A Roleplaying Game

2012 by Eske Andersen

Group attributes ...................................... 15

Table Of Contents
The Zombie Circus ..........................................3 Playing the Game .......................................4 Game Mechanics ............................................5 The Nine Attributes ....................................6 Checks ........................................................8 Traits based on attributes ..........................9 Rate of success .........................................10 Player Actions...........................................12 Player Character Generation .......................13 Sample Character .....................................13 Survivor Group Attributes ............................15 Vigor, Teamwork and Morale ..................15

Group Protection ................................. 15 Group Training ..................................... 16 Group Supplies ..................................... 16 Expanded Character Rules ........................... 18 Social Conflicts ............................................. 19 Combat......................................................... 21 Team Roles ............................................... 22 Game Master Section .................................. 25 So What Happened? ................................ 25 Building a Story ........................................ 26 Final Notes ............................................... 26

The Zombie Circus

The streets of New York City are empty. As he walks down Main Street, he remembers how busy and noisy it used to be. Now, it is silent as a tomb. There is no one here, hasnt been for months. He walks alone. Everyone he used to know is dead. Or at least dead-ish. In the distance, he hears the familiar sound of low-pitched moaning. He knows he just has to turn the next corner to see the horror of his new reality. He has seen the walking dead many times before. But seeing hundreds of corpses walking around looking for human flesh is hard to get used to. He probably never will. Thats a problem, because the walking dead are the only ones left, and they are everywhere. Every-fucking-where Zombie: The Hunger is a role-playing game that deals with the aftermath of an apocalyptic zombie outbreak. Players take on the role of survivors, fighting for their lives. This book was created to facilitate fast and simple, yet entertaining, game-play in a fictional world where zombies have taken over and civilization has fallen. Character generation is fast, with only 9 attributes needed to make all checks in the game. The simplicity and ease of use is the strength of Zombie: The Hunger. A game session can run for a few hours, a single evening or over the course of several sessions; the point is, if you want to role-play an entertaining zombie story, you can do so using the rules in this PDF. Whether you win or not is up to how well you do as a player. The Zombie Circus isnt Disneyland. Its gritty, dark and unforgiving. As mentioned, the rules are simple compared to other similar games. This is intentional. You dont have to read through hundreds of pages before you can play the game. The first step in this game is enough for you to begin playing. Simply select attributes for your character and youre ready to play. If you want a deeper game, keep reading. The following chapters expand on how the game is played. Zombie: The Hunger emphasizes teamwork by using shared Group attributes. These attributes are shared stats that have an impact on the individual players condition and abilities. The Group attributes sheet is just as important as the player character sheet, and everyone in the group is affected by it. Players are dependant on each other, which makes for a game that focuses on the bonds between the player characters.

Playing the Game

Zombie: The Hunger is a game with many facets and various styles of game-play. The game can be story-driven with very little combat. This style is about the challenges your group faces, and how they deal with the fall of civilization. The psychology of living in a world where everything you used to take for granted is gone can make for some very interesting role-playing. The action-driven style has more combat encounters in a single session than storydriven games, and larger encounters can be played using a hex grid. This book should be used as you want to. If you dislike a rule or another aspect of the game, change or ignore it. The main goal here is to have fun and creating an exciting story.

Playing a survivor character

Playing a survivor means being part of a small group of at least 5 or more people who have survived the Zombie Apocalypse. If your group doesnt have 5 players, the remaining characters will be NPCs or players can control more than one character. So what is this game about? Survival, first of all. The world has become a very dangerous place, and zombies lurk around every corner. Your group faces immediate problems if they do not have a secure shelter or supplies. Getting those are your first priority. The main game-play will consist of fighting off mobs of zombies, improving your skills, gathering supplies and building defenses. You usually fight zombies with handguns, shotguns and rifles, or more exotic weapons like golf clubs and hand grenades. There are so many zombies that killing them all is impossible; however, killing the ones that pose a direct threat to your group is pertinent. Being part of a group is an essential element of playing a survivor character. The following chapters describe how you create and play a survivor character. Reading the game mechanics chapter will allow you to start playing right away. If you read on, you will learn how to implement the Group attributes, the rules for combat and what else to expect from the game when playing survivor characters. The more you read, the more depth is added.

Game Mechanics
Zombie: The Hunger uses 2 normal 6-sided dice to resolve all situations where the outcome is uncertain. Everything players do in the game is resolved using checks, which consists of rolling 2d6 and adding two of the nine attributes. To make a check to see if you execute a task successfully, you add together the two appropriate attributes (determined by your game master see ) and roll 2d6. If the roll added to the attributes is 12 or above, your action is successful. Two sixes are an exceptional success, and the Game Master may give an advantage to the player in question. Those are the basic game mechanics. Roll 2 dice, add the 2 attributes needed - you succeed when the result is 12 or above. Want to fire your machine gun at a zombie that is getting a little too close for comfort? Roll 2d6, add your Dexterity + Precision if the result is 12 or above, you succeed and the zombie gets a belly full of lead - depending on how high the result is, destroying its body to the point where it cant move. It doesnt die, mind you; a head shot is required to kill a zombie. When rolling the dice for a check, they sometimes come up with the same numbers, for example two 3s or two 5s. This causes different things depending on the context. If the check was an attack, you gain a bonus die. Bonus Dice can be stored and used in situations where success is important. Using a bonus die simply means that instead of 2 dice, you roll 3 dice for the check. Bonus Dice can also be used as Experience Points, which allows you to expand your characters abilities. The GM can also decide that unexpected things happen when pairs are rolled. For example, someone is trying to write a computer program. He rolls an Intellect + Intuition test and gets two 4s. Since his roll was successful, the program is enhanced so that it can seek out certain bits of information the players can use. On the other hand, if the roll was two 2s, the computer crashed and the character had not saved his progress. Two 1s (called Snake Eyes) is always a failure, while two 6s (called Sixes) is always a success.

The Nine Attributes

The nine attributes for survivors are Strength, Dexterity, Speed, Precision, Intuition, Intellect, Senses, Willpower and Personality. The individual player character attributes are divided into 3 categories: Physical attributes, Mental attributes and Manipulation attributes. All attributes are equally important when playing the game. Each attribute has a value from 1 to 5. The higher the value, the better your character performs tasks that involve that particular attribute. Physical attributes are used when a task involves the characters physique. They describe your characters build and his shape. Mental attributes are used when a task involves a cerebral aspect. It also includes things like knowledge and wits. Manipulation attributes are used when a character uses, operates or interacts with objects or people.

Attribute Definitions
The following section describes each attribute and what it tells you about your character. Strength: a measure of your characters physical strength and stamina. Someone with a high score in Strength is physically healthy and can withstand more damage than others. Strength is important in hand-to-hand combat and situations where endurance is needed. Dexterity: How agile your character is and how fast his body reflexes are. Dexterity also covers handiness, which affects your ability to use tools and weapons. Speed: Determines how fast your character is. This covers both movement and how fast your character can perform physical tasks in general. When speed is a factor in a task, Speed often replaces one of the attributes needed to perform it. Your movement rate is based on Speed. Intuition: Your characters ability to know something without having all the facts. Intuition is what educated guesses are based on. It also affects how fast a learner he is. Intuition is involved in decision making and finding solutions to various problems. Performing new tasks are easier to do with a high intuition. Intellect: Your ability to think logically and plan ahead. It also implies the characters level of education, and indirectly his knowledge about academic and scientific concepts and its application. Intellect is used when many factors have to be structured in order to comprehend complex information quickly. Intellect also determines how much time you need to understand abstract and concrete knowledge. Willpower: This attribute describes your
characters mental strength. It determines your characters drive and his will to go on despite overwhelming odds. Willpower is used when you want to accomplish something that requires selfcontrol and self-discipline.

Senses: How good your character senses and perception are. Senses are defined in two

ways; the bodily senses (sight, smell, etc) and the inward senses (how well the character integrates the information he perceives). Characters with a high Senses score tend to have excellent eye-sight and are usually observant and alert. Precision: Your characters ability to perform tasks that involve physical precision. Tasks involving eye-hand coordination or fine motor skills are usually based on Precision.

Personality: This attribute defines your characters behavioral traits. Personality determines his ability to function in social contexts and how well he works with others. The Personality attribute also covers qualities like likeability and charisma. Most importantly, it determines how much a character can contribute to the groups integrity and training.

This table gives you a quick overview and divides the attributes into the 3 main attribute categories.
Category Physical Attributes: Mental Attributes: Manipulation Attributes: Strength: Intuition: Personality: 1-5 1-5 1-5 Dexterity Intellect Precision 1-5 1-5 1-5 Speed Willpower Senses 1-5 1-5 1-5

For more information on how to create your own survivor character, see page 13.

Checks
A check is performed when a character performs a task where the outcome is uncertain. Making a check means rolling 2d6, adding two attributes and any modifiers determined by the GM. A check with a final result of 12 or above is successful, while a result of 2-11 is a failure. Checks are at the core of the rules, since they determine the outcome of the players actions. Since Zombie: The Hunger does not use skills or other conventional descriptors, all checks must be resolved using two of the 9 attributes. This means that the GM must determine which attributes best describe the task at hand. Players are encouraged to discuss which attributes are relevant, since most actions can be performed in several ways. However, the GM has the final word on which attributes to use. Here are some examples that show how attributes can be used in different situations where a check is required. Driving: Senses + Precision or Intuition + Precision check. Athletics: Strength and Dexterity. Stealth: Intuition and Dexterity. Empathy: Personality and Intuition. Socializing, formal: Intuition and Intellect. Socializing, informal: Intuition and Personality. Streetwise: Intuition and Personality. Intimidation, physical: Personality and Strength. Intimidation, mental: Personality and Intellect. Using a sniper rifle: Senses + Precision. Burst fire: Speed + Senses. First Aid: Intellect + Intuition or Intellect + Senses Persuasion: Willpower + Intellect or Intellect + Intuition. Wrestle free from a zombies grip: Strength + Dexterity. Spotting hidden objects or people: Senses + Intuition Research: Intellect + Senses or Intuition, depending on the kind of research. Picking a lock, digital: Intellect + Intuition. Calming down a hysterical person: Intuition + Personality. Keeping your Cool while planning your next move: Willpower + Intellect Sensing Danger: Intuition + Senses. Picking a Lock, mechanical: Precision + Intuition. Punching a Zombie or other character: Strength + Dexterity Repairing a shelter: Senses + Strength Building defenses: Strength + Intellect Run away from a zombie mob: Speed + Dexterity.

Understanding complex subjects: Intellect + intuition. Scientific tasks; Intellect + intuition. Knowledge: Intellect + Personality. Sneaking: Intuition + Dexterity. Recon: Senses + Intuition Planning a mission based on recon: Intellect + Intuition.

Lying: Intuition + Personality. Resist extreme climates: Strength + Willpower. Politics: Intellect + Personality. Computers: Intellect + Intuition. Crafts: Dexterity and Intuition.

OTHER USES OF ATTRIBUTES

Similar checks can be based on different attributes, determined by the situation and context. If a zombie suddenly appears behind you, your game master might call for a Speed + Precision to test if you are fast enough to blow it to pieces with your shotgun before it attacks you. The players can also contribute by recommending a certain combination of attributes. If the GM finds the contribution adds to the game, you can use that attribute combination instead of another. There are some character traits that are derived from your attributes. Speed, Willpower and Personality are special attributes that are used to calculate other aspects of your character.

Traits based on attributes

Some traits are derived from your attributes. For example, you can move your Speed + 3 meters (one hex) per round. Your Willpower + Strength determines how many Player Actions you have per day. Your Personality determines how well you are integrated in the group. The groups ability to work together is based on the Personality attribute. Working together is completely essential in order to survive. Other special traits derived from your attributes are how much damage you can take before you go unconscious or dies. To find that value, add 5 to your Strength. Some general checks that are used frequently, like perception checks and fear checks. To reiterate the derived traits, here is a list describing each one, including special checks that players face often. Moves per turn: This determines how many hexes you can move your character per round. It is Speed +3. Player Actions Strength. per day: Willpower +

Health: The amount of damage you can sustain without dying. Health is Strength + 5. Perception check: This check is made to decide whether your character detects any relevant detail, hidden objects and hiding

enemies. The check is based on Senses + Intuition. Fear Check: You make this check when your character is ambushed or otherwise surprised in a bad way. A Fear check is also made every night. The needed attributes are Willpower

and Personality. Failing a Fear Check wreaks havoc on your characters concentration, which means he receives a minus 1 to all rolls during the current encounter or the next, if more appropriate (for example, the obligatory Night Fear check)

Rate of success
In many situations, it is important to know how successful or unsuccessful your action is. An attribute roll has a rate of success based on your checks final score. This is called the Success Rate. You get a success on your final score for every point above 11, since you need a score of 12 to succeed. For example, a character is shooting at an enemy. He bases his roll on Dexterity and Precision (3+3 =6) and rolls a 7. Adding these numbers gives a final score of 13, which in turn means a Success Rate of 2. This determines the shots damage to the enemy. For every success, the damage increases (for more on combat, see the Combat chapter on pagep side 21).

The following table shows you how to interpret the degree of success for any roll. Success Rate is abbreviated SR. SR 8+ (final result is 20+): A perfect execution of the task performed. The task is performed so well that the Game Master may give the player advantages during his next task if appropriate. SR 7 and 8 (Final result is 18-19): The successful task is executed with flair and competence. SR 5 and 6 (Final result is 16-17): The task is completed with very good results. SR 3 and 4 (Final result is 14-15):The task is completed with ease and finesse. SR 1 and 2 (Final result is 12-13): This is the limit for determining whether or not your task is successful. It always produces a successful outcome.

Group Succes Rate

Another use of the Success Rate is when your group tries to do something as a team. This is called the Group Success Rate. You take the Success Rate for each player participating in the groups effort, and add them together (or subtract them, in case of a negative Success Rate). Tactical training consists of each character making an attribute roll pertaining to the kind of training in question. For every score that is 12 or above, you count how many points above 11 your score is to get the Success Rate. This is repeated for all participating characters. When the training is over, all results are added together. Any negative Success Rates are detracted from this sum. Example: 4 player characters train to improve their team work. They each roll 2d6, adding their Personality and the attribute they are training. One players gets a final score of 13, the second player gets 12 and the last player

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gets 10. The Success Rates of each character is 2 for the first player, 1 for the second player and -2 for the last player. Add these together to get the Group Success Rate, which in this case is 2 + 1 2; a final result of +1.

This score determines how well the group effort worked out. How training works is explained in detail in a later chapter.

Check Modifiers
Different situations can have a positive or a negative impact on your characters roll. For example, if a character tries to shoot zombies in the dark without a flashlight, he would suffer a -2 modifier. The modifier can also be positive; trying to shoot the same zombie in the back head at close range in daylight may give you a +2 modifier to your roll. This kind of modifier is determined by the context and the situation, which is determined by your Game Master.

Actions that require experience

Things like driving a car, shooting an assault rifle or trying to get a short-wave radio working are dependant on having prior experience. If your character does not know how to drive a car but tries anyway, he will suffer a penalty to his roll. The more the task is dependant on experience, the larger the negative modifier gets. See this table to give you an idea about how this works.

Modifier Description
When the GM decides that a task is more difficult than usual, or that the task requires some level of experience to be performed, he assigns a modifier that is subtracted from the players roll. -1: The task can be performed with little extra effort. -2/-3: Some experience is needed to perform the task. -4/-5: This modifier signifies that the task is hard for the inexperienced. Inexperience turns into experience after completing the task successfully. Usually, for every successful check, your negative modifier goes down a notch. If you dont know how to drive a car, yet succeed on your roll with a -2 modifier, the next time you try driving, you will only have a -1 modifer (only the Game Master can decide whether experience with a certain task can give positive modifiers). -6/-7: The task is so complex that it takes an enormous effort. -8: The task is all but impossible for the inexperienced to perform. Remember, Sixes (two 6s) are always successful.

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Player Actions
The number of encounters, missions and events that a player character can go through per day without fatigue is determined by the Willpower and Strength attributes. Add these together to get the number of actions you can partake in per day without experiencing fatigue. The minimum amount of Player Actions a character can have is 4. If your characters Strength and Willpower attributes add up to less than 4, you still get 4 Player Actions per day. Once you pass that number of actions per day, you suffer a penalty to all your rolls, starting from -1 going down to -5, corresponding to how many actions your perform beyond your Player Action score. Player Actions are the core of the game. Going on missions to get supplies, defending your shelter from zombies, tactical training with your team; these are all Player Actions. It is important to prioritize your actions throughout the day, and at some point, you will most likely find yourself in a situation where you will suffer from fatigue because of used up Player Actions. The following is a list of the most common Player Actions, some of which are everyday actions, while other are when-needed. Killing zombies: This is the most basic player Action a battle encounter. When the battle is large enough for it to be played out on a hex grid, it counts as a Player Action. Tactical Training: Whether youre working on your teamwork, morale or vigor, each player participating must use a Player Action. Travel: When you travel, every 4 hours of transition takes one Player Action. How you travel is not important. Building and Repairing your Shelter: For each part of your shelter that needs building or repairing, your player character must use one Player Action. Defending your shelter: This is basically a battle encounter, and as such takes one Player Action per encounter you face during the assault on your shelter. Recreational Time: Take a time-out from the horrors of the zombie apocalypse. Maybe youve found a cinema thats still in working order. Recreational time gives you time to roleplay and get to talk to the other group members. It also negates any failed Fear Checks the group members may have.

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Player Character Generation

To create a character for Zombie: The Hunger, you choose which category of attributes is most important. You have pools of 3, 4 and 5 points that you can spend in each category. For example, you can spend 4 points in the Physical Category (strength, Dexterity and Speed), 3 points in the Mental category (Intuition, Intellect, Willpower) and 5 in the Manipulation category (Precision, Senses, Personality). You then distribute the points between the attributes in that category. For example, if you choose to spend 4 points in the Mental category, you could have 3 in Intellect, 2 in intuition and 2 in Willpower. You do not pay for the first level of the attribute. The Game Master can also allow players to generate characters with different base points, for example using 5 points in each category. This means stronger characters, and is mostly done when the group part of the game will be downgraded. Any number of points can be used at character generation, as long as they are divided into 3 pools for each category. However, the recommended starting pools are 3,4 and 5.

Sample Character
Meet Steven. Hes a survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse. Before that, he was a police officer. The following table defines Steven as a character and is the basis for how well he performs various tasks.
Category Physical Mental Manipulation Group Modifier Strength: Intuition: Personality: 3 (+1) 3 2 +1 Dexterity Intellect Precision 3 2 3 0 Speed Willpower Senses 2 (+1) 3 (+1) 3 +2

Those are Stephens personal attributes. Because Stephen is in a group consisting of 5 like-minded survivors, he gets stronger and is safer. There is always safety in numbers. Here are the Group attributes. How they affect the individuals character will be explained below.
Category Protection Supplies Experience Score Attribute cateogry Defense Food Survival Physical Vigor 4 11 1 16 +2 Secrecy Weapons Training Manipulation Teamwork 2 4 3 9 0 Safety Meds Social Mental Morale 6 12 3 20 +1

There are three Group Bonuses: Vigor (affects Physical attributes) , Teamwork (affects Manipulation attributes) and Morale (affects Mental attributes). The modifiers from the Group 13

Bonus are added to an attribute of your choice in the corresponding category. For example, Stephen has a +2 bonus in physical attributes. Since he will need to be as fast as possible for his next mission and he will need more Strength, he puts 1 point in Speed, making the score 5, and 1 point in Strength. Stephen still needs to allocate 1 points from his Morale attribute bonus. He can choose to use the +1 bonus on any of the tree attributes in the Mental category. Note that an attribute can receive no more than +1 until all attributes in that category have a +1 bonus. When all the attributes have a +1 and the group receives a high enough bonus, you can begin giving attributes a +2. For more information about the Group modifiers, see page 15).

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Survivor Group Attributes

In addition to your individual PC sheet, the group also has a number of stats that are important in order to survive. Group attributes describe the groups shelter, supplies and condition. Each attribute has an impact on your characters attributes through Group Bonuses. There are three bonus types, each defined by 3 separate group attributes.

Vigor, Teamwork and Morale

This chapter defines how and why the three Group bonus categories morale, vigor and teamwork affects the individual characters. Let us start by defining each attribute. VIGOR: Describes the groups overall health and vitality. A high Vigor bonus makes the group very strong. It is based on the Group attributes Defense, Food and Survival Training. TEAMWORK: Reflects how well the group acts as a unit. The score is based on the Group attributes Secrecy, weapons and Combat Training. MORALE: Reflects the groups determination and drive to survive. The score is based on the Group attributes Safety, Meds and Tactical Training.

Group attributes
A player group has nine attributes that describe their situation and how well they are doing. They differ from the character attributes in definition and how they are used. Each group attribute belongs to a category of group bonus (mentioned above). The group attributes are divided into 3 categories: Group protection, Group Training and Group Supplies (described below). Each category has 3 attributes that relate to one of the three group bonuses.

Group Protection
Shelter Defense is a number determining how well protected your group base is. Survivors without a base receive no bonuses in Group Protection, so deciding on a shelter is important. A shelter can be anything from a shed to a hospital with reinforced doors. Shelter Defense can be improved by using Player Actions to build a better shelter. Shelter Strength provides Morale Bonuses. Shelter Safety is determined by type of shelter and amount of guards and spotters. 15 Determines the quality of the shelters interior. Safety gives Vigor bonuses. Shelter Secrecy: The score determines how hard (or easy) your shelter is to find for the zombies. Determines risk of a Zombie Assault and how careful players have to be in order not to be found by zombies. Gives Teamwork bonuses.

Group Training
These attributes are improved by actively training them. Note that all training involves the Personality attribute, making it essential if you want a group that is top notch. All training requires a Player Action to be spent, and lasts 2-4 hours. If your group roll is successful, you may add the success rate to the Group attribute you have trained. Survival Training: This training exercise helps the group to work together in different dangerous situations, such as moving safely in unknown territory and maneuvering efficiently. To train this exercise, a Group check is made based on the Physical attribute you wish to train plus each characters Personality. Gives a bonus to the groups Vigor attribute. Combat Training: A number determining how much combat training your group has. To do this exercise, a Group Check is made based on the Manipulation attribute you wish to train plus + Personality. It gives bonuses to the groups Teamwork attribute. Tactical Training: This score reflects how your group works as a unit and how much they trust each other. To increase this value, you must train by making a Group Roll based on on the Mental attribute you wish to train plus each characters Personality score. Gives a bonus to the groups Morale attribute.

Group Supplies
Generally, this category describes the groups inventory of the most essential items. When they reach 0 or below, they affect the corresponding Group Category negatively. Food: (number of days you can survive on your food stash. Food affects Vigor. Meds: Determines how many medical supplies the group has. When a player is healed at the group base, subtract 1 from this score. Affects the Teamwork bonus. Weapons: A score reflecting how well your group is armed, and how many combat encounters there are ammunition for. Affects the Morale bonus.

Operating without supplies

If the groups supplies begin to run out, the need for more becomes imperative. Without food, weapons and meds, the group will quickly face an abrupt end. For each day where a supply is at 0 or lower, the group receives a penalty on their group benefits (the teamwork, morale and vigor attributes, see the next chapter).

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Below is a chart showing the nine Group attributes and how they are categorized.
Category Protection Supplies Training Score Group Modifier Vigor 4 11 1 16 +1 Teamwork 2 4 3 9 0 Morale 6 12 3 20 +2

Defense Food Survival

Secrecy Weapons Combat

Safety Meds Tactical

How to use the Group Modifiers

The three Group Modifiers correspond to the 3 Attribute Categories: Physical, Mental and Manipulation. A high Morale score means that you get a pool of points that you can spend to make higher rolls in the Mental Category (Intuition, Intellect and Willpower). A high Teamwork score gives you points to use on Manipulation Attributes, and Vigor affects your Physical Attributes. To calculate the groups three bonus attributes Vigor, Morale and Teamwork, you add the relevant group attributes together and consult the table below to see your bonus. Example: Vigor is based on food, defense and survival training. Start by taking your Food attribute, in this example 7 days of rations, and add your shelters defense value, which is defined by your surroundings and any defenses you might have. Lets say its 6 in this example. Then add your Survival Training. Lets say the group has trained twice with a result of 3, resulting in a final Vigor score of 16. Consult the table below to see your Vigor bonus. 16 gives the group a bonus of +1 to one attribute in the Physical category. If they get 4 more points in food, survival training or defenses, the bonus will go up +2. TABLE 3: Bonus modifiers for morale, teamwork and vigor. Find your score in any of these 3 and apply it to one attribute in the corresponding attribute category.
BONUS TABLE Score 1-9 10-19 20-29 Modifer 0 +1 +2 Score Modifier +3 +4 +5 Score Modifier +6 +7 +8

30-39
40-49 50-59

60-69
70-79 80-89

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Expanded Character Rules

While the rules presented so far allows you to play the game fully, some players may wish to expand on their characters. This chapter gives you guide lines on how to give depth and believability to your character.

Character Professions
Your characters Intellect attribute determines what kind of profession your character had before the zombie apocalypse. Intellect determines the upper limit on jobs; a character can easily be a vagrant with a Intellect of 5, but a teacher must have at least 3 in Intellect. A job can expand what your character can do without suffering inexperience modifiers. For example, a medic may perform first aid and a M.D. may perform surgery with no negative modifiers. Intellect of 1: Vagrant, criminal, cleaner, bike messenger, boxer. Intellect of 2: Doorman, bartender, gas station attendant, hair-dresser. Intellect of 3: medic, nurse, firefighter, public school teacher, soldier, policeman. Intellect of 4: High-school teacher or assistant university teacher, junior lawyer, priest, medical doctor. Intellect of 5: Professor, big time lawyer, physicist, scientist, politician.

Character Aspects
Introducing aspects into the game will give your character the potential for as much depth as you like. The basic notion is that you write down any ideas and descriptions of aspects of your character that you see fit, either before or during the story. Creating aspects of your character as the story moves along gives your character a connection to its experiences. For example, your character meets another group of survivors. He gets into an argument over who gets the rights to an abandoned warehouse full of food. If your character bows down to any intimidation from the other group, you might give your character an aspect called caves into pressure when threatened. This might sound like a bad thing, but that is the way you get to know your character. Later on in the story, you might add to the aspect, knows when to stop before things get out of hand. The idea is that aspects are neither good nor bad; they simply describe your characters personality (not to be confused with the attribute of the same name). When you role-play an aspect in a way that fits your character, but is somehow detrimental to his situation, the GM awards you experience points. Experience points can be used to buy useful aspects like knows how to drive a truck or knows how to hack a computer system.

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Social Conflicts
Winning over a competing character in a social conflict is usually handled as a prolonged contest of Intellect and intuition. This can be accomplished through roleplaying, but this chapter gives you a more abstract way of resolving disputes and similar situations where discussion and conflict is important. You can use the following rules to determine how well your character does in a social dispute. The opposing sides are called Defender and Attacker. The system consists of a number of Objectives (called Arguments in most social contexts) that the Attacker will try to counter-argue. The Game Master decides on the number of Arguments, usually an uneven number. He then assigns a Complexity Level to each Argument, usually the same for all of them. The point is to win each Argument by putting enough points in it before your opponent. Attacker and Defender takes turns to assign points for each Argument by rolling an Intellect + Intuition check and assigning any Success Rates to an Argument. Once an Argument has reached the number of Success Rates needed (its Complexity Rating), it is won by the part that put in the most point. This continues until all Arguments have been won. The conflict is resolved by one side having won more Arguments than the other. Example: Maxwell tries to persuade an unwilling non-player character to join the group. The Game Master decides that the conflict consists of 3 Arguments, each having the Complexity Rating of 3. Maxwell rolls his Intellect + Intuition and gets 2 successes. He chooses to put them in Argument #1. He now only needs one more success to win Argument #1. The NPC then rolls her Intellect + Intuition and gets 1 success, which she puts in Argument #2. Back to Maxwell, who rolls again and gets 4 successes enough to win an argument immediately. He puts them into Argument #3, and the Game Master crosses that Argument off as won by Maxwell. The NPC rolls and gets 2 successes, enough to win Argument #2. She gets the needed 3 successes for Argument #2 and wins it. Now Maxwell needs to get at least one success to win the conflict he has already put in 2 points in the remaining Argument. He rolls and gets a Success Rate of -2, so he cannot do anything but wait while the NPC makes her roll. She gets 2 successes, making Argument #1 a tie, with both opponents having 2 successes invested in it. Maxwell rolls again, this time with better luck he gets a Success Rate of 2, one more than needed, and wins Argument #1. All Arguments have been won, and since Maxwell won 2 out of 3, he is successful in persuading the NPC to join the group. Note that any excess Success Rates go to waste. If the GM wants to add more complex dynamics to the conflict, he can rule that a player can use his excess Successes to detract from the opposing sides Argument points. Once an Argument is won, it is no longer part of the conflict and cannot be won back by detracting points using excess Successes. The above example is relatively simple, and was resolved quickly. Social conflicts can be very complicated affairs, and this system reflects that. The number of Arguments is in principle unlimited, as is their Complexity Rating. The GM must decide how much time is relevant for the social conflict and assign the number of Arguments and Complexity Ratings accordingly. 19

Since all the attributes are abstract in this context, they can all be used as the basis for an Argument. For example, a strength + personality roll can be valid if the Game Master decides that it is appropriate for an Argument. This is decided before the argument begins, and must be made clear by the Game Master. These rules can be applied to all situations where there is a sequenced conflict. Foe example, a character might try to hack a computer system to gain important information. To do this, he has to successfully bypass every firewall the system has one by one. Each firewall is handled as an Objective with a Complexity Value. The values for each Objective are determined by the Game Master as usual, and he rolls the dice for the system as if it were an NPC.

The system can be used to emulate political debates and even war, where each Argument or Objective can represent a strategic battle ground. The challenge is to make the abstract concrete for the players. It is important that the Game Master describes what happens when an Argument is won. When the NPC won Argument #2 In the previous example, the Game Master might have said The girl has survived alone for a long time, and the idea of being part of a group of people she doesnt know scares her. Well prepared social conflicts can be very entertaining and profound; it all relies on how well the GM prepares or improvises, and how well he can transform the abstract rules into something concrete.

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Combat
Combat in Zombie: The Hunger is relatively simple. All attacks are executed just like any other task, using two attributes determined by the situation. There are two kinds of attacks: Close combat and gunfire. Shooting at a target is a simple task like any other. Usually, it is Precision + Dexterity, although this depends on the situation. If you have to kill a large mob of zombies close to you, you can use Speed+Dexterity. Again, the Game Master determines what is appropriate. Close combat is dangerous, especially for survivors, since a single bite almost inevitably means infection with disease. Close combat involves both characters rolling Strength + Dexterity. The character with the highest successful result succeeds and damages his opponent. Most survivors carry a melee weapon, like a bat or a knife. These attacks can only be used when you are standing next to the enemy, and they are always aimed at the zombies head. It does not carry the standard -3 penalty to hit, and one success means a successful blow that incapacitates the zombie. How this happens depends on the weapon used; golf clubs smashes heads in, while a long sharp object penetrates the skull and brain. Success Rates determines damage, which makes combat simple. Your attack damage is equal to your Success Rate (see the Success Rates section). For every point above 11, you inflict extra damage. How much is determined by the weapon. Guns are divided into categories: 9mm, shotguns, rifles and automatic weapons. Each type of gun deals different amounts of damage and has a maximum number of shots you can make per round. 9mm handguns: These are the mainstay of all survivors. Its the default gun, and the category comprises all handguns of this caliber. Simplified, all 9mm handguns has clips of 12 rounds, meaning you have to reload after emptying it. Reloading takes a round and a successful Speed + Precision roll. If the roll fails, it takes one extra round to reload. The advantage of a handgun is its handiness. You can fire two shots per round with a damage of 1 per shot. Shotguns: More damage, slower firing rate. Only one shot per round, but it deals 2 points of damage per Success Rate. You can also use a shotgun to blast several zombies away at once. All zombies that stand in the hex next to the main target can be hit if the attack roll has a Success Rate of +1 for every zombie. This is called indirect fire, and only inflicts half damage (2 for shotguns). A shotgun holds 8 rounds, and must be reloaded after they are used. Again, a successful Speed + Precision roll must be made. The shotgun can only be fired once per round. firing rate is usually 1 per round if you move, 2 if you stand still. A rifle can hold up to 12 rounds.

Firearms
When you use firearms, range is very important. For most firearms, any range above 10 meter gives a -1 modifier to your roll. Over 20 meters, its -2, and for over 30, its -3. Going above 40 is only for advanced shooters, giving a modifier of -5 Rifles: This type of weapon is about precision and reliability. It deals 2 points of damage, but it also takes away the modifier of -2 when shooting at a zombies head. Rifle

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COMBAT TACTICS FOR SURVIVORS

Players can employ certain actions that have special effects. They require certain conditions before they can be initiated, but the effects can be very useful. Aiming: To aim, you select a target and use your turn to increase your precision. You cannot move while aiming, but you get a +2 to your shot in the next round. If your target is not visible to your character the following turn, your bonus is not applicable. Dual wielding: Handguns and close combat weapons can be dual wielded. You get a -2 to all attacks made with the extra weapon. To begin dual wielding, you will have to make a successful Dexterity + Intuition roll first. This takes a round for each attempt. Tactical Regroup: All players must make a Group Fear check and a Speed + Intellect check. If everybody succeeds, the group can move their players up to 5 hexes away on the Mow Down: Two or more players unleash a barrage of bullets on a group of zombies for one round. This tactic enables all the participating players to attack in each participating players round. To initiate this tactic, a Group Roll for Intellect + Personality roll must be successful. (add or subtract the Success Rate for each participating player to find the Group Success Rate). All characters must stand next to at least one other character. Fighting Retreat: All players move their run speed towards any edge of the map for 3 rounds. Each round, the players get one attack (determined by the weapon used) to the zombie closest to them. map in addition to their normal movement. All characters must move towards a single target hex.

Team Roles
When dealing with large numbers of zombies (called Zombie Circuses or Rot-fests), its vital that everybody in the group delivers his best. Players need to be very organized in order to survive. Assigning roles to player characters raises your success level significantly. These roles are not permanent; they do not have to be used at all, and each character should choose the role most appropriate for the particular situation. Here are some roles that survivors use to designate each group members role in a skirmish. Supplies Guy: The character carrying extra ammo and meds. When the players run out of ammo, they must stand next to this character for 1 round. The Supplies Guy suffers a -2 on Speed and Dexterity. Usually, this role is given to an NPC. Runner: Runs through Zombie mobs to strategic locations or supplies and weapons. Main attributes: Physical. Mower: A in-their-face close combat character, usually equipped with a shotgun or an automatic weapon. Main attributes: Manipulation. Controller: Makes noises and taunts zombies in order to lure them away from vulnerable 22

players, usually Runners. Main attributes: Mental.

Scouts and spotters: Takes care reconnaissance and early warnings.

of

NPC ROLES
Sniper: Picks specific zombies and makes head shots from a distance.

Bait: Lures zombies into a trap or away from locations.

Damage
Survivors and zombies have different rules for taking damage. The damage rules for survivors are based on your Willpower and Strength Attributes. The number of wounds a survivor can take before dying is 5 + your Strength attribute. How much damage a character takes from a single successful attack is determined by the attacks Success Rate. For each success, the damage increases by one. Since players often face many zombies at a time, it is crucial that the combat system makes it easy to keep track of how much damage a zombie has taken. The average zombie has 3 conditions that reflect the amount of damage it has taken. Zombies usually start the encounter as undamaged (corresponding to 6 Hit points). Your Success Rate for your attack determines how much damage you do. When an attack does 2 damage to a zombie, its status goes to damaged (4 HP). Further 2 points of damage makes the zombie severely damaged (2 HP), and the last stage is either death by headshot or massive body damage (0 HP). Head shot: instant death. -2 to attack roll for every 10 meters away the zombie is. If you stand 2 hexes away from your target, the -2 penalty is removed. Massive Body damage (0 or less HP): The zombie's body is rendered unusable by damage. In effect, it is incapacitated - even though its limbs may still move. Dont stand too close, though. Immobilize: The Zombie's legs are damaged to such a degree that the zombie cannot walk. Immobilized zombies are easily killed after combat. When you roll Sixes, you automatically damage the zombie to this level.

Zombie types
There are 2 different types of zombies. Theres the classic mindless, rotting zombie that bangs its head against the same steel door for 3 days straight, and then there are Alphas. Alpha zombies are evolved zombies with special powers. They retain some of their mind during the transformation that occurs after infection, and this has profound effects on the zombie. An Alpha zombie is faster, stronger and scarier than normal zombies because of its powers. An Alpha zombie can take control of other zombies and move them strategically, in contrast to how zombies normally move motivated only by instinct and sensations, like sounds and the warmth of living flesh. Alpha zombies have a shared consciousness called The Legion Mind. It connects Alphas to each other within a distance of around a 23

kilometer. This shared consciousness allows the zombies to communicate and develop their mental powers and in turn, how much they can do with normal zombies. They can make a normal zombie move fast as if it was

still alive, but only for a short while. Sometimes, that is all it takes for an otherwise safe and preplanned mission to go awry.

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Game Master Section

This section is for the game masters eyes only. It contains ways of creating situations and stories for the players to experience. It also gives you some answers about what actually happened; why the world is swarming with the walking dead. This chapter relies on the notion that you know what a GMs job is, and how to create suspense in a role-playing game.

So What Happened?
Why did the dead rise? Why are people turning into undead monstrosities? Those are questions that need answering for both players and GM. However, the GM should think about how he delivers the answers, and how quickly he does it. Below is a short treatment on the facts that created the zombie apocalypse. The world was hit by a meteoroid that did considerable damage to the eastern hemisphere. While the immediate damage on Earth was under control, the event caused a worldwide crisis. Amidst this crisis, the first infected were discovered. Any link between the asteroid and the disease is unknown, although some speculate that the asteroid brought something into the Earths atmosphere. Something that started a chain of events that led to the downfall of much of western civilization. Widespread panic erupted in many cities over the world. Some fell because of the aftermath of the meteoroids landing and the resulting earthquakes, while others fell due to the disease. Global communication is still intact, but large areas on all continents are silent. It is believed that a combination of the natural disaster and the disease are the main culprits. Attempts at reconnecting with these areas are ongoing, but so far with little luck. Some cities have been found almost empty, the people being either dead, infected or simply disappeared. The infection spreads like a virus, but its nothing like any virus in any existing medical database. What little believable research that has been done on the infectious compound describes it as a hyper-complex semi-organic string of molecules that has some of a virus properties. It is not airborne, but the mutation rate of the compound is faster than anything seen before. It spreads through body fluids; blood and saliva being the main ways. There is no cure, but there is something akin to a vaccine. It is developed in the few functioning parts of the world with the resources needed. It is scarce and only lasts for 24 hours. If you are exposed to the meta-virus without being vaccinated means a 90% chance that you will be infected, and at that point, it is only a matter of hours before the transformation starts. The exact time is somewhere between 5 and 24 hours. There is no known way to stop it, except killing the patient. There have been a few documented cases of persons going through the transformation while still retaining some of their humanity and showing varying degrees of self-control. These are called Alphas, and have as of yet not been classified in terms of biological category. It is believed that some infected are part of society, either not knowing of their infection or choosing to hide it.

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Building a Story
A game story consists of a number of random or pre-planned encounters and situations. A short adventure can have 4 encounters, while longer adventures can have as many as you want. A story contains a number of different obstacles and tasks. It should deliver a number of diverse situations that usually come up in a zombie game. As a GM, you can create a story all of your own. But since this game is supposed to be light on preparation, there are tables that can structure a story randomly. RANDOM LOCATIONS Roll 1d6 twice to see where the adventure starts and ends. 1. A capital (example: New York) 2. A medium city (example: Portland) 3. A small town (example: Augusta, Maine) 4. Open Road (example: a desert gas station) 5. Tbe Wild (example: wild forest) 6. Large building complex (examples: a mall, a skyscraper) Here are some random missions that the players may face. You can use this to build a plot as you go, or you can use it to sequence a number of events before the game starts. Each mission will have a number of Challenges, and all require at least on Player Action. 1. Rescue mission: A group of survivors have been located, and if the players rescue them, their supplies are added to the groups. 2. Food Supply Run: A supply of food has been found. 3. Weapon Supply Run: A supply of weapons has been found. 4. Medical Supplies Run: A supply of medical supplies has been found. 5. Building Supplies: The group locates a pile of building material that can strengthen their Shelter. 6. Shelter Located: A new shelter has been located by the group. Using these tables can also inspire you to create your own stories. Remember, the main goal is to have fun with it; that is true for the GM as well.

Final Notes
Having read this book, you might be interested in the upcoming Zombie: The Hunger supplement that allows you to play as Alpha zombies. If you need to contact the author for any reason, the email is: eskeandersen@hotmail.com.

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