It's Not Post-Apocalyptic Until Someone Has a Dog

The scenario - you need an emergency one shot game for a bunch of your friends. You can’t put any more time into plot development than the players will be putting into character creation. You need to be ready to roll as soon as they’ve finished rolling up.

A solution - a cathartic post zombie/monster apocalypse game, in which the player characters have to achieve a pre-determined goal to ensure the survival of themselves and a small group of dependants.

Generate characters using the system of your choice - FATE, Savage Worlds, D20 Modern, World of Darkness, Fear Itself, GURPS etc and use the tables below to generate drama, conflict and direction to the story

Named Dependant

Each player gets one named dependant that they are attached to and invested in. Roll 1d10 once for each player.

1. Small Child (under two years)

2. Large Child (under twelve years)

3 - 4. Teenager

5 - 6. Useless sibling/best friend (adult)

7 - 8. Incapacitated partner (injured or ill health)

9. Elderly parent / grandparent

10. Dog

Where are you holed up?

Roll 1d10 once for the group.

1. School

2. Bank

3. Prison

4. Block of flats/Apartment building

5. Office building

6. Supermarket

7. Gated estate

8. Farm

9. Medical centre

10. Pub/Bar

How long will your food last?

Roll 1d10 once for the group.

1. You've not eaten for days

2 - 3. You've just run out of food

4 - 5. A day, at best

6 - 7. Two days

8 - 9. Five days

10. A week

What other specific supplies are you nearly out of?

Roll 1d10 once for the group.

1 - 2. Medical supplies - antibiotics, painkillers, antihistamine, bandages, insulin

3 - 4. Ammo - you've a handful of shells left, barely enough to take yourself out once you get bit

5 - 6. Fuel - You've enough to keep the generator running for a night, or just enough to get to town...

7 - 8. Tools and spare parts - You've something useful; a truck, a generator, a radio, a water pump; but it just needs some spare parts and some work to get it up and running again

9 - 10. Environment appropriate clothing - the seasons have turned since everything first happened, and now your group is left with summer clothes as the snow starts falling or winter fleeces in a summer heatwave

Sources of Internal Conflict

Roll 1d10 once for each player.

1. You've been secretly stockpiling your own personal stash of supplies. They've gone. Who took it? Do they know it was yours?

2. You have been having an illicit affair with another member of your group, but they are involved with someone else

3. You disagree with the decisions that the group have been making recently. You could do a better job, and if they'd listened to you, then we wouldn't have lost Jimmy last month

4. You took meds before, to help with your moods. You've not had any for awhile now, and you're having troubles. Mood settings. Anxiety. Depression. You know that you're not supposed to cold turkey off them, but you didn't have a choice

5. You've found a secret stash of food, medicines, ammo and survival gear in the camp. You don't know who it belongs to, but you're keeping an eye out. Someone's been holding out on the group, and might be planning on bugging out soon. Who knows what they've got planned

6. One of the other members of your group has been making thinly veiled advances at you/your partner. It's pretty obvious, and it's pushing a wedge between the group.

7. You made a bad move recently, and one of the group paid the ultimate price. You messed up and left Jimmy to die. No one has said anything, but someone knows it's your fault.

8. You basically just don't like one of the group. Something about them rubs you wrong. They've got everyone else fooled, but you see straight through them. Choose one other player and start hating their characters guts. They don't even have to know.

9. You're terrified. You've been having nightmares about things like this since your Aunt died when you were 8 years old, and now they're walking around and you can barely stand to think about it. Thing is, people are counting on you, and you have skills that the group needs. Even so, you freeze or panic when they're near you. It's only a matter of time before you or someone else gets eaten because of it.

10. Despite everything you've seen, everything you've heard, you don't like killing these things. They were people once, often people you knew. You just can't bring yourself to do it. You volunteered to kill Jimmy when he got bit, but just let him shamble off instead. Of course, you told everyone else that you put him down quickly.