I just saw Dawn of the Dead with some friends and couldn’t help to think about a BitD hack where you build and…

I just saw Dawn of the Dead with some friends and couldn’t help to think about a BitD hack where you build and…

I just saw Dawn of the Dead with some friends and couldn’t help to think about a BitD hack where you build and secure your lair against the zombie hordes, drive off raiders and deal with the stress of living in isolation with a small group of people.

13 thoughts on “I just saw Dawn of the Dead with some friends and couldn’t help to think about a BitD hack where you build and…”

  1. No reason you need to hack the system too much though. Why not send your group to the Lost District (perhaps as a prison job or maybe hired by the Silver Nails) and have them barricade themselves in a building or two while under attack from something?

  2. I don’t see BitD addressing inter-party tension or a minute lair customization, two things that could reflect some of the themes of the movie. I would also steal the “zombie clock” from Shotgun Diaries.

  3. I guess with the lair/base customisation, it depends how deep you want to go. If you wanted to do it without too much effort, I was thinking a custom lair blueprint, but you could obviously make it more complex than that.

    As for interparty conflict, I suppose I figured that was more RP in BitD, but you’re right that there isn’t really a mechanic set aside for it.

    If you do end up making a hack for it, I’d definitely be interested in seeing it.

    By the by, I’m guessing you were referring to the remake of Dawn? I really like that one, but if you haven’t seen the original (or haven’t seen it in a while), check that one out too. They’re both great in different ways.

  4. I’m wondering what the core characters would be a in a zombie apocalypse game…I’ve had such bad luck with attaching archetypes to “real world” games that I have ended up avoiding class based systems for games like that completely.

  5. D20 modern just used different levels in various classes of hero (e.g. fast, strong, etc.) so that’s one way to do it. I’m not quite sure how I would tackle it either. Maybe think of the key skills and group those? Survivalist, mechanic, sharpshooter, builder, medic, etc.?

  6. Jason Lee I think what I would struggle to think of is the kind of special abilities to bring to the table in a game like this. With other genres, it’s a lot easier to translate what John’s got for the playbooks already.

  7. Playbooks, or character classes are not intrinsic to the game. In BitD they help set the characters apart and give them their own unique thing to contribute to the score.

    But if you have troubles with the “classes” concepts you could just start with a common, generic character sheet and special abilities list, and the rule that no two characters must start the game with the same ability.

    Then I’d even do a layered special abilities list: first you must choose from the starting abilities list. Next level you might learn the skills of your companions, and then choose from an advanced abilities list.

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