Zombie Games Are Almost Never About Zombies

While I was writing a recent article, The Zerg Rush (An Underused Combat Encounter), I started thinking about zombie games. Because whether you're running an All Flesh Must Be Eaten game, a Dark Horizons campaign, or something else that involves hordes of the walking dead, it's important to remember a truism of the genre.

Namely that the best zombie stories are never really about zombies.

So... existential dread and the death of human community? That's way worse than zombies...

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Zombies Are The Means, Not The End

From Night of The Living Dead, all the way up to The Last of Us, zombies have become a staple of the horror genre. They fill movies, TV shows, comic books, and of course tabletop RPGs. They're some of the most standard enemies you can face in most fantasy modules, and even some sci fi ones, and there are entire games dedicated to zombie apocalypse style setups.

In these stories, the zombies are the means (or one of the means) you use to tell the story in question... but in the really good stories, the zombies are never the end your players are striving for.

We are the mirror you hold up to show society, and one's own humanity.

Let me take an example from popular fiction to explain what I mean, here. The book World War Z: An Oral History of The Zombie War is a collection of interviews and accounts with people who lived through this horrifying conflict, and it immerses the reader in this fictional time and place. It tells us the stories of civilians who hid out in the wilds, of politicians who tried to respond to the crisis, of soldiers on the front lines, and of people who were just average, working stiffs who were just trying to rebuild their communities in this horrifying new world. It's a fantastic read, and well worth all the praise it receives. The film based on the book, though, is a generic action movie that gives us a single perspective of a single character who ends up being the doctor that finds how to beat the virus, and to save the world by removing the zombies entirely.

Do you see the difference between these two things?

As an alternative example, take my All Flesh experience that I talked about in The Best Zombie Game I Ever Played (Where Nothing Happened). To recap, the game was set in Northwest Indiana, and our characters were all perfectly normal people caught up in a zombie outbreak. The goal of this single session was for us to get to an extraction point, and escape the infested region. The purpose of the storyline, though, was for characters who didn't know each other to develop connections, to learn to work together, and to pool their abilities to overcome threats while developing a bond together. You could have replaced the zombies with an army of aggressive black bears, an outbreak of any other disease, or even a natural disaster like a flood or a massive fire, and the story still would have had those elements front and center.

The zombies were not the point of the game, they were merely the factor that facilitated the characters' needing to come together to save themselves. This is, I would argue, the way zombies are supposed to be used. Because they are dangerous, yes, but they shouldn't be just a monster. Not only that, but opposing them, defeating them, eradicating them, shouldn't really be the point of the game.

So before you run a zombie game, ask what the purpose of the zombies are and what are you going to use them for?

Are your zombies the factor that led to certain world changes, leading to crumbling societies so there are now warring tribes of people trying to scrounge for resources? Are they a representation of empty consumerism, showing that to overcome them people have to move beyond selfishness, and to embrace a community in order to survive? Are they representative of how you can lose loved ones to cult mentality, or how hard it is to let go of people who've become toxic and don't want to get better, showing people who have to fight against those they once held dear? Are the zombies being exploited for gain by some powerful faction, showing how those with a vicious mindset will do anything, no matter how terrible, if it means maintaining power?

In most of these cases, the zombies could be replaced with a slew of other things, and the stories would still be poignant, and the games would still have challenges to overcome, while dripping with drama. The story isn't, at its core, about just caving in skulls and running over shambling corpses that have been reanimated into a shuffling, groaning parody of life.

I mean, you should have those things, but that shouldn't be as deep as it goes, or things are going to get really repetitive really fast!

Resources For Your Zombie Games

It's tough running a good zombie game. If you need some help with the heavy lifting, might I suggest checking out some of the following supplements to give yourself a couple of handy cheat sheets?

- 100 Descriptions For Modern Zombies

- 100 Descriptions For Modern Zombies II (all good zombie products need sequels)

- 100 Transmissions To Hear During The Zombie Apocalypse

- 100 Sights To See During The Zombie Apocalypse

- 100 Improvised Weapons To Find During The Zombie Apocalypse

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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Rumble channel The Literary Mercenary! Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my hardboiled gangland noir series starring a bruiser of a Maine Coon with Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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That One Time a DM Gave My Table a Bait-and-Switch on a Zombie Game

I've been at my share of tables, and I've heard some great pitches for games over my life as a player. There was one particular incident, though, where the DM's pitch to my group was just a little too perfect. A little too practiced. Like he was baiting a hook, and just waiting for us to bite before he jerked on the hook and started trying to reel us in.

What We Were Promised

To set the scene, my group had been playing Dungeons and Dragons for a while. We'd had a couple of promising campaigns just fizzle out on us, and we were all looking for a change of pace to re-ignite our spark. After talking among ourselves, we decided we wanted to try something we hadn't done before; a horror game, of some variety. That was when one of the group (the DM whose campaigns had largely fizzled, which should have been the first red flag) piped up and said he could run us through a zombie survival game.

I've got an idea that I think will be great!

Now that got our attention. We were a little leery at first, but every time we brought something up, he nodded and said that sounded like something he could totally do. A game that focused on challenge and survival, instead of being about some save-the-world plot? Sure, no problem. A game set in an urban environment? That shouldn't be an issue. A game where combat would be something we should try to avoid, and where smart decisions would be more likely to see us through? Absolutely, no problem. Lastly, we specifically said we wanted something akin to the setup of All Flesh Must Be Eaten, where we'd be in a setting reminiscent of something like Night of The Living Dead or The Walking Dead (this was around the time the original comic was being praised to high heaven, and long before the series came out).

He said he could do it in D20 Modern, and that was a compromise we were all to happy to make.

What We Were Given

Honestly, we were pretty excited at this point. We took a week or so putting together an eclectic cast that included a sociopathic anarchist, an auto mechanic with some severe mental disabilities, and a homeless woman who suffered from paranoia and mild schizophrenia. We were pretty interested to see how they could work together, and even if they could work together once the dead started walking.

And at first, things were pretty solid. We were all in our respective homes or workplaces, and things started going wrong. There were sirens across the city, fires were starting, and gunshots. Then through a confluence of events, our three protagonists find themselves on the street where they come face-to-face with their first zombie hoard.

Thinking quickly, the sociopath convinced the auto mechanic to help him hot-wire a police van. They get it ready to roll, and weigh down the gas with a brick, sending it down the street as a distraction. The van plowed into the crowd of the walking dead, buying the three of them time to make good their escape down a side alley. They get enough distance to breathe a bit, make their introductions, and to all agree that they saw the same thing.

And that was when the first big red flag showed up.

She looked sort of like this.

From around the corner a woman stepped out, gun leveled at the party. She saw what they did, and after checking to be sure they were all still human, told them to get to the local precinct where they could hole up. When they get there, they're to tell the sergeant on duty that Jill Valentine sent them.

Surprise, You're in Raccoon City!

We are not a big video game crew, but even we recognized the reference. We all looked at each other, just to make sure we heard it right, but we silently agreed to let it slide. Maybe it was just a reference, or an homage, and we couldn't really blame the DM for putting in a little Easter egg or two.

Unfortunately, we quickly realized that we were not playing a zombie survival game that happened to have a clever Resident Evil reference or two in it. We were just in a straight-up Resident Evil game.

We knew this because about ten minutes after Jill ran off into the city, we were treated to a cinematic of a creature that looked remarkably like Nemesis stomping off in another direction, roaring and firing off a massive cannon. On the other hand, it was going in the other direction, so we figured maybe the game could be salvaged. After all, a story about all the people who aren't main characters in the franchise trying to hole up, help other residents, sneak around, etc. at least had the potential to be the kind of game we talked about in the pitch meeting.

That was not, of course, what we got.

Jesus Christ, initiative AGAIN!?

What we got was a balls-out, run-and-gun, monster-filled rendition of a video game, retold in tabletop format. By the end of the first session we had fought lickers, dozens of zombies, whatever those mutant dog creatures were, and had at least one run in with the Nemesis creature. We'd been armed with rocket launchers and grenades, Semtex, detonators, machine guns, body armor, and a rifle that shot lightning. We had met precisely zero other humans who weren't named characters from the video game, despite being in a massive city where this outbreak supposedly happened a few hours ago. There was no attention given to stealth, social skills, etc. It was a game entirely based on kicking in doors, hucking explosives, and machine gunning monsters.

Exactly the sort of game we had said we didn't want at the outset. And having all of it wrapped up in the licensed property of an action game with monsters in it rather than an actual horror game with atmosphere and subtlety just added insult to injury. It was the only session of that campaign we played.

DMs, Listen To Your Players

This is not the only time I had something like this happen to me, but it is the most memorable. In some instances it was because the DM figured that they could do whatever they wanted because no one else was willing to sit in the chair, and people would rather play a bad game than no game. Other times they figured that players would be so hooked on this new game that they wouldn't care it was nothing like the game they were originally pitched.

In all of these circumstances, it never worked.

If you're a DM, and you pitch a game to your players, be honest with them. That first pitch session is establishing a social contract with your players. If you break it by promising them one thing and then giving them something else, they aren't going to trust you. And nine times out of ten, they're going to walk away from your table.

Because it doesn't matter how delicious the pizza you served them is. They ordered ice cream, and ice cream is what you promised to deliver.

Next Time on Table Talk!

With so many games paused thanks to the pandemic, my Runelords tales are on-hold for the time being. But hopefully I can keep sharing a few amusing asides like this week's tale until we can finish out the last of that campaign. So stay tuned, and I'll see you next time on Table Talk!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

The Best Zombie Game I Ever Played (Where Nothing Happened)

Thanks to the holiday happenings, my gaming schedule has been all up in the air recently. Because of that, one of the fellows at my table volunteered to run us through a kind of introductory one-shot for a game I've often admired, but never actually gotten to play... All Flesh Must Be Eaten!

Because zombies never really go away, do they?

The experience I had with this system was fast, fun, engaging, and in this case enough to make me plan to add more of it to my future gaming schedule. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Small Town Evacuation

The game opens in a lowercase "c" Midwestern city; the sort of place that's not quite big enough to be a suburb of a place like New York or Chicago, but which still has a sizable population. The zombies have been steadily growing, but worse than the walking dead are all the other accidents and breakdowns that have been straining the local government at the seams. Keeping people safe is important, but so is providing medical care, finding food, putting out fires, and evacuating the living so the military can come handle the undead infestation.

Which is, of course, when things go awry.

The protagonists seated round the table have become part of the local safe zone established by a task force of national guard, police, and relief workers. A former furniture outlet, the fencing keeps the undead at bay... or has for the past week or so. One of the residents, a Samoan dancer and occasional biker named Leilani has been trying to figure out her next move in this situation. A recent friend she's made is a huge man named Otis, who fixed cars before this all went down, but who is a little lost without his medications and his strict schedule. Lastly, Richard Freeman, an African American firefighter who's been pulling doubles ever since this mess started to prevent his city from burning down.

It's just as one of the engines are dropping off supplies when the unthinkable happens... the fences come down, and the living dead start shambling into the compound!

While the hoses get turned on the horde to slow them down, and small arms fire cuts into the walking corpses, everyone else gets pushed out the rear exit. The area behind the outlet is still clear, and people are scattering. Some of them just run, terrified now that their safety net is gone. Others are trying to figure out where to go, but seem too afraid to stop moving. These three find themselves clustered around a table with maps, and where a radio is broadcasting a public service message.

Residents must get out of the city in the next 24 hours. At that point the armed forces will arrive, and they will begin exterminating the threat. For their own safety, residents need to follow the approved routes to an extraction point. The three of them look at each other, look at the maps, and that's when Richard says, "All right... we'd better hoof our asses over to the hospital."

The Easy Way, or The Hard Way?

Looking at the maps, Otis frowns, nodding to himself as he traces a route with his finger. "This goes right by where I work," he said. "There might be a car there we could borrow?"

With the ruckus going on in the building getting louder, Richard nods, and Otis leads the way down a side street just as the pounding on the doors starts to reverberate. By the time the zombies make it out into the rear of the former warehouse, though, their quarry is several blocks away, out of sight, and hustling along as quietly as they can.

Those weren't there when I left...

They found the auto garage where Otis works (or worked, it's hard to tell) in fairly short order. Tucked off the main roads, the place only has two bays, and a small lot of cars that need to be repaired, as well as a few repo tows. The front door's glass has been smashed in, but Otis unlocked the door with his key, and they stepped inside.

The first thing they smelled was blood. Stepping carefully around the desk, they found the manager on the floor, a gun in his hand, and a hole in his head. Trying to shield Otis from the sight, Richard checked the pistol, then handed it to Leilani when she said she knew how to use it. Otis stepped into the back office, a little shaken, but looking for keys. Sadly, it looked like all the readily drivable cars were gone, and only a few of the ones who needed repairs were still there.

They could get them working, but it would take time.

With the daylight fading, and everyone trying to get to the extraction zones, it wasn't worth the time to wait. The hospital was only a few miles from where they were, and if they cut through the smaller living area of town they could save some time. Even if it meant jumping a few fences.

Stop For Supplies?

While the cadre ducked down side streets that didn't have a lot of traffic, keeping their eyes on windows, and making sure their profiles were small, they opted to duck through a small strip mall. There was a pawn shop and sporting goods store on one end, and a drugstore at the other. With the daylight fading, they had some choices to make.

Well, at least looters aren't gonna eat you.

The drug store was open, the power out. After a quick listen, and a fast check to be sure there weren't any trigger-happy shoppers or shambling horrors, Leilani and Richard split up and snatched the things they were likely going to need; medicine, batteries, bandages, some hand tools, some dense packs of protein bars, water, and a few hefty backpacks to carry them all in. Otis offered to help carry, but he grabbed a couple of comic books for when he got somewhere safe again.

The shopping trip done, they were passing the sporting goods store when they heard the siren's song of weapons. Baseball bats, helmets, reinforced gloves, rifles, handguns... all of it was right there. Provided they could get inside, of course. Richard was looking for the place to kick, when the light inside caught his eye; the emergency power was on. A backup generator meant that the alarm would go as soon as the door got smashed in, or any damage occurred to the wired windows. Leilani took a turn all the same, trying to persuade the locks to open. She had no dice, though, and when something around the corner bumped into a trash can, they didn't stick around to see what was sneaking up their back trail. They were only three quarters of a mile from the hospital, and if they got a move on they might be able to get out of town sooner rather than later.

It's Quiet... A Little TOO Quiet...

Guys... you think that sign's for us?

 As they approached the hospital, the sun was just dipping below the horizon. Up on the roof they could see a helicopter coming in for a landing, the blades just starting to slow. Down on the ground there were half a dozen squad cars with their bubble lights going... but no cops in sight. Not a one. Leaning into a car, Richard checked the radio. Nothing. No one answered signals, and nothing appeared to be going out. Popping the trunk, he found a riot vest, a shotgun, and a brace of shells. Taking a moment to slip into the kevlar, Leilani did a quick circle of the perimeter... all was quiet outside, and nothing was moving inside. As far as she could see, anyway.

Opting to go in through the side entrance for the ER, they found the doors juttering, and the floors covered in blood. Puddles of it were dark and stagnant in the waiting room, but sodden streaks went down the hallways. Quietly checking the directory map with a penlight, Richard traced the route they needed to take to get to the stairwell. It should go straight up to the roof, right to the whirlybird, which was where they needed to be.

So they ran.

They were about halfway down the hallway when the zombies who'd been just out of sight in the nurses' station heard them, and started to give chase. As their pounding footfalls rounded the corner, other heads began to lean into the corridor. EMTs and police officers, teenagers and soccer moms, all turned by the hungry dead came after them with the snuffling, shuffling, hungry snarls of monsters from a nightmare.

They made the stairwell half a hall ahead of the horde, and Richard paused just long enough to chock the door with an ax blade before they started up the stairs. The zombies managed to break through, but it bought the cadre enough time to get a few floors head start. While there were other snarls and grunts coming from the other hallways through the open emergency doors, they were far away, and not a problem at the moment. Panting, Otis hit the rooftop door hard, the three of them bounding out into the night. The chopper pilot, halfway through a smoke, jumped when he saw them.

"Get us in the air!" Richard bellowed at him. Before the door had time to close, Richard and Otis both grabbed a heavy equipment rack, straining with their backs and shoulders. It rocked, then toppled, hundreds of pounds ramming against the door. The zombies were pushing and scrabbling, but before they could get the door open more than an inch the three survivors were into the chopper, and heading out into the night sky.

Not A Single Combat Roll (Which Suited Us Fine)

While I've heard a lot of stories about All Flesh games that were high-octane runs through blasted cityscapes, or last stands against armies of enemies as parties of diehard survivors fight for their lives, this particular game did something very special for me as a player... it rewarded the smart choices of the group.

Ah ha... I see what you did there. Very well.

The fellow running this game went through all of our choices, and pulled back the curtain on what would have happened had we done things differently. Firstly, by sticking around the starting area to grab maps and listen to the broadcast, we figured out where we needed to go, and how we needed to get there. And we booked it fast enough to avoid a combat. Then, when we went to the garage, we didn't waste time going into the back lot, or digging around in the bays, where we might have run into additional dangers. When we hit the strip mall we kept things fast and quiet, and we didn't smash open any windows, or trigger any alarms that would have quickly summoned a few squads of curious zombies wondering what all the racket was. We chose not to go right into the main lobby of the hospital (more of a lucky choice than anything else), and instead of crawling through the bloody hallways we just went for the goal before the enemy could shake themselves up to react.

At first he was apologetic that he hadn't just forced encounters, but we'd made all the smart moves, and he didn't want to punish us for sidestepping the threats in what was supposed to be a survival game. However, as I said at the time, I felt far more accomplished for outsmarting the challenges and getting to the destination in one piece than I ever would have felt for just fighting my way through a huge pack of zombies just because.

I might be unique in that, but it's something I wish more DMs would keep in mind; if your party is making the smart moves, don't punish them for it... just keep things tense with skill checks and atmosphere, and let them see just how far they can push their luck!

Next Time on Table Talk!

This week we had a bit of a break, but next time we should be back to the Sandpoint Companions, and their adventures in the Runeforge! So, make sure you come back for the next installment of Table Talk!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.

5 Horror Board Games You Should Have on Your Shelf

As much as I love RPGs, sometimes I just don't have the energy for a full dungeon delve or battle with the outer madness from beyond the stars. But I still want the opportunity for a fun game I can play with a few friends that can lead to some memorable experiences. Last month I wrote a post titled 5 Fantasy-Themed Board Games You Should Have On-Hand (For When Players Don't Show), and I thought I'd follow it up by talking about some scarier games this month.

Because I'm an avid fan of spooky things in general, and these are some games I always enjoy playing.

#1: Betrayal at House on The Hill

You knew this one was coming.

I fell in love with this game the first time I played it (that story is in the entry So I'm Related to an Ax Murderer for those who are interested in reading it), and no matter how many times I've played this game I've never had the same experience twice.

The short version, for folks who've never played, is that your little party are going up to the creepy old house on the hill to poke around. Mediums and curious kids, college athletes and old priests, the layout of your party changes almost as often as the floor plan of the house itself. Once you enter, you need to look for items while avoiding dangerous happenings. When the omens are right, though, the haunt begins! Will it be a ghostly murderer, an ancient hag, an angry beast from the bowels of the earth, or a werewolf on the rampage? All of these, and more, are options depending on what room you're in when the final omen reveals itself.

While the original Betrayal at House on The Hill is great, I recommend grabbing it and the sequel Widow's Walk at the same time in order to maximize your options. While I haven't had the spare dosh to get my hands on a copy of Betrayal Legacy yet, I am very interested in seeing what it brings to the table.

And, of course, Betrayal at Baldur's Gate allows you to get all Dungeons and Dragons on this game, for those who still want at least a fantasy setting with their horrific monsters.

#2: Zombies!!!

Seriously gross, and seriously fun!

The first time I ever played Zombies!!! was when two players didn't show up for a game night, so we set aside the campaign and brought out this little piece of zombie survival goodness. The idea is simple; you're all in a town that's been overrun by zombies, and you need to get to the helipad in order to escape. In addition to being filled with the walking dead, though, the town is just packed with weapons, health kits, and even extra ammo to help you keep whacking zombie skulls while you stay on the move.

While the basic version of the game gives you a full town, and several modes of play (competitive, cooperative, etc.), I'd really recommend shelling out for the full package with all the extras if you like the game. You don't need everything in The Ultimate Collector's Box, but with super soldiers, zombie clowns, zombie dogs, a mall, a university, and army base, and dozens of other areas of play and optional rules, it really does give you everything you could ask for.

Except a bigger table to hold it all, that is.

#3: Arkham Horror

Mmm... now with 350% more cultists!

I love H.P. Lovecraft's work, problematic as many of the old pulp stories are, and I particularly enjoy games that draw on the Cthulhu mythos. And while I don't personally own a copy of Arkham Horror, one of the best ways to get me to sit down in the game room at a convention is to offer me a seat for playing a round of this game.

A branching path game where you can assemble your team of investigators to try to stop the strange cults, aberrant monsters, and awakening gods of the mythos, this one is always an absolute ball. Even when everyone dies, goes mad, or both in no particular order, it's still a good time had by the table.

#4: Coma Ward

Now we're getting serious.

I remember seeing a video for Coma Ward when it was first coming out, and it immediately hooked me. Because while I love horror-themed RPGs, they can be a little intensive in terms of time and effort over the long-term. But a board game where you all wake up in a coma ward with no memory of who you are, and have to piece it together while dealing with horrific hallucinations and other threats to your body and sanity that will only last a few hours can keep the screws nice and tightened.

I will say that this one runs the risk of getting silly and campy if folks aren't invested, and playing it straight may not be to everyone's taste. Still, if you like the sort of stuff that makes your skin taut and your hair stick up at the back of your neck, this one can be a lot of fun.

#5: The Last Friday

And last, but not least...

I have a thing for slashers. And for those of you who care about such things, I'm a die hard Jason Voorhees fan (I wear a hockey mask ring when I'm out and about, just so other horror fans know). So, while this game is a blatant, Sam's Club Brand Horror version of Crystal Lake, that doesn't bother me in the slightest.

If anything, it enhances the amusement factor.

The Last Friday is a pretty simple game. One player takes on the role of the musclebound maniac trying to kill everyone, and the rest of the table are the camp counselors scrambling to stop him. As their friends die, though, the counselors dig deep, and become hunters, banding together to put a stop to the slasher once and for all... or to die trying!

And, if you're curious, there's a sequel game, too. Last Friday: Return to Camp Apache deals with a new horror being unleashed... a demon that tortures and slaughters people in their dreams. And while the illustration on the cover looks more like Wolverine than everyone's favorite burned-up child killer, every horror fan out there couldn't help but see the colossal wink that comes with this one.

Bonuses!

Well, you've had your five recommendation, but wait, there's a couple of bonuses for you! If you're a fan of both cheesy B horror films, and you like digging through resale shops looking for out-of-print games, then you should keep an eye out for Grave Robbers From Outer Space! I wrote a longer article about it subtitled The Best Card Game You'll Never Play for The Dead Walk a little while ago, and serious horror game enthusiasts should definitely keep an eye out for a copy while they're on the prowl.

Also, if you're a fan of all things horror (in addition to gaming in general), then you might want to take a look at some of the articles up on my Horror archive. It's small for now, but it won't stay that way for long!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday! Do you have a recommended game I missed? If so, leave it in the comments below!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

Need Cheap Minis? SCS Direct Has You Covered!

If you're a dungeon master, then you know exactly how expensive miniatures can get. While there's nothing wrong with using tokens or cardboard minis (the sort you could download from Paper Forge, for example), there is something a little more real about using three-dimensional miniatures for your beasties. Especially if you want to assemble a small army of zombies at one end of the table, or you want to make it abundantly clear that the entire deck of the opposing ship is swarming with pirates.

Buying that many miniatures isn't cheap, though... unless you hit up SCS Direct, that is.

Roll initiative.

What Is SCS Direct?

You know how everyone always tells you to shop for minis on the Internet, because that's where you find good deals? Well, SCS Direct is one of those digital storefronts I found on Amazon that has all kinds of awesome minis. Not only that, but it offers you packs of them for less than $20!

A brief sample of the minis packs I found include:

- 100 Fantasy Creatures (with wizards, two-headed ogres, unicorns, dragons, and other sundries)

- 100 Zombies (with traditional zombies, zombie pets, graveyard terrain, and other undead things)

- 100 Glow-In-The-Dark Zombies (same as above, but in green, and glowing in the dark)

- Humans VS Aliens (an equal assortment of civilians, and Cthonian horrors ideal for aberrations)

- 52 Robots (a slew of mechanical monsters, ready to populate a sci-game game or tinker's dungeon)

No matter what kind of game you're playing, these minis are something most DMs can afford, and even better they're made from durable plastic. You won't have to worry about fragile parts breaking off every time you move a mini, and they're distinct enough that there's no worrying about separating the monsters from the heroes. A major advantage if you like to run hoard battle scenarios.

If you like more detailed minis then you might be a bit happier with the offerings in the Arena of The Planeswalker game produced by Wizards of the Coast, especially if you can find it and its additional packs like Battle For Zendikar or Shadows Over Innistrad at a fairly cheap price. But if you need bad guys to beef up your map, then the big buckets of goons might be just what the doctor ordered for your next campaign!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday post! If you've got a hot tip for getting cheap minis (or other bargain supplies for gaming) leave them in the comments below! If you'd like to see more of my work, head over to my Vocal archive, or just click my Gamers page to see only my tabletop articles. You should also consider heading over to the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio, where I work with other talented gamers making videos for players and DMs alike!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. If you'd like to support me, you could either Buy Me A Ko-Fi, go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron, or check in at My Amazon Author Page where you can buy my books... like a copy of my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife!

The Undead Feats Are Now Available From TPK's "Feats of Legend" Series!

I mentioned awhile back that I was working on the Feats of Legend series with TPK Games. The first one to bear my name is The Infernal Feats, and is already out like I mentioned a few weeks ago. However, the next one in the series has been released, and it's one that players and DMs alike will have a ball with.

What is it? The Undead Feats, of course.

You were expecting something less necrotic?

What's In The Book?

The latest installment in the Feats of Legend series has 22 feats, brought to you by myself, Brian Berg, and by Simon Peter Munoz (who runs the Creative Repository Blog, which you should check out if you haven't already). These feats are for characters who are undead, who hunt undead, or for characters who have access to the undead bloodline.

What do they do? Well, there are 22 feats, so there's a lot of nasty tricks in this book. You'll find feats that let you poison undead, feats that increase your knowledge of undead, and feats that allow you to hide from undead. You'll also find feats that increase undead creatures' natural armor, feats that allow the undead to gain fast healing whenever they kill a living foe, and even feats that allow the undead to resist their greatest bane; positive energy!

If you want to throw your players a curve ball, or if you're a player who wants to really make the most of your character's undead heritage, The Undead Feats is definitely a book you should have on your shelf.

As always, thanks for stopping by! If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my updates, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. If you'd like to help support my blog, then please stop by my Patreon page to become a patron today! Even as little as $1 a month can make a big difference.

All The Zombies You Could Ever Want, With Zombiepalooza Radio!

Do you like zombies? I don't mean in the, "sure, The Walking Dead is a pretty good show," kind of way. I'm talking about the kind of breathless enthusiasm that makes you keep a walker-chopper in your bedroom, which has led you to memorize big swaths of The Zombie Survival Guide, and which makes, "Would you like to hear about my zombie apocalypse plan?" an appropriate first-date question. If you have the kind of love that bites, then you really need Zombiepalooza Radio in your life.

Or whatever your reasonable facsimile of life happens to be...

What is Zombiepalooza Radio?

Zombiepalooza Radio is a podcast that goes live from 8 pm. until 1 a.m.Eastern Standard Time on Friday nights right here. The show talks about zombies, zombie apocalypse scenarios, books, movies, and anything involving both the ZomPoc sub-genre as well as the bigger horror umbrella under which all things dark and terrible make their homes. The show features authors, filmmakers, critics, industry insiders, and news about what's going on in horror that you might want to know about.

So what the hell are you waiting for, the dead to come banging on your door? Listen to Zombiepalooza Radio on their Youtube page, and Like them on Facebook today!

Thanks for stopping in on this very late Monday update, and if you want to support Improved Initiative then stop by The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page today! If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my updates then you can follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and yes, even on Twitter.

The History Behind Your Favorite Monsters

Fantasy roleplaying games pull a lot of their monster rosters from world mythology. Whether it's giants or kobolds, goblins or gargoyles, these games have been using myth and legend as free idea buckets for decades now. As a result players have actually come face to face with fragments of cultures ranging from Europe and Africa to the furthest corners of the Asian continent without even knowing it.

This week on Moon Pope Monday we're pulling back the glossy curtain, and showing you just where some of your favorite creatures come from and how they've become what they are today. Now, in no particular order, let's start with...

Ogres

Pictured: A Re-Enactment

Ogres populate a huge variety of fairy tales, and they have the unique ability to make an entire party's collective asshole pucker. Strong, vicious, and usually pretty stupid, ogres are actually the direct result of a linguistic translation rather than a particular myth or legend.

The word ogre seems to come from the Italian word uerco, or orco. It was originally used to refer to demons in a translation of the 1,001 Arabian Nights from Arabic to Italian. There were a lot of steps along the way, but this translation eventually led to the term ogre being applied to specific people-eating giants in fairy tales. For a more complete history of the term, check out this article.

Speaking of demons...

The Difference Between Devils and Daemons

One of these things is not like the other...

Dungeons and Dragons was the first game I ever played that made it clear demons and devils were very different kettles of fish. In game terms one was lawful, the other chaotic, but both were found outside of reality in places of pain, suffering and torment. So, a lot of imagery from the big 3 Abrahamic faiths.

What I didn't know was there actually is a difference between devils and daemons.

The word daemon (spelled with the a) refers to a creature that is between man and god in old Greek. Hercules, and all of his half-god kin, were daemons. Devils in this case referred to genuine divine beings who had no blood of humanity in them at all. For more on this unique bit of language, read this article here.

The Ifrit

Fire It Up!

While they're now a player race in Pathfinder, Ifrit are bad, bad news if you're on their shit lists. Fire elements and djinn, we know them as desert spirits that are resistant or immune to fire, that come with a slew of spell-like abilities, and who can cut a party to slivers before they're really sure what's happening.

This isn't too far from the source material, actually.

The Ifrit, and their many alternative spellings, are taking from a combination of the Koran and Arabic mythology. Powerful spirits of fire created by God before man, these beings of fire are nearly immortal, possess great speed and strength, and are immune to weapons that are not magical or holy. Bad news for parties who can be stymied by damage reduction. Perhaps the most famous of the Ifrit is the one who fell the hardest, called Iblis or Shaitain in the Koran. More on him here. For more general information on the Ifrit as a people, check out this article.

The Succubus and the Incubus

50 Shades of Will Saves

Sex always finds its way into a roleplaying game. Whether it's the bard seducing his way into the queen's castle, or a cavalier fighting for his lady's honor there's at least as much sex in fantasy games as there is in real life. Usually more. Most of the time it's glossed over, but there are two creatures who take this uncomfortable topic and fashion it into a barbed spear made of confused libido and frustrated arousal; the incubus and the succubus.

The incubus and the succubus come from old Jewish lore stretching back to Adam's first wife Lilith. Supposedly Lilith wanted to be equal to her husband, and when Adam denied her that, she fled. She refused to return, or to accept her place in God's kingdom, and so she became a creature who preyed on men in their sleep (more about Lilith may be found in this article). Using their seed she would give birth to monsters called the lilim (more on them here). The succubi followed in their mother's footsteps, seducing men in their dreams and stealing their seed to give birth to ghost babies. Incubi were even more terrifying, having sex with women as they slept and getting them pregnant with half-human, half-daemon spawn called cambions.

In case these creatures weren't already scary enough for you, read more about the incubus and the succubus here.

Trolls

This is the lowest CR we could find.

Considered ogres bigger, bridge-dwelling cousins, trolls have a long and storied history. Though their decadent descendants are busy getting belly jewelry and starting fights on the Internet, trolls go back to Scandinavian folklore. For those who are familiar with Norse mythology the two main contenders in the myth cycles were the gods and the giants; the former representing the divinity of man and the latter representing the primal earth. Some giants were trolls, and in this case trolls could be seen as lesser representations of the primal. Human heroes like Beowulf could fight trolls and win, and they were used often as villains or as neutral representations of earth in fairy tales.

For more information about trolls, check out the full article.

Elves

My elf eyes see three viable targets.

Elves have been a player race for most of the history of fantasy roleplaying, and that's largely due to their prominence in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The games that defined the genre drew heavily from LOTR, and they used a lot of the mythology present in those books. What a lot of folks don't know is that Tolkien was drawing on the works of the ancient skalds (more on them here), and that the elves we know are actually part of Norse mythology as well.

Light elves or dark, these willowy, impossibly skilled and nearly immortal forest and cave dwellers were knows as the Alfar (or the svartalfar for those who lived beneath the world). They were a lesser rank of divinity, and they answered to the god Frey and his sister Freya. At the last battle they stood with the gods against the giants and provided some heavy artillery.

So yeah... elves are not to be messed with. For more about the Alfar, check this article out.

The Zombie

The inclusion of the gunslinger was not a fluke.

The undead have been a huge part of roleplaying games for decades, and we can thank the success of the film Night of the Living Dead for the presence of the shambling, moaning corpses that we've had to mow down from level 1 to level 4. While this film might have been instrumental in making the walking dead part of pop culture, it draws on a much older tradition.

For those who don't know, zombies come from Voodoo. Voodoo is a religion practiced largely in Haiti, the Caribbean, and parts of the American south. More about that here. The zombie in this case is a human being who is fed a mind-altering substance, and then buried. The person is dug up and kept on a steady drip of chemicals, which makes the person subservient and thoughtless, ready to do anything commanded by the master. These soulless people felt no fear, no pain, and seemed to know nothing of their former selves were terrifying to behold. It wasn't until pulp horror and Hollywood got hold of the idea that zombies felt compelled to eat human flesh. We're still not sure what's up with that.

For more information about the zombie, check this page out.

The Ghoul

She's waiting till after the funeral.

Ghouls have gone through a lot of iterations, and in most roleplaying games they're seen as servants of vampires a la Renfield, of they're sub-human cannibals who feed on the dead after digging them up. The second one is pretty close to their original myth, but still no cigar.

Ghouls are a kind of djinn, and are seen as particularly heinous practitioners of magic and desecration. Often invisible, ghouls take pleasure in stealing offerings left for God, including the bodies of the dead. The word eventually made its way to England, where its primary definition was changed to a grave robber. Still no word on whether or not British ghouls were eating what they dug up.

For more about ghouls, click this link.

The Golem

You are sixteen kinds of screwed.

A spellcaster's worst nightmare, golems are creatures constructed from magic, alchemy, and a touch of insanity. While versions made with flesh and bone, wood, stone, mud, and a dozen varieties of metal have all been created over time, these mystical guardians actually come from the dust of Rabbinic lore.

According to Jewish tradition a powerful Rabbi can use the secret knowledge of the names of god to follow in his footsteps. The rabbi creates a man from clay, and then gives him life. The golem is bigger than mortal men, as well as stronger, tougher, and faster. These golems have no souls, and as a result tend to have no voice. The only way to destroy them is to eliminate the runes that bring them to life, or to somehow break the spell that makes them live. Historical legend has it that several golems were created to protect Jewish settlements, including one where this mud man killed Nazis for weeks until he was finally destroyed by his maker for becoming too bloodthirsty.

For more about golems and their history, click here.

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