ZOMBIE BLOOD FEST

Is a game system created for one off high casualty horror scenarios. It nods towards the Slasher genre without slaving the players into caricature or stereotype (although both are encouraged). There are no ‘stats’ only a couple of categories and a few skills, but little in the way of intrusive game mechanics. Characters have only mundane abilities and because of this players are encouraged to role-play the abilities they have as accurately as possible. Combat is brutal and one sided, if you get hit you go down and stay down until you discover the extent of your injury. Sadly this is not the case for the monsters. They get to do what ever they want!

In essence zombie blood fest is free form, with the rules put in place to ensure the players stay in genre and are considerably less likely to survive than the bad guys.

This is part of the game, so expect to be tooled and mangled. Plan your ironic last words now.

Your characters do not have any knowledge or understanding of the supernatural so role-play accordingly. Accepting the fact that werewolves are attacking you should be a sanity-shaking revelation. And don’t rely on your Hollywood anti monster tactics to be successful, on the whole they won’t.

In short prepare to die like a troop of cheerleaders on holiday at a remote lakeside resort and you won’t go far wrong (pom-poms withstanding).

Game Calls

There are certain conventions in LRP that tend to go without saying Bleeding Edge adheres to them. Because they can so often be taken for granted it is always worth a recap.

Time In – (Useable by refs. and any character ending a period of TIME FREEZE or TIME OUT). 

The game has started and you are in character, act accordingly.

Time Out – (Only useable by a ref.).

The game has been suspended; you are out of character and should not discuss in character matters. Unless it is the final TIME OUT at the end of the event a Ref will ask every one to return to the position they were in prior to the time out call before they call TIME IN again.

Time Freeze – (Useable by a Ref. or any character who has been specifically told they can use the call).

Freeze in position and close your eyes. The end of the effect will be indicated by a TIME IN call after which you should continue with the activity you were performing prior to the call. No time has passed for your character!

Man Down – (Useable by any one).

This call must only be used to indicate a real, out of game, injury. It is not to be used in character to indicate a character has been injured. If you hear the call every one immediately goes to TIME OUT. Seek a Ref. or qualified first-aider. If you are not involved in the incident please stay where you are and stay calm until advised by a Ref. what to do. Qualified first-aiders will be indicated prior to the start of the event by the refs.

Character generation

Classes - There are 6 different character classes, NCO, MEDIC, COMMS, SNIPER, HEAVY WEAPONS, and GRUNT. (See so very special below)

There can, and in fact must be, only be one N.C.O. and one Medic per squad and at least one Grunt but the other Two team members are variable.

Background – Your character background is your career (or it’s equivalent). Your character has all the skills and abilities that you consider appropriate to your background. Only mundane abilities are allowed.

If you want to do something then actually do it, or role-play it to the best of your ability. Success and failure are at the whim of the ref.

Anecdotes - Every character must have at least one anecdote about themselves. Ideally this will be revealed around a spooky campfire or whilst waiting to be eaten by an over powering super natural entity. The more disturbing the better, although amusing anecdotes are acceptable.

(Players will get to vote on the best anecdote at the end of the game; there may even be a prize!).

Feeling Edgy – Swords, axes and the like can be brought to the game and used, but you better have a good reason for anything bigger than a knife or wood axe or more sophisticated than a LARP SAFE baseball bat! (Talk to the ref, “‘cause the hand don’t even wanna’ know!”)

Bobbing for Bullets - Ammunition and munitions are limited because if it is not that scarce it will be expensive (The M.O.D. are paying for these don’t forget).

Every character can carry up to four guns (plus one special category potentially), and each weapon is counted as fully loaded. Plus two extra magazines worth for each! Although this is negotiable with the refs (i.e. sacrifice three weapons and you can take the gun with the snail magazine and have another snail magazine as well, but you might lose your special!)

So very special! - In addition to guns and edge weapons, each character gets 1 special weapon/ability: -

Heavy Weapon’s - (i.e. Explosives or rocket launcher or etc)

Sniper – Called shots over range are very useful “quad left knee, quad right knee, right forget about that one its on its last elbows!”

Grunt - Forget the clever stuff give me an extra two magazines of ammunition Total!

Medic - Now at first glance this does not look like a weapon but the more guns there are being held in the more hands, the more weapons there are around you to protect you. Get it?

COMMS - Consolidation of the effort applied is best achieved with communications. And who else is going to hack those pesky Lab Rats computers.

N.C.O. - Orificers do not get there fat’s bloody. That’s your job Sargent! I hope it’s worth it.

Getting Better/Worse

Whenever anyone is hit or suffers an attack they should fall over. They can choose whether to lie quietly unconscious or scream in pain (there is a lot to be said for each option!).

If a medic finds you the player will ask you to draw a card. The type of card you draw will determine the severity of the injury.

If you are moved before being treated you are considered PROPER FECKED regardless of the card you drew.

Only a medic (and one that has medic cards left at that) can make you better.

If a non-medic finds you they cannot make you better, but as long as they are with you and fussing over you (checking where you are hit, keeping you warm, applying pressure to wounds and all sorts of other good role play things) you will not die. If they leave you or try to move you will be considered PROPER FECKED and will not need to draw a card should a medic get to you.

If a ref finds you then you are dead. Only a ref can tell you, you are dead. They may decide that you are not dead but horribly mangled in some way, which is up to them!

Medic Cards

When you draw a card from the medic deck it has the following effects. Cards that have more than one effect (from the list below) apply the most serious one to the victim. The medic will describe the nature of your injury based upon the effects of the card and the type of damage you took. Once a card has been drawn it should be ripped up and discarded.

If you are damaged again then your injuries will be worse! Regardless of the next medic card you draw it will not be of lesser effect than the last injury. A night of sleep will negate this allowing you to be savaged afresh in the morning.

Red Cards – FLESH WOUND. You are not seriously injured. As long as the medic treats you and your bandages etc. stay on you can function normally.

Black Cards – MASHED. You have sustained serious injury. The medic will need to treat you for at least 10 minutes, but if they can do so you can continue to function. However after any strenuous activity (running fighting) you will need to rest for 10 minutes, if you are interrupted in this time, you have to draw another card from the medic deck.

Jacks – LUCKY BASTARD. You get off Scott free. Once the medic looks you over they discover you are completely unharmed.

Kings & Queens – PROPER FECKED. Something has been seriously damaged. As long as the medic can work on you for 30 minutes you will not die, but there will be some permanent (and serious) injury. You need attention every hour for 3 hours, then you can move around again. When you wake up after a night’s rest, you begin with a flesh wound that needs treating.

Aces – SAVED. A piece of your kit took the brunt of the damage, but was destroyed/mangled in the process. Find a ref!

DRUGGING UP - Medics can use painkillers as part of their treatment. If a medic uses ‘morphine’ the patient can function completely normally (although permanent injuries like the loss of a leg will have the expected effects). Any further injuries will be unaffected by the painkillers. Whilst under the effects of painkillers you are a bit zoned out. Characters can only be 'Drugged up' once every 3 hours, anything more than this and they will enter shock through overdosing.

ARMOURING UP – Characters in armor (or improvising armor) might avoid getting savaged. When a character dons armor the ref will give them a card.  The character may not look at this card. Once a character has been hit and they have drawn a card from the medic deck they may instead choose the card attached to the armor to determine the damage instead. This may or may not be a good thing, but once the choice is made it stands!

Laying the Smack Down

Guns – Guns do QUAD (all of them all the time). Government testing shows that this is the most pleasing damage call for use with firearms and only narrowly surpassed by SEVER as the favorite damage call in the world. It doesn’t actually do anything special though. If you’re using a big gun you can shout QUAD effectively at any one close enough to hear you. If your weapon is not quite so mighty you are limited to the distance you can throw an empty beer can (testing of this will take place on the day). Unless the attacker is close enough to indicate to the victim where they are shooting them the victim can choose which location they get hit in (common sense should prevail).

Pointy things – Pointy things to SLASH. As a general rule, assume that anyone attacking you in a mask will be saying SLASH even through you can’t make it out through the latex. Blood will start falling out of you at this point.

Non-pointy things – Clubs tables and chair to STUN. Usually a medic will consider any character hit by STUN to have suffered only a FLESH WOUND regardless of the medic card they draw, but don’t count on it!

Burning things – Things on fire do BURN. If you get hit by this run around for a bit before falling over (it should give some one the chance to put you out, hopefully).

Silver things – In the unlikely event that you are using such an unlikely weapon call SILVER.

Explosive things – Explosive things do one of the above to every one who can hear the call (it depends on the explosive thing as to how loud you shout).

These damage calls do not affect the drawing of cards from the medic deck, but do indicate how a character should react when attacked (and the sort of treatment a medic will give).

Other Combat Calls

Called shot - Only Snipers will be calling “Called Shot” at range, when you hear this call and the sniper is pointing his gun at you - fall over! You are considered DEAD, and should lay there bleeding lots. If it is close quarters from a non-sniper, draw a card!

Vaporize – a shotgun blast will vaporize your head at point blank range.

Suppressive fire - Heavy weapons operatives (or people on gun turrets) will be able to call SUPPRESSIVE FIRE, this lays down heavy fire in the area he is pointing. Anything standing in that area will have to hit the deck or become PROPER FECKED immediately. Anyone with a fully automatic weapon may also call a localized “suppressive fire” but at the cost of a whole magazines worth of ammunition.

In Summary!

Everything that has gone before in these rules only applies to the players.

The ref and monster crew can do whatever they like so don’t be surprised when they do.

Remember you are playing in a game where the chances are everyone is going to die.

It’s part of the fun.

And now for an apology: To the people (bleeding edge/howl) or person ( Alix Hill ? i think) who  wrote the original system. I (personally) am very (very) sorry for what I have done to the original concept of this systems rules! It was wrong and unnecessary and in no way an improvement over the purity (nay genius) of the original. Sorry, BobC.

this version will not be in use at the next blood fest although it may be used again in the future!