the concept of 'you saved my life, so I'm gonna be loyal to you, to show how thankful I am.' People who are just lookin' out for number one, no matter who gets hurt are fvckin stupid.
That's the whole key, right there. If I think there's even a small chance I can help, I will try. But if, in my estimation, there is near-zero chance of success and it's basically a suicide-mission, I'd probably opt to survive(except for my family - I don't think I could leave any of them behind).

[homelitexl]

i wouldnt be worried bout my family your more likely to see a group of zeds running away from ONE OF them with them in pursuit, anyway there aint much i would stop for a friend whos injured and i know i can make it to safety with them, my gf needs me in anyway, or vjs burned down the outpost then i owuld just be pissed kidding aside on vj, yeah my gf is the most important thing in the world to me sure we fight and argue over what kind of house we want, but we still stay together and id do anything for her.