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We already have a random weapon box so having fixed and known weapon points would be better IMO. You can try it out though

I like that, probably keep the armour and give them 2 cc weapons. Maybe roll a D6 each turn, on a 6 they move 2D6" instead of 1D6", and gain furious charge as bloodlust mixed with anger at being allowed to die by their teammates surfaces, but on a 1 they gain some semblance of humanity briefly and attack the nearest zombie instead, if they die them they stay dead if they live they revert to zombie for the next turn?

I would leave the rules totally up to you. It depends on how complicated you want the game to be.

Personally I'd try and keep a game like this as fast and simple as possible. If a player dies I would allow him to continuously spawn fro the table edge, even if his zombie form dies. This would keep everyone interested, and would also make the odds against the survivors snowball against them over time, making the game faster.

Come up with some fluff about it being a nurgle plague, but those who survived the initial outbreak of the disease are marked by nurgle to become immortal daemon spawn when they die for not accepting his gift? Or something similarly fluffy that would explain why the player 'undead' models may respawn.

That's very cool and tbh the game does have to be fast and frantic to prevent the survivors getting time to plan, when grandfather nurgle sends his plagues down they can destroy worlds in a few days and any who got away with it would be constantly on the back foot.
Don't suppose anyone has a cool name for when I write up the first rules and put them on here?

I have an idea about upgrades but not sure if its already been talked about. Anyway, after each wave the players can upgrade weapons they really like, or armor they like by going to a shop.

I know im getting ahead but the game shouldnt just be restricted to zombies, how bout genestealers? or orks? just a thought


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Also im playing a quick mock up so ill get back to this when im done with a few waves

A shop isn't quite what I had in mind, otherwise it gives the players far more control over their fate instead of relying on chance or luck.
As for other races... Maybe, I'm not sure. Orks are the natural progression if someone wanted to increase difficulty. I'll see what everyone else thinks too.
Let us know how the mock up goes, best way to learn is to play

All this sounds really cool. I've done something similar with SM scouts and Orks once and it worked quite well.
While reading the previous posts I had an idea for a name: 'Nurgle's playground'. Basically to show that the guardsmen don't have a chance to win (i.e. endless mode) and Nurgle/his zomies are just toying with them. Maybe not the greatest name, but I think something along these lines could work.

This is very similar to something ive tried in the past, and combining it with CoD zombie-esque boxes and upgrades is a brilliant idea. Im gonna have a go at putting something together!

I might be a GM and instigate random events and occasionally harder foes.

My turns happen simultaneously at each phase. So zombies and humans both move, then shoot, then assault. Weapon buys and perk buys are done in the movement phase. this makes the game feel faster and more frantic, and the players can react more easily to the zombies movements.

In my version each zombie works as an individual unit, but also as a larger group in some ways. For example, in CC, you only have to kill the zombies in b2b contact to end the cc. Zombies do not pile in, theyre too slow for that. They are I2 for the purposes of attacking order.

You can shoot an any zombie you like, and the first shot will always hit them first. Any further shots from your weapons hit the zombies nearest to the (re)dead one

So for an assault 2 weapon, shot 1 might kill the target zombie, then shot 2 will hit the next nearest to that target, and hopefully kill them too.

Zombies are worth 2 points for a kill.

Zombies will be T3, S3, 1W, 1A (no charge bonus), 6+ Save. May get FNP in later rounds. They will always move 6" towards the nearest human, and move 3" in the shooting phase, and all the zombies (1 dice for all on the board) move D3" in the assault phase if they cannot assault. For assault, all zombies within 8" of a human must assault the nearest. For that group of X number of zobies they roll 3D6 and take the 2 lowest results for their charge range. All zombies move that distance even if they cannot make it into b2b.

All players have BS4, 6's to hit give +1 points if it kills. Humans move 6" in the movement phase. In the shooting phase they can move 3" and shoot, or 6" and not shoot. In the assault phase they can move 3" if they do not assault.

Players can fire at zombies locked in combat with another player, but on a roll of 1 to hit, the shot hits the player, not the target zombie.

Im also thinking of making each weapon (except the starting lasguns) only have around X number of turns worth of ammunition, so that players have to think about that too (then go back and buy more for a couple of points, or wait for ammo drops on zombies) Bolters might have 10-15 turns of ammo, but a GL may only have 8 for example.

Im thinking some fixed weapon points would be good, at various prices depending on the weapon. Players start with Lasguns. You can swap you weapons for a CC and pistol if you get that combo in the box (it will have combos of bolt and pulse pistols with CC weps and maybe power swords/mauls) Bolters, shotguns, snipers, hot shot lasguns and the like would be at fixed locations, with heavier weapons in the random box (flamers, heavy flamers, assault cannons/heavy bolters, GL's etc, also a good chance of a normal weapon, or better versions of normal guns, such as Assault 2 bolters)

As an idea for Perks (lost if player goes down):
Fleeta: 2 inches extra movement per turn, 'hit and run', Fleet.
Zerker'Up: +2A and FNP
Vindicola: BS5, and 6's to hit give +2 points for each kill.
Ogrynade: +1T and +1W. FNP (6+)

The map will be small to begin with, but areas can be unlocked by spending points to make them accessible. Zombies will spawn from predetermined locations, not all of which will be obvious.
Initial zombie numbers are low, like CoD, so that players can explore and get to grips with the game, and build up some points.



Most of this is WIP, but my little playtest (with much fewer rules) did work ok.

I did a zombies game similar to this which worked really well. I had random weapon box (4D6), random CC weapon box (2D6), different types of zombies, random perk machine (D6), random weapon upgrade (D6), weapons cache, supply cache (armour, jump packs etc.), explosives cache, support cache (able to call down allies for one round).
The points system I did to encourage CC - 10pts for a hit that fails to wound, 50pts for a wound which is then saved, and 100pts for an unsaved wound caused. Double points in CC.
Rather than start with 4 generic guys or classes, I allowed the survivor player to simply take 100pts, ignoring min unit sizes, of infantry models from any codex. This meant you could choose your starting equipment, or "class" for each model.
The Zombies player would act as GM, and wouldn't be trying to win, just be making it fun for everyone - randomly throwing in fun things like explosions, daemon princes, terminator zombies etc.
The game worked really well, it was quite slow to play but it was really tense, and very enjoyable both as GM/Zombies and Survivor. My main opponent and I occasionally play it if we get bored, and it's always interesting!

Thanks guys for the support, didn't realise everyone else had similar ideas but hey, great minds think alike i suppose.
@FlamestormA I like the name, sounds like a map name rather than a game type though.
@ HerbaciousT is 9+D3" is a little fast for brainless automatons IMO, and the targeting system seems a little weird, but the principle and statlines are good, and I love the perks!
@Tac_genius you possibly have too many boxes, after all guardsmen can't have jump packs and allies is a bit much for an endless survival. Also I think that it should be shooting not cc focused and as I may have said to @endlesswaltz earlier classes seems iffy but I'll bend to the will of the forum

 Mitranekh the Omniscient wrote:
Thanks guys for the support, didn't realise everyone else had similar ideas but hey, great minds think alike i suppose.
@ HerbaciousT is 9+D3" is a little fast for brainless automatons IMO, and the targeting system seems a little weird, but the principle and statlines are good, and I love the perks!

You are probably right on the movement front, it still needs refining. I wanted to make sure that everyone (the players) had space to move around and could escape sticky situations, but it wasnt too easy to completely outpace the zombies.
Dont forget, they can stumble quite fast in CoD!

When you reach round 15 or so yeah, early on you can out walk them rather than have to run to escape. A flat 6" or D6+3" maybe

 Mitranekh the Omniscient wrote:
When you reach round 15 or so yeah, early on you can out walk them rather than have to run to escape. A flat 6" or D6+3" maybe

Ok then how about 6" with D3" in the shooting phase, so its a shorter run move.

The players move 6", and can run D6" as normal in the shooting phase, or can elect to run D3" and fire their weapon at -2 to their BS. Sound better?

I think it might be better if the players were Space Marines. Guardsmen have the CoD vibe, but if they're going to be eventually running around with heavy weapons and getting better armour saves, it just makes sense.

They could start with no armour (could say black carapace gives them 6+). Meanwhile, depending on spawn rate of zombies, I can't imagine them lasting very long, especially in the beginning. With a four-man team armed with lasguns, the best they'll be able to do is kill eight zombies, maximum, and that's probably not going to happen. T4 means that they'll at least be more survivable.

Also, what about Fortifications? Like in Gears of War 3, in which the players can buy auto-turrets, manual turrets, barricades that slow enemies, decoys, etc. These can be upgraded by spending even more points, but also have their own health bars and can be destroyed. They can only be bought in specific locations, the players can't just decide to put turrets anywhere.

Just throwing it out there, but slowing barricades (razor wire, etc) could be treated as Difficult Terrain, and give anyone shooting at a zombie in it a BS bonus.

Not sure if this could work. It would require serious thinking as to how the maps are laid out.

You are probably right on the movement front, it still needs refining. I wanted to make sure that everyone (the players) had space to move around and could escape sticky situations, but it wasnt too easy to completely outpace the zombies.

In my eyes there are two ways to go about this.

i) Fast zombies - having basic zombies who are at least as fast as the players will be needed if you are using standard 40k shooting. With 6th edition shooting players will be able to move full distance then shoot full range or still rapid fire. This will let them kite slow zombies quite easy.

ii) Slow zombies - but bucket loads of them. If the zombies can be easily maneuvered around, then put more on the table, so many that the players will have a harder time using their high move speed. Finding the balance of the zombie characteristics is important here though, as a slight over buff will lead to serious problems as there will be so many units on the table.

@HerbaciousT, better
@Frozen Ocean, I played a test game using marines and the zombies didn't take one down until round 6 or so because of the armour and higher toughness. With guardsmen you're forced to think carefully about committing to 'gung-ho' manoeuvres that a SM wouldn't worry about half as much. I think turrets could work there is a precedent (once) on CoD for a turret gun, it would probably be a HB as that is the "typical" 40k turret gun IMO. There will be debris parts for gun purchases but I'm not sure how your idea about BS bonuses will work.


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On the movement thing, I think faster zombies that move 6" would be better because we don't want our boys horded out by round 3

 Mitranekh the Omniscient wrote:

@Tac_genius you possibly have too many boxes, after all guardsmen can't have jump packs and allies is a bit much for an endless survival. Also I think that it should be shooting not cc focused and as I may have said to @endlesswaltz earlier classes seems iffy but I'll bend to the will of the forum

I did it so that the forces could be chosen from any codex. It worked well. I know it's not what you're going for, but I thought I'd offer up what we did so you could take a look. I wanted it to allow the Survival player to have more freedom pre-game. The reason I rewarded combat was to prevent the Survivors from just running away all the time, but the CC is riskier because you can be overwhelmed.

Ok it makes sense when you say it that way, thanks. It would work as a supplement or expansion for other races though.
Same thing on cc it's nice but as you say, not what I'm going for. If the rest of the forum want it cc focused I'll agree, but IMO I'd rather not, thanks though

Ok, my brother and i are done with the mock up round of the game. I say it was pretty sweet, we added profiles for zombies and humans, and making up rules and dynamic stuff like barriers. im pretty surprised actually.

it was fairly awesome, one the first wave i had ten zombies probably tougher than they were supposed be, advancing on the humans, 2 humans were "downed" and the other two finished off the rest and then revived their buddies. its probably a little early for 2 guys to be downed that early in the game but i say we are on the right track. Its a pretty solid start.

I have taken the initiative to write down most of the good ideas and rules being posted in this topic, ill link a word document tonight, i already have 3 pages down!


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ill give you a teaser:
3 base weapons:
auto pistol (las pistol): free, s 3, ap -, r8, assault 2
auto carbine (las Carbine): 5 points, s 3, ap -, r11, assault 4
auto gun (las gun): 10 points, s 3, ap 6, r14, rapid fire

human:
ws4, bs4, s3, t3, w2, i3, a3, ld6, sv4+
wargear: carapace, auto/las pistol, frag nades
special rules: Eternal warrior, preferred enemy (zombies), independant character, + 2 new rules

zombie
ws3, bs2, s3, t3, w1, i2, a3, ld9, sv6+
mutations: necrotic flesh/dead skin= 6+ save
special rules: feel no pain (6+), fear, zealot, slow and purposeful


And thats the base stuff, i haven't played a game with the special rules yet but the stat line is good imho, tell me what you guys think.

How could flamers be made not massively overpowered?

The stats and rules are good, though Ld7 on the humans would be better at least IMO, these guys are at least as brave as the regular guard. Thanks for writing this all down, saves me one hell of a job! But what does the are on the weapons mean?
@ocean, the short range means that if a zombie lives the human is in trouble from a charge, plus limiting the fuel like they did in space hulk would make you think twice about firing

oh, its supposed to be just a regular r, meaning range, fixed!

Ok cheers for clearing that up.
I was thinking for our little weapons cache (mystery box, I'm not mad about the rest but if others agree I'll run one) something on 3 or 4D6, I prefer 3 tbh. Triple 1 the box either self destructs or breaks down for the round or a few turns.
4 no weapon
5 shotgun
6 bolter
7 sniper rifle
8 flamer
9 grenade launcher (frag)
10 storm bolter
11 grenade launcher (both)
12 heavy stubber
13 plasma gun (instant death warrants high place IMO)
14 missile launcher
15 autocannon
16 HB
17 HF
18 assault cannon

I know some are unrealistic but hey, this is 40k zombies, anything is possible I suppose

Instant Death only matters when the target has more than one wound. Also, bear probability in mind - the most likely result on a 4d6 would be 14, with an 11.27% chance. On a 3d6, the most likely results are 10 and 11, at 12.5%.

It's also good for getting rid of a pesky FNP. Thanks for the math, any comments on changing the table?

Assign values to weapons and place them accordingly.

Here is a site that you can calculate values with. Just type "output 3d6" and click "calculate". Remember that the value of a weapon is not always readily apparent; a sniper rifle might seem good, for example, but is it really a good anti-horde weapon? I think the Holy Bolter should probably be the most common. Following the standard format of 40k, the lowest result (from rolling entirely 1s) should be a fail.

Are you keeping the FNP on the zombies? I would have thought it'd make them a bit too tough.

I'm unsure I'm sure some test games will clear it up. So if 3 is a fail, we're a weapon short, and the whole thing needs a re-order... Job for tomorrow methinks

Could go with 4d6? You could add other things for the remaining numbers, something like the Chaos Boon Table, or temporary powerups or something. You could do bolters with special ammo or combi-weapons, re-rolls, or melee weapons.

EDIT: Don't forget pistols. Inferno pistols, plasma pistols... What about xenos weapons?

EDIT2: It's my birthday!

For the table in the early rb i had role a d3 to see which table you role on then role a d6 for the weapon. oh and here is the early copy, and for the sake of a name i just plopped in "Swarm" it can be changed if you guys like

Rule wise What it has:
30 perk choices
Unit organization (squads and such)
profiles for humans/ survivors, and zombies & fast zombies
Currency
mystery boxes
unlockable areas

what it doesn't have:
movement
shooting
assault (but thats all pretty basic save the moving)
new weapon profiles just in case there might be changes
rules on barriers
stores or upgrades
boss profiles
pts cost for everything

OH Happy birthday!?

Thank you!

Having read parts of your document (it's too early in the morning to read the whole thing), I have one criticism, which is the means by which zombies earn points.

As the players improve they will be wounded less often. If the zombies only get points when the players are wounded, the game will eventually reach a point where the players have outgrown the foes they are fighting, and the zombies are no longer a match for them.

I think the zombies should get a set number of points for every wave, perhaps increased by the number of waves. It should get progressively more difficult!

ooh ok i here your point, I sorta went for a "work for points approach" with wounds, kills, and such. Maybe breaking down barricades could give points too? I dont know i wouldnt have a problem with zombies getting paid every so wave, but rushing to get wounds and breaking down fortifications would seem a lot more... uh gratifying?