Free League Publishing is bringing The Walking Dead to tabletop roleplaying gamers in late November, 2023. I am fortunate enough to have already seen the rules for the Starter Set to get a taste (no pun intended) of this new RPG.
From the publisher:
In The Walking Dead Universe RPG, you will play as people struggling to survive in a hostile world. Exceptional challenges can appear from anywhere – from the lack of essential supplies, from conflicts brewing within the group, from hidden construction flaws in your safe haven, or from approaching walkers hungering for your flesh.
There are two ways to play the game – Campaign Mode and Survival Mode:
Free League Publishing Press Release
– In Campaign Mode, it is your goals and choices, and the result of your group efforts, that create the storyline.
– In Survival Mode, you are faced with a dangerous situation that needs to be handled immediately. Survival Mode scenarios often feature locations and characters from the TV series.
The Walking Dead RPG uses the Year Zero Engine that powers other Free League roleplaying games like ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game (Free League Publishing, 2022) and Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game (Free League Publishing, 2023).
Better off dead
The Starter Set rule book for the The Walking Dead Universe roleplaying game is a 44-page version of the longer 180-page core rules. The Walking Dead Universe used the dice pool plus stress dice version of Free League’s Year Zero Engine. In the dice pool system, players add their attribute (rated 1-5) to their skill level to get a number of d6 to be rolled. Every “6” rolled is a success. If you have stress points, however, a stress die is added to the roll for each stress point. If a “1”—a “walker”—is rolled you on a stress die you “mess up” with potentially dangerous consequences.
The Walking Dead Universe RPG can be played in one of two Game Modes; Campaign Mode or Survival Mode. The Starter Set comes with a Survival Mode module, The Wolves’ Den, that is intended to be finished in a session or two. Rules for Campaign Mode play are found in the core rule book.
Survive inescapable death
As popular as the TV franchise of The Walking Dead is, the setting is admittedly dark. Free League gives players six principles of the game to understand and consider:
- “Do Whatever it Takes to Survive.”
- “Death is Inescapable.”
- “You Are Never Safe.”
- “You Are Not Alone.”
- “You Are Telling a Story.”
- “Fiction Comes First.”
The narrative hook that every player-character has is both an Issue (something problematic or challenging) and a Drive. Issues are useful to the GM to create Challenges in your story, while Drives helps face fear.
While I am admittedly not hugely steeped in the lore of The Walking Dead, nor am I a huge player of horror RPGs, The Walking Dead Universe RPG Starter Set provides enough interesting—and useful—material to make me want to explore this game further.
Feature image courtesy Free League Publishing
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