HEROES OF THE DEAD

Characters from George Romero’s “Dead” Movies for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten RPG

By TexasZombie

No copyright infringement is intended to anyone who made these movies or wrote these books – think of this as free advertising for your fine products.

original (non-Eden, non-Romero, non-Russo, non-Savini, non-anyone else’s) concepts © 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

WARNING  Some language and ideas herein may be offensive to some.  Exercise personal responsibility and read at your own risk.

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Introduction

I’m not sure why no one else has done this before – if you have, please accept my apologies in advance.

Also note:  this is my interpretation.  It is not a “definitive” description.  I’d encourage readers to work out their own statistics if so inclined.

Presented below are several characters from George Romero’s “Dead” Trilogy stated out for the AFMBE RPG.  As mentioned above, this is a tribute, not an attempt to take credit for anyone else’s work.

Character statistics were derived from several sources

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD – Barbara and Ben

· Night of the Living Dead 1968 (movie)

· Night of the Living Dead, 1974 (novel)

· Night of the Living Dead, 1989 (movie)

DAWN OF THE DEAD – Peter Washington, Francine Parker, Roger DeMarco, Stephen Andrews

· Dawn of the Dead 1978 (movie)

· Dawn of the Dead 1978 (novel)

DAY OF THE DEAD – Sarah, John, Billy McDermott, Dr. Logan, Bub

· Day of the Dead 1985 (movie)

It was necessary to draw from multiple works where possible in order to fill out the characters as much as possible.  In some cases, most notably the character of Barbara from “Night of the Living Dead”, some sources were used with more weight than others (i.e. in the original movie, Barbara spends most of the movie in a semi-lucid state; in the remake, Barbara is a much more interesting character with an apparently broader range of skills).

Also, rather than try to cover the entire cast, this document covers only those characters who survived each respective movie (or version thereof), or, in the case of Ben, Logan, Stephen, and Roger, were interesting and could have survived if things had worked out a little better.

In all cases, some extrapolations have been made.  For example, we don’t know anything about Barbara’s job.  We know Ben traveled as part of his job, but no details were provided.  We know Peter played racket ball, but don’t know what Fran liked to do when not fighting zombies.  In some cases we don’t even know the last names of the characters.

This document doesn’t cover the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, the film Children of the Living Dead, or any of the Return of the Living Dead series.  Those works, while inspired by the four “canon” films, are not really in the same milieu and are significantly different in too many ways to be part of Romero’s “Dead” series.

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NIGHT OF THE LIVNG DEAD

Barbara (last name unknown) Night of the Living Dead 1989 Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 2 Con 3 Int 2 Per 3 Wil 2 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Attractiveness 1 Fast Reaction Time Quick Learner Drawbacks Honorable 1 Skills Guns (Handgun) 2 (never missed with cop’s pistol) Guns (Rifle) 2 (or Satchel’s rifle) Hand Weapon (Club) 2 (fireplace poker) Brawling 2 (various scuffles with zombies and Cooper) Run (Sprint) 3 (flees a lot) Run (Marathon) 3 (for long distances) Humanities 2 (Theology) (takes religion seriously) Rituals (Catholic, Christian) 2 (crosses self at least twice) Drive (Car) 2 Notice 4 (“They’re so slow!”) Bureaucracy 3 Humanities (Job Skill) 3

Gear .357 Magnum revolver, police-issue belt with 12 rounds of ammunition, flashlight and cuffs Personality "I am not loosing it!  Anything I lost I lost a long time ago, and I do not intend on loosing anything again. “Ben told me to fight, and I’m still fighting.” Quote "They’re so slow.  We could walk right past them.  You know I’m right!  We can get away!” WDR, 2005 eviloverlord668@yahoo.com We don’t know what Barbara did for a living, but whatever it was it had no impact on the outcome of either movie or the novel.  Therefore, I’ve left it undetermined.  Based on Barbara’s attitude at the beginning of both movies and the novel, my best guess is that it was some kind of office job that didn’t require a lot of confrontation-type interactions.  Some of Barbara’s skills developed during the course of the story, or meant she really could shoot and just forgot that in the initial panic.

Ben (last name unknown) 1968, 1974, 1989 combination Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 2 Con 3 Int 2 Per 2 Wil 3 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Jack of All Trades (seemed adaptable) Jury-Rigging (board up house, make torches, improvise clubs, etc.) Charisma 3 (Barbara trusted him immediately) Attractive 1 (big guy; stands out in crowd) Drawbacks Dependent (Family) 3* Addiction (Smoking) 1 Minority 1 Skills Drive (Car/Pickup) 2} Guns (Rifle) 2 Guns (Handgun) 2 Hand Weapon (Club) 2 Brawling 3 Humanities (Theology) 1 Rituals (Christian) 1 (crosses himself at least once in 1989 movie) Questioning 3 Streetwise 2 Bureaucracy 3 (extrapolated** – business travel) Notice 2 Intimidation 2 Engineering (Mechanical) 3 Science (Chemistry) 2

Gear .32 caliber lever-action rifle (D6X4, holds 15 shells), 38 shells, crowbar, cigarettes, matches, business clothes with tie. Personality “…I’m just…I…I got kids…And I’ll guess they’ll do alright.  They can take care of themselves, but they’re still only kids...and I’m being away and all…and…I’m just gonna do what I can.  I’m going to do what I can, and I’m gonna get back…and I’m gonna see my people.  And things are gonna be all right… and… I’m gonna get back.” Quote "You can be boss down there!  I’m boss up here!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com *Two sons; his grandmother watches after them while he’s on business travel **Ben traveled extensively as part of his job.  His language, clothing and demeanor indicated some degree of higher education.  Despite his conflict with Harry Cooper, Ben demonstrated an ability to talk with a wide variety of survivors (panicked Barbara, determined Barbara, Tom, Judy, Helen, etc.).  In both movies, Ben made several comments about chemicals, ranging from chemical spills and effects on the human mind, to making Molotov cocktails).  This could indicate he worked as a sales representative or even a chemical engineer.  Skills have been chosen based on this extrapolation.

The other characters from the three “versions” of Night could be worked out if desired.  Harry Cooper has a bad temper and is a control freak, but had few usable skills.  Helen Cooper was devoted to her daughter, either Karen or Sarah depending on which version you choose.  Tom Biter could fire a shotgun and Judy Rose Larsen could drive a pickup truck.  Karen/Sarah could die and return as a zombie to try and kill her parents and anyone else around.  Other than the 1989 movie, Barbara mostly just babbles and screams.

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DAWN OF THE DEAD

Peter Washington Former SWAT Team Member Survivor Attributes Str 3 Dex 4 Con 4 Int 3 Per 3 Wil 3 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Charisma 4 (Roger liked him immediately) Attractive 2 (big guy; stands out in crowd) Fast Reaction Time Nerves of Steel Situational Awareness Jury Rig (built fake wall, worked out details of barricading mall) Number One with a Bullet Drawbacks Minority 1 Honorable 1 (stayed with Roger, waiting for Stephen, didn’t abandon Fran) Skills Drive (Truck) 1 (“I’ll ride pickup…”) Guns (Handgun) 3 Guns (Assault Rifle) 3 Guns (Rifle) 5 Brawling 4 Sports (General) 2 (racket ball on top of mall) Theology (Voodoo) 2 (Grandfather was priest in Trinidad) Humanities (Law Enforcement) 3 Dodge 3 Hand Weapon (Rifle/Club) 3 Running (Sprint) 3 Craft (Carpentry) 2 Notice 2

Gear Heavy caliber hunting rifle, 28 rounds of ammunition, large handgun, 15 rounds of ammunition, SWAT uniform. Personality "You better screw your f**king head on straight!  I mean it!  You’re not just playing with your life now – you’re playing with mine!” Quote "When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the earth.” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

Francine Parker Former Assistant Station Manager, WGON-TV Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 2 Con 3 Int 2 Per 2 Wil 3 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Quick Learner (i.e. helicopter) Charisma 3 (Peter liked her immediately) Resistance (Fatigue) 4 Drawbacks Dependent 3 (pregnant or infant) Addiction (Smoking) 1 Honorable 1 (turned off inaccurate rescue station list) Skills Pilot (Helicopter) 1 Bureaucracy 4 Camerawork 4 Guns (Rifle) 2 Electronics 2 (station equipment) Streetwise 2 (“Real brothers or street brothers?”) Questioning 2* Research/Investigation 2* Beautician 3 (can cut hair and do makeup) Computers 2* First Aid 4 (taking care of Roger) Medicine 1 (taking care of Roger)

Gear .30-30 lever-action rifle, WGON-TV helicopter, expensive coat, cargo bay full of emergency ammunition, weapons and supplies. Personality "Mrs. Charles Parker III at age 19.  Bored and divorced at 21.  Survivor of the end of the world at 23.  “I’m sorry you found out I had a baby in the middle of all this, because I don’t want any of you to treat me any differently than you’d treat another guy.” Quote "I’m not gonna be a den mother for you guys.” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com *Extrapolated skills – probably would have had these as part of pre-Rise job.

Roger DeMarco Former SWAT Team Member Survivor Attributes Str 3 Dex 5 Con 4 Int 3 Per 2 Wil 3 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Fast Reaction Time Hard to Kill 3 Nerves of Steel Resistance (Pain) 5 Hard to Kill 5 Charisma 2 (party guy) Drawbacks Reckless Showoff Addiction (Smoking) 1 Skills Drive (Truck) 3 (“I grew up in one of these!”) Guns (Handgun) 4 Guns (Assault Rifle) 4 Guns (Rifle) 5 Brawling 4 Drive (Car) 2 (drove car to meet Stephen and Fran) Humanities (Law Enforcement) 3 Dodge 2 Hand Weapon (Rifle/Club) 3 Running (Sprint) 3 Mechanic 2 (hotwired trucks)

Gear Heavy caliber hunting rifle, 49 rounds of ammo, 2 heavy revolvers, 58 rounds of ammo, SWAT uniform, bag of hotwiring tools. Personality "YEEEEHAWWWWWW!!!  WOOHOO!!!”” Quote "We got this, man!  We got this by the a$$!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

Stephen Andrews Former Helicopter Pilot and Traffic Reporter, WGON-TV Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 3 Con 2 Int 2 Per 2 Wil 3 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Resistance (Fatigue) 3 Hard to Kill 5 (shot several times and fought off horde of zombies before dying) Drawbacks Emotional Problems (Fear of Rejection) 1 Reckless (tended to shoot first and ask questions later if he asked at all) Skills Pilot (Helicopter) 5 Instruction 2 Electronic Surveillance 4 Mechanic 3 Electronics 3 Notice 5 Smooth Talking 2 Gun (Rifle) 1 Hand Weapon (Club) 2 Pilot (Light Plane) 3

Gear Hunting rifle, 18 rounds ammunition, .22 revolver, 40 rounds, nice clothes. Personality "Of course I know where we are!  We passed Harrisburg about an hour ago.” Quote "It’s ours.  We took it!”” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com *Extrapolated skills – probably would have had these as part of pre-Rise job.

The few other characters in Dawn, notably the biker gang, were not detailed very well in the movie, and the bikers in the novel are quiet different. 

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DAY OF THE DEAD

Sarah (last name unknown) Civilian Medical Researcher Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 2 Con 2 Int 4 Per 2 Wil 2 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Nerves of Steel Resistance (Fatigue) 3 Drawbacks Recurring Nightmares 1 Skills Science (Biology) 3 Science (Chemistry) 3 Science (Behavioral) 2 Science (Zombies)** 4 Medicine 4 First Aid 2 Guns (Handgun) 3 Gun (Assault Rifle) 1 Research/Investigation 4

Gear UZI 9mm submachine gun, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, 230 rounds of 9mm, lab coat. Personality "Logan’s spending too much time trying to control the problem instead of finding out how to reverse the problem.  We just need more time and equipment.” Quote "Yes, sir!  F**k you, sir!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com **New Skill – Sarah may be the sole surviving expert in zombie-ology after Logan and Ted are killed by Rhodes.

John (last name unknown) Civilian Helicopter Pilot Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 3 Con 3 Int 2 Per 2 Wil 2 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Nerves of Steel (didn’t hesitate to take on zombies to save Sarah and Billy) Situational Awareness Hard to Kill 3 (took a nasty beating from Steel and still fought zombies) Drawbacks Minority 1 Honorable 1 (fought for friends) Lazy (“I could do that even if all this wasn’t happening!”) Skills Piloting (Helicopter) 5 Guns (Assault Rifle) 3 Guns (Handgun 3 Brawling 3 (fought Steel, knocked out another soldier) Mechanic 3 (needed for helicopter checks) Electronics (needed for helicopter checks) 3 Research/Investigation 2 (“Do you know what they got down here?”) Craft (Fishing) 4 Notice 3 (needed to fly helicopter) First Aid 2 (helped take care of Miguel)

Gear Fishing rod, tackle box, 9mm UZI submachine gun, 129 rounds of ammunition. Personality "You ain’t never gonna figure this out.  There ain’t nothin’ to figure out.  This is just the Almighty’s way of tellin’ us to slow down. “We need to teach our kids never to go down in that giant tombstone to what once was.  The old world is finished.  Let it go.” Quote "My job is to fly the whirly-bird!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

Billy McDermott Civilian Radioman Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 2 Con 3 Int 2 Per 3 Wil 2 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities Jury-Rigging (using primitive equipment) Charisma 3 (the soldiers up top joked with him) Situational Awareness (“I’m beginning to think we should take that chopper before somebody else does!”) Drawbacks Addiction (Alcohol) 2 Skills Craft (Radio Operation) 4 Electronic Surveillance 3 Repair 4 Mechanic 4 Electronics 4 Guns (Handgun) 3 Guns (Assault Rifle) 3 Hand Weapon (Club) 2 Notice 3

Gear 9mm semi-automatic pistol, fishing rod, tackle box, WWII-era field radio Personality "We’ve been out of contact with Washington for months now.  The relays are down and we’ve broadcast from as far away as Sarasota.  I don’t think there’s anyone left out there.” Quote "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

Dr. Logan (first name unknown) Civilian Medical Researcher Norm Attributes Str 2 Dex 1 Con 2 Int 5 Per 2 Wil 2 Life Points Endurance Points Speed Essence Qualities 2 Photographic Memory Bag of Tricks (lab equipment) Jack of All Trades Charisma 2 (could talk circles around Capt. Rhodes) Drawbacks Dependent 2 (Bub) Weird Delusions 3 (feeding people to Bub, weird parental stuff) Skills Science (Biology) 4 Science (Chemistry) 2 Science (Behavioral) 4 Science (Zombies)* 4 Medicine 5 First Aid 2 Research/Investigation 4

Gear Blood-stained lab coat, medical bag and instruments. Personality "Sarah’s research shows promise, but isn’t focused on accepting the situation.  We must learn to teach the dead how to behave.  To trick them into being good little boys and girls…just like we were tricked.” Quote "Hello, Bub!” WDR, 2005, eviloverlord668@yahoo.com *New Skill – Along with Sarah and Ted Fisher/Fischer, Logan may be one of the last zombie science experts in the world.

The other “living” characters in Day, such as Ted Fisher/Fischer, and the soldiers (Captain Rhodes, Steve Steel, Rickles, Torres, Miller, Johnson and Miguel Salazar) could be handled using modified versions of the Scientist and Soldier archetypes, respectively.

Bub, Talented Zombie
Power	Description
Weight	Life-like (0)
Weak Spot	Brain, Fire
Getting Around	Life-Like, The Lunge
Strength	Dead Joe Average
Senses	Like the Dead
Sustenance	Who Needs Food?, All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Intelligence	Tool Use level 2, Animal Cunning, level 1, Teamwork, Long Term Memory, Language 1
Spreading the Love	Only the Dead; One Bite and You're Hooked
Special Powers	Dr. Doolittle, Stealthy
Power	55
Attributes Dead Points 15 Str 2            Int -2/2          Dex 2          Per 1 Con 2          Wil 2             Spd 4          Essence 9 Skills:  Brawling 2, Hand Weapon (Club) 2, Guns (Handgun) 2, General Memories* 3, Self-Control 4** Attack:  Bite Damage D4X2 (4) or by club/rock or pistol *Indicates that Bub possesses a sort of “general knowledge and awareness” of technological items.  Instead of trying to give Bub several skills at level 1, when presented with something unexpected, Bub has a level 3 skill at “remembering what that object is and what it does.”  This doesn’t mean, however, that Bub will remember how to use the device. **Bub can decide not to eat people or to participate in general zombie mayhem.

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Anyway, there’s that.  Might be useful, might not…

Enjoy!

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Sincerely,

TexasZombie, a.k.a. Evil Overlord 668, the Neighbor of the Beast

eMail comments to eviloverlord668@yahoo.com

All Flesh Must Be Eaten, icons, personalities, and images are copyright 2000 Eden Studios. All Flesh Must Be Eaten is a trademark of Eden Studios. Use of the All Flesh Must Be Eaten trademark on this site has been expressly granted by Eden Studios, but Eden exercises no editorial review or responsibility for the content of this site. Requests for such permission should be directed to Eden Studios.  None of my work is their fault.  They’re nice folks.

This document was directly based on the concepts presented in the following movies and novels.  No copyright or creative infringement is intended.  This is intended as a tribute, not a rip-off.

· Night of the Living Dead, 1968 film, (Alpha Video made the DVD I have, but I’m not sure if there is another production company that should be named – legal eagles, please have mercy on me); Romero, Russo, et. al.

· Night of the Living Dead, 1989 film, Columbia Pictures, Savini, Romero, Russo, et. al.

· Night of the Living Dead, 1974, John Russo, Pocket Books.

· Dawn of the Dead, 1978, George Romero and Susanna Sparrow, St. Martin’s Press.

· Dawn of the Dead Ultimate Edition – 4 DVD boxed set, 1978 film (Anchor Bay made the DVD I have, but I’m not sure if there is another production company that should be named – legal eagles, please have mercy on me); Romero, et al.

· Day of the Dead – 2 DVD set, 1985 film (Anchor Bay made the DVD I have, but I’m not sure if there is another production company that should be named – legal eagles, please have mercy on me); Romero, et al.

In addition to the core rulebook, the following Eden Studios publications are recommended for this Deadworld  One of the Living, Book of Archetypes, Fistful o’ Zombies.