I have a friend and member of my gaming group who LOVES zombies. They are his favorite antangonists for "horror", style games. My biggest problem is that while zombie movies can portray this well (sometimes), your average game will get boring after a handful of session. Simply because there are only so many ways to kill/face a single threat.
In my attempt to run a longer game, I varied the zombies and situations, betrayal by seemingly good helpers, military black ops manipulating events for their own ends, as well as a varitety of distinct zombie breeds. Now that's one solution. It is imperfect at best, because if you vary the zombie "formula" too much, it isn't really a zombie game anymore. (This is arguable of course, but I'm trying to stick to my friends views on zombies.)
Now I know the common themes: Isolation, fear of the unknown, imminent threat, mistrust, and so on. I'm going to try and make use of these but add some more ideas too it. The last zombie game I ran was basically, a nerve gas exposure that caused hallucinations (and the capture of the "heroes" for murdering innocents due to the exposure.) It worked well for a one shot. This time around I think I'm going to go a bit more the other way--less perception and more reality. I've seen too many zombie flicks thanks to my friend with poor explanations, and too many with "No one knows the truth", so I think I will have one firm truth behind the reason this is happenning.
My plan is to place the players in an enclosed environment (subway and underground), and have them face the various travails, I have planned. In essense the game will include some common dungeoncrawl elements (dangerous environment, need for supplies), as well as a presiding threat, and scale elements.
For example, one scene I plan is a sound like static, heavy and loud echoing from down the rail. It gets louder and louder--and a few bugs come scurrying out--roaches. Then as they watch, or run, or whatever--a wall of billions upon billions of roaches of all sizes, filling the tunnel, like a wave, comes rushing out their way.
In essence, I'm going to make the zombies a matter of fact, scary aspect, but not the only frightful imagery.
I've some ideas too about all the wierd things they may find deep under the city.
Wish me luck. Since this is meant to be more than a oneshot.
While this group is good, horror, is one of the settings they tend to have the hardest time just accepting the rules of; that they are mundane, everyday people--not badasses, not empowered people, not adventurers, just ordinary people, in extraordinary situations.
Edit: Sadly my game was delayed. Will do it next weekend with luck.
Tags: Zombies
