Hi! So, as the title says I accidentally started a D&Z campaign! (D&Z is D&D but make it zombie apocalypse. Like it uses the same mechanics)

Basically, me and some friends of mine had a roleplay going on but it kinda died off and we started making AUs for it and eventually I had the idea of "Zombie AU!" And the idea of a roleplay with stats and stuff had been rolling around in my head for some time until one of the players suggested we make it a D&D campaign! People started saying that would be cool and BOOM! Now I'm a first time DM!

This game is going to be set in a discord server (as in the chats) and I'm planning for this thing to have three types of game play. "Main Event" Basically when we are doing major plot stuff and actually playing the game. "Mini Events" Which players can suggest. They are basically Main Events but not plot important. Planning for there the be reputation thing going on there. And "Roleplay" where the players can just roleplay with no plot!
I'm also going to let people play multiple characters but during Events they have to pick one character to play that whole thing. Basically, only one character can be used for rolls and fighting. Since this originally started as a roleplay I don't want to let the players not play them. 

So far, my main plot idea is these Acts.
Act 1: They party forms their group and finds the school they will set up at (this arc will end with fighting a lot of zombies to open the school.)
Part 1: The apocalypse begins. Players might be separated into two groups during this and will be allowed to go look around their homes or work places for supplies (workplaces will be more dangerous)
Part 2: The two groups mix together, and they will somehow get info on or remember a school on the outskirts of town.
Part 3: The party journeys to said school and clean it out.
Mini Events: will be themed around getting supplies to make the school more home like.
Act 2: One of our players has an AI/android character named FINC-H and said eventually he's going to decide for shut off to save power for when real emergence happen. So, I'd like to make this at least have a few things surrounding it as a nice send off to him since he will only appear for major medical emergencies.
Act 3: Infection.
Part 1: Will star my character Bong-cha being infected and basically seeing how players will handle an infected party member. (AKA dmpc)
Mini Events: Will probably focus on looking for help or miracle cure.
Somewhere in this arc two characters will find some of their loved ones.

I have a few extra ideas like having the party move to a place with better energy recourses or they have to go out farther to get better items to upgrade the school. 
But so far, I have no clue what to do as a satisfying ending.

Help is SERIOUSLY NEEDED! I AM NEW TO DMING AND ANY PLOT HELP OR DMING TIPS WOULD BE GREAT THANK YOU

Why have you planned ever action the party takes like it's a play?

Quote from Jurmondur >>

Why have you planned ever action the party takes like it's a play?

I'm not trying too... Once again first time DM who only has experience with hosting Roleplays and even those I was a co-host and helped more on the technical end.

I'm trying more to set up a skeleton of sorts? But I could see it forming more as a play instead... I really want my players to feel like they have choice in this. Most of the stuff I mentioned was stuff that we had in the original alternative universe so I kind of assumed they'd follow that same plot... Though there is the chance they won't.

(FINC-H's player said when we came up with whole thing of me hosting that he would become more of an NPC and then they would play their other character entirely. And Bong-cha is my little demon spawn, so the players don't have much control over her whatever stupidity she pulls.)

I genuinely have no clue how to write down campaign plans... I've always played as a player and never as the DM. So, this is all new to me. So, anything helps 😭 

I have Taken place and Dmed multiple D&Z campaigns (though I didn't know they were called that.) And we have had quite the satisfying endings, but of course, there will always be more endings then you think. In Dungeons and dragons (and most good RPG's) the choices you make will branch into new ones and eventually allow for multiple different NPC interactions, relationships between characters, world events, and of course the ending of the game. Here are a few Ideas:

• Generic happy ending: (da virus yay!) how this happens is up to you. Because as part of the worldbuilding you need to decide how this virus even exists!
• Last of us ending: maybe you didn't end up literally saving the world, but you survived the night and made friends along the way
• Project 21 ending: You can't end the virus... but you can nuke California and stop it from spreading!
• Vermin ending: Ya'll become zombies... probably not the most satisfying but if you want free choice this will always be an option for the players.

Anyways, Those are some endings but truly, (and I know I just gave you four of them) you shouldn't really be worrying so much about the ending now. Instead of making it a layout like you just did. think about major plot points until you get to a mandatory MAJOR MAJOR plot point and you can call it an act, and it sort of just falls into place like that. You can usually end up with three or four "acts"

From point to point think of it like a map of branching paths that get progressively larger like a tree. Of course it is not like a video game where you can plan exact responses for every dialogue option. But with some skill and planning you can write out enough of the plot and the important NPC's motives and personality to roleplay in any situation. This is a skill a DM simply gains over time, but thinks like Improv exercises are good practice for someone who's just started.

Oh, one final tip (I know I just wrote a whole essay) Don't overthink it too much, remember that whole point is just to have fun and bond with the people at your table. It's like I always say: worst case scenario, its a learning experience. Just remember that as long as everyone's having fun, you're doing your job as a Dm and you're getting better every session.

Quote from Cleseus_Of_Castigonia >>

I have Taken place and Dmed multiple D&Z campaigns (though I didn't know they were called that.) And we have had quite the satisfying endings, but of course, there will always be more endings then you think. In Dungeons and dragons (and most good RPG's) the choices you make will branch into new ones and eventually allow for multiple different NPC interactions, relationships between characters, world events, and of course the ending of the game. Here are a few Ideas:

• Generic happy ending: (da virus yay!) how this happens is up to you. Because as part of the worldbuilding you need to decide how this virus even exists!
• Last of us ending: maybe you didn't end up literally saving the world, but you survived the night and made friends along the way
• Project 21 ending: You can't end the virus... but you can nuke California and stop it from spreading!
• Vermin ending: Ya'll become zombies... probably not the most satisfying but if you want free choice this will always be an option for the players.

Anyways, Those are some endings but truly, (and I know I just gave you four of them) you shouldn't really be worrying so much about the ending now. Instead of making it a layout like you just did. think about major plot points until you get to a mandatory MAJOR MAJOR plot point and you can call it an act, and it sort of just falls into place like that. You can usually end up with three or four "acts"

From point to point think of it like a map of branching paths that get progressively larger like a tree. Of course it is not like a video game where you can plan exact responses for every dialogue option. But with some skill and planning you can write out enough of the plot and the important NPC's motives and personality to roleplay in any situation. This is a skill a DM simply gains over time, but thinks like Improv exercises are good practice for someone who's just started.

Oh, one final tip (I know I just wrote a whole essay) Don't overthink it too much, remember that whole point is just to have fun and bond with the people at your table. It's like I always say: worst case scenario, its a learning experience. Just remember that as long as everyone's having fun, you're doing your job as a Dm and you're getting better every session.

D&Z is a homebrew thing I found online so that's why I'm referring to it as that.
THIS IS THE EXACT RESPONSE I NEEDED! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! D&D Zombie Apocalypse | D&Z | A Post-Apocalyptic TTRPG

If you want to write another essay, feel free, I don't mind XD This definitely is going to help me a lot. I'm more a planner but the only two DMs I can talk to whenever don't plan much (like my brother has a campaign he for a while planned NOTHING for and just did whatever came to mind. And that power scares me a little bit lol) So this I'd say is a bit more in line with what I need especially since I am newest newbie to ever newbie lol!

I've currently got a thread going on in the original server with some questions for them to answer! So hopefully that will help with a lot of my worries and planning!

Thankfully I already have a good grasp of what the group is like since I've been in at least two roleplays with each player and the characters are being reused from what we were doing originally. The players are honestly some of the most supportive people I could be starting out with ;v; 

Once again thank you so much for the tips! Might post some minor updates in case I feel I should, or I need help.

I'm glad to help! I looked into the D&Z stuff. It seems really cool! Sort of reminds me of the Blades in the Dark, or even EZD6.

If you want to ask any questions I'd try to answer to the best of my ability. After all I have all this zombie D&D knowledge just floating around my brain. Yeah, and thanks for actually reading that whole thing (:

Quote from Cleseus_Of_Castigonia >>

I'm glad to help! I looked into the D&Z stuff. It seems really cool! Sort of reminds me of the Blades in the Dark, or even EZD6.

If you want to ask any questions I'd try to answer to the best of my ability. After all I have all this zombie D&D knowledge just floating around my brain. Yeah, and thanks for actually reading that whole thing (:

 
Once again thank you!

I've started working on the campaign and the world (We had a lot of the stuff down just needed some other stuff figured out) And a question popped into why head. How far into the Zombie apocalypse did you start with your campaign? I'm currently planning for us to start at the very beginning when the infection has started getting to people and they are actually becoming zombies. Basically, I'll let them collect items or not (their choice the first few days are basically going to be The Purge) I don't know this is just an idea I'm spit balling. Just curious how other campaigns have handled the start.

I played a good few zombie D&D's and here's pretty much how some of the intros were.

1. Wake up in a hospital after an injury. Eventually we all meet up here. At first it was just me, Alex, and Luke, and this hospital was a pretty significant part of the game. Luke actually died, but eventually returned as Alin. This campaign was about 6 years into the virus.

2.Going to school one day, you see crazy dudes running in the street and the bus driver just dips leaving you on your own. The first 'act' basically was reuniting with freinds and family and making your way towards school, which is adjacent to a military base and fire department, as your best hope for a save haven. This one was right at the start of the virus.

3. Going camping, riding on a mountain highway road at night, when you swerve off after seeing multiple figures shambling in the middle of the road. You are lucky to survive but your car is destroyed, so now you're in the woods at night. This was a more horror themed Zombie D&D, where the virus was confined to the playing area, but the virus itself has been going around for a long time.

4. The classic: At a zombie survival camp some 20 years into the virus's existence. The players meet up here and, after some side questing, hear about a potential cure out of military bounds for this virus. Its the best chance they've got though.

So yeah, those should be enough to work with. I actually ran a few solo campaigns with just me and my friend using EZD6 concept. That's another not if you want some more intros that would probably be hard to use, but for the setting.

Neat! Thanks for sharing your experience!

It's difficult trying to figure out how the party's characters are going to meet. While our group has a lot of characters. Probably going to pull a class reunion thing since the players decide they all went to a school with a lot of international students idk. Especially since I'm planning to start this thing at the very start, but I might start it with the apocalypse a month in... I can at least group party members for some reason that way.

I also have to figure out since I'm using real world places how those certain areas would react to an apocalypse compared to other countries... You know lots of fun O_O Though hopefully starting a month after the breakout will help a lot with that.

The story and little quests are forming though! So that's at least good!