Zombie game - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Zombie game

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
amandilamras
Apr 28, 2008 10:27:05 I think the old zombie thread got deleted so I thought I would start a new one. I'm a long time fan of the zombie game though I have yet to play one. I've battled them in ravenloft and other games but not a modern survival one. I want to get some of your ideas for running and playing in one. I remember reading someone saying that their game ended when they found a cure. I thought to myself that is just the beginning. What about distributing it and rebuilding. The threat continues in other places.
#2
amandilamras
Apr 28, 2008 12:04:40 I've always wondered about a zombie game where characters play lesser vampires. Their food supply is running low i.e. humans. They suddenly need to exert themselves to protect their food. Would humans be willing to work with monsters for their survival? The pc's trying to convince them would be a hard sell.
#3
arsulon
Apr 29, 2008 11:48:57 If you're interested in a specifically vampiric apocalypse, two terrific examples include Shades of Darkness by Iron Crown Enterprises and Kinrise by Stellar Games. Here are the product write-ups. I've read them both so by all means let me know if you have any questions.

Shades of Darkness
In the not too distant future, technology has spawned a darkness no one knew could exist. The darkness swept like a tidal flood across the Earth, threatening to make mankind just another extinct species. But from Earth’s own shadowy corners arose a savior in the form of a Dark Angel. Now, the human race struggles to live from day to day, torn between two evils… torn between two shades of Darkness.
Shades of Darkness features new training packages, rules for blending lost technology and fantasy, guidelines on how corruption affects characters in play, and new spell lists.

Kinrise
After the Nuclear War The Kin Are Rising... If they can Survive... The world they knew before isn't there any more, but Magic still is. Nightlife Kinrise is a comprehensive supplement of post war survival in the fall of a New Night. A year after the Spasm War, things are coming back together in a darker way. Nearly a hundred pages with:
Witches & Covens
Ceremonial Magic
New Spells
The Sidhe
Sidhe Culture and Magic
New Monsters
Gypsies
and Much Much More!

Neither one is in print, but you can find them as downloads and at various used rpg shops like Nobleknight:

http://www.nobleknight.com/searchresults.asp?search=shades%20of%20darkness

http://www.nobleknight.com/searchresults.asp?search=kinrise
#4
amandilamras
Apr 30, 2008 10:42:36 Thank you I will look into those games. What are some good zombie game concepts. I thought about a game where the zombies rise but the world is slowly becoming a fantasy world. The zombies evolve with time or kills into other dark evil creatures. As the characters survive they might evolve into creatures that relate to their personality. Any other good ideas please share.
#5
doomsought
Apr 30, 2008 17:34:54 Start out levels 1-5 with zombies, and maybe some animated fossils for bosses
then introduce some ghouls, and the bosses are ghouls with character classes, maybe some magic weapons on their person.
lvl 10-19 you get out the vampires, minions now have magic weopons. don't let them buy magic yet, but they can now take advanced classes dealing with magic.
lvl 20+ they can now buy magic items, its rampant. fortress cities now relie on magic augmented fusion reactors, the artificial suns give life to trees and kill vampires, the sky is gone, only evil clouds that sometimes rain blood remains.
they hare PL 6 with +4 to DC at this point.
But their enemies are demons, balors and maraliths are bosses. vamps as lieutenants and lesser demons or advanced ghouls as your mooks.

the epic is calling
you can house rule some epic classes.
either an advanced class, a prestige class, or a home brew epic advanced class. steal some epic feats from D&D.

And a prestige class you might allow instead of letting them become a vamp, or fail to zombie rot
#6
arsulon
May 01, 2008 1:35:07 Well, a lot of the character of your zombie campaign will depend on why the dead are returning to life. Do you favor a scientific, metaphysical or magical reason?

Often, a potentially interesting plot thread gets ignored by assuming the undead have no motivation (besides eating the living.) What if the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out? What if the souls that have shuffled off the mortal coil have no where left to go? What if, after having struggled back down the tunnel, dodging afterlife predators hungry for lost souls, they return to find their bodies un-dead? The zombies, then, are cadavers ridden by insane lost souls; their desire to kill and eat is just one aspect of their wanting so badly to return to life. They are hungry for life and sensation. Maybe they kill so as to inhabit a fresher body, just as the one they're currently in is decaying beyond use. Maybe sleeping or unconscious characters have to stuggle to fend off lost souls trying to force their way in.
#7
jekolmy
May 01, 2008 21:51:48 Looking back at the Ravenloft DMG (not a bad idea to look at that setting in general for this just for the horror feel more than anything) one of the plot pieces in it had a vampire taking souls to try to restore his daughter to life, maybe after a vampire/zombie takes so many souls they return to life and are practically immortal...

You could make that immortality scary enough that they have to run away from it at first, but need research (more dangers) to figure out how to beat it. Well its an idea anyways.
#8
kitsuneyasha
May 01, 2008 23:57:37 One thing to remember about zombies; zombies arn't the only enemy. Make them the motivation/threat throughout the game along with the enemy, but shine the light on the disillussioned, the desperate, and the crazy/cult like humans.

Possible encounter--After fighting off some zombies, the party starts running due to seeing more running their way. They happen to encounter a sniper team or smoe other long-distance enemy, who shoot at them due to seeing the blood and the running and just assuming "zombie!"
#9
amandilamras
May 02, 2008 10:54:12 Good point about the other humans. I was thinking that they would eventually evolve relating to how they acted. That brutal warlord would find that he suddenly has the strength of an orc. He would find his skin becoming green and other changes. The cult could slowly become drow worshipping the dark lloth. She will protect them from the poison of the zombies.
#10
amandilamras
May 02, 2008 11:20:39 I like a lot of the ideas like the zombie motivation. I also like the idea for the increasing toughness for the game. With this idea I think I would have the characters switch slowly to D&D. I've been a big fan of ravenloft since second edition. I like the idea of zombies staving off rotting with saves. That would be cool having a playing a zombie character that has to eat the living in order to maintain themselves. If they fail a will save maybe 15 they lose 2 int and a die of hit points. They could get bonuses on the save depending on how much flesh is eaten. They could regain what was lost with three days of flesh and a successful save. That would repair one days worth of int and hit die. I the ideas so far have been tremendous. Please keep them coming.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 amandilamras Apr 28, 2008 10:27:05	I think the old zombie thread got deleted so I thought I would start a new one. I'm a long time fan of the zombie game though I have yet to play one. I've battled them in ravenloft and other games but not a modern survival one. I want to get some of your ideas for running and playing in one. I remember reading someone saying that their game ended when they found a cure. I thought to myself that is just the beginning. What about distributing it and rebuilding. The threat continues in other places.
#2 amandilamras Apr 28, 2008 12:04:40	I've always wondered about a zombie game where characters play lesser vampires. Their food supply is running low i.e. humans. They suddenly need to exert themselves to protect their food. Would humans be willing to work with monsters for their survival? The pc's trying to convince them would be a hard sell.
#3 arsulon Apr 29, 2008 11:48:57	If you're interested in a specifically vampiric apocalypse, two terrific examples include Shades of Darkness by Iron Crown Enterprises and Kinrise by Stellar Games. Here are the product write-ups. I've read them both so by all means let me know if you have any questions. Shades of Darkness In the not too distant future, technology has spawned a darkness no one knew could exist. The darkness swept like a tidal flood across the Earth, threatening to make mankind just another extinct species. But from Earth’s own shadowy corners arose a savior in the form of a Dark Angel. Now, the human race struggles to live from day to day, torn between two evils… torn between two shades of Darkness. Shades of Darkness features new training packages, rules for blending lost technology and fantasy, guidelines on how corruption affects characters in play, and new spell lists. Kinrise After the Nuclear War The Kin Are Rising... If they can Survive... The world they knew before isn't there any more, but Magic still is. Nightlife Kinrise is a comprehensive supplement of post war survival in the fall of a New Night. A year after the Spasm War, things are coming back together in a darker way. Nearly a hundred pages with: Witches & Covens Ceremonial Magic New Spells The Sidhe Sidhe Culture and Magic New Monsters Gypsies and Much Much More! Neither one is in print, but you can find them as downloads and at various used rpg shops like Nobleknight: http://www.nobleknight.com/searchresults.asp?search=shades%20of%20darkness http://www.nobleknight.com/searchresults.asp?search=kinrise
#4 amandilamras Apr 30, 2008 10:42:36	Thank you I will look into those games. What are some good zombie game concepts. I thought about a game where the zombies rise but the world is slowly becoming a fantasy world. The zombies evolve with time or kills into other dark evil creatures. As the characters survive they might evolve into creatures that relate to their personality. Any other good ideas please share.
#5 doomsought Apr 30, 2008 17:34:54	Start out levels 1-5 with zombies, and maybe some animated fossils for bosses then introduce some ghouls, and the bosses are ghouls with character classes, maybe some magic weapons on their person. lvl 10-19 you get out the vampires, minions now have magic weopons. don't let them buy magic yet, but they can now take advanced classes dealing with magic. lvl 20+ they can now buy magic items, its rampant. fortress cities now relie on magic augmented fusion reactors, the artificial suns give life to trees and kill vampires, the sky is gone, only evil clouds that sometimes rain blood remains. they hare PL 6 with +4 to DC at this point. But their enemies are demons, balors and maraliths are bosses. vamps as lieutenants and lesser demons or advanced ghouls as your mooks. the epic is calling you can house rule some epic classes. either an advanced class, a prestige class, or a home brew epic advanced class. steal some epic feats from D&D. And a prestige class you might allow instead of letting them become a vamp, or fail to zombie rot
#6 arsulon May 01, 2008 1:35:07	Well, a lot of the character of your zombie campaign will depend on why the dead are returning to life. Do you favor a scientific, metaphysical or magical reason? Often, a potentially interesting plot thread gets ignored by assuming the undead have no motivation (besides eating the living.) What if the light at the end of the tunnel has gone out? What if the souls that have shuffled off the mortal coil have no where left to go? What if, after having struggled back down the tunnel, dodging afterlife predators hungry for lost souls, they return to find their bodies un-dead? The zombies, then, are cadavers ridden by insane lost souls; their desire to kill and eat is just one aspect of their wanting so badly to return to life. They are hungry for life and sensation. Maybe they kill so as to inhabit a fresher body, just as the one they're currently in is decaying beyond use. Maybe sleeping or unconscious characters have to stuggle to fend off lost souls trying to force their way in.
#7 jekolmy May 01, 2008 21:51:48	Looking back at the Ravenloft DMG (not a bad idea to look at that setting in general for this just for the horror feel more than anything) one of the plot pieces in it had a vampire taking souls to try to restore his daughter to life, maybe after a vampire/zombie takes so many souls they return to life and are practically immortal... You could make that immortality scary enough that they have to run away from it at first, but need research (more dangers) to figure out how to beat it. Well its an idea anyways.
#8 kitsuneyasha May 01, 2008 23:57:37	One thing to remember about zombies; zombies arn't the only enemy. Make them the motivation/threat throughout the game along with the enemy, but shine the light on the disillussioned, the desperate, and the crazy/cult like humans. Possible encounter--After fighting off some zombies, the party starts running due to seeing more running their way. They happen to encounter a sniper team or smoe other long-distance enemy, who shoot at them due to seeing the blood and the running and just assuming "zombie!"
#9 amandilamras May 02, 2008 10:54:12	Good point about the other humans. I was thinking that they would eventually evolve relating to how they acted. That brutal warlord would find that he suddenly has the strength of an orc. He would find his skin becoming green and other changes. The cult could slowly become drow worshipping the dark lloth. She will protect them from the poison of the zombies.
#10 amandilamras May 02, 2008 11:20:39	I like a lot of the ideas like the zombie motivation. I also like the idea for the increasing toughness for the game. With this idea I think I would have the characters switch slowly to D&D. I've been a big fan of ravenloft since second edition. I like the idea of zombies staving off rotting with saves. That would be cool having a playing a zombie character that has to eat the living in order to maintain themselves. If they fail a will save maybe 15 they lose 2 int and a die of hit points. They could get bonuses on the save depending on how much flesh is eaten. They could regain what was lost with three days of flesh and a successful save. That would repair one days worth of int and hit die. I the ideas so far have been tremendous. Please keep them coming.