Zombie Apocalypse Game System

[Eldorf.Dragonsbane]

One question I did have for Dragonsbane, and it also currently my only concern for the ATZ system- is simply put: "so... what's the point?"

The point of ATZ is not who can be the strongest, have the most weapons, most goods, etc... But survival. ATZ is a game where you will never "win" against the zombies, only survive to live another day. In ATZ you aren't just fighting the zombies but also hostile NPC's that may want your supplies, and they are willing to do anything they need to to get them. Look at ATZ as a wargame that allows you to tell a story, the story of your Star and any one else he/she has in the party. Your group will grow and shrink as your games progress due to recruiting new members and losing members due to mistakes they might make (Big Bob the Rep 2 Grunt with the runt attribute in the group gets a hold of an LMG and sees a zombie move within his line of sight and he unfortunately opens fire on the zombie, missing each shot, now you have 6 possible new zombies being generated, and since he is a Rep 2 runt, he will probably be toast if he gets into melee with the zeds). If you want a challenge start your Star and Grunt(s) off as level 4 (star) and level 3 (gunts) armed with only melee weapons (baseball bat or machete), and maybe give the Star a Pistol or a Bolt Action Rifle in addition to the melee weapon to give your group a small chance starting out, as you progress you can gain more equipment. Also remember each character does have a limit to the amount they can carry on their person at one time, though you can increase this via them using a vehicle, which in turn has its own encumbrance value.

As previously mentioned your main character (your Star) and the group members (the Grunts) can go up in Rep or down based on certain actions while playing.

Just take your time learning the rules and take them one step at a time like I previously mentioned, you should be able to get a good grasp of how to the mechanics work. The campaign aspect wile good in Book 1 (Better Dead then Zed) really comes alive with the introduction of Book 3 (I, Zombie), with aspects such as the Quirks and Phobias, Fame and Fortune, and Sleep Deprivation, along with the possibility of making enemies out of an NPC you might have slighted in a settlement. Play a few games with just the core book (Better Dead Then Zed) and get the hang of the rules before you introduce the new rules in Haven and I, Zombie. Only rules I might recommend using from I, Zombie right away would be the Building Interior rules and possibly the rules for Watercraft.

As apeekaboo mentioned check out Vampifan's Blog he has some great Bat Reps. If you are looking for some possible background fluff for your campaign check out my Blog, I have some background for a possible source of the Z-Virus via a company called Castle Pharmaceuticals (and their secret Bio-Weapon research Division White Rook). I am planning on posting some additional background fluff on both White Rook experiments and my initial outbreak campaign setting (Mayhem City, which in my game is located where Flint, Michigan is). The link to my Blog is down below in my signature.


Akula- The OP asked for rules that allowed for character development during a campaign. As I mentioned while you have a great set of rules (and I have used them a couple times) they don't offer the depth that I get with ATZ, nor the "customization" ATZ has if you use other THW game rules for new weapons, attributes, baddies, etc...

[AKULA]

would have thought the winking eye would have been a clue I was joking....

Of course a 200 page rule book is going to offer more scope for character development, than a double-side of A4.

Watch a few zombie films (its more fun that reading a telephone book sized set of rules), and see how much development there is....most "characters" get eaten before they have a chance to develop new skills.

My point was, you can tag on any fluff you want (I know he asked for a ready made system).

IMHO character development is more down to having a good umpire (or just a bit of common sense), than a 200 page book that tells you what to do.


Example
A group of survivors (Jon, Mark, Dave, and Sandra) scavenge what they think is a deserted warehouse.  They break in through a window (umpire makes a discretionary roll, and Jon gets cut up on the glass).

Sandra spends a turn binding his wounds (Umpire discretionary roll - fails)  the bleeding hasn't stopped.
Sandra spends a second turn binding the wounds (umpire discretionary roll - succeeds)

The noise of breaking glass has alerted a pair of zombies previously hidden in the shadows.  Dave raises a shotgun to blow them away, but Mark opts to kill them silently, with a hockey stick (combat roll).  Having despatched the two zeds effortlessly, they search the warehouse (Umpire discretionary roll for each player searching - Jon succeeds).  Jon finds a jerrycan of fuel (the object could be random, but in this case the Umpire has constructed a scenario, and its a plot device).

In the meantime, more zombies have begun to collect outside (activated either by the sound of the window breaking, or smell), and start to batter on the doors/windows.  As being quiet doesn't seem to matter anymore, Dave starts to despatch the closest zeds with his shotgun.  Mark decides to try to start a transit van that has been left inside the warehouse - there aren't any keys, but he was previously part of a street gang (players own fluff), and gives it a go (Umpire discretionary roll - succeeds after several attempts).  The back of the van is locked, so they all pile in the front, and burst through the shutter gate of the warehouse, knocking zombies out of the way, to escape to the next scenario.....involving what is locked in the back of the van....

Character Development - based upon what happened in the game
Sandra - Medical Rolls +1
Mark - Close combat +1
Jon - Scavenging +1
Dave - Shotgun +1
Mark - Hotwire Vehicles +1

The close combat/shotgun modifiers are added to the normal rolls, in the rule system used (whether its AR:SE or something else).  The other modifiers get added to a Discretionary roll, the next time that character tries to do the same thing again.

[Smillie]

Nicely done Akula, a good demo of how to add a depth to your game with out a ring binder full of rules! 

[dexter]

One of the problems with FEAR AND FAITH  for zombie games is that a standard  zombie costs almost as much as a survivor. This means that you don't get that feeling of being up against a relentless mass of the dead. You can of course just ignore the points values.

I'd suggest ARSE or for a longer campaign then DEAD WALK AGAIN

cheers
dex

[fanfavorite]

IMHO character development is more down to having a good umpire (or just a bit of common sense), than a 200 page book that tells you what to do.

I'll give it to ya- thats a "truth bomb."

[AKULA]

I'll give it to ya- thats a "truth bomb."

Cheers.
 

Spend the money you save on more zombies....you can never have enough..... 

[Mr. Peabody]

Definitely moving on over to 'No More Room in Hell'. The zombie movement (you want lots & lots of zombies, right?) is easier than ATZ.
ATZ has a cool campaign concept and is loaded with nifty features, no doubt about it. But we ended up at the end phases of our games spending more time on moving Zed than on our own teams.

I still like reaction type games. I've introduced the 2hr family & Ambush Alley games to our club. However, our group has definitely decided that they enjoy the Iron Ivan family of games a lot more.
For pick-up games you can't beat a great 1 page set. Give Akula's set a try and use that as your base-line for fun when measuring-up other games.

You can have a zombie-game-toolbox & draw from a variety of games. No harm owning a few rule sets. But Akula is right:

Spend the money you save on more zombies....you can never have enough..... 

[Eldorf.Dragonsbane]

You can have a zombie-game-toolbox & draw from a variety of games. No harm owning a few rule sets.

Sounds like what I have. Currently can choose (just a small sampling of my collection of rules) from ATZ (both 1st and 2nd editions), Dead Will Walk (Editions 1, 2, and 3 since I just downloaded 3rd ed), Akula's AR:SE, Zombie Plague, Xtreme Zombie Hunter (unfortunately now out of print, the company looks to have gone out of business), Marinse vs. Zombie, Zombie Apocalypse, Dead of Night, or from my actual board game versions (again a small sampling) Zombies!!! The Game (and all expansions up to 7, have yet to purchase the later ones), Mall Of Horror, ATZ the Boardgame, Last Night on Earth (plus the Growing Hunger expansion, the remaining expansions are on my list of things to buy), Zombietown, Humans, and Zombie Fluxx (granted its a card game and not a board game or miniature game).

Out of all the miniature game rules I have, I keep gravitating back to ATZ due to how great the rules are for both solo play and allowing your character to do anything (well anything that a person may be able to do in real life) with the passing of a challenge test. Plus you can mix and match elements from the other Chain Reaction based games, you want a flame thrower in ATZ and have Nuts or FNG? Then use the flamethrower rules in either of those games in your ATZ game. Want to introduce and Alien species, for example the Quar by Zombiesmith miniatures to your ATZ game, use the 5150 Illegal Alien rules (a free 5150 supplement). Your possibilities are (almost) endless, especially as new THW games are released. You can also integrate games such as Qwik into your later set campaigns, a couple survivor communities have started to play the game against each other for prestige or even better trading rights, or a group of gangers are going into communities and challenging the residents to the game, if the gangers win they can have free reign of the towns resources or take any slaves they want from the community, if they communities team wins then the gangers will leave peacefully (only the community isn't safe, they get attacked a couple days later by a seemingly different gang). I would also say if you have Dead Heat you can also introduce Zombie racing, but Zombie racing was included in I, Zombie along with pit fighting.