GURPS Zombies

[Witigis]

And my money, too....

Thank you!!!!

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I'm surprised that Half-Life is mentioned, but not Half-Life: They Hunger.

There wasn't room for everything. That was a truly obscure mod from 1999 . . . even my friends who love zombie games don't have it. I don't have it, so I couldn't speak for its quality. The thing that Half-Life really added to zombie lore was alien parasites that turn people into zombies, and that was an innovation of the core game.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Gadget

And it came out the day before season 4 of the walking dead starts in the UK coincidence or something more sinister????

A sinister coincidence?

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

Trivial but twitch-making erratum; somebody forgot to do clever things with the page numbering, so the front and back cover images are counted as pages 1 and 2. So to get to a specific page number - say, from the index - one has to add 2 to the page number one wants.

Originally Posted by SCAR

The copy I downloaded this morning (UK) looks to be fine in Adobe Reader XI, cover pages are I and II, the actual pages correspond correctly.

Yes, this seems reader-specific. Phil, please let e23 know what reader you are using. I just re-downloaded a copy, and it definitely has the "I" and "II" that SCAR is talking about. Actual page numbers match in Adobe Reader 11.0.5.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Kromm

There wasn't room for everything. That was a truly obscure mod from 1999 . . . even my friends who love zombie games don't have it. I don't have it, so I couldn't speak for its quality. The thing that Half-Life really added to zombie lore was alien parasites that turn people into zombies, and that was an innovation of the core game.

Ah. The first part was kinda cool for its time. Actually creepy for a game that was otherwise more action-y. Didn't try out sequels, though.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by SCAR

Having done a read through, there is a lot of crunch in this book, wow, it's going to take a few more passes to take all of that in.

I'm glad to hear you say that! For those wondering about "a lot":

• Advice on handling large mobs of attackers in combat.
• A step-by-step look at biting.
• Optional combat rules for zombies.
• Three abstract combat systems for hordes.
• Notes on intimidating and turning hordes.
• Advice on handling large mobs outside of combat.
• Various uses of horde ST to crush barriers and overturn vehicles.
• Rules for tactically and strategically avoiding zeds, including a quick foot-chase system.
• Details on fine-tuning zombie plagues.
• Biohazard rules, including rules for combat splatter.
• Rules for hacking off infected body parts.
• Focused inventing rules for cures, both scientific and magical.
• Guidelines for quick-and-dirty "cures" in the field.
• Focused inventing rules for new zombies, both sci-fi and fantasy.
• Various options for using Zombie Dice.

Will it all match your expectations? Probably not 100% of the time . . . but in most cases, there are alternatives and options presented, too.

Originally Posted by SCAR

I'm not a big fan of the 'traditional' zombies genre ('The Walking Dead' TV series, no thanks) - but like GURPS Horror (I'm not a big fan of the 'traditional' horror genre' either) I can see me getting a lot of good stuff out of this book.

I aimed to support "zombies as just other monsters" (as in Dungeon Fantasy and the Fallout video games) and "lone zombies and isolated groups as horror monsters" (as in "Herbert West—Reanimator" and the Return to Castle Wolfenstein video game) every bit as much as the apocalyptic hordes of classic zombie flicks. Whether I succeeded isn't for me to say.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Kromm

A sinister coincidence?

Also the same day as a Mythbusters Zombie special.

Highlights:

The axe might really be better than the gun at close range.

Do not try and secure the barn door with a single 2 by 4. Nothing less than Maximum Hammer Time even has a chance.

Loosely packed Zombie hordes may be avoided through broken field running but densely packed hordes require a distraction such as an expendable colleague.

[Tinman]

I just got it.
I'm planing to use some of these in my MH game next week.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Yes, this seems reader-specific. Phil, please let e23 know what reader you are using. I just re-downloaded a copy, and it definitely has the "I" and "II" that SCAR is talking about. Actual page numbers match in Adobe Reader 11.0.5.

I think that this must have been when I was first looking at the file from within Firefox, after I first pulled it down. As I can't reproduce the problem for the moment, I'll have to leave this until and unless it somehow reappears.

[Steven Marsh]

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

I think that this must have been when I was first looking at the file from within Firefox, after I first pulled it down. As I can't reproduce the problem for the moment, I'll have to leave this until and unless it somehow reappears.

For what it's worth, if you downloaded the preview, then I can confirm its page numbers are probably as you described, since previews are generated using a different method.