Running Zombie-Supers Pulp Horror
This section is for the gamemasters: new, aspiring, experienced, or grizzled.
If you've run a TTRPG before, running a zombie-supers pulp horror game like Super Dead is going to feel familiar -- but it's not the same as your typical dungeon-crawl.
And the more you lean into what makes Super Dead different than other TTRPGs, the more unique of an experience you'll find it, and -- we hope -- the more fun you'll have.
Running a Supers game
There are a few unique things about running an explicit Super Hero game. First off, Everyone wants to feel powerful and do cool stuff. Now, that isn't necessarily too different than any other game -- who wants their character to be boring? But Super Hero games promise that the characters are going to be protagonists. They are going to be mixing it up and making things happen. As a game master, keep this in mind and work to find moments for each character to shine.
In a Supers Game, we also need to be aware that we're not playing by "earth rules". We're playing by comic-book rules. You'll want to be careful how far you stretch this, because there is a natural tension between the heroism of comic book rules and the grittiness of the zombie apocalypse -- but it essential to lean into some degree of comic book eccentricity and camp to give the full comic book feel.
Third, your villains shouldn't go away that easily. Did your heroes soundly defeat the villain by pushing them into a pit of acid? Did they fling them out of a building? Flatten them with car? No matter. Villains come back. Your players will want their villains to come back. A recurring rogue's gallery of foes that they can build relationships with is part of the intrigue.
With that said, not all villains must be evil all the time. Feel free to team your villains up against the heroes. Or have a villain invite the heroes to team up against another, even stronger villain.
And the anti-hero type fits in perfectly with the zombie apocalypse setting. These not-quite good, not-quite evil enigmas are an excellent foil and frustration to players who have heroic feats and deeds in mind.
Running a Zombie game
Zombie games are horror games. That means they are about dread, fear, and anticipation. Super Dead has a few mechanics to create these situations, namely: the stress mechanic and the noise/zombie attraction mechanic. You must use these mechanics.
Put your players in situations where they must do things they don't want to: create noise, or super-charge their powers. And then let the game build the tension as stress and the number of incoming zombies grow.
Another essential way to test your players in a zombie game is to put them in moral quandaries. Give them lose-lose situations where survivors must die, or killing the big bad guy would result in being devoured by a zombie horde. These choices are fundamental to what makes zombie stories interesting: who are we when society has collapsed and it is only our own moral code telling us what to do? Give your players the opportunity to find out how their characters will answer the call.
In that same vein, zombie stories are about social dynamics. How do you treat the people around you when there is no one to keep you honest but yourself? Create factions with diametrically opposed personalities and see how the players respond. And remember, in many of the best zombie stories: humans were the real monsters all along
Putting it all together
Ultimately, both Super Hero stories and Zombie stories are about people. So make the relationships between the players and the NPCs matter. Make the faction leader personalities large and obvious. Don't be afraid to make them larger than life caricatures -- that fits in nicely with super hero themes and creates obvious hooks for the players.
When making designing adventures and making rulings, be flexible with what is possible, but stringent with what is necessary. The players can do a lot of things, especially when using their powers and taking on stress. But they also need a lot of things: food, water, shelter, social interaction, safety, and relaxation to name a few. Make them feel the tension of a Super Hero, who still needs to eat just like everyone else.
Starting a Session
The opening moments of a gaming session are your time to set the stage for the hours to come. Your session kickoff should have the following
- Recap
- Situation Summary
- Hooks / Next Steps
- Stakes
Recap. Remind your players what they did last time, focusing on things that are relevant to what you have planned for the upcoming session. If this is the first session, tell them how they arrived here.
Situation Summary. Summarize for the players the situation they are in. Tell them where they are and what is going on around them.
Hooks/Next Steps. Let the players know what they were planning on doing, what they were in the process of accomplishing, or what hooks they have uncovered. The players may have multiple hooks -- remind them of all of them.
Stakes. Optionally: introduce an additional complication that puts a time pressure on the players. The end of the world is difficult and stresses the player characters' basic needs. Tell one or more players they have a need they must meet -- and quickly -- or else they will suffer some penalty (usually several points of stress.)
| 1d10 | Stakes |
|---|---|
| 1 | Your rations have waned and you're all starving. If you don't eat a large meal within the first hour of the session will take 2 stress every 30m until they do. |
| 2 | You can feel the stress from the apocalypse building. If you don't find a way to blow off steam in the first hour of the session, take 4 stress. |
| 3 | What started as a cut has now become a gnarly infection. You need medical supplies pronto. If you don't find medical supplies in the first hour of the session, take 1 stress. Until you receive medical attention, take 1 stress anytime you are hurt or wounded. |
| 4 | You feel like all you ever do is talk to yourself these days. You need to find someone new to talk to in the first hour of the session or you will take 2 stress. All personality rolls are hard until this situation is resolved. |
| 5 | Shelter |
| 6 | Your ammo has dried up. You need to find more ammo quickly |
| 7 | Loneliness |
| 8 | Physical Contact |
| 9 | Warmth |
| 10 | Roll twice |
Prepping for your session
- Local Map
- Location Map(s)
- Player Characters
- NPCs
- Encounter Tables