Blood and Brains (RPGObjects) A d20M supplement. I don't currently own this, but I like Blood & Blades: A profiler's guide to slashers by the same author.
Year of the Zombie (UKG Publishing): a zombie apocalypse campaign template for d20 games. Again, I don't own this, but I have heard good things.
Also, remember the key elements of any good zombie movie: inevitability. Zombies aren't fast (most of the time), they aren't smart, they aren't individually very dangerous. But they never die, they never tire out, and they tend to come in endless hordes. The PCs shouldn't have much trouble killing hundreds. But what if there are millions more to kill, and nowhere safe to sleep? What if they start running out of food or water? What if they have to decide on the spot if each survivor they find is trustworthy or just out to kill them for their supplies?
Paranoia is king in zombie situations.
there should be a few fight or flight decisions i think. make a stand but have a bolt hole.
It may sound odd, but what ruined the book for me was unbelievability...and not from the zombies, from the humans. No zombie able to be defeated by a blind man listening for them would pose a threat to anyone with both eyes, two arms, and a stick. It would be like outrunning the glacier. Sure, if you sat there forever they'd eventually get you but beyond that any effort whatsoever would be successful in avoiding them.
Anyways, back to the question at hand. You have to find a way to stretch the campaign. There has to be some sort of end-goal for the characters. I.E. a plan to get to a dock and sail away to some small isolated island. a plan to get to a safezone they hear about on a radio beacon, or from a dying survivor. Or if you want to strech it out longer, sketch 3 possible safezone areas, and put a key component for a zombie-cure in each one, and then add 3 other safezones that only have information about the key components, now the heros have a real task to do, bring the key components together. It could be 1 truely enlightened scientist 1 imporant sample 1 labcomplex filled with people but spinning their wheels intellectually, or it could be 3 different compounds when mixed together prevents zombification of the dead or whatever.
Films like the "of the dead" series by George A Romero, often focus of the end of civilization as we know it, but seldom on its re-emergence.
An interesting Idea might be to have the party running and surviving for a long time you can draw this out for a long time as they go to rescue station after rescue station looking for survivors, maybe even picking up a few NPC's along the way but resist the temptation to kill them off arbitrarily, stat them up and give them a sporting chance, create a backstory for them, give them quirks, the players will probably grow attached to them, and then when they or if they die, it will create some memorable roleplay experiences.
If in a nasty situation one of the players does that whole "I'm down, but get out of here I will hold them off so you can escape" bit, a new character can easily be reintroduced as a survivor that they have found or rescued.
now heres where you expand your plot options.
Once your players have encountered quite a few people, maybe they travel as a large group and perhaps have started using a couple of vans in a kind of wagon train/rolling camp (in my experience PCs love a place they can go back to, no matter if its a stronghold, a camp, or a wagon), or have established radio contact with several small groups, now is a good time for one of the players (or if they wont make one of the survivor NPCs a charismatic natural leader) to suggest they find a safe place and build a permanent camp, maybe to try and better protect non combatants, or because they are so sick of running that they would rather stoically stand and fight, or even in a vain hope to rebuild a semblance of civilization.
once that is done and you have an isolated mad max style fort, using buses for gates etc, this opens up a whole new series of possibilities.
for instance...
Internal power struggles within the camp.
An aggressive Rival group of survivors who wont be reasoned with and are determined to take your food (and your women) away for themselves.
depending on the cause of your zombie infestation, perhaps they decide to try and eliminate the problem, if its a virus, find a cure, if its the return of death gods ,find a way to defeat or placate them, if its aliens (like in Plan 9 from outer space), try and reason with them or defeat them, or if you want to be super cheesy, Nazis.
a primitive frontier society opens up new options, perhaps you may skip forward a few decades and make zombie hunter prestige classes available, perhaps their a few of these camps, maybe there are "Bub" styled domesticated zombies that are trained to fight the wild ones, available as player characters.
basically, run it as survival for as long as possible, give NPC survivors a sporting chance, when they either lead or are in contact with enough people, they build a camp, this still means you are running a survival game, but there are more possibilities for excitement than zombies chasing you.
by the way, I realy liked the egyptian gods idea, the image of a modern city depopulated, thousand and thousands of people now zombies, when the last person is dead, they all start building a huge pyramid in the centre of town out of any old junk, and once completed it crackles in negative energy bathing the city as new God is released, Anubis strides across the land like godzilla, you could do it with the Lovecraftian mythos as well, and even make the zombies start to mutate and gain abberration type traits as they decompose.
The characters themselves are very close, but drama and power struggles are always a problem, considering we have a Leo, 2 Aries, and a hard headed Libra. This will play a very crucial part in the game. Creatures encountered will consist so far of Zombies (duh), Max Brooks' "Quislings" (humans that act like zombies due to psychological breakdown), disciples of Egyptian gods (Like smaller versions of Anubis and pals), what I dubbed "Nuke Zombies" (Which are basically fast zombies changed by nuclear fallout/ radiation), Feral animals (wild dogs and the like), and of course the rest of surviving humanity who might and might not be friendly.
I'm adding the Egyptian mythology stuff not only because its a pun of "Night of Anubis" (The original title of "Night of the Living Dead"), but because i didn't allow my PCs to use magic the last time we played Modern. Thank you all again!
I'm also working up a zombie campaign, which I had originally outlined as a videogame mod of the Grand Theft Auto series.
You start out with your city. (using your own city is fun, especially if the group is playing themselves) After the initial zombie invasion, some areas will become "safe zones" - police stations, army bases, gun shops, etc... Will probably be fairly well-defended. Once safe, the party can take on missions to find supplies, rescue survivors, etc...
Trying to keep as low a profile as possible to keep a good spot would be an interesting scenario, say an abandoned military bunker, hide yourselves in there with supplies to grow food via hydroponics, when you go out you have to try to keep as low a profile as possible, and if zombies do see you, take them out as quietly and quickly as possible, disguising your scent, hiding, et cetera.
however, there are still some options left open. Simply play your "highschool self" Is it really appropraite to reward or penalize people who are at different spots in the 'rat race'
Or a slightly enhanced version of your highschool self, as needed.
Another view I have on that is, say that your playing 'yourself' in an apocalypse scenario like zombie survival. I think in that kind of situation, your levels depend on your experiences during that event so from there on. Maybe?
It worked out pretty well.
I'm moderately active, have over 11 years of martial arts training, as well as track and field, scouts & cadets, etc... I came out as a level 5.
There was a really great system for determining your level, as well as a quiz for finding your approximate ability scores on the boards here a long time ago.
It worked out pretty well.
I'm moderately active, have over 11 years of martial arts training, as well as track and field, scouts & cadets, etc... I came out as a level 5.
Found it!
http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-724931
Str 13
Dex 16
Con 10
Int 17/18=18
Wis 11
Cha 13
If I put in the Strength and Con measurements from when I was actually in shape, it's more appealing, but I'm a cubicle denizen nowadays, so those have tanked. If anything, it's giving me a better Con then I probably deserve.
I remember some of them, but I am going through that one again.
Str: 12 or 13 (forget which one it was first time, forgot the exact numbers, and really don't feel like wearing myself out by pushing too far like I did with pushups last time)
Dex: 17 (odd, I could have sworn it was somewhat lower. Oh well)
Con: 12 (this should have been higher, will comment further below)
Int: 16/14, comes out to 15 (interesting, will comment further below)
Wis: 16 (will comment below)
Cha: 11
The dexterity part is highly subjective, not sure how that could be fixed. Constitution is unfortunately a mix of physical endurance and your body's ability to take care of itself, I can't run very far, but I have a very strong immune system and cuts heal faster than some people I know. I think my score got knocked down somewhat by saying I had allergies, there is no mild allergies option as opposed to deadly allergies.
The intelligence section 2 is highly flawed in my opinion, the first one is what should be used, but there is still a problem with the first section. There was one, went: Sine(PI/2) [radians], I don't know what that means, I know pi is usually shortened to 3.14, and it is multiplied by the radius of a circle to find circumference, but I don't know what sine means or radians, if I did, I could answer the question, that one is more about what you know, rather than how well you think. In section 2, there are questions that are completely unrelated to how well you think (so if you enjoy physical activities, you can't be smart?) And then, how do you define complex mathematical problems? I can do multiplication in my head, and division, not multiplication of hundreds by thousands, at that point I need paper, can't keep that many numbers in my head at once, but I am sure that is child's play to some people. First time I took the test, I said yes to that question, but having taken more math classes since then, I said no. And please, explain to my why having lots of friends changes your int score? Letting them borrow your brand new BMW I could see reducing int score, but just having friends won't change it.
Wis is an interesting one, I think some of the questions would have fit just as well in int section 1, though.
Charisma, I am surprised I didn't get a 9 or lower, but oh well. nothing to comment on there.
edit: Oh, I forgot to mention, I spied at least one typo in the intelligence section, as well as one in the wisdom section, which I found funny. Can't find them right now, but I am not looking thoroughly.
str: 7
dex:12
con:7
Int 8
Wis 8
Cha 10
Just reloads the page when I submitDoesn't seem to work for me
Check your popup blocker. A little thing is supposed to come up and tell you everything. It isn't apart of the web page
Strength 15
Dexterity 15
Constitution 15
Intelligence 11
Wisdom 11
Charisma 15
I'm not entirely fluent in english (only in Danish, French and German) mathematics, so I didn't understand all the Intelligence questions.
I'd say that anyone who can speak 3 or more languages would have AT LEAST a 14 int.
Aside from the language problems, your scores seem really well rounded.
I'd say that anyone who can speak 3 or more languages would have AT LEAST a 14 int.
Thanks. I speak Danish, French, and (according to most native english-speaking people I know) English fluent. Apart from that, I can understand German almost perfectly and I can make myself understood. The same goes for Italian and Spanish. English Mathematics still escape me though.
@Trappedslider: Ehm...?
@Trappedslider: Ehm...?
My stats
I'm doomed....
str: 7
dex:12
con:7
Int 8
Wis 8
Cha 10
Tema, you are in the military, right? I would think that almost everyone in the military has above average physical scores from training, exceptions made for desk jockeys, I suppose.
Dex:14
Con:15
Int:14
Wis:9
Cha:15
hmm... lower wis than I'd have thought, but little higher charisma than I'd have thought as well.. all in all it pretty much balances out though.
(guess being a geek in school was a plus.... helped out my dex and con score at least :P hehe)
Well, I guess if you know computers you could be mission control, accessing satellites while the rest of us are scrounging for supplies so we know where the nearest mass of zombies are.
Tema, you are in the military, right? I would think that almost everyone in the military has above average physical scores from training, exceptions made for desk jockeys, I suppose.
No, not yet. I'm a 16 year old (17 in a couple of days) kid who likes firearms. I'll hopefully join the Danish Infantry in a year, and three years from now, I should be a Linguistic Officer with specialty in Arabic (basically, the guy who asks the natives to stay calm, performs arrestations, etc...). I do work out a bit, but not enough to be a I-work-out-type-of-guy. I still see myself as a geek.
Str: 17 (I did 70 push-ups & 90 crunches before I got off rhythm)
Dex: 17
Con: 15
Int: 14
Wis: 13
Cha: 18 (From years of working in fast food with a sh*t-eating grin on my face) :D
But if you were to really play yourself in D20M, would you include any weapons you actually have? For instance, I have a real Katana and Wakizashi along with a personal collection of hunting knives.
Nice stats though. About the curl ups, max is 99. When I took the test, I did 200 curl ups only to realize that max was 99.. :/
Unless you have trained extensively with the weapon, I wouldn't allow proficiency with owned weapons. I have knives and shortswords, but I'm deffinetely not proficient in them. I'd think I have Armour Proficiency (Light), after running around in heavy ringmails for LARP/theatre for a few years. I may have Personal Firearms Prof due to my somewhat queer knowledge of firearms and the fact that I've trained with small calibre rifles and fired a few shots from a G3.
But no, I wouldn't allow proficiency in owned weapons just like that.
http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/terragf/
Sendthas, you know the pushups was how many you could do in a minute, not how many you could do one a second without losing rhythm, right?
With the gaining proficiencies over time idea, I suggest that similar weapons to one you already know how to use would have reduced penalties. For instance, someone that uses just about any kind of rifle only gets a penalty until he gets used to the new sights on a different gun, no penalty if it has the same sights, you could make reloading take slightly longer (free->move->standard->full round) when you weren't used to reloading the gun, that would you you trying to hit the mag catch on the wrong spot, or trying to put the new rounds in a hole in the side when the hole is in the bottom, that kind of thing. Of course, that relies on people knowing the guns used.
Sendthas, you know the pushups was how many you could do in a minute, not how many you could do one a second without losing rhythm, right?
With the gaining proficiencies over time idea, I suggest that similar weapons to one you already know how to use would have reduced penalties. For instance, someone that uses just about any kind of rifle only gets a penalty until he gets used to the new sights on a different gun, no penalty if it has the same sights, you could make reloading take slightly longer (free->move->standard->full round) when you weren't used to reloading the gun, that would you you trying to hit the mag catch on the wrong spot, or trying to put the new rounds in a hole in the side when the hole is in the bottom, that kind of thing. Of course, that relies on people knowing the guns used.
Yeah, that was what my point to with my post^.
Seems reasonable, although the reloading thing should have to apply to anyone not having the PFPfeat, as it's a Move Action for anyone to reload a weapon (with a box mag). RapidReloadfeat excepted.
Anyway, I find your route of gun penalties a bit more reasonable, but I still think it is a but much. Most guns on the market today are made to be as simple as possible. Of course this might not be the case with military weapons. In the case of a zombie invasion, would you really want to drop the reliable weapon you've gotten used to oh so much, and pick up a completely different gun of which you know nothing about? Even if it does more damage, would there be ammo for it close to where you might be? Some situations like that may make the player reconsider picking up the 'cool' gun and dropping their hunting rifle they found in the local Wal-Mart.
But you still have to know what you're doing.
And yes, even with a shotgun, you have to aim. Shot spread isn't that large, and even when it does get that big, you have a good chance of missing with anything but bird shot. And you really don't want to use bird shot on a zombie, won't get through the skull or spine for a headshot.
I don't know where all this 'guns are easy to use' crap comes from.
People have heard that guns are easier to learn to use than bows, but aren't able to conceptualize it as they have no idea how hard it is to learn to use a bow. In both cases, you can discharge projectiles in the general direction you intend 3 minutes into the lesson.
But that is entirely different than getting hits on a mansized target when you need to. Guns, a crash course of about 20 hours class and 20 hours actual trigger time one-on-one can get you pretty good, bows, probably years.
However, simply picking up a handgun and hitting a moving target, or even a stationary one, a little more difficult. Sure, you can make a lot of noise and spew a lot of lead, but you can never miss fast enough to make up for one hit.
There is a saying in competative shooting, there is no such thing as a target to close to miss.
Archery is exceedingly difficult, I can vouch for that. When I was in cub scouts (wow, seems recent, but now I realize that was half my life ago), we went up to some camp or another, learned to shoot BB guns, bows, pan for gold, et cetera. The BB targets were slightly less than eight inches square, I think, from one side of the paper to another, the archery targets were several feet. They were both maybe twenty feet away, and everyone did much better with the BB guns than with the archery, though we were shooting from a bench with the BBs, and we had to use those finger protectors for the arrows. Few people even made hits on the archery targets, not even the rings, but the whole square target (I think it was some sort of material on front of hay bales), though we were forced to use ill-fitting protective gear, which in my case had a tendency to knock the arrows sideways (why the hell do you force a lefty to wear something two sizes too large and meant for a righty?) about five feet into their travel.
Anyway, that whole long paragraph up there was meant to say that archery is tougher than guns, but that doesn't mean guns are easy.
I also heard tell of someone who hit a handkerchief with a bow out at 700 yards, it was one of those high end olympic-quality ones, but it still seems unlikely, does anyone know if that is true?
nodaisho - I've never heard that, and while it seems a bit outlandish, it may be possible. I saw on TV, this archer shot a quarter that someone had flipped in the air. Then he did several more to show that it wasn't a fluke. He wasn't very far away, but a 1-inch moving target at any range takes skill!
I also heard tell of someone who hit a handkerchief with a bow out at 700 yards, it was one of those high end olympic-quality ones, but it still seems unlikely, does anyone know if that is true?
On the planet earth that is impossible. Acceleration due to gravity is a constant. Grab the velocity of an 'olympic quality' arrow in flight, totally ignore air resistance, even shooting upward at about a 45 degree angle you just don't have the flight time to get that far before gravity fully pulls your projectile into the dirt (unless you are very very high up like shoot off the Eiffel Tower or something)
I've been canoeing down a river and heard 'Dueling Banjos' a la Deliverance. Let me tell you, I was wishing I had more ammo that afternoon.