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Fight for Survival in a World Gone to Rotters By Daniel Proctor Goblinoid Games www.goblinoidgames.com FOREWORD Zombies and I go way back. One of my earliest memories as a child is on a Halloween night; I'm counting my trick-or- treat haul and the old black and white Night of the Living Dead is playing on TV. I think I was too young to really "get it" as I watched a zombie gnaw on a leg, but a few years later I'd see Michael Jackson's Thriller and it would scare the hell out of me. Later it was Return of the Living Dead (I and II), and my zombie interest blossomed in the wake of terrifying nightmares that I was being chased by zombies. But I loved it. Strangely, I didn't even know about George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead until my good friend Ryan (coauthor of Mutant Future) turned me on to them many years ago. The Holy Trinity of zombie movies are Night, Dawn and Day. If you're just beginning your journey into zombie survival horror those are the three movies to start with. ROTWORLD is the first new game released using the Action Table system since Pacesetter went out of business in the 1980s. When I recently bought the TIMEMASTER game line, I saw the opportunity to revive this system by implementing it in new ways. The Action Table system is elegant and innovative even by today's standards, so I'm delighted to bring it to you again. Hopefully, through ROTWORLD and future games using this system it can occupy a space in your gaming repertoire. People familiar with Goblinoid Games and the "old-school revival" know that I am a big supporter of classic fantasy games. However, I also feel that "old-school" occupies a lot of breadth, and other genres and systems should also be embraced. One of the great things about the 1980's was the proliferation of so many game systems and genres attached to them. Some of the games were more generic in genre, some were idiosyncratic and quirky. But all of them offered us a menu of options we could turn to when we were looking for something a little different. That's part of my mission as a publisher. I want to provide a menu of options. We're not always hungry for the same thing every day. Well, unless you're a zombie. May you fight off the hordes of rotting dead without getting bitten. If you see Barbara, tell her I said hi. Dan Proctor October 2011 Writing: Daniel Proctor Editing: Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison Cover and interior illustrations: Mark Allen Cartography: Daniel Cruger Thanks go to Ryan Denison for suggestions and feedback. Special thanks go to the original Pacesetter crew, Mark Acres, Troy Denning, Andria Hayday, John Ricketts, Gali Sanchez, Carl Smith, Garry Spiegle, Stephan D. Sullivan, and Michael Williams. It is an honor to take the torch and keep running with it. ROTWORLD, ROTWORLD logo, TIMEMASTER, Labyrinth Lord, and Mutant Future are trademarks of Daniel Proctor. Copyright 2011, Daniel Proctor. Some interior illustrations Copyright 2011, Mark Allen, used under license. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................... 3 Called Shots in Combat ............................................ 28 CHAPTER 1: THE GAME .................................................. 5 Helpless Defenders .................................................... 28 INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 5 LEARNING THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY ........................ 28 WHAT IS A ROLE-PLAYING GAME? ............................... 5 DECLARATION .............................................................. 28 USING DICE ..................................................................... 5 WHO GOES FIRST?........................................................ 29 THE CM ............................................................................. 6 Within Each Round: Initiative .................................. 29 THE CHARACTERS ........................................................... 6 Within Each Step ........................................................ 29 ABILITIES, SKILLS, AND TALENTS ................................. 6 PARANORMAL TALENTS IN COMBAT ....................... 29 SCORES ............................................................................. 6 Willpower Loss ........................................................... 29 CHECKS ............................................................................. 6 General Checks ............................................................. 6 Specific Checks on the Action Table ........................... 6 USING MAPS .................................................................... 7 LEARNING TO PLAY ........................................................ 7 EXAMPLE OF PLAY ........................................................... 7 CHAPTER 2: CHARACTERS ............................................ 8 THE CHARACTER SHEET ................................................ 8 HOW TO CREATE A CHARACTER .................................. 8 THE EIGHT BASIC ABILITIES ........................................ 10 ABILITY CHECKS ............................................................ 11 ABILITY CHECK RESULTS KEY ..................................... 11 BACKGROUND NOTES ................................................. 12 CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT ..................................... 12 Using Experience Points ............................................. 12 CHAPTER 3: SKILLS ...................................................... 13 MISSILE COMBAT .......................................................... 30 SKILL LEVELS .................................................................. 13 Skilled vs. Unskilled Attacks...................................... 30 SKILL SCORES ................................................................ 13 Sighting ....................................................................... 30 WILLPOWER AND STAMINA ........................................ 13 Missile Attack Modifiers ............................................ 30 SKILL CHECKS ................................................................ 13 Defensive Missile Attacks .......................................... 32 EXCLUSIVE SKILLS ......................................................... 13 Missiles into Melee ..................................................... 32 Knowledge and Research Skills ...................................... 13 Automatic Rifles ......................................................... 32 Knowledge Checks ..................................................... 13 Shotguns ..................................................................... 32 Research Checks ......................................................... 13 Hand Grenades .......................................................... 32 SKILL List ......................................................................... 14 Miscellaneous Thrown Weapons .............................. 33 Combat Skills .............................................................. 14 MOVEMENT ................................................................... 33 NON-COMBAT SKILLS .............................................. 14 Keeping Track of Movement ..................................... 33 UNARMED MELEE SKILLS ............................................ 14 Movement Rates ......................................................... 33 ARMED MELEE SKILLS .................................................. 15 Hindered Movement ................................................. 33 SPECIAL WEAPONS SKILLS .......................................... 16 Multiple Characters in One Space ............................ 34 MOUNTED SKILLS ......................................................... 16 Leaping and Jumping ................................................ 34 MISSILE WEAPON SKILLS ............................................. 16 MELEE ............................................................................. 34 NON-COMBAT SKILLS: THE STUFF OF LIFE .............. 17 Skilled Melee .............................................................. 34 CHAPTER 4: PARANORMAL TALENTS ......................... 23 Unskilled Melee ......................................................... 34 WILLPOWER AND PTs................................................... 23 Melee Modifiers ......................................................... 34 TALENT Descriptions ..................................................... 23 Escaping from Melee ................................................. 34 CHAPTER 5: BASIC ACTION ......................................... 26 Melee Restrictions ...................................................... 35 GAME TIME ..................................................................... 26 DAMAGE FROM COMBAT ........................................... 35 FEAR (Optional Rule) .................................................... 26 Effects of Damage ...................................................... 35 Fear Results ................................................................. 26 Critical Wounds ......................................................... 36 SURPRISE ........................................................................ 26 RECOVERY AND HEALING .......................................... 36 Surprise Checks........................................................... 26 Recovering Stamina ................................................... 36 FIELD OF VISION ........................................................... 27 Healing Wounds .......................................................