Download - Zombie - The Hunger
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A Roleplaying Game
2012 by Eske Andersen
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Table Of Contents
The Zombie Circus .......................................... 3
Playing the Game ....................................... 4Game Mechanics ............................................ 5
The Nine Attributes .................................... 6Checks ........................................................ 8Traits based on attributes .......................... 9Rate of success ......................................... 10Player Actions ........................................... 12
Player Character Generation ....................... 13Sample Character ..................................... 13
Survivor Group Attributes ............................ 15Vigor, Teamwork and Morale .................. 15
Group attributes ...................................... 15Group Protection ................................. 15Group Training ..................................... 16Group Supplies ..................................... 16
Expanded Character Rules ........................... 18Social Conflicts ............................................. 19Combat ......................................................... 21
Team Roles ............................................... 22Game Master Section .................................. 25
So What Happened? ................................ 25Building a Story ........................................ 26Final Notes ............................................... 26
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The Zombie Circus
The streets of New York City are empty. As he
walks down Main Street, he remembers howbusy and noisy it used to be. Now, it is silent
as a tomb. There is no one here, hasnt been
for months. He walks alone. Everyone he used
to know is dead. Or at least dead-ish.
In the distance, he hears the familiar sound of
low-pitched moaning. He knows he just has
to turn the next corner to see the horror of his
new reality. He has seen the walking dead
many times before. But seeing hundreds ofcorpses walking around looking for human
flesh is hard to get used to. He probably
never will. Thats a problem, because the
walking dead are the only ones left, and they
are everywhere. Every-fucking-where
Zombie: The Hunger is a role-playing game
that deals with the aftermath of an
apocalyptic zombie outbreak. Players take on
the role of survivors, fighting for their lives.
This book was created to facilitate fast and
simple, yet entertaining, game-play in a
fictional world where zombies have taken
over and civilization has fallen. Character
generation is fast, with only 9 attributes
needed to make all checks in the game. The
simplicity and ease of use is the strength of
Zombie: The Hunger. A game session can run
for a few hours, a single evening or over the
course of several sessions; the point is, if you
want to role-play an entertaining zombiestory, you can do so using the rules in this
PDF. Whether you win or not is up to how
well you do as a player. The Zombie Circus
isnt Disneyland. Its gritty, dark and
unforgiving.
As mentioned, the rules are simple compared
to other similar games. This is intentional.
You dont have to read through hundreds of
pages before you can play the game. The firststep in this game is enough for you to begin
playing. Simply select attributes for your
character and youre ready to play. If you
want a deeper game, keep reading. The
following chapters expand on how the game
is played.
Zombie: The Hunger emphasizes teamwork
by using shared Group attributes. These
attributes are shared stats that have an
impact on the individual players condition
and abilities. The Group attributes sheet is
just as important as the player character
sheet, and everyone in the group is affected
by it. Players are dependant on each other,
which makes for a game that focuses on the
bonds between the player characters.
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Playing the Game
Zombie: The Hunger is a game with many
facets and various styles of game-play. Thegame can be story-driven with very little
combat. This style is about the challenges
your group faces, and how they deal with the
fall of civilization. The psychology of living in
a world where everything you used to take
for granted is gone can make for some very
interesting role-playing.
The action-driven style has more combat
encounters in a single session than story-
driven games, and larger encounters can be
played using a hex grid.
This book should be used as you want to. If
you dislike a rule or another aspect of the
game, change or ignore it. The main goal
here is to have fun and creating an exciting
story.
Playing a survivor character
Playing a survivor means being part of a small
group of at least 5 or more people who have
survived the Zombie Apocalypse. If your
group doesnt have 5 players, the remaining
characters will be NPCs or players can control
more than one character.
So what is this game about? Survival, first of
all. The world has become a very dangerous
place, and zombies lurk around every corner.
Your group faces immediate problems if they
do not have a secure shelter or supplies.
Getting those are your first priority.
The main game-play will consist of fighting
off mobs of zombies, improving your skills,
gathering supplies and building defenses. Youusually fight zombies with handguns,
shotguns and rifles, or more exotic weapons
like golf clubs and hand grenades. There are
so many zombies that killing them all is
impossible; however, killing the ones that
pose a direct threat to your group is
pertinent. Being part of a group is an
essential element of playing a survivorcharacter.
The following chapters describe how you
create and play a survivor character. Reading
the game mechanics chapter will allow you to
start playing right away. If you read on, you
will learn how to implement the Group
attributes, the rules for combat and what
else to expect from the game when playing
survivor characters. The more you read, the
more depth is added.
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Game Mechanics
Zombie: The Hunger uses 2 normal 6-sided
dice to resolve all situations where theoutcome is uncertain. Everything players do
in the game is resolved using checks, which
consists of rolling 2d6 and adding two of the
nine attributes. To make a check to see if you
execute a task successfully, you add together
the two appropriate attributes (determined
by your game master see ) and roll 2d6. If
the roll added to the attributes is 12 or
above, your action is successful. Two sixes
are an exceptional success, and the GameMaster may give an advantage to the player
in question.
Those are the basic game mechanics. Roll 2
dice, add the 2 attributes needed - you
succeed when the result is 12 or above. Want
to fire your machine gun at a zombie that is
getting a little too close for comfort? Roll
2d6, add your Dexterity + Precision if the
result is 12 or above, you succeed and thezombie gets a belly full of lead - depending
on how high the result is, destroying its body
to the point where it cant move. It doesnt
die, mind you; a head shot is required to kill a
zombie.
When rolling the dice for a check, they
sometimes come up with the same numbers,
for example two 3s or two 5s. This causes
different things depending on the context. Ifthe check was an attack, you gain a bonus
die. Bonus Dice can be stored and used in
situations where success is important. Using
a bonus die simply means that instead of 2
dice, you roll 3 dice for the check. Bonus Dice
can also be used as Experience Points, which
allows you to expand your characters
abilities.
The GM can also decide that unexpectedthings happen when pairs are rolled. For
example, someone is trying to write a
computer program. He rolls an Intellect +
Intuition test and gets two 4s. Since his roll
was successful, the program is enhanced so
that it can seek out certain bits of
information the players can use. On the other
hand, if the roll was two 2s, the computer
crashed and the character had not saved his
progress. Two 1s (called Snake Eyes) is alwaysa failure, while two 6s (called Sixes) is always
a success.
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The Nine Attributes
The nine attributes for survivors are Strength, Dexterity, Speed, Precision, Intuition, Intellect,
Senses, Willpower and Personality. The individual player character attributes are divided into 3categories: Physicalattributes, Mental attributes and Manipulation attributes. All attributes are
equally important when playing the game. Each attribute has a value from 1 to 5. The higher the
value, the better your character performs tasks that involve that particular attribute.
Physical attributes are used when a task involves the characters physique. They describe your
characters build and his shape.
Mental attributes are used when a task involves a cerebral aspect. It also includes things like
knowledge and wits.
Manipulation attributes are used when a character uses, operates or interacts with objects or
people.
Attribute Definitions
The following section describes each
attribute and what it tells you about your
character.
Strength: a measure of your characters
physical strength and stamina. Someone witha high score in Strength is physically healthy
and can withstand more damage than others.
Strength is important in hand-to-hand
combat and situations where endurance is
needed.
Dexterity: How agile your character is and
how fast his body reflexes are. Dexterity also
covers handiness, which affects your ability
to use tools and weapons.
Speed: Determines how fast your character
is. This covers both movement and how fast
your character can perform physical tasks in
general. When speed is a factor in a task,
Speed often replaces one of the attributes
needed to perform it. Your movement rate is
based on Speed.
Intuition: Your characters ability to know
something without having all the facts.
Intuition is what educated guesses are based
on. It also affects how fast a learner he is.
Intuition is involved in decision making and
finding solutions to various problems.
Performing new tasks are easier to do with a
high intuition.
Intellect: Your ability to think logically and
plan ahead. It also implies the characters
level of education, and indirectly his
knowledge about academic and scientific
concepts and its application. Intellect is used
when many factors have to be structured in
order to comprehend complex information
quickly. Intellect also determines how much
time you need to understand abstract andconcrete knowledge.
Willpower: This attribute describes yourcharacters mental strength. It determines your
characters drive and his will to go on despite
overwhelming odds. Willpower is used when you
want to accomplish something that requires self-
control and self-discipline.
Senses: How good your character senses and
perception are. Senses are defined in two
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ways; the bodily senses (sight, smell, etc) and
the inward senses (how well the character
integrates the information he perceives).
Characters with a high Senses score tend to
have excellent eye-sight and are usuallyobservant and alert.
Precision: Your characters ability to perform
tasks that involve physical precision. Tasks
involving eye-hand coordination or fine
motor skills are usually based on Precision.
Personality: This attribute defines your
characters behavioral traits. Personality
determines his ability to function in social
contexts and how well he works with others.
The Personality attribute also covers qualitieslike likeability and charisma. Most
importantly, it determines how much a
character can contribute to the groups
integrity and training.
This table gives you a quick overview and divides the attributes into the 3 main attribute
categories.
Category
Physical Attributes: Strength: 1-5 Dexterity 1-5 Speed 1-5
Mental Attributes: Intuition: 1-5 Intellect 1-5 Willpower 1-5
Manipulation Attributes: Personality: 1-5 Precision 1-5 Senses 1-5
For more information on how to create your own survivor character, see page 13.
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Checks
A checkis performed when a character performs a task where the outcome is uncertain. Making a
check means rolling 2d6, adding two attributes and any modifiers determined by the GM. A checkwith a final result of 12 or above is successful, while a result of 2-11 is a failure. Checks are at the
core of the rules, since they determine the outcome of the players actions.
SinceZombie: The Hungerdoes not use skills or other conventional descriptors, all checks must be
resolved using two of the 9 attributes. This means that the GM must determine which attributes
best describe the task at hand. Players are encouraged to discuss which attributes are relevant,
since most actions can be performed in several ways. However, the GM has the final word on
which attributes to use.
Here are some examples that show how attributes can be used in different situations where acheck is required.
Driving: Senses + Precision or Intuition +
Precision check.
Athletics: Strength and Dexterity.
Stealth: Intuition and Dexterity.
Empathy: Personality and Intuition.
Socializing, formal: Intuition and Intellect.
Socializing, informal: Intuition and
Personality.
Streetwise: Intuition and Personality.
Intimidation, physical: Personality and
Strength.
Intimidation, mental: Personality andIntellect.
Using a sniper rifle: Senses + Precision.
Burst fire: Speed + Senses.
First Aid: Intellect + Intuition or Intellect +
Senses
Punching a Zombie or other character:
Strength + Dexterity
Repairing a shelter: Senses + Strength
Building defenses: Strength + Intellect
Run away from a zombie mob: Speed +
Dexterity.
Sensing Danger: Intuition + Senses.
Picking a Lock, mechanical: Precision +
Intuition.
Picking a lock, digital: Intellect + Intuition.
Calming down a hysterical person: Intuition
+ Personality.
Keeping your Cool while planning your next
move: Willpower + Intellect
Wrestle free from a zombies grip: Strength
+ Dexterity.
Spotting hidden objects or people: Senses +
Intuition
Persuasion: Willpower + Intellect or Intellect
+ Intuition.
Research: Intellect + Senses or Intuition,
depending on the kind of research.
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Understanding complex subjects: Intellect +
intuition.
Scientific tasks; Intellect + intuition.
Knowledge: Intellect + Personality.
Sneaking: Intuition + Dexterity.
Recon: Senses + Intuition
Planning a mission based on recon: Intellect
+ Intuition.
Lying: Intuition + Personality.
Resist extreme climates: Strength +
Willpower.
Politics: Intellect + Personality.
Computers: Intellect + Intuition.
Crafts: Dexterity and Intuition.
OTHER USES OF ATTRIBUTES
Similar checks can be based on different
attributes, determined by the situation and
context. If a zombie suddenly appears behind
you, your game master might call for a Speed
+ Precision to test if you are fast enough to
blow it to pieces with your shotgun before it
attacks you. The players can also contribute
by recommending a certain combination of
attributes. If the GM finds the contribution
adds to the game, you can use that attribute
combination instead of another.
There are some character traits that are
derived from your attributes. Speed,
Willpower and Personality are special
attributes that are used to calculate other
aspects of your character.
Traits based on attributes
Some traits are derived from your attributes.
For example, you can move your Speed + 3
meters (one hex) per round. Your Willpower
+ Strength determines how many Player
Actions you have per day. Your Personality
determines how well you are integrated in
the group. The groups ability to work
together is based on the Personality
attribute. Working together is completely
essential in order to survive.
Other special traits derived from your
attributes are how much damage you can
take before you go unconscious or dies. To
find that value, add 5 to your Strength. Some
general checks that are used frequently, like
perception checks and fear checks.
To reiterate the derived traits, here is a list
describing each one, including special checks
that players face often.
Moves per turn: This determines how many
hexes you can move your character per
round. It is Speed +3.
Player Actions per day: Willpower +
Strength.
Health: The amount of damage you can
sustain without dying. Health is Strength + 5.
Perception check: This check is made to
decide whether your character detects any
relevant detail, hidden objects and hiding
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enemies. The check is based on Senses +
Intuition.
Fear Check: You make this check when your
character is ambushed or otherwise surprisedin a bad way. A Fear check is also made every
night. The needed attributes are Willpower
and Personality. Failing a Fear Check wreaks
havoc on your characters concentration,
which means he receives a minus 1 to all rolls
during the current encounter or the next, if
more appropriate (for example, theobligatory Night Fear check)
Rate of success
In many situations, it is important to know
how successful or unsuccessful your action is.
An attribute roll has a rate of success based
on your checks final score. This is called the
Success Rate. You get a success on your finalscore for every point above 11, since you
need a score of 12 to succeed. For example, a
character is shooting at an enemy. He bases
his roll on Dexterity and Precision (3+3 =6)
and rolls a 7. Adding these numbers gives a
final score of 13, which in turn means a
Success Rate of 2. This determines the shots
damage to the enemy. For every success, thedamage increases (for more on combat, see
the Combat chapter on pagep side 21).
The following table shows you how to interpret the degree of success for any roll. Success Rate is
abbreviated SR.
SR 8+ (final result is 20+): A perfect
execution of the task performed. The task is
performed so well that the Game Master
may give the player advantages during his
next task if appropriate.
SR 7 and 8 (Final result is 18-19): The
successful task is executed with flair and
competence.
SR 5 and 6 (Final result is 16-17): The task is
completed with very good results.
SR 3 and 4 (Final result is 14-15):The task is
completed with ease and finesse.
SR 1 and 2 (Final result is 12-13): This is the
limit for determining whether or not your
task is successful. It always produces a
successful outcome.
Group Succes Rate
Another use of the Success Rate is when your
group tries to do something as a team. This is
called the Group Success Rate. You take the
Success Rate for each player participating in
the groups effort, and add them together (or
subtract them, in case of a negative Success
Rate). Tactical training consists of each
character making an attribute roll pertaining
to the kind of training in question. For every
score that is 12 or above, you count how
many points above 11 your score is to get the
Success Rate. This is repeated for all
participating characters. When the training is
over, all results are added together. Any
negative Success Rates are detracted from
this sum.
Example: 4 player characters train to improve
their team work. They each roll 2d6, adding
their Personality and the attribute they are
training. One players gets a final score of 13,
the second player gets 12 and the last player
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gets 10. The Success Rates of each character
is 2 for the first player, 1 for the second player
and -2 for the last player. Add these together
to get the Group Success Rate, which in this
case is 2 + 1 2; a final result of +1.
This score determines how well the group
effort worked out. How training works is
explained in detail in a later chapter.
Check Modifiers
Different situations can have a positive or a negative impact on your characters roll. For example,
if a character tries to shoot zombies in the dark without a flashlight, he would suffer a -2 modifier.
The modifier can also be positive; trying to shoot the same zombie in the back head at close range
in daylight may give you a +2 modifier to your roll. This kind of modifier is determined by the
context and the situation, which is determined by your Game Master.
Actions that require experience
Things like driving a car, shooting an assault rifle or trying to get a short-wave radio working are
dependant on having prior experience. If your character does not know how to drive a car but tries
anyway, he will suffer a penalty to his roll. The more the task is dependant on experience, the
larger the negative modifier gets. See this table to give you an idea about how this works.
Modifier Description
When the GM decides that a task is more difficult than usual, or that the task requires some level
of experience to be performed, he assigns a modifier that is subtracted from the players roll.
-1: The task can be performed with little
extra effort.
-2/-3: Some experience is needed to perform
the task.
-4/-5: This modifier signifies that the task is
hard for the inexperienced.
-6/-7: The task is so complex that it takes an
enormous effort.
-8: The task is all but impossible for the
inexperienced to perform. Remember, Sixes
(two 6s) are always successful.
Inexperience turns into experience after completing the task successfully. Usually, for every
successful check, your negative modifier goes down a notch. If you dont know how to drive a car,
yet succeed on your roll with a -2 modifier, the next time you try driving, you will only have a -1
modifer (only the Game Master can decide whether experience with a certain task can give
positive modifiers).
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Player Actions
The number of encounters, missions and
events that a player character can go throughper day without fatigue is determined by the
Willpowerand Strength attributes. Add these
together to get the number of actions you
can partake in per day without experiencing
fatigue. The minimum amount of Player
Actions a character can have is 4. If your
characters Strength and Willpower
attributes add up to less than 4, you still get 4
Player Actions per day. Once you pass that
number of actions per day, you suffer apenalty to all your rolls, starting from -1
going down to -5, corresponding to how
many actions your perform beyond your
Player Action score.
Player Actions are the core of the game.
Going on missions to get supplies, defending
your shelter from zombies, tactical training
with your team; these are all Player Actions.
It is important to prioritize your actionsthroughout the day, and at some point, you
will most likely find yourself in a situation
where you will suffer from fatigue because of
used up Player Actions.
The following is a list of the most common
Player Actions, some of which are everyday
actions, while other are when-needed.
Killing zombies: This is the most basic player
Action a battle encounter. When the battleis large enough for it to be played out on a
hex grid, it counts as a Player Action.
Tactical Training: Whether youre working on
your teamwork, morale or vigor, each player
participating must use a Player Action.
Travel: When you travel, every 4 hours of
transition takes one Player Action. How you
travel is not important.
Building and Repairing your Shelter: For
each part of your shelter that needs building
or repairing, your player character must use
one Player Action.
Defending your shelter: This is basically a
battle encounter, and as such takes one
Player Action per encounter you face during
the assault on your shelter.
Recreational Time: Take a time-out from the
horrors of the zombie apocalypse. Maybe
youve found a cinema thats still in working
order. Recreational time gives you time to
roleplay and get to talk to the other group
members. It also negates any failed Fear
Checks the group members may have.
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Player Character Generation
To create a character for Zombie: The
Hunger, you choose which category ofattributes is most important. You have pools
of 3, 4 and 5 points that you can spend in
each category. For example, you can spend 4
points in the Physical Category (strength,
Dexterity and Speed), 3 points in the Mental
category (Intuition, Intellect, Willpower) and
5 in the Manipulation category (Precision,
Senses, Personality). You then distribute the
points between the attributes in that
category. For example, if you choose tospend 4 points in the Mental category, you
could have 3 in Intellect, 2 in intuition and 2
in Willpower. You do not pay for the first
level of the attribute.
The Game Master can also allow players to
generate characters with different base
points, for example using 5 points in each
category. This means stronger characters,
and is mostly done when the group part of
the game will be downgraded.
Any number of points can be used at
character generation, as long as they aredivided into 3 pools for each category.
However, the recommended starting pools
are 3,4 and 5.
Sample Character
Meet Steven. Hes a survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse. Before that, h e was a police officer. The
following table defines Steven as a character and is the basis for how well he performs various
tasks.
Category
Physical Strength: 3 (+1) Dexterity 3 Speed 2 (+1)
Mental Intuition: 3 Intellect 2 Willpower 3 (+1)
Manipulation Personality: 2 Precision 3 Senses 3
Group Modifier +1 0 +2
Those are Stephens personal attributes. Because Stephen is in a group consisting of 5 like-minded
survivors, he gets stronger and is safer. There is always safety in numbers. Here are the Group
attributes. How they affect the individuals character will be explained below.
Category Vigor Teamwork Morale
Protection Defense 4 Secrecy 2 Safety 6
Supplies Food 11 Weapons 4 Meds 12
Experience Survival 1 Training 3 Social 3
Score 16 9 20
Attribute cateogry Physical +2 Manipulation 0 Mental +1
There are three Group Bonuses: Vigor (affects Physical attributes) , Teamwork (affects
Manipulation attributes) and Morale (affects Mental attributes). The modifiers from the Group
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Bonus are added to an attribute of your choice in the corresponding category. For example,
Stephen has a +2 bonus in physical attributes. Since he will need to be as fast as possible for his
next mission and he will need more Strength, he puts 1 point in Speed, making the score 5, and 1
point in Strength. Stephen still needs to allocate 1 points from his Morale attribute bonus. He can
choose to use the +1 bonus on any of the tree attributes in the Mental category. Note that anattribute can receive no more than +1 until all attributes in that category have a +1 bonus. When
all the attributes have a +1 and the group receives a high enough bonus, you can begin giving
attributes a +2. For more information about the Group modifiers, see page 15).
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Survivor Group Attributes
In addition to your individual PC sheet, the group also has a number of stats that are important in
order to survive. Group attributes describe the groups shelter, supplies and condition. Eachattribute has an impact on your characters attributes through Group Bonuses. There are three
bonus types, each defined by 3 separate group attributes.
Vigor, Teamwork and Morale
This chapter defines how and why the three Group bonus categories morale, vigorand teamwork
affects the individual characters. Let us start by defining each attribute.
VIGOR: Describes the groups overall healthand vitality. A high Vigor bonus makes the
group very strong. It is based on the Group
attributes Defense, Food and Survival
Training.
TEAMWORK: Reflects how well the group
acts as a unit. The score is based on the
Group attributes Secrecy, weapons andCombat Training.
MORALE: Reflects the groups determination
and drive to survive. The score is based on
the Group attributes Safety, Meds and
Tactical Training.
Group attributes
A player group has nine attributes that describe their situation and how well they are doing. They
differ from the character attributes in definition and how they are used. Each group attribute
belongs to a category of group bonus (mentioned above). The group attributes are divided into 3
categories: Group protection, Group Training and Group Supplies (described below). Each category
has 3 attributes that relate to one of the three group bonuses.
Group Protection
Shelter Defense is a number determining
how well protected your group base is.
Survivors without a base receive no bonuses
in Group Protection, so deciding on a shelter
is important. A shelter can be anything from
a shed to a hospital with reinforced doors.
Shelter Defense can be improved by using
Player Actions to build a better shelter.
Shelter Strength provides Morale Bonuses.
Shelter Safety is determined by type of
shelter and amount of guards and spotters.
Determines the quality of the shelters
interior. Safety gives Vigor bonuses.
Shelter Secrecy: The score determines how
hard (or easy) your shelter is to find for the
zombies. Determines risk of a Zombie Assault
and how careful players have to be in order
not to be found by zombies. Gives Teamwork
bonuses.
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Group Training
These attributes are improved by actively
training them. Note that all training involves
the Personality attribute, making it essential
if you want a group that is top notch. All
training requires a Player Action to be spent,
and lasts 2-4 hours. If your group roll is
successful, you may add the success rate to
the Group attribute you have trained.
Survival Training: This training exercise helps
the group to work together in different
dangerous situations, such as moving safely
in unknown territory and maneuveringefficiently. To train this exercise, a Group
check is made based on the Physical attribute
you wish to train plus each characters
Personality. Gives a bonus to the groups
Vigor attribute.
Combat Training: A number determining how
much combat training your group has. To do
this exercise, a Group Check is made based
on the Manipulation attribute you wish to
train plus + Personality. It gives bonuses to
the groups Teamwork attribute.
Tactical Training: This score reflects how
your group works as a unit and how much
they trust each other. To increase this value,you must train by making a Group Roll based
on on the Mental attribute you wish to train
plus each characters Personalityscore. Gives
a bonus to the groups Morale attribute.
Group Supplies
Generally, this category describes the groups
inventory of the most essential items. When
they reach 0 or below, they affect the
corresponding Group Category negatively.
Food: (number of days you can survive on
your food stash. Food affects Vigor.
Meds: Determines how many medical
supplies the group has. When a player is
healed at the group base, subtract 1 from
this score. Affects the Teamwork bonus.
Weapons: A score reflecting how well your
group is armed, and how many combat
encounters there are ammunition for. Affects
the Morale bonus.
Operating without supplies
If the groups supplies begin to run out, the need for more becomes imperative. Without food,
weapons and meds, the group will quickly face an abrupt end. For each day where a supply is at 0
or lower, the group receives a penalty on their group benefits (the teamwork, morale and vigor
attributes, see the next chapter).
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Below is a chart showing the nine Group attributes and how they are categorized.
Category Vigor Teamwork Morale
Protection Defense 4 Secrecy 2 Safety 6
Supplies Food 11 Weapons 4 Meds 12
Training Survival 1 Combat 3 Tactical 3
Score 16 9 20
Group Modifier +1 0 +2
How to use the Group Modifiers
The three Group Modifiers correspond to the 3 Attribute Categories: Physical, Mental and
Manipulation. A high Morale score means that you get a pool of points that you can spend tomake higher rolls in the Mental Category (Intuition, Intellect and Willpower). A high Teamwork
score gives you points to use on Manipulation Attributes, and Vigor affects your Physical
Attributes.
To calculate the groups three bonus attributes Vigor, Morale and Teamwork, you add the
relevant group attributes together and consult the table below to see your bonus.
Example: Vigoris based on food, defense and survival training. Start by taking your Food attribute,
in this example 7 days of rations, and add your shelters defense value, which is defined by your
surroundings and any defenses you might have. Lets say its 6 in this example. Then add your
Survival Training. Lets say the group has trained twice with a result of 3, resulting in a finalVigorscore of 16. Consult the table below to see your Vigorbonus. 16 gives the group a bonus of +1 to
one attribute in the Physical category. If they get 4 more points in food, survival training or
defenses, the bonus will go up +2.
TABLE 3: Bonus modifiers for morale, teamworkand vigor. Find your score in any of these 3 and
apply it to one attribute in the corresponding attribute category.
BONUS TABLEScore Modifer Score Modifier Score Modifier
1-9 0 30-39 +3 60-69 +6
10-19 +1 40-49 +4 70-79 +7
20-29 +2 50-59 +5 80-89 +8
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Expanded Character Rules
While the rules presented so far allows you to play the game fully, some players may wish to
expand on their characters. This chapter gives you guide lines on how to give depth andbelievability to your character.
Character Professions
Your characters Intellect attribute determines what kind of profession your character had before
the zombie apocalypse. Intellect determines the upper limit on jobs; a character can easily be a
vagrant with a Intellect of 5, but a teacher must have at least 3 in Intellect. A job can expand what
your character can do without suffering inexperience modifiers. For example, a medic may
perform first aid and a M.D. may perform surgery with no negative modifiers.
Intellect of 1: Vagrant, criminal, cleaner, bike messenger, boxer.
Intellect of 2: Doorman, bartender, gas station attendant, hair-dresser.
Intellect of 3: medic, nurse, firefighter, public school teacher, soldier, policeman.
Intellect of 4: High-school teacher or assistant university teacher, junior lawyer, priest, medical
doctor.
Intellect of 5: Professor, big time lawyer, physicist, scientist, politician.
Character Aspects
Introducing aspects into the game will give your character the potential for as much depth as you
like. The basic notion is that you write down any ideas and descriptions of aspects of your
character that you see fit, either before or during the story. Creating aspects of your character as
the story moves along gives your character a connection to its experiences.
For example, your character meets another group of survivors. He gets into an argument over who
gets the rights to an abandoned warehouse full of food. If your character bows down to any
intimidation from the other group, you might give your character an aspect called caves intopressure when threatened. This might sound like a bad thing, but that is the way you get to know
your character. Later on in the story, you might add to the aspect, knows when to stop before
things get out of hand. The idea is that aspects are neither good nor bad; they simply describe
your characters personality (not to be confused with the attribute of the same name). When you
role-play an aspect in a way that fits your character, but is somehow detrimental to his situation,
the GM awards you experience points. Experience points can be used to buy useful aspects like
knows how to drive a truck or knows how to hack a computer system.
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Social Conflicts
Winning over a competing character in a
social conflict is usually handled as aprolonged contest of Intellect and intuition.
This can be accomplished through role-
playing, but this chapter gives you a more
abstract way of resolving disputes and similar
situations where discussion and conflict is
important.
You can use the following rules to determine
how well your character does in a social
dispute. The opposing sides are calledDefender and Attacker. The system consists
of a number of Objectives (called Arguments
in most social contexts) that the Attacker will
try to counter-argue.
The Game Master decides on the number of
Arguments, usually an uneven number. He
then assigns a Complexity Level to each
Argument, usually the same for all of them.
The point is to win each Argument by putting
enough points in it before your opponent.
Attacker and Defender takes turns to assign
points for each Argument by rolling an
Intellect + Intuition check and assigning any
Success Rates to an Argument. Once an
Argument has reached the number of
Success Rates needed (its Complexity Rating),
it is won by the part that put in the most
point. This continues until all Arguments have
been won. The conflict is resolved by one
side having won more Arguments than the
other.
Example: Maxwell tries to persuade an
unwilling non-player character to join the
group. The Game Master decides that the
conflict consists of 3 Arguments, each having
the Complexity Rating of 3. Maxwell rolls his
Intellect + Intuition and gets 2 successes. He
chooses to put them in Argument #1. He now
only needs one more success to win
Argument #1. The NPC then rolls her Intellect
+ Intuition and gets 1 success, which she putsin Argument #2. Back to Maxwell, who rolls
again and gets 4 successes enough to win
an argument immediately. He puts them into
Argument #3, and the Game Master crosses
that Argument off as won by Maxwell. The
NPC rolls and gets 2 successes, enough to win
Argument #2. She gets the needed 3
successes for Argument #2 and wins it. Now
Maxwell needs to get at least one success to
win the conflict he has already put in 2points in the remaining Argument. He rolls
and gets a Success Rate of -2, so he cannot do
anything but wait while the NPC makes her
roll. She gets 2 successes, making Argument
#1 a tie, with both opponents having 2
successes invested in it. Maxwell rolls again,
this time with better luckhe gets a Success
Rate of 2, one more than needed, and wins
Argument #1. All Arguments have been won,
and since Maxwell won 2 out of 3, he issuccessful in persuading the NPC to join the
group.
Note that any excess Success Rates go to
waste. If the GM wants to add more complex
dynamics to the conflict, he can rule that a
player can use his excess Successes to detract
from the opposing sides Argument points.
Once an Argument is won, it is no longer part
of the conflict and cannot be won back by
detracting points using excess Successes.
The above example is relatively simple, and
was resolved quickly. Social conflicts can be
very complicated affairs, and this system
reflects that. The number of Arguments is in
principle unlimited, as is their Complexity
Rating. The GM must decide how much time
is relevant for the social conflict and assign
the number of Arguments and Complexity
Ratings accordingly.
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Since all the attributes are abstract in this
context, they can all be used as the basis for
an Argument. For example, a strength +
personality roll can be valid if the Game
Master decides that it is appropriate for anArgument. This is decided before the
argument begins, and must be made clear by
the Game Master.
These rules can be applied to all situations
where there is a sequenced conflict. Foe
example, a character might try to hack a
computer system to gain important
information. To do this, he has to successfully
bypass every firewall the system has one byone. Each firewall is handled as an Objective
with a Complexity Value. The values for each
Objective are determined by the Game
Master as usual, and he rolls the dice for the
system as if it were an NPC.
The system can be used to emulate political
debates and even war, where each Argument
or Objective can represent a strategic battle
ground. The challenge is to make the
abstract concrete for the players. It isimportant that the Game Master describes
what happens when an Argument is won.
When the NPC won Argument #2 In the
previous example, the Game Master might
have said The girl has survived alone for a
long time, and the idea of being part of a
group of people she doesnt know scares
her. Well prepared social conflicts can be
very entertaining and profound; it all relies
on how well the GM prepares or improvises,and how well he can transform the abstract
rules into something concrete.
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Combat
Combat in Zombie: The Hunger is relatively
simple. All attacks are executed just like anyother task, using two attributes determined
by the situation. There are two kinds of
attacks: Close combat and gunfire. Shooting
at a target is a simple task like any other.
Usually, it is Precision + Dexterity, although
this depends on the situation. If you have to
kill a large mob of zombies close to you, you
can use Speed+Dexterity. Again, the Game
Master determines what is appropriate.
Close combat is dangerous, especially for
survivors, since a single bite almost inevitably
means infection with disease. Close combat
involves both characters rolling Strength +
Dexterity. The character with the highest
successful result succeeds and damages his
opponent. Most survivors carry a melee
weapon, like a bat or a knife. These attacks
can only be used when you are standing next
to the enemy, and they are always aimed atthe zombies head. It does not carry the
standard -3 penalty to hit, and one success
means a successful blow that incapacitates
the zombie. How this happens depends on
the weapon used; golf clubs smashes heads
in, while a long sharp object penetrates the
skull and brain.
Firearms
When you use firearms, range is very
important. For most firearms, any range
above 10 meter gives a -1 modifier to your
roll. Over 20 meters, its -2, and for over 30,
its -3. Going above 40 is only for advanced
shooters, giving a modifier of -5
Success Rates determines damage, which
makes combat simple. Your attack damage isequal to your Success Rate (see the Success
Rates section). For every point above 11, you
inflict extra damage. How much is
determined by the weapon.
Guns are divided into categories: 9mm, shot-
guns, rifles and automatic weapons. Each
type of gun deals different amounts of
damage and has a maximum number of
shots you can make per round.
9mm handguns: These are the mainstay of all
survivors. Its the default gun, and the
category comprises all handguns of this
caliber. Simplified, all 9mm handguns has
clips of 12 rounds, meaning you have to
reload after emptying it. Reloading takes a
round and a successful Speed + Precision roll.
If the roll fails, it takes one extra round to
reload. The advantage of a handgun is its
handiness. You can fire two shots per round
with a damage of 1 per shot.
Shotguns: More damage, slower firing rate.
Only one shot per round, but it deals 2 points
of damage per Success Rate. You can also use
a shotgun to blast several zombies away at
once. All zombies that stand in the hex next
to the main target can be hit if the attack roll
has a Success Rate of +1 for every zombie.
This is called indirect fire, and only inflictshalf damage (2 for shotguns). A shotgun
holds 8 rounds, and must be reloaded after
they are used. Again, a successful Speed +
Precision roll must be made. The shotgun can
only be fired once per round.
Rifles: This type of weapon is about
precision and reliability. It deals 2 points of
damage, but it also takes away the modifier
of -2 when shooting at a zombies head. Rifle
firing rate is usually 1 per round if you move,
2 if you stand still. A rifle can hold up to 12
rounds.
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COMBAT TACTICS FOR SURVIVORS
Players can employ certain actions that have
special effects. They require certain
conditions before they can be initiated, but
the effects can be very useful.
Aiming: To aim, you select a target and use
your turn to increase your precision. You
cannot move while aiming, but you get a +2
to your shot in the next round. If your target
is not visible to your character the following
turn, your bonus is not applicable.
Dual wielding: Handguns and close combat
weapons can be dual wielded. You get a -2 to
all attacks made with the extra weapon. To
begin dual wielding, you will have to make a
successful Dexterity + Intuition roll first. This
takes a round for each attempt.
Mow Down: Two or more players unleash a
barrage of bullets on a group of zombies for
one round. This tactic enables all the
participating players to attack in each
participating players round. To initiate this
tactic, a Group Roll for Intellect + Personality
roll must be successful. (add or subtract the
Success Rate for each participating player to
find the Group Success Rate). All characters
must stand next to at least one other
character.
Fighting Retreat: All players move their run
speed towards any edge of the map for 3
rounds. Each round, the players get one
attack (determined by the weapon used) to
the zombie closest to them.
Tactical Regroup: All players must make a
Group Fear check and a Speed + Intellect
check. If everybody succeeds, the group canmove their players up to 5 hexes away on the
map in addition to their normal movement.
All characters must move towards a single
target hex.
Team Roles
When dealing with large numbers of zombies
(called Zombie Circuses or Rot-fests), its vital
that everybody in the group delivers his best.
Players need to be very organized in order to
survive. Assigning roles to player charactersraises your success level significantly. These
roles are not permanent; they do not have to
be used at all, and each character should
choose the role most appropriate for the
particular situation. Here are some roles that
survivors use to designate each group
members role in a skirmish.
Supplies Guy: The character carrying extra
ammo and meds. When the players run out
of ammo, they must stand next to this
character for 1 round. The Supplies Guy
suffers a -2 on Speed and Dexterity. Usually,
this role is given to an NPC.
Runner: Runs through Zombie mobs to
strategic locations or supplies and weapons.
Main attributes: Physical.
Mower: A in-their-face close combat
character, usually equipped with a shotgun
or an automatic weapon. Main attributes:
Manipulation.
Controller: Makes noises and taunts zombies
in order to lure them away from vulnerable
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players, usually Runners. Main attributes:
Mental.
NPC ROLES
Sniper: Picks specific zombies and makes
head shots from a distance.
Scouts and spotters: Takes care of
reconnaissance and early warnings.
Bait: Lures zombies into a trap or away from
locations.
Damage
Survivors and zombies have different rules for taking damage. The damage rules for survivors are
based on your Willpower and Strength Attributes. The number of wounds a survivor can take
before dying is 5 + your Strength attribute. How much damage a character takes from a single
successful attack is determined by the attacks Success Rate. For each success, the damage
increases by one.
Since players often face many zombies at a time, it is crucial that the combat system makes it easy
to keep track of how much damage a zombie has taken.
The average zombie has 3 conditions that reflect the amount of damage it has taken. Zombies
usually start the encounter as undamaged (corresponding to 6 Hit points). Your Success Rate for
your attack determines how much damage you do. When an attack does 2 damage to a zombie, its
status goes to damaged (4 HP). Further 2 points of damage makes the zombie severely damaged
(2 HP), and the last stage is either death by headshot or massive body damage (0 HP).
Head shot: instant death. -2 to attack roll for every 10 meters away the zombie is. If you stand 2hexes away from your target, the -2 penalty is removed.
Massive Body damage (0 or less HP): The zombie's body is rendered unusable by damage. In
effect, it is incapacitated - even though its limbs may still move. Dont stand too close, though.
Immobilize: The Zombie's legs are damaged to such a degree that the zombie cannot walk.
Immobilized zombies are easily killed after combat. When you roll Sixes, you automatically
damage the zombie to this level.
Zombie types
There are 2 different types of zombies.
Theres the classic mindless, rotting zombie
that bangs its head against the same steel
door for 3 days straight, and then there are
Alphas. Alpha zombies are evolved zombies
with special powers. They retain some of
their mind during the transformation that
occurs after infection, and this has profound
effects on the zombie. An Alpha zombie is
faster, stronger and scarier than normal
zombies because of its powers. An Alpha
zombie can take control of other zombies
and move them strategically, in contrast to
how zombies normally move motivated
only by instinct and sensations, like sounds
and the warmth of living flesh.
Alpha zombies have a shared consciousness
called The Legion Mind. It connects Alphas to
each other within a distance of around a
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kilometer. This shared consciousness allows
the zombies to communicate and develop
their mental powers and in turn, how much
they can do with normal zombies. They can
make a normal zombie move fast as if it was
still alive, but only for a short while.
Sometimes, that is all it takes for an
otherwise safe and preplanned mission to go
awry.
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Game Master Section
This section is for the game masters eyes only. It contains ways of creating situations and stories
for the players to experience. It also gives you some answers about what actually happened; whythe world is swarming with the walking dead. This chapter relies on the notion that you know
what a GMs job is, and how to create suspense in a role-playing game.
So What Happened?
Why did the dead rise? Why are people turning into undead monstrosities? Those are questions
that need answering for both players and GM. However, the GM should think about how he
delivers the answers, and how quickly he does it. Below is a short treatment on the facts that
created the zombie apocalypse.
The world was hit by a meteoroid that did considerable damage to the eastern hemisphere. While
the immediate damage on Earth was under control, the event caused a worldwide crisis. Amidst
this crisis, the first infected were discovered. Any link between the asteroid and the disease is
unknown, although some speculate that the asteroid brought something into the Earths
atmosphere. Something that started a chain of events that led to the downfall of much of western
civilization. Widespread panic erupted in many cities over the world. Some fell because of the
aftermath of the meteoroids landing and the resulting earthquakes, while others fell due to the
disease. Global communication is still intact, but large areas on all continents are silent. It is
believed that a combination of the natural disaster and the disease are the main culprits. Attempts
at reconnecting with these areas are ongoing, but so far with little luck. Some cities have been
found almost empty, the people being either dead, infected or simply disappeared.
The infection spreads like a virus, but its nothing like any virus in any existing medical database.
What little believable research that has been done on the infectious compound describes it as a
hyper-complex semi-organic string of molecules that has some of a virus properties. It is not
airborne, but the mutation rate of the compound is faster than anything seen before. It spreads
through body fluids; blood and saliva being the main ways.
There is no cure, but there is something akin to a vaccine. It is developed in the few functioning
parts of the world with the resources needed. It is scarce and only lasts for 24 hours. If you areexposed to the meta-virus without being vaccinated means a 90% chance that you will be infected,
and at that point, it is only a matter of hours before the transformation starts. The exact time is
somewhere between 5 and 24 hours. There is no known way to stop it, except killing the patient.
There have been a few documented cases of persons going through the transformation while still
retaining some of their humanity and showing varying degrees of self-control. These are called
Alphas, and have as of yet not been classified in terms of biological category. It is believed that
some infected are part of society, either not knowing of their infection or choosing to hide it.
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Building a Story
A game story consists of a number of random
or pre-planned encounters and situations. A
short adventure can have 4 encounters, while
longer adventures can have as many as you
want.
A story contains a number of different
obstacles and tasks. It should deliver a
number of diverse situations that usually
come up in a zombie game.
As a GM, you can create a story all of your
own. But since this game is supposed to be
light on preparation, there are tables that can
structure a story randomly.
RANDOM LOCATIONS
Roll 1d6 twice to see where the adventure
starts and ends.
1. A capital (example: New York)2. A medium city (example: Portland)3. A small town (example: Augusta,
Maine)
4. Open Road (example: a desert gasstation)
5. Tbe Wild (example: wild forest)6. Large building complex (examples: a
mall, a skyscraper)
Here are some random missions that the
players may face. You can use this to build a
plot as you go, or you can use it to sequence
a number of events before the game starts.
Each mission will have a number of
Challenges, and all require at least on Player
Action.
1. Rescue mission: A group of survivorshave been located, and if the players
rescue them, their supplies are added
to the groups.
2. Food Supply Run: A supply of food hasbeen found.
3. Weapon Supply Run: A supply ofweapons has been found.
4. Medical Supplies Run: A supply ofmedical supplies has been found.
5. Building Supplies: The group locates apile of building material that can
strengthen their Shelter.
6. Shelter Located: A new shelter hasbeen located by the group.
Using these tables can also inspire you to
create your own stories. Remember, the
main goal is to have fun with it; that is true
for the GM as well.
Final Notes
Having read this book, you might be interested in the upcoming Zombie: The Hunger supplement
that allows you to play as Alpha zombies.
If you need to contact the author for any reason, the email is:[email protected].
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]