[Kickstarter] TROPES: Zombie Edition!

[petespahn]

Start the New Year off with zombies!*

Ever wanted to play a game that explores the deep personal horror of the zombie apocalypse? Where the choices you make in times of crisis define who you are? Where zombies are only a backdrop and humans are responsible for the true evils in the world?

Well, go find another game! This game is about killing zombies, so you can forget all that touchy feely crap!

TROPES: Zombie Edition (TZE) is a game of post-apocalyptic zombie survival horror. TZE is about surviving the zombie apocalypse for one more night. It is designed for one-shot play and should be cinematic and action packed!

Check out the Kickstarter here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66 ... ie-edition

*Hi guys! This game has nothing to do with Labyrinth Lord so I apologize if there is any confusion.

[greyarea]

Woot!

[Blood axe]

I gotta get in on this. But have to wait til payday. The holidays wiped me out.

[Blood axe]

Its been about a week. Over $400 now. You should post a teaser or some more information to get more backers. Id like to see a bit more about the game myself.

[petespahn]

Its been about a week. Over $400 now. You should post a teaser or some more information to get more backers. Id like to see a bit more about the game myself.

Ask and ye shall receive!

Here is a link to the project Updates. They include samples of the (WIP) map for the first Outbreak and zombie artwork by Luigi Castellani.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/66 ... tion/posts

Here is a link to a nice little interview of Yours Truly.

http://rollingboxcars.com/2015/01/07/in ... e-edition/

Only 14 days left to reach the Stretch Goal so feel free to share!

Pete

[Blood axe]

How about a short example of game play? That will show more about the game & how it really works.
Thanks!

[petespahn]

How about a short example of game play? That will show more about the game & how it really works.
Thanks!

It plays out just like any other roleplaying game. The big difference is you have a set area to explore (the Map) which is surrounded by some sort of Containment. The Containment can be things like wildfires, military, an ocean, or even the zombie horde. Your goal is to Escape the Map before the session is over. There are about 1-3 ways to Escape the map. If the players can't figure out how to Escape, the GM introduces information pertaining to the Escape at about the halfway point of the Outbreak.

So, say the Map is the old standby of the Crossroads Mall. The GM decides to himself that this will be a short game, lasting only about an hour (60 minutes). The players make up 3 characters that might be found at the mall (shoppers, store clerks, security guards, etc.) using the simple TROPES point-buy chargen system. These characters are folded up and placed in the bowl at the center of the table. Each player then draws one character at random to start the game.

The GM (actually ZM for Zombie Master) narrates where everyone is as the game begins and what has been happening that day.

So for example, the ZM sets it up saying there has been unrest and even riots across the country for the past few days. Details have been a bit sketchy on the news, but it there seems to be a bit of panic about a new flu virus that's sweeping the nation. Still, people have to shop so life goes on, although a few people at the mall wear dust masks to avoid breathing in germs.

Suddenly, there is a loud boom, like an explosion, possibly from somewhere outside. The lights flicker, and most of the shoppers start nervously heading for the nearest exit.

Then the screaming starts. You can't see who's screaming so you don't know what's happening, all you see is the panicked crowd reverse direction and start heading toward you. A few unfortunate shoppers are knocked down and trampled in the rush.

Then you see a man covered in blood leap onto the back of a young woman and tear out her throat. More people covered in blood can be seen shambling after the crowd. It's 2015. As incredible as it sounds, you've watched enough movies and TV shows to know a zombie when you see one. Some of these zombies are slow moving, but a few look like they can run as fast as you. You look at the people around you (the other PCs) and know there is safety in numbers. Better to join together and help each other out than get picked off one by one.

What do you do?

Then its roleplay time. The PCs might head for the nearest exit, they might look for a place to hide, or they might immediately try to gather up some weapons.

If they head for the exits, they'll likely have to contend with at least one group of zombies inside the mall. Fighting zombies without weapons is not a great idea. If they reach the exits, they find the Containment. In this case, it's the horde of zombies that have shambled into the parking lot. The parking lot is in chaos. The zombies are attacking people before they reach their cars and a number of vehicles are on fire. Between the wrecked cars and the zombie horde, there seems to be no clear way out of the parking lot. If the PCs insist on leaving the mall this way, they are must fight their way through the horde. This is really an impossible prospect and the PCs will be quickly overwhelmed after a few harrowing scenes*. Some may survive by retreating back to the mall.

*If a character dies, the player chooses another character from the bowl. The ZM narrates how this character linked up with the party and play continues.

If the PCs look for a place to hide inside the mall, they might escape notice for awhile, but eventually the zombies will discover their hiding place. Hiding is a good tactic in order to rest, recover, and formulate plans, but no hiding place lasts forever. Fortifying a hiding place into a shelter is a better idea, but one needs weapons and other supplies to make it last.

The meat of the game lies in the characters scavenging weapons and supplies, killing zombies, and looking for a way to escape. Few places in the mall sell guns these days. However, the PCs might find weapons in places like the sports store (baseball bats, hockey sticks, or even bows and crossbows), department stores (axes, monkey wrenches, hammers, chainsaws, etc.), or even hobby shops/gaming stores (axes, knives, swords). Some of these weapons may be locked up, requiring task rolls to either find a key or break into.

As they're moving around gathering supplies, the PCs are running into packs of zombies as well as other NPC survivors. The NPCs might try to join the characters or even try to rob them (based on reaction rolls). There are also a number of Random Events that occur every 10-15 minutes of real time to keep the game moving. These can be anything from an interesting zombie attack (maybe a zombie security guard is driving through the mall on his golf cart, running down people and zombies alike) or an NPC who relays important information about supplies or what is happening in the parking lot. An NPC might even mention the helicopter on the roof and the characters might fight their way to the helipad only to find the helicopter is long gone.

At about the halfway mark (30 minutes in this case), the ZM introduces at least one Escape. In this case, it's a terrified NPC janitor who knows the layout of the maintenance tunnels beneath the mall. If the PCs will protect them, he will lead them through.

Of course, there will be plenty of zombies along the way to fight. The maintenance door will have to be bashed down (drawing more zombies) or the PCs will have to find the set of master keys the janitor lost somewhere in the food court when he was running from zombies.

The PCs might also come up with their own ingenious way of Escape.

There will be more zombie encounters and Events as the characters attempt to Escape.

At the end of the hour, the main part of the zombie horde bursts through the doors and floods the mall searching for prey. If the PCs have not escaped by then, they are dragged down and devoured by the mob.

****

In a lot of ways it plays like a sandbox board game. That is, the PCs are free to move around and explore the "game board" (the Map) while they scavenge supplies and try to find a way out. They're still able to roleplay encounters (especially with NPCs) and come up with ideas the ZM never thought of. In fact, part of the fun is seeing how resourceful the players can be when faced with such a tough situation. Remember, the characters are every day people trying to survive, not Delta Force soldiers with access to high tech weaponry (although there is an option to play that way if you like).

Combat is pretty lethal and characters are expected to die. That's one of the main reasons to scavenge better weapons and/or body armor. However, there's also a bit of a board game/video game aspect to it in that the best way to heal yourself is to find First Aid Kits scattered throughout the Map.

There are optional rules for making it less lethal for the PCs and turning it into a traditional RPG. Overall though, it's meant to be a party game. I've run this for gamers and non gamers alike and never had a bad session. The system relies on rolling a handful of d6s, so it's easy for everyone to understand.

Does that help?

[Blood axe]

Yes! Sure does. I'm in for $30. Incoming tonight after work. Thanks!

Pledged $30,
Chad
aka Blood Axe

[Blood axe]

I have the PDF rules and have read them through & played a bit. FANTASTIC!!! Exactly what I was looking for, simple, easy, fun Zombie RPG rules. Im a big fan of Rot World, but this is a simple fun game. Im very happy I backed this project. I highly recommend Zombie Tropes if you want a simple fun , easy to learn & play Zombie RPG.

[petespahn]

Thanks Blood Axe!

To anyone else who is interested, the artless PDF of TROPES: Zombie Edition is available now for FREE so check it out!

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/144122/TR ... dition-PDF