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Thread: Recommended System?
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2013-08-25, 12:37 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
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Recommended System?
With summer coming to a close my party will be reassembling when we are back at university, and I was hoping to kick things off with a bit of a different couple sessions.
I was thinking of doing something I am sure many of you out there have tried, and probably hated, of doing a zombie survival, with the players playing themselves. If that makes sense.
For flavour, I was thinking of being quite loose with the rules, adapting more for fun than firm structure (we are a group that very much lives by the rule of cool). I figured I would use 3.5 since it is what the majority are familiar with, rolling up NPC commoner classes, since HP should be an issue- you get bit, you're going down.
I was wondering if anyone might have some suggestions, words of caution, etc.
Thanks
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2013-08-25, 02:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2013
- Gender
Re: Recommended System?
If you want to run a Zombie game, go get All Flesh Must Be Eaten. The Unisystem it uses as its core is a pretty good system in its own right and in my experience very accessible.
If you want to play this as a longer, ongoing campaign, you should also consider to get the One of the Living sourcebook.
Both books maintain a lot of helpful information for running a game in the survival horror genre and AFMBE willl offer much more variety for the creation of relatively weak, normal persons as characters than D&D would do, especially if everyone plays the same class. Rgat could get old very fast.
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2013-08-25, 07:52 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2008
Re: Recommended System?
D&D3e Human Commoners aren't going to work well for modeling an actual person, especially someone coming out of a university. It is quite sparse on knowledge skills (reads: it gets none) and unless your players are particularly good at Handle Animal, Jump, Use Rope, or various Craft/Profession skills, it will probably come off as silly. Expert or Warrior (or the more general generic classes of such) are probably a far better fit.
As for other systems, I'd probably recommend new World of Darkness (just the base characters) or something general like HeroQuest/Fate.SpoilerThank you to zimmerwald1915 for the Gustave avatar.
The full set is here.
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2013-08-25, 07:56 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
Re: Recommended System?
Seconding All flesh must be eaten, it really is good!
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2013-08-25, 12:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
Re: Recommended System?
All Flesh Must Be Eaten is purpose built for zombies, so it's probably going to be a good option. As far as I know, it's the only system built for that specific genre.
That said, if you don't have it and money is an issue, my next recommendation would be Fate Core or Fate Accelerated Edition, both of which are pay what you want (i.e. free) on the Evil Hat website. NPC generation is ridiculously easy, and zombies can be a major threat. The only thing is that if you approach it wrong, the "one-bite-equals-death" thing can be really difficult to manage. I see a few ways around that, though:
- Only inflict zombiism on a PC when you'd kill them otherwise, so as a consequence of losing a conflict.
- Make the physical stress track be less about actual damage and more about fatigue.
- Combining the two, make zombies inflict stuff like "Tired" or "Broken Ankle" when they inflict consequences, and only zombiism at the very end.
It's been a bit, GitP. If you're reading this, you're either digging through old stuff, or I've posted for the first time in forever.
If you want to stay in touch, reach out to me on twitter (same username).
The best answer is always to ask your DM.
Unless you're the DM, in which case you should talk to your players.
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2013-08-25, 12:55 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2007
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
- Gender
Re: Recommended System?
Just as a bit of self-plug, but I actually designed the One Deck Engine for a zombie game.
The Cranky Gamer
*It isn't realism, it's verisimilitude; the appearance of truth within the framework of the game.
*Picard management tip: Debate honestly. The goal is to arrive at the truth, not at your preconception.
*Mutant Dawn for Savage Worlds!
*The One Deck Engine: Gaming on a budget
Written by Me on DriveThru RPG
There are almost 400,000 threads on this site. If you need me to address a thread as a moderator, include a link.
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2013-08-25, 03:43 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
Re: Recommended System?
I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums.
I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that. -- ChubbyRain
Current Design Project: Legacy, a game of masters and apprentices for two players and a GM.
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2013-08-25, 09:42 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Gender
Re: Recommended System?
Thanks for the suggestions, will start reading into them!
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2013-08-25, 10:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2013
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2013-08-25, 10:48 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2013
Re: Recommended System?
If I was going to use a generic system, it would be GURPS. Brutal realism goes well with the zombie genre. 100 point characters are probably more competent than your friends but likely about what they think they are and anyway will be in serious danger from zombies.