I was just wondering what systems people might use for a modern-day Zombie Apocalypse game. I think there are a few systems that are specifically geared for that, but I don't know of them offhand. I'm sure there are also more generic systems that could be adapted for this purpose.

So what system(s) are best? Let's discuss.

All Flesh Must be Eaten (AFMBE), of course, as it's the classic zombie-centred game.

But the answer to your question really depends on what kind of zombie game you want. Some systems are mechanically brutal in for Mundanes (like the Worlds/Chronicles of Darkness) so if you want your game to be really gritty survival horror then you want something like that.

Of you're not big into number crunching and would rather tell a more dramatic, cinematic story, then any lite system will do. FATE. The Window. Risus. Even freeform.

In reply to truemane (msg # 2):

I dont agree with free form.

In reply to Sittingbull (msg # 3):

In general? Or in this instance? I guess it depends on whether or not your definition of 'system' includes 'no system.'

Freeform for RP is good, freeform for any kind of contention isn't ideal.

In reply to Sittingbull (msg # 5):

Very much depends on how you define those terms. And what, precisely, the dividing point between 'RP' and 'contention' is. Freeform gives you one kind of game. System/dice give you another. Neither is superior. It depends on what kind of game/story you want.

ok, instead of contention read physical conflict.

Oh, then you mean which system has the most realistic physical conflict?

Well, that depends. FATAL is perhaps the most complex, and it's my opinion that it's needlessly complex (don't play it, for that and other reasons).  GURPS Vehicles wants you to calculate cubed roots of numbers.

Real life, however, is complex.  How many injuries have you ever had, or seen someone else have, and how many of them have been exactly the same?  Probably very few were ever exactly the same injury as any other injury, right?  How do you represent or track all of those injuries?  How do you determine how someone was injured?  And how did they get injured, was it a regular attack or a special attack or a rare attack and how do all of those different types off attacks affect the resulting injury?  What about all the many different types of armor and things that can protect you?  What sort of damage do poisons do and how do inhaled poisons differ from injected poisons/venom (through a poisoned weapon or an animal bite/sting)?  So how complex do you really want to get?

Most people want some level of abstraction.  How much do you want to abstract it, because "most realistic" probably isn't very fun -- it needs more abstraction so that a single punch doesn't turn into 20 minutes of looking up tables and calculating numbers.
This message was last edited by the user at 23:24, Tue 19 Jan 2016.

For what it's worth; even physical conflict can be done well in freeform; you just need good players.

Maybe I just have never seen good freeform combat done but I cant see combat done with a 'system' that doesnt allow for any room for randomness or failure.

In reply to Sittingbull (msg # 10):

This discussion should probably go into another thread. There've been enough freeform vs system threads in the past. But it bears mentioning that freeform absolutely allows for failure. Just generally not randomness.

I've had many very satisfying physical conflicts in freeform. They're just satisfying for different reasons than the many satisfying conflicts I've had in dice-based games.

Again, it depends on what you want in a game and in a story.

I guess one question is will the game have player vs player conflict?  Character survivers competing with each other for resources. Freeform may not be a good choice for such a game and there may be systems more suited for such.

For a game where there is a large degree of player conflict vs environment or mobs I can see a problem with some game systems. One bad roll and depending on the system you could have dead characters unless the GM "freeforms" or fudges the rules and die rolls to let player characters survive.  A system that allows PCs to mow through mobs of zombies quickly (lots of hack and slash to whittle down a hit point pool for each opponent can make combat really crawl with PbP) yet makes PCs a bit more heroic and harder to kill might be preferred.

Yeah, I'm not considering 'Freeform'/'No System'


I'm thinking no PvP, so let's focus entirely on PvE.

And yes, the balance between Gritty/Realistic & Stremlined is one of those other discussions for the ages.

Mostly, I'm wondering about a system that has easy access to balanced stats and such so that I won't have to make everything up on the fly.

Another question is how much scavenging and survival will be in the game?  Some games accomm odate post apocalyptic type resource gathering and the daily food, water, and shelter needs better than others that may be more about the hack and slash.

Good question. I'm not sure about that answer, though I'm leaning toward 'more/much scavenging'. Though I believe the focus of the game will be more on upgrading equipment and skills (character progression) and less on number-crunching.

I'm actually asking these questions on behalf of a friend who is new to GMing. So another bonus is if the system is 'new-GM friendly' (feel free to debate what that means).

It sounds like you want something more like White Wolf, without any splat books. In all White Wolf games, you create a human then apply a template, like vampire, werewolf, whatever. Just don't apply a template. The base White Wolf book is all about humans. I recommend the Chronicles of Darkness version as it'll make dropping a zombie, or any other supernatural creature, very easy and combat is really simplified. Basically, for any skill or attack, you add up attribute + skill + your special bonus - special penalty from the other person like armor. Roll that many d10's, 8+ is a success, 10's explode (get a free reroll and add it to your successes). 5+ successes is an extraordinary success. You get incremental upgrades, and it's super easy for a new GM or Storyteller as they're called in this system.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the user at 15:13, Tue 19 Jan 2016.

You could always take one of the great Zombie board games, roleplay the characters and still use its mechanics.

What are your choices for great Zombie board games? (and why, what makes it better than others)
This message was last edited by the user at 20:15, Sat 06 Feb 2016.

In reply to CosmicGamer (msg # 18):

"Zombicide" is a good fast paced game but it really depends on what feel you want.
Maybe "City of Horror" is more like what you like?

"Dead of Winter" also has great reviews but is more for stables of characters which could work if you have a lot of turnover.

As to Why ... people know what they are getting.
By being more of a One-Shot it frees people to play the genre and not another game with zombie trappings.
This message was last edited by the user at 11:56, Thu 11 Feb 2016.