Example of Play

The following is an example of play, including a combat encounter, designed to introduce you to the world of Super Dead and the mechanics.

Two heroes, Max "Mouse" McMillan and Emily "Electric Girl" Evans—played by Kyle and Sarah—are braving the night to save their friend: "The Botanist", a weak mutant who's ability to encourage plant growth has nontheless become highly valuable in the end of days. The botanist was abducted by several survivors that Max and Emily were staying with. After investigating the matter, they've discovered that their friend The Botanist is at the town library, under the thumb of the city's former mayor: Moira Mullens, and a group of thugs in her employ.

NB: In the following section

Things the game master says look like this

Player name: And things the players say look like this

You have made your way to the outskirts of the library. The building is in sight. It's two stories tall, with large glass windows on the second floor, a door on the first, and a flourishing "public garden" out front. You feel confident that you're hidden around the corner and no one can see you. What does Max do, Kyle?

Kyle: Max looks around to make doubly sure that there's no one nearby. And if it's all clear, he'll turn into a mouse and make his way into the library.

Okay, and Sarah, what is Emily doing?

Sarah: If Max is turning into a mouse, Emily will sneak between the buildings and get as close as she can while staying hidden, to try and see what she can see inside.

Okay. Max turns into a mouse and the two of you try to sneak closer to the library. Max finds it easy to hide in the lush garden, but unfortunately, the door is still in pretty good shape and you can't seem to find an easy way in. Sarah, give me an intelligence test to see how Emily does sneaking.

Sarah: [Rolls a 3 on 1d10 versus her intelligence of 5] Success.

Alright. Emily manages to stay hidden as she approaches and can make out the shadows of two people near the door.

Sarah: It looks like the door is guarded. Let's try to draw them out. Get out of there Max; I'm going to light up the garden.

You want to try to burn the garden with your electricity? Give me a power roll.

Kyle: Max starts scurrying out of the way.

Sarah: [Rolls 3d10: 7, 4, 2] One success, plus three for my power level is four.

Great. A small flash of lightning springs forth from Electric Girl's fingers and darts towards the dry grass keeping the soil moist. At first the fire starts small, but more and more plant matter begins to catch, and soon, there's a good deal of fire and smoke. As the smoke builds, it catches the attention of the guards you spotted behind the door, and they open the front door, walking into your line of sight. You get opportunity fire against them if you'd like, Sarah.

Sarah: I'll take it.

Alright. Make a 3d10 power roll against each. If you succeed, they'll take damage and be pinned.

Sarah: [3d10: 8, 9, 4; 3d10: 2, 3, 1] Two successes plus three, for a five on the first. And then zero successes on the other.

A strong flash of lightening jolts from your hand, striking one of the guards as he walks into the open. The other dives over the railing on the stairs and manages to duck out of the way. With five successes, that will be a 2d10 damage roll for the one you hit.

Sarah: Alright. [2d10: 6, 8] That's a 14.

Lightning strikes the guard and smoke begins to waft from his ears. His hair is gone and his body falls to the ground lifeless. Kyle, what does Max do?

Kyle: Now that the door is open, I'm going to begin to call on mice to enter the building and look for The Botanist.

Alright. Give me a 3d10 roll to see how many mice you can muster.

Kyle: [3d10: 6, 9, 8] That's three successes, plus one, and I'll keep calling on mice for the next four rounds if I can, to bring it to plus five. So four total now, and eight total by the time it's fully built up.

That's going to be a lot of mice! Alright. Max starts calling on mice, and from the buildings around you, the dirt, and the sewers, mice start swarming into the building droves and the begin to search for The Botanist. With this many mice, they'll need just four rounds to cover all the open areas the library.
Now, because you attacked the guard, you are in combat. You're about 50 feet from the guard, do either of you move to engage him? It appears as if he's going to fire on you.

Sarah: I'll engage. I'll use my electric teleport to get over there and deliver a shocking punch.

Okay. Because you're already in line of sight, there won't be any opportunity fire. Give me a 3d10 power roll.

Sarah: [3d10: 2, 2, 8] Not my best, one success, plus 2 for the teleport power is three total successes.

Your teleport brings you within hand-to-hand range, but you have to close on him by foot. Roll 1d10 for damage based on your three successes. And the guard is going to fire on you as well. [rolls 1d10: 3] He gets a 3, which is below his athletics, even with the penalty for shooting in hand-to-hand. His shot is going to hit.

Sarah: [1d10: 10 (5)] I got a 10, and then a 5 on the bonus roll, for 15 total damage.

And the guard rolls for damage [2d10-2: 7, 10 + 6]. Oof. 21 damage. That will be four wounds.

Sarah: I'll soak one wound with my teleportation power and one with my electric shock—so that will only bring me to hurt.

Bang! The guard fires a shot right into your side, but in an electric flash, you zap to the side and you go sprawling into the ground. Then, with a twist and a lunge, you deliver a swift kick to the guard's sternum, along with shocking bolts of electricity that go skittering through the guard. He falls to the ground.

Because of the gunshot, I'm going to make a noise roll. [Secretly: 2d10 (10, 2 = 12 zombies)] You know zombies are inbound now, it's just a matter of time.

Kyle. Shit, do we know where the Botanist is yet?

Mice continue to swarm into the building, over the top of the two zapped guards. And yes, you've located The Botanist. Your friend is being watched by yet another one of the mayor's thugs upstairs. You also begin to hear screams from inside the library as the mice are sending people into a panic. These screams are going to attract even more zombies [Secretly: 1d10-2 (10 - 2 = 8 zombies)].

Kyle: I've found her, Emily. She's upstairs, imprisoned by the mayor's thugs. Let's go quick! And Max runs into the building.

Sarah: Max! We need a plan! And Sarah follows after.

Kyle: There's no time for a plan. Zombies are on the way and we'll all die if we don't get out of here soon. Do my mice know anything about the location of any other armed survivors?

Yes, they do. You know that the mayor has two guards with her. They're currently fleeing one of the meeting rooms and barricading themselves in the archives, and there's another guarding The Botanist.

Kyle: So the path is clear. Excellent. Max charges up the stairs confidently, and I want to have my mice attack the guard keeping The Botanist hostage.

Awesome. Give me a 3d10 power roll and use your full build-up bonus, because you've been channeling mice for some time now.

Kyle: [3d10: 3, 6, 8] That's two successes, plus 5, for 7 total.

Yikes. Give me a 3d10 damage roll with that.

Kyle: [3d10: 8 + 4 + 3] That's 15 total.

Your mice swarm over the guard and he begins to scream and thrash as they do. In a panic, he rushes towards the glass windows and tosses himself through it, splattering on the ground. The shattering window makes even more noise, and is going to attract even more zombies. [Secretly: 1d10+1 (3+1 = 4 zombies)]

Kyle: I talk to the Botanist. Are you okay? We have to get out of here quick. Can you walk?

"You know, while many farmers believe mice to be pests, some plants have adapted to a symbiotic relationship with mice. I always liked you, in particular, Mouse. Yes, I can walk. How are we getting out?"
And as she asks that, you can hear the telltale groaning of zombies and screaming of their victims from downstairs. With your mice, you can tell that there are a dozen zombies.

Sarah: Max, I can blast them, attract them up here, and we can jump to get away from them. What do you think?

Kyle: I'll be fine. Botanist?

"I'll land soft as a field of wildflowers. Go for it, Electric Girl"

Sarah: Alright, I head back to the library stairs and let out of blast of electricity at as many zombies as I can see, trying to get them to follow me, and the race towards the glass window and teleport down.

Okay, give me two 3d10 power rolls. How are is Max getting down, Kyle? Just jumping?

Kyle: I'll turn into a mouse as I fall. Lower mass should equal lower damage, right?

Okay, give me a 3d10 power roll as well.

Sarah: I'd like [3d10: 4, 10, 9; 3d10: 6, 10, 10] Wow. Big rolls. Two successes plus two and three successes plus one is four for the lightning and four for the teleport.

Okay, that'll be 2d10 damage. And you can distribute it among the zombies as you'd like.

Sarah: [2d10: 8, 7] Fifteen damage. And I think I'll have it his as many of them as possible for a single point.

You blast lightning out across the zombies, cracking in the air, bouncing off the zombies and into the ground. Their dead flesh burns and smells foul on the air. Their heads whip up the stairs towards you. They begin to give a slow chase, but you're already on your way out of the building. Electric Girl leaps from the library second floor and zaps herself down to the landing. You're joined by The Botanist, who jumps and lands a lush pile of flowers. Kyle, what did Max get?

Kyle: [3d10: 2, 8, 10] Two successes.

You take mouse form and manage and doing so reduces the impact from falling. The three of you have escaped the library. And as you get to your feet, you notice another four zombies stumbling down the street towards you.

Kyle: Just four? We can take 'em.

Sarah: I think we should run, Max. There are probably more on the way.

Kyle: Alright, alright, let's scram. Create a distraction for us, will you?

Sarah: I can do that. Electric Girl will try to create a huge electric storm as a distraction [3d10: 6,6,8] Three successes plus two is six. I want to create a huge thunderbolt off in the distance to create a lot of noise and draw the zombies away from us.

Okay. With six successes, a bolt of lightning blasts from your hand and shatters into a building. It's mixture of metal and wood goes up in flames and creates a roaring noise. You know all the zombies in the area are going to be headed towards it. The ones directly in front of you, however, are locked on you and move towards you to attack. What do you do?

Kyle: Stand and fight! I charge into the mix and start to attack with my baseball bat.

Even as supers, just a single blow from a zombie could mean death, so be careful.

Sarah: Electric Girl will join the fray too — I'll use my lightning powers at close range.

Alright. The zombies won't attack until after all three hand-to-hand exchanges have passed, and there are four of them. Make three attacks each. Kyle, you must make a hard athletics test, so give me 3x 1d10 rolls to hit. Any hit that deals more than 2 damage will kill a zombie. Sarah, the electric damage isn't particularly potent against zombies, so you'll need to do 15 or more points of electric damage to a zombie to kill it.

Kyle: [3d10: 1, 3, 7] My athletics is 5, so hard becomes 4. I got two successes. [2x 1d10-2: 6, 8] And for damage, I got a 5 and a 7.

Awesome, you charge into combat with the zombies and smash two heads with your baseball bat, their brains splatter over the sidewalk and the corpses fall to the ground. Sarah?

Sarah: Yeah. [3x3d10: 1,5,7; 6,7,8; 7,8,8]. Woo! Two successes, three successes, and three successes. Plus two thats four, five, and five.

All of those will be 2d10 damage. Beat 15 to to take down the zombies.

Sarah: Come on, 15! [3x2d10: 6+1, 5+3, 5+6] Oof. 7, 8, and 11 damage.

Electric Girl summons a tempest of elemental energy and zaps away at one of the zombies, burning its limbs into an immobilized crisp. She turns her attention to the last one standing, but isn't able to bring it down before it grabs at her. Make an athletics test to avoid the zombie's bite.

Sarah: [1d10: 6] Ah! No! That's a six. Just barely over my athletics of five.

Electric Girl is grabbed by the zombie, and for a second it looks like she'll be able to hold him at bay, until she can't, and it chomps down on her arm. I'm going to make a secret infection roll and show you, Sarah, but not you, Kyle. [1d10: 8 - infected: turn in days]

Kyle: Em! I run up and smash the zombie with my bat [3x1d10: 2,4,7]. That's two hits [2x1d10-2: 5, 1] for 3 damage and zero damage.

You smash at the zombie clawing at Emily, splattering blood all over the place. Meanwhile, Elastic Girl is bleeding from the bite.

Sarah: Max! You saved me. But... I think I was bit. Oh my god. I'm going to turn. You need to kill me now.

Kyle: Don't be ridiculous, you'll be fine. How do you feel?

Sarah: I don't know I...

You feel fine.

Sarah: I guess I feel fine. But sometimes it happens like this too, doesn't it? You feel fine at first, and then you get the fever later? You guys have to go on without me.

Kyle: Fine. You're right. We'll head back to the lair without you. But lay low and take it easy and use this first aid kit to patch yourself up. We'll meet at the cannon in the town square in three days—the virus always sets in faster than that.

Sarah: Elastic Girl is holding back tears. Okay. Thanks for the first aid kit, Max. Get The Botanist to safety. Run, quickly. That lightning is going to bring even more zombies down on us. And then Elastic Girl takes off.

Kyle: Max takes The Botanists hand and runs off in the opposite direction of Elastic Girl, looking over his shoulder every hundred feet.