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Running a zombies campaign, any ideas?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
chamb238
Jun 17, 2009 18:39:49 I'm DMing a zombies campaign for a couple friends where the characters and location are *loosely* based on us and our hometown.

As of now, we're loaded into a pickup truck, headed to a person's yacht that is on one of the Great Lakes. I like this direction right now, as it gives them some chance of surviving in the long run, while still requiring them to go to shore for supplies etc.. and could also involve some types of pirates...

Problem I'm running into is that this will only last so long before people lose interest. Once (or if) they're on the boat, where should i go from there? I had ideas the "zombie virus" being a weapon used by some diabolical organization or nation (or possibly alien race), which will eventually try to invade the country or the world...

What are your thoughts on the directions I could take?
#2
malbur
Jun 17, 2009 20:20:34 seems like a fun idea, see how long you could last during the Zombie apocalypse... anyways, one thing i would recommend (as everyone does with zombie games) is to read the Zombie Survival Guide if you haven't. It lays out the strengths and flaws of EVERYTHING (not really, but a fairly decent list of information about different tools and such). from here... the weapon sounds like fun but that'd probably not stay controlled. people get on planes, fly across the world. it would spread. having that be the basis for it sounds like a decent idea... some people know and after seeing it spread contact survivors to bring them together and try to defend against zombies/ reverse the weapon...
#3
thanatosmk2
Jun 17, 2009 20:38:23 Well, survival gets pretty old after a while. Put out a rumor of an organization working on a cure within a few days travel of your team (maybe even a separate ship in the Lakes), and then come up with a hook requiring your team to get there.
#4
ampolitor
Jun 18, 2009 9:17:33 my old game went on for years in this type of world, however I also had terminator type robots and Aliens (the movies) it was like Dawn of the dead, terminator and aliens all in one, w ehad a blast! The players would look up places and would tell me where they wanted to go, ex. Norad, or a military base for supplies, they even went after a aircraft carrier. There are plenty of operations you can do, It's the same as D&D, you just have a smaller list of monsters to pick from so the villains (like a raider boss) have to me memorable. You can do a search on the web for a million ideas and places to use for game sessions.
They fought a band of raiders who ran New Norfolk (VA) and it took them several game sessions of raiding, skirmishes and bombings to finally beat them.
#5
atanakar
Jun 18, 2009 14:49:43 Organized crime is also a good motif in Zombie campaign. Because of their lack of morals they can gather alote of gear and food. In an apocalypse campaign I had the equivalent of the Hells Angels control a good size town with an iron fist. Not all monsters are zombies. Wait isn't that what 28 days is all about...
#6
dbay
Jun 18, 2009 15:11:11 The Zombie Survival Guide is especially important for the GM. It gives you a good idea of how completely mindless things will act, and what they should be capable of.

Of course, it depends on the kind of zombie you are going for. We decided to give our zombies a low-DC frightful presence ability whenever they did their zombie moan thing, which worked out rather well. The GM boosted the DC at especially high-stress or scary times, like at night, if there are multiple zeds, or if you don't know where they are. It was cool, it gave another reason to put some levels into the smart/dedicated heroes, because of their willl saves.
#7
last_man_on_earth
Jun 19, 2009 5:53:53 Hello to everyone.

Well... ideas...? LOTS. I'm basing myself in a zombie campaign written and already running. The idea is that "basic zombie-movie survival" was the first step, then, deal with the rest of the bad stuff out there.

Since I got the city quaranteneed, everybody has sided in one way or another. Military and law enforcement, having worked closely on the beggining of the outbreak has formed it's efficient low-mobility group, directed from an HQ (not the original, overrun by zombies); several gangs with different "specialties" and equally colorful leaders; a zealous generic religious group which fights with medieval weapons and imagery, their boss, a guy capable of psionic/magic feats (a product of his fate/dellision...?); all kinds of people -from criminals to volunteers- in a fortified hospital, runned by two top-medics of different specialties, never hesitating on killing everybody outside as long as the lives inside can be preserved;a especial black-ops highly secret military group with a recently built outposts not far from the quarantine perimeter, with a mysterious leader: a much too young major graded man or woman below the age of 30, with serious skills; last but not least, the zombies themselves.

The factions were made up so the players could follow different versions of the outbreak. Escaping from the city is a huge task since the party must fight or sneak it's way trough all the threats listed above, but just in case, they could delve deeper on each faction, just to discover that their version of the story might not be THAT wrong. For example, the fanatical religious group fondly believes that the outbreak is a sign of the end times. What if they are right and in later stages of the game the zombies start to exhibit... more obvious supernatural traits, like demon-like features or burning eyes and bodies? And if the people at the hospital is right and it's actually a virus...? And if the conspiracy theorist NPC they found on an abandoned building was the man and all his wacky ideas about alien invasion were true? Maybe before they escape the plains get ruined or something gives them the dangerous idea that the world outside is in worst shape than the city they are in.

Also... the zombies... for my campaign I'm using a hidden timer: every passing week, tougher, "evolved" and more interesting zombies would pop up. At some point, I hope, someone will notice that and point it out.

So you can pretty much put everything into the mix, and I think, as long it is well justified, thing will fit nicely.

Hope this was of any help. Luck!
#8
backstabbist
Jun 19, 2009 10:42:14 There are a lot more things you can do,
and so many of them have not been done to death ad nauseum cliche already,
if you have the party play the Zombie side of a zombie campaign.

You get to experience the fears and challenges of playing some zombies trying to avoid bands of homicidal armed 'survivors' blasting everything that moves from tankified garbage trucks/busses, along with the survivors getting all the cool bases and weapons the zombies dont get
#9
malbur
Jun 19, 2009 15:30:49
There are a lot more things you can do,
and so many of them have not been done to death ad nauseum cliche already,
if you have the party play the Zombie side of a zombie campaign.

You get to experience the fears and challenges of playing some zombies trying to avoid bands of homicidal armed 'survivors' blasting everything that moves from tankified garbage trucks/busses, along with the survivors getting all the cool bases and weapons the zombies dont get

AWESOME IDEA. might have to steal this...
#10
E._Ravenwood
Jun 20, 2009 10:12:11 I actually am running a Zombie campaign right now, and I know that while it sounds good, a Zombie campaign can become tedious.
I've tried adding some things to spice up the action.

Opposing Groups...

A group of religious zealots who believe they are experiencing the rapture have banded together, and think that the PC's are the devil's minions (the PC's are playing themselves, the campaign began at the local game shop that the PC's game in, and the leader of this group was protesting outside when the outbreak occurred. The leader thinks this is why the PC's are in satan's service) They call themselves the AOG (army of God) and resided in churches like they're safe houses.

KNOMADS - Knights of Madness (the KNOMADS) Biker gang that the PC's made enemies of when they were scrounging for fuel. Accidently blew up the bike shop these Hell's Angels-esque Biker gang used as a facility. Their main outpost is a local bar known as the Boar's Nest where a majority of the gang stays in a constant state of drunkness. Many of the gang have began modifying their bikes into small deadly armored cycles. The worst of which is a Harley tri-wheeler that has an old Browning M1919A4 mounted on a tripod in the back. The gang mainly strikes at the PC's when the PC's are hauling goods back to their HQ.

One-Niners - a local gang that have become arms dealers in a section of neighborhood, mainly through the looting of houses (my PC's have accumulated a stock of weapons, and this gang sees them as a potential threat to business) They try to deal with the PC's but this gang is very tempormental, and a majority feels that they could take the PC's in a head to head fight, which just might happen.

As an footnote, my PC's are also dealing with a group of 15 year olds that have formed a bicycle gang that they deal with (they are lead by a 16 year old with a dirtbike who hauls around a U-Haul trailer full of goods raided from gas stations) The gang is more an annoyance than a danger, mainly pull pranks on the PC's, armed with BB and Paintball guns.

Events...
My PC's lately have been looking for fuel, which they are running very low on. There is a BP plant outside of town, and they intend on stocking up. The problem they have just found out that the other half of the train that derailed that was hauling the Zombie Virus, is on the tracks literaly hundreds of yards from the plant. The PC's desperatly need the fuel, but the place is literally crawling with Zombies.

The PC's need Medical supplies, but the Hospital is a horror show of zombieness (ie Zombie Doctors armed with scaples and such, emergency room zombies with missing limbs (protruding bones to stab with), zombies who were turned to zombies in the middle of surgery, etc)

This was a fun one. The PC's have received garbled transmissions on their radio from a military convoy. The only equipment powerful enough to reach them is in the police station, which is guarded by the psychotic remnants of the police force. They have fortified the station, even arming it with zombies on chains like a kind of guard dog.
#11
dbay
Jun 20, 2009 13:56:58
This was a fun one. The PC's have received garbled transmissions on their radio from a military convoy. The only equipment powerful enough to reach them is in the police station, which is guarded by the psychotic remnants of the police force. They have fortified the station, even arming it with zombies on chains like a kind of guard dog.

That's clever, I just had my police killed off right near the start. Out of curiosity, what would you do if the Smart wanted to tinker with the radio to boost its power, instead of pulling a raid on the police? I mean, yeah, their skipping out on an adventure, but the Smart could argue that this is exactly what his character is there for.

Not sure what I would do.
#12
E._Ravenwood
Jun 20, 2009 16:06:13 Well, it's kind of a long story. The Smart PC actually wanted to boost the range on everyone's radios by installing aerials on all the tall buildings, giving the shortwaves a greater range. Then he wanted to boost the power and hertz range so they could receive all types of transmissions instead of just CB.
They were attempting to loot the equipment needed from the local Radio shack, but a series of events took place that kind of rendered the store usuless. First off, the radio shack shared a wall with a grocery store(kind of like a strip mall. The PC's split up and some went in the grocery store figuring they'd stock up on food and kill two birds with one stone. While walking down the milk aisle, the PC's kept getting an eerie feeling they were being watched. Then they noticed they were, by a group of zombies trapped in the cooler room, so the only thing seperating them from a group of zombies was a few rows of milk and a glass door. Zombies came through the milk, PC's start blasting away. One PC tossed in a hand made grenade through the doors, and unknowingly blows a hole through the wall of the Radio Shack, which lets Zombies in there, which causes the PC's to stop their pilfering before they can find all the parts, and they retreat out of the buring complex to the parking lot, where they find a bunch of the aforementioned teenagers siphoning gas from their trucks, who scatter with a few gallons of stolen gas in tow.
One PC (who is particularly not fond of these teens) starts shooting as they escape. He hits the vehicle (an ATV) of one of the teens and it goes out of control. Teen crashes into a body shop, gas tank he was carrying explodes...
...killing a few members of the Biker Gang (this is initially what caused the KNOMADS to hate the PC's party) who think the PC's attacked on purpose.
Fire fight breaks out, things get ugly, both sides retreat back to their HQ's with many wounded and dead.

All in all a pretty fun day.
If you want a short answer instead of that huge rowl, just remember. Soldering Iron + No electricity = Poor Functioning Electrical Equipment

Oh, just cus I remembered, I did kill most of the cops off at the begining, the PC's got a lot of their guns to start off with by raiding cruisers and dead officers. A few survived and are not playing with a full deck. The Police Chief directs his men to basically kill anything that moves and they still patrol the streets in the Armored SWAT van with guns blazing and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song blasting on the big speaker. This is one of the groups I didn't mention above that the PC's have had a run in with.
#13
chamb238
Jun 20, 2009 17:16:39 Thanks for all the great ideas guys. I especially like the ideas of the religious fanatics and almost forcing them to take sides in the fight against zombies and their masters.

A new thought crossed my mind: how would you deal with long-term diseases or malnutrition. Say they're down to 1-2 meals a day for a month or so. How might this affect combat and other parts of the game?
#14
dbay
Jun 20, 2009 18:12:19
A new thought crossed my mind: how would you deal with long-term diseases or malnutrition. Say they're down to 1-2 meals a day for a month or so. How might this affect combat and other parts of the game?

Page 213 of the core book for starvation and thirst, page 215 for disease. Its in the section "The Modern World" in chapter 7. A weird place to put rules for starvation and disease, IMO.

There's more good stuff in D20 Apocalypse, in case you have access to it, about different kinds of food. I can't really remember it, but I think the PCs get fatigued or something for a day if they only eat junk food (which would be the easiest to find after other things get rotten, like in 28 days later). I don't think there's any mechanic in D&D or D20 for growing your own food, but they could use Survival to forage if they aren't in a city.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 chamb238 Jun 17, 2009 18:39:49	I'm DMing a zombies campaign for a couple friends where the characters and location are loosely based on us and our hometown. As of now, we're loaded into a pickup truck, headed to a person's yacht that is on one of the Great Lakes. I like this direction right now, as it gives them some chance of surviving in the long run, while still requiring them to go to shore for supplies etc.. and could also involve some types of pirates... Problem I'm running into is that this will only last so long before people lose interest. Once (or if) they're on the boat, where should i go from there? I had ideas the "zombie virus" being a weapon used by some diabolical organization or nation (or possibly alien race), which will eventually try to invade the country or the world... What are your thoughts on the directions I could take?
#2 malbur Jun 17, 2009 20:20:34	seems like a fun idea, see how long you could last during the Zombie apocalypse... anyways, one thing i would recommend (as everyone does with zombie games) is to read the Zombie Survival Guide if you haven't. It lays out the strengths and flaws of EVERYTHING (not really, but a fairly decent list of information about different tools and such). from here... the weapon sounds like fun but that'd probably not stay controlled. people get on planes, fly across the world. it would spread. having that be the basis for it sounds like a decent idea... some people know and after seeing it spread contact survivors to bring them together and try to defend against zombies/ reverse the weapon...
#3 thanatosmk2 Jun 17, 2009 20:38:23	Well, survival gets pretty old after a while. Put out a rumor of an organization working on a cure within a few days travel of your team (maybe even a separate ship in the Lakes), and then come up with a hook requiring your team to get there.
#4 ampolitor Jun 18, 2009 9:17:33	my old game went on for years in this type of world, however I also had terminator type robots and Aliens (the movies) it was like Dawn of the dead, terminator and aliens all in one, w ehad a blast! The players would look up places and would tell me where they wanted to go, ex. Norad, or a military base for supplies, they even went after a aircraft carrier. There are plenty of operations you can do, It's the same as D&D, you just have a smaller list of monsters to pick from so the villains (like a raider boss) have to me memorable. You can do a search on the web for a million ideas and places to use for game sessions. They fought a band of raiders who ran New Norfolk (VA) and it took them several game sessions of raiding, skirmishes and bombings to finally beat them.
#5 atanakar Jun 18, 2009 14:49:43	Organized crime is also a good motif in Zombie campaign. Because of their lack of morals they can gather alote of gear and food. In an apocalypse campaign I had the equivalent of the Hells Angels control a good size town with an iron fist. Not all monsters are zombies. Wait isn't that what 28 days is all about...
#6 dbay Jun 18, 2009 15:11:11	The Zombie Survival Guide is especially important for the GM. It gives you a good idea of how completely mindless things will act, and what they should be capable of. Of course, it depends on the kind of zombie you are going for. We decided to give our zombies a low-DC frightful presence ability whenever they did their zombie moan thing, which worked out rather well. The GM boosted the DC at especially high-stress or scary times, like at night, if there are multiple zeds, or if you don't know where they are. It was cool, it gave another reason to put some levels into the smart/dedicated heroes, because of their willl saves.
#7 last_man_on_earth Jun 19, 2009 5:53:53	Hello to everyone. Well... ideas...? LOTS. I'm basing myself in a zombie campaign written and already running. The idea is that "basic zombie-movie survival" was the first step, then, deal with the rest of the bad stuff out there. Since I got the city quaranteneed, everybody has sided in one way or another. Military and law enforcement, having worked closely on the beggining of the outbreak has formed it's efficient low-mobility group, directed from an HQ (not the original, overrun by zombies); several gangs with different "specialties" and equally colorful leaders; a zealous generic religious group which fights with medieval weapons and imagery, their boss, a guy capable of psionic/magic feats (a product of his fate/dellision...?); all kinds of people -from criminals to volunteers- in a fortified hospital, runned by two top-medics of different specialties, never hesitating on killing everybody outside as long as the lives inside can be preserved;a especial black-ops highly secret military group with a recently built outposts not far from the quarantine perimeter, with a mysterious leader: a much too young major graded man or woman below the age of 30, with serious skills; last but not least, the zombies themselves. The factions were made up so the players could follow different versions of the outbreak. Escaping from the city is a huge task since the party must fight or sneak it's way trough all the threats listed above, but just in case, they could delve deeper on each faction, just to discover that their version of the story might not be THAT wrong. For example, the fanatical religious group fondly believes that the outbreak is a sign of the end times. What if they are right and in later stages of the game the zombies start to exhibit... more obvious supernatural traits, like demon-like features or burning eyes and bodies? And if the people at the hospital is right and it's actually a virus...? And if the conspiracy theorist NPC they found on an abandoned building was the man and all his wacky ideas about alien invasion were true? Maybe before they escape the plains get ruined or something gives them the dangerous idea that the world outside is in worst shape than the city they are in. Also... the zombies... for my campaign I'm using a hidden timer: every passing week, tougher, "evolved" and more interesting zombies would pop up. At some point, I hope, someone will notice that and point it out. So you can pretty much put everything into the mix, and I think, as long it is well justified, thing will fit nicely. Hope this was of any help. Luck!
#8 backstabbist Jun 19, 2009 10:42:14	There are a lot more things you can do, and so many of them have not been done to death ad nauseum cliche already, if you have the party play the Zombie side of a zombie campaign. You get to experience the fears and challenges of playing some zombies trying to avoid bands of homicidal armed 'survivors' blasting everything that moves from tankified garbage trucks/busses, along with the survivors getting all the cool bases and weapons the zombies dont get
#9 malbur Jun 19, 2009 15:30:49	There are a lot more things you can do, and so many of them have not been done to death ad nauseum cliche already, if you have the party play the Zombie side of a zombie campaign. You get to experience the fears and challenges of playing some zombies trying to avoid bands of homicidal armed 'survivors' blasting everything that moves from tankified garbage trucks/busses, along with the survivors getting all the cool bases and weapons the zombies dont get AWESOME IDEA. might have to steal this...
#10 E._Ravenwood Jun 20, 2009 10:12:11	I actually am running a Zombie campaign right now, and I know that while it sounds good, a Zombie campaign can become tedious. I've tried adding some things to spice up the action. Opposing Groups... A group of religious zealots who believe they are experiencing the rapture have banded together, and think that the PC's are the devil's minions (the PC's are playing themselves, the campaign began at the local game shop that the PC's game in, and the leader of this group was protesting outside when the outbreak occurred. The leader thinks this is why the PC's are in satan's service) They call themselves the AOG (army of God) and resided in churches like they're safe houses. KNOMADS - Knights of Madness (the KNOMADS) Biker gang that the PC's made enemies of when they were scrounging for fuel. Accidently blew up the bike shop these Hell's Angels-esque Biker gang used as a facility. Their main outpost is a local bar known as the Boar's Nest where a majority of the gang stays in a constant state of drunkness. Many of the gang have began modifying their bikes into small deadly armored cycles. The worst of which is a Harley tri-wheeler that has an old Browning M1919A4 mounted on a tripod in the back. The gang mainly strikes at the PC's when the PC's are hauling goods back to their HQ. One-Niners - a local gang that have become arms dealers in a section of neighborhood, mainly through the looting of houses (my PC's have accumulated a stock of weapons, and this gang sees them as a potential threat to business) They try to deal with the PC's but this gang is very tempormental, and a majority feels that they could take the PC's in a head to head fight, which just might happen. As an footnote, my PC's are also dealing with a group of 15 year olds that have formed a bicycle gang that they deal with (they are lead by a 16 year old with a dirtbike who hauls around a U-Haul trailer full of goods raided from gas stations) The gang is more an annoyance than a danger, mainly pull pranks on the PC's, armed with BB and Paintball guns. Events... My PC's lately have been looking for fuel, which they are running very low on. There is a BP plant outside of town, and they intend on stocking up. The problem they have just found out that the other half of the train that derailed that was hauling the Zombie Virus, is on the tracks literaly hundreds of yards from the plant. The PC's desperatly need the fuel, but the place is literally crawling with Zombies. The PC's need Medical supplies, but the Hospital is a horror show of zombieness (ie Zombie Doctors armed with scaples and such, emergency room zombies with missing limbs (protruding bones to stab with), zombies who were turned to zombies in the middle of surgery, etc) This was a fun one. The PC's have received garbled transmissions on their radio from a military convoy. The only equipment powerful enough to reach them is in the police station, which is guarded by the psychotic remnants of the police force. They have fortified the station, even arming it with zombies on chains like a kind of guard dog.
#11 dbay Jun 20, 2009 13:56:58	This was a fun one. The PC's have received garbled transmissions on their radio from a military convoy. The only equipment powerful enough to reach them is in the police station, which is guarded by the psychotic remnants of the police force. They have fortified the station, even arming it with zombies on chains like a kind of guard dog. That's clever, I just had my police killed off right near the start. Out of curiosity, what would you do if the Smart wanted to tinker with the radio to boost its power, instead of pulling a raid on the police? I mean, yeah, their skipping out on an adventure, but the Smart could argue that this is exactly what his character is there for. Not sure what I would do.
#12 E._Ravenwood Jun 20, 2009 16:06:13	Well, it's kind of a long story. The Smart PC actually wanted to boost the range on everyone's radios by installing aerials on all the tall buildings, giving the shortwaves a greater range. Then he wanted to boost the power and hertz range so they could receive all types of transmissions instead of just CB. They were attempting to loot the equipment needed from the local Radio shack, but a series of events took place that kind of rendered the store usuless. First off, the radio shack shared a wall with a grocery store(kind of like a strip mall. The PC's split up and some went in the grocery store figuring they'd stock up on food and kill two birds with one stone. While walking down the milk aisle, the PC's kept getting an eerie feeling they were being watched. Then they noticed they were, by a group of zombies trapped in the cooler room, so the only thing seperating them from a group of zombies was a few rows of milk and a glass door. Zombies came through the milk, PC's start blasting away. One PC tossed in a hand made grenade through the doors, and unknowingly blows a hole through the wall of the Radio Shack, which lets Zombies in there, which causes the PC's to stop their pilfering before they can find all the parts, and they retreat out of the buring complex to the parking lot, where they find a bunch of the aforementioned teenagers siphoning gas from their trucks, who scatter with a few gallons of stolen gas in tow. One PC (who is particularly not fond of these teens) starts shooting as they escape. He hits the vehicle (an ATV) of one of the teens and it goes out of control. Teen crashes into a body shop, gas tank he was carrying explodes... ...killing a few members of the Biker Gang (this is initially what caused the KNOMADS to hate the PC's party) who think the PC's attacked on purpose. Fire fight breaks out, things get ugly, both sides retreat back to their HQ's with many wounded and dead. All in all a pretty fun day. If you want a short answer instead of that huge rowl, just remember. Soldering Iron + No electricity = Poor Functioning Electrical Equipment Oh, just cus I remembered, I did kill most of the cops off at the begining, the PC's got a lot of their guns to start off with by raiding cruisers and dead officers. A few survived and are not playing with a full deck. The Police Chief directs his men to basically kill anything that moves and they still patrol the streets in the Armored SWAT van with guns blazing and Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song blasting on the big speaker. This is one of the groups I didn't mention above that the PC's have had a run in with.
#13 chamb238 Jun 20, 2009 17:16:39	Thanks for all the great ideas guys. I especially like the ideas of the religious fanatics and almost forcing them to take sides in the fight against zombies and their masters. A new thought crossed my mind: how would you deal with long-term diseases or malnutrition. Say they're down to 1-2 meals a day for a month or so. How might this affect combat and other parts of the game?
#14 dbay Jun 20, 2009 18:12:19	A new thought crossed my mind: how would you deal with long-term diseases or malnutrition. Say they're down to 1-2 meals a day for a month or so. How might this affect combat and other parts of the game? Page 213 of the core book for starvation and thirst, page 215 for disease. Its in the section "The Modern World" in chapter 7. A weird place to put rules for starvation and disease, IMO. There's more good stuff in D20 Apocalypse, in case you have access to it, about different kinds of food. I can't really remember it, but I think the PCs get fatigued or something for a day if they only eat junk food (which would be the easiest to find after other things get rotten, like in 28 days later). I don't think there's any mechanic in D&D or D20 for growing your own food, but they could use Survival to forage if they aren't in a city.