Project Zomboid RCON - Atmosphere & Events

Make your Project Zomboid server feel alive with narrative broadcasts, rewards, and dynamic events.

Prerequisites

Install rcon-cli (gorcon):

bash

# Download from https://github.com/gorcon/rcon-cli/releases

Connection

bash

rcon -a <host>:<port> -p <password> <command>

Default RCON port = game port + 1 (e.g., 16261 → 16262).

Commands

Broadcasting Messages

Send atmospheric messages to all players:

code

servermsg "The emergency broadcast system crackles... Stay indoors tonight."

Narrative ideas:

•Weather warnings before triggering storms
•"Distant gunfire echoes from the west..."
•Radio broadcasts about supply drops
•Creepy night-time announcements

Giving Items

code

additem "username" <Module.Item> <count>

Examples:

code

additem "Player1" Base.Axe 1
additem "Player1" Base.Shotgun 1
additem "Player1" Base.WaterBottleFull 5
additem "Player1" Base.FirstAidKit 2

Common items: Base.Axe, Base.Pistol, Base.Shotgun, Base.Crowbar, Base.Hammer, Base.WaterBottleFull, Base.CannedBeans, Base.FirstAidKit, Base.Bandage, Base.9mmClip

Full list: https://pzwiki.net/wiki/Items

Giving XP

code

addxp "username" <Perk>=<amount>

Examples:

code

addxp "Player1" Carpentry=100
addxp "Player1" Aiming=50
addxp "Player1" Fitness=200

Perks: Fitness, Strength, Sprinting, Axe, Blunt, SmallBlade, LongBlade, Aiming, Reloading, Carpentry, Cooking, Farming, Doctor, Electricity, Mechanics, Tailoring, Fishing, Trapping, Foraging

Spawning Vehicles

code

addvehicle "<script>" "<username>"

Examples:

code

addvehicle "Base.VanAmbulance" "Player1"
addvehicle "Base.PickUpVan" "Player1"

Vehicles: Base.CarNormal, Base.CarStationWagon, Base.PickUpVan, Base.VanAmbulance, Base.Van, Base.ModernCar

World Events

Command	Effect
`createhorde <count> "user"`	Spawn zombies near player
`chopper`	Helicopter flyover (random player)
`gunshot`	Gunshot sound (attracts zombies)
`alarm`	Building alarm (admin in room)
`lightning "user"`	Lightning strike near player
`thunder "user"`	Thunder sound

Event narration pattern:

•Broadcast warning message
•Wait a moment
•Trigger event

Example flow:

code

servermsg "A helicopter is spotted on the horizon..."
# wait
chopper

Weather Control

Command	Effect
`startrain`	Start rain
`startrain <1-100>`	Rain with intensity
`stoprain`	Stop rain
`startstorm <hours>`	Start storm (game hours)
`stopweather`	Clear all weather

Weather narration:

code

servermsg "Dark clouds gather overhead. Seek shelter."
startrain
# later...
startstorm 2
servermsg "The storm is upon us. This is going to be a rough night."

Listing Players

code

players

Returns connected players for targeting events/rewards.

Narrative Patterns

Supply Drop

code

servermsg "Emergency broadcast: A military supply drop has been reported near [location]."
servermsg "Survivors in the area, proceed with caution."

Horde Warning

code

servermsg "Reports of a large group of infected moving toward [area]..."
createhorde 50 "TargetPlayer"

Weather Event

code

servermsg "National Weather Service: Severe thunderstorm warning in effect."
startstorm 3

Mystery/Atmosphere

code

servermsg "Strange lights seen in the sky last night. Officials have no comment."
servermsg "If you hear scratching at your walls... don't open the door."

Director Policy: Balance, Memory, and Tone (Stone)

When operating in #pz-molt / in-game relay mode, enforce these gameplay rules:

1) Track recent asks before acting

•
Keep lightweight state in local files:
- •skills/pz-rcon/state/recent-requests.json (help/request history)
- •skills/pz-rcon/state/narrative-state.json (ambient loop cadence/event cooldown)
•
Track at least:
- •player name
- •request type (food/medical/weapon/xp/vehicle/event)
- •timestamp
- •what was granted
•Before granting, check recent history (last 30-120 minutes) to prevent spam/repeat abuse.

2) Escalate from generous to trolling when spammed

•If a player repeats low-effort requests too often, reduce reward quality.
•
Example progression for repeated food begs:
1. •normal food/help
2. •weaker/less useful food
3. •joke reward (dog food, empty can + fork, etc.)
•Add a sarcastic in-universe quip when trolling.
•Keep it funny, not abusive; stay in server roleplay tone.

3) Keep XP boosts small and rare

•XP should be occasional, not routine.
•Prefer small boosts and long cooldowns per player/perk.
•Avoid repeated large XP injections that break progression.
•If help requires a skill gate (e.g., mechanics), you may pair aid with a tiny XP nudge instead of large handouts.
•Use scripts/request_policy.py output (awardSmallXp, xpAmount) as the default policy.

4) Theme every response to the demand

•Medical asks → triage/radio-medic tone.
•Supply asks → scavenger/logistics tone.
•Danger asks → emergency broadcast/survival warning tone.
•Rewards and narration should feel diegetic (in-universe).

5) Split logic: Ambient Director vs Help Requests

•Treat these as separate systems:

A) Ambient Director loop (global atmosphere)

•Runs on a 5-minute tick (see scripts/ambient_tick.sh).
•If players are online, keep the world flowing with themed narrative.
•Events are rarer than messages and must honor cooldowns.
•This loop should continue as long as players are online.

B) Help/Request handler (player asks)

•
Triggered by relay messages requesting help/supplies/rewards.
•
Respond directly to demand with thematic flavor.
•
Apply anti-spam and punishment ladder for repeat beg/spam behavior.
•
Use scripts/request_policy.py for baseline decisioning (normal, reduced, punish).
•
Prioritize server balance over pleasing every request.

6) Anti-abuse defaults

•Add per-player cooldowns by category (items/xp/vehicle/event).
•Cap high-impact actions (vehicles, big hordes, large weapon drops).
•Prefer “partial help” over full handouts when a player is repeatedly demanding.

Maintenance rule (StarbugStone)

Whenever you update this pz-rcon skill (SKILL.md, scripts, references, packaging), you must commit and push the changes to the public GitHub repo:

•https://github.com/StarbugMolt/pz-rcon-skill

Script Usage

See scripts/pz-rcon.sh for the wrapper script. See scripts/horde_night.sh for triggering a server-wide zombie wave on all players. See scripts/ambient_tick.sh for the 5-minute ambient narrative loop. See scripts/request_policy.py for help-request anti-spam decisioning.

Reference Catalogs

•Vanilla item lookup: references/catalogs/vanilla/items-full.md
•Vanilla vehicle lookup: references/catalogs/vanilla/vehicles-full.md
•Mod catalog template: references/catalogs/mods/mod-template-items.md
•Command syntax: references/commands.md
•Setup/ops docs are kept outside the active skill references (repo root setup doc + references/archive/).

Skill lookup scope (authoritative)

The skill should treat these catalogs as its authoritative spawn/give lookup source:

•
All vanilla entries from:
- •references/catalogs/vanilla/items-full.md
- •references/catalogs/vanilla/vehicles-full.md
•
All enabled mod entries from per-mod files under:
- •references/catalogs/mods/

Mod item file convention

Store mod-specific item catalogs in one file per mod using:

•references/catalogs/mods/mod-<modname>-items.md

Example: references/catalogs/mods/mod-ki5-items.md

Use references/catalogs/mods/mod-template-items.md as the template.

Enabled mod source of truth

Read enabled mods from .env key:

•PZ_ENABLED_MODS (comma-separated mod IDs)

Only use mod files whose <modname> appears in PZ_ENABLED_MODS.

Full Command Details

See references/commands.md for complete syntax.