Zombiepocalypse World

Hey guys...

My gaming group did a recent quick-hack for a Zombie game, a la The Walking Dead. I thought I'd share it with you guys, if you were interested. I'm planning on eventually expanding on the ideas, but I'd love some feedback.

I posted it to my blog, which can be located http://abstractgaming.blogspot.com/2011/09/zombiepocalypse-world.html here!

I made some more notes on my blog. http://abstractgaming.blogspot.com/2011/09/awzw-more-development.html

But I decided I would post the details here as well!

As some of you may have guessed from my tweets, I'm a huge fan of Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World. It is definitely my latest "jam," per se, and it has been occupying a large portion of my games of late. Well, when one game fell through, several people were left to sit around a living room. We decided we'd try a quick and dirty hack of AW, turning it into Zombiepocalypse World!




Now, we tried to do slide AW into ZW as quickly as possible, without having to re-write playbooks or anything. So people chose playbooks that fit "enough" with a pseudo-modern universe. In our game we had...

A.T. Wakeman -- The Gunlugger
Smith -- The Battlebabe
Setter -- The Angel
Oliver -- The Savvyhead

Some aspects of the Psychic Maelstrom were toned down to make it more realistic, others were emphasized to give the zombies a "paranormal" vibe. Our MC, Dorothy, made some excellent choices during character creation which really served to help us know what the world had become and where we were while it happened. If I work on a full hack, these questions will be a part of the playbooks.

"Where were you when you first encountered a zombie?"
"Who do you know that's dead or missing from the outbreak?"

These questions helped us see a slice of life of the character before the world breaks and know just what they've lost. If we do it again, I would actually use the first session to explore those questions through play instead of just being answered.

The other exciting choice was a stack of cards. There were eight cards that said "Safe" and two cards which said "Bite!" These were mainly used to influence our small camps number of NPCs. After an encounter with the dead, she would draw from the deck to see the results of our NPCs poor combat skills. Being that it was eight and two, these cards could be switched over to the 2d6 model using snake-eyes and box-cars at the Bite! cards.

Other things I liked:

    * The savvyheads use of Bonefeel for the setting. "Oh god, this alleyway's a deadend!" "Quick, I'm up here! Grab the rope! I knew you idiots would get yourselves in trouble!"
    * How easily several playbooks transitioned with just light move justification. The Angel botched their healing and when they were both opened up to the Maelstrom, they began feeling the desire for human flesh.

Things I'm working on for the next game:

    * A definition for how Weird is to be used. I like the idea that Weird is like Sanity. It lets you think about some of the horrors you've seen and analyze them, but it still could cause you to drop into a form a PTSD or Madness.
    * Some alternate moves for specific playbooks, or alternate playbooks to be created.
    * Change Barter to a form of Salvage. Instead of going into bustling marketplaces, you ransack homes and stores, spending your salvage points to search for goods.
    * Make something similar to Volley and the Ammo mechanics from the Dungeon World Hack, seeing as it was weird when the Sniper just kept "Going Aggro" to make zombies "lie down and die." It just didn't work quite right. ***ADDED BONUS: ammo gives you the ability to restrict powers and add desolation. Sweet!***

Let me know what you guys think about this and if any of you have tried something similar!

So it's officially Monday! Time for some Apocalypse World / Zombie World Hack ideas!


I think I've settled on the idea that I'll slide Weird into a new stat called Sanity. I think the important thing for this move is that it gives the MC a new move to use similar to Act Under Fire but for mental trauma instead of physical danger.

    After days of travel and searching, you've finally found your wife and child. They shamble down the street, already rotting in the mid-day sun. You aim your gun at the people who were once your entire world, now...
    Keep It Together.

    Before you can do what needs to be done... After you've seen what can't be unseen... You need to Keep It Together. Roll+Sanity. On a 10+, you grit your teeth and bear it without more than a bad memory. On a 7-9, your mind reels at the thought; choose one from the list below. On a miss, the MC holds 2. At any time, the MC can spend a hold to trigger one from the list below.

                      # You freeze, unable to act, your mind fixed on this image.
                      # You feel your insides begin to churn as you begin to vomit, Act Under Fire.
                      # No one can understand. Someone sees this and they blame you.
                      # Your brain begins playing tricks on you. The next person you see doesn't look like themselves. They look like the dead.


I like the feel of this power, although I know it needs some work. I'm not sure I need something to replace Open Your Brain but something similar like ...

    Because of everything you've been through, thoughts you shouldn't be thinking are popping into your brain. This time they're more detailed and precise than ever before but they're Better Left Unsaid....


    Explain the thought you're dwelling on and roll+Sanity. On a 10+, the MC helps you come to the only possible conclusion, no matter how impossible. On a 7-9, the MC gives you three hints, where only one is actually a good idea. On a miss, the MC tells you something and your character now believes it to be fact, even if it's complete crap.

 Just some thoughts while I was fiddling... I think next time I'm gonna work on rules for Salvage/Barter and Take Aim.