A Universl Zombie RPG Add-On Brk Blckburn
Assuming you re plying gme tht uses dice for tsk resolution, the Zombie Die cn be semlessly integrted into your gme. Zombies! Thnks to George Romero, Zombies re prt of geek-cnon these dys, but the definition of zombie is very much up for debte. Are they fst? Are they slow? Do they subsist on brins? Wht mde them zombies? There re novels, movies, TV shows, comicbooks, nd numerous roleplying gmes nd supplements deling with zombies, nd it seems like everyone hs their own opinion of wht qulifies s n cceptble zombie. Gmes Tht Don t Use Dice If you re using gme tht doesn t use dice, or mybe gme tht doesn t use rndomizer t ll, be cretive. If it is crd-bsed mechnic, hve plyers drw crd fter they ply crd, nd check the result. If you re using one of the gmes tht hs no rndomizer, consider bring deck of crds to the tble, or sking plyers to sully their nrrtive hnds using dice, perhps, rolling two dice of different colors, with one being the Zombie Die. The dice do not hve to be the sme size even: so, GM could sk plyer to roll d10 nd d8, with the d8 cting s the Zombie Die. As with nything, your milege my vry, nd this supplement is not designed to force you to incorporte ny type of specific zombies into your gme. There is no Zombie Agend within the text of this supplement. Insted, this supplement is designed to bring some of the nrrtive elements of zombie film to your tbletop gme, nd mke the plyers nd their chrcters feel s if they were in zombie film (or comic, TV show, novel, etc). Stripping out the specifics of your zombie of choice, there re two elements tht mke zombie film zombie film, in this uthor s opinion: Wht is the Zombie Die? The Jump Scre: The protgonists think they re sfe, nd BAM! There is zombie in the kitchen cbinet! The GM determines the size of the Zombie Die (d4, d6, d8, nd so on), depending on the tension for the prticulr scene. Any time chrcter is rolling dice for ny sort of tsk resolution, they hve to roll Zombie Die with their roll. Prnoi: Wht cuses people to get infected? Wht mkes them turn on one nother? When do people lose their morlity so much tht they re willing to tke humn life? If the nturl roll of the Zombie Die is higher thn the nturl roll of the Tsk Resolution Die, Something Bd Hppens. (Note: GMs will likely wnt to keep piece of pper hppy with the nmes of ll significnt PCs nd NPCs on it, nd record every Zombie Success!) And this micro-supplement is designed to give GMs tool to help increse the drmtic tension t their tble utilizing these two elements. And thus, Spectrum Gmes is proud to present to you the Zombie Die! 2.
Something Bd Hppens infected, nd risk becoming Zombies. Some GMs might wnt very grnulr system for this, but I offer up tht such systems tke ll the drm nd prnoi wy from the genre. Recll, the Zombie Die is nrrtive tool designed to spice things up! Wht does it men when Something Bd Hppens? I will offer up two possible (nd common) nrrtive elements tht should hve your plyers, nd their chrcters feeling the tension. But Something Bd doesn t hve to be noticeble effect, the GM cn simply mke nottion on their pper, nd smile t the plyers. The plyers know tht Something Bd hs Hppened, but Something Bd might be Hppening off-cmer. So, ech time Something Bd Hppens, the GM just nods, nd mkes nottion next to the chrcter(s) who hd Something Bd Hppen. Tht s ll. How mny times must Something Bd Hppen before Infection? Well, my dvice would simply be to not stick to specific number, nd vry the number from chrcter to chrcter, but in the end, once is enough. More Zombies: This one is esy. More Zombies! Although the chrcters thought they were thorough, lthough they thought they burned ll the zombies, lthough they thought they hd secured their rmshckle frm house/ impenetrble keep, they were wrong. More Zombies show up. It could be just one Zombie who gets in free ttck, nd is esily disposed of, or it could be tht the Zombies hve broken down the door, or found wy in! It could be tht the Zombie rm not connected to ny body, grbs plyer chrcter. Some gmes require encounters to be crefully crfted to be enjoyble, others do not. And just becuse Something Bd Hppens doesn t men tht it hs to be difficult encounter. But, the GM should record it, becuse likely, there re lso More Zombies somewhere else. Red tht gin. Once is enough. Should n infected plyer become Zombie nd thus n NPC? Mybe. But mybe, or more interestingly, the fellow chrcters know they re infected, nd mybe being Zombie isn t ll bd? So consider giving n infected plyer some benefits, known or unbeknownst to them, for exmple, heightened strength, greter bility to tke dmge, or Zombie senses. Go crzy depending on wht the Zombies re like in your gme. And mybe it isn t n encounter t ll, mybe it is simply tht the PCs know tht their impenetrble fortress is going to be breched sometime, nd tht sometime is sometime soon! Oh, the Plyers, they Doth Protest: No, the Zombie totlly didn t brek my skin, I ws wering hermeticlly seled suit, nd the Zombie never even hit me! Your Zombie gme should not hve to del with such things. After ll, isn t it relly ll bout Something Bd Hppening? Infection: Wht mkes Zombie? This is difficult, lmost existentil question to sk, nd is very much dependent on ech specific GM. But one thing is lmost lwys certin, within the Zombie genre there is chnce tht chrcters will get Flshbck Storytelling: So, the dice hve determined tht Something Bd Hppens, nd s GM you hve notted this, but Something Bd doesn t necessrily need to hppen right wy, nor does it need to be something tht 3.
Wht Sized Die: So, wht sized die should you sk plyers to roll? For moment tht is reltively clm nd peceful, you might sk the plyers to only roll d4, when they re rolling d20 for tsk resolution. The chnces of the d20 rolling lower thn the d4 re slim, but there is lwys tht chnce. Hve hndful of dice redy, tht is d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, d30, d100, mybe even d1000! And when tht d4 rolls 3 nd the d20 rolls 2, it brings in tht wonderful rndom element tht only dice cn provide! And if the plyers re knee-deep in very dngerous re, they my well be rolling d100 versus their d20 for tsk resolution. you tell the plyers bout right wy. Mke mentl note of when nd how Something Bd Hppened to specific plyer, nd then lter on, when they question you bout Something Bd, feel free to expnd upon Scene tht lredy hppened. Explin to them, how when they were locking the door, some wter trickled into tht smll cut on their fce, or how tht hngnil they were deling with erlier might hve come in contct with the Zombies in melee. Prnoi: If Plyer hs hd Something Bd hppen to them, or mybe Something Bd hs hppened severl times, this gives the GM the uthority to describe possible effects. Alert the other plyers to how mybe tht one chrcter got Zombie goo splttered on them, nd mybe some ended up in their mouth, explin how their complexion is becoming greyer in nture, explin to them how one chrcter is sweting profusely, how their eyes re glzing over. Breed prnoi. Becuse, it isn t bout letting plyers become Zombies, it is bout mking the other plyers think they might become Zombies. Every Roll? Yes. Every time plyer is rolling dice, they should be rolling Zombie Die. This brings the wonderful element of chnce nd dnger to every ction. In combt, chrcters my well be rolling mny, mny times, nd frnkly, fighting Zombies gretly increses the chnces of Something Bd Hppening. Mybe it s more Zombies, or mybe it is just ll tht Zombie goo splttering ll over them nd ll the scrtches nd bites infecting chrcter. Don t let up. Let the dice drive some of the ction of your gme, even, nd especilly with gmes tht require GM to crefully llocte resources when designing n encounter. When tht second nd/or third wve of Zombies shows up, or when the Zombies the chrcter thought they hd delt with show signs of not being ded yet (sdly, they probbly won t sy I m not ded yet, but YMMV nd wht hppens t your tble is the stuff your stories re mde of. Optionl Third Element: Split the prty up. This one is difficult, s mny plyers will be resistnt to being told wht they do, but if in fct there is certin type of GM/Plyer trust t the tble, you cn strongly encourge plyers to split up. After ll, their fellow prty-member looks little shdy, nd mybe they relly just need good night s sleep, in bed, by themselves, or mybe they hve to tke squirt, or mybe they need to go exmine their wounds in privte to ensure tht they re not infected, nd don t wnt the other chrcters to know how severe their wounds relly re. 4.
Expnding the Definition of Zombie mybe when one of the chrcters hs result of Something Bd Hppens, you inform tht plyer tht they do not wnt the xenomorphs eliminted. Rther, they need to get n impregnted chrcter bck to erth, becuse The Corportion is very interested in these xenomorphs. Allow tht chrcter to work ginst the others, nd offer input when Something Bd Hppens to other chrcters. Or... Why Does It Alwys Hve to Be Zombies? It is the opinion of this uthor tht there re Zombie movies, nd there re movies tht re essentilly Zombie movies. Mybe your chrcters re deling with xenomorphs bord derelict mining spceship, nd the xenomorphs impregnte chrcters, nd they show up en msse to kill everyone. Seems n wful lot like Zombie movie to me! Plese, feel free to use the Zombie Die in ny gme where you wnt to engender prnoi, nd imprt to the plyers tht they re never sfe. And Be cretive. Embrce this nrrtive mechnic in your gme no mtter how crunchy the system is s written. And In the End: Wht will the Zombie Die do for you gme? Chrcters will fight nd kill Zombies, chrcters my end up killing one nother, nd they will never feel truly sfe. And isn t tht Zombierific gming experience? ckburn l B k r B e Written by thi Celest sign by Cyn Grphic De Miller rbert Frnz o N y b g n i t Edi 5.