Defender Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 So I'm at my favorite RPG store on Earth, the Sentry Box in Calgary Alberta, sifting through the new release shelf when my eyes stumble upon an eye catching image. A figure cut from the Adventure! mold, twin .45s a-blazing, menaced by a looming, skeletal figure rising up from behind him. The styling of the title was all too familiar, the same kind of large lettering in bold red and orange as Adventure! The title? Pulp Zombies. Waitaminute, did they say Pulp -Zombies-?! Turns out they did. Pulp Zombies is a supplement for Eden Studios's survival horror zombie RPG entitled All Flesh Must Be Eaten. It takes a unifying concept--zombies--and tackles the idea from varying angles. Intrigued, I picked up a copy and read it cover to cover in one night. Written by Jeff Tidball (with some additional material by James Lowder), the book begins with some killer (literally) opening fiction by Lowder. The Night Chicago Died is easily one of my favorite pulp fiction tales, and the story alone is worth the price of admission. Chapter One: Setting the Stage explains what the book is about, a setting resource for AFMBE set during the tumultous years between 1929-1945. Taken up mostly by Lowder's opening fiction, it's a brief setup for the book. From there we launch into: Chapter Two: Pulpy Flesh, which gives you background on the world of Pulp Zombies overall, and notes on how to make a character for this sort of game. The chapter consists of an overview of the Pulp Era, notes on gadgets and mental powers (sounding a tad familiar? Considering one of the character classes for AFMBE is Inspired, my eyebrows certainly raised a bit. . .), and six illustrated character archetpyes to begin your Pulp Era chronicles with. Chapter Three: The Hollow Earth is the first of three campaign worlds designed for the game. One of the great things about AFMBE is that if you don't like a particular metaplot, they've got at least 5 or 6 more for you to choose from. This adventure unleashes an entire underworld civilization of zombies upon an unsuspecting humanity after millenia of imprisonment. . .and they crave human flesh! Chapter Four: Zombies, Inc. details a setting where a twisted criminal mastermind--who seems more than a little familiar--controls an army of undead followers in a bid to carry out a nefarious global plot. Who can stop him? Who indeed. . . Chapter Five: They Want Our Women! tells the story of Martians who. . .well, you get the idea from the title. B-Movie Cheese abounds. ::tongue Chapter Six: Scattered Pulp includes five more story/campaign ideas presented in broad outlines for an ingenious Zombie Master (their term for an ST, heh) to either provide background for a game world or for one shot adventures. The Appendix details Pulp Era firearms, some tables, a bibliography of potential resources, and suggestions for those who want to track down actual pulp magazines and get ideas straight from the source. Overall, Pulp Zombies is a neat book that has fun with itself. I particularly love the two cardinal rules of the setting: The Golden Rule of Pulp Zombies: Too Much Is Never Enough. The Zombie Master's Credo: Bring On the Cheese! It's clear Tidball had some fun with the writing, and the art ranges from decent to kick-ass. If you're looking for a means to create those Zombie Death Slaves hinted at in the Adventure teaser, Pulp Zombies might be for you. You do need to have the Core Rulebook of All Flesh Must Be Eaten to play the game though, but conversion should be fairly easy for an imaginative ST. On a scale of 1 to 10, Pulp Zombies rates an 8. -Defender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slagheap Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Sounds tasty. The marbles in my head are rolling all over the place with images of one-man-army Daredevils wading through armies of the undead. ::bigsmile -Slag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 Hehe. My thoughts exactly. . .I have visions of Pildriving stalwarts with baseball bats knocking zombie heads clean out of the park. ::devil ::blink I really need to cut back on the Jolt Cola. . . ::blush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 What's the system like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 All Flesh Must Be Eaten uses ten, eight, six, and four sided dice. The system is pretty easy to learn. You have a difficulty to beat, roll the appropriate die, add your skill bonus and if you meet the goal you succed, with higher scores meaning a higher success score and added effect. The magic system is one based more around faith in a higher power, which can grant anything from hazy visions of future events to calling down the flame of Heaven to smite the baddies. The system is surprisingly easy to learn and the rules are carefully explained. If you're curious about All Flesh Must Be Eaten, feel free to check out the game's site at : http://www.allflesh.com/ And remember:. . .brraaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnssss. . . ::crazy -Defender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Cool. ::thumbsup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Defender Posted March 6, 2003 Author Share Posted March 6, 2003 Very cool. Glacial in fact. ::cool ::bigsmile -Def. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloe Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Sounds great! Thanks! ::crazy Brains! ::crazy Chloe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slagheap Posted March 7, 2003 Share Posted March 7, 2003 ooh ooh my turn!BRRAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNS!-Slag ::hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayre el KaBeer Posted October 31, 2003 Share Posted October 31, 2003 I forgot about this thread...I bought All Flesh Must Be Eaten and Pulp Zombie about a month ago, these books are great, full of life (err... unlife), humerous and above all else smart. If you've been looking for something new/different to get give AFMBE a look. This has been a paid presentation by eden studios... yeah I wish paid! ::tongue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcat82 Posted November 1, 2003 Share Posted November 1, 2003 *Raizes arms and start to walk agains my family*Arms, Arms.... ::biggrin ::biggrin ::biggrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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