At the highest level, “avoid zombies” means not going where they are. Travelers with a map created by officials or other survivors may roll Cartography, Navigation, or IQ-5, with up to +5 for good, recent maps, or a penalty of any size for iffy work. Any success avoids the zombies. Failure by 1 is a close approach – no zombies attack, but there will be a contagion roll at +4 that day if zombies are infectious, and the GM should apply Who Notices? (pp. 113-114) to see if zombies detect the survivors and come searching. Worse failure means an encounter, with critical failure spelling an ambush!
If the map is a deliberate trap, critical success gives a close approach, success means an encounter, and any fail- ure indicates an ambush.
Without a map (or if you don’t trust the map), this is a job for Observation. Roll at a basic -5, with +1 per 10% reduction in daily travel speed – constantly stopping to check for zom- bies is smart but slow. A day of static observation gives a net +5. Results are as for following a reliable map.
Deception
Barring super-powers or spells that grant literal invisibil- ity – or inaudibility, no scent, etc. – survivors require Cam- ouflage or Stealth to hide in zombie territory. These work normally: a Quick Contest of skill vs. the zombies’ Percep- tion, which often isn’t spectacular. Remember that Who Notices? (pp. 113-114) gives large hordes an edge, and that Sinister Senses (p. 88) may grant zombies a bonus.
If zombies rely on behavior or scent to distinguish prey from other zombies, brave heroes might be able to fool them in plain sight! Such trickery is only possi- ble if the zombies haven’t yet grown agitated or started to attack.
Walk the Walk: Against zombies that use only vision and hearing, the trick is to act like a zombie (Shaun of the Dead shows how). This requires win- ning a Quick Contest of Will-based Acting against the higher of the zombies’ effective IQ or Per.
Carrion With What You Were Doing: If the zombies use scent, which is standard for those with Discrimina- tory Smell, then fooling them means covering yourself in zombie grue – butcher one and smear it on, Walking Dead-style. This is foul, and anyone with a Phobia regarding blood, death, dirt, or infection, or with Squeamish, must make a self-control roll to go through with it; on a success, the attempt still suffers the penalty on p. B149. If zombie plague is spread by any splatter (not just a bite), make an immediate resistance roll at an extra -2, and protective gear doesn’t help unless it’s a full, sealed suit worn under the filth. To trick the zombies, win a Quick Contest of Will vs. their Smell roll. In a set- ting where zombies are old news, there may be a Dis- guise (Zombies) skill; if so, heroes may use that instead. In both cases, the real zombies receive the standard bonus for a horde, while the fake zombies roll once using the worst score among them. Loss means that someone sweated, fidgeted, or otherwise gave up the game – or threw up or flicked off a maggot, if covered in carrion – with predictable consequences. Victory or a tie lets the survivors pass. Roll again every minute.
Mobility
Creative use of the environment can help survivors avoid trouble in zombie territory. Many zombies are clumsy (poor DX) or slow (low Basic Move), and there- fore unable to follow an agile runner. Staying up high inflicts -2 on the zombies’ typically mediocre Per (see Attack from Above, p. B402) – and Incurious zombies won’t even glance at treetops or rooftops. The GM should also be generous about zombies with Bestial being stumped by ladders, those with Hidebound being unable to follow fancy acrobatics, and so on. Some sam- ple stunts, all of which take a penalty equal to the hero’s encumbrance level:
Balancing: Roll Acrobatics at -2 to traverse something nar- row (ledge, plank between rooftops, etc.) or at -5 for some- thing slack like a telephone wire. A pole helps balance: +2 for a 6’ pole, +3 for a 10’ pole. Failure means a fall, but permits a DX roll to grab something and try a pull-up. Critical failure (or failing that DX roll) means a fall from the height of the crossing. Heroes with Perfect Balance don’t have to roll!
Climbing: Roll vs. Climbing at -3 once per story when scaling a building, once at no modifier if clambering over a fence, or once at +5 for a tree. Failure and critical failure work as for balancing.
Diving: An Acrobatics roll at -4 lets you dive through a narrow opening – say, an open window. Failure means you
end up stuck; roll vs. Escape each second until you get free or the zombies get you. Critical failure adds 1d-3 HP of injury (DR doesn’t protect).
Leaping: If an obstacle is small enough for anyone to hur- dle, just roll DX – only use Jumping (p. B352) if it’s wide or dangerous, like a gap between rooftops. Failure allows a DX roll to catch the far side and try a pull-up. Critical failure (or failure on the DX roll not to fall) means you fall somewhere in the middle – pray you’re not 10 stories up.
Leg Up: A friend can boost you to reach a high area. He rolls against ST while you roll Acrobatics at -2. If you both succeed, you can reach anything up to the sum of your heights and try a pull-up to get yourself up there.
Sacrifice
Rules for zombies-versus-survivors situations – notably Deception (pp. 120-121) and Run for Your Life (p. 122) – often assume that survivors want to stay together, the leaders telling the followers when to move out, the strong assisting the weak, the swift waiting for the slow. In a lot of zombie fiction, this isn’t the best assumption. Two dramatic exceptions come to mind:
Voluntary Sacrifice: People who know they’ll hold back their allies – because the rules call for the group to use its lowest DX, Move, or skill, and that’s theirs – may voluntar- ily abandon an attempt to flee or hide. Courageous souls may wish to keep these martyrs company, or to stop, fight, and thin the horde while others get away. In either case, the abilities of those who opt out no longer restrict the group; each volunteer can even help one fleeing ally with something like a magic spell or the “leg up” stunt (see below). The zombies automatically get to engage in com- bat with these brave few, who buy their associates time to break off contact without further dice-rolling, though the zombies may come looking after the fight.
Left for Dead: And then there are desperate and selfish survivors who don’t care about others. They don’t roll with the group; they rely on their own abilities and make their own rolls, deciding what skills and options they’ll use. The group (if there’s one left) still decides and rolls collectively, and the zombies still make one roll, which is compared to the group’s outcome and the selfish individ- uals’ rolls. The person who beats the zombies’ Per by the most if hiding or who opens up the biggest gap in a chase thanks to DX, Move, and/or skills – and anyone who hides successfully while others flee – escapes without further dice-rolling. Everyone else remains in the situation, though selfish types can try again on the next roll. And note that if the group does best, or hides while someone runs off . . . well, the overconfident jerk just sacrificed himself, as above!
Don’t take the wording too seriously. A speedy survivor might be making a real sacrifice if he leads the zombies off while the group hides, or sprints ahead for help. A volun- tary sacrifice who’s carrying the group’s only first aid kit
Failure by either of you lets you retry, but your partner must pay 1 FP per repeated attempt. On any critical failure, you collapse in a pile and each take 1d-3 HP of injury (DR doesn’t protect).
Pull-Up: Make a ST-based Climbing roll to pull yourself up onto anything you can reach: your height plus 1.5’. On a failure, you hang there and may retry, paying 1 FP per repeated attempt. Critical failure means a strained arm (crippled for 30 minutes) and a fall.
Squeezing: Roll against Escape to wiggle through a nar- row crack (like an air duct). Success lets you do it. Failure means you won’t fit and can’t retry. Critical failure means you’re stuck; roll vs. Escape each second until you succeed and pull back out or the zombies get you.
Vaulting: An Acrobatics roll lets you hurtle over an obstacle no taller than 3/4 of your height without slowing. Failure means you don’t make it, costing you only time. Critical failure means you fall down.
Such exploits are mostly useful for ducking behind cover, reaching high places where the zombies can’t see you, and moving between rooftops without venturing downstairs, through a horde, and all the way up again. If zombies haven’t spotted you yet and one of these stunts would let you reach a hiding spot before they do, go ahead and try. Failure means the zombies find you dangling, prone, or stuck. Success executes the move and counts as a successful Stealth roll – even if you’re running franti- cally and don’t know Stealth! If your margin of success beats the zombies’ Per roll (see Deception, pp. 120-121), you evade them; if it doesn’t, you can still run, and further athletics may yet save you.