NPCs

NPCs (non-player characters) are game characters controlled by the game's artificial intelligence. ZDay, being an MMO, will feature a multitude of NPCs, from quest givers to hostile survivors. Different types of NPCs mentioned in the design doc include:

HUMAN NPCs (VISIBLE)
Visible NPCs the player will actually meet and interact with. There are various types of human NPCs that inhabit the map. They will interact with both players and zombies and will be friendly, indifferent or hostile to players.

Scavengers(Indifferent)
Scavengers are survivors much like the player characters, they are out looking for supplies and on the lookout for zombies. Whilst they won't attack other players unless provoked, they won't always help them either. Scavengers are armed and will attack zombies.

Refugees (Indifferent)
Refugees are unarmed survivors and are usually found huddled away in safe houses. They will run and hide from any kind of danger. Refugees barter other supplies if you offer them food or water and may also offer up information.

Crackpots (Hostile)
Crackpots are lone or small groups (up to 4) survivors that have holed themselves in a particular position and will shoot at anything or anyone that gets too close. Their positions are heavily barricaded and difficult to break into.

Medical Staff (Friendly)
Small groups of medical staff can be found that have set up a make-shift medical facility, usually in a hospital or doctors surgery. Medical staff will administer anti-virus and give full health to anyone that comes to see them.

Fanatics (Hostile)
Fanatics are religious zealots that believe Zombies are possessed by evil and have come to claim all the evil souls from amongst the living. They also believe that the zombies will only leave the world once all the evil souls have been claimed. They are actively helping in killing all the evil souls in the world. Of course they also believe that the only ones the are not evil are themselves and so therefore actively go about killing survivors. They tend to roam in groups of 5-10 for periods of time before retreating back their safe houses.

Transport Network Contacts (Friendly)
The Transport Network is a loose network of survivors that provide a transport service between zones. Occasionally members from the Transport Network will contact players and offer transportation to another zone, usually in exchange for a large amount of supplies. Once transportation has been arranged players will be given a time and place to rendezvous for the journey.

HUMAN NPCs (DISTANT)
Distant NPCs are not actually visible to the player and cannot be interacted with, however their presence will effect the player.

Fanatic Snipers (Hostile)
Fanatic snipers are usually camped in high vantage points around the outskirts of a zone and will attempt to shoot at survivors spotted in high or open places. While their shooting is not very accurate they make staying in the open for too long a dangerous past-time.

Military Helicopters (Friendly & Hostile)
Military helicopters will occasionally fly over survivor zones and shoot at zombies in an effort to help the survivors in the zone. Military helicopters also patrol the no-go zones and will shoot at anything they spot trying to enter or move through a no-go zone.

Artillery (Hostile)
Anything spotted moving in a no-go zone may be hit with an artillery barrage.

Military Air Drops (Friendly)
Periodically the military will drop supplies of food, water, medicine, anti-virus and vaccine into survivor areas to aid the survivors.

Broadcasts
The military provide constant radio broadcast into the survivor areas advising of supply drops, reported zombie outbreaks, air strike/patrol and warnings not to enter the no-go areas.