The Inside Scoop on Gaming

As fan of Hong Kong action movies (and associate rpgs) I have been curious about this supplement since I read about it on the Eden Studios webpage. Then one day I walked into the local gamestore and there it sat on the shelf ...

First thing to notice is the books unusal not-quite-letter-format size that seems to be the hallmark of the AFMBE line. Next thing is the cover: It is adorned by a kung fu zombie in a meditative yet menacing pose His half-decayed face doesn´t hurt in this respect either. His head is cocked at a slght angle and one eyebrow (what´s left of it) is raised daring his enemies to approach. The title sits visibly above the picture without obscuring details All in all a high-quality cover painting: It clearly conveys what the book is about, piques interest and grabs attention. The interior art is uniformly of equally high standart. Stark black and white contrasts (ink drawing) and softer shades of gray (watercolours) without degrading to washed ot blurrs. The pictures are either good mood setters or are directly related to the text they illustrate. The text itself lives up to the artwork: It is written in an easy-flowing tone, sometimes humourous, never stooping to cheap or forced jokes. Maybe it´s just coincidence but usually a paragraph ends with a page - only rarely one must turn a page in mid-sentence - good editing (although a few typos managed to slip in).

Having stated that it´s about time to turn to the contents The book is organized into eight sections

The First "Corpses Rising" is a short piece of fiction about a demon of revenge who is summoned into a dead body to .. well take revenge. From there on it´s major gorefest. Although this story isn´t much related to the rest of the book it is a good tone setter and provides a phletora of scenario hooks and models for NPCs. It is also a good read. Next comes a brief introduction to the genre. Let´s say that again - the intro is brief: A grand total of two (2) pages. Obviously this book is intended for people who have already been exposed to HK flics and know what they are all about (now you know why I was so insistent about the cover being clear). Fortunately the filmography is an excellent selection - why try to explain if watching "Hard Boiled" or "A Chinese Ghost Story" gives you instant understanding?

Chapter two: "Tao of The Dead" is the rules section. It provides the game mechanics to perform HK action stunts and kung fu with the Unisysten rules (probably reviewed someplace else on RPG Net). There are two new character types: Martial Artists (think Bruce Lee. Think Jet Li. Think Jackie Chan.) and Shooters (Think Chow Yun Fat. Just think Chow Yun Fat!). Both types can use their Essence to power flamboyant feats that are only possible in HK movies. If you are familiar with the genre or any other HK action rpg you are meeting some good old friends here. These moves are pretty much the usual like Great Leap (jumping 12 yards from a standing start) or Two Fisted Firing (shooting with a gun in each hand and looking good doing so). Although these moves are not new, that´s actually a good thing: If you have watched the movies you know instantly what you are supposed to do with them. And if you do not use the Unisystem (I don´t) it will be easy to adapt them to your system of choice.

Then come the special moves for kung fu fighting zombies. That´s an entirely different matter. Mr Dakan is right - being undead offers a whole lot of fascinating opportunities - like whipping out one´s entrails an using them as a whip! Or fusing with fellow zombies into one poweful undead abomination. Or trapping the enemy´s blade (or fist) stuck in your undead flesh ... That´s because there is a short section on zombies as player characters. The zombiea described here are not like their Western brethren: No mindlessly shambling corpses but cartwheeling, gun-toting corpses! After a brief tour of martial arts weapons the book breezes on to the real meat: Four detailled setting to frolic in. Each setting is modelled on a different HK genre and is instantly recognizable to you if you are familiar with the associate movie. Each setting comes with a concise description, four sample PCs (alive or undead), write-ups for NPCs and two scenarios that the Zombie master can flesh out to full adventures.

"Hard Boiled Corpses" is (naturally) patterned after "Hard Boiled" - modern-day gun play and triad wars with a zombie gang thrown in. You see there was this secret government project "White Thunder" to eliminate HK´s junkie population and their dealers with a special variant of heroin. At first things worked out nicely - anyone exposed to the drug died off after a few weeks. Then they came back! Now there are enough undead in HK to start their own triad. They muscle in on the turf of the living gangs in search of the drug they are still addicted to and soon it´s war in HK. The scenarios have the players either investigate this mess as cops or be zombies themselves that try to huint down the source of the drug. Any way the White Thunder team is not going to like it - if you feel like it you can play both scenarios with the players first alive and then dead. This is the setting you use for lots of gunfights, car chases and triad drama.

The next Setting is "Flesh Eaters In Little China": Is directly related to the John Carpenter flic "Big Trouble in Little China". Basically it´s an ancient evil sorceror who has set up shop in Little China, San Francisco, and now thinks it about time to use his gang connections and his army of undead kung fu warriors to conquer and terrorize the hood. Enter the zombie, err ... players to give him a much-needed attitude adjustment. This chapter gives descriptions on the sorceror (he´s the main bad guy, after all), his palace, his undead bodyguards and the kung fu schools and gangs that oppose him. There´s also a brief section on a fast and loose magic system. One drawback is the focus on a singular bad guy - once he´s taken down (maybe more than once - we´re talking a setting with undead here after all) it takes some work by the ZM to get things going again.

Next is "Once Upon A Corpse In China": Set in ancient China it is It´s part "A Chinese Ghost Story", part "Judge Dee" and countless kung fu flics in which martial artist fight over whose style is superior. Only here a master and his sisters were murdered by jealous rivals and now the girls have come back to even the score. The scenarios have the players either as the Imperial judge sent to investigate the the bizarre murders or as the zombie sisters themselves on their quest for revenge.

The last setting is "Undead Kombat" !- Yeah! I thought the same at the first glance but it´s actually much better than expected. Some two plus milenia ago a cabal of powerful Persian sorcerors attained Lichdom and created an army of undead warriors. Too bad their plans for global conquest were marred by the discovery that they and their minions had to devour undead souls every 25 years or so. To regulate things they set up this eternal tournament between their zombie fighters - and this started to take up so much efforts and preparation that the world conquest business had to take a back seat. Now the surviving seven magi are powerful string pullers in international crime and politics but theri real passion is the tournament. And this year promises to be even more exciting as for the first time mortals are allowed to compete - wether they want or not! The scenarios here centre around the tournament (the players are either undercover investigators or zombie rebels conspiring aginst their sorcerous masters) but with a bit ingenuity this setting can serve as a springboard for a campaign against the undead cabal. But of course the real fun here is staging gorey and slightly silly but spectacular fights in cheesy backgrounds.

The book concludes with reference charts: A breif summary of character generation for zombies and a short but accurate indexplus a separate incex of the special zombie powers (called "Aspects"). The last pages are a two-page character sheet and an ammo tracking sheet.

In closing I want to address one last issue: the C-Value. That´s short for "Cannibalization-Value" (Wuzzy types may call it Conversion-Value). It is the answer to the question: "I don´t use that particular game system. Is this book any good if I convert it to my preferred game?" The answer is a big "Yes!". As mentioned (way) above the rules section is quite short and generic which means that it is easy to simulate these stunts with any rules system that stresses fast an cinematic action (Big Eyes Small Mouth or Feng Shui comes to mind). The settings are the real meat and should taste good with any game that features cinematic action and undead. Obvious frontrunners are Hong Kong Action Theatre (actually the book bears the subtitle "A Honng Kong Action Theatre Sourcebook - although the rules are completly different; its Unisystem *not* HKAT) and other HK action games (Dragon Fist, Feng Shui, Mystic China etc). With some tweaking it should be possible to integrate it into most other games: "Flesh Eaters in Little China" could fit well into a GURPS: Voodoo Campaign and "Once A Corpse ..." should feel right at home in fantasy setting (Ravenloft, Warhammer).

On the overall "Enter the Zombie" is a very good product, a sourcebook for fast cinematic action and undead that ports easily with other games. Nothing more, nothing less. And in this regard it´s a sterling accomplishment. If you feel you belong to its intended audience go out and buy it!

Enter the Zombie
Enter the Zombie Capsule Review by TheBronzeBook on 20/05/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Fast and furious Hong Kong cinema action meets undead horror in four exciting settings. Good writing and gorgeous art and it is easily cannibalized for other game systems too. Product: Enter the Zombie Author: Richard Dakan et al Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Inc Line: All Flesh Must Be Eaten Cost: 34.95€ Page count: 165 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1-891153-83-8 SKU: EDN8002 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by TheBronzeBook on 20/05/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Modern day Horror Asian/Far East	As fan of Hong Kong action movies (and associate rpgs) I have been curious about this supplement since I read about it on the Eden Studios webpage. Then one day I walked into the local gamestore and there it sat on the shelf ... First thing to notice is the books unusal not-quite-letter-format size that seems to be the hallmark of the AFMBE line. Next thing is the cover: It is adorned by a kung fu zombie in a meditative yet menacing pose His half-decayed face doesn´t hurt in this respect either. His head is cocked at a slght angle and one eyebrow (what´s left of it) is raised daring his enemies to approach. The title sits visibly above the picture without obscuring details All in all a high-quality cover painting: It clearly conveys what the book is about, piques interest and grabs attention. The interior art is uniformly of equally high standart. Stark black and white contrasts (ink drawing) and softer shades of gray (watercolours) without degrading to washed ot blurrs. The pictures are either good mood setters or are directly related to the text they illustrate. The text itself lives up to the artwork: It is written in an easy-flowing tone, sometimes humourous, never stooping to cheap or forced jokes. Maybe it´s just coincidence but usually a paragraph ends with a page - only rarely one must turn a page in mid-sentence - good editing (although a few typos managed to slip in). Having stated that it´s about time to turn to the contents The book is organized into eight sections The First "Corpses Rising" is a short piece of fiction about a demon of revenge who is summoned into a dead body to .. well take revenge. From there on it´s major gorefest. Although this story isn´t much related to the rest of the book it is a good tone setter and provides a phletora of scenario hooks and models for NPCs. It is also a good read. Next comes a brief introduction to the genre. Let´s say that again - the intro is brief: A grand total of two (2) pages. Obviously this book is intended for people who have already been exposed to HK flics and know what they are all about (now you know why I was so insistent about the cover being clear). Fortunately the filmography is an excellent selection - why try to explain if watching "Hard Boiled" or "A Chinese Ghost Story" gives you instant understanding? Chapter two: "Tao of The Dead" is the rules section. It provides the game mechanics to perform HK action stunts and kung fu with the Unisysten rules (probably reviewed someplace else on RPG Net). There are two new character types: Martial Artists (think Bruce Lee. Think Jet Li. Think Jackie Chan.) and Shooters (Think Chow Yun Fat. Just think Chow Yun Fat!). Both types can use their Essence to power flamboyant feats that are only possible in HK movies. If you are familiar with the genre or any other HK action rpg you are meeting some good old friends here. These moves are pretty much the usual like Great Leap (jumping 12 yards from a standing start) or Two Fisted Firing (shooting with a gun in each hand and looking good doing so). Although these moves are not new, that´s actually a good thing: If you have watched the movies you know instantly what you are supposed to do with them. And if you do not use the Unisystem (I don´t) it will be easy to adapt them to your system of choice. Then come the special moves for kung fu fighting zombies. That´s an entirely different matter. Mr Dakan is right - being undead offers a whole lot of fascinating opportunities - like whipping out one´s entrails an using them as a whip! Or fusing with fellow zombies into one poweful undead abomination. Or trapping the enemy´s blade (or fist) stuck in your undead flesh ... That´s because there is a short section on zombies as player characters. The zombiea described here are not like their Western brethren: No mindlessly shambling corpses but cartwheeling, gun-toting corpses! After a brief tour of martial arts weapons the book breezes on to the real meat: Four detailled setting to frolic in. Each setting is modelled on a different HK genre and is instantly recognizable to you if you are familiar with the associate movie. Each setting comes with a concise description, four sample PCs (alive or undead), write-ups for NPCs and two scenarios that the Zombie master can flesh out to full adventures. "Hard Boiled Corpses" is (naturally) patterned after "Hard Boiled" - modern-day gun play and triad wars with a zombie gang thrown in. You see there was this secret government project "White Thunder" to eliminate HK´s junkie population and their dealers with a special variant of heroin. At first things worked out nicely - anyone exposed to the drug died off after a few weeks. Then they came back! Now there are enough undead in HK to start their own triad. They muscle in on the turf of the living gangs in search of the drug they are still addicted to and soon it´s war in HK. The scenarios have the players either investigate this mess as cops or be zombies themselves that try to huint down the source of the drug. Any way the White Thunder team is not going to like it - if you feel like it you can play both scenarios with the players first alive and then dead. This is the setting you use for lots of gunfights, car chases and triad drama. The next Setting is "Flesh Eaters In Little China": Is directly related to the John Carpenter flic "Big Trouble in Little China". Basically it´s an ancient evil sorceror who has set up shop in Little China, San Francisco, and now thinks it about time to use his gang connections and his army of undead kung fu warriors to conquer and terrorize the hood. Enter the zombie, err ... players to give him a much-needed attitude adjustment. This chapter gives descriptions on the sorceror (he´s the main bad guy, after all), his palace, his undead bodyguards and the kung fu schools and gangs that oppose him. There´s also a brief section on a fast and loose magic system. One drawback is the focus on a singular bad guy - once he´s taken down (maybe more than once - we´re talking a setting with undead here after all) it takes some work by the ZM to get things going again. Next is "Once Upon A Corpse In China": Set in ancient China it is It´s part "A Chinese Ghost Story", part "Judge Dee" and countless kung fu flics in which martial artist fight over whose style is superior. Only here a master and his sisters were murdered by jealous rivals and now the girls have come back to even the score. The scenarios have the players either as the Imperial judge sent to investigate the the bizarre murders or as the zombie sisters themselves on their quest for revenge. The last setting is "Undead Kombat" !- Yeah! I thought the same at the first glance but it´s actually much better than expected. Some two plus milenia ago a cabal of powerful Persian sorcerors attained Lichdom and created an army of undead warriors. Too bad their plans for global conquest were marred by the discovery that they and their minions had to devour undead souls every 25 years or so. To regulate things they set up this eternal tournament between their zombie fighters - and this started to take up so much efforts and preparation that the world conquest business had to take a back seat. Now the surviving seven magi are powerful string pullers in international crime and politics but theri real passion is the tournament. And this year promises to be even more exciting as for the first time mortals are allowed to compete - wether they want or not! The scenarios here centre around the tournament (the players are either undercover investigators or zombie rebels conspiring aginst their sorcerous masters) but with a bit ingenuity this setting can serve as a springboard for a campaign against the undead cabal. But of course the real fun here is staging gorey and slightly silly but spectacular fights in cheesy backgrounds. The book concludes with reference charts: A breif summary of character generation for zombies and a short but accurate indexplus a separate incex of the special zombie powers (called "Aspects"). The last pages are a two-page character sheet and an ammo tracking sheet. In closing I want to address one last issue: the C-Value. That´s short for "Cannibalization-Value" (Wuzzy types may call it Conversion-Value). It is the answer to the question: "I don´t use that particular game system. Is this book any good if I convert it to my preferred game?" The answer is a big "Yes!". As mentioned (way) above the rules section is quite short and generic which means that it is easy to simulate these stunts with any rules system that stresses fast an cinematic action (Big Eyes Small Mouth or Feng Shui comes to mind). The settings are the real meat and should taste good with any game that features cinematic action and undead. Obvious frontrunners are Hong Kong Action Theatre (actually the book bears the subtitle "A Honng Kong Action Theatre Sourcebook - although the rules are completly different; its Unisystem not HKAT) and other HK action games (Dragon Fist, Feng Shui, Mystic China etc). With some tweaking it should be possible to integrate it into most other games: "Flesh Eaters in Little China" could fit well into a GURPS: Voodoo Campaign and "Once A Corpse ..." should feel right at home in fantasy setting (Ravenloft, Warhammer). On the overall "Enter the Zombie" is a very good product, a sourcebook for fast cinematic action and undead that ports easily with other games. Nothing more, nothing less. And in this regard it´s a sterling accomplishment. If you feel you belong to its intended audience go out and buy it!