VEHICLES & BUILDINGS

VEHICLES

Eventually players may chose to make use of vehicles to make good their escape, or to engage in some vehicular manslaughter.

Driving Vehicles

The most common vehicles available are automobiles, trucks and motorcycles and bicycles. Most characters will have the ability to drive these vehicles as part of their common skill set (the GM may rule that some vehicles, like large 16-wheelers, require a Skill Check). Other vehicles may include airplanes (both propeller-driven and jets), helicopters, skateboards, boats, trains and tanks. Most of these cannot be used without the appropriate Pilot skill (although the GM may rule that some basic control of the vehicle can be gained with appropriately Complex and Difficult Skill Checks for those without the necessary talents). The condition of the vehicle itself is entirely up to the GM; it may be in mint condition, with a full tank of gas and keys in the ignition... or not.

Vehicle Movement

A vehicle moves at 15 Hex (approximately 90' feet) per round for every ten miles per hour of speed. Different vehicles have different top speeds and rates of acceleration; however, in most cases once the players take to a vehicle the speed difference between them and the zombies is so extreme that the undead will be unable to keep up. The GM may rule that certain situations prevent the vehicle from accelerating at its stated rate (for instance, muddy or twisty roads)

Vehicle Speeds

Type of Vehicle	Top Speed (MPH)	Top Speed (in Hex)	Acceleration Per Round
Bicycle	16 mph	24	5 mph / rd
Motorcycle	80 mph	120	30 mph / rd
Car	80 mph	120	20 mph / rd
Truck	70 mph	100	10 mph / rd

Ramming

Once a character is behind the wheel of a car, it is inevitable that he starts to feel invulnerable and begins thinking of how many zombies he can run over. Under normal circumstances, it is assumed that the Player Character automatically hits his target(s); no To-Hit roll is required (under abnormal circumstances, such as a severely damaged vehicle or bad lighting conditions, the GM may require a Skill Check). More than one zombie can be attacked in this way, but all attacked zombies must be in the same Hex or in adjacent Hex to a zombie already rammed.

The vehicle must be traveling at least 15mph to attempt a ramming attack. Every zombie impacted reduces the vehicle speed by 10mph.

A Ramming attack consists of at least two die rolls; one to determine the Ramming Damage inflicted on the zombies, and a second to determine the Crash Damage inflicted on the veh

Ramming Damage Table

Die Roll	Result
1-3	Target is struck a glancing blow by the vehicle and is Staggered. He cannot take any actions this round.
4-5	Target is Injured. He cannot take any actions this round and will suffer a -1 penalty on all future rolls
6	Target is dead

Velocity effects the outcome of the roll; every 20mph at which the vehicle is traveling adds a +1 Bonus to the Damage roll. Thus, a car plowing into a zombie at 60mph gets a +3 bonus to the above roll. The GM may choose to roll a single Ramming Damage roll for all affected zombies, or roll for each zombie  individually.

In addition to rolling Damage against the targets, a second roll is made to see what effect the impact has on the vehicle and its occupants.

Crash Effects Table

Die Roll	Result
1-3	No Injuries or Damage
4-5	All occupants are effected as if Staggered and cannot perform any actions or attacks the next round. Car is Damaged.
6	All occupants must roll on the standard Damage table to determine the effects of the crash on themselves, and may be Staggered, Injured or Dead. The vehicle is Destroyed.

The type of vehicle indicates how many total zombies can be rammed in a single attack, and how many can be safely rammed.

Type of Vehicle	Total # of Zombies	Safe # of Zombies
Bicycle	1	1
Motorcycle	2	1
Car	6	3
Truck	12	8

A vehicle can never ram more zombies in a single attack than is specified by the “Total # of Zombies”. If more zombies than the “Safe Number of Zombies” are attacked, a +1 for each attacked zombie above the safe number is added to the result of the Crash Effects table. For example, attempting to ram 8 zombies in a single round in a car adds a +2 to the Crash Effects roll.

Vehicle Damage works similarly to Injuries on the living. Every time a vehicle is Damaged, a -1 penalty is applied to any actions using that vehicle, to a maximum of a -3 penalty. This penalty stacks with other Modifiers, such as Injuries or Difficulty Modifiers, and applies to any Skill Checks,  Ramming Damage, and Crash Effects.

Optional Rule: Armored Vehicles

At some point, it may occur to the characters to either drive some sort of armored vehicle (such as an APC or a tank) or try adding armor to an existing vehicle to protect it from damage. Such modifications can be abstracted by adding Armor points. If a vehicle is armored, any Damage is subtracted from the Armor first before it starts to Damage the vehicle itself. For instance, the Player Characters may decide to add some sheet metal to a car; the GM rules that this adds 2 Armor Points to the vehicle. The car can suffer 2 Damage points (for instance, from crashing or ramming into monsters) before it starts to suffer any penalties. Once the Armor Points are gone, the vehicle begins to suffer damage normally. Each Armor point removes 10 MPH from the vehicle's top speed. Generally, occupants inside the vehicle will not suffer any Injuries until the Armor is destroyed. It is left up to the GM to determine how many Armor Points can be added to a vehicle, but as a general rule of thumb Players should not be able to add more than three Armor Points to a civilian vehicle (military vehicles which have armor as part of their design can have significantly more).

Modifying Vehicles

to be written

BATTERING

A building can be both much-sought after shelter and a terrible trap. Structures may allow the characters some respite from the zombie hordes; a place to rest and heal, or a location from which they can attempt to hold off attack. But at the same time it costs the characters one of their main advantages over the undead – their mobility – and staying overlong in any one place is sure to attract the walkers. Walls can only hold out the dead for so long, and can prevent exit as easily as they do entrance.

Being mindless ghouls, most undead are unable to manipulate doors or open windows; to get past such barriers they hammer relentlessly on it until the material shatters and breaks. This method of gaining entry is known as Battering. Any monster (or character, for that matter) can attempt to Batter their way through a barrier.

Battering ones way past a barrier works similar to an attack made in combat against a more animate foe. The monster rolls a “To-Hit” roll and – if they are successful – roll for Damage against the barrier. The chances To-Hit are the same as in combat (that is, a roll of 5 or 6 indicates success for most zombies, a roll of 4, 5 or 6 the same for the living).

Battering Damage Results Table

Roll	Result
1-3	Breached! The barricade holds but the attacking monster automatically Holds any one target standing next to the Barricade.
4-5	Barricade is Damaged. Monsters cannot pass through but can attack anyone standing in front of or to either side of the barrier
6	Barricade Destroyed. Monsters can attack or move through opening (if no other barricades exist)

A 1-3 indicates the barrier is temporarily Breached. A hole is punched in the barricade, and any one person standing directly in front of the barrier is automatically Held. While Held, the victim can not Move, Attack or Act. The zombie holding the victim can maintain the Hold as long as it desires; however, it likewise cannot Attack, Move or Act until it lets go. The victim is automatically released if the zombie is successfully attacked. Only the creature that Breached the barricade can Hold the victim; any other monsters must attack the barrier first. If there is no victim standing next to the barricade, then there is no other effect.

A 4-5 indicates that not only is the barrier Damaged. Although it is still sturdy enough to prevent monsters from passing through the opening, they can attack anyone standing in front or to either side of the barrier. If there Players' characters have set up multiple barriers, the monsters attack with a -1 “To Hit” until there is only one barrier remaining.

A roll of 6 means that the barrier is completely Destroyed. Monsters can now pass through the opening as if it were not blocked, any can attack anyone standing in front of or to either side of the opening. If there are multiple barriers blocking the entrance, they can attack but not pass through the opening until the other barricades are destroyed.

Once a barrier is broken open, any other attackers can pass through the opening on subsequent rounds.

Some barriers are stronger than others. For instance, a thick wooden door offers more protection than a window. To compensate for these differences, it is recommended that the GM apply Difficulty modifiers to the “To Hit” roll; for instance, a zombie attempting to batter its way through a glass window may receive a +2 bonus to its “To Hit” roll, while a thick wooden door may result in a -1 penalty. A standard wooden interior door is considered the “default” and anyone attempting to force its way past such a barrier would receive neither penalties or bonuses. The GM may also rule that certain barriers are simply impossible to Batter through (for instance, cinder-block walls) and any attacks automatically fail.

Zombies attacking a barricade may get certain benefits when attacking. For instance, basic zombies (shamblers) receive a +1 bonus to their “To Hit” rolls for every three zombies attacking the same target. Up to six zombies can can attack a barrier at the same time. Strong Zombies (Walkers) receive a +1 to their “To Hit” rolls when attacking a barrier due to their exceptional strength; Titan zombies receive a +3 to their “To Hit” rolls against barriers. Bonuses from weapons used by the Living also apply when used against barriers.

The Players may attempt to strengthen the doors and windows to make it more difficult to for the zombies to batter their way through. This can take the form of furniture pushed in front of doors, boards hammered in front of windows, or even simply locking the door. Each additional level of protection is considered another barricade that needs to be Battered down before the monsters can pass through the opening. Up to three additional barriers can be applied to any one opening. For instance, the Players' characters may nail shut a door, and then push a refrigerator in front of the door. Any attacking zombies must first Batter their way through the boards, then the door, and finally shove past the fridge before there is clear passage, requiring three successful “To Hit” rolls. However, damaged barricades may allow the monsters to attack characters on the other side of the barrier even if they can not yet pass through the opening.

The GM will rule on how long it takes to set up a barrier, but it will generally take a minimum of two rounds (12 seconds) for the simplest tasks (pushing something heavy in front of the opening) and several minutes for more complicated attempts (boarding up a window, for instance). Obviously, the characters must have the necessary supplies at hand. Barring unusual circumstances, adding a barrier will not require a Skill Check.

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Notice 1 

ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE is still in development. Although playable, the system is not complete. Not all the rules have been written and those that have been are subject to change at any time. And editing for clarity and readability is low priority. Despite being made available to the public on this website, ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE is still considered to be in beta form. You have been warned.

Notice 2

The Roleplaying Game System currently known as ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE is being made available to the public for free for their enjoyment and use. However, the author maintains all rights towards its distribution and development. You are free to view or download the rules and make use of them in any game sessions for the personal use of you and your friends. You are not free to redistribute the rules in any way, nor are you allowed to make any derivative works from it.

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(c) 2013 Spalls Hurgenson