A Universal Zombie RPG Add-On

Barak Blackburn
Zombies! Assuming you are playing a game that
Thanks to George Romero, Zombies are uses dice for task resolution, the Zombie
part of geek-canon these days, but the Die can be seamlessly integrated into
definition of “zombie” is very much up your game.
for debate. Are they fast? Are they slow?
Do they subsist on brains? What made
Games That Don’t Use Dice
them zombies? There are novels, movies,
If you are using a game that
TV shows, comicbooks, and numerous
doesn’t use dice, or maybe a game
roleplaying games and supplements
that doesn’t use a randomizer at
dealing with zombies, and it seems like
all, be creative. If it is a card-based
everyone has their own opinion of what
mechanic, have players draw a card
qualifies as an acceptable zombie.
after they play a card, and check
the result. If you are using one of
As with anything, your mileage may
the games that has no randomizer,
vary, and this supplement is not designed
consider bring a deck of cards to the
to force you to incorporate any type of
table, or asking players to sully their
specific zombies into your game. There is
narrative hands using dice, perhaps,
no Zombie Agenda within the text of this
rolling two dice of different colors,
supplement.
with one being the Zombie Die. The
dice do not have to be the same size
Instead, this supplement is designed to
even: so, a GM could ask a player
bring some of the narrative elements of
to roll a d10 and a d8, with the d8
a zombie film to your tabletop game, and
acting as the Zombie Die.
make the players and their characters
feel as if they were in a zombie film (or
comic, TV show, novel, etc).

Stripping out the specifics of your What is the Zombie Die?

The Jump Scare: The protagonists think The GM determines the size of the
they are safe, and BAM! There is a zombie Zombie Die (d4, d6, d8, and so on),
in the kitchen cabinet! depending on the tension for the
particular scene.
Paranoia: What causes people to get
infected? What makes them turn on If the natural roll of the Zombie Die is
one another? When do people lose their higher than the natural roll of the Task
morality so much that they are willing to Resolution Die, Something Bad Happens.
take a human life? (Note: GMs will likely want to keep a
piece of paper happy with the names of
And this micro-supplement is designed all significant PCs and NPCs on it, and
to give GMs a tool to help increase the record every Zombie Success!)
dramatic tension at their table utilizing
these two elements.

And thus, Spectrum Games is proud to

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Something Bad Happens infected, and risk becoming Zombies.
What does it mean when Something Some GMs might want a very granular
Bad Happens? system for this, but I offer up that such
systems take all the drama and paranoia
I will offer up two possible (and away from the genre. Recall, the Zombie
common) narrative elements that should Die is a narrative tool designed to spice
have your players, and their characters things up!
feeling the tension. But Something Bad
doesn’t have to be a noticeable effect, So, each time Something Bad
the GM can simply make a notation on Happens, the GM just nods, and makes
their paper, and smile at the players. a notation next to the character(s) who
The players know that Something Bad has had Something Bad Happen. That’s all.
Happened, but Something Bad might be How many times must Something Bad
Happening off-camera. Happen before Infection? Well, my advice
would simply be to not stick to a specific
More Zombies: This one is easy. More number, and vary the number from
Zombies! Although the characters character to character, but in the end,
thought they were thorough, although once is enough.
they thought they burned all the
zombies, although they thought they had Read that again.
secured their ramshackle farm house/
impenetrable keep, they were wrong. Once is enough.
More Zombies show up. It could be just
one Zombie who gets in a free attack, Should an infected player become a
and is easily disposed of, or it could be Zombie and thus an NPC? Maybe. But
that the Zombies have broken down the maybe, or more interestingly, the fellow
door, or found a way in! It could be that characters know they are infected, and
the Zombie arm not connected to any maybe being a Zombie isn’t all bad? So
body, grabs a player character. Some consider giving an infected player some
games require encounters to be carefully benefits, known or unbeknownst to them,
crafted to be enjoyable, others do not. for example, heightened strength, a
And just because Something Bad Happens greater ability to take damage, or Zombie
doesn’t mean that it has to be a difficult senses. Go crazy depending on what the
encounter. But, the GM should record Zombies are like in your game.
it, because likely, there are also More
Zombies somewhere else. Oh, the Players, they Doth Protest: “No,
the Zombie totally didn’t break my skin,
And maybe it isn’t an encounter at all, I was wearing a hermetically sealed suit,
maybe it is simply that the PCs know that and the Zombie never even hit me!” Your
their impenetrable fortress is going to be Zombie game should not have to deal with
breached sometime, and that sometime is such things. After all, isn’t it really all
sometime soon! about Something Bad Happening?

Infection: What makes a Zombie? This Flashback Storytelling: So, the dice
is a difficult, almost existential question have determined that Something Bad
to ask, and is very much dependent on Happens, and as GM you have notated
each specific GM. But one thing is almost this, but Something Bad doesn’t
always certain, within the Zombie genre necessarily need to happen right away,
there is a chance that characters will get nor does it need to be something that

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you tell the players about right away. What Sized Die: So, what sized die should
Make a mental note of when and how you ask players to roll? For a moment that
Something Bad Happened to a specific is relatively calm and peaceful, you might
player, and then later on, when they ask the players to only roll a d4, when
question you about Something Bad, feel they are rolling a d20 for task resolution.
free to expand upon a Scene that already The chances of the d20 rolling lower than
happened. Explain to them, how when the d4 are slim, but there is always that
they were locking the door, some water chance. Have a handful of dice ready,
trickled into that small cut on their face, that is d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, d30,
or how that hangnail they were dealing d100, maybe even d1000! And when that
with earlier might have come in contact d4 rolls a 3 and the d20 rolls a 2, it brings
with the Zombies in melee. in that wonderful random element that
only dice can provide! And if the players
Paranoia: If a Player has had Something are knee-deep in a very dangerous area,
Bad happen to them, or maybe Something they may well be rolling d100 versus their
Bad has happened several times, this d20 for task resolution.
gives the GM the authority to describe
possible effects. Alert the other players Every Roll? Yes. Every time a player
to how maybe that one character got is rolling dice, they should be rolling a
Zombie goo splattered on them, and Zombie Die. This brings the wonderful
maybe some ended up in their mouth, element of chance and danger to every
explain how their complexion is becoming action. In a combat, characters may well
greyer in nature, explain to them how be rolling many, many times, and frankly,
one character is sweating profusely, fighting Zombies greatly increases the
how their eyes are glazing over. Breed chances of Something Bad Happening.
paranoia. Because, it isn’t about letting Maybe it’s more Zombies, or maybe it is
players become Zombies, it is about just all that Zombie goo splattering all
making the other players think they might over them and all the scratches and bites
become Zombies. infecting a character. Don’t let up. Let
the dice drive some of the action of your
Optional Third Element: Split the party game, even, and especially with games
up. This one is difficult, as many players that require a GM to carefully allocate
will be resistant to being told what they resources when designing an encounter.
do, but if in fact there is a certain type When that second and/or third wave of
of GM/Player trust at the table, you can Zombies shows up, or when the Zombies
strongly encourage players to split up. the character thought they had dealt with
After all, their fellow party-member looks show signs of not being dead yet (sadly,
a little shady, and maybe they really just they probably won’t say “I’m not dead
need a good night’s sleep, in a bed, by yet,” but YMMV and what happens at your
themselves, or maybe they have to take a table is the stuff your stories are made of.
squirt, or maybe they need to go examine
their wounds in private to ensure that
they are not infected, and don’t want
the other characters to know how severe
their wounds really are.

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Expanding the Definition maybe when one of the characters has
a result of Something Bad Happens, you
of “Zombie” inform that player that they do not want
Or... the xenomorphs eliminated. Rather, they
need to get an impregnated character
Why Does It Always back to earth, because The Corporation
Have to Be Zombies? is very interested in these xenomorphs.
Allow that character to work against the
It is the opinion of this author that others, and offer input when Something
there are Zombie movies, and there Bad Happens to other characters.
are movies that are essentially Zombie
movies. Maybe your characters are Be creative. Embrace this narrative
dealing with xenomorphs aboard a mechanic in your game no matter how
derelict mining spaceship, and the crunchy the system is as written.
xenomorphs impregnate characters, and
they show up en masse to kill everyone. And In the End: What will the Zombie
Seems an awful lot like a Zombie movie Die do for you game? Characters will fight
to me! Please, feel free to use the and kill Zombies, characters may end up
Zombie Die in any game where you want killing one another, and they will never
to engender paranoia, and impart to the feel truly safe. And isn’t that a Zombie-
players that they are never safe. And rific gaming experience?

B a r a k B l a ckburn
Written by thia Celest
e
sign by Cyn
Graphic De
Miller
t i n g b y N o rbert Franz
Edi

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