D20 Modern Zombies Campaign

[ByOdin'sBeard]

Hey all, I'm new to having an account in Giant in the Playground, however I've been following forums for years now.

Having said that, I'm asking advice on a campaign in running right now for D20 Modern set in an apocalyptic zombie world. The world will be set in 1930-1945 -- pre, and post WWII -- and I'm having quite some trouble finding out how to introduce the virus into the world (eg; military quarantine failed, a long forgotten disease has mutated, etc...) and I'm trying not to be too cliche with it. I also want to stress that the zombies in this campaign are regular zombies -- I'm wanting the campaign to have a Walking Dead feel, where the characters have to worry more about food, supplies, opposing raiders/settlements, and the hazards of nature as well as the impending zombie hordes.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Callos_DeTerran]

Hey all, I'm new to having an account in Giant in the Playground, however I've been following forums for years now.

Having said that, I'm asking advice on a campaign in running right now for D20 Modern set in an apocalyptic zombie world. The world will be set in 1930-1945 -- pre, and post WWII -- and I'm having quite some trouble finding out how to introduce the virus into the world (eg; military quarantine failed, a long forgotten disease has mutated, etc...) and I'm trying not to be too cliche with it. I also want to stress that the zombies in this campaign are regular zombies -- I'm wanting the campaign to have a Walking Dead feel, where the characters have to worry more about food, supplies, opposing raiders/settlements, and the hazards of nature as well as the impending zombie hordes.

Thanks in advance for any help!

For one, check out the d20 Apocalypse book for help figuring out scavenging and what not, but that's also the book that has the template I'm about to recommend.

And that is the Vengeful Dead template.

There's plenty of threats in zombies at a low level, but at mid to high level? A d20 Modern character is just going to chew through them without pause and the zombies won't be able to touch them. Which...handily nerfs one of the most important looming threats in this style of game. It'll come down to just getting food, supplies, and opposing raiders/settlements which..if that's what you want, cool!

Cause d20 Modern characters aren't REALLY normal people, they're action heroes capable of doing things regular people struggle with. So unless they all pick like..Charistmatic, Wis, and Int based characters they are action heroes.

The Vengeful Dead template helps with that. In addition to being the only d20 Modern zombie template that I know of that's actually infectious and capable of spreading through a bite, it also preserves the level and capabilities of a character who becomes a zombie. As you can imagine, it makes them much more dangerous. The template also keeps them smart though, so you might want to remove that part.

As for origin, I say make the virus supernatural in origin, to better explain why there's no cure and traditional science just isn't helping to quell the onslaught.

[ByOdin'sBeard]

For one, check out the d20 Apocalypse book for help figuring out scavenging and what not, but that's also the book that has the template I'm about to recommend.

And that is the Vengeful Dead template.

There's plenty of threats in zombies at a low level, but at mid to high level? A d20 Modern character is just going to chew through them without pause and the zombies won't be able to touch them. Which...handily nerfs one of the most important looming threats in this style of game. It'll come down to just getting food, supplies, and opposing raiders/settlements which..if that's what you want, cool!

Cause d20 Modern characters aren't REALLY normal people, they're action heroes capable of doing things regular people struggle with. So unless they all pick like..Charistmatic, Wis, and Int based characters they are action heroes.

The Vengeful Dead template helps with that. In addition to being the only d20 Modern zombie template that I know of that's actually infectious and capable of spreading through a bite, it also preserves the level and capabilities of a character who becomes a zombie. As you can imagine, it makes them much more dangerous. The template also keeps them smart though, so you might want to remove that part.

As for origin, I say make the virus supernatural in origin, to better explain why there's no cure and traditional science just isn't helping to quell the onslaught.

The Vengeful Dead Template l9ooks amazing, and i will definitely be incorporating that now! I should have mentioned in the original post that the maximum HP each character is going to have is 25, at around 5th level, and it won't exceed that. I'm simply adding that for more realism, due to the factor of guns, and the fact that I don't want them to be combat based, in comparison to 3.5. I have also torn apart the base hero classes and rebuilt them into d&d 3.5 progressive classes, in part eliminating the action point system (none of us could really get behind it) trading it off for 1/per day, or however it best fits the ability.

So the characters will be getting new abilities every level or so, as the base classes only progress to level 10, but HP will never surpass 25. BAB, as well as Defense bonus' have been homebrewed to a sort as well just to make them seem more "ordinary human" instead of walking badasses that can't die.

The campaign itself is going to feature (I'm assuming) quite a few character deaths if they don't play smart, and take a more strategic view (I have talked this over with them and they're fine with that).

I'm unsure how to make the virus supernatural in origin however, as I'm trying to make it a strictly mundane world, and can't seem to find a way to present that.

[Bullet06320]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=fr/pg20011219b
Plague Carrier template could be useful to you