Getting Dead Reign This Week

[Ranger]

3-4 to start with is a good start. Alot of what happens after the start is depending on what the players do.

In one case, when my players did not have an idea, I would role on randomn encounters that I had. They usually did not like them as I tended to go full force on hurting their characters.

[CyCo]

Is the game going to be a campaign or a one off? If it's a one off, have one of the ideas be the goal that they have to try and achieve. Something like getting to an Military evac point makes a nice ending point in zombie games. The others would probably be along the lines of getting supplies, weapons and maybe a mode of transport.

If it's a mini-campaign, then one of your ideas should be the ultimate goal. Maybe it's getting to that evac point. But it could be getting enough supplies for winter, or to 'harden' their chosen hideout/encampment. Having a smaller but important goal is a good thing to have. If they have to travel far, maybe it's getting the armored school bus from hell that's their second bit goal. It just as easily could be getting enough fuel for that big gas guzzler.

The remaining ideas could be then the prime goal for the evening. Getting some ammo and rations. Or barricading themselves in a basement against their first look at a horde (and that's only a small horde!!).

And if possible, work out a goal for each character during the campaign. The players don't even have to know what you have planned. Say one of the players is a solider. So part way through the campaign, he finds the remains of his platoon (dead or zeds), and evidence that the military is still operative. It's up to the player to either report in (if possible), or 'go awol' and stay with his new group of survivors.

For a longer campaign, stretch those ideas further out, and work out other ideas/plot hooks/threats you can throw at the players. And don't forget 'red herrings'. I once had a group in an AD&D 2nd Ed game follow a red herring for several weeks in real time, or a couple of months in game time!! Boy was it fun when they worked it out. lol

[MaxxSterling]

Best advice I could give you is, don't buy this game.

This game is rough to play, it does not give a hack and slash sense of accomplishment that zombie movies and games generally make you feel, and if played out by canon rules you will almost certainly kill your PC's the first time out.

If you are looking for a very challenging game, that is even by zombie fantasy standards, not very realistic and will tax your PC's to the point where they wish they had just played DnD instead... Well then this is the game for you. I just hope all your PC's have d20's that roll 17's all day long and like running from just about every encounter.

[Grell]

Good luck, it is challenging (both as a GM and a player) and fun! Keep the zed encounters reserved for moments where relevant to the story because they can be a bear to take down at 'safe distances'.