It's interesting that if you run this system with the PCs playing themselves you're vulnerable to the local culture or context. For instance I'm from the UK. We don't just guns lying around all over the place!

Should make arming the party that much more challenging. Or what about people playing in more rural or isolated areas? They've got far less to work with, but might have reprieve from the immediate effects of the apocalypse? More time to react/prepare?

Seems a really interesting setting. Could be very challenging on a personal level too. I might have to role play that my partner and our children are either dead or undead etc.

It's interesting that if you run this system with the PCs playing themselves you're vulnerable to the local culture or context. For instance I'm from the UK. We don't just guns lying around all over the place!

Should make arming the party that much more challenging. Or what about people playing in more rural or isolated areas? They've got far less to work with, but might have reprieve from the immediate effects of the apocalypse? More time to react/prepare?

This might sound ignorant so please, please I mean it, forgive me if I sound like a stupid American, but aren't there still people that don't follow that law? Like people out in the country that don't really care?

Also you don't need guns to survive zombies, just read a handly little book called The Zombie Survival Guide. While guns are useful they aren't a requirement for an outbreak's survival.

No offence taken. Seriously there are very little guns in the UK. They're very hard to get hold of. Black market stuff. Farmers do have access to hunting rifles etc but there are very stringent licenses.

The police have guns of course but not as standard practice - if the police want guns they either have to know in advance of an event or operation that they need them, or call in the 'gun squad'.

You mean Hot Fuzz lied to me on the representation of guns in the countryside?! Noooo! (sarcasm)

That's interesting, should make for some interesting play at least. Especially if you were to come upon a farmhouse being attacked by raiders trying to get a hunting rifle. Do you defend the owner, or help and try and take the weapon for yourself?

I gotta agree with jonboyjon here, since i'm from Belgium: We make great guns but we don't have them lying around. At most you are gonna find some hunting rifles with low yield buckshot, nothing high end or with good stoping power. And going to a police station to grab some guns will get you killed in a riot of panic stricken people and or zombies.

I think you can do a real number on a zombie horde with a tractor/ combine harvester. Untill the fuel runs out.

while i agree with the survival guide, I'd rather not get into close combat with a bunch of zombies. One wrong swing and it's the zombie's turn.

Also i seriously doubt the effectiveness of blunt weapons. Since most zombies drop when you DESTROY the brain (ie inflict serious damage), whacking a zombie with a baseball bat or lead pipe might just not do enough damage to "kill" it.

Its great for knocking out humans, but a reanimated corpse that cant feel pain or be stunned, and whose bodily fluids might have congealed (most brain trauma from impacts is cause by the brain bouncing around inside the skull.) will not be stopped by it.

Or you play it in the style of another Simon Pegg film where all you're armed with is a cricket bat. If it's anything like computer games, playing without guns could actually be more fun

Edit: way to put a dampener on my idea Robin!

A crowbar might work, but i'd go with something that can split the skull like an axe or a claw hammer.

Hey if you wanna go out fighting zombies with a cricketbat, knock yourself out (pun not intended)

That's not strictly true. II have several friends in the U.K with gun collections, and I myself had a shotgun license until I moved to China. They're not commonplace, but the restrictions aren't as bad as most people think they are. The only thing thats fully illegal are full automatic weaponry and handguns (following the dunblane shooting in the 90's).

A scenario me and my friends always joked about was that in the event of a zombie apocalypse we would have to get to our friend Sim's house, as he has a large collection of weaponry and ex military vehicles. However seeing as he lives in Peterborough, and we're based in West Yorkshire, that would basically be the whole first part of the campaign sorted.

I think that a lack of guns might be a boon as well as a curse. While it's true your characters can't raid the local Wal-Mart (yes, my friends already decided that will be their first target in the game) at the same time, the rioters will probably also be more poorly equipped. In a US game, you have to wonder if any human you come across is packing. Check that, you should COUNT on any human you come across is packing.

Just something to think about.

Well, if you know where to get the guns, you're fine. And, armed police and military boys will have them, so if they're deployed near you and you know how to operate them (which I and one of my group do), then you're in. Note, I am in the UK.

Well, if you know where to get the guns, you're fine. And, armed police and military boys will have them, so if they're deployed near you and you know how to operate them (which I and one of my group do), then you're in. Note, I am in the UK.

Armed police/soldiier boys don't like it when you wanna take their stuff, or they might not want to share, or early on in the zombie uprising they might even detain you, because they don't like armed posses running around the place. Also soldiers would be deployed to combat the zombie infestations- ie in the thick of things, to put it clearly: if i see armed soldiers heading one way, i'm going in the opposite direction.

That's not strictly true. II have several friends in the U.K with gun collections, and I myself had a shotgun license until I moved to China. They're not commonplace, but the restrictions aren't as bad as most people think they are. The only thing thats fully illegal are full automatic weaponry and handguns (following the dunblane shooting in the 90's).

A scenario me and my friends always joked about was that in the event of a zombie apocalypse we would have to get to our friend Sim's house, as he has a large collection of weaponry and ex military vehicles. However seeing as he lives in Peterborough, and we're based in West Yorkshire, that would basically be the whole first part of the campaign sorted.

Having a gun is one thing, but what about ammo? In an American town you can sneak into town and raid an abandoned gun shop for ammo, find ammo on bodies and in abandoned houses. You're not so likely to find a gun shop in Hebdon Bridge or find ammo on the body of someone who works in Greggs.

I feel your pain man.

I’m Danish, and we seriously don’t have any firearms lying around. Used to be, members of the “Home Guard” could have weapons at home, but that hasn’t been allowed for some years. Other than that, it’s a real pain in the backside to get, and retain, a license for hunting rifles and you need a different license for knives longer than 12 centimeters (except kitchen knives and the like).

It doesn’t mean that you can’t find those kinds of weapons (especially knives, since that law is just nuts, and many people don’t really follow it), but most of them will be illegal, and the rest will be locked away in bunkers and/or steel cabinets.

Most of my own role playing group are current or former soldiers, so we at least know where to look (even if we don’t necessarily have the keys and codes to the huge friggen bunkers where they are locked up), but I forsee a lot of very improvised weapons in my future (which might be equally awesome ).

It's interesting that if you run this system with the PCs playing themselves you're vulnerable to the local culture or context. For instance I'm from the UK. We don't just guns lying around all over the place!

Should make arming the party that much more challenging. Or what about people playing in more rural or isolated areas? They've got far less to work with, but might have reprieve from the immediate effects of the apocalypse? More time to react/prepare?

Seems a really interesting setting. Could be very challenging on a personal level too. I might have to role play that my partner and our children are either dead or undead etc.

Guns don't kill zombies, rappers do!

This actually adds a fun twist to the game. Have your group play themselves but have them on holiday somewhere they aren't familiar with. Talk about hard mode.

I'll echo something I wrote in another topic:

Heck even in a gun shy country like the Netherlands, where I live, I am well aware where I could find weapons. There are gun clubs and police stations, depots, etc. I know people that have weapons and I thik the journey to go get those guns might be a great start off point for an adventure!

Also there are hunters, military bases, dump stores where they sell crossbows, bows, sorts, axes, etc. etc. The difficulty of obtaining weapons seems like part of the appeal to me.

Well I'm going to say that I reckon to start out my players would be worse off. I mean we have strict law on guns here, so getting a license is near impossible, the cops have guns equipped, but we do not have a Walmart or any supermarket like place that sells weaponry, army bases are not exactly common sight. I reckon things could be really interesting. I would also probably start my games at the local store, we have a place in the store where we play that's on the second storey and has pretty much all glass salsa, called the fish bowl. I reckon that would help to give my players pretty good immersion to see the world as I'm describing it, and for them to think of their next action.

Well, if you know where to get the guns, you're fine. And, armed police and military boys will have them, so if they're deployed near you and you know how to operate them (which I and one of my group do), then you're in. Note, I am in the UK.

Armed police/soldiier boys don't like it when you wanna take their stuff, or they might not want to share, or early on in the zombie uprising they might even detain you, because they don't like armed posses running around the place. Also soldiers would be deployed to combat the zombie infestations- ie in the thick of things, to put it clearly: if i see armed soldiers heading one way, i'm going in the opposite direction.

I was refering to them being dead. Although thinking straight, I'm still on the army retiree reserve list for maybe two more years (albeit on the discharged due to wounding category, so I'm a last resort) , so I might not even be around, depending on the government response. I might be off in the country getting killed through command incompetence or, having ditched the first time I can, trying to find my way to somewhere I know.

I feel so fortunate to have a brother who's a gun merchant.

A couple of months ago, he showed me his anti-zombie Mossberger 500, with a bayonet, shell belt, extra front grip and flashlight.

I honestly have no idea what the majority of people in Sweden would do. They'd be worm food before the week is over.

Well, if you know where to get the guns, you're fine. And, armed police and military boys will have them, so if they're deployed near you and you know how to operate them (which I and one of my group do), then you're in. Note, I am in the UK.

Armed police/soldiier boys don't like it when you wanna take their stuff, or they might not want to share, or early on in the zombie uprising they might even detain you, because they don't like armed posses running around the place. Also soldiers would be deployed to combat the zombie infestations- ie in the thick of things, to put it clearly: if i see armed soldiers heading one way, i'm going in the opposite direction.

I was refering to them being dead. Although thinking straight, I'm still on the army retiree reserve list for maybe two more years (albeit on the discharged due to wounding category, so I'm a last resort) , so I might not even be around, depending on the government response. I might be off in the country getting killed through command incompetence or, having ditched the first time I can, trying to find my way to somewhere I know.

Ah i see, please allow me to poke one tiny hole in your plan to take guns from dead cops/soldiers...

If they are dead from zombies then they are now undead, I wouldn't wanna wade into a squad of zombie GI's to take their guns from cold dead hands.

If they are dead from human looters, then they won't have guns anymore.

All I have to say is a crow bar never runs out of ammo and is a multi task weapon/tool . Also it's silent , and most people don't realize how much of an edge that could be .

Well, if you know where to get the guns, you're fine. And, armed police and military boys will have them, so if they're deployed near you and you know how to operate them (which I and one of my group do), then you're in. Note, I am in the UK.

Armed police/soldiier boys don't like it when you wanna take their stuff, or they might not want to share, or early on in the zombie uprising they might even detain you, because they don't like armed posses running around the place. Also soldiers would be deployed to combat the zombie infestations- ie in the thick of things, to put it clearly: if i see armed soldiers heading one way, i'm going in the opposite direction.

I was refering to them being dead. Although thinking straight, I'm still on the army retiree reserve list for maybe two more years (albeit on the discharged due to wounding category, so I'm a last resort) , so I might not even be around, depending on the government response. I might be off in the country getting killed through command incompetence or, having ditched the first time I can, trying to find my way to somewhere I know.

Ah i see, please allow me to poke one tiny hole in your plan to take guns from dead cops/soldiers...

If they are dead from zombies then they are now undead, I wouldn't wanna wade into a squad of zombie GI's to take their guns from cold dead hands.

If they are dead from human looters, then they won't have guns anymore.

Silence. But seriously, I submit to your logic. Unless the zombies aren't animated by bite, I'll have to find my gunses else where.

Yes, submit to my logic! bwahhhaaa! Ok sorry. Ill stop now

Megalomaniacal laugh out of the way...

But i started thinking about an alternative to the stars of "Guns& Ammo" magazine...

Bow & arrows/ crossbows! They are silent, and are way easier to manufacture than firearms. And if you are lucky you can even recover shot ammo. The down side is they require two hands and have a very slow rate of fire, but if you have a defensable position or the element of suprise, they could really work for you, both against humans and zombies.

Shawn of the Dead, get a cricket bat.

All I have to say is a crow bar never runs out of ammo and is a multi task weapon/tool . Also it's silent , and most people don't realize how much of an edge that could be .

Too heavy. Too clumsy. Too hard to remove from the first corpse you hit, so the second one bites you.

I would go for a baseball bat, cricket bat, hockey stick or something like that. Light and easy to bash away with. Easy to carry and throw in the boot and rather importantly you can carry arround more than one.