Goto [ Index ]

In Short

There are problems here, mostly involving the mixed bag of quality. For every scenario I thought was really well done there was a poorly implemented one. Some of the settings are fresh and original, with solid writing and support. Others are rehashed ideas with very little support. Further, the book often requires the use of other supplements.

This review contains extensive spoilers.

The Physical Thing

The art in this product is often matched to the text, which is a nice change from RPG books that don’t bother to synch up the art with the concepts being discussed in a chapter. This really helps some of the settings to come to life, though there are still instances where the art clearly has nothing to do with the Deadworld it is presented with.

The Ideas

Under the Cover

Aces High: World War I

Fortified by his will to survive, the Red Baron does not die after being shot down in World War I. Instead he survives to bring pain and nightmare to the skies as a powerful zombie. In addition to a bit of background material, this entry includes several pages of World War I era planes for use in an Aces High game.

3/5. This entry does what it sets out to do, which is to provide support for playing aces dogfighting with a zombie pilot. Unfortunately, it’s very narrowly tailored. Characters are either dogfighting with the Baron or they are on the ground providing support away from the action while NPCs solve the Baron problem. The entry also doesn’t feel as much like a zombie apocalypse as the other Deadworlds since there is no devestation or zombie invasion, just a lone adversary.

Blighted Isle

The Potato Famine has struck Ireland and people are dying in droves. Black, sickened soil seems to be at the root of the problem (hah) and those buried in it return to life with a hunger for the living. The plague has reached such proportions that the English Navy has set up a blockade of Ireland and shoots any ship attempting to leave. Zombies in this setting are created through microbes found in the blackened soil, and crave more of these microbes which settle into the organs of the living.

5/5. This entry was just fantastic. The writing is excellent and easily draws the reader into the story so far. The plague is interesting, and with the British sinking any ship attempting to leave the island there’s no where for survivors to flee to. The suggested adventure ideas are all top notch as well, from attempting to escape the island to playing a group of investigators sent to learn more about the zombie menace.

Dead Men and Derring Do

Three Musketeers with zombies! Cardinal Richelieu was the man in the iron mask, which was wisely placed over his face to prevent him from eating any more human organs. After he was mistakenly rescued from the dungeon the vile Cardinal set about devouring the living and creating zombies only he could control. Now even his formerly loyal guards have turned against him, along with the musketeers. Brave men with pistol and blade fight to prevent the complete destruction of France!

4/5. The premise is fun and allows for a nice mix of horror with action and humor at the gaming table. This Deadworld is more likely to appeal to folk who dislike the zombie focus of All Flesh Must Be Eaten. While the horror aspect is most certainly still there, the players take on the mantle of heros trying to push back the darkness. Of course, rapiers and musketballs don’t do much to a zombie. Paris has already been zombified so things are looking bleak for the heroes…

Tales of the Walking Dead: Arabian Nights

A young girl who found a magic ring wished for an army that could destroy all others, and so the djinn created an army of the dead. She then ordered them to attack the palace and slay all that lived there on the night she was to marry the sultan. These desert focused undead did just that, and quickly began spreading undeath across the sands.

3/5. I like the setting and especially enjoyed the intro fiction. What kept me from really enjoying this setting is that after reading it I just wasn’t sure what I’d want to do with it. The suggestions are alright, but none of them instilled the same sense of excitement as many of the other Deadworlds.

47 Gaki

After a Japanese Lord was killed a demon offered him the opportunity to return to the mortal work and seek revenge against his enemies. Gathering his loyal warriors as they died over the years, he returned with his champions and began an all out assault on Japan. His driving goal was to become the sole ruler of Japan. Now, noble Samurai and peasants fight against the hordes of zombies and undead Samurai in an attempt to save their world from this dark lord.

4/5. This setting is interesting and provides two ways to play. Players can either take on the role of Samurai trying to hunt down the evil Samurai or peasants trying to survive the zombie hordes. The setting is well written and provides a variety of interesting scenarios for players to enjoy.

Over the Wall

Pictish shaman discover tattoos that cause the recipient to return as a powerful zombie. At war with the Roman Empire, they imbue some of their warriors with these tattoos and send them to breach Hadrian’s Wall and wreck havoc on the Roman countryside. Player’s take on the role of Roman Centurions stationed at an outpost that has just been attacked by one of the undead. Other scenarios involve characters as Picts attempting to survive the zombies or attempting to lead the newly created zombies to Hadrian’s Wall.

3/5. I like that the product attempts to cover a variety of historical periods and situations. I also like that there is likely just a few zombies the characters are trying to deal with instead of a horde. I dislike that one of the scenarios assumes players are soldiers ordered to defend their outpost, yet assumes the zombie is almost impossible to defeat and that retreat is inevitable. I anticipate many game sessions coming to an end there, and players are likely to embrace the role of the soldier and not abandon their post.

Frankenstein 1935

This is another gem. Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments were a success and now every wealthy Londoner has a Frankenstein treatment performed at death, returning them to unlife with all of their senses left intact. The poor are left dead for 48 hours so that when they are reanimated they can be used as mindless manual labor. Not only does the setting play up the class differences between the rich and poor but it provides a clever depiction of a world where Dr. Frankenstein made a lasting contribution. Of course, the only downside is that those that undergo the process have to have regular blood transfusions creating a mandatory blood tax on the living citizenry. Rumor has it that a few older nobles are starting to crave unusual meals.

5/5. While it is short, this entry is sure to stimulate the imagination. One scenario involves the characters playing commoners who were reanimated by mistake shortly after death, so they retain their knowledge and a healthy anger at the current social order. Perhaps they will light the match that destroys this powder keg of a necropolis.

Crusade of the Damned

Knights Templar delved into dark and fel magics, but ultimately died and passed from this world. That is until a magical skull is uncovered that brings these Knights back to life and draws them to the skull owner. This setting is a mixture of Indiana Jones and zombie horror. With ancient artifacts, knights, daring adventurers, and a lounge singer template the author was clearly going for a pulp feel.

2/5. To really work this setting needs an adventure to be structured in a three tiered format. First, the PCs have to learn about the magic skull. This may be accomplished through research or investigating the cultists. Second, the PCs must acquire the skull. Since the undead are drawn to the skull, this will likely result in some fun. Finally, the PCs must destroy the skull. I like the material, I just don’t feel like there are as many options for playing out this scenario as there are with other Deadworlds.

Dial Z for Hero

Sometimes people come back from the dead with super powers. They then feel compelled to choose to do good or evil and follow all the rules of four color comics. That’s it. Tools are provided to assist in building supers, but they are very limited. If a person already owns several other products in the All Flesh Must Be Eaten Line, such as Dungeons and Zombies, they may have better luck. With just this and the core book I don’t even consider this option playable. 1/5. No originality was put into this entry. The necessary tools for playing even limited supers were not provided. No sense of horror really exists in this setting, except for being a zombie. This entire entry is just a waste of space, though I would buy a Capes and Zombies setting book if the entries and support were of much higher quality than this one.

Our Zombies at War

Hitler put his necromancers to work creating zombie soldiers. The U.S.S.R. put their scientists to work creating psychotronic zombies. The United States used chemicals to create super soldiers that turn into zombies. World War II is in full swing, and the dead are doing most of the fighting. Support is presented for players to take on the role of one or more American zombies and soldiers, fighting the good fight against evil. Pulp rules are used, and this is definetly a high action setting.

3/5. This setting provides a solid basis for pulpy WWII gameplay involving zombies, though it focuses too much on the American zombie project. The alternate world WWII does sound like fun, and this setting supports a longer term All Flesh campaign better than most Deadworlds do. This may be a low horror setting, however, considering the power level of the players and inclusion of the American zombies. Probably the scariest scenario imaginable with this setting is having just one of the American zombies in the party and watching him degenerate over time.

The Dread Menace

During the Red Scare, a time period during the Cold War when Americans were particularly afraid of communists, mind control drugs were introduced in select communities to assure the loyalty of American citizens. These mind control drugs, of course, led to zombification and a zombie plague across the United States. The setting information for this Deadworld is very evocative, with threat levels and response procedures that will remind readers of such great fiction as The Stand.

3/5. While the entry is a great read, this is just another Deadworld. There are zombies, they are on the rise, and the world is doomed. There is no real flavor here beyond that, which is unfortunate because this setup really does benefit from good writing and ideas. Zombie Masters who want to play up paranoia towards the government or want to put characters in the harsh roles of making decisions AS the government officials could have a lot of fun with this one.

Peace, Love, and Zombies

The United States government was trying to make zombies in the late 60s, probably to use as soldiers. That’s what they always do. There are two relevant groups of zombies that get created, the standard mindless flesh eating zombie and zombies that retain their intelligence but have to eat brains on occasion. The latter zombies managed to break out and are now on the run from the government.

4/5. I agree with the author that having zombies hidden in among the counter culture of the 60s sounds like fun, either for a response team hunting down the zombies or for a group playing the zombies and just trying to stay unalive. Ultimately this setting is focused on the 60s counter culture movement, but I appreciate that it is a specific Deadworld meant to be played out in a subset of society instead of another gigantic plague across the world.

Sweet Zombie Treat

An ice cream business is on the decline, so the owner speaks to the dead spirit of a previous owner through magical means. She tells him to add something to the mix which ultimately creates zombies. The business starts doing a lot better after that, presumably due to some sort of dark forces. Now the chain is nationwide, with ice cream deliver trucks driven by zombies delivering zombifying treats to children and adults everywhere.

1/5. My big problem here is that this entry is nothing but a silly gimmick. This is just another Deadworld with a zombie plague, only this one is caused by drugged ice cream instead of drugs in the water or a plague. The idea of an ice cream truck being creepy is a fine idea, but zombie creating ice cream created by the shade of the former owner is just wacky.

Welcome to Whimseyville

Whimseyville, which is basically Disney World, wasn’t doing well until the owners started inserting microchips into corpses to create excellent new workers. Workers who occasionally go crazy and start eating the guests. These workers function both as “animatronic” attractions, costume wearing characters, and security guards.

2/5. I question the playability of this scenario. The idea is out there, but there is a solid basis for a horror game here. My problem is that for the characters to know what is going on, they would have to witness or be involved in a zombie altercation. Witnesses are typically assimilated and become more zombies, so there could be some fun in playing amusement park guests trying to escape the staff and security. I anticipate it would be a hard sell for many groups.

The Not-So Perfect Storm

Scientists on a remote island invented a tissue regeneration chemical that regenerated buried corpses on the island and created the walking dead. A ship has arrived to take a few to safety, but right now a hurricane is going on outside. With a few guns, kitchen knives, crowbars, and whatever else they can find the cast must survive long enough to escape the island and return to civilization.

3/5. This is a simple scenario, but I like it because of its simplicity. It’s very good for a one off and includes a lot of classic horror situations, such as not being able to escape and being stuck in an enclosed area with things trying to break in.

Parallelium

A bus drives into a parallel fantasy world where a zombie plague has infested everything, even dragons. That’s it. The scenario is meant to take modern characters and put them in Dungeons and Zombies.

1/5. The write up is short and simple, but doesn’t provide enough support to accomplish anything. Putting the characters in another world where the undead are rampaging may be a neat idea, but the setting has no follow through. The scenarios suggest the characters might seek out the king for help, and that villagers may hint that others have come from beyond this world. This scenario could provide a basis for a longer term Dungeons and Zombies campaign, but it is so vague and basic that it offers the Zombie Master no real support.

Immortality

For some reason, zombies started appearing. Zombies that eat human hearts look completely human and are able to blend in with various communities. Humans that eat zombie hearts gain immortality. The setting involves a strange rural city nestled by two major highways, and the main scenarios involve noticing a zombie masquerading in the community or playing a member of this strange community dealing with the zombie plague.

1/5. I found this to be the most poorly written of all the scenarios. A lot of the writing just feels like filler, such as the suggestion that characters could become involved in the town by having been driving down the highway looking for something. The community itself is a little unbelievable, and while there are different factions the author provides almost no way to distinguish between them.

Necropolis Ascendant

In this scenario a cabal of modern day Necromancers unleash a torrent of negative energy into the world that results in the dead rising. With civilization coming to an end the major governments of Earth agree to give control of their largest cities over to these Necromancers, who set themselves up as Emperors. With great necromantic shields these rulers keep out the hordes of undead and settle into their role as rulers and scholars of the dark arts.

4/5. This setting is a mesh of near future dystopia, complete with biker gangs and drug abuse on the dirt streets, with modern day magic. Players may take on a variety of roles, including certain types of interesting undead formed through botched rituals. The scenarios are fun, with a focus on dealing with the dystopian society the Necromancers have created and using mystical powers in the fight against evil.

Panacea

A new drug gives near perfect health and long life, but those that die early reanimate into flesh devouring zombies. Folk take a lot more risks and live dangerously, since the drug tends to regenerate wounds and keep them in perfect health. Hygiene is lower, and interpersonal abuse is more difficult to detect since the signs of abuse heal rapidly. This has lead to an emotionally distant humanity that engages in dangerous pleasures while fearing intimacy since a loved one could die in the night and transform into a zombie. A new technique has been devised to safely control zombies, which has created a cheap manual labor workforce.

4/5. This Deadworld is creative and has a variety of interesting scenarios to play through. The effect of this drug on humanity seems particularly well thought out, and I like the horror potential of a humanity that has grown so frightened of itself that no one forms lasting relationships anymore. Even an injured person on the street would not be helped, as they could become a rampaging zombie should they die of their wounds.

Legacy

This is a future setting with a dash of transhumanism mixed in. Zombies arise and it’s up to humans and their biorobot creations to fight the good fight. The setting seems to focus on the biorobots more than the humans, and suggests that many of them are happy to see humanity passing away. One of the major scenarios is a biorobot rebellion.

2/5. I don’t know why the author even wrote this entry, as the zombies only exist to provide a reason for humanity to have been weakened. The word “zombie” could just as easily be replaced with “plague” and the scenario would work just as well. Humanity is having a hard time, and so the biorobots are seizing the opportunity to come out ahead of time. Too bad the scientists in this world never considered the possibility of a robot or AI rebellion. Nevertheless, transhumanism is cool and there is some definite fun potential here.

The Dead of Space

A long range colony ship traveling at STL speeds suffers malfunctions after the pilot crew goes to war against itself. After the malfunction, the cryo units are exposed to a strange chemical mix and heavy dose of radiation resulting in zombies. Scenarios generally involve escaping the ship or being a salvage/marine team sent to investigate what happened to the colonists.

3/5. It’s a solid premise for zombies in space. The author tends to include unnecessary details, such as the pilot crew’s civil war leading to the malfunctions. This scenario does present a great basis for running an Alien or Aliens inspired game, either with characters trying to escape the monsters or gunning them down in a boarding action.

My Take

Be warned. If you do not own most of the All Flesh product line many of these scenarios will not be useful to you. Pulp Zombies, Enter the Zombie, Dungeons and Zombies, One of the Living, Atlas of the Walking Dead, and Witchcraft are all needed to use various parts of this book and that’s just off the top of my head. If you only own All Flesh consider paging through this one in a bookstore before buying.

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.