Zombuddies

Well, whattaya know, the zombie apocalypse is finally here, and it’s not THAT bad!  Sure, there are roaming bands of the living dead everywhere.  But the malls are open!!

Well, one mall at least.  The ShoppingTowne Mall, advertised as the first 100% Guaranteed zombie-proof mall in the world.  Which is good, because if there’s one thing that draws zombies, it’s a shopping mall.

You feel an intense need to go there.  Almost compelled.  Almost as if you have no mind of your own.  

You are a zombie.

You shamble forward, arms outstretched, your face a terrifying frozen rictus. 

You shuffle toward the ShoppingTowne Mall.  

You and your Zombuddies.

Zombuddies is a wacky rules-light table-top role playing game for a GM and 2-4 player characters. It’s set in a zombie apocalypse where YOU are the zombies!

Zombuddies uses a custom version of the award-winning Polymorph system.  The GM never rolls dice.  Your ROLE in the game determines which die you ROLL.  Each player only rolls one polyhedral die for every check, and there’s no math or tables to consult.  It’s meant to get out of your way, so you can just have fun.  Success/failure checks are right on your character sheet, and the whole game can be learned in 5 minutes.

Zombuddies is a gentle satire with a PG-level of violence.  Like a zombie movie as made by the Muppets. And yes, the zombies are the good guys.

Zombuddies comes with TWO ready-to-play adventures, “Incident at ShoppingTowne Mall” and “Discovery at Camp Righteous”

 In “Incident”, your zombies will infiltrate an intensely-fortified mall during its opening-day ceremonies, to find the trillionaire home-shopping tycoon Gaden Bilious up to no good.

In “Discovery” an island in a lake in a city park has become the ultimate chillax zone for dudes and bros alike.  Crack open a cold one with the boys.




PLAY THIS GAME IF YOU

• Need a quick one shot adventure with little set up time
• Want a game where the rules aren’t a chore
• Need something that plays great over Zoom
• Want to introduce someone to rules=light roleplay
• Have some really funny friends and want to see them shine

Author’s note
What’s the FEELING of a great RPG session?  For me, it’s always a group of friends, laughing around a table, each trying their best to crack each other up.  

And the worst?  The times all that slows down or pauses while a GM consults rules, looks up tables, or is momentarily lost because of all the things they have to track.

After 40 years of playing rpgs, I find I want rules to just get out of the way.  And I’ve been frustrated by systems that stall the roleplay during battle, or silo it to taverns because the mechanics take all the time and effort and cross-checking.

I’ve been inspired by shows like The Adventure Zone, which put storytelling front and center, and use die rolls as what I call a “creative adversary”.  Something just there to throw complications to the story, to keep outcomes mysterious and provide some creative difficulty.

Zombuddies is a cooperative storytelling session WRAPPED in a game.  The GM, the players and the module author are telling a story TOGETHER.  What will the outcome be?  

That’s up to you.  

You and your Zombuddies.

Have fun!

-Bruce