Adventure Cards of the Dead (8130402)

The following cards are for the GM to customize his Savage Worlds Adventure Deck to fit with the feel of the

War of the Dead adventures. Accordingly, the GM should pull out any of the regular Adventure Cards that

might throw too many screwballs into the campaign. (Just wait until someone tries to play “Love Interest” or

“Villainous Verbosity” on your “zombie boss” and you’ll know what we mean. Any cards relating to Arcane

Backgrounds and magic items are likewise moot.)

As per the standard Adventure Deck rules, each hero gets one card per Rank (i.e., 1 at Novice, up to 5 at

Legendary) at the start of the session. Heroes are free to trade cards amongst themselves, but each hero can play

only ONE card during the session. (For exceptions to this, see the standard Adventure Deck rules.)

These cards let players influence the storyline beyond the sort of things a character could actually accomplish on

his own, usually representing a “lucky break” for the heroes. For instance, imagine a horror movie where, at a

critical moment, a dog suddenly starts barking, distracting the monster from finding the hero’s hiding place ... or

a heavily damaged floor section finally gives way, right underneath the villain’s feet, thus allowing the heroes to

escape to fight (or flee) another day.

Of course, this can wreak havoc with the GM’s carefully-laid plans! The GM gets final veto, though attempts

should be made to reconcile things, and the “trappings” of a card shouldn’t be taken too literally. If a card is

vetoed, the player can discard and draw another to use later in the session instead. On the other hand, if a player

manages to get a use a card in a “dramatically appropriate” way that really adds to the story, that’s at the very least

worth a benny for style.

adventure cards of

the dead

illustrations an

d design by t. j

ordan & wendy pea

cock

graphic elements by

david Jarvis

playtesting by j

ohn boulton, ch

ris stadler, sco

tt venable, and

john zielinsky

for use with the

war of the dead s

etting

by lee f. szczep

anik, jr.

requires the sav

age worlds adventure

deck and savage

worlds rpg by pin

nacle

entertainment, and

the war of the dead c

ampaign series by

daring entertain

ment

This game accessory references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com.

Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

To use these cards, you will need the Savage Worlds Adventure Deck from Pinnacle Entertainment.

Daring Entertainment (and the War of the Dead campaign setting) can be found on the Internet at:

www.daringentertain.com

©2010 Daring Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

ALEXANDER KUKHARENKO (order #8130402)

Savage Worlds and the Savage Worlds logo are trademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. (http://www.peginc.com) War of the Dead is a trademark of Daring Entertainment. (http://daringentertain.com)Original artwork and layout by T. Jordan “Greywolf” and Wendy Peacock. (http://greywolf.critter.net)

Permission granted to print or copy for personal use only. No redistribution rights granted or implied.

Boom! head shot!Immediately after a successful attack is made, even after damage is rolled, you can retroactively turn it into a called shot, with appropriate modification to damage, etc.

structural failure convenient distraction BaPtIsM BY fIre

extra gorerapid decayfade to blacknew recruitUpon exploring a new location, you find a fellow survivor. This character is an Extra, starting at Neutral attitude, though this may be improved normally.

Generic SurvivorAgi d6, Sma d6, Spi d6, Str d6, Vig d6Charisma +0; Pace 6; Parry 2; Toughness 5Skills (d6): Guts, Notice, StealthGear: Improvised weapon (Str+d4)

Play after any character sustains an Incapacitating attack (or an infectious bite). Any damage done to the character this round didn’t really happen; somehow the character was lost in the chaos, knocked unconscious, and not chewed on by any ghouls in the meantime. The character is out of the action for this encounter, but will turn up again at the next opportunity.

Play after any damaging attack made by an attack from a rotting undead creature, or a plausibly breakable weapon. The damage is negated, because the “weapon” broke in the process (and is rendered useless). A jawless zombie can’t bite, and a zombie minus an arm is going to suffer off-hand attack penalties.

Play after any attack. Any enemy hit by this attack that takes enough damage to be Shaken also suffers an Injury in addition to any other effects. (See the Injury Table in Savage Worlds. This Injury goes away if the target is healed of at least one wound.)

Play on an Extra who has recently performed a noteworthy feat (for example, killed a zombie, or rolled really high on a Guts check). This Extra gains an Advance, which should be spent on something related to the accomplishment in question. This card can only be used once per Extra per campaign.

At a timely moment, a car alarm goes off, a dog in a nearby building starts barking loudly, a stack of cans falls over, etc. Something distracts all enemies for 1 round (until attacked or otherwise alerted), OR all Stealth rolls made this round by you and your allies gain a +4 bonus.

A weapon jams, a car runs out of gas, a machine malfunctions, the roof of a damaged building collapses.... Some little mishap that could happen finally does happen, at the dramatically-appropriate moment. The exact effects are up to GM discretion, but at the very least should provide a suitable distraction.




improvizeAs a free action, one character grabs a nearby handy item that turns out to be a viable weapon (default Str+d4 damage, +1 Parry, throwable 3/6/12, 1 lb) or temporary makeshift tool (ignore the penalty for lack of proper tools for one task).

a little left in `er recuperation hit the deck!

familiar facecoMIc reLIefominous soundtrackrun! I can hold them off!Your hero sacrifices himself with a grenade he was saving, or blazing away on full auto, etc. Immediately, even if Incapacitated or Shaken, he blurts out his last words, deals 3d8 damage to all enemies within 6”, and dies in the mayhem. He won’t be coming back as one of “them.” (Your replacement hero starts with the full Experience Points the old one had, instead of the normal ½.)

It’s as if you can hear the creepy horror movie music in the background. Somehow, you just know something bad is up, so you aren’t caught off guard. Either you start the encounter with your weapon ready and on Hold (regardless of how you fared on surprise rolls), OR you warn an ally just in time (so she starts on Hold instead).

Come up with a wisecrack or wry comment to defuse the tension of the situation. You and all allies immediately recover from Shaken status and may ignore penalties from Fear and Phobia effects for the remainder of the encounter.

One of the otherwise “faceless” zombies is actually an old friend, old flame, or a relative. Your character is immediately Shaken. The zombie focuses exclusively on your character, ignoring all other foes while you still breathe. You, however, gain +2 on all trait rolls against it (including Guts checks and recovery rolls from being Shaken).

A stray bullet hits a gas tank, or a soldier zombie was carrying a live grenade.... Come up with a plausible reason that things should go “BOOM” ... and they do! Place a Large Burst Template appropriately; anyone who fails an Agility test (–2) to dive for cover (or who is too mindless to even try) is hit for 3d6 damage, and catches fire if flammable.

It “wasn’t that bad after all.” After some first aid and rest, one character is healed of all wound levels OR of one permanent injury, though the hero may still be bandaged up and have a few non-game-affecting aches for a while. This doesn’t apply for lost limbs, snapped bones, etc.; that’s too much of a stretch to “get better from” so quickly.

With a swift kick or just one more try, the hero gets a damaged or functionless device to work for the rest of the encounter (with a vehicle ignoring any wound penalties). This could be a chainsaw that sputtered out, a radio with dead batteries, a gun thought to have dud ammo, etc. After this scene, however, the item is useless unless repaired, refueled, etc.




shop `til you dropGain +4 to a single Survival roll made to forage or scavenge, OR automatically find one of the following items in addition to what you’d find otherwise: 5 gallons of fuel; 1 clip/load of ammunition for your primary weapon; 7 days’ worth of food and water; a tool kit; a first aid kit; an axe or similar melee weapon; or, a working flashlight or kerosene lantern.

nooooooooooo! must ... keep ... going! inventory reduction

it was just a dream...... noW!not quite the cavalryone-linerMake a Trick, Taunt, or Intimidate attempt as a free action, as your character engages in witty reparte or issues a deadpan one-liner, snide remark, defiant cry, etc.—whatever best fits your character.

Play in an encounter, and a new force enters the fray. For example, if you’re fighting zombies, a pack of 2d6 wild dogs shows up; if you’re fighting off raiders, 2d6 zombies show up. Whatever the case, they are NOT your friends. Nonetheless, they could provide a timely distraction.

Teamwork pays off! This round, your allies have the option to act on your action card, even if they’re lower in the turn order. If there are any disputes, actions are resolved on your card in the order you dictate. This also allows for Cooperative Rolls, if applicable.

You went to the loo alone and got eaten by ghouls ... or pushed that blinking red button to see what it would do.... No, wait, that didn’t really happen! It was just a dream, vision, or hallucination.At the GM’s discretion, you get to rewind just a little, as long as it only involves your PC. (That is, you can’t use this to “retcon” a fight everyone else was involved with.)

All damage sustained previously this round against a single target is negated, but an item in the victim’s inventory (GM’s choice) takes the damage and is destroyed. ALTERNATIVELY, play this card to “maximize” all damage dice on a single attack (each die automatically Aces once), but the weapon is destroyed in the process.

One character ignores all Fatigue and Wound penalties for the remainder of the current encounter, unless Incapacitated. At the end of the encounter, however, the character falls unconscious from exhaustion for 1d6 hours.

Play after a suitable “emotional trigger event” (death of an ally, faced with a new and unspeakable horror, etc.), this character “snaps.” She immediately gains the use of one Combat Edge of her choice (which she would otherwise qualify for) for the remainder of the current encounter. This stacks with normal use of Heroic Determination.




hot wheelsIn an area littered with abandoned vehicles (such as a typical urban disaster zone), you find an intact vehicle (e.g., car, truck, or motorcycle), relatively undamaged (no wound levels), and at least enough fuel to leave the scene. What’s more, the keys are in the ignition or easily found nearby.

specialized knowledge false alarm do some science to it!

slice of civilizationrun for it!don`t touch her!fellow life formYou befriend a beast (dog, riding horse, etc., as an Extra), OR receive one-time assistance of sorts from the local fauna. (A flock/swarm of crows attacks the zombies, a cunning coyote leads you to clean water, etc.) It’s up to GM discretion, but feel free to invent something and suggest it.

A successful attack against a character within reach of your Pace is made against you instead, as you leap to interpose yourself. You take any applicable damage, but bonuses to the damage due to called shots or raises are negated. You receive a benny for your heroism (which can be used immediately for a soak roll, if needed).

You and your allies may, as a free action, and out of turn, immediately run (a normal move and run), as long as they’re capable of movement. Attacks made against them while breaking away (if applicable) are at –2 to hit. No other actions may be taken on this “free” movement. For this round, running die rolls are maximized for you and your allies (e.g., a d6 is a 6).

When traveling, the heroes encounter a friendly group of survivors. They provide a safe place to stay the night, and offer a simple meal in exchange for whatever stories the heroes might share. They might have gear to trade (for items of comparable value), but won’t join forces, and for whatever reason the heroes can’t stay beyond the one night.

You’ll need to be creative on the details, but somehow all the pieces are in place. For example, chemicals are scattered about and you have the Knowledge skill to use them. Whatever the trappings, you can pick a skill that’s normally not for combat, and use it to attack an enemy up to 12” away this round. This deals 3d6 damage on a success (or 4d6 damage on a raise).

Play this immediately when a random or “incidental” encounter pops up, to avoid it. Either there weren’t zombies after all (just a cat in the alley plus your jumpy nerves), or else the enemies are unaware of your presence and easily bypassed.

One character gains a free d6 in a very specialized and immediately useful skill application—e.g., Driving d6 ONLY with a particular model of car you just acquired, because you “used to own one.” This “free” skill cannot be improved via Advances, though the base skill can be acquired and improved normally. This card may only be used once per character per campaign.


Adventure Cards of the Dead (8130402)

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