The Zombiepocalypse Glossary

Action - An activity taken by a Player Character or Monster, usually non-violent (violent Actions are usually Attacks). Simple Actions are automatically successful, more difficult ones may require a Skill Check to determine the outcome

Adventure – a series of Encounters and Combats experienced by the Player Characters. Adventures may be a sequence of random events or part of a pre-planned storyline.

Ammunition - The bullets, rockets and arrows necessary to turn a gun, bow or bazooka from primitive club into a Ranged Weapon. Individual bullets are not counted in Zombiepocalypse but abstracted into Shots; most weapons can fire six Shots before needing to be Reloaded.

Attack - An opportunity to strike or shoot an opponent. Each Player Character or Monster gets one Attack each Combat Round. The success of an Attack is determined by the To-Hit roll. Most Attacks get only one Hit, but some Weapons allow multiple Hits. Each Attack consumes one Shot.

Barricade - A barrier preventing an opponent from crossing through an opening such as as a door or window. Barricades must be Attacked and destroyed before passage can be made through the opening.

Battering - The act of Attacking a Barricade so as to open the way through. Although passage cannot be made until the barrier is destroyed, Attacks can be made through damaged Barricades

Bonus - an advantage represented by a number added to the roll of a Die, positively effecting the result. Any one Bonus can range from +1 to +3 added to the Die result; however, a Player Character or Monster may have multiple Bonuses at any one time. Bonuses can be applied from Players Options, Weapons, or being in a good situation. See also Penalty

Clip - The maximum number of Shots a Ranged Weapon can fire before it is necessary to Reload. Most weapons have six Shots per Clip, but there are exceptions. Clips can be Reloaded at any time.

Combat - a battle between Player Characters and Monsters (or sometimes just Monsters and other Monsters). Combat is divided into Rounds and ends when one side or the other is killed (or otherwise restrained), surrenders or retreats.

Complexity - A modifier to an Action. Complex Actions require two or three Skill Checks before they are determined to be successful.

Damage - An abstraction used to indicate how badly hurt or damaged a Player Character, Monster - or in some cases, inanimate objects such as Barricades or vehicles - by an Attack. Damage is determined by a Damage roll, and can take the form of a Stagger, Injury or Death

Death - The worst possible type of Damage; if a Player Character or Monster is Dead, it is out of the game and can no longer Attack, Act, or Move. If a Player Character dies, the Player must create a new Player Character

Die (Dice) - small, six-sided game-cubes with each side numbered one to six. Dice are used to determine the outcome of Actions, Attacks and Damage. Generally, a roll of 4, 5 or 6 indicates a successful outcome, while 1, 2 and 3 indicates failure. Bonuses and Penalties can be applied to the die roll, and the final result is used to determine the outcome.

Difficulty - a modifier to an Action or Attack, it takes the form of a Bonus or Penalty to the Die roll (usually the latter). Difficulty modifiers are capped at +/-3

Downed - A Player Character or Monster that is Injured three times in a single Combat is knocked out of the battle and unable to Move, Act or Attack until the Combat is over. Player Characters or Living Monsters must be assisted back onto their feet by an ally; the Undead return to activity automatically after one hour.

Dismemberment - An optional rule allowing the limbs of Monsters to be severed by successful Attacks. This results in additional penalties to the Monster.

Equipment - Any gear carried by the Player Characters (or other Living Monsters) that is not being used as a Weapon, varying from Rations, tents, or Medkits

Game Master (GM) - a player who is the arbiter of the game and takes on the role of all the Monsters. He describes the game-world and leads the Players on an Adventure.

Grappling - An Attack that does not cause any Damage. It automatically succeeds with a successful To-Hit roll. There are three types of Grapple: the Shove, the Trip and the Hold

Heal - An attempt to salve an Injury received by a Player Character during the Adventure. A Healing attempt requires a Medkit and cannot be performed by an Injured character on himself. A successful Healing removes one Injury and all the penalties imposed by same

Hex - The game-world is overlaid by an imaginary grid of six-sided hexagons, each one six feet across. Hex are used to determine Range and speed.

Hold - a type of Grapple that results in the Held target being unable to Move, Attack or Act. Holds are maintained for as long as the attacker wills it, but are automatically broken if the attacker himself is Damaged. See also Shove and Trip

Hit - An attempt to Attack a specific target. A Hit requires a roll of 4, 5 or 6 on a To-Hit roll. Most Attacks allow the attacker only one Hit, but some Weapons provide the attacker with multiple Hits each Round. Each Hit requires another To-Hit roll. Regardless of the number of Hits a Player Character or Monster gets each Round, only one Shot is used.

Infection - The disease that causes people to rise up as Zombies. An optional rule allows the GM to roll a die each time a Player Character is Injured to determine if he is Infected; Infected Player Characters eventually die and rise back up as Zombies (albeit controlled by the Game Master at that point)

Injury - A type of Damage, it is an abstract way of indicating that a Player Character or Monster has taken harm from an Attack (or sometimes from the environment or the results of a particularly foolish Action). Injuries cause a -1 Penalty to all die rolls and cause the Player Character or Monster to Move 1 Hex slower than usual, to a maximum of -3 for each. Injuries can be Healed with the use of a Medkit.

Inventory - The total collection of Equipment and Weaponry that a Player Character is carrying. Inventory is measured in Slots, and Player Characters can carry up to 12 items under certain circumstances.

Living - Anyone who isn't Undead. The Living include the Player Characters as well as any other survivors who have not yet succumbed to the Infection. Although all Living are the enemies of the Undead, not all Living are allies with one another.

Medkit - A small collection of medical supplies - such as bandages, splits, painkillers and the like - used to Heal Injuries. An attempt to Heal without a Medkit automatically fails; however, a Player Character with the appropriate Player's Option may be able to jury-rig a Medkit with on-hand supplies.

Melee - Hand-to-hand fighting or the distance at which hand-to-hand fighting occurs. Melee Weapons require Player Characters and Monsters to be standing right next to each other, and do not use Ammunition

Modifier – A Bonus or Penalty added or subtracted to the result of a Die roll. Modifiers are used to alter the likelihood of certain events, such as Attacks or how much Damage one might inflict. Injuries, Difficulty, Range are examples of situations that provide Modifiers.

Monster - Any person or creature the Player Characters may encounter in an Adventure. Monsters include other Living survivors as well as Zombies. All Monsters are controlled by the Game Master.

Movement - The action of changing one's position. Generally, Player Characters and Monsters cannot Attack or take an Action at the same time that they Move. The Living usually Move faster than the Undead.

Non-Player Character (NPC) -While it can refer to any Monster, generally used to refer to any Living Character not controlled by the Players.

Penalty - a negative modifier applied to a Die roll to indicate that the Action or Attack is less likely to be successful. Each Penalty is capped at a maximum of -3, but Player Characters or Monsters can have multiple Penalties applied at any one time. See Bonus.

Perception - The act of seeing or noticing a target. Certain Actions, such as hiding, make it more difficult to be Perceived. The Undead automatically Perceive a target on a natural roll of 6, regardless of any Penalties.

Player - A person participating in a game of Zombiepocalypse who controls a single avatar that he directs through the Adventure. Although he has full control of his Player Character, the actions of the rest of the world are controlled by the Game Master.

Player Character (PC) - the avatar controlled by a Player. Usually short-lived.

Player's Option - a single unique skill that can be selected by a Player for his avatar at any time. This skill provides a special ability or a Bonus to a specific Die roll.

Range - The measurement of distance between a target and his attacker. Range is divided into Melee, short, medium and long, and the increasing Penalties are applied as the distance between the two grow further.

Ransacking - A hasty, messy and noisy attempt to find an item, the success of which is determined by a Die roll. Ransacks give nearby Monsters a better chance to Perceive that a target is nearby. See Scavenging

Rations - A non-specific type and amount of food or water sufficient to keep a Player Character alive for a single day. May range from a handful of candy-bars to a military MRE (Meals-Ready to-Eat). Each Ration takes up one Inventory Slot.

Reload - The Act of putting new Ammunition into a Weapon. Reloads usually take one Round and add up to six more Shots in the Clip.

Round - a division of time used in Combat equal to six seconds, during which Player Characters and Monsters can Move, Attack or Act. Rounds continue sequentially until Combat is over.

Scavenging - A quick search, the success of which is indicated by a Die roll. See Ransacking

Shot - The amount of Ammunition used by one Attack. Shots may be - but usually are not - synonymous with the number of bullets actually fired. Some Weapons allow multiple Hits per Attack, but each Attack still only uses one Shot. Most Weapons carry six Shots per Clip, after which point the Weapon must be Reloaded before it can be fired again.

Shove - a type of Grapple Attack that results in the target being pushed backwards two Hex and Staggered. Shoved characters must Move forward into Melee range before they can Attack again (unless they have a weapon that allows a Ranged Attack) so a successful Shove essentially knocks a Monster out of Combat for two Rounds. See also Hold and Trip

Skill-Check -  a Die roll used to indicate whether or not an Action is successful. May be affected by various Bonuses and Penalties, and particularly Complex Actions may require multiple Skill Checks.

Slot - An abstract unit of carrying capacity, Player Characters have anywhere from four to twelve Slots that can be used to carry Equipment and Weapons. Most items use one Slot, although some larger items may use up more. Only four Slots can be used to carry Weapons.

Splash Damage - a type of Damage inflicted by explosions, caused either by Weapons or the environment. Splash Damage effects a pre-specified number of Hexes around the central explosion, determined randomly by a Die-roll. Splash Damage uses the same range as normal Damage: Stagger, Injured or Dead. Although affecting multiple targets, only a single To-Hit roll is required, although each affected target will require a separate Damage roll.

Stack - a term indicating the similar Bonuses or Penalties can be applied simultaneously. For example, the Penalties from being Injured and shooting a target at Range can be combined to reduce the likelihood of a successful Attack

Stagger - a type of Damage. The target does not receive any serious physical harm but is unable to react and loses his next opportunity to Act, Attack or Move. Stagger effects do not Stack and automatically go away after one Round.

To-Hit - the Die-roll used to determine whether or not a Hit is successful. The Living need to roll a 4, 5 or 6 (modified by any Bonuses or Penalties as necessary), while most Zombies need to roll a 5 or 6. An unsuccessful roll does not absolutely mean the attacker has missed his victim, just that he has failed to do him any significant Damage. Whether or not the To-Hit roll indicates success, one Shot of Ammunition is used (unless a Melee Weapon is used)

Trip - A type of Grapple Attack. Tripped targets fall to the ground and cannot Move until they get back up. They can still Act or Attack, but do so with Penalties. See also Hold and Shove

Undead - The enemy of all the Living, the Undead are ravenous, angry Zombie hordes. Usually mindless, they swarm towards any Living - be they Player Characters or other Living survivors - that they Perceive. Unlike the Living, the Undead do not Heal and thus any Injuries they receive are permanent.

Weapon - A tool used to inflict Damage in an Attack, usually some sort of gun or Melee Weapon. Most use Ammunition; different Weapons may provide Bonuses (or Penalties) to the To-Hit roll, the Damage roll, the Range at which they are used, or the number of Hits that can be made each Round.

Zombie - An Undead Monster, usually slow-moving and brainless but also unfortunately found in great numbers.