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Tusalu
2010-03-15, 02:47 PM
I am soon to GM a Zombie Apocalypse scenario using GURPS. This is both my first time using GURPS and my first Zombie game, so I am looking for some advice, from people who have tried either.

The zombies will generally be of the slow kind. Heads removed will stop them. They need fresh meat to survive, and this makes the remaining humans obvious choices. They are the result of a virus/bacteria killing it's victims, and taking control over the body a few days after death (enough time for them to be buried). I am thinking of giving the PC's a vaccine soon in the game.
The game will be set in modern age Earth, using very few supernatural elements.
I am going to vary between creating a creepy atmosphere, where they sneak around in abandoned towns, and frantic action, where hordes of zombies must be fought.

As for game system I am using 4th edition GURPS, which I haven't tried before.

Basically looking for advice for how to run a GURPS game, as well as how to run a Zombie Apocalypse (think Dawn of the Dead or Left 4 Dead) game.

The Rose Dragon
2010-03-15, 02:58 PM
If you're not 100% sold for GURPS, I would suggest gettting All Flesh Must Be Eaten.

Tinydwarfman
2010-03-15, 03:12 PM
I agree with Rose Dragon. GURPS does it very well, but I would recommend knowing the rules very well beforehand. Otherwise, try something like AFMBE

Satyr
2010-03-15, 03:28 PM
If you're not 100% sold for GURPS, I would suggest gettting All Flesh Must Be Eaten.

Even as the resident rabid Gurps Fanboy, I have to copy that. AFMBE is sweet.

However,"play something else" is always among the worst suggestions one could make, I think.

So:

I would go for a mid amount of starting CP, around 150-ish. Ask your players to come up with a consistent group - ask everybody why they hang around together, or find a common theme to build around ("You are all parts of a local TV news team"; "you are all members of the police force andtry to keep the peace", something like this). Offer your help and with the character creation; for new players, the freedom of choice in Gurps can be a bit overwhelming and it is sometimes easy to oversee something very important ("Wait, you don't have the Area Knowledge Skill? How do you find your way home?"). Make a short list of skills which you think is elemental. The classic one is:


Carousing, Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, or Interrogation -- Eventually, everybody wants to interrogate NPCs. I'm generous about what skills work, but some skill is required.

Climbing, Hiking, and Stealth -- The party is only as good at these things as its worst party member, and nearly every party has to move around as a unit at some point.

Driving or Riding -- Travel is vital to adventure, and while "every hero can drive/ride a horse" is often assumed, it isn't automatic in games that have skills for these things.

First Aid -- Effective bandaging isn't an unskilled activity, AD&D notwithstanding. Non-action heroes often want to do this to "contribute" to party combat effectiveness, so they especially need this skill.

Gesture -- Sooner or later, communication without making a sound will be vital to almost any party's survival.

Observation, Scrounging, or Search -- Noticing interesting things takes training, and finding clues and useful items is so central to adventures that no PC should lack at least basic training here.

Savoir-Faire or Streetwise -- Everybody came from somewhere. It's passing annoying when a player just assumes that her PC would "get on with folks in her element" without having any practical social skills to back up the assumption.

There is nothing wrong with characters who are more interesting than powerful, especially in a horror scenario. Yes, the survivalist freak with an own arsenal and atomic bomb shelter has good chances to survive, but where is the fun with that?

Build a nice zombie lense you could easily to add to any build - first to have a starting point for the living dead, and just in case one player got infected and starts to find his former teamates extra crunchy. The essential question is, how smart are the stenches - can they use simple tools (clubs and the like and open doors, can they apply pack tactics and effectively flank and circle snacks, etc.
It might be a good idea to have more than one kind of zombie at hand, to offer a bit of diversity and to make the whole thing a bit less predictable.

For running the game for the first time, I would suggest a very simple apporach at first. Most of the advanced combat rules aren't going to be that important anyway, so you can just leave them out. Perhaps using Wildcard skills, to make it more simple to get an overview.

Zombie games often have a relativ strong focus on ressource management - how much food, ammo, clean water etc. can you forage and keep with you? Makes it sense to go Robinson Cruseo and build a neat little fortress for yourself? The problem is, when it comes to RPGs, this basically comes to bookkeeping, and that's not too interesting.

One of the essential topics of the zombie genre is, that the true dangers aren't zombies, it's bikers. Err... other humans. Just keep in mind that your PCs are probably not the only group of survivors, there are likely to be several more out there, and some of them might be quite dangerous. And offer a nice variety after slaughtering zombies for quite some time.

Tough_Tonka
2010-03-15, 05:54 PM
My advice varies on what type of zombie campaign you're looking for.

1. Survival or Escape the city Campaign

Summary: A viral outbreak has caused hordes of zombies to overtake your community. You were just a normal person before this happened, but now you a group of fellow survivors must find a way to get out of this hell hole before its too late.

Recommendations:

Keep power levels down. Characters should be between 75 to 100 and you should probably put a cap on the amount of combat skills the players have. Also you shouldn't allow advantages such as unfazable and combat reflexes, these are normal people not marines. Also limit initial supply of weapons, if they are too well armed at the beginning players will rely on their equipment and less on their brains.

Read up on the advanced combat rules related to close combat and improvising since this is very common in zombie campaigns.

Tough_Tonka
2010-03-15, 06:09 PM
Police and veteran are okay backgrounds that justify some decent combat skills without having to many resources to make things boring.

That's not to say the PCs shouldn't have the option to get some cool weapons, they should just be limited or require going to dangerous locations to acquire them.

Next thing is to consider the character's goals. If this campaign just takes place in a city or on an island or something the goal is to escape. If the setting is something like Zombie Land, where there are more zombies than people the goals can be more varied. The PCs highest priority is probably survival and for a while that might all you want them to do, but just wandering around without a goal can be boring. The PCs might be searching for a cure, or some type of secure compound. They might also be looking for loved ones.

Tough_Tonka
2010-03-15, 06:20 PM
2.) Black Ops vs the Undead

Summary: You're a member of an elite team sent by the government to an infected zone.

PCs should be reasonably strong 100 to 150 point characters. Most realistic skills should be allowed, maybe prohibit stuff with the trained by a master requirement. Combat Reflexes should be allowed but I probably wouldn't allow unfazeble. The PCs should be allowed to have a good supply of weapons in the beginning.

The zombies for this type of campaign should probably be the kind can run. Shamblers just won't give enough of a challenge.

There are several possible goals in this type of campaign. The PCs might be sent to rescue survivors. They might be searching for a possible cure in a medical lab that had a recent outbreak. They might have come with a nuke there supposed to set in the center of town and light some fireworks.

chiasaur11
2010-03-15, 06:22 PM
Next thing is to consider the character's goals. If this campaign just takes place in a city or on an island or something the goal is to escape. If the setting is something like Zombie Land, where there are more zombies than people the goals can be more varied. The PCs highest priority is probably survival and for a while that might all you want them to do, but just wandering around without a goal can be boring. The PCs might be searching for a cure, or some type of secure compound. They might also be looking for loved ones.

Or a Hostess Twinkie.

Zombieland is a fairly good thing to bring up, goalwise, as everyone in it, at one point or another, had some fairly strong goals other than immediate survival.

Gametime
2010-03-15, 08:06 PM
Or a Hostess Twinkie.

Zombieland is a fairly good thing to bring up, goalwise, as everyone in it, at one point or another, had some fairly strong goals other than immediate survival.

Zombieland is an excellent model for post-apocalypse zombie survival, much as Shaun of the Dead is an excellent model for mid-apocalypse zombie survival. And humour.

If you're looking for a military-flavored campaign, I'd recommend reading Max Brooks' World War Z. It's a really excellent book for capturing the feel of armies trying to cope with an implacable enemy.

Tusalu
2010-03-16, 11:28 AM
The group consists of:
- An ex-assassin of a sinister secret society, equipped with futuristic weapons
- A one-eyed, alcoholic, traumatised catholic priest in a wheelchair. Wielding a shotgun.
- A former circus acrobat, who since he lost his job have also lost pretty much all self-esteem, and is now an obese coward who remembers some acrobatic tricks.
- Jack of all trades kind of guy. Skilled in engineering, mechanics, electrics, medicine, surgery and driving.

They will start out in a small town, far away from everything. First objective will be to get to try to get to an evacuation centre.
As mentioned I will alternate the general mood depending on their progress. In the beginning, they will have some freedom, with only smaller groups of zombies about. When they then have to go through an underground complex to continue, it will shift to more suspensefilled, scary atmosphere.

Tinydwarfman
2010-03-16, 11:36 AM
The group consists of:
- An ex-assassin of a sinister secret society, equipped with futuristic weapons
- A one-eyed, alcoholic, traumatised catholic priest in a wheelchair. Wielding a shotgun.
- A former circus acrobat, who since he lost his job have also lost pretty much all self-esteem, and is now an obese coward who remembers some acrobatic tricks.
- Jack of all trades kind of guy. Skilled in engineering, mechanics, electrics, medicine, surgery and driving.

They will start out in a small town, far away from everything. First objective will be to get to try to get to an evacuation centre.
As mentioned I will alternate the general mood depending on their progress. In the beginning, they will have some freedom, with only smaller groups of zombies about. When they then have to go through an underground complex to continue, it will shift to more suspensefilled, scary atmosphere.

I sense a slight discrepancy in the power level of your group. Also make sure your players are happy seriously roleplaying those characters. 'cowardly obese circus acrobat' is kind of a tip off.

Tusalu
2010-03-17, 10:20 AM
Well, I gave everyone prett much total freedom to create their characters, which explains the variety. If they change their mind, their character can always have his brain eaten, and be replaced by a new one.