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Nyghtshade
2012-02-13, 11:05 PM
Before I start I would just like to say I'm new here. I've always lurked around and made extensive use of the Homebrew forum, but I've never really posted.

I'm planning a "Zombie Apocalypse" campaign using Google Maps and already sketched out "Modular Bases" but I can't find an appropriate system to run.

I'm wanting a classless system where everything is skill based, Think Fallout 3 style character progression only instead of SPECIAL it's d20.

Oh, and that's important too, I'd really prefer it to be d20. My players and I have been playing D&D in a group together for over 2 and a half years now, but thats the only thing we have experience with is d20. I don't want to lose players by making them spend a week learning a new system (Homework=Bad).

I've spent the last 5 hours on google trying to come up with something, I've looked at: Exodus (Fallout d20), Mutants and Masterminds, Some thing called CLUDGE which doesn't seem to exist, Exp20 (Complete Control) <-- Can't get my hands on a preview of it anywhere, and an untold amount of homebrew charts and suggestions.

I'm really at loss here. I really want to run this campaign but I don't have enough know how to build my own system from scratch.


Help! :smallfrown:

Grinner
2012-02-13, 11:14 PM
Well, the thing is, most d20 systems tend to be class based.

I can recommend a number of classless d20 systems, but they're all freeform too. In other words, they also lack the skill system you specified.

The easiest classless, non-freeform system I can recommend is the Unisystem. Fortunately, this can also be found for free. Simply download a copy of C.J. Carella's WitchCraft from RPGNow. Just be sure to remove the game's fluff.

Edit: D20 Modern, while it contains a class system, is fairly generic, so that *might* meet your goal, but your mileage may vary.

Edit2: True20 (http://true20.com/about-true20-adventure-roleplaying.php) sounds like what you're looking for.

Nyghtshade
2012-02-13, 11:26 PM
Last I knew True20 used three classes....

Grinner
2012-02-13, 11:40 PM
Last I knew True20 used three classes....

Oh. So it does.

Have you considered making your own? It really wouldn't be that hard.

Start by allowing the players to select from the standard saving throw modifiers, hit dice, and base attack bonuses. They'd pretty much be selecting elements of a class for each character.

Admittedly, I've never played Fallout 3, and I suspect that this SPECIAL system might be progressive, as opposed to the typical d20 determinism.

There is always GURPS, however.

Nyghtshade
2012-02-13, 11:53 PM
There is always GURPS, however.

Great way to lose half my players :smallbiggrin:


I'm afraid if my quest isn't fruitful here soon that's what I'm going to have to do; Making my own system.

Manateee
2012-02-13, 11:55 PM
Mutants and Masterminds is the least bad system I can think of within your parameters. But I wouldn't use it for this.

If the only reason you want to use d20 is to avoid using another system, I'm going to assume that means you aren't familiar with many other systems. If that's the case, you might want to know that d20 is one of the worst systems available in terms of time to learn.

It takes about 5 minutes to teach a group to use Fate (what I'd recommend) or something like Dread or Shotgun Diaries - probably shorter than it would to accommodate them to a rules-heavy d20 translation.

As far as a classless d20 system that can do zombies well, I don't know what to tell you. Spycraft is the only d20 game I can think of that can even handle chases, and it's very class-based and genre-specific.

Grinner
2012-02-13, 11:59 PM
I'm afraid if my quest isn't fruitful here soon that's what I'm going to have to do; Making my own system.

It occurs to me that your players may not appreciate the nuances of a classless system, preferring to simply kill things. If that's the case, you may just want to stick to a generic d20 system, like D20 Modern.

Anyway, good luck.

Nyghtshade
2012-02-14, 12:00 AM
Alright so, lets say I didn't HAVE to use d20. What is the BEST system you would recommend for a modern classless zombie apocalypse setting?

Manateee
2012-02-14, 12:01 AM
All Flesh Must be Eaten, hands down.

But if you're trying to minimize learning time, Fate's a really easy engine for this kind of game.

Grinner
2012-02-14, 12:03 AM
All Flesh Must be Eaten, hands down.

I'll second this.

Another_Poet
2012-02-14, 02:01 AM
From everything I've seen, this one trumps All Flesh Must Be Eaten:

Zombie Cinema (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14466.phtml)

Here is a quote from the review which I think sums ups why I love it:

"In other zombie games, you and your friends have clear objectives. You look for shotguns, find safehouses, and hope that your character can run fast enough to reach the helipad so you can be spirited away to safety. Winners are those who live. Losers are the ones who get eaten. Zombie Cinema is the only game I know where having your character devoured by shambling cadavers isn't necessary a bad thing. Simply put, the ultimate goal of Zombie Cinema isn't to escape, or to kill the most zombies. It's to make a really cool Zombie movie with your friends."

You can buy it for $20 here (http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/search.php?mode=search&page=1).

However it sounds like you are looking for a more conventional RPG so I also wanted to point you toward Savage Tales #06: Zombie Run (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14779.phtml). It's an adventure for the Savage Worlds system. You can buy it for a whopping $8 as .pdf here (http://www.studio2publishing.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=2447).

Note: I'm not affiliated with either of these products, I just geek out over game systems and tend to keep a lot of them in the back of my head.

Krazzman
2012-02-14, 02:53 AM
Depending of what you want to get out of it.

Survival Horror: CoC or AFMBE (i'll third this, it's pretty lightweighted and easy to understand) for gritty skillbased "you die because of one bullet to the knee..."
Else Zombie Cinema for hilarious things once players become zombies.

Nyghtshade
2012-02-14, 10:33 AM
Thanks guys, I'm researching all of your suggestions.

To further elaborate; I'm going for a traditional rpg set on a modern day earth in a zombie apocalypse. I'm wanting to get down to the nitty gritty with players, keeping them aware of things such as water, food, ammunition, and sleep.
Essentially I'm going to be running a Realistic Zombie Survival Campaign.

Ornithologist
2012-02-14, 05:47 PM
I believe Special is based on either Gurps or the Hero systems... I think, So I would look at either of those. Specifically, I think that they actually used whichever one its based on when they were developing the game back when it was still Black Isle. Then they had to change it a bit because of legal issues...

But don't quote me on that.:smalltongue: