What's Dead Reign like?

[ThanogHamros]

I recently purchased the Dead Reign bundle on Humble Bundle and have a few questions about it. I remember seeing the book during Hurricane Maria and liked the setting. How does it fit into the Palladium megaverse and its recent content? Have you played other zombie or TTRPGs, and how does Dead Reign compare? Is it worth getting additional source books? I've heard mixed reviews about the game, but I'm hoping to get some more recent opinions. Thanks.

[Grazzik]

I've played DR for many years. The flavor of the game is dependent, like all TTRPGs, on what the GM and players want to get out of it. So, whether it is fun or not is really up to how much you put into it. The basic premise is that of any zombie game where the PCs just run and survive... kinda boring if that's all that the GM can think of. I like to start the campaign one or two years later when things have settled down and whoever has survived are a hard people. Also, after a couple years, supplies are still good in areas not yet ransacked. Inspiration from shows like Z Nation is much recommended to add humor and creativity as the DR / Palladium rules are very flexible to allow GMs to do what they like.

As a setting within the PB megaverse, it is not a one to one plug and play - but then no PB game is compatible with other PB games out of the box without house rules and modification. The mechanics are generally the same, but there are a few quirks. I use it megaversally as the model for any zombie element in my games. However, I use the standard PB rules for combat with zombies, particularly called shots - DR rules are a bit wonky and not consistent IMO.

Some sourcebooks are chock full of great background material for adaptation to other PB games. The OCCs are pretty decent and transferable to other settings, including Chaos Earth. In fact, I prefer using DR for a localized zombie wasteland rather than the CE zombies based on the "transmission". The rules are useful in other games, for example, the Drone Master OCC has rules for creating weaponized drones, something that I factored heavily in my Rifts combat almost a decade ago.

If I were to recommend any sourcebooks, the best in my opinion is Hell Followed. Jam packed of material - relief centers, disaster rules, good mix of OCCs and new zombies. Endless Dead is okay - looks at things from a military enclave perspective and has some encounter/search tables. In the Face of Death is decent enough for further along in the timeline as communities form in the ruined cities and has interesting rules for Kid OCCs... useful if there are younger players who want to roleplay within a context they understand. The least useful is Graveyard Earth as it really doesn't add much other than commentary.

[anywaydeclare]

If you’re enjoying the base game, picking up a few sourcebooks might be worthwhile, especially if you’re looking for more structured or varied gameplay within the setting. These books bring a lot to the table by fleshing out encounters, expanding lore, and offering new character options, adding replay value and narrative depth. Some players feel, though, that the core game stands alone well, so it really depends on how in-depth you want to go with world-building and character customization.