A game by

Paul Seyfarth

Special Thanks to George Romero, Dan Anderson, Joe Campbell,

Warren Foshawg, Vincent Baker, and Avery Alder Mcdaldno
They’re coming to get you Barbara. They’re horny Barbara!
The dead are walking and they want to gnaw your flesh. Your
motivation is that you don’t want to let them. Another cool thing
happened, society went to fucking hell and people taking pretty
much everything into their own hands. If you don’t know what the
fuck I am talking about, see any zombie movie by George
Romero. Also, take everything you learned from other people’s
zombie movies and burn it in a garage fire.

This is a role playing game. If you don’t understand that

concept, congratulations. It goes like this, people gather under
cover of darkness. The MC tells the people what’s up and they
say what their character does in response. You roll some dice.
Everybody dies.

 You’re all gonna die, have fun with it.

 Zombies don’t run. It’s important to me that you know that.
 Characters should argue and murder each other.
 Players should NOT argue and/or murder each other.
 The MC has the last say.
 The characters are regular people, don’t make fucking
Batman.
At the start of the game the players make characters. Then the
MC puts those characters in some awful situation and describes it
to the players. After a bit of Q & A the players say what the
characters are doing. The MC will periodically call on a player to
roll dice when they make what the MC considers to be a move.
Players give each other strings to represent connections shared
through play. One thing that players can do with strings is give
each other XP. Get enough XP and your character advances.
Don’t get too excited, eventually the military nukes the site from
orbit, or you starve to death in a basement, get eaten by a
zombie or shot by looters. Then the game is over.

This process can be as short as a single 2 hour session or

stretch out as long as it is still interesting. Here are some
definitions:

Bag – A character’s bag is their single most defining thing about

them. It is often a job, but not always.

Character – An imaginary regular person that a player or the MC

is controlling.

Conditions – descriptive terms that apply to a character and alter

or prevent certain die rolls or change the rules for that character.
These are generally bad news.

MC – The Master of Ceremonies controls all the characters not

controlled by the players. The MC is also responsible for
answering questions about what’s happening in the world and
generally setting the stage.
Modifier – AKA Mod – When the players have to roll they will
often add a modifier listed on the character sheet by the move
they’re attempting. Mods range from -1 to +3 and never exceed
+3 without strings.

Move – When a character tries to do something important with an

unpredictable outcome, and an element of risk they are probably
making a move. It is up to the MC whether something is a
move or if it just happens the way the player describes. IF the
MC says it’s a move he tells the player to roll and what move to
roll. The player rolls and the MC interprets the results of the roll.

Player – All the people playing besides the MC are players

Roll – When the MC tells a player to roll they roll 2d6 AKA 2 six
sided dice and add the modifier listed for that move on their
character sheet.

Strings - Characters give strings to other characters, they

represent connections, psychic webs, emotional scars, shared
love, unrequited love, hatred, etc. They can be spent in play for
a variety of effects.

Traits – Traits are aspects of the character that alter the rules.
Generally they expand or add a bonus to a move. But they
might add a new move or change the rules for that character in
some defined circumstances.

XP – XP are accrued by the character for failing at moves. XP

can also arise from strings. Once a character has 5 XP they get
another trait and go back to 0 XP.
At the start of character creation The MC offers up a setting and
an amount of time since the “Outbreak.” Players should ask
any questions they have and then come up with an idea for a
person who is there. If the players are stumped the MC should
be able to provide some suggestions. Once any player has an
idea for a character they should throw it out there and let the
other players riff off that. Once everyone has an idea out in the
open, you get character sheets and in no particular order you fill
in:

Bag: What they do. A bag is a short description of what a

character brings to the table. Usually a bag is a job, but if your
person is a tollbooth operator who sends pipe bombs through the
mail the tollbooth thing is not their bag. Bags are a sentence or
less. Bags generate 3 traits: expand one move; add +1 to 3
different moves; Add +2 to one move.

Flaw: A flaw is some kind of stumbling block or trouble that

haunts the character. All characters have 1 flaw trait. Flaws
gives a -1 to one move and lets them hand out a string to
anyone who witnesses the flaw in action.

Gear: write down what you think you have with you. Nobody
owns property anymore so keep it down to what you have on
your person. The MC will edit this list when you’re done. Any
outrageous items the MC has to remove result in a condition at
the start of play.

Motivation: Whatever a character puts above all else goes here.

Characters can exchange strings with anyone who witnesses them
risk their safety or the safety of others in pursuit of this end.

Name: the characters name.

Notes: if the conversations about gear or strings or setting lead to
things worth noting note them here. This will get more use in
play.

Strings: Strings can represent emotional ties, bonds, shared

secrets, attractions, history, etc. Each character may give out up
to 2 strings to other characters. When they do this, they must
come up with what they represent: posit a statement and a
question. If the intended recipient accepts the string they answer
the question. The statement is an event that has transpired
involving the characters in question. The question informs some
important detail.

Style: A characters look and how they comport themselves.

Style should be what others pick up on at first glance.

Trait: Starting Characters get 1 starting trait. Traits have to be

made up. All traits need a name. Traits can do anything you
can think of (as long as the MC is down). Generally, traits do
one of the following things:

+1 to 3 different moves (up to a +2 total modifier)

+2 to 1 move (up to a total +3 modifier)

-1 to a move and give out strings

Expand a move (eg a nurse has an expanded tend move)

Write a new move (requires MC approval)

Alter the rules in certain circumstances (MC approval)

Once the characters are set you should have one last discussion
to set the scene. The first scene should include all the
characters. The MC will describe the situation in more detail.
Play!
Remember these are just examples you’re encouraged to interpret
any of the bags and traits differently and make up your own.

Bags
Carpenter - Can build and modify structures with rig. +3 rig, +1
to struggle and Reckon.
Cop – Double clears when armed with police gear. +2 to clear,
+1 to suss, struggle, and tend.
Criminal – Can use shenanigans to rig for any destructive
purpose. +2 to Shenanigans, +1 to clear, suss, and flee.
Dad – Can use Tend for shenanigans when dealing with kids.
Tend +3, +1 rig & suss.
Gamer - +2 to shenanigans, +1 to Rig, Reckon, and parlay. Can
use shenanigans to flee.
Garbage Man – +3 Struggle, +1 to Rig and something. Garbage
men can drive commercial vehicles.
Kid - +2 flee, +1 shenanigans, parlay, and struggle. Kids are tiny
and can flee into or hide in places others cannot.
Lawyer - + 3 to parlay, +1 to reckon and something. Can use
parlay to lie.
Mechanic – +3 rig, +1 flee and something. Expands rig to
include repairing complex machines.
Nurse - +3 to tend (can tend to dying characters) +1 to parlay
and reckon.
Teacher – Can use tend to grant XP given time and security. +2
to reckon, +1 to tend, parlay, and suss.
Vetrinarian – Can use tend foranimals, can tend to dying
characters. +3 Tend, +1 Reckon and parlay.
Traits
Shit Kicker - +2 to Clear

Parkour - +2 to flee

Maker - +2 to rig

Tenderheart - +2 to Tend

Silvertongue - +2 to Parlay

Philosopher - +2 to Reckon

Hard ass - +2 to Struggle

Basic Training - +1 to Struggle, Flee, and clear

Salt of the earth - +1 to Struggle, tend, and rig

Wily - +1 shenanigans, suss, and reckon

Hoodrat - +1 struggle, shenanigans and flee

Gommie - -1 flee – exchange strings with characters who watch

you try to hustle

Addict - -1 to Struggle, exchange strings with anyone who sees

you indulge.

Coward - -1 to clear exchange strings with anyone who sees your

fear.

Klutz - -1 to rig, exchange strings when someone sees you fuck

up

Obnoxious - -1 to Parlay, exchange strings when someone sees

you act the douche

Honest – 1 to shenanigans, exchange strings when someone sees

you blow a con or when your honesty causes trouble.
Callous -1 to tend, exchange strings when someone sees you do
something hurtful or cold.

Dumbass -1 to Reckon – exchange strings when someone sees

you point out the obvious orsay something face palmy.

Strings
Only the first strings really need questions. The questions are
important though as they paint the picture of how everyone knows
each other and what the group dynamics are.

You caught me lying/cheating/stealing. Why did you keep my

secret?

You saved my life. How?

We’re related. How?

I hurt you. How?

You were my mentor. What did you teach me?

You can always get under my skin. Why or how?

I fucking love you. Why can’t you see that?

You have beaten me. At what?

We work together. Where?

We see each other once a week. Where/why?

I need to protect you. Why?

We share a secret. What is it?

Clear – Removing a threat from an area that is actively fighting
you. Depending on your arms and armor and the symmetry of
the threat the results can be interpreted in a number of ways.
Often a character will have to clear multiple times if there are
multiple opponents. It’s up to the MC but this should be up
front. Facing overwhelming odds can lead to death even with a
10 up at times. The stakes should be discussed prior to a roll.

6 or less it probably gets you

7-9 you get it at a cost (mixed result)
10 up you get it or make headway

Flee – Removing yourself from danger. All characters get a +1

to flee from zombies. When successful, fleeing on foot is taxing
and generally results in a winded condition.

6 or less you’re fucked

7-9 You face a hard bargain
10+ You’re in the wind

Parlay – Talking it out with other survivors. Parlay is the move

you use when you’re being genuine and trying to negotiate or
come to an understanding. Parlay is also used for arguments
and debates. It is not contested but if two player characters are
parlaying both characters can roll.

6 or less you give them a string

7-9 strings all around
10 up They must give you a string
Reckon – Reckon is used to make plans, strategize, remember
stuff, and give advice. Sometimes you just want info from the
MC. When it is used to give advice or direction before a battle,
characters who follow the advice of the reckoner give them a
string.

6 or less bad advice -1 forward

Reckoning character must give a string
The MC doesn’t need to say jack
7-9 The advice is inconsequential
The MC should give cryptic but useful advice
10 up The advice is good +1 forward
Reckoning character can give a string
The MC should give actionable advice

Rig – Whenever you build, fix or break something you’re rigging.

Most people don’t have a lot of options with rig. Any character
can attempt to board up the windows of a house, most characters
could not rebuild an engine. It is up to the MC what is
reasonable. If something is deemed unreasonable no roll is
allowed.

6 or less it doesn’t work, in fact things get worse

7-9 hard bargain

10+ You did it! Good Job

Shenanigans – Lying, sneaking, stealing. If you talk something

out without being genuine. Make a clever ploy, or try to cheat,
you’re using shenanigans. Like Rig it is restricted to what most
people could do. Picking someone’s pocket or ninja stealth
intrusion require expanded Shenanigans.

6 or less you’re caught and you give out strings

 7-9 face a hard bargain
10+ You did it. Take a string.

Struggle – If you are fighting pain, fatigue, fear, hunger, whatever,

you’re struggling. Characters should roll to struggle whenever they
do something that puts their life in danger as well.

6 or less – You fail and things get worse

7 – 9 face a hard bargain
10 up no prabalo

Suss – Scouting, looting, looking out, scrutinizing a person, etc.

Roll to suss whenever you want the MC to spill the beans about
what’s going on or when you search an area.

6 or less You don’t know and things get worse

7-9 mixed results and the MC gives up some info
10 up MC spills and some other benefit is gained

Tend - Whenever you want to remove a condition you’re tending

to that person. You can tend to yourself. Like rig tending is
restricted, for example you need training (ie and extended tend)
to tend to a dying character. You CANNOT tend to a zombie
bite. Characters tending to other characters can always choose
to exchange strings with their ward. Witnesses can also give
strings to a character they observe tending to other characters.

6 or less you made it worse, give out a string

7-9 face a hard bargain
10 up condition resolved
Gear rules follow common sense with a few abstractions to help
the MC handle clearing and fleeing. If a character has a lot of
stuff they will risk dropping some of it if they have to (for
example) find something specific in a very full back pack during a
high stakes situation. The more you have the more unforgiving
the MC can be when you’re fleeing. MC’s are encouraged to
look at losing gear as a less lethal alternative to slapping
conditions on a character.

Weapons fall into a hierarchy, the symmetry of the armament

helps determine the success of a clearing move. Hi-tech military
shit is better than bombs and machine guns, bombs and machine
guns are better than guns, guns are better than hand weapons,
hand weapons are better than being unarmed. All the weapons
in gun level or better are loud (except poison gas) and loud
weapons advance any threat that has ears to hear. Guns and
other advanced weapons generally use ammunition. Hand
weapons and unarmed fighting leave the wielder winded after any
scene where they wer used to make a clear move.

Armor follows common sense as well. It tends to be fairly

specialized. Generally, nothing short of a bunker will save you
from most hi-tech military shit, but there are NBC suits for use
against NBC weapons. Bombs and heavy machine guns will
make quick work of most ballistic armor but there is High quality
military armor that will provide protection. However NBC suits
and hi tech bomb armor are very restrictive of movement
(preventing flee moves in most circumstances.) Also very few
folks will have access to it at the start of play. Ballistic armor
and riot gear is effective against guns and below.
Conditions are usually bad news. The MC hands them out like
candy until they grind the characters into pulp. There are a few
set conditions that are likely to come up listed and described
below, but MC’s are encouraged to come up with situational
conditions as well based on the narrative.

Hurt – -1 to Clear and flee progresses to dying.

Unconcious – you can’t do anything. Doesn’t necessarily progress.

Dead – It’s over make a new guy.

Dying – -1 to everything. Everything is a struggle. IF nothing

else happens you die at the end of the scene. Progresses to
dead.

Bit – Progresses to dead in 1-3 days. Cannot be tended to.

Sad - -1 to struggle. Progresses to broken.

Broken – everything is a struggle.

Afraid – -1 to clear. Progresses to terrified.

Terrified – Struggle to do anything but flee

Angry – -1 to parlay or reckon. Cannot tend.

Raging – Struggle to do anything but clear.

Psychotic – The GM can lie to you when you suss or reckon.

Everything but clear and flee is a struggle.

Distracted – - 1 to suss and tend.

Exhausted – everything is a struggle progresses to unconscious.

Winded – cannot flee.

Hungry – -1 to struggle. Progresses to starving.

Starving – Everything is a struggle. Progresses to Sick.

Sick – Conditions accrue more rapidly. -1 to everything.

Progresses to dying.

Strings represent the bonds shared by characters. When

characters give out strings, they give out power over themselves.
The recipient of a string can spend it in the following ways:

+ 1 or -1 to a dice roll spend after the roll

Offer 1 XP for completing a stated task

Have the MC give them a condition

Strings once spent are gone.

Strings are a double edged sword. At times you will want to give
out a string and at other times you will wish you didn’t have to.
Strings can be give to and received from characters controlled by
the MC as well. Since MC characters don’t roll dice Strings are
spent to alter their responses. By spending a string from an MC
character you can force the MC to offer an alternative scenario.
How to run a fucking game
Running a game is like flying a kite. Too little tension and it falls
flat. Too much tension and you never see how high it could go.
Players need space to explore their characters in order to bond
with them. You can’t truly inhabit a role if the character runs
from one fight scene to the next. There need to be scenes
where the characters talk or build or kill downtime. Players also
bond with their characters when they achieve success in the
course of play. This bonding makes it more meaningful when the
character gets eviscerated by zombies or murdered by a
rampaging motorcycle gang.

How to run this game – the Agenda

 Explore the possibilities
 The Characters make the moves
 Don’t let go
 The living will envy the dead

The zombies came to life. Society fell apart. A lot of exciting,

terrifying, wondrous, volatile stuf is in the wind. Think about this
when the character’s encounter other survivors or familiar
locations that have been twisted by the changes. The Romero
movies are filled with the tensions society suppresses coming
loose once everything went to shit. What does a military base
become when no one is getting any orders anymore? The
hospitals, once a place for healing are now ground zero, source
of the first big zombie hoards. Breath life into your world by
keeping the story emergent from what you think would really
happen.
This game is meant to be played pretty fast. The MC should not
have a huge amount of prep or flipping through books for rules.
The plot should arise from the actions of the player’s characters.
Let the players decide where they head and react to it. If they
hold up somewhere, threaten that place. If they come up with a
great plan give them slack and then push back when they start to
get cocky.

Remember the kite string. Your game will be boring if they

characters never get a chance to breath and it will be boring if
they forget the world is shitty. Characters should not feel like the
MC is their enemy. Give them heroic deaths Give them
fireworks. Give them a reason to feel their character was vital to
the story you’re telling.

If the characters fight a valiant fight and end up 5 miles beneath

the earth in a government bunker. You should always give them
their victory. Give them space to explore the freedom they’ve
earned. Then you could send in the people who are supposed to
be there or maybe have technical difficulties occur in the
ventilation. Or end it there with the survivors living for years as
trogolodytes in a depressing dank industrial hellscape.

Setting
The first night of the living dead takes place in a farmhouse.
This is pretty ideal for a starting MC. It doesn’t have to be
sprawling or complex, it is easier to manage an isolated setting.
The two most important components of setting are

It kindles your imagination.

It is familiar enough to be easy to describe

It is a good idea to rough out a map ahead of time if possible.
Answer any questions the players might have about the setting
before moving on to character creation.

Setting should include the year, a description of the physical

location, and how long it has been since the first attacks.

Character Creation
Making the characters should be like falling out of a tree. It is
largely in the hands of your players and when it’s done yu will
probably feel a bit beat up. You should be familiar enough with
the rules to guide players who didn’t read the rules through the
process. Make sure the players talk to each other before they
start writing. In fact, it is probably best if you wait to give out
character sheets until after everyone has a concept on the table.

The MC’s most important jobs during character creation is

providing guidance. Help people who are struggling with rules or
creative process stuff. Check the gear lists.Make sure all the
strings are exchanged before you move on. Strings are the most
important

The Kicker
So you’ve got a location filled with people who have dynamic
interconnections. Now you need to make it clear this is a fight
for survival. Traditionally this involves putting one or more of the
characters in grave danger. However the strings might point to a
tension filled interaction that is already ripe. Either way, the first
scene should involve immediate danger.
Fronts
In a zombie story there are always zombies trying to eat your
flesh. Zombies are the best default threat to introduce whenever
you need a threat. However, relying entirely on zombies is
incongruous with the traditional zombie narrative. In fact other
survivors, hunger, sleep deprivation, paranoia, the government or
lack thereof (no 911), etc. often prove more troublesome than the
zombies.

Players should be shown the instruments before their characters

die. A threat should not kill any characters until the second time
it comes up. Whenever you finish with any amount of downtime
you should consider introducing a new front.

Climax
The climax starts when only one or 2 of the original characters
remain. Any hidden fronts should emerge. And all the fronts
should join, roil, and interplay. It is often better not to kill off all
the remaining characters during the climax instead leaving some
to witness the destruction and despair and envy the dead and
stuff like that. This can also give a starting point for the next
game.

Moves and Interpreting the Dice

Determining if something is a move and then interpreting the
results of rolls is the most complex parts of MC’ing. When
deciding whether or not to have a roll consider the following:

Is it important?

Is the outcome uncertain?

If you answer yes to both questions make them roll. IF there is
no move for the roll you want them to make you can make up a
new move and then look at the character and see if their bag or
traits would apply, if they do, apply bonuses or penalties
accordingly.

Often a player will state the move they want to make and leave it
at that. This is boring. It is better to make them give a
narrative and let the MC say when it’s a move.

Generally speaking 6 or less results call for the application of a

condition, the loss of gear, or handing out strings. The severity
of the condition is determined by a combination of the direness of
the situation and the gear the character has.

Hard bargain means you offer the player what they want for a
cost (a condition, lost gear, etc.) but give them an opportunity to
back out gaining nothing and eschewing the cost, or (in the event
of an extremely risky or bad plan) paying a reduced price. Mixed
Result is just like a hard bargain but there is no opportunity to
back out.

Adding and Changing rules

It’s best to do as little of this as possible until the game is
second nature. As MC you have a great power to make the
players wishes come true with the alteration of rules or creation
of new moves. You also have a great responsibility to make
sure some to most of the characters don’t make it to the next
session. So be conservative.
Conditions
Do’s - Conditions are the stick in this game. Use them in your
hard bargains. Use them in the event of failure. Use them
whenever it makes sense. Conditions do not have to result from
a roll. If the characters go without food for a day they become
hungry. If they go without sleep for thirty hours, they become
exhausted.

Don’ts - A character shouldn’t go from fine (no conditions) to

dead unless they did something extremely stupid or extremely
risky. Keep in mind the alternative of breaking or taking gear.
Player’s need time with their characters, No one should die in the
kicker but someone could get bit, lose an essential piece of gear,
or take a serious wound.

Permanent Conditions – Sometimes conditions become permanent.

These might take the form of flaws. You should hand these out
whenever you feel it’s appropriate, IF someone mangles their leg
they might become gommie once they heal if they haven’t been
tended to by a proper doctor or if they were not allowed to rest
and heal. You could just hand out a permanent -1 to a move.
Or yu could just write a new rule as you see fit.

Strings
Strings are mostly player business. In most games it is up to the
GM to advance the characters and give them XP. In Zombi the
players depend on each other to advance their characters. When
a character controlled by the MC gets a string spend it fast,
make an XP request from the MC character’s best interest (MC
characters tend to die off and there are likely to be precious few
advances.)