The Zone Depictied

Its not easy explaining the zone to the friends I leave behind when I set out scavenging. I blame Hollywood.

The easiest way to depict an apocalypse after all, is to just scatter around some trash and add a sepia filter. Or set everything in a rusty old warehouse, and add some comment about how its too dangerous to venture outside because of the radiation, mutants, or whatever. Plus its cheap, and the sets can be reused by other productions. Then of course, video games trying to evoke similar feelings copy movies. No reason too, its not like they have to pay to set up sets and hire FX workers to make it rain, but no the boss feels that my art direction will be too "unfamiliar" to our target audience and thinks we should tone down the philosophy angel because people play these games for the action not the story and.... and...

Wait there's two dozen reanimates wandering in the river bed not ten meters from here - why am I ranting about work?

Oh, right. Anyway, In turn, lacking contact with the outside world, the people remaining in the tower fill in images from their imagination.



Its better thought of as ruined, but not destroyed. Its, just creepy really - more so than the reanimates. Everything is mostly where you remember it, but never just quite how you remember it. Things are both cleaner than usual without the litter and foot tragic of people, and yet dirtier because no one is there to clean up after the storms.


As things go, it was a pretty soft apocalypse. No rain of meteors, no mushroom clouds over every city bigger than a tourist trap, nor thousand food tidal waves. More like people yanked the fuses than ran out without locking the doors and leaving the windows open to the rain.

It began with a big electromagnetic pulse - the government setting off high altitude nukes to deal with the alien ships from what I heard. Idiots. Isn't this why they banned high altitude tests and weapons in space a century ago? We don't even know the if aliens meant to hurt us, they could of been peaceful. but people just assumed they were a threat from all the movies they've seen. Damn you Hollywood.


Most things just shot down at that point - you know, this amazing cutting edge technology from the 19th century called a circuit breaker - no computer consoles blowing up in your face. Some looting and a couple fire maybe, but the national guard and police were able to get a surprisingly quick grasp on that.


Then the reanimates came. Everyone was a bit stretched to the limits, traffic wasn't flowing right, and now you add what is both a virulent disease, and legitimately terrifying. Even if it was a normal pandemic, things would have been bad. Well, there was panic, evacuations, and with the hospitals full and workers abandoning their posts, power tended not to get restored, complicating recovery, and then without medicines and refrigerated food other diseases kicked in...


Well you should know this already. Five years have passed, and the human population is about 5% of what it once was.


Right, that is the history lesson for the day, oh, but I started with geography didn't I? Well, lets see.


You don't have thousands of cars a day going down the roads, but no one is patching the potholes either. Graffiti has been worn off and isn't getting replaced, but neither is the usual paint that keeps things nice. Buildings aren't just falling down or shattered by a blast-front, yet when a window beaks, water and wind get in, strewing things apart.  Mold spores, and unfiltered water flooding basements - turning subterranean areas into unexpected rivers - are probably a bigger threat than the neighbors or aliens most of the time. That and feral dogs, but we've gotten off topic enough already, haven't we?


Fires don't start spontaneously, but lightning strikes are unaddressed. Its a bit odd actually, Most of what remains is public spaces built to high standards in the last few decades, or century plus buildings that were made to last and did so because they were in fortunate non-disaster prone locations.

There is a definite unclean bathroom smell in a lot of places – but you're generally not going to find rotting bodies – scavengers and other natural mechanisms have at the very least gotten beyond the stage of stink, if not dragged them out entirely.

Silly thing is, cheap plastic toys have probably held out just fine, while the expensive durable goods like wooden dining tables and antique furniture have been compromised by worms and wetness. But we can speak more of what to find in scavenger hide outs later. Those things are getting a bit too close. Here, follow me...

Academic Honesty

"This is insane!" Diego shouted "These things have radiation cannons that will turn your bones to dust before the brain dies enough to stop the pain."
   He paused for a moment to savor the rapt attention of the other patrons in ramshackle bar. To draw the tension out further, he took another sip of beer. Not the best home brew, but it was the second free one he had earned with is stories, and certainly head and shoulders above the mass market piss he used to drink. Diego proudly thought he had learned an important survival skill.
   "But Hobbes wouldn't listen to that. He just told me - honest truth just like this 'We would be doing our listeners a disservice if we didn't cover all sides of the issue, and that means talking to the opposition.' Gotta love that attitude. He is dedicated. He was a surgeon before the invasion you know, broadcasting and ham radios were just a hobby. When we came across an old tower and a still working transmitter - he was like a kid in a candy store.
   We live in a deserted subway station, get maybe a half dozen visitors every few months, and ninety-nine point nine percent of the people who pick up the transmission aren't going to give a rats ass about our academic credentials, but he was set on this. Of this meant that I was set on this, since you just can't leave the good doctor alone with a loaded weapon. Can suture the smallest artery, but can't hit the broadside of a barn with a shotgun. (not really true, but Hobbes wasn't here to complain)
   Of course, its not particularly easy to find to the aliens if they aren't around. You can't just walk up to one of their laser towers you know. Thing chirps a warning when you get within a few hundred meters, and if you keep going - ZAP! Crispy Critter. So you just have to walk back and forth near the towers, or perhaps in a nearby town and hope that the alien equivalent of an anthropologist is sifting though some old garbage to learn about humans.
   We got lucky - for some very odd definition of the term lucky anyway - and found a patrol pretty quick. More they found us, really. You would think that something fourteen feet tall couldn't sneak up on ya, but these things apparently have some pretty damn good sensors and they can track you like a hound. A Saluki sight hound anyway - I don't think they can smell us.
   Now the usual description of of the alien encounter suits is not unlike the depiction of Baphomet made famous by Eliphas Lévi..." Deigo noticed the blank stares "...you know, a goat headed humanoid demon." The patrons of the bar began nodding in agreement. "But ugly doesn't really begin to describe them, they're painted up in this zig-zag high-gloss scheme, which seems like a bad camouflage, but in the light its very hard to look right at it without getting a bit blinded, and even in shadow, your eyes are pulled every which way - its like a jar of migraine.
   So now there are three of these things - they like to travel in trios mind you - and the three of them are pointing guns longer than I am tall in our direction, Missiles are perched on the one's shoulder and pointing right at us, another's got a circular saw with a blade the size of truck tire. Yes really - they do a lot of utility work with those suits, they're more of the alien equivalent of a forklift all points considered. A bad ass forklift that can take on takes mind you."
   Diego finished the last of his beer.
   "So then what happened asked a patron," trying to hurry along the dramatic pause.
   "They opened fire and killed us both." More blank stares, not one of the better crowds. "OK, OK, didn't think you'd by that. No you see, the doc lays down his weapon, puts his hands up, tells me to do the same, and then walks right towards the closest encounter suit. Now we've been told that these things have tried to communicate before, that the aliens have even cobbled together vocorders and translation software to make it simpler. But I doubt that these particular machines had ever met a human or tried to talk to one. It might not have been first contact, but it was definitely 'Dr. Livingston I presume'
   'My name is Thomas Hobbes, I mean you no harm - yes, yes he really said that, they're the ones with anti-tank lasers and he's apologizing for being the forward one -'I would like a chance to speak with you, to learn why you are here, so that I can broadcast this knowledge and teach others about you."
   Maybe a full minuet passes, possibly more, they're just standing there, unmoving guns still trained on us.Then one steps foward, nods a bit, and the stattaco speaker kicks in.
   "We have been listening to your transmissions for some time now. It is an honor to finaly meet you Thomas Hobbes."
   Like magic, another lager appeared in front of Diego, free of charge.

What Happens in the Zone

Dead and Back by itself is just the rules portion of the game, implacable to any number of scenarios. The Anarchy Zones setting is mostly set up to be a post-cyberpunk - post-zombie apocalypse "sandbox" open to exploration. A number of elements are intentionally left open to interpretation to whatever stories the GM wishes to tell. Certain trends exist that influence the politics of the zones and city states but there isn't much a meta-plot or defined direction.

One such ambiguity is of course the long term plans of the aliens. The "planetary citizens" are at least as intelligent as humans and are divided over politics, rather than the monolithic bugs of a summer action movie. Some think that the infinitesimally small chance of a FTL drive malfunction bringing them to a lush world like Earth is a divine indication that they should take it for themselves. Others see it as a grave sin to wipe out the indigenous inhabitants and want to either simply leave, or actively help the humans rebuild.GMs are free to have the aliens as a dangerous enemy, a strange ally, or or a force for rebuilding that is being systematically destroyed by humans that believe they're invaders - it depends on how much action or tragedy is desired in the game.

The exact cause of reanimates is left open as well. Was it an accident of the nano-vac reacting to alien biology, or an intentional alien weapon to thin our numbers? On the other hand, perhaps its simply the nanobots themselves malfunctioning without outside influence due to the EMP, or in a more sinister twist, it was a human designed nanotech weapon that is causing all this. Thus one could run a game as a resistance movement against  the aliens and their undead lackeys, or trying to investigate a human conspiracy to conquer the world narrowly averted by the untimely arrival of visitors from outer space.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember, is the five year gap between the actual incident that kicks off the zombie apocalypse and the present game time. Stocks of perishables are running low, farming has returned, those who couldn't cope are probably gone, and the focus is no longer on immediate survival. The easy pickings for criminals have mostly disappeared, so there are either very strong bandit groups, or otherwise they have gone legit.

Instead it is a lot more about securing industrial jigs and seed bank materials to assist long term rebuilding, while exploring the newly depopulated frontier.

Common activities in the Zone:

• Escorting Caravans
• Bounty Hunters
• Delivering Messages (The Postman is a major influence on the setting)
• Rebuilding Infrastructure - power lines, cell towers etc.
• Spying on other city-states
• Recovering parts from old factories - blueprints are especially valuable.
• Searching for non-perishable medical items (cybernetics, tools etc.)
• Salvaging old vehicles, reactors, military gear, or farm equipment for long term city state goals.
• Seeking trade goods like old movies and recordings to satisfy people's need for leisure.
• Running contraband.
• Seek and Destroy (Reanimates/saboteurs/squatters/aliens/etc.)

Caravan or retrieval missions are an excellent way to introduce new characters to the zone. To prevent people from running off with the goods and going elsewhere, agents of the contracting party (ie several NPCs) will accompany the seekers. These can serve as guides and cannon fodder to illustrate the dangers of the area or otherwise help keep the game on track.

In the longer term, there are a number of social issues to address. For one, the legal term of the president has expired, and even with emergency powers, there is a legitimate question as to if the US government still controls the country. New Birmingham wants to create their own sphere of influence and is rapidly seeking to militarize.

My main goal is to deliver a lot of details to help envision the world as it is nearly half a century from now. Its up to the individual game master to lead their group through it. However, if there is an outcry for more meta-plot, I'll try to accommodate the need.

Proposed Attribute Revisions

Dead and Back features only five stats - Aim, Strength, Quick Tech and Wits, and each is rated from one to five in turn. However, this has the unintended drawback of making characters all too similar, and limiting the types of creatures that can be modeled. Thus it may be necessary to change some of the numbers, and possibly even add more attributes.

While I rather like the system as it is now, I see three main strikes against it. Characters show very similar abilities by the numbers, despite

Starting Theories

Dead and Back began with a simple combat system and was originally going to be a more action and adventure sort of game. The idea of zombies being the preferred target then morphed it into the darker form it is now, with the deadening and lucidity traits added for that effect. This is also when I codified the idea of a minimum number of traits to define a character. As PC could be replaced in five minuets rather than an hour, the game could allow for fairly high body counts amongst players.

A notable feature in all my games is that I try to avoid "dump stats" and and overpowered attributes. In D&B this is managed by having all the vital statistics preform useful functions, and most are averaged together to produce the derived abilities like "up-rise" and "animus."

Aim was a central component of how the new combat system worked. To offset its great importance, and thus discourage simply maxing it out, this does not feed into the derived attributes.

The Problems

Dog sized aliens we not originally part of the setting, nor in particular wildlife. My first idea was more of a steampunk zerust, with reanimated corpses fulfilling the role we see industrial in today. However there is apparently a deadworld for the game All Flesh Must Be Eaten with this idea ("Frankenstein 1935" from the Worlds of the Dead source book), and the game "Unhallowed Metropolis" goes this route as well. Hence I changed to my other idea, a more futuristic world with zombies.

The German Sheppard sized "Planetary Citizens" don't fit so well on a "One Child /Three Average adult /Five-Olympic" scale. Nor does this really work for other non-human threats like feral dogs or resurgent large predators.

While the averaged abilities do limit min-maxing, it presents an opposing problem instead. Strengths and weaknesses are a bit too even, and on paper characters look very similar. A highly technical character may be able to carry more stuff than a strong one.

The original intent of that, by the way, was its more a matter of efficient using your carrying capacity - and a smarter person keeps things more aces-able or optimizes what they need. However, its all interpreted as kilograms of weight to keep things simple - encumbrance is often one of the first rules overlooked in most games anyway.

Only one aim attribute means one character is as good with knives as they are with guns. Furthermore, a scrawny and slow character who shifted points from  quick and strength to boost aim is still a master martial-artist.

Proposals:

The seemingly simplest concept would be to make the statistics rated from one to seven, with an average of four. This would allow one to be a subhuman/child level for animals, and a seven for things only a bit stronger than humans. (Though some other modification would be necessary for even greater strength.) 

The possibility of having a much higher aim stat may mean that a new limit must be placed upon it. One option would be to make the attributes bought from a pool, rather than shifting around a pre-set number. Another is to make two Aim stats - one for close combat, and one for handling ranged weapons. This second option would also allow for more combat specialization without using up valuable skill or Special Ability slots. 

A more radical concept would be to remake resolution along the lines of the combat system. That is you compare the attribute ranking to the difficulty, which in turn determines the type of dice you roll in the pool. However, while this would streamline the game to one core mechanic, it would mean re-evaluating the methods behind everything else in the game, which for the time being seems to be an unnecessary amount of work.

Perhaps the original range can be retained, but new dice substituted as the scales change. Sub-human attributes could be based on rolling a 4 on a d4 (25%) which is a slight step down from 5-6 of a d6 (about 33%) or some range of numbers on a d8 (6-8: 37.5%, 7/8 = 25% etc.) The reverse can also be done for larger creatures, say on a d8 five to seven is one success, and an eight two.

A variation on the above - make d8s the default dice for most rolls.

Some more focus on personal details, and a battery of personality test style questions may help as well. It won't change numbers, but it will make manners more distinct. Specialized or personalized equipment of some type may also help make characters unique - and give the GM some control via the distribution of parts.

Weapons Wedenday

"Good afternoon listens, its Weapons Wednesday! The leader for today's discussion group is our very own technician and former national guardsman, Diego de Zúñiga."
   "Thank You. Though I should point out, I was in the air-force reserve. The only weapons I was allowed to touch were the kinds that blow up a tank, or building. Usually multiple tanks and buildings. Small arms were not really part of the training.  No drone operators would get within 500 kilometers of the target area."
   "You seem pretty proficient with them anyway - I've seen you get head shots, at half a mile or so."
   "The army might not have taught me to shoot, but Pappa did, with zeal."

   "Any interesting stores about going out with your dad?
   "No"

Diego hit the mute button. "I would rather not discuss my relationship with pappa, why we had several dozen guns in our home, nor how we could afford so many."
"Oh, oh..." the color drained from Thomas's face "I see. I'm sorry, you never mentioned him before and I was... I'll drop it."

"So, Mr. Zúñiga, enlighten our listeners on modern small arms"
   "The first thing to know goes all the way back to the bible. "There is nothing new under the sun. That pretty much sums up all the kinds of firearms you're going to find. Not all that much has changed in the world of handguns.

   There were futurists and firearm makers who thought that by now caseless firearms would be the mainstay. The bullets would be lighter, cheaper, a higher rate of fire with no extraction, and shaped to allow more rounds in the same sized clip. However, these never came into widespread use. The problems of propellant shattering and waterproofing were never fully fixed. More importantly,  brass serves an important function in guns - it acts as a heat-sink, so the rate of fire would probably be lower than the proven tech. Furthermore, keeping the cases allows for hand-loading. This both saves money for the consumers, and many types of new cartridges began their lives as so called "wildcat cartridges" - including the famous .357 magnum, which began as a plus powered .38 special.
   Similarly, polymer and steal continue to be the materials of choice for the frames and barrels. Nano-breed diamond alloys and nano-tube composites are simply too expensive to replace the old standbys, and a number of these materials don't handle high heat so well anyway.

   Although some militaries, including our own, adopted electromagnetic guns in the forties, Gauss rifles have a host of limitations. I believe KC brought those up one of the times he was here.
   "We're still getting letters about that episode."
   "Speaking of which, we've gotten a lot of mail from hopeful inventors who want us to tell the wasteland about their new zombie killer. Now neither I nor Mister Hobbes want to discourage feedback - or limit people's defenses - but please! Some of these inventions have been downright dangerous to the user, and effective by blind luck alone. We don't need any more blueprints for a saw blade cannon - those blades are more valuable as tools. Most of the pneumatic guns leaked, or failed to get sufficient pressure, and were far to bulky compared to normal stuff - never mind the difficulty in finding parts."
    "All too true, Diego. And another thing -we are Not - I repeat - Not - going to broadcast recipes for explosives or toxins. Some might be effective, but they are far too dangerous for our untrained listeners."

Zombie Picaresque

Most zombie media has a pretty set formula. A group of people are accosted by the undead, or at least reports of them. They try to find shelter whether it be a house (night of the living dead), mall (dawn of the dead), research facility (day of the dead), funeral home (Return of the living dead)... and so on. However, not all is well in this little holiday from the rest of the world as there is internal division, limited supplies, or someone infected and ready to turn complicating maters.

I tried to make the Anarchy Zones a bit different from all of this. My theory was to try and create a world that lent itself more towards exploration than entrenchment. Varying reanimates and intelligent enemies in the form of aliens prevent it from becoming just a shooting gallery or too safe once the walls were built. Amazing bits of technology like partly-operational nano-factories or the chance of finding working internet nodes is another draw out of the bunker.

The supposedly safe areas are possibly the most dangerous. NEST arcos are in urban areas (surrounded by the dead), are probably partially overrun themselves, with a few fire doors and security isolation mechanisms separating the functioning areas from the others. New Birmingham is a repressive theocracy with a long term plan of conquest. Las Vegas might be safe from aliens and have effectively no reanimates remaining, but there is a notable lack of food, water, and material. he only thing in abundance is military units ready to stat a civil war and generals who are contemplating the use of nuclear weapons to eliminate what little remains of the other nations.

Resident Evil and The Postman may have been major sources of inspiration, but ideally the game should have definite shades of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as well. Stopping leads to strife, and movement is one of the keys to happiness.

Currency in the Zone

What is the value of a five dollar bill? Its not per say, one koku of rice (ie enough to feed a peasant for a year in imperial Japan), or or equal a defined wattage of power used to produce something. Its value is based on the stability of government, what the banks say, and the people's willingness to accept these in exchange. Without a stable central government and banking system, a dollar bill is worth about as much as toilet paper. Quite possibly less, given that the durable non-shredding nature of bank notes could lead to clogged septic systems.

There are plenty of people who want to see the reemergence of the old governments, but until that time, old money is pretty well useless. This is not helped by the fact there are some groups who actively don't want to see the nation return. (Notably NB believes "in god we trust" on bills was a bald faced lie, and the Free City of Tesla sees it as an anachronism)

A few groups have local currencies -

• NEST citizens trade energy credits and kilowatt hours for bringing the technological relics still available running.
• Vegas claims to honor US dollars, but in practice uses stamped pay-chits since its all to easy to rob a bank in the wasteland and ride in with millions.
• New Birmingham has a provisional currency as well, in theory based on hours of effort.

However, there really isn't a currency accepted within the zone itself, nor an exchange rate between the government controlled areas.  Thus it becomes a matter of personal value and need, which is a lot harder to enumerate than a simple equipment list with prices.

First and foremost, I advocate turning any shopping trip into a role-playing experience. The players should state what they want, and why, and really try to bargain. NPCs should give a counter, and if the argument gets a bit heated, so much the better. Remember that the black market doe not have fast food style menu-boards of prices and products.

I'm considering a couple of ways to explain value in the game. One is to run with the NB idea above - base things on a labor/added value economy. At its base, a few hours of work tilling fields or mending buildings earns two or three meals, and some shelter. More complex or difficult work is worth more, (ie fewer hours get the same entitlement to rest and food) - and from there we come up with an arbitrary number that equals one labor unit/minimum wage.

Another possibility would be to create some sort of matrix cross referencing settlement size versus level of desire. To an individual or small homestead a tractor represents too many hassles in the form of maintenance and fuel to be worth anything, while are larger town could really use one. Conversely a single person might need weapons for defense, but a group is more likely to already have these things.

In turn this lead to an idea based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The smaller the group, the lower on the pyramid trade needs to be. Individuals want safety and shelter, groups are focused on being comfortable and long term goals, while the city states are seeking machinery and old technology to become nations in their own right.

Ultimately, this should be up to the GM to help establish the mood of the zone. If weapons are at a premium, hen simply getting a gauss rifle or two is a reason to go on a dangerous mission into some ruins. Should the focus of the game be more on avoiding direct conflict and exploration, then perhaps weapons are not in much demand at all, while good quality maps and navigation systems are practically worth killing for.

I'll admit this is a temporary solution, and I'll need a more established price system eventually. However, I'd feel better about its design with a bit of feedback. Its a pretty tall order to figure out the value of things in 2050, and then factor in the changes since then.