Cannibal Contagion PDF

Cannibal Contagion
A Horrific Survival Comedy

Role-Playing Game
design: Nathanael Phillip Cole
cover art: Kathren Moss
internal art: Leonardo Freites

Veronica Gandini
1
Second Updated Printing - Summer 2009
Cannibal Contagion is Copyright 2008-2009 Nathanael Phillip Cole

2 http://cannibalcontagion.com
http://alliteratedgames.com
Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Special Thanks
Playtesters: Julia Amlund, Josh Avila, James Ballard, Claire Bickell,
Jonathan Borzilleri, Kevin Bradley, Bill Bryan, Michael Cole, Joshua
Desatoff, Chris Faux, Nievita Hartness, Matt Jarvie, Bethany Joy,
Mark Jondahl, Lev Lafayette, Jonathan Cahn Lemer, Julian Michels,
Nathan Monger, Fabrice Odefrey, Alex Perez, Jake Richmond, Greg
Samford, Trinity Sell, Anna Sheffey, Nick Smith, Jonathan Stark,
Chris Street, Tyler Tinsley, Sam Turgeon, Ricardo Valentin, Rebecca
Verhoeven, Erin Walli, Tyler Brandon Walls, Sue Young
Special Thanks: The Four Fine Fellows From Eugene, Gaston,

Gilbert, GoPlayPDX , Grady, Jake, JP, Lord Snow, Ogre, Robman,
Screg, Willem, the entire 2009 class of Youthpastor Codys Righteous-
Awesome XTREEM Jesus Camp, and special thanks to you Mrs.
Calabash wherever you are.
Extra Special Thanks to Bethany for the many nights of

Resident Evil bliss, and for trips to the ice cream shop.
3
Contents
Introduction 7
The Survivors 19
Character Creation 21
Mojo 32
The Question and the Cold Open 35
Character Examples 35
The Rules 45
Card Mechanic #1: The Quickie 47
Card Mechanic #2: The Showdown 50
Hurtin: How to Bring It 62
Gear and Weapons 65
Allies 76
Survival Tokens and Character Recovery 79
Winning The Game 86
Player Tips 86
The mad Half 89
Negotiation and Bonus Cards: How They Work 91
The Mad Half and Psychotriggers 93
Putting it All Together: Using the CGP Meter 96
Other Uses of Madness 104
The Cannibal-in-Charge 107
The Players are the Most Important Key 109
Game Themes 111
Scenario Development 117
Scenes 123
Conflicts, Threats, and Adversity 132
Game Over, Man 155
Contagion 156
Scenario Ideas 168
CiC Tips 171
The Zombie Apocalypse is Now 173
Appendices 185
Appendix A: References and Inspirations 186
Appendix B: Glossary of Terms 188
Appendix C: The Serious Game 191
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Appendix D: Helpful Random Tables 193
Appendix E: Custom Printables 196
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Part 1: Introduction
And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:

One of the four beasts saying
Come and see.
And I saw.
Johnny Cash, When the Man Comes Around
[or, you know, The Bible (Revelation 6:1)]
7
Welcome to the Chaos
Have you ever watched those movies? You know, those movies:
people desperately trying to survive against an overwhelming
sinister force, all the while trying to keep themselves from becoming
part of that very same evil? Zombies, slashers, mind-controlling
aliens, those kinds of movies. What about those really psychological
survival-horror video games that have been so popular in the last
few years? Evil spirits taking over a distant town, crazed maddened
ghosts sucking the life forces out of everything they touch, murderous
monsters of twisted and infectious designs games like that. And
the comics, oh man, the comics! I cant go to the comic store today
without seeing at least a half-dozen or more fantastic Us Against
The Zombies serials, and it seems like theres a brand new one on
the shelf every month or so.
This game is about playing out the exact types of conflicts present
in those movies, video games, comics and more. Characters will be
created and thrown into a world which is soon to be flipped turned
upside-down, if not already. Zombies, cannibals, infecting aliens,
mind-controlling vampires, body-stealers, soul-eating parasites and
more, there will be constant threats of vile monsters which seek
to do horrible things to the characters, and the players get to role-
play that chaotic action and survival. Perhaps theyll be constantly
running from the ever-impending evil. Perhaps theyll be knee-deep
in the blood and bodies of the creatures they ruthlessly slaughter.
Perhaps theyll murder each other over who gets the last candy bar.
Perhaps theyll buckle under the stress of survival and succumb to
their inner madness. Perhaps theyll even transform into the very
monsters they fight, and turn hungrily upon those who were so very
recently their friends and allies.
In Cannibal Contagion, there can be plenty of high-adrenaline, off-

the-hook combat. You (read: the Players) can take control of the
game and seriously throw down. Blood can splatter the walls as you
carve through the monster hordes in what I like to call a Survival
Comedy style of game. But there can also be plenty of
drama as the characters come face-to-face with the dark
8 things that mere humans were not meant to face. As
you see your friends and everything else about the

world you knew destroyed and corrupted, you are forced to make
some serious choices about your own morals and mortality. There
is more than one way to succumb to the evil; Infection is one such
way, definitely. But how different from that supernatural contagion is
the sheer primal madness within all people, the instinct that rears its
head when the human is forced to survive?
Thanks so very much for picking up a copy of Cannibal Contagion.

May your future days be full of desperation, and may your zombie-
huntings be bountiful and maddening.
W hat M akes T his G ame D ifferent ?

If youve ever looked through the shelves of your favorite local
gaming store, Im pretty sure youve noticed at least a couple of
other games that already tackle the Us Against the Undead shtick.
You may find yourself wondering what makes this game different
from those other games. Perhaps thoughts such as Man, another
Zombie game? Cmon, bro, try something new! have crossed your
mind while looking through the book up until this point. But have no
fear, this game brings something new to the table, and Im here to
tell you what that is: Cannibal Contagion is actually a role-playing
game about Zombie survival, and not just a default role-playing
game system with some Zombie monsters tacked on top. Those
other games are lots of fun and several of them grace my shelves
at home, but I never quite felt that they successfully brought the
Zombie and the RPG together as one as such, this game was
written to fix that.
In Cannibal Contagion, the mechanics are built entirely around

the concept of survival against the dangers of an infectious enemy.
Zombies are of course one of the most popular versions of that danger,
but aliens, parasites, spirits, vampires, wendigo, and fundamentalist
religious cults could all be effectively handled with the exact same
approach: mechanics which could very quickly turn You into one of
Them. How are Body Snatchers, Zombies, and Possessing Spirits
really all that different? In this game, the abstract Infection rules
are incorporated tightly into the core system, making the
true threat of the Undead that you might become one
of them! part of almost every conflict in which the 9
characters participate.
R eading T his T ext
This book contains all the rules you need to play this game. Throughout
the text you will see various terms written in Bold Smallcaps. This
format is used to denote special mechanical terms that are important
for understanding this game. All of these terms will also be listed and
defined in the Glossary appendix at the back of this book.
Additionally, youll see words written in bold and italics quite

frequently, and sometimes even both at once. These exist not as
special terms or anything, but instead because Im a pretty intense
guy, and I get excited when I write and want to emphasize things.
Something I find more amusing than I really should is reading these

rules to myself as if they were spoken by the Movie Trailer Guy. That
guy is awesome, and I want his job very badly.
G ame P lay S ynopsis

Cannibal Contagion (CC) is intended to be a fast-paced role-playing
game of comedic gun-fu zombie-slaughtering survival and action.
The game is overseen by one player, called the Cannibal in Charge
(CiC). The CiC sets the game premise, and the players make their
first characters we call these main characters the Survivors. Each
player chooses their Survivors numbers, abilities, and personal
details, and the CiC then sets the stage and frames the first Scene.
The game flows mainly in Scenes. A scene is set, and the play begins.
Players role-play in the scene, narrating their own involvement until
there is a conflict of some kind between the players and/or their
characters, or between one or more players and the CiC. This most
likely comes from one player disagreeing with aspects and details of
another players chosen narration. When this happens, its time to
break into a Showdown.
In a Showdown, players draw cards from the deck and then play
those cards against one another to determine success, and these
Showdowns can frequently escalate into higher levels of
intensity. Whoever wins the Showdown gets to narrate
the outcome, and if the Showdown is combat-based,
10 there may be additional effects caused by whatever
weapons and equipment they are using.

Showdowns are where the shit hits the fan, and where the majority
of the crazy zombie-fighting action takes place. In most Showdowns,
the Survivors will face off against Threats, and attempt to overcome
them with clever application of narration and mechanics. Of course,
Showdowns dont always have to involve zombies, especially should
the Survivors decide to start whacking each other over personal
slights and disagreements in plans. Nor do they even have to involve
combat, and can be used to play out highly plot-sensitive actions
and events that affect the game setting. But, just between you and
me, there will quite likely be a lot of murdering in these. Its one of
the games big features, so just go at it and have fun.
The game flows in these scenes and Showdowns, and the characters
push forward towards whatever goals and objectives they have
established. For many games, the objective will most likely just be
survival - getting the hell out of, well, Hell or wherever they are,
should be a primary concern. But maybe theres a bomb to diffuse, a
crazy wizard to stop, an evil machine to destroy, a group of innocents
to rescue, a sinister portal to seal, or something far more distressing.
Perhaps the characters have goals that conflict, and their pursuit of
these goals leads them to fight one another.
Between the scenes, the players can use special Survival Tokens
to restore any damage their characters may have taken, repair
their wounded psyches, and even acquire new equipment during
the between-scene downtimes. Survival Tokens can also be used
mid-scene to resist damage and insanity, and keep weapons loaded
and primed for action.
The characters will come up against horrific things in this game,

and sometimes the worst threats to their survival will be their own
fragile minds. Monsters and demons are scary things, things humans
werent meant to encounter or understand. In the face of such stress,
the characters can risk their own sanity to push themselves further
to the limit, doing greater things that they would not normally be able
to accomplish in normal, less-interesting times. This is handled
on-the-fly by meta-game negotiations between the player and their
designated Mad Half (another player at the table who controls
that characters insanity). As such, the characters are at
an increasing risk of flipping out and doing psychotic
11
wacko things.
All the while, as they try to stay cool and keep surviving, and their
players narrate the story forward, the threat of Infection grows ever
more serious. Many of the Threats the characters will face can infect
them with the Contagion, and with just a little bit of time and a few
wrong moves, any character could turn into a cannibal zombie-
monster and turn against the others. Even more distressing is the
knowledge that death will likely only hasten this inevitable threat.
Should a character ever turn to the Zombie Side, the player can
choose to continue as that murderous evil or instead draw up a
brand new character and keep fighting the good fight. The game
could quite possibly change its focus drastically, with all the players
in the roles of a pack of intelligent cannibal-monsters, hunting down
other survivors to fill their insatiable hungers!
B a sic S ession F low

A typical game of CC flows a little something like this:
Game Setup: CiC lays out the scenario basics, prepares the
materials
Character Creation: All the players create their characters
and choose their Mad Half
Cold Opens: The CiC guides each character individually
through their own custom introduction scene.
12

Scenes: CiC sets the scene, the players play through the
scene until its time to move to a new scene.
Showdowns: When players conflict with Threats and each
other, they use their cards to play through Showdowns and
Quickies. Players can Negotiate with their Mad Half for on-
the-fly empowerments during these card plays.
Scenes flow back-to-back until the game comes to a
suitable end.
T he P itch :
G etting Y our P layers I nterested
Hey guys! Have you seen Dawn of the Dead? What about Versus, or
Wild Zero? Planet Terror? Hell yeah, this game is just like that. Lets
do it! It really is just that easy. Tell your players you have a zombie-
survival game that only takes a couple of hours to play. Tell them it
works even better with beer. Theyll see your logic, and soon you will
all be playing a fabulous game of Cannibal Contagion. Make sure
the players understand the implied lethality of the game, so they
dont get all butt-hurt if (and more likely when) their characters die.
Make sure they also understand that this game favors players who
grab the story and push forward on their own. Players: Dont turtle
up! Seize the moment!
S etting I t A ll U p
To start a game of CC, someone has to first take on the mantle of the
Cannibal in Charge (CiC) and then gather together some friends to
play. As the CiC, you should take some time beforehand to set up a
scenario. The games scenario sets the basics of what is happening
in the game, and the handful of mechanical variables that should
be considered during playtime. A few example scenarios have been
included in this book, each complete with sample characters and
suggested game variables. Grab one of these and go if you want to
jump right in, or create your own to fit your needs. Read the Scenario
Creation section for more information on that (see page 117).
Youll need to make sure you have the right materials to

play, as well. Paper and pencils are always necessary.
Of course, you can print up some character sheets, but 13
Ive personally found that scrap paper and index
cards can be quite useful for character info, and are often more
easily available for quick pick-up games. Youll need a single deck of
playing cards, with the jokers left in. Youll also need a good number
of tokens of some kind, for use as Adversity tokens and Survival
tokens. Pennies, poker chips, and glass bead counters work very
well for this, and you dont even really need to differentiate between
them.
If youve got the time and the inclination, consider printing out some
of the optional accessory cards from our website. These can make
it a lot easier for you to keep up with Weapons, Threats, Allies, and
Mojo. Theres a nifty Team Psycho meter you can print up, too.
Just lay it out on the table and have each player place a unique
token of some sort on it to represent their characters current stage
of Madness.
U sing T he C ards
All mechanical conflicts in CC are resolved using a standard deck
of 54 playing cards with the Jokers intact. The ranking of suits,
from highest to lowest, is Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds
(remember: Black, Red, Black, Red). Aces are high, and ranked
at 14, with Kings, Queens, and Jacks ranked at 13, 12, and 11,
respectively.
The two Jokers are the real game-winners. When a Joker is played,
the player of the joker instantly wins whatever Showdown is in
progress, unless the opponent instantly counters with the other Joker
(at which point both of them are immediately canceled out). Jokers
in the final Play Pile are considered faces and aces for all such
purposes, in which cases each Joker qualifies as two such cards.
Throughout the game, the cards will be in one of four places: the
Deck, the Discard Pile, the Play Pile, and the players Hands. At the
beginning of every Showdown, involved players are dealt a Hand
with a number of cards equal to their relevant Characteristic rank. As
the Showdown is played through, the players play cards from their
hands into the play pile. At the end of the Showdown, the cards
from the play pile are counted to determine the results, and
then placed in the discard pile. The core deck of cards will
14 most likely be played completely through many times
during the course of a high-octane game session.

The discard pile is only to be shuffled back into the deck when there
are not enough cards left in the deck to play a Showdown. One of
the subtler purposes of the deck is to maintain a level of mechanical
tension. As the deck steadily runs out, the players are forced to enter
conflicts knowing that their chances of drawing good cards become
increasingly slimmer, and that can definitely affect their decisions.
This is an intended feature of the mechanics, and it can easily be
ruined by unnecessarily frequent reshufflings.
What if the cards run out and all of them are in hands, ready to play?
Then stop drawing and start playing, folks!
O ptional : U sing a S econd D eck

Besides drawing cards for conflicts, you will find many instances
where the game rules suggest you draw a card to just randomly see
what happens. The CiC might use the deck to randomly create a
quick Threat, or draw a card to determine the stats on a new weapon,
or even just to get a quick descriptive count of how many zombies
are shambling toward the players. The default rules assume you
are making these draws from the main play deck, and helping it
move along quicker, but if you want you might find it easier to have
a second deck on-hand for the CiC to use just for these purposes.
However, if you do choose to use a second deck to help with game
management, all Quickies and Showdowns must be drawn from the
same deck for all participants, including the CiC.
A N ote on P ower B alances

As a player, you should keep in mind that the CiC is pretty much there
to get you and make your characters life dangerous and exciting.
While there are definitely some checks and balances governing the
CiCs ability to directly screw with your characters, she still has a
lot of discretionary power when it comes to throwing all kinds of
dangers and blood-crusted plot hooks at you. The CiC can drive
both you and your character crazy; the crazier she makes you, the
more effectively she is doing her job.
15
C hallenge the N arration !
This game works best if the players take the narration and run with it.
The CiCs entire purpose in this game is to screw with the Survivors
in as many ways as possible. The players must rise to the occasion
and challenge the CiC, and fight for their own survival. If the CiC
says your characters head gets crushed by a boulder and you die,
then it happens unless, of course, you decide to say hell no! and
challenge it, lettings the cards decide. If you believe your character
can make a difference, then challenge the established narration and
make her shine!
E very G ame is D ifferent !

Keep in mind that every session of Cannibal Contagion will play out
differently. Depending on how the players use the mechanics, your
game may focus heavily on Contagion, Madness, Survival, or any
combination of these or other core game themes and features. Ive
played games wherein the players descended into Madness within
a tiny handful of scenes, yet didnt really deal much with Contagion.
Thene again, Ive played games wherein the entire team of Survivors
was Turned into zombies before anyone could even descend pas
the second stage of Madness. I encourage you each to explore the
themes of the heaviest interest to you, and let your own games flow
as they may.
A bout T his B ook ...

Im really hoping that Ive made this rules text both an informative
and enjoyable read. Dont let its size intimidate you: there is more to
this book than just rules! Ive tried to space a whole mess of idea-
inducing colorful text and reference material in here, and I hope you
find reading it as enjoyable and inspiring as I found writing it to be.
16

Enter the World of
Survival Comedy...
17
18

Part 2:
The Survivors
They stack the odds til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor
19
The Will to Survive
As a player, your character is your number one ultimate key to
surviving a game of Cannibal Contagion. When the game begins,
you and your fellow players will create your very own characters
together, and when that is done with, youll use your character to play
the game and push the story and action forward. It is through your
character that parts of the setting are explored, changed, destroyed,
and even created. Each time you state the actions your character
takes, you directly alter the course of the game and the story you all
tell together.
In Cannibal Contagion, you are given a whole lot of freedom in your

characters choices. Your character can do anything you want her to
do, within the acceptable limits of the situation and game setting.
For example, if your scared schoolteacher character is cornered
alone by a horrible monster in the ruins of an old tenement, it would
make sense for you to be able to say she grabs a brick from the
rubble and uses it to smash the creatures face in. However, it would
not make any sense at all for her to sprout butt-wings, rise into the
air, and spew forth blasts of holy flame from between the gaps in her
teeth unless of course that ability had somehow been previously
established as a part of that character.
At the core of your character is a base Concept, in the form of a

single question: Who Am I? Answering this question is a vital part
of the game. The tone and wording of your Concept will drastically
change your own perception of her attitude and feel, as well as
the perceptions your fellow players and CiC have of her role in the
game. Characters with funny names and story roles will have quite
different impacts on the feel of the game. For example, a character
whose base concept is I am Zuhei Morocco, burger-flipper and the
greatest Disco Samurai on the planet, will have quite a different
thematic impact upon the story than a character whose concept is
I am Carla Tomlinson, disgruntled waitress, a mother who needs to
find her missing kids in this chaotic desolation of a city. When
coming up with your own core concept, heavily consider the
implied themes that you, your fellows, and the CiC wish
20 to evoke with this game.

C haracter C reation
During the initial setup of the game, the involved players will need
to make some characters before they can jump into the game. This
process can be pretty damn quick if youve got a group of players
with descriptive imaginations.
S tep Z ero : T he S cenario

Before the act of creation, you should talk with the CiC about the
scenario hes got planned. If he hasnt planned one already, you
should work with him to set one up. The CiC section of the rules
has extensive details on how to create a game scenario, and player
input can definitely help make the scenario awesome. Knowing the
details of the scenario is pretty crucial to creating characters which
will fit into the sessions events.
M ethod #1: C ustom C haracters

Premise, Concept, and Archetypes
If the CiC has not already set a premise for who the characters are,
the player should discuss what their connection is, if any. Are they
special forces agents on the same team? High school kids on a
field trip gone bad? The Emperors personal samurai guardsmen?
Completely unrelated strangers from all over the world?
Once a general connection and scale is established (if any), each

character should be given a one-or-two-word Archetype label. This
archetype will quickly define the role their character plays in the
story at hand. Again, just make up something fitting, and it should
fit closely with the concept. Its a good idea to get inspiration from
kung-fu and zombie action movies, which are chock full of these
stock archetypes. The Archetype is primarily here for descriptive
purposes, giving the players ideas on how to best role-play the
characters they have created.
21
Part 2: Character Creation

Here are some example Archetypes:
The Yuppie Playboy
The Pregnant Lady
The Grizzled Cop
The Awkward Nerd
The Knife-Wielding Asshole
The Gun Bunny
The Girl Who Wont Stop Screaming
The Katana Guy
Now, each player should take that basic Archetype and build upon it
to come up with a quick statement of who their character is (aka, a
character Concept). Some examples:
I am Carla Tomlinson, disgruntled waitress, a mother who
needs to find her missing kids in this chaotic desolation of a
city.
I am Roger Devries, focused businessman and skilled
climber of the corporate ladder.
I am Jian, the Japanese pretty-boy badass, and Ive got a
bone to pick with a shadowy figure from my dark past.
I am Mei Li, an exchange student from China, and little do
they know, but Ive seen this happen before, and were all
doomed.
22

If you read the first few paragraphs of this chapter, you know how
important a concept is to the game. When creating a concept for
your own character, it might be helpful to just think of a character
from a movie or comic and use them as inspiration. Ive encountered
players who find that picturing what actor would play this character
helps, too.
Goals
Every character in a game of Cannibal Contagion should have at
least two major goals. The first goal is the Scenario Purpose, which
is predetermined by the CiC. During character creation, the CiC will
define the basic purpose of the scenario, and you should use it when
creating the rest of your character. This Purpose sets a basic overall
goal for all the players. It will likely be something simple, such as
escape the island or destroy the source of dark power or some
other such easily-stated goal.
The second goal is the Character Goal, which you should pick now.
This is a special motivating desire that drives your character, a
personal agenda that you should follow (and if applicable, try and
accomplish) during this scenario. You could be searching for your
missing kids, or trying to find a woman to start a new family with.
Maybe youre trying to stockpile as many weapons as possible,
or locate as many other survivors of the apocalypse as you can.
This can be as simple as a focused mindset (I must protect these
people!) or as complex as you like (I must get The Brown-Paper
Package to Dock 23 before the stroke of 21:00 hours on the fourth
day, or all is doomed!).
As the game is played, you should try and focus on your characters
objective personally, while working with the other players to
accomplish the scenario goal. Since each Survivor will have their
own personal goal, it can be really fun to try and make them clash.
This could lead to some great moments of in-game awesomeness!
23

Characteristics
After you have the concept, its time to determine your characters
Characteristic scores. This part should move pretty quickly, as it is
simply a matter of assigning some numbers. Every character has
four major Characteristics:
Kill: This active Characteristic is used to win Showdowns
through force and action, and usually by being totally
badass. Mechanically, Kill will most often come into play
when trying to cause direct pain and suffering usually
through creative applications of weapons and fists but
it can also be called upon in Quickies when taking direct
action to change the scene somehow. You should boost
Kill if you want to be good at combat and direct action.
Savvy: This active Characteristic is used to win Showdowns
through brains, by being resourceful and seeing the Big
Picture. Your Savvy score will frequently be used for most
non-combative attempts (improvised Quickies) to influence
the setting, as well as for making Juice checks when your
weapons run low on ammo. You should boost Savvy if you
want to succeed on lots of out-of-combat Quickies, keep
your weapons loaded, and carry lots of Gear.
Grit: This passive Characteristic is used to keep yourself
alive. Your Grit score will come into play should you ever
choose to attempt to resist incoming Hurtin and Infection,
and it gives you more Survival tokens at the beginning of
each scene. You should boost Grit if you want to stay alive.
Cool: This passive Characteristic is used primarily to set
the number of points you have in each of the five stages
of your characters Crazy-Go-Psycho meter. With a Cool
rank of four, for example, you will have four points per each
stage of your CGP meter, for a total of 20 points on the
whole meter. You should boost Cool if you want to stay
sane.
At creation, you should rank these scores of 4, 3, 2, and 1 as you
see fit. The easiest way is to just order them in a list in the way
you see more appropriate to your character, and then rank
them 4, 3, 2, and 1 right down the line. Below are some
general guidelines on how these ranks relate to your
24
characters actual abilities.

Rank 0: Your character is Limited to the Whims of Fate.
With Rank Zero, chances are your character has taken
damage and might be approaching death. You cant evoke
this Characteristic, and in related Quickies and Showdowns
you must resort to Negotiating with your Mad Half if you
wish to participate. For more information on Negotiating,
see page 91.
Rank 1: Your character is capable of actively influencing the
world to a mild degree by resorting to this Characteristic.
Rank 2: Your character is fairly adept at getting her way
using the relevant Characteristic.
Rank 3: Your character rarely fails in her intentions when
this Characteristic comes into play.
Ranks 4+: Your character is nigh unstoppable when
exerting this Characteristic, and practically always
accomplishes her goals.
Gear and Weapons
Does your character have any useful Gear? Think of some things
your character might have in his possession that he might somehow
find useful. These can be personal items, tools, survival gear, soda
cans, gas cans, bubblegum and just about anything you can possibly
think of. Run these by the CiC first, and if she approves, write them
down on your sheet. You can start with a number of items equal to
your Savvy rank.
Dont forget to keep track of those Gear

slots! Every character has a limited
number of slots, and each piece
of Gear uses a slot. Hand-held
things like Pistols, Lighters,
Walkie-Talkies and
anything smaller
take up one
25
slot, shotguns and rusty pipes and shovels take up two slots, bazookas
take up three, and so on. Some items like sidepacks and backpacks
and survival vests dont take slots, and instead give additional bonus
slots one from a fanny pack, three from a backpack, etc.
Gear doesnt have to be just items, either. You can get creative
with your Gear, and have things like Nice Rack and Thighs That
Kill at 40 Paces and Winning Smile. Each of these would still
take up a slot, but the CiC or an opposing player would have to be
really creative should they ever try and take them away from your
character.
Keep in mind, though, that no matter how creative it is, the Gear
has to be a thing you can actively and directly apply to a situation in
order to be mechanically legal.
If you so desire, you can choose to voluntarily decline any or all of

your starting Gear. For each piece you dont take, you give yourself
one bonus Survival Token at the actual start of the game.
For more information on Gear, see page 65.
Advanced Rule: Allies

If your group consists of seasoned Cannibal Contagion players,
your CiC may allow you to start the game with Allies. You must
sacrifice Gear in order to do this. Each two pieces of Gear that you
choose not to take can buy you one Rank of an Ally. Players can
combine their ranks in order to purchase Allies, but no Ally Rank can
exceed 4. Ask your CiC before assuming this is an option for you!
Mojo
Next, draw a random card to determine your characters Mojo power.
This is a special boost that serves to give your character some kind
of edge. The scope and apparent usefulness of the powers included
in this book vary widely, so dont be surprised if yours seems really
amazing or really crappy. Write your Mojo power down on your
character sheet.
26

Mad Half, Psychotrigger, and the CGP Meter
After all of the characters have been created, every player must
choose another player at the table to play their Mad Half. The Mad
Half is responsible for handling all of your Negotiations when you
want to push your character beyond her normal abilities. As the
game flows, this player will very likely gain an increased level of
control over your characters actions and sanity. I suggest picking a
player who is known for crazy wild exposition, as they will have the
most fun with your characters madness, and in turn everyone else
will have a lot of fun being there when it happens. Every character
must have a Mad Half, and no single player can be the Mad Half for
more than one other player; each player must choose a different
Mad Half for their character.
Once you have your Mad Half, its time to designate your characters
Psychotrigger. This is a simple statement of what it is that drives
your character crazy in this game. It can be just about anything, from
an addiction to an obsession, to a driving goal that is more important
than anything or anyone else. This will be evoked by your Mad Half
each time you want to Negotiate for empowerment.
Because the Psychotrigger will most likely be evoked quite frequently

in the game, this needs to be something solid and evocable. When
creating your Survivors Psychotrigger, you yourself need to be able
to state aloud three or four ways that you can see it being narratively
used against you. If you cant think of such examples, then the
Psychotrigger is probably not solid enough.
Below are some examples:

Addicted to Cigarettes
I must find my missing kids!
Obsessive-compulsive inventory organization
Problems trusting strangers
You can use the Quick-Draw table in the back of the book for more
examples. Next, look at the Crazy-Go-Psycho meter on your character
sheet and note that your Cool rank +1 determines how many CGP
points you can accrue for each stage of madness.
For more information on the Mad Half and Psychotriggers, 27

see the Mad Half chapter starting on page 89.

Survival Tokens
Every Survivor begins the game with a number of Survival Tokens
determined by their Grit Characteristic rank. Additionally, if they
gave up any Gear options, they may have a few more points.
The Secret Votes

The final step of the creation process involves you answering each
of the four Secret Votes. Either use some note paper or one of the
special custom vote cards from the website, and fill in the name of the
character you choose most likely to fill each of the answers. During
the game, if any of these answers come true, you gain an immediate
eight-token bonus to your Survival token stash! The Questions are:
Which character will die first?
Which character will betray the others first?
Which character will be turned by the Contagion first?
Which character will reach Stage Five Madness first?
And for the record, yes, you can totally write yourself into any of
these slots, if you think it will happen (or you think you can make it
happen). When done, pass the cards/notes to the CiC, who will keep
track of them and reward you when/if your vote succeeds.
M ethod #2: R andom C haracters

If you dont have a character concept in mind, or you just want to
churn one out with a quickness, try using the second method for
character creation. Grab a deck of cards and follow the steps below,
and you should have a new character in just a couple of minutes, if
not less.
For random Characteristics, draw four cards for each and lay them
out in a row. These represent your four Characteristics from left
to right (Kill, Cool, Grit, and Savvy). The Characteristic with the
highest card (determined by rank, then suit) gets a 4, the next a 3,
and then a 2 and a 1. There ya go!
For random Archetypes and Psychotriggers, use the Draw

Tables in the back of this book. For random Gear, empty
28 your pockets onto the table, then survey the room
youre in (tabletop contents included) and pick four

things that seem useful. Write them down. For the Mad Half, deal a
card face-up to each other player at the table. The player with the
highest card is your Mad Half. You can also use any of the steps
in this system to supplement the Custom-Built creation method,
replacing the steps you cant figure out quickly on your own. You
can even build a basic character profile by drawing cards against the
quick Threat tables.
For a random name, check the Internet for a plethora of random name
generators. There are some out there that can generate names from
a variety of cultures past and present.
O ptional S tuff
Is your game using any optional rules, like Custom Weapons? Ask
your CiC. If this session is using the Custom Weapons rule and the
CiC allows it, then it is now time to draw for your characters starting
weapon. This is handled by drawing some cards from the deck and
then comparing them to the table of weapons. If the CiC feels that
certain weapons are a bit unlikely or disallowed for initial characters,
she can remove the associated cards from the deck before shuffling
and letting the players draw. Or, if she wants them all to have pre-
set weapons, she can simply give them a weapon of her choice and
move on from there. She is also perfectly within her rights to start
you off with no weapons at all!
So, to re-cap, every character should have the following

information:
Name
Archetype
Concept
4 Characteristic Scores
Useful Gear & Weapons
Mojo Power
Psychotrigger
Crazy-Go-Psycho meter
Place to write down the name of your Mad Half
Optional: Additional handy cards for Pawn info,
Token Costs, etc. 29

E xample of C haracter C reation :
C ustom M ethod
Vera, Karo, and Screg have gathered together to play a game
of Cannibal Contagion, and Screg has volunteered to be the
Cannibal-in-Charge perhaps he has some kind of weird power
trip, or maybe hes just a masochist. Screg decides to use
the default scenario from this book (The Zombie Apocalypse
is Now), and lays out the basic premise of the characters
connections in this session: Youre completely unconnected
people in downtown Atlanta during mid-day on a Friday.
After a few minutes of discussion, Vera decides she

30 wants to play a southern belle waitress named Carla.
She writes down I am Carla, tough but sweet

greasy spoon waitress, and next to her Archetype she decides
to write down The Sarah Connor. She figures toughness and
ass-kicking will be her biggest strengths, so she assigns Grit
at 4 and Kill at 3, then puts Cool at 2 and Savvy at 1. As for
Gear, she notes that she has a shotgun. Her Psychotrigger is I
want my kids back! and Screg agrees that it can be frequently
evoked.
Meanwhile, Karo works on his character, whose concept is

Roger, an arrogant yuppie with no redeemable qualities
whatsoever. For his Archetype, of course: The Suit. Karo
figures Roger is best at being cool, so he ranks Cool at 4. He
had to be resourceful to get this far in life, so Savvy is at 3.
A few backs were stabbed along the way, so Kill is at 2, and
since hes a total wuss, Grit is at 1. For Gear, Karo writes down
an Armani blazer, 500-dollar pen, and keys to a boat docked
down on the Hooch. He sets Rogers Psychotrigger at God
Complex, which could come into play quite frequently.
E xample of C haracter C reation :

R andom M ethod
Late to the table as usual, Splick shows up right before Screg
wants to start, and he didnt bring the required Pringles donation
necessary for excuse of tardiness. Screg tells him hell have to
use the random gen method if he wants to jump in, and Splick
is cool with that (hed better be if he wants to play). Splick grabs
the deck and starts drawing, and after a minute he has written
down that his characters Archetype is The Chainsaw Guy, and
hes a Programmer with personal traits of Too Much Coffee
and Big Hairy Hands. He then does a four-card spread to get
his Characteristics. All hes got left is Gear he looks around
the room and then writes down Wireless Mouse, Collectible
Pen Set, Nerf Darts, and Raggedy Old Khaki Shorts. He writes
down Caffeinated Computer Programmer Gone Postal as his
concept. He loads up an online name generator and quickly
gets Max Benton as his characters new christening.
For his Psychotrigger, he randomly draws Something
of a Pyromaniac, which Splick finds hilarious. 31

M ojo
Some gaming groups might feel that a bit of extra Oomph on the
side of the characters could go a long way towards changing the flow
and fun of the game for the better. Giving each character a unique
empowerment of some kind can give the characters an edge above
the rest, and really rock the games foundations. This can, of course,
be good or bad, depending on your desires for the game. Mojo can
drastically change the games balances, so CiCs are encouraged to
consider them before allowing them into the game.
Using the Mojo rules, every character gets one special Mojo power
which somehow bends the rules to help them out. Most of these
powers are ways in which certain rules just dont apply to the
character, or are always-on bonuses and enhancements. A few are
special at-will powers the character can draw upon when needed.
They are not really balanced in any way, but personally I think thats
what makes them fun.
Below are thirteen sample Mojo abilities. Theyre numbered Two

through Ace so you can randomly draw them if you like. Feel free to
create your own!
2: Adaptability Under Fire: Before any Quickie or
Showdown, you can gain a point of CGP to permanently
swap any two Characteristics current Ranks. This does not
swap their starting maximums, though.
3: Always Keep One in the Chamber: Whenever the
standard rules say you run out of Juice with your weapon,
you can gain a point of CGP and say you didnt actually run
out of Juice, and continue using your weapon as normal.
Your actual Juice tally remains unaffected by this Mojo,
however, so watch out for the next time you use your
weapon again.
4: Balls of Steel: In Showdowns and Quickies, you can
gain a point of CGP to substitute your Cool score for Kill or
Savvy. You must declare this before the cards are dealt.
32

5: By Will Alone: In Showdowns and Quickies, you can
gain a point of CGP to substitute your Grit score for Kill or
Savvy. You must declare this before the cards are dealt.
6: The Calming Repose of Death: Each time you kill an
opponent in a single Showdown with no assistance from
your teammates, you can erase a point of CGP from your
meter.
7: Carrier Immunity: You are immune to the effects of
the games Contagion, but you can still carry it. If you
ever become infected, ignore any Effects, Threshold, and
Aftermath of the Contagion. Once infected, you can transmit
it through normal means.
8: Effing Hard Core: Youre so hard core, you can sacrifice
your own well-being just to hurt your opponents. When
you win a combat Showdown against an opponent, you
can voluntarily take any amount of direct Hurtin in order
to deliver an equal amount of Hurtin to your opponent.
You cannot attempt a Grit check to resist any of your self-
inflicted Hurtin. Any Hurtin you apply to yourself is divvied
among your Characteristics as you see fit.
9: Get Out of Hell Free Card: Like a cat thats used up
seven of its lives, youve got two remaining. The first time
anything in the game ever causes your death, you bite the
bullet, but only for a short while. At the beginning of the next
scene, you are back in the game with one rank in each of
your Characteristics. Keep in mind, this does nothing about
existing Infection or CGP, but it might just stave off that
Turning for a little while longer.
10: My Kung-Fu Is Better Than Yours: Once per opponent
per session, you can evoke this Mojo to force your opponent
to discard the last card they just played. You can only ever
use this once on the same opponent, ever. Using this power
gives you one point of CGP.
J: One Tough Sumbitch: When making Grit Quickies to
attempt to nullify incoming Hurtin, each face or ace drawn
nullifies two Hurtin, instead of the usual one.
Q: Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Scene: If you have been
narrated into a scene, you can gain a CGP point
and write yourself out of it at any moment before
you play any cards. You must be able to narrate 33
your departure somehow, such as how

you vanished while no one was looking, or how contrary to
what everyone believed, you were never there in the first
place. Once youve played even a single card in this scene
via Quickie or Showdown, you lose the ability to evoke this
during this scene. Note that being dealt cards does not
count as actually having played them.
K: Time Bomb: Youve got one last surprise for whoever
kills you, one last trick up your sleeve should you ever have
to bite that proverbial bullet. Whenever your character is
killed in the game, everyone near her takes Hurtin. The
Amount of Hurtin dealt is equal to your current stage of
Madness multiplied by your Cool rank, Divided among
everyone present. You have to narrate the nature of this
unexpected Hurtin maybe its a bomb in your head,
maybe its a particularly violent death spasm, or maybe
even your blood is filled with highly corrosive poisons, its
up to you.
34

A: Voice of Reason: You are adept at calming those
around you, reducing their madness in the face of dark
times. You can take points of CGP from others, erasing
one point from their current CGP tallies for each one you
add to your own.
Joker: Take your pick!
T he Q uestion
and the C old O pen
The very last step of character creation, be it the custom or random

method, involves the CiC asking your character a question. Usually,
this question will be some variant of Where were you when the
zombies attacked? Once the CiC asks you, an intro scene with
your character will be framed and played. This scene is called a Cold
Open, and it is used to introduce your character to the events of the
game. Typical games will feature each Survivor in her own unique
scene, but if multiple players want to there is no reason they cant
share a Cold Open. Once each player has had their Cold Open, the
game truly begins. More info on Cold Open scenes is found in the
CiCs section, on page 125.
C haracter E xamples
On the next four pages are some example characters you can use for
your own games, should you want to just pick this game up and jump
right in. Included are both some nifty portraits and some complete
easy-to-print character sheets. Just pick a character, print out the
included sheet, and go play!
35

I am Carla:
disgruntled waitress,
a mother who needs
to find her
missing children
in this
chaotic
desolation
of a city.
36
Cannibal Contagion
Survival Side Horror Side
Character Record Sheet
Kill: Savvy: Grit: Co ol:
Max C ur r e nt Max Cu rre nt M ax Current Max C u rre n t
Player Name
3 1 Carla Tomlinson 4 2
Ch a r a c te r N a m e
The Sarah Connor
Mojo: Archetype Crazy-Go-Psycho Meter
[ C i r c l e yo u r c u r r en t s t a g e b e l o w ]
Mad Ha lf Psychotrigger: I want my kids back!

Gear Slots: 2
[ S avv y x2 ] Suit Order: Points Until Next: 2 /
Cool+1 C u rre n t Ta l l y
Gear: Slots: Notes: Juice: Th e M a d H a l f s N a r rati ve Pri c e m us t be pai d
Shotgun 2 +3H Stage 1: The Calm s om e ti m e d u r i n g th e c u rre nt s c e ne .
Th e M a d H a l f s N a r rati ve Pri c e m us t be pai d

Stage 2: The Brink i m m e d i a te l y.
The M ad Ha lf c a n now random l y rem ove

Stage 3: The Descent one of your c a rds from your hand bef ore
you p l ay a S h ow d ow n.
Th e M a d H a l f c an n ow c ho o s e to narrate
Stage 4: The Shatter h ow you p e r for m a ny S ho wdo wn.
Stage 5: The Madness Whe n you de c la re an a c ti on, the Mad Hal f

c a n n ow d e c l a r e th a t yo u do s o m e thi ng to -
ta l l y d i f f e r e n t i n s te a d. SPEC I A L : Yo u c an
n o l on g e r N e g oti a te f o r m o re c ards !
Cannibal Contagion is Copyright 2008 Nathanael Cole. Permission given to photocopy for personal use only.
37
I am Roger:
Focused businessman,
skilled climber
of the
Corporate
Ladder.
38
Cannibal Contagion
Player Name
2 3 Roger Devries 1 4
The Suit
Mad Ha lf Psychotrigger: God Complex

Gear Slots: 6
Armani Blazer +1 Stage 1: The Calm s om e ti m e d u r i n g th e c u rre nt s c e ne .
500-Dollar Pen 1
Keys to a Boat Th e M a d H a l f s N a r rati ve Pri c e m us t be pai d
1 Stage 2: The Brink i m m e d i a te l y.


39
I am Jian,
and I have a bone to pick
with a shadowy figure
from my past.
40
Cannibal Contagion
Player Name
4 1 Jian 2 3
The Silent Badass
Mad Ha lf Psychotrigger: Dont touch the Hair!

Gear Slots: 2
Fathers Sword 2 +2H, Pyschobilly Stage 1: The Calm s om e ti m e d u r i n g th e c u rre nt s c e ne .
Th e M a d H a l f s N a r rati ve Pri c e m us t be pai d

Stage 2: The Brink i m m e d i a te l y.


41
I am Mei Li,
an exchange student
who has seen
all this
happen before.
We are all
screwed.
42
Cannibal Contagion
Player Name
2 4 Mei Li 3 1
Ass-kicking Schoolgirl
Mad Ha lf Psychotrigger: afraid of insects

Gear Slots: 8
Plaid Skirt 1 Stage 1: The Calm s om e ti m e d u r i n g th e c u rre nt s c e ne .
Backpack +3
Schoolbooks Th e M a d H a l f s N a r rati ve Pri c e m us t be pai d
2 Stage 2: The Brink i m m e d i a te l y.
Ball & Chain 2 +2H

43
44

Part 3: The Rules
In a world where the dead are returning to life,

the word trouble loses much of its meaning.
Kaufman, from Land of the Dead
45
Surviving the Game
Most of the game will be handled through free-form role-playing.
Players will state their intentions, explore the scenes together, and
generally free-play on their own without need of too much guidance
from the CiC. Sometimes, there might be an issue or question at
hand, like Do we find some hidden caches of grenades inside this
dumpster? or Can I use this hypo-spray stuff to clean the Infected
wound? and such. In these moments, the CiC is free to make an
instant call on it and just say sure, thats awesome or hell no, thats
retarded, but she may also decide instead to leave it to chance and
let the cards decide. This involves a Quickie test.
Other times, one or more players may directly oppose the narration
of another player at the table, or even the CiC. In such cases, the CiC
can declare that the conflict requires them to take it to a Showdown,
and let their cards and Characteristics determine whose version of
the story holds true.
W hen to U se the C ards

In an ideal game, the CiC should never have to actually solicit the
players to break out the cards. The CiC will set the Scene and narrate
elements into it, the players will state their actions in the scene,
and the CiC will narrate the outcomes of those actions how she
sees fit. If ever a player feels her character should be able to affect
the outcomes differently than the CiCs narration, and that different
outcome is important to her, then she can choose to evoke the card
mechanics and try to adjust the situation to one more fitting her
desires. Essentially, the CiCs narration holds true until the players
use the cards to alter it; or in other words, the CiC is right until
the players choose to try and make the cards say otherwise.
Players, you are encouraged to use the cards often: Seize the Moment!
If you want to affect the scene somehow, and the CiC narrates
otherwise, then you should narrate a way for your character to
take the initiative and change the world around her. If you
say your character does something, and the CiC says
46 that she fails, then you can call upon the cards to try
and not fail. If the CiC says that something happens

to your character, and you think it shouldnt, then evoke the cards
and see if she can change her fate. If the CiC says that falling rocks
kill everyone, then it happens unless you bring the cards out and
make them say otherwise.
Just be warned: dont call on the cards unless you are prepared to
narrate your potential success. Therere few things more irritating in
a game than a player who is trigger-happy with the cards but cant
follow through with the story. If youve got any idea for something
cool, then go for it! But if youre just throwing cards down without
foresight, I encourage you to put some imagination into your actions
before resorting to the cards.
W hen to Q uickie , to S howdown ,

and W hen to M ove O n
Okay, so now youve decided that your character is not going to
accept the CiCs decision for her fate. Which of the card Mechanics
in the next section do you use? Well, if the situation is mostly one-
sided, or of the do I succeed or do I fail? nature, then you call upon
a Quickie to decide the results. However, if you are being directly
opposed by another force in the game, of you are working against a
Threat that the CiC has purchased into the game with her Adversity
Tokens, then you use a Showdown. Quickies are meant to allow you
to quickly decide an outcome and move on, while Showdowns are
meant to be dramatic and important, and full of delicious smack-
talking.
C ard M echanic #1:

T he Q uickie
Quickies are typically called upon in two different situations. The
first is to allow the cards of fate to quickly make a decision on an
unexpected in-game question. If the CiC feels that theres a chance
something random and unexpected might happen, such as
a character hacking into a network and accessing the
sprinklers in a building, or another character finding
a hidden Glock under their neighbors mattress, she 47
can allow the players to make Quickies to see what
Part 3: The Rules of the Game

happens. In some ways, this can be seen as the general skill check
of the CC rules.
The other situation most often arises when the players have to
resist some in-game effect, such as Infectious zombie bites. In
these cases, players are allowed to call upon certain Characteristics
to resist these game effects. For example, by spending a Survival
token, you can use Grit to reduce Hurtin received from combat-
focused Showdowns.
In either situation, the mechanics are the same. When a Quickie

is called upon, the CiC states the relevant Characteristic for the
situation, and the player draws that many cards from the deck (I
highly encourage CiCs to allow the players to draw their own cards,
as it helps to connect them directly to the game mechnics). If any
of them are faces or aces, the player wins; otherwise the Quickie is
a failure. The CiC narrates the success and failure consequences
of Quickies, but is free to allow the players to do so as well (forcing
a player to narrate their own failure can lead to some really fun
moments). In most cases, one ace or face denotes basic success,
and additionals should encourage the player to add a bit more flair
to the narration. If the purpose of the Quickie was to resist some
incoming Hurtin or other such effect, each face or ace denotes one
point resisted. Keep in mind that the draw of a Joker counts as two
faces or aces. No narration is necessary for Quickies made to resist
mechanical effects, but it doesnt hurt, and can only make the scene
cooler.
You can get additional card draws by evoking Gear and negotiating
with your Mad Half for more. Evoking Gear is described on page 65,
while the process of Mad Half negotiation is described on page 91.
If a character has no ranks in the relevant Characteristic, they can
only attempt a Quickie by evoking Gear and/or Negotiating with their
Mad Half for more cards. Otherwise, the CiCs narration holds.
Quickie Example #1: Veras character Carla is in desperate

need of some serious firepower after barely escaping from
that pack of wild slime zombies with her life and sanity
intact. She ducks into a locally-owned hardware store
in search of something to use in a pinch. Screg (the
48
CiC) says that the store has been looted almost

entirely dry, and nothing of importance can be found. Vera
believes that there might be a chance that something useful
got left behind in the chaos of this mornings riots. Screg says
what the hell, and agrees to let her try a Savvy Quickie to see
if anything might be scrounged up. Carlas Savvy score is 3, so
Vera draws three cards: the 2 of Spades, the 10 of Clubs, and
the Jack of Clubs. Because she succeeded at the Quickie with
a Jack, Screg decrees that she manages to find a baseball bat,
a box of shotgun shells, a hubcap for a 1972 Pinto hatchback,
and a welders mask. The baseball bat is definitely useful as
a weapon, and the shells could help her out on Juice checks
should she ever find a shotgun. As for the other two, well, your
ideas are as good as mine.
Quickie Example #2: Karos character, Roger the Suit, is in a

bad spot. Hes currently surrounded by a handful of contagious
cannibals, and one of them just bit him! At the end of the conflict,
Screg afflicted Roger with three points of Hurtin and two points
of Infection. Karo elects to spend Survival Tokens to make Grit
Quickies to attempt to resist some, if not all, of the incoming
Hurtin and Infection. He spends one token to start the first
Quickie, drawing two cards (his Grit rank): an Ace and a King!
Woot! He resists two of the Hurtin (one for each face or ace
drawn), and decides to take the third. He then spends another
token to try a Grit Quickie to resist the Infection, drawing a five
and a nine. Oh no! It looks like Roger is now on the spiraling
path to zombification!
O ptional R ule : Q uickie D ifficulty

In most situations, a simple face-or-ace success is satisfactory to win
a Quickie. However, the CiC might feel that in some circumstances,
the chances are a bit tighter. Kicking in a dead-bolted door might be
doable with a simple Kill quickie, sure, but getting past an electrified
fence or a sealed security door at a military bunker might be a whole
other realm of difficulty. For situations like this, the CiC can choose
to evoke the two grades of tougher Quickie difficulties.
The first grade of increased difficulty is called the Royal

Pain, and requires Queens and Kings. In order for 49
the player to succeed, she must draw Kings and

Queens Jacks and Aces just wont cut it. The second (and highest)
grade of increased difficulty is called the Longshot, and requires
Aces so the player fails unless they have one or more Aces in their
draw. So from the previous example, the dead-bolted door would be
a normal Quickie, the electrified fence a Royal Pain Quickie, and the
security door a Longshot. In both situations, Jokers are wild.
C ard M echanic #2:

T he S howdown
Whenever any players choice of narration (and this includes the CiC)
is directly contested by any other person at the table, a Showdown
begins, and the mechanics of the game enter play. To initiate a
Showdown, the contesting player must state I challenge you! At
that point, the contested player can choose to commit or relent. If
they relent, then the contesting player narrates the outcome instead,
although of course than anyone can choose to counter-challenge
that new narration. In any case, if players commit to a challenge,
then the Showdown officially begins. Once a Showdown begins,
you are committed, and cannot relent until the cards are all
played!
A Showdown is a quick card battle played out between the

contestants. Players go back and forth, playing higher cards and
adding more dramatic smack-talking narration until one side wins.
Chances are, the Showdown will most likely involve some bad-ass
combat, with some crazy moments of bloody carnage. Dont worry,
this is intended!
S howdown F low
There are ten quick steps to each showdown. This may seem like a lot,
but in truth each step is a quick moment or two of action or decision,
and once you get the flow down you will notice your Showdowns flow
by with a quickness (crazy narration considered, of course!).
50

Step 1: State Actions
Once a Showdown has been declared and accepted, both sides
state their action. The player who initiated the challenge states
their intended action first, telling everyone what theyre doing. The
challenged player follows suit. The stated actions should, of course,
obviously conflict.
When stating your action, you should focus on the actual action
part of it, and not what you intend to accomplish with that action.
Stating I run across the room screaming at him, sword in hand is
acceptable, but stating I run at him and cleave him in half with my
sword, screaming maniacally as I eat his flesh is not. Leave the
outcome open to the interpretation of the winner.
Step 2: Draw Cards

Once the actions are fully stated, the CiC tells each side which of
their Characteristics apply to their action. The CiC then deals each
involved player a number of cards from the deck equal to their rank
in that Characteristic. Do NOT look at them just yet!
51
If a participating player has no ranks in the relevant Characteristic,
they can only participate by using Gear and/or Negotiating with their
Mad Half (see below for details on both). Either side can boost their
initial draws with Gear or Negotiation, but once the cards start being
played, no more can be drawn. Again, there is no Hand limit, which
means that it is entirely possible for characters to skate along (and
win!) entirely on their own Gear and Crazy-go-Psycho.
Step 3: Gear and Allies

Once each involved player has their cards face-down in front of
them, they can choose to evoke any of their Survivors (or Threats!)
applicable Gear, provided they can narrate how their survivor is
directly applying that Gear. You can choose to either Activate or
Sacrifice your Gear in a Showdown, but you can not do both at
once.
If you Activate, you can pick a piece of Gear and, narration permitting,
evoke that Gear for a single bonus draw, pulled from the deck and
added face-down with your other cards. For each rank in your Savvy
characteristic, you can choose to Activate another piece of Gear,
with each one giving you another bonus draw, provided you can
narrate the Gears applicability. Note that if you intend on applying a
Custom Weapons Hurtin bonus to the outcome of this Showdown,
you can not also Activate it for a bonus card at this point you must
decide which is more important: bonus cards or bonus Hurtin.
If you instead choose to Sacrifice, you can pick a single item of your
Gear list and destroy it for an immediate four-card bonus to your
draw. Again, you must be able to acceptably narrate the sacrificing
of the Gear.
Allies are special, and can be evoked regardless of how you choose
to use your Gear. See the Allies section on page 76 for more
information.
Step 4: Consider Your Hand

Now each player can pick up their cards and look at them.
Take a quick moment to consider your strategy for this
Showdown, and how effective your current hand of
52
cards is for helping you achieve that.

Step 5: Negotiation
Do you feel that you need more cards? If so, youre going to have to
negotiate with your Mad Half for more. This involves you practically
begging them for more cards. Should your Characteristics be low
and your Gear be non-applicable, then you will have to do this if you
want more cards, and a better chance of success.
Negotiating is a separate process described in the Mad Half section

(see page 91). Note that if your character is already at Stage 5 on the
Meter, then you can not Negotiate for more cards until you somehow
raise your Madness stage back to a higher level.
Step 6: Play Cards

Once you have your final Hand ready to go, its time to play the cards.
The initiating player starts by playing a card face-up on the table, and
then the challenged player plays a higher one (by rank and then suit)
face-up. The initiating player can then return by stating how they are
Stepping it Up, narrating how their action is being intensified, and
then playing another card higher than the one their opponent just
played. The challenger can then follow suit, if able. Stepping It Up
is essentially a game of back-and-forth smack-talking, wherein each
participant narrates a bit more oomph into their action.
When you step it up, your extra narration of each additional card
you play is crucial to the flow. In order to play an additional card,
you must Step It Up, and in order to Step It Up, you must be able to
play a higher card than the last players. It makes these card battles
all the more fun, and can get some really evocative smack-talking
to happen.
Step 7: Determine Winner

Play continues back and forth like this, with each player stepping
it up and playing another card, until one side cannot beat the other
sides played card. At this point, the Showdown is over, and the
player with the last-played card has won. Any cards played remain
in the Play Pile. Any cards left in the hands are discarded, face-
up, into the Discard Pile.
53

Step 8: Apply the Results
Whichever player wins now gets to narrate the outcome of the
Showdown. Their initially-stated action succeeds and all of their
Steppings should be factored into this narration, and they can now
use the cards played by both sides to add additional effects to the
outcome.
The cards played by everyone during the Showdown are now used to
determine the results of the conflict. Cont the played card: each card
in the pile translates into a single point of Hurtin generated, which
the winner can deal out to her opponents. Hurtin can be applied as
damage in offensive Showdowns, but is otherwise useless in most
other Showdowns. Different weapons and effects may drastically
modify this damage output. Some weapons may do bonus damage,
others may multiply it, and others have different effects altogether,
so factor them in too. See Page 61 for the rules on using Hurtin.
Additionally, if there are any Aces or Faces in the pile, the victor
can choose to exchange them to either buy Facts or gain Survival
Tokens. Cards thus exchanged take away from the Hurtin total, but
they have their own special rewards. Remember: Jokers count as
two such cards! Read below for the details.
Exchanging Cards for Facts

Each Fact purchased allows the character to add a little something
extra to the scenes current narration, above and beyond the
success of their stated action. For example, if Carla just succeeded
in diffusing a bomb that was about to kill everyone, she could then
use a Fact to narrate how she was also able to completely recover
the C4 and the blasting materials for later use. Here are some other
examples:
As I punch him, I grab his gun and wrench it from his grasp.
Once I dive out the door, the building collapses behind me!
After killing the zombies in the shower room, I find my kid
brother hiding in a locker!
After climbing the dangerous rubble, I run into
another group of flesh-starved demons, OMG!
54

The player can pretty much narrate anything as a Fact provided it
somehow fits within the scope, theme, and feel of the game and the
scene at hand. There are some set limits, though:
Players cannot narrate the death of another specific
character, as long as that character has Characteristic
scores or was paid for using Adversity tokens. The deaths of
these characters must be determined by weapons, dangers,
and Hurtin. However, if the character in question is only
background color of the current scene (i.e., a wallflower),
and has no Characteristics or Threat, he can be slain at
will through narration. (Sadly, while I carved through the
monsters with ease, one of them managed to bite the head
off of poor Wilson before I could kill it.)
You can narrate any kind of wound or hardship to be
inflicted upon the losing opponent, and they must role-play
it from then on. However, it does not cause actual Hurtin or
Characteristic damage unless the damage rules say so. But
keep in mind: sure, if you cut their trigger hand off, they may
still somehow have all their Characteristic ranks, but they
wont be able to use that gun anymore. (My sword cleaves
off his arm as well, and he stands there clutching it as blood
spurts out like a fountain.)
If your narration includes something that the CiC decides
directly affects the other characters, those other players
must agree to it. If they dont, either re-phrase it or take it to
another Showdown with the affected parties.
Otherwise, go to town. You are encouraged to go wild and crazy
when narrating your Facts. Destroy the environment, blow things up,
create histories that werent there before, and so on. If you want to
narrate that a crushed VW Microbus crashes through the wall and
breaks someones leg, go for it (although that would probably be
two separate Facts, one for the bus and one for the broken leg). It
is advisable to have the narration make sense within the context of
the scenario, unless you all agree that it is going to be one of those
kinds of games.
55

Exchanging Cards for Survival/Adversity
Tokens
If the victor chooses to exchange face-or-ace cards for Survival
Tokens, each single card thus exchanged gives him one bonus
token. If the CiC wins, he can choose to exchange faces or aces to
directly increase his Adversity Pool on a one-for-one basis.
Step 9: Check Juice Tallies

Once the results are applied, anyone who used a Juice-requiring
Gear should compare the highest-played card to their Gears Juice
Tally. If the cards rank is greater than or equal to the tally, move on.
But if it is less than the tally, the weapon has run out of Juice. See
page 66 for more info on Juice.
Step 10: Cleanup.

Once the Showdown is resolved, all players put all the cards left in
their hands and the Play Pile into the discard pile. The deck is not
reshuffled unless the cards have run out. If either side used a Juice-
requiring weapon, apply the Juice Mod first and then check to see if
youre out of Juice.
Showdown Example: While exploring an abandoned subway

station, Jian kicked in an office door to find a trio of diseased
cannibals tearing apart the body of a policeman (Screg
introduced them as a single entity, Hindrance Role, Threat 5).
Hunter (Jians player) takes the initiative and announces that
he is going to charge in and slice them to zombie shreds. Screg
declares that this will require a Showdown.
Hunter has already stated his action, and Screg says it will
require the Kill Characteristic (obviously), which Jian has
at rank 3. For the cannibals action, he states They lose all
interest in the policemans corpse and lunge at you, their
jaws a-slobberin with rottenness. Screg deals three cards to
Hunter, and since the cannibals are Hindrance-Role Threats,
he deals himself three cards (Hindrance-role Threats
always enter a Showdown with three cards). Hunter
56 decides he wants one more card, so he first chooses
to activate his sword as a piece of Gear, giving

himself a bonus card to the draw. Since Screg is just using the
standard weapons as Gear rule, he doesnt have to worry
about losing any particular Hurtin bonus.
Hunter still wants more cards, though, so he Negotiates with

the Mad half to draw more cards. His Mad Half agrees to let
him draw up to two cards, which he does, taking two points of
CGP and marking them on his tally. Screg sticks with his three
base cards. Both sides satisfied, the play begins.
Since Hunter started the Showdown, he plays the first card. He

has an Ace of Diamonds in his hand, and hes sure hes going
to win with it, so he decides to milk the bad guys for as many
cards as he can in order to boost his outcome. He opens low,
starting with a four of Diamonds. The CiC also has a pretty
good card in his hand, so he plays along, following with the
seven of Spades.
If the Showdown is to continue past this point, then Hunter

and Screg are going to have to Step It Up. Hunter now plays
the nine of Hearts, and states aloud My sword is razor-sharp;
once it enters the fray, theres nothing can resist its edge.
Screg counters with the nine of Spades (which trumps the nine
of Hearts), adding The policeman just tasted awful to these
guys, so their hunger is even more intense and it drives up their
intensity to rip you to shreds. Back to Hunter, who plays the
Jack of Clubs, and says Their intensity pales in comparison
to the relentless will that drives my zombie-slaying survival
instincts. Screg again counters, playing the King of Spades
and saying Thats too bad, because your survival instincts
fail when matched against their superior primal instincts.
Screg thinks hes won, but now Hunter lays down that Ace of
Diamonds, stating Primal instincts be damned! With a whirl of
wind and a flash of steel, their heads are removed and I stand
victorious.
Hunter came out victorious, so he counts the total number of

cards in the Play Pile: Seven! Four of the cards in the
pile are numerical, with two faces and an ace. Hunter
applies five of them (the four numbers and the Jack) 57
as points of Hurtin to the cannibals, in addition to

whatever Hurtin bonus his sword might apply. Five is enough to
eliminate their entire Threat score! Hunter takes the narrative
reins as a result of his success and states I charge into the
room, leap and slide across the desk and land right on top
of the cannibals. I stand in a dramatic pose and immediately
start spinning with my sword, all chop-chop murderiffic action
and such. In mere moments, their heads are flying into the
air in a slow, almost synchronized dance of blood and gore,
their hungers eternally quelled. He then uses one of the two
remaining face cards to add a Fact to the scene: When the
blood is settled, I notice a gun, a walkie-talkie, and a ring of
keys on the dead cops belt. He trades in the other remaining
face card for a bonus Survival Token.
The five points of Hurtin completely eliminate the zombies as a

viable Threat, and the additional Fact allowed Hunter to throw
a weapon and some extra gear into the scene. Additionally, he
was able to acquire a new Survival Token. Sweet!
58

W ho s N ext ?
When the Showdown is resolved, anyone else can take actions
of their own. Whoever states their response first, acts first, and is
considered the challenging player for the new follow-up Showdown.
Let everyone have a turn at the action before anyone takes a second
or third go. Its usually easiest to just go around the table in order of
seating.
M ulti -P layer S howdowns , or U s

A gainst T hem
The standard Showdown process makes it quite possible (and
easy!) for multi-player Showdowns. Playing with three or more
players follows the exact same rules, and can lead to some crazy
Showdowns. If there is more than one character involved in an in-
game conflict, be they working together or all against each other, the
rules work the same.
When multiple players are participating in a Showdown, the play

starts with the challenged player and moves along to their left.
Everyone states their actions as normal, narrates their stepping-ups
as normal, and resolves the outcome as normal. Players can choose
to work together and strategize, but they can not show each other
their cards. Once the cards start playing, however, there can be
no more inter-player strategizing. Once participants start playing,
again the flow goes around the table until no one can trump the last
card played. You cant skip a turn, either; once you cant beat the
last-played card, you can no longer affect the winning decision by
playing any new cards.
Like any other Showdown, the winner narrates the outcome. If other
players were helping the winner out, he can choose to consider
their assistance in his choice of outcome narration, or even allow
the assisting players to chime in for themselves. If, for example,
he was assisted by another fellow combatant, she can include not
only the effects of her weapon in the final Hurtin count, but their
weapon as well. This makes multi-player Showdowns pretty
ideal for resolving big multi-character combat scenes
59

with just one or two hands. It can also make it pretty damn painful to
get ganged-up on by a large number of opponents.
Hurtin and Facts are handled as per normal rules. If the winner
of a combat-focused Showdown was against multiple players,
she can choose to divvy out any of the Hurtin generated to her
opponents as she sees fit (although the victims still get to pick which
Characteristics take the hits). The winner can choose to use faces or
aces to generate Facts and reduce CGP points, and dole them out
to participants as she sees fit.
Note that if the CiC is controlling multiple Threats in the same

Showdown, and they are working together, then their Hands are
added together into one big Hand. Thus, two separate Hindrances
give the CiC a hand of six cards, three for each Hindrance!
Multi-Player Showdown Example #1: Jian (played by Hunter)

has joined up with Carla (played by Vera), and theyve been
cornered by another pack of cannibals (Hindrance, Threat 10)
in the sewers beneath New York. Once the cards have been
dealt and the characters have Negotiated for bonus draws,
Hunter has four in his hand, Vera has six, and Screg (the CiC)
has four. Since the zombies initiated, Screg leads with a three
of Diamonds, Hunter (to Scregs left) plays a three of Hearts,
Vera a three of Spades. They go around the circle once more
stepping it up, and when it gets back to Screg, six cards have
been played and he finished with an Ace of Spades. Thats
a final play of seven cards, which he can choose to divide
between Jian and Carla as he chooses. He sends four Hurtin
at Jian and three at Carla, who then get to determine how it is
applied.
Multi-Player Showdown Example #2: Jian and Carla then

decide to return the love, launching a counter offensive against
the zombies. Another round of hands is dealt, and after three
rounds of card-plays, Carla wins with the ninth card, a King of
Clubs. Thats potentially nine points of Hurtin coming at those
zombies! Nice!
60

W hat C haracteristic D o I U se ?
If you wish to use violence, hurting, direct action, and force to
overcome the conflict, use Kill. If you wish to approach the obstacle
from unexpected angles, use the environment, assist your allies,
hack the mainframe, or otherwise use guile, wit, resourcefulness
and insight to overcome the conflict, use Savvy. Sometimes the
situation is pretty obvious usually, if your intention is to cause
direct Hurtin to a person, place, or thing, then you use use Kill,
and if your intention is to bypass a conflict or challenge through less
direct means, then you use Savvy.
S howdown S trategies
The main strategic decision in a Showdown is when to play your
highest card. Ask yourself the following question: Do I want to win
Big, or do I want to win Now? You can play early and try to win
ASAP, or save it and hope to win later and increase your outcome.
However, if you hold off, you could make your opponents success
all the more powerful. If you play high early and you fail, youve at
least limited your opponents outcome. On the other hand, if youre
sure you have a nigh-unbeatable card, holding off on it until the last
possible moment can backfire should your opponent actually beat it.
The more cards played, the more potential Facts and Hurtin you can
generate by winning.
Another strategy involves the effective management of your Crazy-

Go-Psycho levels. By successfully Negotiating with your Mad Half,
you can acquire points of CGP for the chance of one or more better
cards to help you win the Showdown. By gaining a lot of CGP you
can definitely work to increase your chances of success, but you can
also limit your future effectiveness in the game as your sanity grows
ever the more fragile. Sure, faces and aces in a winning hand can
allow you to eliminate some of those CGP points, but in order for
that to happen, not only must there be aces or faces in the play, but
youve also got to win in the first place.
61

H urtin : H ow to B ring I t
If you win a Showdown and your narration involved dealing bodily
harm to another character (or pack of zombies), then you can
potentially deal damage to your opponent, based on the cards in
the Play Pile and possibly what weapon you are currently using.
Upon winning a Showdown with any cards in the Play Pile, you can
choose to cause some hurt to your opponent.
In order to cause Hurtin to an opponent, your initial statement of

action must have included an obvious statement of your intent to
harm. If the CiC or the opponent do not agree that it did, and you
want to use your results to hurt them, the only way to do so is to
spend one of the aces or faces in the play pile to create a Fact that
somehow turns the outcome into one of pain and suffering (for your
opponent, at least). Doing so is the same as any Fact, and you must
narrate how the original action was turned into an attack of some
kind. This is most likely to happen when you are the defender in
a Showdown, and your initial statement was merely to get the hell
away.
The base damage of any attack-based action is determined by the

Hurtin generated through that actions Showdown. That base damage
is then modified by the stats of the weapon or maneuver being used
by the winner. The damage is immediately applied to the opponent
as a direct and permanent reduction of their Characteristic scores.
The opponent chooses how their scores are reduced. If the attack
was against a Threat (such as a horde of cannibals), the damage
directly reduces its Threat score. When a Survivors Characteristic
ranks or a Threats score are completely eliminated, they are dead.
The actual damages and special effects of the various weapons

are determined by the CiC when the weapons are introduced to the
session. When the base damage is combined with weapon effects,
it is not at all unusual to see your opponents slaughtered ruthlessly
before your eyes as your Hurtin is raised sky-high.
62

R esisting the H urtin
Fortunately, characters can attempt to nullify some of this damage
by tapping into their craziness. At the time the Hurtin is received,
you can spend one of your Survival Tokens to try a Quickie, using
your current Grit rank and any additional bonuses you may have
from other sources. Count the aces and faces you draw, as each
one allows you to nullify a single point of incoming Hurtin. Like any
Quickie, you can Negotiate with your Mad Half for bonus cards if you
feel you need them.
CiC-controlled Threats can also try this, with the CiC spending
Adversity tokens to allow them a Quickie using their role-based hand
size, as well as for drawing any necessary bonus draws.
See page 81 in the Survival Tokens section for more details.
R emoving the H urtin

Characteristic ranks lost to Hurtin can be restored by using Survival
tokens during the between-scene downtimes. See page 83 for more
details.
B iting the B ullet

Violence in Cannibal Contagion can be quite deadly. This is
intended. If you experience an entire multi-hour gaming session
without anyone dying, then either your players are really frickin
awesome or your CiC is really frickin lax, or both.
As the game progresses and the Showdowns are played out,

your character will very likely suffer many points of Hurtin, which
directly reduce your Characteristics. When your character runs out
of Characteristic ranks, her death is an imminent and unfortunate
fact. Either immediately upon having your ranks eliminated, or at
least very soon thereafter, your character should suffer some form
of grisly, disturbing, and/or hilarious demise. The other Survivors
should be encouraged to react to this, and possibly change
the focus of the scene to how they decide to deal with
your death. 63

Fortunately, character death is not the end of the line for you in
a game of Cannibal Contagion. When you eventually reach that
crossroads, there are several options available to you, including
making a new Survivor, turning an existing Ally into a Survivor, or
even continuing play as an Infected cannibal.
Creating a New Survivor

Should you wish to keep on fighting the good fight, you can easily just
stat up a new character (the random character generation rules are
great for this) and jump back in when the CiC deems it dramatically
appropriate. Introducing a new character usually requires the player
waiting for a new scene to be framed, unless the CiC thinks a new
character can easily be introduced on the fly during the current scene,
perhaps by simply converting an existing wallflower character. The
rules for creating this new character are the same as for creating
any other Survivor. Keep playing the game with your new character
and enjoy the quest for survival.
Promoting an Ally
You can even take over the role of any Allies that might have been
previously narrated into the game. In such a case, quickly give
the Ally some Characteristics and a Crazy-Go-Psycho meter (they
start with a number of CGP determined by the CiC). If the Ally has
taken any Hurtin previously, then be sure to subtract that amount
from their newly-assigned Characteristic ranks before continuing.
Their previous Ally Rank becomes their new starting Survival Token
stash.
Playing a Turned Survivor

But what if your Survivor has become Infected and turned by the
games Contagion? Usually this means that she becomes a turned
Threat under the control of the CiC. But if the CiC is cool with it, you
might be able to keep playing as the infected cannibal version of your
old character. If this is something both of you think would be fun,
then ask the CiC how it is done (the rules are in the CiC section of
this book). A planned future supplement will cover rules for
playing an entire group of infected Cannibals, and turning
64 the tables back around on those pesky Survivors!

G ear and W eapons
Gadgets, swords, medkits, gas masks, toboggans and more, when
youre trying to survive against the cannibals hordes, you need to be
well-equipped. In a game of CC, there are two types of equipment
that have any mechanical importance: Gear and Weapons.
G ear
Gear in CC is considered any tangible item or possession that could
somehow be used to help you do stuff. Cars, medical supplies,
survival kits, flares, crowbars, trench coats, life jackets, beer steins,
ancient scrolls of divine protection, ammo boxes, Kevlar vests
these are just a few examples. In CC, just about anything can
be considered gear with the right narration and the CiCs consent.
When you acquire new Gear, write it on your character sheet. You
can call upon your Gear in Quickies and Showdowns to draw extra
cards to help you win, provided you are able to convincingly narrate
how that Gear is helping you out.
Gear can be used in a Quickie or Showdown for bonus cards drawn

before the play. You can use any one piece of Gear for one of two
different results. You can choose to Activate a piece of Gear for a
single card bonus to your draw. Doing so allows you to keep that
Gear through to the next scene (aside from any other circumstances
which might remove it from your possession, of course). Unless the
Gear specifically requires Juice (see further below), you can activate
this piece of Gear an unlimited number of times during a scene for a
bonus draw. Instead of activating and Gear in a test, you can instead
choose to Sacrifice a single piece of Gear, removing it from your
possession permanently in exchange for an immediate four-card
draw bonus to your current Quickie or Showdown. You must declare
which effect you are using before you draw the bonus cards during
the Showdown.
Any time you use Gear, you must be able to satisfactorily narrate
exactly how the Gear is being used. You must state aloud how you
are throwing that Gas Can to try and add more damage to
your attack (most likely a sacrifice). You must narrate
how those awesome lockpicks bypass that complex 65
security door (activate). You must be able to describe

how that bulletproof vest is giving you extra protection against that
magnum (activate). Gear that cannot be evoked to the satisfaction
of the CiC cannot be used just having that Lucky Hat wont give
you any extra oomph, for example. You have to be able to narrate
exactly how it is helping you.
Here are some common examples of Gear use:

Use a Car Gear in a Showdown to help run down some
Bad Guys
Use a Bulletproof Vest Gear to help a Grit Quickie after
getting shot by a zombie cop.
Use a Nightvision Goggles Gear in a Showdown to help
your aim in the darkness.
Use a Whiskey Flask Gear in a Cool Check to help
yourself stay calm by taking a long swig of that Tennessee
Red.
Any gear can be sacrificed with the right flavorful description. A car
can be sacrificed by gunning the motor so hard that it kunks out,
a medkit can have its supplies exhausted, an ammo case can be
emptied, armor can be so riddled with bullet holes it is rendered
useless, and so on.
Running Out Of Juice

Some articles of Gear have a Juice requirement, which is simply a
Yes or No as to whether or not that item needs Juice (and a number
telling how much Juice it uses). Juice is an all-encompassing
ammunition trait, and all items that need fuel of some kind handle
it in pretty much the same way, mechanically. For example:

Weapons that require ammo (guns, chainsaws,
flamethrowers, grenades, etc)

Equipment that requires power (electronics, cars,
flashlights, radios, etc)

Vices that are limited (drugs, smokes, booze, etc)

Materials that can be exhausted (medkits, food, cleaning
supplies, etc)
66

When introducing Gear, give it a name and determine if it requires
Juice, and if so determine its Juice Cost. A small medkit might have
a J4 cost, a sawed-off shotgun a J6 cost, and a pack of smokes
might have a J1 cost. In any Quickie or Showdown in which you
use a piece of Gear that requires Juice, be your cards successful
or unsuccessful, you should mark one or more tallies for that items
Juice, based on the Gears Juice Cost, if any; a shotgun with a J5
stat, for example, gains five Juice tallies each time it is used. Should
your actual highest-played card ever be lower than this number,
then you have run out of Juice, and cannot use that Gear again until
you somehow acquire more Juice. In certain cases like expendable
items (grenades, smokes, booze, etc), you should erase the Gear
off your sheet entirely.
Should you run out of Juice in this fashion, you can choose to spend
a Survival token to attempt a Juice Check. This is a standard Savvy
Quickie, and you can try and Negotiate for more cards (certain
special Gear might help out, too). If successful, then you did not run
out of Juice, and you can drop your current Juice tally by the number
of faces and aces you drew. If a Joker, your Juice tally is eliminated
completely.
Otherwise, youre out of Juice; its time to find more Juice or get
yourself a new piece of gear. Either the CiC can narrate at a later
time that you find some ammo or batteries or some such which help
you out, or you can do the same later via cleverly-applied Facts.
Finding more Juice in this way allows you to freely attempt another
Juice Check (as described in the previous paragraph).
Example: Carla has been blasting away with her shotgun for
several consecutive Showdowns. Her Shotgun has a Juice stat
of +4, so every time she uses it in a Showdown, her player
(Vera) marks down four Juice tallies. The first time she uses it,
after all has been resolved she marks in four Juice dots next
to the gun on Carlas sheet. The next Showdown, she uses
it again, and since her final card if a Nine of Clubs (which is
thankfully higher than her current Juice tally of 4), she is not yet
out of Juice, and marks down another four tallies (total of
eight). In the next Showdown, she uses the Shotgun
yet again, and this time her final card is a Seven of
67

Spades, which is lower than her Juice total. This means she
has just run out of Juice!
Vera decides to try a Juice check after the Showdown is
resolved. She spends one of her Survival Tokens in order to
make a Savvy check. Her Savvy is currently at three, so she
draws three cards, getting a Two of Diamonds, and the Jack
and Queen of hearts. Basic success means that she doesnt
run out of Juice, and the two faces also reduce her Juice tally
from eight to six.
In a later scene, Vera wants to find some more ammo. Carla
and her crew are in the sporting goods section of an abandoned
and mostly-looted TargoPlexMart. Vera thinks Carla should
be able to try and find some more Juice, and Screg allows
her to try another Juice Check for free, saying that this one
was known to have a firearms display in the sporting goods
department. Vera makes another Juice check, drawing three
cards (based on Carlas Savvy). She gets one face an Ace of
Diamonds. This reduces her shotguns current Juice tally from
six to five. Vera says that Carla finds a handful of shells that
rolled underneath a broken cabinet, just enough to give her a
few more uses.
Acquiring and Losing Gear
Gear can be acquired pretty much anywhere and at any time, with
the CiCs permission. If you are searching in the game and you find
a crowbar, for example, then you can feel free to write it down on
your sheet as a new piece of Gear. If you are specifically looking for
some Gear in the game, the CiC might require you to make one or
more Quickies in order to uncover something.
Likewise, Gear can be taken away or lost at any time, too. The most
common times for this to happen are either at the beginning of a
new scene (Ok, you guys are now running through the halls of the
asylum, youre each wearing only a hospital gown, since your other
stuff was all taken from you by the scientists when they captured
you. Erase all your Gear!) or as a result of Facts at the end
of a Showdown (I hit him so hard his helmet shatters into
a million pieces!). Note that if the CiC takes away your
68 Gear between scenes, it costs her Adversity Tokens
(see page 132).

If the acquisition of Gear is narrated, write it down on your sheet and
enjoy the spoils of your efforts. Likewise, if your Gear is taken away,
erase it. Dont forget to keep track of your Gear slots!
Situational Gear
Its possible to use random bits of scenery as Gear, too. For example,
if youre in a middle-management office fighting a zombie, you can
expect to find all sorts of office supplies, a desk, a chair, a computer,
etc. You can easily narrate that you grab, say, a paperweight and
smash it over the head of the zombie. With the CiCs permission,
that can even give you bonus draws.
Special Requisite Gear

The CiC might rule that for some actions or proposed Quickies, it
is necessary to use or possess certain types of Gear. A door might
require a special Crimson Key Gear in order for the characters
to open it. A character might find a special zombie cologne gear
that makes it impossible for the cannibals to attack her. The launch
silo will let them use its resources, but only if they possess the
Operators Manual and are able to crack the codes within it by
using the Dangerous Digital Interpreter.
For example, the normal rules state that you can spend a Survival
Token to try a Grit Quickie in order to resist incoming Hurtin from
any source. However, the CiC might decide that this rule only applies
to non-ballistic attacks, and that in order to perform such Quickies
against guns, your character must have special protection, like a
Gear called Kevlar Vest. Or instead, he might decide to let you try
to test without spending a token at all.
Recovery Gear
With the CiCs permission, some Gear can be sacrificed during the
between-scene downtime for small token bonuses when trying to
recover lost Characteristics and remove CGP points. These items
will be noted as recovery items, and when sacrificed between
scenes they can add bonus tokens to the costs required to
recover. See page 83 for more details on using Survival
Tokens and recovery items.
69

Gear Limits: No, you cant carry 20 rifles,
Splick!
The Survivors have a limit to the amount of Gear they can carry.
A lot of survival horror video games enforce this, and while some
games tend to do it in a rather frustrating manner, it can frequently
help establish a feel of desperation. This rule limits the effective
Showdown-winning power of the Survivors, and forces them to take
more care with arming themselves for their upcoming fights against
the cannibal hordes.
Each Weapon and piece of Gear takes up one or more slots of

your characters inventory. Different items and weapons will take
up a different number of slots, although if the CiC wishes to keep
this mechanic on the ridiculous side, she can just say that every
item takes up a single slot, regardless of its shape and size. Each
character is limited to a number of items equal to twice their Savvy.
Why Savvy? Because characters with higher ranks in that will know
how to more effectively stow their stuff on their person, thats why.
Yes, this means that a Survivor without any ranks in her Savvy will
not be able to carry Gear, unless she uses an item that gives her
more slots.
Additionally, certain items give a small boost in storage capacity, like

satchels, packs, and bags. Each of these items grants a number of
bonus slots (two or more) to the characters Gear limit. Of course,
should the container be lost, everything inside it would be lost, too.
Also, as a general guideline, the CiC can rule that any pieces of
Gear that can be suitably worn (vests, gas masks, gloves, hats,
sunglasses, combat boots, etc) do not take up slots while worn.
Included below is a list of various example weapons and items and

a suggested slot size (or modifier) for each one. Any entry with an
plus sign next to its number does not use slots, instead giving you
additional inventory slots equal to the listed number.
70

2x4 - 2 First Aid Kit - 1 Pocket Tool - 1
Backpack - +3 Flashlight - 1 Rope - 2
Bazooka - 3 Garden Hoe - 2 Rusty pipe - 2
Binoculars - 1 Gas Mask - 1 Shovel - 2
Car Keys - 1 Grenade - 1 Survival Vest - +2
Coat Hanger - 1 Handgun - 1 Sword - 2
Crow Bar - 2 Hunting Rifle - 2 Walkie-talkie - 1
Fanny Pack - +1 MRE - 1 Zippo lighter - 1
W eapons
When battling against the cannibal hordes, youll need a good
weapon if you want to survive; arsenals are even better. In CC, a
good weapon can make all the difference between horrible death
and grim survival, and in this section you will learn how to create and
use just about any weapon you can think of.
In CC, there are two main methods which you can use to handle
weapon mechanics in-game. The first and easiest method is to simply
use weapons as if they were special Gear, giving you bonuses to
relevant Showdowns when using those weapons. If you play them
like this, the weapons can be called just like normal Gear, giving
you a single bonus card when activated or four bonus cards when
Sacrificed. The CiC can arbitrarily deem some weapons to give
more of a bonus than others, and some weapons to only be usable
as sacrifices (such as grenades and Molotov cocktails).
If youre looking to place less in-game emphasis upon gathering

weapons, and want to play a game with more focus on story and
survival than on first-person shooter-style murdering and loot-
grabbing, then I suggest using the Gear method. It will allow you
to spend less time dealing with weapon mechanics, and more time
coming up with conflicts of a more character-personal basis
as the players think less about combat and more about
the survival and goals of their characters. However, if
you want a lot of high-octane butt-kicking with wild and 71
crazy weapons, keep reading.

Custom Weapons
The second method of weapon implementation in CC involves the
creation of random and/or custom weapons, and can give your
games a much heavier dose of crazy carnage than the Gear method.
Using these mechanics, weapons have multiple in-game statistics
that affect cards drawn in Showdowns, Hurtin dealt with successful
plays, how much Juice the weapon can use before it runs dry, and
more. By allowing the custom weapons into your game, you are
letting the players know that this game will have a lot of action, and
youre cool with that.
With this system, weapons now possess their own special category
of mechanics. Weapons will have a handful of variable stats that
can be predetermined or drawn completely at random. With the
custom weapons option, you may find that randomly statting-out
your weapons can be a butt-load of fun all by itself.
Introducing Custom Weapons

Using the custom weapons system, new weapons can be introduced
in one of three manners:
The CiC lets a player start with a weapon
The CiC narrates the discovery of a weapon
A player narrates the discovery of a weapon when they win
a Showdown.
The CiC can introduce a weapon at any time she feels appropriate.
They can be brought into the scene by enemies, found in hidden
caches, dropped by magical flying weapon fairies, or introduced in
just about any other way the CiC feels works best for the game.
Players can also introduce them with Facts when they narrate their
Showdown success, although players who do so too frequently
should not be surprised when their CiC picks on them. Players can
also acquire them between scenes, using Survival Tokens (see page
83 for more details).
72

Weapon Stats
The following is a list of all the various weapon stats in a custom-
weapons game of Cannibal Contagion:
Draw Bonus: This sets how many bonus card draws
you get in Showdowns activating this weapon as a piece
of Gear. Note that if you activate a weapon as Gear,
you cannot use any potential Hurtin bonus in the same
Showdown!
Hurtin Bonus: This sets how much bonus Hurtin you deal
when you win Showdowns using this weapon.
Juice Cost: This sets how much the weapons Juice Tally
increases with each use. If this is written as a fraction such
as 1/X, then the weapon gains 1 Juice tally after every
X uses. Obviously, if the weapon is one that does not
realistically require Juice, then this stat is ignored.
73

Special: Some weapons have extra-special modifiers,
powers, and circumstances. Some of these effects are
beneficial, some are detrimental.
When using the Custom Weapons option, you can choose to
implement any or all of these special weapon stats. If you only care
about the Hurtin Bonus, for example, then forget about the rest and
only determine that stat.
When a weapon enters the game, as the CiC you can choose to
either assign any or all of the weapons mechanical stats, or you can
use card draws to randomly stat it up. When doing this, draw a card
for each of the stats that you wish to randomly determine, and then
compare those cards to the random weapon table in the back of the
book. If you like, you can even choose to give it a random special
effect of some kind, just to make it more interesting.
For example, lets say youre running a game and you decide to
throw in a sword that the characters find in a museum. Instead of just
giving it appropriate stats, you figure it would be fun to randomize it.
You draw three cards: one for Hurtin, one for Draw bonus, and one
for a special effect (just cause) none for Juice, of course, because
its unlikely that a sword would need Juice. You draw a nine, a seven,
and a four. From left to right, the nine gives the sword a Hurtin bonus
of +2, the seven gives it a Draw bonus of one, and the four makes it
Lame (ouch!). Quite an interesting weapon indeed!
Once youve determine the weapons modifiers, right down the

weapons name on your character sheet, and in the Notes section
jot down any modifiers or abilities that may have turned up.
Special Qualities
When drawing on the weapon chart, you can choose to also use the
Special Attribute column to give the weapon an additional odd trait
of some kind. Some of these are beneficial to the user, while others
make the weapon less effective or are otherwise detrimental. The
list of abilities are as follows:
74

Ammo hog: Juice checks costs 1 more Survival Token gain
than normal
Dial Goes to Eleven: Spend Survival token, increase all
stats by +1 for a single Showdown (Draw, Hurtin, and Juice
Cost)
Disposable: Cannot replenish Juice in any way
Easy to find ammo: +1 Savvy for all Juice Checks
Hard to find ammo: -1 Savvy for all Juice Checks
Knock-off: Does 2 less Hurtin than normal
Lame: Requires the expenditure of a Survival token each
time it is used
Last resort: Requires an Ace to do Hurtin, but does x2 total
Hurtin if successful
Penetrating: Opponent cannot make Grit checks to nullify
Hurtin
Psychobilly: Can take CGP points to cause extra Hurtin,
one for one, up to 4
Recharging: Remove 1 Juice tally at end of each scene
Scary: Each successful attack against a Survivor causes
them 1 point of CGP
Self-destruct: Can be sacrificed after Showdown to double
total Hurtin
Joker: Draw twice, applying both! (Ignore this if drawn
again)
Optional Rule: Double-Fisting
Sometimes players may want to use multiple weapons at the same
time. If the CiC allows it, this can be done by taking the best attributes
of the two weapons, and dividing their total allowed Card Draw by
two, rounding down. Any bonus cards drawn by gaining CGP cost
double the normal CGP points. Using two weapons in this fashion
can significantly boost your CGP meter, but if theyre good weapons
they might be totally worth going apeshit and shooting every last
mofo in the room.
Remember: Weapons are Gear!

Its important to remember that custom Weapons are still Gear
just like everything else. They must be noted in your
characters Gear list with all her other equipment. Like 75
Gear, weapons can be activated for a bonus draw on

any Quickie or Showdown, or can be sacrificed for four bonus draws
on any Quickie or Showdown. However, if you intend to use any of
the custom weapon stats in a battle (bonus Hurtin, for example, or
special powers), then you can not also Activate or Sacrifice it for
additional draws. Note that if sacrificed in combat, they can not use
any of the weapons other stats in that Showdown, including Draw
Bonus and Hurtin modifiers.
Threats and Weapons
Threats can use Gear and Weapons just like any other character
in the game, unless your settings nuances deem otherwise. For
example, if youre playing with zombies along the George Romero
lines, then chances are the cannibals will be very unlikely to use
items. On the other hand, Bad Guys with any capability are likely to
be just as equipped as the Survivors, if not better. In fact, Threats can
often be good sources of new weapons (kill them all and take their
stuff, right?). The characters could be assisted by some soldiers,
only to have those soldiers slaughtered by an attacking horde of
monsters, leaving the players to grab their weapons and fight back.
A llies
As the Survivors try to stay alive through the terrors of the zombie
apocalypse, they will very likely encounter and recruit like-minded
fellows to assist them in their efforts. These folks might be stranded
kids looking to get out of a burning building, or road-hardened
survivalists in a recreational vehicle, or even battle-trained cops that
help escort the Survivors to safety. Whatever the case, they can join
the cause of our heroes and assist them in several ways, including
bonus cards in Showdowns or even leaping in front of dangers to
sacrifice themselves for the sake of the heroes.
Since Cannibal Contagion is a game focused primarily on the
Survivors and the monsters which menace them, Allies will always
take a more backseat role to the exploits of the heroes and bad guys.
They might lend a hand and help out in some really tight spots, and
they might even take bullets that were meant for the Survivors, but
they will rarely start conflicts or take major initiatives, instead
leaving the spotlight to the players and their characters.
76 Like Gear, Allies can be narrated into a scene at any time

by the CiC without the expenditure of any tokens.

A llies in P lay
Allies are considered non-player characters, and are thus narrated
by the CiC. Their actions and attitudes and personalities are entirely
under the control of the CiC, although he can hand them out to the
players if he wishes. It can speed play along significantly if the allies
are just assigned to various players to manage.
Mechanically, Allies function as special Gear, with three important

functions. The first function is a lot like the regular use of other Gear.
Each Ally has two stats, the first being their Ally Rank and the second
being an associated Characteristic (either Kill or Savvy). The Ally
Rank determines how many bonus cards that Ally can provide in a
Quickie or Showdown, while the associated Characteristic denotes
which Quickies or Showdowns the Ally can assist. The Ally Rank will
be a number from 1 (marginally helpful) to 4 (professionally adept),
depending on the competence and intended usefulness of the Ally.
For example, a S.W.A.T. Member Ally with an Ally Rank of 4-Kill

can provide four bonus draws to another player in a Kill-based
Showdown or Quickie. That same Ally could not, however, help out
with any Savvy-based tests. If there are multiple participants in the
Showdown, the bonus cards provided by an Ally can be divided up
as the players see fit. Additionally, should such a situation ever arise,
an Ally can attempt a Quickie or Showdown on its own, using its Ally
Rank as cards.
Example: Max Benton (played by Splick) is searching the

rubble of the military compound for any useful equipment he
can get his hands on. Screg says he can try a Savvy Quickie
to see if he finds anything. Max Benton only has one rank
in Savvy, and doesnt have any Gear that can help him out.
Fortunately for him, he is accompanied by an ally named Norm
(Rank 1-Savvy), so he asks Norm to help him out. Norm is
being played by Screg (the CiC), who offers Splick a single
bonus draw from Norms assistance.
The second core function of Allies is also much like Gear, and is
called the Blaze of Glory. Much like Gear can be sacrificed
for extra cards, Allies can sacrifice themselves to go
out in a blaze of guns and glory. Doing so is just like 77
sacrificing Gear, only the bonus cards you get are

double the number of bonus cards that Ally normally provides.
Suitable narration is, of course, required. For example, in a violent
Showdown, the Ally can charge into the fray with twin machetes,
hacking at the enemies but getting bitten in half in the process. Or
maybe during a Quickie to help the Survivor lift a boulder out of the
way, the Ally takes the burden, letting the heroes escape but getting
crushed once theyre gone.
Example: In a later scene, Max Benton and his ally Policeman

Joe (Ally rank 3-Kill) are confronted by a pack of ravenous
ghouls (Hindrance w/ Threat 8). Max has taken some Hurtin in
the previous scenes, and his payer (Splick) doesnt think that
Max can survive if the ghouls get to act on their own. Taking
the initiative, Splick announces that Max and Joe get the jump
on the ghouls, charging in guns blazing. Maxs Kill rank is
only 1, and he cant afford to Negotiate for bonus cards, so he
announced that Policeman Joe is taken by the moment and
jumps right in, sacrificing himself to kill these undead bastards.
Joes Blaze of Glory gets Max six more bonus cards (twice
Joes Ally rank of 3), so Max Benton now has seven cards for
this Showdown. Win or lose, however, Joes grisly death must
be taken into account during the outcome narration.
Finally, the third function of Allies allows players to have them take
damage in place of the Survivors. Any time an Ally is helping a
character in a Showdown and the Survivor loses, that Survivors
player can narrate how any of the Hurtin she would take is instead
taken by the Ally. The Hurtin is applied to the Allys Rank, and cannot
be soaked. If the Ally takes Hurtin greater than or equal to his Rank,
he dies.
Note that Allies can become Infected just like any other character in
the game. The CiC has the rules on how to handle this.
Example: Carla was in a Showdown against some Trash

Ghouls, and helping her was her new buddy Pablo the
Mechanic (Ally Rank 3-Kill). Unfortunately, Carla and Pablo
lost the Showdown, and despite her best efforts to soak,
Carla is being hit with two points of Hurtin. Vera elects
78 to have Pablo take the Hurtin instead, narrating how
he pushed Carla out of the way and got sliced up

in her place. Pablo takes the two points of Hurtin which reduce
his Ally Rank from 3 to 1. Pablos Ally Rank is now permanently
reduced to 1, unless he is somehow healed during scene
downtime.
A llies - turned -S urvivors

Should a Survivor ever die (or a new player joins in the middle of the
game), the player can choose to continue playing the game as any
currently-existing Ally introduced in the game, if they so desire. In
such a case, have them quickly give the Ally some Characteristics
and a CiC-assigned Crazy-Go-Psycho meter. Their Ally Rank
becomes their new starting Survival Token stash. The player now
controls this character as a new Survivor.
A lly D eath
Allies, like Survivors and Threats, require Hurtin to be killed. In any
Showdown in which the CiC causes Hurtin to the Survivors, he can
target any involved Ally with any amount of that Hurtin as if they
were a Survivor.
S urvival T okens
and C haracter R ecovery
As the game progresses, the Survivors are likely to take one hefty
pounding to both their health and their psyches. Many Showdowns
will end with one or more of them either losing Characteristic ranks
to Hurtin, gaining Crazy-Go-Psycho points through Mad Half
Negotiations, or both. To help assuage this frequent loss to the
characters abilities, Cannibal Contagion uses Survival Tokens to
allow characters to recover some of the losses between scenes, as
well as a few mid-scene resistance empowerments.
The Survival Tokens are in place to provide both a reward for

doing awesome things in the game, and a way to simulate
recovery of health, sanity, and supplies both during and
between scenes. 79

G aining S urvival T okens
As the scenes are played through, you can acquire Survival tokens
in a multitude of ways. These add up over time, and you can save
them as long as you like. Below are some examples of methods for
acquiring Survival Tokens.
Suggest an awesome New Scene idea
Exchange Aces or Faces after winning a Showdown
Gain your Grit rank in tokens at the beginning of a new
scene, plus a number of tokens equal to the number of
scenes that have passed.
Fulfill one of the Secret Votes for +8 tokens (see page 28)
Complete bonus objectives during a scene (predetermined
by the CiC)
Do awesome things that impress the CiC
Kill another Survivor! When you do so, you gain all of their
current stockpile of Survival Tokens.
Buy the CiC food (hey, it doesnt hurt to try I prefer pizza,
red/yellow curries, and everything in the special breakfast
food group)
U sing S urvival T okens M id -S cene

While most of the uses of Survival Tokens are for end-of-scene
recovery and advancement, there are three mid-scene uses for them
that should not be ignored by any means: Grit checks to resist Hurtin
and Infection, and Savvy checks to keep your Gear from running out
of Juice.
Resisting Hurtin (1 token, non-repetitive)

When you lose a Showdown and take Hurtin, you have the option of
spending a Survival Token to attempt a Grit Quickie and try to soak
some or all of that Hurtin. Spend the token and then draw a standard
Quickie based on your Grit score. Each face or ace resists a point
of Hurtin. You can attempt at most one Quickie to resist the Hurtin
of any one Showdown, but you can always try and Negotiate for
more draws per the standard rules.
80

Example: Carla just got bitten by some hellhounds, for five
points of Hurtin. Five points could seriously set her back, so
Vera (her player) elects to try a Grit check. She spends one of
Carlas Survival tokens and sets to it. Carlas Grit is currently
at rank three, so Vera draws three cards and gets two faces.
She has room for more CGP, and elects to gain a few more
points to try for cards. She first talks to her Mad Half to see if
she can try for more cards her Mad Half agrees, but limits
her to at most three more draws. She takes a point and draws
a card, getting another face, then takes another point but this
time only draws a number card. She calls it at that, resisting
three points of Hurtin and taking two. She gains two points
of CGP total from this, as she elected to only draw two more
bonus cards, and not the full maximum of three that her Mad
Half had allowed.
Resist Infection (1 point, non-repetitive)

If you lose a Showdown against a creature that can Infect you, you
spend a Survival Token to try a Grit Quickie in order to reduce some
of the incoming points of Infection. This is a standard Quickie, and
you can Negotiate per normal rules for more cards. Each face or ace
resists one point of Infection, and if all are resisted, you completely
avoid the Infection (provided you werent already infected from a
previous situation).
Note that in many games, the CiC will keep the Infection tallies
of the players a secret. In such cases, when you are attacked by
Infectious enemies, it is up to you to declare when you want to try
this Quickie, and the CiC is under no obligation to tell you how many
points you have coming at you, or how many you have successfully
resisted. The CiC doesnt even have to tell you that the attack is
even contagious at all. This can make the game really tense.
You can attempt at most one Quickie to resist the Infection of any
one Showdown, but you can always try to Negotiate with your Mad
Half for more cards.
Example: Roger just lost a Showdown against a

nasty zombie, and took two total points of Hurtin (his
attempt to soak the Hurtin failed miserably). Screg 81
knows the zombie is of course infected, and that

if Karo (Rogers player) doesnt try to resist, Roger will become
Infected with three points of Infection. But in this game, Scregs
keeping the Infection totals secret, so he says You know,
Karo, that these bastards infect through wounds, and youve
just taken a nasty one. You gonna do anything about it? Karo
sweats a little, and decides to try and resist. He spends a
Survival token to attempt a Grit Quickie, drawing two cards (his
Grit score). He gets two aces, and decides to leave it at that,
thinking himself safe (and declining any temptation to talk to
his Mad Half). Screg nods and says nothing, but secretly notes
that Roger now is Infected with a single tally. Thats definitely
going to be a problem in the near future
Juice Check (1 token, non-repetitive)

When you run out of Ammo, you can spend a Survival Token to
attempt a Juice Check. This is a Savvy Quickie, and if you succeed
then you do not run out of Juice just yet. Additionally, each face or
ace reduces your Juice tally by one. As with other Quickies, you
can attempt at most one such Quickie per Juice check, but you can
try to Negotiate with your Mad Half to draw more cards during that
Quickie. See page 66 for more details on Juice and examples on
how it works.
U sing S urvival T okens B etween S cenes

After a scene ends, the CiC will go through a short checklist of
administrivia before kicking off the next scene. During this time is
when you can exchange some or all of your accrued Survival tokens
in order to recover from any losses your character has suffered up
til now.
Purchase new Gear
Recharge your Juice tallies
Recover lost Characteristic Ranks
Remove accumulated Crazy-Go-Psycho points
Remove a single stage of Madness
82

Purchase New Gear (2 tokens per Gear, 4
per Weapon)
You can purchase new items of Gear between scenes, representing
things you might have picked up during the off-screen moments.
Each piece of Gear you purchase costs 2 tokens, and must be
approved by the CiC. If the game uses Custom Weapons rules, you
can purchase new weapons for 4 tokens each, again requiring CiC
approval.
Recharge Juice (1 token per Juice stat)

Each Survival token you exchange to recover Juice recharges a
single piece of Gear by its Juice stat. For example, if you use a
Survival token to recharge a flashlight that has a J1 stat, you will
recharge a single point off the Juice tally. On the other hand, if you
use it to recharge a pistol with a J3 stat, you can erase up to three
tallies off that item per token spent.
Increase Characteristics (4 or 6 tokens per

rank)
You can spend Survival tokens to recover lost Characteristic ranks,
and increase your ranks even higher. Each four Survival tokens
you spend increase a Characteristic rank by +1, up to their starting
maximums (which you assigned at creation). Once youve reached
the maximum in a Characteristic, it costs six tokens per rank you wish
to increase it higher. Some special gear (such as a medkit, drugs,
etc) can be sacrificed for a two-token bonus to this with the CiCs
approval. Note that this does not increase the actual maximums,
and only increases the current ranks above those maximums.
Remove CGP (2 tokens per tally)

You can spend Survival tokens to remove Crazy-Go-Psycho points
you have accrued. Each two Survival tokens you spend remove a
single point of CGP from your meter, to a minimum of zero. Some
special gear (such as a bottle of anti-depressants) can be sacrificed
for a one-token bonus to this with the CiCs approval. Note that
you cannot remove more points than are currently in your
tally! If you wish to upgrade your actual madness stage,
you must use the next option below. 83

Degrade Madness (6 tokens)
After each scene, you can spend Survival Tokens to remove a stage
from your current madness meter. This costs six tokens, and allows
you to un-circle the lowest stage on your descent into madness. You
can only remove a single stage after each scene. Any currently-
accrued CGP points carry over to the new stage, however.
T he S urvival P ool
In addition to the personal stashes of Survival tokens possessed
by each individual player, the players as a group have access to
a special team Survival Pool. This stash of tokens functions like
all other Survival tokens, except everyone can add to it and draw
from it at will, at any time. Using this pool, players get a bonus for
working together against the bad guys. This is also the only in-
game mechanic that allows the players to give each other Survival
tokens.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to using the Survival

Pool. On the plus side, any player can draw from it, using a bit
of added group synergy to help them recover when needed. By
working together and helping each other survive the madness, it will
automatically go up at the end of every scene.
On the down side, as stated before, any player can draw

indiscriminately from the Survival Pool, without needing group
approval. Once you put tokens in the Pool, you have no say over
their expenditure unless you spend them yourself. Additionally,
since it costs two of your own tokens to increase the pool by a single
token, it can be costly to do so.
If ever multiple players wish to use the same tokens from this pool
at the same time, either come to a compromise or have each player
draw-off for them.
84

The Survival Pool is increased in the following two ways:
For each Survivor and Ally alive at the end of a scene,
increase the Survival Pool +1. This happens before they
choose to spend tokens to recover their aspects.
Any player can donate to the Pool, increasing it +1 for every
two Survival Tokens they spend from their own personal
stash.
K illing O ther S urvivors

Yes, you read that correctly above: when a Survivor deals the killing
blow to another Survivor, she wins the dead Survivors current
stash of Survival tokens. Should other Survivors have helped her
in the Showdown that dealt the killing blow, she can, at the time
she receives those tokens, choose to divvy any or all of them out
to her helpers, if she so desires. She doesnt have to, of course,
but the option is there for that moment in time. Of course, if the CiC
ever kills a Survivor, he gets that Survivors stash added to his own
Adversity pool. Watch out!
85
W inning T he G ame
When the game ends, the Survivor who acquired the most votes from
the other players (via the Secret Votes cards) and then subsequently
fulfilled as many of them as possible is declared the winner. If two or
more players tie, they must duel to the death. Congratulations, you
have won Cannibal Contagion! You should go to the official forums
and tell us all about it!
P layer T ips
Here Ive compiled some helpful game-play tips for players new to
the system, based on things Ive noticed in my own games, and
advice Ive picked up from others along the way.
When in dire straits, Negotiate! By gaining Crazy-go-Psycho
points you can make great things happen at the cost of
going batshit nuts. Ive seen good players skate through a
game on sheer Crazy alone. Going crazy isnt really a bad
thing either, as it only makes the game more fun, and with
careful balancing of risk and reward, you can totally go
apeshit while keeping your CGP tallies at relatively sane
levels. See page 91 for more details on Crazy-Go-Psycho
empowerment.
Keep in mind that Cannibal Contagion is only made more
fun by the in-game situation being completely FUBARd.
Dont fret when bad stuff happens to your character,
because its supposed to. Just take it in stride, pop back
and give it all youve got. Dont get butt-hurt if and when
your character gets injured or even dies, as thats all part of
the fun. Heck, sometimes its even fun to proudly say that
you died first.
Remember: there will be some fights that you just cant and/
or wont win. There will be times when you face monsters
with really high Threat Scores that just seem to keep kicking
your ass. If you cant defeat them with Showdowns, try
working together with the other players to gang up
on them, and consider using the scene to your
86

advantage. Narrate obstacles and escapes, and dont forget
that running away is one of the keys to survival.
Dont Turtle up! Cannibal Contagion is a game that
favors and rewards players who seize the initiative and
push conflicts directly and with gusto. If a player or the
CiC narrates something that you disagree with, and you
think your character can directly change it, then voice your
dissention. If a few moments of discussion dont satisfy you,
challenge it and call a Showdown! Let the cards decide, and
be prepared to narrate should you succeed. If you just sit
there and react, then youre not pushing the game forward,
and a game that isnt pushed forward goes nowhere. Thats
not fun.
87

88

Part 4: The mad Half
Did they look like psychos? Is that what they looked like?
They were vampires!
Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them,
I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!
Seth Gecko in From Dusk Till Dawn
89
To Dance with the Devil Inside
Lets face it: with all this crazy cannibal zombie-monster shit going
down, sometimes your characters are just going to break down and
wig out. Zombies, demons, monsters and more, most humans just
arent prepared for this kind of stuff. A typical human reaction to such
things is to freak the hell out. Dont worry, its the human thing to do,
and you all want to stay human, right? Of course you do, otherwise
youd be a wacked-out murderous zombie creature, and no one
wants that, right? Right? Yeah, thats what I thought.
As the game is played, characters will often face things which can
drive normal men mad. Seeing your friends and family murdered
before your eyes can be maddening enough, but what if youre the
one actually murdering them yourself because theyre trying to eat
you? In desperate times, people do desperate things, and sometimes
those people can draw upon that madness to push them along and
keep themselves alive. You know how these stories tend to go you
either get killed or go crazy. Those who fight the hardest to survive
are usually quite rattled by their experiences, and oftentimes there
is little humanity left in them in the end to differentiate them from
the monsters theyve had to slaughter in order to stay alive. Their
madness gave them power during their journey, but broke them in
the end.
Thats exactly how Cannibal Contagion works. Your characters have

been thrown smack dab into the middle of the craziest shit theyve
never believed could happen. They will be forced to do terrible things
in order to scrabble for the barest sliver of hope for survival. As they
face the horrors of the apocalypse, they will draw upon that madness
in the hopes that the edge it gives them will be enough for them to
make it through to the other side. As that destination draws near,
however, their madness could quite likely overtake them. When the
tension and events of the game push characters to the brinks of
desperation and lunacy, CC uses Psychotriggers, Crazy-Go-Psycho
points, and the Mad Half to bring that craziness into play.
The madness system involves four major variables:

Negotiation, the Mad Half, the Psychotrigger, and
90 the CGP meter. These components work together

organically to keep your characters moving ever forward towards the
brink of Madness. In order to understand how it all works, you need
to understand how each of these variables is important on its own.
Well start with the basics of how it works, and go into more details
on the specifics after an example.
N egotiation and B onus C ards :

H ow T hey W ork
When youre drawing your cards in a Showdown and youre running
low on cards, it might be a good idea to try and dance with the devil
for the chances of a few more. If you need more cards and youre
fresh out of Gear options, and none of your Mojo is helping you out,
you should consider asking your Mad Half to allow you to draw upon
your inner craziness for a greater chance of success. The act of
asking your Mad Half for this assistance is called Negotiation.
However, before you ask for this assistance, you should ask yourself
one important question: Do I need this enough to risk going crazy?
If you think you can handle the few cards youve drawn, then dont
worry about it. But if you think you need those cards, and dont mind
risking a portion of your characters sanity, then go for it.
The Negotiation process is simple, and mostly the same for both
Quickies and Showdowns. When the cards are being drawn, you
can turn to your Mad Half and request assistance. This is as simple
as saying Hey Buddy, I need a few extra cards for this Showdown.
The Mad Half can choose to flat-out deny this, of course, but to
make it more interesting, they might demand that you grovel harder,
or bribe them, or what-have-you.
If the two of you come to an agreement and the Mad Half allows you
some empowerment, then they first state how much power theyre
giving you meaning, how many cards they will allow you to draw.
They can choose to allow you only one, a small handful, or even just
say take as many as you need if theyre feeling generous.
But there will be a price, oh yes two, in fact. When the

Mad Half offers you bonus cards, they will also state 91
some kind of narrative payment that your character
Part 4: The Mad Half

must enact at some point in the scene following the current card-
play. This payment the first of the two prices you must pay will be
directly based upon your characters Psychotrigger and her current
stage on the Madness Meter, both of which your Mad Half should be
constantly aware. They can be nice and agreeable, and only demand
but a tiny payment from you, or tyrannical and evil, and make you
suffer. They can be chaotic, too, acting nice for one request, evil for
another, and downright annoying for yet another. Whatever the case
and mood may be, you must always pay this narrative price if you
wish to benefit from power.
The second price is more mechanical: when you actually accept

the bonus cards, each draw you make will earn them a single point
of Crazy-Go-Psycho (CGP), which add up to push your character
further down the Madness Meter (see further below).
If you agree to the Mad Halfs terms, you can then immediately
receive as many of the allowed bonus draws as you wish. In both
Quickies and Showdowns, you can draw them one at a time, and
you can choose to stop drawing at any point before youve drawn the
maximum that your Mad Half gifted you with.
Once youve drawn your cards, resolve the Quickie or Showdown as

normal. Afterwards, should you actually survive, you must remember
to pay the narrative price. Read further below for more details.
Negotiation Example: Jian is currently standing one on one

against Gruesome Henry (a Miniboss-level Threat). Hunter
(Jians player) knows that at this moment, its either kill or be
killed, and hed really prefer the former. Due to a whole string
of bad circumstances leading to this moment, Jians Kill rank is
down to a measly 1, and he has no gear he can suitably bring
into the conflict for bonus cards. As it currently stands, hell be
drawing one card versus Gruesome Henrys four, and he sees
that Screg has a whole mess of Adversity tokens he can blow
to give Henry more draws. He has no choice, really, but to try
and Negotiate with his Mad Half, who is played by Trin.
Before the cards are played, Hunter turns to Trin and

asks what hell need to do for some bonus cards.
92
Jian is currently in the third stage of madness

(The Descent), which gives Trin a bit of creative license in
determining his price. Jian Psychotrigger is Dont Touch the
Hair! so she says: Sure, Ill let you draw a few cards. Hell,
draw as many as you want. But when youre done with this
Threat, youre going to have to take yet another moment to
re-style your hair. Only thing is, this time, as you do it, you will
start to imagine that some strands dont belong, and youll pull
them out, one by one, painfully, until you snap out of it and
realize what youve done.
Hunter shudders. Jians hair is pretty serious to him, but he

needs those cards. He agrees to the price. Jians Cool is at
4 right now, so hes not overly concerned about it, and starts
drawing. However, when all this is over, if Jian survives the
encounter with Gruesome Henry, Hunter has to worry about
inserting Trins demanded price into the scene before it comes
to an end. Plus, for each card he draws, hell have to add to his
CGP tally, which could drive him even further into the depths
of madness
T he M ad H alf
and P sychotriggers
Now lets talk about the guy who gives you that power. During the
character creation process, every player must designate one other
player at the table to play their characters Mad Half. Your Mad Half
exists solely to tempt you with edge and ability in exchange for a
little slice of your characters sanity. The Mad Half has the power to
grant your character the ability to tap into the chaos of the situation
and draw from it increased ability and desperate power. Of course,
this power comes at a cost: your sanity.
C hoosing Y our M ad H alf

When choosing Mad Halves, each player must designate one
other player at the table, and no one player can be the
Mad Half for more than one character. If youre playing
among friends, try and get someone you have a good 93
rivalry with. Your Mad Half should be someone that

you believe can pull your strings and make the game more fun for
your character by creating internal conflicts that get under your
skin.
If youre running convention games, the default is to just choose the

player to the left.
P laying the M ad H alf

When you are the Mad Half, you have a very important responsibility
to mentally screw with your designated character (also known as
your Pawn). The Pawn will frequently beg you for empowerment via
Negotiation, and you are responsible for making them truly earn
that empowerment. You are given a variable amount of control over
certain aspects of that character (based on their current stage of
Crazy-go-Psycho), and you can manipulate their Psychotrigger to
apply said control.
Your primary responsibility as the Mad Half is to keep tabs on the

Pawns current stage of insanity, so you can use it against them
when the time comes. You can use a note page to scribble down your
Pawns Psychotrigger and track their craziness, or instead print out
the handy Pawn cards for this purpose. Using the Team Craziness
printable sheet can also help everyone keep track of each others
stages of sanity. You should keep yourself constantly aware of how
crazy they are, because the higher their stage, the more leeway
you have for messing with them in the game. For more details on
how much control you have, see the Putting it All Together section
further below.
You also have to constantly work your Pawns Psychotrigger into the
story. Not only does it play a crucial part in your Negotiations with
that player (see below), but it can also be worked frequently into
scenes outside of Negotiations as well. Keep reminding the other
player of their addiction with subtle narrative cues, and poke at their
driving goal and the obsessions that keep them jittery. Work it into
your own narrations, and try to push into it when you buy Facts
in Showdowns.
94 Remember, as the Mad Half you are representative of

the Pawns Insanity. You are the inner forces which

struggle to break the characters mind into many tiny little pieces. You
are not representative of some metaphysical sinister force (aka the
Dark Side) or some such. Youre not trying to tempt the character
to evil, but to insanity. You are Lunacy, Desperation, Chaos, and
Stress, and while those things can lead to the performance of evil
acts, such should not be your driving goal while playing the Mad
Half. Instead, you should be the catalyst for the characters fall into
madness, and should such a fall result in evil acts, then so be it,
but otherwise evil as we typically describe it should not be your
heavy-handed focus.
P sychotriggers
When you created your character, you gave her a special
Psychotrigger, which summed up the main focus of her insanity (at
least insofar as you intend to role-play that insanity in this game).
95
This represents the Big Thing that either drives your character mad,
or else serves as the tool by which she harnesses that madness, or
both. It could be a prominent nervous tick, a driving obsession, a
very important character goal in the scenario, or more.
Your Psychotrigger is the narrative lever that your Mad Half pulls
to make you squirm. When you Negotiate for empowerment, your
Mad Half will demand some kind of narrative price from you, which
uses your Psychotrigger as its main inspiration. Because of this,
your Psychotrigger needs to be something solid and evocable. It
also needs to be something core to the character, and something a
little twisted. It needs to be something that should make you think
Do I really need those extra cards right now? before you even ask
for them.
For example, if your Psychotrigger is Anger management problem,

then whenever you need empowerment, your Mad Half will frequently
demand that you perform acts of anger, frustration, and even outright
violence. These demands will be really insignificant at first, when
you have very few points of Crazy-Go-Psycho. For example, she
might demand that in order for you to draw those extra cards in
this Showdown, you fire one more bullet into its head after youve
killed it, just to give it one for the road. As your CGP meter rises,
however, her demands can (and will!) get more dangerous to both
yourself and your fellow survivors. For example, much later in the
game, she could very well demand that in order to get just two more
bonus cards, you will take your aggressions out afterwards on a
teammate, beating them up while screaming how its all their fault,
how they will thank you for it later.
P utting it A ll T ogether :
U sing the CGP M eter
Lets take a look at that Crazy-Go-Psycho meter on your character
sheet. This meter has five stages which track the CGP points you
accrue each time you successfully make a deal with your Mad
Half. As you accrue points, your character will descend
to the more maddening stages, until eventually they
96 reach the end and go bonkers gonzo nuts.

F irst O ne s A lways F ree
Yes, you read that right. The first time your Pawn asks you for
assistance, its free. They can get a single free card to their draw
without paying any CGP or narrative prices. After that first freebie,
though, aint no more discounts.
P aying the P rice :

T he F ives S tages of madness
Every time you Negotiate a deal with your Mad Half, you must pay
a price two prices, in fact. The Mad Halfs price is always twofold,
consisting of both an accruement of Crazy-Go-Psycho points and
a narrative demand. The CGP points are added to your tally, while
the narrative demand must be played out during the current scene
of the game.
Listed below are the five stages of insanity, and some examples of
various narrative demands that fit within the scope of the respective
stages. Well use four different sample Psychotriggers here to show
examples of how each stage gives the Mad Half increasing control
over the Pawns actions.
Stage 1: The Calm
Like the calm before the storm, your character is relatively unaffected
by the Madness, but in this world gone nuts, its only a matter of time
before your tight grip upon your sanity starts to weaken. You start
the game at this stage on the meter.
Empowerment: No significant control at all. During Negotiations,
the Mad Half can suggest minor things that you must do at some
point during the current scene.
Cigarette Addiction: Before this scene is over, youre going
to need to smoke a cigarette.
I have to find my missing kids!: You need to take out that
picture of your kids and look at it to remind yourself that
they need you.
Mindless Aggression: The tension of the current scene is
just too much for you, and before it passes you need to
find something in the environment and break it.
Obsessive about my Gear: This is a hectic time,
and you need to reorganize your pack before the 97
scene is over.

Stage 2: The Brink
The chaos of the times has started to affect you, and the darkness
is taking root in your brain. Frequently pushing yourself to your
limits has started to take its toll, and you find your hold on reality is
weakening. You must try and maintain those habits and emotional
bonds that tie you to reality.
Empowerment: No control yet, just more negotiation demands are

available. The Mad Half can make her demands a bit more serious,
affecting your character in the immediate present. If she desires, she
can make your character miss the next couple of in-game actions
due to various status effects like uncontrollable sobbing, obsessive
ranting, etc.
Cigarette Addiction: You need to smoke immediately after
this Showdown is over. In fact, smoke two.
I have to find my missing kids!: Youre going to look at your
kids picture and cry in a heap on the floor, useless for a few
minutes while you wetly and loudly let it all out.
Mindless Aggression: When you finish this combat, you
need to immediately spend a few moments pounding your
fist into the now-dead zombies head, until your knuckles
are bloody enough to bring you back into reality.
Obsessive about my Gear: You NEED to organize your pack
RIGHT NOW.
Stage 3: The Descent
Your fracturing sanity is starting to manifest visibly in everything you
do. Your hands shake as you aim your gun, your eyes dart left and
right when the silence becomes too strong, and you hear different
words than those that are really being spoken by your companions.
With a few personal mantras and focusing techniques you can bring
yourself back into focus, but at this point, youre doing them so much
that theyre starting to lose their meaning and their effectiveness.
Your friends are starting to whisper about you, and they cast each
other dangerous looks when they think your back is turned
Empowerment: The Mad Half can, if she so desires,

randomly remove any one of your cards from your hand
98 after they have been drawn and before they have been
played. This must be explained by the Mad Half,

however your hands are trembling, you are sobbing too heavily,
youre seeing double, the chaos of the moment is just too much, etc.
Also, your narrative price suggestions can be much more intense,
and can now start to cross the lines of what might normally be
considered acceptable standards of behavior and decency.
Cigarette Addiction: When youre done with that next smoke
after this Showdown, youre going to put it out on your arm.
I have to find my missing kids!: Youre going to start talking
to your companions as if they are your kids, and clean up
their faces, straighten their clothes, etc.
Mindless Aggression: Win or lose, you are going to
break that bat you are carrying against a wall when this
Showdown is over.
Obsessive about my Gear: You are missing things that you
could have sworn you just had a moment ago, and you must
now search the area over again to find what you know you
dropped somewhere.
Stage 4: The Shattering
You are one step away from totally losing it. Disembodied voices
are talking to you, and you sometimes find yourself listening. You
see flashes of loved ones, but you blink and theyre gone. You can
picture yourself doing horrible things to your friends, but you shake
your head and the images fade for now. Anything can set you off,
and its only a very, very short matter of time before you cross the
line and shatter.
Empowerment: At this stage, the Mad Half can, at will, choose

to narrate how you perform any Showdown. For example, if your
intention is to attack that zombie and you declare youre going to
shoot it, the Mad Half can Interject, and instead say No, you use
your gun as a club instead and try to beat it or You flip the fun to
full-auto and open the hose on the zombie, even though your friends
are all around it as well. This is in addition to the Empowerment
from Stage 3. As for the Narrative Prices they can demand, they are
now encouraged to blatantly cross the line of acceptable behavior,
to the dangerously antisocial.
99

Cigarette Addiction: While smoking, douse that house with
gasoline, and when youre done, flick your butt at it and then
stand there watching it burn.
I have to find my missing kids!: Your friends know exactly
where your kids are and theyre keeping it a secret on
purpose, so you should force it out of them.
Mindless Aggression: When this Showdown ends you will
be in a mindless rage. The very next companion of yours
who speaks will be punched hard in the face!
Obsessive about my Gear: Your friends are stealing your
things, and you must get them back!
Stage 5: The Madness
When your mind succumbs to the Madness, youve pretty
much lost it. At this point, you can still play your character
(provide any Contagion effects dont say otherwise), but
100 be prepared to do some crazy messed-up stuff in the
game, as your Mad Half takes free reign over any

and all of your characters actions, should you choose to try any. As
long as you dont engage in any Showdowns, however, you should
be fine or so you can try and believe
Special Limitation: Once you have reached Stage 5 Madness, you

can no longer Negotiate for bonus cards! You need to find a way
to raise your stage of sanity before you can Negotiate again!
Empowerment: Whenever you declare an action, the Mad Half can

declare that you do something else entirely different, if he so desires,
and the sky is the limit here. Suggestions are likewise pretty heinous.
This is in addition to the Empowerments from Stages 3 and 4.
Cigarette Addiction: While you smoke that cigarette, set
yourself on fire and laugh.
I have to find my missing kids!: Youve figured it out: your
friends drugged you and convinced you to kill your own
kids, so you must shoot them and then shoot yourself.
Mindless Aggression: After this conflict, you have now lost
all sanity, and will mindlessly attack anyone and everyone
until they knock you out. Should you wake up, youll be back
to your senses.
Obsessive about my Gear: You dont have enough pockets
to hold your gear, so you should carve new ones into your
thighs.
Price Example: In our previous example, Hunter agreed to

a pretty dramatic narrative price when Negotiating for bonus
draws with Trin during a Showdown against Gruesome Henry.
Fortunately for Hunter, he drew a Joker and came out on top,
and Gruesome Henrys brain-eating, corpse-screwing days
have come to an end. Now that the Threats are all taken
care of, Jian can set to the task of freeing his friends, who
are currently trapped in one of Gruesome Henrys famous
Deadly Traps of Conflicted Morality. Doing such would be
a simple matter of pulling a nearby lever and setting them
free, but Hunter remembers his agreed-upon price, and
decides this would be a wonderfully dramatic moment
to bring it into play. He says: Jian snaps out of his 101
murderous rage, wiping the chunks of Henrys skull

off his sleeve, and remembers that his friends still need to be
set free. But then an errant strand of hair falls into place, and
he totally loses it. He starts pulling at it, and then pulling at
the strands around it, yelling about how theyre not perfect,
how theyre supposed to be gelled into place, how heroes are
supposed to have perfect hair, and so on. He keeps pulling at
his hair, ripping out strand after strand, until tears start to roll
and he drops to his knees.
Screg thinks this is a damn awesome way to end the scene,

says Scene! and calls it there.
W hat I f I C an t P ay ?
If youre already in the process of Negotiating, it means youre
obviously ready to take on a few more points of CGP. However,
sometimes, you might find yourself unable to pay the narrative price
demanded by your Mad Half. This could be due to unexpected twists
in the scene, character incapacitation, or any other sudden change
in the narration.
For example, you might agree to a price of After this Showdown,

you must grab a phone and try to call your missing girlfriend again.
However, if you lose this Showdown and, say, you are captured and
immediately thrown into a locked cage with no phone in reach, then
of course you cant fulfill your end of the bargain.
In situations like the above, you may be prevented from fulfilling the
actual details of your bargain, but you still must try, or somehow
narrate your characters inability to do so in a way that affects
the story. In the above example, you could instead roleplay your
character freaking out, screaming for his lost girlfriend, crying for
a phone, and generally being upset about his inability to contact
her. As long as the spirit of the price is the same, then you can alter
the original narration a bit if it isnt technically possible within the
confines of the current scene.
102

K eeping T rack of your CGP T ally
You begin the game by taking the base rank of your Cool
Characteristic, adding +1 to it, and then writing that total on your
CGP meter where it says Points until Next Stage. Look at the five
stages, and circle the first one (The Calm) to denote that you have
not yet begun your descent into madness.
Every time you gain a point of CGP during game play, start a tally
next to the points until number you wrote down. The moment your
tally exceeds that total, erase the current tally, mark a single slash
in a new tally (and record any additional CGP you might have taken
in excess of that as well), and circle the next consecutive stage of
madness. This does not need to be celebrated or otherwise enacted
through any in-game event or roleplaying; the increased new scope
of the Mad Halfs powers over you will take care of that nicely.
It is entirely possible to descend multiple stages of madness at once

if you take large amounts of CGP.
Losing Ranks in Cool

Whenever you lose ranks from your Cool, you must also immediately
adjust the Points until next field on your sheet accordingly. Compare
the new calculated Points until next rank to your current tally of
CGP points. If the new rank is greater than or equal to the tally, then
no worries, mate. But if the new rank is less than your CGP total by
any number of points, then treat it as if you had just gained those
points, and adjust your Madness and Tallies accordingly.
Reducing Your CGP

CGP can be reduced by by spending Survival Tokens between
scenes. Likewise, you can rise up to a higher (read: less-crazy) stage
of madness by spending those same tokens. Your tally can only
ever be reduced to zero, though, and other means are necessary for
actually reducing the current Madness Stage itself. See page 84 for
more details.
103

O ther U ses of M adness
T he P anic B utton
One of the powers of the CiC allows them to use the games setting
to drive your characters crazy, without having to involve your Mad
Half at all. The CiC can narrate any number of spooky, creepy, and
downright frightening things into the scene, and if she so decides,
they can rattle your characters bones and make their going all the
more uncertain.
When the CiC decides to press the Panic Button, he must spend
an Adversity token and then narrate the madness-inducing event
that happens. Once narrated, every character takes one point of
CGP, unless the event somehow directly relates to their characters
Psychotrigger, in which case the character takes two points
instead.
Here are a whole slew of things that can drive the characters crazy:
A person run over by a runaway truck in front of them
A bomb suddenly drops next door, deafening them and
shaking them off their feet
A friendly ally is transformed by the infection right in front of
their eyes
A character watches her home explode from a cruise missile
A wall collapses as a VW Microbus crashes through it into
this very room
The floor drops out from under them suddenly
An eerie clicking begins to echo through the dark sewers
Bugs and snakes start to flow in through holes and cracks
All their torches are instantly blown out
A horrible scream pierces the night, but is cut off by a sick,
squelching crack
They see the Big Bad for the very first time
Now keep in mind that any of these things can happen in the game
without the CiC pressing the Panic button. Simple narration
can be a wonderfully gruesome thing. However, simple
narration of this kind wont give your character CGP
104 unless the CiC actually pays the Adversity cost to
make it a Panic Button moment.

CGP and the CiC
The CiC does not have a Crazy-go-Psycho meter, but can instead
spend Adversity tokens to function as CGP points for his Bad Guys,
letting them draw additional cards in Showdowns. There is more
information on the Adversity Pool in the CiC section of the rules (see
page 132).
105

106

Part 5: The Cannibal-in-Charge
I can feel him lurking in dark

I can hear him walking in the shadows
Its not simple getting used to the slushies
I will guide him, through the fields of disposable heads
Jesus Was a Zombie by Zombie Girl
107
Its Good to Be the King
Being the CiC is a lot of fun. As the Cannibal in Charge, you control
all the basic nuances of the setting. You set the scenes which
contain all the gameplay, and you control all the horrible things the
characters will encounter. You have a lot of terrible power at your
disposal to make the characters lives total chaos. However, your job
is not necessarily to kill all the other players yourself, as convincing
them to kill each other can be just as satisfying, if not more.
Being the CiC is not as hard as it may sound. You just gotta develop
a good scenario, and if the players have a good dynamic, then theyll
do most of the work for you. As players in CC have a lot of narrative
control, you dont have to worry about coming up with too many story
details. Let them take it where they find the most fun, and when they
ask you questions about things, just make shit up as you go.
The keys to being a good Cannibal-in-Charge are:

Knowing the Rules
Playing Towards Your Players
Properly evoking the themes of the game
Developing a good scenario
Setting good scenes (and the players can help with this!)
Creating interesting non-player characters and Threats
Effective management of the Adversity Pool
The first one is easy enough to master by simply reading this book.
Most of the rules are contained in the previous chapters, but there
are a few CiC-specific rules in this chapter as well, and youd do best
to learn them. Theyre all pretty simple enough, and Im confident
that after a read-over or two, you should be able to reduce necessary
in-game rules checks to a minimum.
As for the other keys, read on.
108

T he P layers are
the M ost I mportant K ey
Lets face it: without the players, youre just writing your own zombie-
fic novel. With them, youre all running and playing an awesome
game of Cannibal Contagion. You need them, and in most ways it
is not your story, but theirs. As such, you should tailor your session
so as to facilitate the maximum amount of fun for them.
Now, this is not to say that you should freely pander to their whims and
lofty desires. After all, your job is to make the lives of the Survivors
as close to a living hell as is within your whims and imagination.
Your primary purpose is to make them suffer horribly, frequently, and
embarrassingly. But remember, I said above that youre supposed to
try and make things fun. Suffering can be fun, right?
Wait, did you just say no? Im amazed you even made it this far, with
an attitude like that.
Still here? I mustve misheard you then. Excellent! Keep reading for
some advice on connecting with your players and putting together
an awesome game of Cannibal Contagion.
K eep to the S ame P age

It is crucially important that you make sure you and your players
are all on the same page in every regard. At the beginning of your
session, be it a con game, a living room game, or a pick-up game
while waiting in line for the release of a new video game console or
some concert tickets, you should take a few moments to let everyone
know the kind of elements that will be in this session, so that the
players can object or discuss, if necessary. For example, if you
intend for your game to be gruesome and full of murdered children
and zombie rape, then you should most definitely make sure that
your fellow gamers in this session are okay with this before you
start. Cannibal Contagion sessions can (and will, and have been)
be host to some pretty messed-up ideas and happenings,
and knowing the limits of your players is vital to helping
them have fun. 109

But even further beyond the subject of offensive matters, its a damn
good idea to make sure all the players have signed up to play the
same game; matching creative agendas are as requisite as a deck
of cards. If one player is looking for Quarantine while another player
wants Dead Rising, then you can run into some clashing creative
agendas if you just jump right in without a pre-game chat on focus
and wants.
I ntroducing N ew P layers to the R ules

One of the biggest challenges of almost every game and system out
there is the process of introducing new players to the games rules.
Throwing a whole mess of unfamiliar mechanics at a new player all
at once is usually a recipe for disaster, so I encourage you to take a
measured approach to this situation.
When a new player joins your game, be they the only such player
or be the entire table full of nothing but, I suggest that you skip a
rules demo and character creation and just start playing. Start small,
yes, but start playing right now. Give them a pre-made character
or have them make one by random draws, and throw them into a
new scene. Start with some open discussion and free-talking, get
everyone comfortable role-playing the characters they have.
As the free-play goes, the players will ask questions about the scene,
and you should answer each one negatively. Yes, you read that
correctly. Can I get through this door? No, its locked. Are there
any weapons in there I can use? No, not a one. Can I pick that
lock? No, its completely unpickable. After a small handful of these,
finally follow one of your responses with a statement along the lines
of but, like most everyone I decree, if you think you character can
change it, then you should challenge me. So now, when they next
ask Can I open this door? and you tell them its locked, they should
hopefully follow with Then Im going to pop it open with a hairpin
and were getting out of here.
Now you have your first Quickie. Show them how to play it out
based on the situation at hand. Ask them if they think any
of their Gear can help, and allow them to Activate it, but
110 dont bring in the Negotiation just yet. Once thats over,
and the conflict is bypassed, let them free-play some

more and maybe try another Quickie or two, and then try throwing in
an actual Threat make it Fodder-grade, so theyll think theyre bad
ass when they defeat it.
A slobbering zombie shambles towards you and bites your face

off, and within moments you die and turn into one of them! If
no one reacts, remind them: it is their responsibility to challenge
you. Hopefully, theyll start to get the hang of things. Play out a
Showdown, but once again, dont bring in the Negotiation just yet.
Let this one play out, and maybe throw in another Threat to make
it more interesting. Now let them try and work together for a multi-
player showdown.
Once the Threats are bypassed, end the scene, and go over the
checklist. In the next scene, you should find that the players are
taking more control of the scene, and thats awesome. In your next
Quickie or Showdown, tempt them with more power by offering them
the chance to Negotiate. From that point, the rest of the game should
hopefully just fall into place.
G ame T hemes
Before we even begin to get into the rules behind your role as the
Cannibal-in-Charge, lets talk a bit about themes. If you havent
already figured it out, Cannibal Contagion is a game about people
trying to survive against an oppressive, nigh-overwhelming, infiltrating
monstrous menace otherwise known as a Zombie Apocalypse. Sure,
its also a game about going balls to the wall and totally massacring
that menace in a variety of fun and hilariously morbid ways, but survival
still plays a heavy role in both the premise and the rules. If you have
spent any amount of time watching movies or otherwise enjoying
stories of this genre of horror, then youve probably noticed a handful
of themes that are pretty common to these stories. Desperation,
paranoia, hopelessness, self-sacrifice, betrayal, might-makes-right,
survival of the fittest, the terrible unknown, overwhelming stress,
and even scattered bits of twisted and macabre humor.
A good game of CC will focus heavily on at least a couple

of these major genre themes. The Survivors should 111
be put into situations where their bonds of mutual

trust are put to the test. They should be forced to play out conflicts
which clash with their own morals. They should learn to take no
possessions for granted, and to question their safety and survival at
all moments. Even if you choose to focus mostly upon the humorous
and over-the-top psychobilly aspects of such a threat, it is still next
to impossible to run an effective game of Zombie Survival without
taking some moments here and there to spotlight the desolate and
oftentimes morbid aspects of the world around them. After all, people
are getting eaten by Zombies, and no matter how clich the idea has
become in modern media, there is still something dark and primally
sinister underneath that basic premise that is just impossible to
ignore.
As the CiC, you should consider each of the major themes you wish
to evoke in your game. Write them down in a corner of the scenario
sheet where you can see them, and keep them fresh in your mind as
you prepare and then eventually run your game. Before the game,
take some time to consider each one, and how you plan on making
sure it is present in your game. While running the game, be sure
to not forget about them, and try to drop hints and threads of them
into the story and description whenever you can. Well-implemented
thematic narration and description can really impact a game session,
and help the players all stay on the ball and have lots of fun. If you
need some help or ideas with these themes, read more below. You
might encounter some terms you havent seen yet in this text, but
dont fret it, it will all make sense once youve read the rest of this
chapter.
B etrayal and P aranoia

Working in betrayal can be really easy or really difficult, depending
on the nature of the actual players at the table. Ive played in some
games where the players worked together like pros, and Ive played
in others where we couldnt get much gaming in with all the inter-
party bickering and back-stabbing taking the spotlight. If youre the
kind of CiC who likes party harmony, and your players agree, then
dont worry about this. But if you really want those players to
be at each others throats, and you really want to work in
the Who can you really trust? theme, then read on.
112

One of the best ways to encourage betrayal is to put it in play right
at the very beginning, during the process of character creation.
Encourage the players to make characters who by their very natures
wont get along at all, like Jocks and Nerds, or Cops and Thieves, or
any such oppositions. If the characters know each other in advance,
have them create Psychotriggers that clash with the other characters
concepts and archetypes.
Once play has begun, make sure the players realize the mechanical
rewards for directly and indirectly screwing over their fellow Survivors.
Those initial player Secret Votes can help steer the players toward
this, as they reward them with solid tangible character bonuses when
they come true. Ramp up the narrative rewards for betrayal, as well.
For example, have one player acquire some cool piece of loot, and
then let everyone know how awesome it is so they can covet it.
Encourage them to clash with their Mad Halves, and take out their
aggressions in-game.
Throwing in some high suspicion can be rewarding, too. Pass

notes to players that say little or nothing at all, or have monsters
mysteriously ignore a certain character that you want everyone to
suspect and hate. It can even be fun to have an in-game spy, one
of the players who is on your side, sowing discontent and paranoia
among the group. You can even turn this role against the planted
player, by constantly passing him the notes so everyone suspects
him rightly. Right or wrong, it can only work in your favor, and even if
you end up totally selling out your plant-man, it still works out to fun
for everyone in the end.
S urvival and D esperation

Frankly, I hope that themes of survival and desperation are the least
of your worries. If you have a high Threat Factor for your scenario,
the survival aspect should be a piece of cake, as a near-constant
deluge of enemies and threats should get that theme across without
much additional effort on your part. When the players realize that
their CGP meters are rising much faster than your Adversity
Pool is depleting, theyll either say screw it and just burn
through their sanity, or conversely hoard their precious
psyches for what they feel are crucial moments on the 113
horizon.

If you really want to ramp up the survival, work those Gear Limits.
Make them keep track of what theyre carrying and where, and have
them try and figure out who is carrying what. Theyll have to decide
what supplies are the most important to their survival, and plan ahead
for future dangers. If they seem to be the types that leave their slots
open for potentially better things, compound this by holding back on
the loot in the game. Instead of giving them lots of useful things,
make them scrape up whatever jury-rigged tools and supplies they
can find on their own. Leave them up to their own devices, and grind
down on their supplies. When they find themselves cornered in a
basement with a horde of zombies closing in and only a wooden
plank and a rusty prison shank to protect them, thats when
you know youve woven some effective survival themes
into the story.
114

M acabre H umor
Frankly, I believe this should be the easiest theme to evoke. Gamers
tend to have dirty gamer jokes crammed into all orifices just waiting
to explode into the real world. I cant count the number of games
(pick a system) that Ive run that have been paused or derailed by
out-of-control gaming jokes and crass anecdotes, and I know Im not
alone in this. After all, most of us are here to enjoy some time with
our buds, and its only natural that a lot of laughter and tomfoolery
punctuate that camaraderie. Cannibal Contagion can be quite
conducive to humorous moments, especially since the players are
constantly encouraged to go over the top with their descriptions
and one-up each other whenever possible. This zany, sick humor is
intentional.
Im not at all ashamed to admit this: Gamer Humor is one of my

most favorite things in the universe, ever. However, from my many
experiences, I know full well that game humor at the table has a
tendency to get out of hand pretty quickly it can be Contagious,
so to speak. Unless you specifically want an all-humor, all-the-time
kind of game, uncontrolled humor can be detrimental to the actual
playing of the game. Sure, everyone might be having fun, but Ive
always been of the opinion that fun is not the only reason Im here
gaming with my friends. If I just wanted fun, I could do lots of things
with The Crew that did not require the same amount of prep work,
and make other plans with them that did not involve the pretense of
gaming. Then again, Cannibal Contagion doesnt really require all
that much prep work, so of course your mileage may vary.
The key to evoking humor in the game is to keep it balanced with

some seriousness here and there, and not let it derail the focus. I love
it when funny jokes get suddenly turned into really creepy in-game
moments, by either me or another player taking hold of the moment
and twisting it. I remember my mom telling me ages ago Its all fun
and games until someone loses an eye, but in a game of Cannibal
Contagion, as far as Im concerned its more fun when a character
suffers the loss of limb and life as a result of something that was
until just a second ago a mere joke. If you feel the game is
being lost to some bit of uncontrollable humor, and you
want to get it back in line, then take some element of
the current joke and apply it to something grim and 115
gruesome, and throw it right in the game.

If you want to see a good balance of serious themes and macabre
humor, I recommend checking out the 2004 remake of the classic film
Dawn of the Dead. There are some really fantastic moments in that
movie where the line between comedy and tragedy is quickly and
often unexpectedly crossed. I remember moments (no spoilers!) in
that movie where I would be laughing at some line of dialogue, only
to be shocked into fright by something really unexpectedly twisted,
and vice-versa. Oh, and two words: Zombie Baby. Okay, I lied, thats
a minor spoiler.
But seriously, undead babies that crawl up your leg and eat you?
Funny, but goddamn that creeps me out.
S tress
The key to evoking a theme of stress is to constantly keep the
Survivors moving. Throw a steady flow of danger their way, and keep
the conflicts rolling. Dont let them get more than a moment or two
to catch their breath before you throw the next horrible monster or
terrible catastrophe at them. Get used to the end-of-scene checklist,
and move quickly into the next scene, kicking it off with another good
explosion that starts the chaos all over again.
Here are some other simple tricks for using the mechanics to evoke
stress:
Hound those Juice checks, and when theyre becoming too
reliant upon a certain weapon, try to get them to use it as
often as possible and run out of Juice. As they run out of
Juice, theyll see their Showdown-winning options become
fewer, and that is definitely a valid cause for stress.
Likewise, if you want to narrate that they begin the next
scene with all of their Gear taken away, then do so! Keep in
mind, though, that this costs Adversity Tokens.
Press their Psychotriggers frequently and heavily, and use
the Panic Button as often as you can. Characters with high
levels of Crazy-Go-Psycho points are just ticking stress-
bombs waiting to pop.
116

S cenario D evelopment
When putting together a game of CC, its imperative that you prepare
a sweet scenario idea. The scenario is the whole premise of the
games story and setting. Where does the game take place? What
has caused the world to go mad?
When creating your own scenario, you will need to consider the
following variables:
Where does the game take place?
What is the premise of the scenario?
What is the purpose of this scenario?
What is the nature of the Contagion in this scenario?
What is the primary threat?
What roles will the characters fill in this story, and what
goals do they pursue?
Are there any restrictions on the characters?
What is the games Threat Factor?
What important question will kick off the game?
Setting
The first important variable is the setting, and the scope of that
setting. Youve probably noticed by now that Cannibal Contagion
does not have a built-in world or setting. The rules were written as a
universal set of mechanics for all kinds of monster-survival games,
and as such I didnt include any World History or fictional stories. This
game is for your stories, and not just my own told vicariously through
your imaginations. As such, youll have to take some initiative here
and create your own setting.
Probably the easiest and most popular zombie survival stories will
take place in the here and now. Just start with the town that you and
your fellow players live in, and throw it in the middle of a Zombie
Apocalypse. Imagine places you know personally being set aflame
as looters riot and your Infected neighbors scramble to eat your flesh.
Choosing your own backyard as the backdrop for your stories can
really help keep all the players on the same page, especially
if everyone is familiar with the locations the characters
visit. It can also add to the atmosphere when they see 117
their beloved hometown desolated and abandoned!

Of course, there is a nigh infinite amount of other setting possibilities.
Does your game take place in a post-apocalyptic industrial
wasteland, or maybe entirely within a single old warehouse within
that wasteland? Are the characters on some strange island, or a
traveling cruise ship? Perhaps a space ship lost out in the dead of
the Great Black, with no power and no civilization for light years
around? Are the characters running through the sewers beneath the
city that the players already know and love?
Establishing a cool setting is crucial, as it lets everyone know a major

focus of the game. Running through the stinking sewers will definitely
have a different play feel than a posh cruise ship, for example. It lets
the players know what the general environment will be, and gives
them some idea as to how their characters will interact with it.
Premise
Just what the hell is going on, anyway? Is there some crazy Bad
Guy causing all kinds of horrid things to happen? Did some natural
disaster open a weird portal to another dimension? Have demons
infected the souls of the townspeople? Is an alien plague the source
of all this chaos, and are the players now charged with stopping it?
The premise of your scenario gives you an idea of what is happening

in the setting. It is not necessary at all to let the players know the
secrets of your premise beforehand. In fact, keeping a lot of its
intricacies hidden allows them to discover things as they play. You
could even leave a lot of it totally unexplained at all, and have the
characters only be exposed to a very small part of the Big Picture, if
they get any answers at all. Suspense can be quite crucial to a fun
game of CC.
Purpose
On the flip side of the same coin as the Premise, the Purpose of the
scenario is just as important, as it lets everyone know what theyre
primarily trying to accomplish. If the Purpose is Escape from the
Asylum then all the players will know how to direct the game.
The Purpose should be a simple statement of the scenarios
primary objective.
118 Its important for you to let the players know the basic
purpose of the scenario beforehand, as it will

give them focus in how to proceed. A scenario with the purpose of
Survive for three days until help arrives will be played a whole lot
differently than one with the purpose of Infiltrate the evil temple
and destroy the lord of the undead. In order to best facilitate the
purpose of the scenario you have planned, you need to make sure
the players are on the same page from the get-go. If you plan for a
scenario in which the Survivors are supposed to keep running from
the relentless cannibal horde and you fail to tell them this in the
beginning, they could very well try and plan for a more Kill them
all and take their stuff! style of play, which is not what youve likely
planned for.
Once the characters are made, some of them may have personal
secret goals that in some way clash with the scenarios Purpose. Its
up to you to decide whether or not to allow clashing character goals.
On the one hand, they could serve as a nice dramatic plot twist if
played correctly, and can cause more oh-so-awesome conflict for
the game. On the other, if abused, they could derail the game and
ruin the fun of the other players.
Contagion
Every scenario of CC should have a Contagion the players must deal
with. The Contagion is one of the most important parts of this game,
and without it, the game is really something completely different.
The Contagion is the threat of infection and corruption that plagues
the characters every action and decision. These rules give you a
system for developing custom Contagions to suit your own games.
Please see the Contagion section of the rules (see page 156).
Primary Threat
What is the primary source of the characters adversity? What is the
danger they face? The primary theme of CC is characters up against
the zombie contagion. Zombies are fun, everyone loves them, and
if youre the type of person who doesnt, well then I just dont think
we can be friends anymore and I would very much like my DVDs
returned, thanks. But just having the zombies there might not be
enough. Why are they there in the first place? Is some evil
necromancer responsible for this, or are they here for
no reason other than they just woke up one day and
119
started eating people?

If the zombies arent the primary threat, what is? Demons? Giant
Monsters? Robot Dino-Vikings from Jupiter? Is there even a primary
threat at all? Do the zombies exist just cause and thats all we
need to think about it?
Character Roles
What purpose do the characters have in this scenario? Are they
here just as fodder for the cannibal hordes, or is there some greater
purpose to their existence? Are they trying to actively stop the threat,
or simply escape it with their lives? Are they part of the threat?
Characters should also have their own individual goals to pursue.

These can be as small in scope as getting in the pants of another
character, or as grand as finding the secret of the contagion and
using it to find a cure, or maybe just control it. Maybe one of them is
searching for a lost family heirloom, and refuses to leave the carnage
until it is found. Maybe one of them just wants to die a violent death
and take as many of the monsters with him as her can. Goals are the
most fun when they conflict with those of the other characters, and
even those of the general setting.
Character Restrictions
By this we primarily mean restrictions on character creation. Take the
weapons, for example. If youre running a scenario that takes place
in ancient Japan, then it wouldnt make sense for the characters to
have machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Then again, that
could be pretty damn fun, now that I think of it.
Threat Factor
The sole mechanical variable of the scenario setup process, the
Threat Factor determines how much your Adversity will increase at
the end of each scene of the game. The higher your Adversity, the
more crazy things you can throw at the players. Use the following
guidelines for establishing the Threat Factor of your scenario:
Slow: For a game with a really slow and fairly easy
buildup of danger, increase Adversity after every scene
by an amount = the number of scenes that have
120 passed. Some might consider this variable used by
itself to be a sort of Wuss Mode.

Steady: For a game with a steady and even (and
predictable) buildup of danger, increase Adversity after
every scene by an amount = the number of players at the
table (yourself included).
Solid: You can predefine a set number by which your
Adversity Pool increases. If you want a slow-paced game
with few Threats, set this somewhere from 2-4. For a
game with a decent balance of Threat and role-playing,
set it between 5-8. If you want all action all the time in a
high-octane Threat-heavy game, set it at 9 or higher. I
recommend using a Solid Threat Factor if you are brand
new to running the game.
Unpredictable: For a game with a random and
unpredictable buildup of danger, increase Adversity after
every scene by an amount based on a single drawn card.
Draw a card and look at the suit, and then increase your
Adversity by the following: Spades = 8, Hearts = 4, Clubs
= 2, and Diamonds = 1. If you draw a Joker, consider it a
Spade and then draw a second card, adding the results
together.
Doomsday! For games which are all about the gods-be-
damned end of the world, the monster apocalypse to end
all monster apocalypses, use three of the above Threat
Factors at once (Slow + Steady + Unpredictable). Not only
does this establish a large and steadily-increasing Adversity,
it also includes a bit of random effect, and it lets the players
know that the longer their characters survive, the more
powerful their enemies will be. For experienced players of
the game, I highly recommend using this as your default
Threat Factor, simply because it tends to be the most fun.
Also, if you are planning to only play for a couple of hours
and a handful of scenes, this setting will get the action
pumping fast and heavy.
You might want to hold off on setting this until after the players
have made their characters. If the characters all have high ranks
in Kill and Savvy, you will find that they frequently overcome your
Threats if your Adversity Pool is low. In such cases, should
the characters all be psycho killers and the game be all
about combat, then set a high Threat Factor.
121

When setting this, its important to keep in mind the Adversity costs
of the Threats. Fodder Threats only cost a single token to bring in,
and while they are easily dispatched, a lot of them can work together
and really hurt the Survivors. On the other hand, a Bigger-Badder
Big Bad costs sixteen tokens to introduce, and with a high Threat
Factor you might find yourself tempted to do so too early.
122

The Question
The very last step of character creation involves you asking each
player a question that they must answer for their new Survivor.
Their answer to this question will serve to frame their Survivors
Cold Open Scene, which introduces their character to the game.
You should write this down when designing your scenario, so as to
remember it and give it some personal flair. Typically, this question
should be some variant of Where were you when the zombies first
attacked? Below are some other examples:
Where were you when you first heard the news of the
undead?
What were you doing when you first had a corpse try to eat
you?
Where were you when the comet fell to the earth?
Conclusion
Once youve got the above variables defined, youve got yourself the
beginnings of a kick-ass Cannibal Contagion scenario. All thats
left is to get some players together and try it out as soon as you
possibly can. Lets hope its wicked fun!
S cenes
To use an old clich, the Scene is the basic building block of game
structure in CC. A scene is a chunk of in-game time during which we
get a glimpse at something important happening in the game. Scenes
usually involve the characters interacting with one another and the
world around them, and in various ways. Maybe theyre exploring
the ruins of a demonic temple, maybe theyre trying to find where
the robot ninja zombies are coming from, maybe theyre trying to get
a train to its destination while under attack from contagious hordes
of cannibals.
The scene is where everything happens. Typically, scenes involve

a lot of setting exploration and spontaneous narration. Players
can ultimately push the scene in whatever direction they
feel is appropriate. If players disagree on the flow of
the scene, the Showdown mechanics allow them to 123
contest their ideas.

S cene C omponents
It is the CiCs responsibility to establish new scenes. Every scene in
the story has five major components that must be established when
the scene is initially set up:
1. Who is there?
2. Where does it take place?
3. When does it take place?
4. Why is this scene important?
5. The Explosion!
First and most important: Who is in this scene? Are all the Survivors
together in this scene at the beginning, or does this scene just focus
on the experiences of one or two of them? What about other NPCs,
like Allies and bady guys? Perhaps there are no Survivors at all
in this scene, and it is instead a war meeting of the evil leaders
only. Or perhaps there are no characters at all in this scene, and it
serves only as something of a montage-like let time pass scene
that shows the world slowly decaying.
The Where of a scene is obviously important, as it tells everyone

where everything is happening. Are you in a locked storeroom of an
abandoned warehouse, or maybe an open sunny field out in Happy
(read: Boring) Land? Scenes should usually stay within the bounds
of this setting, and they are usually concluded when the characters
leave those bounds.
The When of a scene is equally important. If you like, you can easily
skip the game around back and forth in time during its events. Entire
movies have done this quite effectively, although I cant think of any
that also involved raging monster hordes. Most scenes will take
place sequentially, but there is nothing saying they have to be back
to back. Leaving a lot of off-screen time between your scenes can
lead to some good dramatic highlights. Perhaps the characters end
one scene just walking out of a church all peaceful-like, and the very
next scene they start off running from a zombie horde through the
bomb-blasted streets of London, an hour or so later.
The Why of the scene lets you know why the scene is
happening in the first place. Do you want to showcase
124 some new Bad Guy? Do you want to give the characters
a chance to find some new gear? Do you want to give

one or more characters some good moments of drama? Do you want
to tie together some ends of the story? Do you want to murder one
or more characters, or instead introduce some new ones? Deciding
your purpose for the scene helps you guide it, and bring it to a close
when that purpose has been fulfilled.
Finally, the Explosion! is my favorite part. Every scene in CC should

start off with an explosion of some kind. Now, by explosion I dont
necessarily mean that you have to open every scene with a literal
grenade blast or anything (although that would be goddamn cool,
wouldnt it!). Im talking about solid, definite, scene-starting actions.
Perhaps the scene opens right at the moment the door to the
storeroom is kicked in, and then framed in the door is the silhouette
of Veras shotgun-wielding, blood-soaked waitress, with the rest of
the characters behind her. Or maybe the scene opens with a close-
up shot of a zombies head right as it explodes, and it drops away
and we zoom out to see the waitress has just shot him, and theyre
all standing in a bright meadow surrounded by the corpses of the
dead.
The explosion can involve a Showdown if necessary, but more often

than not it is really fun to just describe the aftermath of a Showdown
that was just concluded as the scene began, and then let the players
take over from there. Instead of starting with Jian the Badass facing
off against a Bad Guy, start with the moment that Jians sword
removes said Bad Guys head. Starting a scene off with visceral
gore is always lots of fun.
Of course, if you do decide to go the grenades everywhere! route,

at least everyone will know exactly what this game is about!
125

T he C old O pen S cenes
In the television industry, the term Cold Open is used to describe
the scene that some shows use to kick-start an episode before the
opening credits roll. These scenes often serve as preludes, setting up
some important element of that episodes story, and foreshadowing
the events that are to come.
In Cannibal Contagion, a Cold Open scene is used to introduce

a Survivor and throw them into a world gone mad. Once all of the
Survivors have been created, you should give each character their
own unique Cold Opener. In this scene, you work with the player
to answer the question you wrote down when you were first putting
the scenario together. Typically this is some variant of Where were
you when the zombies first attacked? Look at a player, ask the
question, and use this scene to answer it.
Cold Open scenes are played just like other scenes, but tend to run
a little shorter. Additionally, an Explosion isnt always necessary to
start one off. When you ask The Question, work with the player to
decide where and when the scene happens. The Purpose of these
scenes is almost always to introduce the Contagion and see how the
Survivor reacts to it.
For each Cold Open scene, you should give yourself a total of four
Adversity tokens. Use these to throw a Threat or two at the Survivor,
and maybe to give that Threat some bonus cards. Start small you
dont want to hurt them too badly during the Cold Opener, just shake
them up and bit and prepare them for the horrors to come.
It is possible to have multiple Survivors in the same Cold Opener,

especially if those characters are somehow related to one another in
their concepts. For example, it would easily make sense to have the
teenage brother and sister duo share the same Cold Opener, fighting
off their father-turned-zombie and escaping their house together.
Likewise, the boyfriend and girlfriend pair can be going at it hot and
heavy when their zombie neighbors attack in their scene. Then
again, giving such characters their own individual scenes can be
fun too, as the boyfriend defeats his undead roommate and
then leaves, driving off to find and rescue his girlfriend
126 elsewhere in the zombie-infested city.

Once the character has survived the scenes core conflict and
decided upon some plan of action, bring the scene to a close. Aware
the involved Survivor(s) the standard end of scene rewards. Once
all characters have had their Cold Openers, each one should have
the same end-of-scene rewards, as if they had each just finished a
single scene of the game together.
Here are some ideas for some Cold Openers:

The housewife hears a horrible noise from the next door
neighbors house and runs to investigate. Once inside, she
sees her neighbor is eating his wifes intestines! After a
quick fight, she runs out of the house and the scene ends.
Dad gets a call that the kids are being sent home from
school early due to a mass illness. When he gets there, a
pack of zombie first graders attacks him! He stomps them,
rescues his kid, and drives away, ending the scene.
The shady guy is at the business end of a drug dealers
gun underneath a highway overpass in the hood. All of
a sudden, a van flies off the overpass above them and
crashes into the ground nearby, and zombies come out! The
other guys are eaten, leaving the shady guy to deal with
them or run. End of scene.
Deke the space pirate is exploring a derelict ship, and on
the bridge he encounters a shambling space captain (yarr,
brains)! After defeating it, he notices that someone has just
flown off with his pirate ship! Alone and poorly-armed, he
ventures into the derelicts depths to find a way to activate it
and get out of here. End of scene.
Once theyre done, its time to start the game for real.
T he F irst S cene
After the characters have all had their Cold Opens, its time for the
First full-group scene of the game. This scene should bring the
characters together, if they havent already been introduced. In this
scene, the characters more deeply explore the basic premise of
the game, get to know each other, and maybe get some
supplies before the chaos really begins. The characters
should explore this scene, probe and prod the story in 127
the directions of their choice.

It is not always necessary to start the first scene with an Explosion.
If the CiC wants to start slow and introduce the cannibal threat in a
later scene, an Explosion might be pretty counter-productive to that
intended feel if used too early in the game.
If the characters dont know each other yet, or are not together,
the first scene should focus on them exploring the beginning of the
story and guiding it towards their eventual meeting. Getting the
band together can make for some great game moments, especially
if the characters have to fight through creepy cannibals and other
nasties in order to do so. If Carlas Cold Open involved her getting
off work late at night and running away from some creepy homeless
guy, and Rogers Cold Open involved him getting pulled over for
speeding by a very sick-looking cop, then perhaps the First scene
should involve the two of them meeting at just the right moment, as
they are both pursued in a downtown park by a handful of crazed
cannibals.
In some games, the first scene will start with the characters already in
the middle of things. The monster threat has already been revealed
in the Cold Opens, and now the characters are somehow conflicting
with it. If the CiC started the game with a lot of Adversity, he might
choose to just jump on in swinging, throwing all he can at the players
to put them on their toes and keep them there, right from the get-
go.
E nding S cenes
The CiC should make sure to keep a watch on the flow of the scene,
and call for its end when he feels it is most dramatically appropriate.
Some scenes will just end naturally, while others might require a
little meta-control to close.
In most cases, a scene should conclude when the primary purpose

of that scene has been fulfilled. If the scene was established to
accomplish some in-game motivation, it should come to a close
shortly after that motivation is either met or failed. If at any
point you can sit back and be unable to figure out what the
purpose of the current scenes goings-on is, then it is
128 probably a good time to steer it towards a close. Make

in-game and/or out-of-game insinuations or outright suggestions
that the players move towards closing the scene.
To end a scene, just hold up your hand and say and, Scene! while
dropping your hand back down. This is how Ive seen it done on
several scene-focused improv comedy shows and events, and I
think its just cool. It really gets the point across. When concluding a
scene, go through the following quick End-of-Scene Checklist:
1. Increase the Threat of every surviving player character by
+1 (record on the CiC sheet).
2. Increase the Survival Pool by +1 for every Survivor and
Ally still alive.
3. Ask if any players wish to spend Survival tokens to
recover character aspects and buy Gear.
4. Check for possible Infection and Turning (see below)
5. CiC increases Adversity Pool by the scenarios
predetermined Threat Factor.
6. Finally, once theyre done, give them more Survival
tokens = their Grit rank plus the number of scenes that
have passed (these cannot be spent until the next scene
begins)
For ease of in-game reference, a much-condensed version of this
checklist is also printed on the handy CiC cheat sheet, included with
the player sheet in the back of this book.
P layer -I ntroduced S cenes

Heres an idea thats a lot of fun: have the players frame the scenes.
When a scene is over and its time to start a new one, look at the
players and ask them if theyve got an idea for a cool scene. Okay
guys, what happens next? Let them work together to come up
with the Where, When, Purpose, and Explosion, or have them each
submit their own idea separately. When players submit good scene
ideas that then become new scenes, reward them with one to three
bonus Survival tokens.
129

S cene E xample
Heres an example of the basic flow of a scene in a game of Cannibal
Contagion:
Screg opens the next scene with Carla, Jian, Roger, and Mei
Li all together, running for their lives. Hunter (Jians player)
suggests that the scene should take place in an abandoned
bomb shelter, and Screg agrees, giving Hunter a bonus Survival
Token for the great idea. The scene takes place an hour after
their last one, which ended with Carla, Roger, and Mei Li being
saved from a pack of rabid ghouls by a motorcycle-riding, guitar-
swinging Jian. The Why of the new scene is to allow them to
explore a bit more of the desolation of the environment and
make some plans, while hoping the horde doesnt somehow
break through into their shelter.
Screg opens the scene with an Explosion: giving the wheel one
last full-strength spin, Roger and Jian seal the inner bulkhead
door to the bomb shelter. The locking bolts slam into place
with a screech of metal and rust, while heavy pounding on the
outside lets them know that the cannibal horde is still out there,
hungry for their flesh. The players now take over.
Carla has lost a little bit of her sanity at this point, and
immediately starts crying about her kids (due to a narrative
price her Mad Half previously demanded that she was unable
to pay in the previous scene). She is emotionally kicking herself
for not finding them yet, and collapses into a sobbing heap in a
corner. Mei Li tries calming her down, but Vera (Carlas player)
says that Carla is just too lost for the moment. But theres a
zombie horde trying to get in, and everyone knows its only a
matter of time before they find another way in. Roger screams
at Mei Li to shut that crazy bitch up! Mei Li, always cool under
pressure, keeps trying. Trin (her player) decides to challenge
Veras intention to have Carla keep crying. Trin says that Mei
Li is going to try and break Carla out of it, so they make it
a Showdown between Trin and Vera both characters
using their Savvy. Trin wins, and succeeds in calming
Carla down and bringing the waitress back to her
130
wits.

Jian assesses the situation. Screg says sorry, theres no
escape, but Hunter calls shenanigans and says no, Jians
going to find a way out of here that doesnt involve A) the way
they came in or B) their collective deaths. Screg lets Hunter
turn it into a standard Quickie, using Jians Savvy. Jian wins,
but had to negotiate with his Mad Half and take a few points of
CGP in order to achieve Success. Hunter says that Jian finds
a way into the sewers below the city, via a carefully-concealed
hatch in the floor. This could potentially save their lives!
Roger, meanwhile, is trying to scrounge up some supplies. Screg

says the place is completely barren, having been abandoned
years ago due to the decline in national fear of nuclear attack
from the Commies. Karo (Rogers player) believes he can find
something, so Screg agrees to another standard Quickie, using
Rogers Savvy. Roger easily wins, and Screg says that he finds
a heavy fire hydrant (2 slots), a box full of 20 MREs (each MRE
would take 1 slot), and a flashlight (1 slot). Roger takes them
into stock.
They put their heads together to work on a plan. Screg decrees

that its hard to concentrate with the steadily-increasing
pounding of the horde outside, and spends an Adversity Token
to make that a Panic Button moment, giving them all a point of
CGP. Unperturbed by this, they carry on planning, and quickly
decide to try and reach a nearby police station through the
sewer tunnels.
Jian opens the hatch to the sewer and they all drop down.
Waiting for them at the bottom is a crocodile monster! The
monster bites the head off the first person that drops down
Jian, in this case. Hunter objects to this of course, so he
and Screg play a Showdown. Jian barely wins, avoiding getting
his head bitten off. The others drop down and all four of them
join in a multi-player showdown against the crocodile monster.
They manage to bring it down after a couple of full-table hands
are played, but Mei Li is badly hurt and unknown to the rest
of them, Mei Li is also now infected! They run forth into
the darkness of the sewers, Roger now leading the
way with his newfound flashlight. 131

Screg ends the scene by narrating that they all hear the
sound of the bomb shelter door above them bursting open,
accompanied by a cacophony of snarls as the horde pours in.
And scene!
C onflicts , T hreats ,
and A dversity
One of the most important jobs of the CiC is to provide challenges

and obstacles for the players to overcome in this game and many
others, we call these challenges and obstacles conflicts. The
Cannibal Contagion mechanics provide two major tools for you
to bring in mechanical conflicts: Threats and the Adversity Pool.
In Cannibal Contagion, any force that actively works against
the Survivors is called a Threat, including zombie hordes, plant-
creatures, rioting looters, trigger-happy soldiers and more. In order to
introduce these Threats into a scene, the CiC uses a fluctuating pile
of tokens called the Adversity Pool, spending tokens to purchase the
presence of these menaces into the game. These two systems work
hand-in-hand to help you provide constant and engaging challenges
for your groups of players to encounter. Whether they can survive
these challenges, however, is up to them.
T he A dversity T okens
The CiC has a collective Adversity Pool with which to challenge their
players. This pool of tokens gives them the power to forcefully insert
danger into the lives of the Survivors by inserting Threats into a
scene, among other things. The Adversity Pool increases by a pre-
set amount determined at the beginning of the game (the Threat
Factor). As the scenes go by and the Showdowns are played,
this pool of tokens will fluctuate wildly, gaining and losing tokens
frequently. The current size of the CiCs Adversity Pool can serve
as an effective tool for foreshadowing, allowing them to guess just
how much potential pain might be sent their way in the not-too-
distant future.
132

During a game session, the pool is most often used to introduce new
Threats. It can also function as CGP points for the Threats, allowing
the CiC to spend a token in the same ways a Survivor would gain a
point of CGP, with no Negotiation required. See below for a full list of
the various Adversity token uses in Cannibal Contagion:
Use to purchase new Threats and bring them into the
scene. The costs vary depending upon the Threats Role.
Use a token to re-introduce a previously-introduced but
undefeated Threat from an earlier scene.
Increase the Threat Score of an introduced Threat on a one-
for-one basis. This can only be done at immediately after
the Threat has been introduced or when the Threat is re-
introduced into a later scene.
Use a token to active a Panic Button. See the Mad Half
section (see page 104) for more details
Use to draw bonus cards for any in-scene Threat with a
purchased Threat score.
Use a token to attempt a soak check when a Threat is hit
with Hurtin. This is handled as a standard Quickie, but
uses the Threats Hand Size (determined by Role) in place
of Grit. Dont forget this! If the Survivors are beating your
Threats down too easily, make some soak checks!
Use to take away a Survivors Gear between scenes. Do
this after they have spent their tokens to purchase new
Gear. The cost is 1 Adversity Token per Gear, and 2 per
custom weapon.
When initially setting up a game, determine the sessions Threat
Factor. This number sets the amount by which the CiCs Adversity
Pool (see below) increases at the end of every scene. The CiC
starts the game with an Adversity Pool set by the numerical value
of a random card draw, and she can increase it in-game using the
following methods:
Can be increased +1 for each face or ace exchanged in a
winning play pile, and +2 with a Joker.
Increases by the scenarios Threat Factor at the end of
every scene.
Increases by the Survivors current Survival token
stash when the CiC kills that Survivor.
133

U nderstanding T hreats
As the CiC, you are responsible for the introduction and management
of all the non-player characters and enemies that stand beside or
against those played by the players themselves in other words,
all the background characters that fill out the scenes of the world
that you and your players create. Allies have already been covered
previously in the rules, so in this section were going to focus on
the forces that actively stand against the Survivors. These could be
terrible man-eating zombies, twisted alien overlords, or just masses
of fodder for the Survivors to mow down with bullets.
In Cannibal Contagion, we call these enemies Threats. Whether they

are upset neighbors, corrupt cops, zombies, giant effing monsters,
naughty succubus librarians, flesh-melting aliens or whatever, theyre
all Threats, and the rules for handling them are the same. It is your
job to portray these Threats as best you can, and play their conflicts
when the time arises.
Before we go any further, lets talk about the differences between

non-player characters and actual Threats. If you have played other
role-playing games, then you are probably familiar with the ways
in which non-player characters (usually called NPCs) are usually
handled. Other games tend to give these characters the same
stats and mechanics as the regular Player Characters (which we
call Survivors). Frequently, creating NPCs in these games can take
just as long as creating the actual player characters, if not longer.
Cannibal Contagion simplifies this greatly.
In Cannibal Contagion, all characters that are not directly controlled

by the players meaning, all non-Survivor characters fall into one
of three categories: Allies, Wallflowers, and Threats. The previous
chapter already detailed the use and mechanics of Allies. Basically,
they are advanced types of Gear that have personalities and a bit
more autonomy (see page 76).
Wallflowers are characters who have no direct mechanical impact in

the current scene. That weird crazy street vendor who sells the
Survivor a Glock is a Wallflower, as are those poor sods
you just described being eaten alive by the zombies that
134 the Survivors just accidentally stumbled upon. They
can be quite important to the flow and the current

narrative, and can have rich and detailed personalities, but they
have no mechanical sway in Quickies and Showdowns. Ultimately,
Wallflowers exist only at the allowance of the players and the CiCs
narrative whims. The CiC can narrate their deaths or other such
elimination at any time, and the players can do so as well through
the use of successful Showdown narration.
Wallflower Examples: Creepy Bag Lady, Marv the Pharmacist,

Chewed-upon Severed Leg #24, that sleeping guard over there,
the cowering cashier at the Grab-and-Dash, etc.
Threats, on the other hand, are the bad guys. They represent the
forces that directly oppose the characters, the challenges that the
Survivors must overcome. They are bought and introduced into
scenes using the Adversity rules, which are defined further below.
These fellas have two major in-game mechanical descriptors,
called Role and Threat, which they use to directly participate in
Showdowns against the Survivors. Because they were paid for with
Adversity tokens, Threats can only be eliminated through the use of
Showdowns and Hurtin. Just like the Survivors, they have a potential
to directly change the scenes and mechanically conflict with other
characters. Any group of monsters that the CiC wishes to throw at
the Survivors falls into this group.
Threat Example: The rotting walking corpse that used to be

your mail man, a pack of hungry hounds, Murderous Deke,
the hungry hungry hobos, a knife-wielding psychopath, rioting
townspeople, etc.
It is also possible for characters of one type to change into another

type. For example, an Ally who gets really pissed off at a Survivor
could very well become a new Threat. At any point in a scene not
during a Showdown, the CiC can upgrade an already-introduced
Wallflower or Ally character to full Threat status using the Adversity
Pool. Doing so uses the normal Adversity rules, and the character is
purchased like any other Threat would be. And of course, a Survivor
can transform into a Threat via the Infection rules (see further
below).
135

T hreat S cores
Any character Survivor or Threat that is somehow considered
important in the game has a Threat score. Threats use their Threat
score as their single all-purpose Characteristic, and the CiC uses it
as a gauge to determine how super nasty the Survivors will be when
they eventually succumb to the Infection, die, or both.
Important Threats in CC use their Threat ratings as a sort of hit

point tally. When characters win in Showdowns against Threats, any
Hurtin they cause is taken directly from those Threat Scores. Unlike
normal Hurtin, this does not in any way impact the Card Draws of
those Threats. Threats are handled just like other characters for
purposes of elimination. It is important to note that if a character is
in a scene and he does not have Characteristic scores or was not
paid for with Adversity tokens (meaning: he is a Wallflower), then he
can be killed at any time by narration. Only Survivors and Threats
require Hurtin to be eliminated.
Every Survivor also has a Threat score known only by the CiC,
which starts at zero and increases by +1 every time that character
survives a scene. By survive we mean ends the scene still alive.
The Survivors individual Threat Scores mainly exist as a bit of
foreshadowing: the higher a characters Threat, the more dangerous
they might eventually be. Should your Contagions aftermath involve
Turning, then this Threat score is the basis for the Turned characters
power as a Threat.
I ntroducing T hreats
When bringing new non-player characters into the game, you have
to determine if theyre going to be important in the scene (they are
Allies or Threats), or if they exist only as color (they are Wallflowers).
A random street vendor might not be that important, and will be
unlikely to exist as anything other than color. Chances are, he wont
even be an Ally, and will just be there for descriptive purposes of the
scene. A gun-collecting nutjob who hunts down the characters for
trespassing on his land, however, will likely be quite important,
as will a pack of cannibals trying to eat them, or the mad
doctor trying to infect the world with his demon plague.
136 These latter folks are Threats, and here are the rules
on how to bring them into play.

Every Threat in a game of CC has two major attributes: Role and
Threat. The Threat attribute was described in the previous section,
but Role is definitely a new one. Every Threat introduced in the game
needs to have a defined Role, which gives it a purpose in the scene
and sets the number of cards it draws in Showdowns. There are five
pre-set roles for Threats in CC: Fodder, Hindrance, Miniboss, Big
Bad, and Bigger-Badder Big Bad.
When you introduce a new Threat into a scene, you must pick what
role it will be and then pay the associated cost in Adversity tokens.
A Threats role determines how many tokens it costs to introduce,
what cards are used to determine its Threat score, and how many
cards it gets to draw during Showdowns. Each role uses a variant
of the same mechanic for determining initial Threat scores, which
involves drawing a card and keeping its value as the Threat score.
Once youve determined the Threat score, you can then choose to
spend more of your Adversity tokens to increase that Threat score
on a one for one basis. If you are using the optional Threat cards
to keep track of your Threats in the game, you can keep the Threat
card and the drawn card next to each other for ease of reference in
play.
It is important to understand that the Threat score does not necessarily

indicate the number of characters being introduced. The actual
number of in-game characters in a group is entirely irrelevant to the
mechanics, and is mostly just a matter of dramatic flavor and scene
description. For example, you can introduce a dozens-large pack of
expendable zombies as a single Hindrance-grade Threat with a low
Threat score if you like, or you can introduce a single super-zombie
badass with a really high Threat score. Likewise, you can introduce
a group of police sharpshooters as a single entity with a single
collective Threat Score, as their actual composition doesnt matter
to the mechanics what matters is that there are sharpshooters
ahead, they are a single Threat, and the Survivors must overcome
that Threat. In any case, when an entitys Threat is eliminated with
Hurtin, the entire group is narrated out of the scene.
137

A good example of this is just about any movie where you have
bad-ass heroes fighting against massive numbers of enemies which
you would normally expect to be grossly overwhelming. My favorite
instance of this is in the movie Kill Bill, the end of which had The
Bride going solo against the entirety of the Crazy 88 Yakuza army.
If that were a game of Cannibal Contagion, the entirety of the Crazy
88 would have been introduced into the game as a single entity. An
easy way to sum up that entire prolonged battle would be with a
single Showdown, with the hero fighting against a Hindrance-level
Threat. That Threat would represent the entire Crazy 88 group, and
seeing as how she barely took a scratch during the fight, the Threat
would probably have low a Threat Score.
Printed below for reference and ease of understanding are the quick
steps for introducing new important Threats into a scene:
1. Pick the Threats Role.
2. Spend the Adversity tokens, based on Role.
3. Draw card(s) to determine Threat Score, based on Role.
4. Jot the stuff down and Play!
Example: Screg has amassed a veritable arsenal-grade

stockpile of Adversity tokens over the last couple of scenes, and
now that he has the players thinking the road ahead is going
to be easy, hes decided to destroy their hopes and dreams by
unleashing the cannibal hordes hes been holding back for just
this moment. As the players are scrounging for some ammo in
a pawn shop, he decides that when they exit, the monsters will
attack. He starts preparing his Threats for that encounter.
Screg chooses to have the players get jumped by two groups

of contagious shamblers and a single super-cannibal at their
lead. For the two groups of shamblers, he sets their Roles both
at Hindrance, which costs him two Adversity tokens each.
He draws a single card for each to determine their Threat
scores, getting a King and a five. He writes down that
Group A has a Threat of 13 while Group B only has 5.
138 Each also gets three cards in any Showdown.

Next he jots down the info for the Miniboss-Role super-cannibal,
who he has decided shall be named Big Karl. Screg draws for
Threat Minibosses get two cards, keep the highest, so Screg
draws a two and a four. Keeping the Threat of 4, it looks like
Big Karl might not be so tough after all. Screg decides that BK
needs to be a bit beefier, so he spends four more Adversity
tokens to directly boost BKs threat Score to 8.
In the end, hes spent eleven Adversity tokens to throw these

bad guys at the players (2 each to play the shambler groups,
3 to play Big Karl, and another 4 to boost BKs Threat). Lets
hope the heroes can survive the onslaught that awaits them
outside the store!
T hreat R oles and C osts

Below are descriptions of the five core roles for Threats, along with
the costs in Adversity to introduce them, the methods for determining
their starting Threat Scores, and their Hand sizes when participating
in Showdowns.
Fodder
Enemies of the Fodder role always play Showdowns with two drawn
cards. These are the pus zombies that explode in nasty messes
when kicked, the rapid tree sloths that drop from above to slightly
menace your journey, and so on.
Adversity Cost: 1
Starting Threat: Draw two cards, keep the lowest.
Showdown Hand Size: 2 cards
Hindrance
Enemies of the Hindrance role always play Showdowns with three
drawn cards. Most cannibal hordes will probably be in this category.
Enemy soldiers could fill this role too, and policemen, saboteurs,
guardsmen, footmen, etc.
Adversity Cost: 2
Starting Threat: Draw a single card
Showdown Hand Size: 3 cards
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Miniboss
Enemies of the Miniboss role always play Showdowns with four
drawn cards. Minibosses are the enforcers of the Big Bad, or possibly
the Tough Guys of the cannibal hordes. These are the super-orcs
that stand a head above the rest, the intelligent zombies that use
shotguns and drive jeeps.
Adversity Cost: 4
Starting Threat: Draw two cards, keep the highest.
Showdown Hand Size: Four cards
2B: Big Bad

Enemies of the Big Bad role always play Showdowns with five drawn
cards. These fellas are the end-of-game boss monsters, the mad
scientists and evil necromancers and crazy Nazis that started all this
crap. These are the guys the characters might fight in the Big Final
Showdown, should they even make it that far.
Adversity Cost: 8
Starting Threat: Draw three cards, keep the total of the highest and
lowest.
Showdown Hand Size: Five cards
140

4B: Bigger-Badder Big Bad
Enemies of the 4B role always play Showdowns with six or more drawn
cards you should decide upon the amount when you introduce the
Threat. These are the bosses of the end-session bosses, the Ill bet
you thought it was that guy but really it was this guy the whole time!
bosses. Theyre the dark overfiends from the nethers that are here to
doom the world, or the Ultimate Creations of the mad necroscientist
that grew too powerful and turned on their creators. These guys
should be nigh impossible to destroy, and have lots of tricks up their
sleeves. 4B Threats are not meant to be balanced, either once the
Survivors face off against the final boss, its up to them to figure out
how to defeat a foe which clearly outclasses them.
Adversity Cost: 16
Starting Threat: Draw four cards, keep the total of the highest two
cards.
Showdown Hand Size: Six or more cards you should decide upon
the amount when you introduce the Threat.
Special: Turned Characters

The rules for re-introducing previously-introduced Threats and
Survivors that have been Turned by the Contagion are found in the
Contagion section (see page 165).
Infected Threats
It is important to note that there is no additional cost for introducing
Threats that already carry or are Infected by the games Contagion.
You are entirely free to deem which Threats are Infected, or what
other nefarious abilities and powers they might have.
E quipping T hreats
Threats can use Gear and Weapons just like the players can, so
when you introduce them, dont forget to outfit them! Having riot
cops without riot gear makes no sense, for example.
U sing T hreats
Important Threats use their Threat Score as if it was a 141
Characteristic like any other, and it serves all purposes.

Threats that would take Hurtin and other Characteristic loss effects
lose points from their Threat score, and when Threat reaches zero
or less that character is defeated. If an enemy is purchased into a
scene but it is not defeated during that scene, the Adversity tokens
used to purchase it are lost, but the Threat is set aside and can be re-
introduced to a future scene for the cost of a single Adversity token.
The CiC can choose to use any amount of Adversity as he chooses.
The CiC can even choose to let multiple scenes pass without dipping
into the Adversity Pool at all, letting the players get more paranoid
as he builds his stockpile of Horrible Things to throw at them.
M aking T hreats M emorable

Threats dont have to be all stats and numbers, mind you. You should
take care to make your Threats memorable above and beyond their
mechanical attributes. Give them personalities, accents, quirks, and
goals within the scope of the scenario. Ive found that using the
Random Archetypes tables in the back of this book can be great for
coming up with quick instant Threats (and other characters, too) on
the fly when necessary.
O ther , P ossibly G reater T hreats

Zombies are awesome, but why stop there? The CC rules are
designed to allow you to role-play mad crazy survival against mad
crazy monsters. Zombies obviously fit that bill, but you can most
certainly include different threats as well or instead. Perhaps the
enemies are people possessed by demons, and you have to find a
way to clear them out without killing the people. Perhaps there is a
wide variety of enemies, each with different motivations, dangers,
and weaknesses. Some may do different types of damage, some
may even affect the players cards and CGP meters.
Below are some examples of alternate Threats you can use in CC,
and of course you are encouraged to create your own.
Alternate Threat: Murder Fiends

As the Survivors try to escape from the now demonic
142 prison, they are attacked by various types of monsters,
each representing a different form of murder or

punishment. The most common of these are the Blade Demons,
vaguely-humanoid conglomerations of barbed wire, chains, and
blood-encrusted rusty blades. When used in the game, they utilize
the standard Threat rules, but their attacks do not Infect. Instead,
they simply have more powerful natural attacks. With Murder Fiends,
any aces or faces in their draw pile automatically do an additional
point of Hurtin, cumulative with the normal Hurtin rules.
Alternate Threat: Madness Spirits

While trapped in the archaic ghost-town of Violent Grove, the
characters encounter the hate-twisted spirits of the long dead,
driven mad by their centuries trapped between the veil of life and
the great hereafter. These spirits do not Infect with their attacks, but
instead cause Crazy-Go-Psycho points to build up. Like Infection,
each successful attack causes a point of CGP, and aces or faces
can be exchanged to cause more.
Alternate Threat: Giant Effing Monster

Oh, cmon, you know this one. A Bigass Ugly Thing (TM) has attacked
Tokyo, the city that is obviously located at the very center of the whole
frickin universe. This monster is the size of a skyscraper, and its got
a buttload of little monsters in tow. When the little buggers bite ya,
you get Infected as normal, but instead of eventually turning into a
cannibal, you just explode and take out everyone else around you.
This would initiate a multi-player Showdown, with the CiC playing the
exploding character, using a hand of cards equal to the characters
current Threat score. Involved characters should, of course, try to
get the hell away, because should the CiC win, thats potentially a
lot of Hurtin.
Oh, and the monster itself? If youre even going to give it stats at all,
it should be no less than a 4B ranked Bad Guy, and have a crap-
ton of cards and an astronomical Threat. I mean, cmon, its a Giant
Effing Monster. What else would you expect?
Alternate Threat: The Threateners

The vile lords of UrVraal have blessed their most
powerful archons with the spiritual keys to the gates
143
that lead to their twisted dimension. These archons

are the vanguard of the UrVraals invasion force, and can call in
more minions from beyond those gates at their instant whim. Known
as Threateners, these archons can exchange any Hurtin they
generate in Showdowns to directly increase the CiCs Adversity, or
even directly increase the Threat of any UrVraikiil Reaver Mobs
present in the scene.
Alternate Threat: Soul-Dampeners

Far on the edge of town stands the Blessed House of Saint Patros, a
shelter and halfway-house for the destitute and those down on their
luck. The sisters there are beloved in the community for the efforts
they have made in cleaning up the streets. However, these ladies
hide a sinister secret: they feed upon the wills of the individuals who
some to them, stealing the life force of these unwitting innocents for
nefarious purposes. As they hurt you, they heal themselves! Each
face or ace they generate in a winning Showdown recovers a point
of Threat and hurts the player with Hurtin.
S ample T hreats
Below is a collection of sample Bad Guys for use in your scenarios.
You can use them freely, or if you like just skim them over to get a
feel for some creative takes on Threats, and get some ideas for your
own special enemies.
Craw-Dads (Fodder)
The first attempts at field-testing the Z-Contagion were done in
an underground lab underneath Swampy the Frogs Happytime
Amusement Park on the outskirts of Possum Town. In these
darkened corridors, the scientists of the Parasol Collective tested
the first strains of the Contagion by injected it into crayfish which,
obviously, escaped and killed everyone. Now these mutated and
highly Infectious critters skulk in the murky ditches that border every
single road in Possum Town, and are a major annoyance to the
Survivors.
Adversity Cost: As Fodder
Starting Threat: As Fodder
144 Showdown Hand Size: As Fodder
Special: Infection

Goddamned Crows (Fodder)
While they arent infected, the Goddamned Crows are perhaps the
single most aggravating foes that can be encountered after the zombie
apocalypse. The tension in the world has driven them insane, and
they now dive-attack any who step within their marked territories,
often attacking in murderous swarms. Theyre relatively easy to pick
off, but trying to do so can seriously deplete your Juice.
Showdown Hand Size: As Fodder
Special: Goddamned Crows are a special kind of pain in the ass
Fodder. Goddamned Crows are purchased as normal Fodder, but
once the Threat score is determined, it represents that number of
unique Threats with a single-point Threat score each. Like Fodder,
you pay a single Adversity token to introduce some Goddamned
Crows, and then you draw two cards, keeping the lowest to determine
Threat. If you drew a four, for example, then that means that you now
have four separate one-point Threats that the Survivors must now
deal with.
Ugglies (Fodder)
Ugglies are a nickname given to the nameless face-stealing flesh-
made spirits of the UrVraal. These cursed souls are so despised
by their masters that they are not graced with actual names, and
the nickname here is only applied by humans who have been
fortunate enough to survive encounters with them. The Ugglies
are regurgitated souls deemed unworthy by the UrVraal to serve
any purpose other than eternal wandering, and they are as such
filled with Hate, and nothing but. Their forms are hideously twisted
visages of their former selves, and when attacked by one, you can
feel them trying to suck your own faces and spirits through their
malformed nostrils, desperately trying to eat your beauty and make
you one of them.
Showdown Hand Size: As Fodder
Special: Although only Fodder, Ugglies are very dangerous. When a
Survivor is hurt by an Uggly, the Hurtin must come first out of
Grit. If the character has no more Grit, only then can the
rest of the Hurtin be applied as the player sees fit. Also,
the Ugglies dont infect, but if they kill you, you will Turn 145
as one of them.

Possessed Villagers (Hindrance)
The remote mountain town of Saavosk has been overrun by dark
spirits, released into this world by a mad hedge sorcerers rituals.
The poor villagers have become possessed by the Hatchers, foul
netherfiends who use their minds as birthing-food for their twisted
emotional offspring. The Hatchers use these folks as their vessels,
protecting the village while their babies incubate within the very
souls of the possessed. All the while, the spirits of the villagers are
conscious, watching themselves perform horrid acts of murder and
cannibalism while their puppeteers set to work.
Adversity Cost: As Hindrance
Starting Threat: As Hindrance
Showdown Hand Size: As Hindrance
Special: If the Survivors are directly involved in Showdowns against
Hatcher-possessed villagers, they are tormented by the visions of
pain and psychotic suffering seen within the eyes of these poor
victims. Regardless of who wins the Showdown, after it is over, each
involved Survivor is hit as if affected by a Panic Button. This does
not cost the CiC an Adversity token to evoke, either!
Churchematicians (Hindrance)
Having been converted by reading the soul-eating pamphlets of
their horrible leader J. Don Throbblesquarp, the sinister legions
of the Order of Churchematics crawl forth from corrupted urban
centers, equipped with nothing but smiles and stacks of informative
brochures. While they themselves dont put up much of a fight,
they tend to travel in groups, and you should beware their horrible
pamphlets.
Special: Infection. Churchematicians can infect with any successful
Showdown, regardless of combat or without any Hurtin dealt to
their enemies, as their Infection comes not from injury but from
pamphlets.
Advanced Shamblers (Hindrance)

In just about all ways, the Advanced Shamblers are your
basic zombies. They travel in packs and feast upon the
flesh of the living. Most of them just stumble around
146
slowly, but some have retained an advanced level

of motor control over their legs, and can keep up with a jogger with
no problem. Others have held onto some vestiges of the skills from
their former lives, and can use certain tools to their advantage
although mostly, this usually consists of pumping gas and hitting
things with garden tools.
Special: Infection, limited Gear usage
Bouncing Betties (Miniboss)

One of the more sinister results of Cykosys, the Betties were first
created when pregnant human women became infected by the
alien techno-plague. After a particularly traumatizing transformation
process, these women were reborn as the horrible bladed
automatons we have since come to nickname Bouncing Betties.
They are extremely fast, moving with near-blinding speeds in
pursuit of their designated targets, which they slice to thousands of
grisly shreds with a vast array of retractable blades. Whats worse,
upon incapacitation their nanites set to repairing their damaged
components, and within only a handful of minutes they rise fully-
rejuvenated to continue pursuit.
Adversity Cost: 5 tokens (see special)
Starting Threat: As Miniboss
Showdown Hand Size: As Miniboss
Special: Unless destroyed by acid, Betties will return to play fully-
restored after each defeat. They do not display this regenerative
power during combat; their repair mechanisms only kick in after they
are incapacitated. Each minute afterwards, one point of their Threat
Score is restored, and once fully restored, they return to the game
and continue their pursuit. This return to play does not cost tokens,
but because of this power they cost an additional token (5 total) when
introduced. Betties do not Infect, they only destroy.
Schlock Troopers (Miniboss)

These special Super-zombies were created by an evolved strain
of the Z-Contagion. The test subjects infected with the new strain
showed more versatility in movement and motor control, and
stronger levels of offensive capabilities over their more
degenerate predecessors. They are also more receptive
for behavior conditioning treatment, and have so far 147
made excellent brute squad enforcers for the

Parasol Collective. They are capable of using a limited array of
high- explosive heavy firearms, and they wield skin-grafted melee
weapons when cornered. As an added bonus, all victims cut by the
blades of these entities will be infected by a sub-strain of the same
virus, and eventually become Advanced Shamblers themselves.
Adversity Cost: As Miniboss
Special: Infection, Can use weapons. It is suggested that Schlock
Troopers enter play with weapons doing +3 Hurtin.
The Rictus Riders (Miniboss)

This hardened crew of motorcycle-riding miscreants travel the ruins
of urban areas, slaughtering zombies and taking prisoners to sell into
the new slave markets. They are known for vicious acts of rape and
brutality, and should not be taken lightly. You should only negotiate
with them if you can clearly display that you have the upper hand.
Adversity Cost: As Miniboss (they usually travel in packs)
Special: The Rictus Riders are armed to the teeth, and should be
equipped appropriately.
148

The Hive (2B)
The Hive is the massively grotesque spawning portal for the Insekkt
Invasion. Created from the corpse of an infected human host, this
gigantic mound of flesh and chitin exists only to create more of the
alien fiends, which shed their birthing jelly and fly out to continue the
invasion of Earth. Better destroy it quickly, however, because it has
a remarkable ability to speed its monster-production when under
stress.
Adversity Cost: As Big Bad
Starting Threat: As Big Bad
Showdown Hand Size: As Big Bad
Special: Threatener. The hive does not attack at all. It can initiate non-
violent Showdowns, and the players can react to it. If the players do
not engage it at all, then it can perform Quickies every few minutes
of real time. Each face or ace adds to your Adversity pool.
In Showdowns, the Hive does not cause Hurtin. Instead, with
every Showdown it wins, all Hurtin generated is instantly converted
to Adversity tokens, to be immediately spent adding lesser Threats
to the scene, spawned from its grotesque innards.
Captain Murder (2B)

Keith Granger was once a mild-mannered accountant in Blossom
Falls, Idaho. He lived a simple life, paid his bills on time, had some
drinks with the fellows after work on Casual Fridays, enjoyed an
occasional military reenactment game, and lived with the company
of an assortment of small household pets. Then one of those pets
got infected with something alien, and bit him while he was feeding it.
A few extremely painful days later, Keith ceased to be, and Captain
Murder stepped from the ashes of Keiths old house. Wearing the
ripped clothes of a World War II naval captain, he rides a gigantic
horse across the countryside, murdering folks he encounters who
break some disturbing moral code that we havent yet deciphered. A
veritable one-man (one-thing?) army, if you see the silhouette of him
astride his horse in the far horizon, you should quickly move fast in
the opposite direction.
Adversity Cost: As Big Bad
Starting Threat: As Big Bad
Showdown Hand Size: As Big Bad
Special: Infection, Special Regeneration. Any faces or aces
drawn in Showdowns can be used to restore lost Threat
149
ranks on a one-for-one basis.

The Pastamancer (4B)
When the horrible Linguini Monster was set upon the world, and
the shelves of every grocery store pasta aisle revolted against their
centuries-old oppression by their human masters, the Pastamancer
was behind it all. Secretly disguised as a helpful Survivor, the heroes
dont realize the true terrible identity of the Pastamancer until its too
late, and theyve blown their Crazy-go-Psycho Meters trying to take
down the Rigatoni Monster they had mistakenly identified as the Big
Bad. Beware the Pastamancers Infectious pet Noodlings! Dont let
them crawl into your brain!
Adversity Cost: As 4B
Starting Threat: As 4B
Showdown Hand Size: As 4B
Special: Infection, Special Threatening. The Pastamancer can
sacrifice any amount of his Threat score to create Noodlings. Each
point of Threat sacrificed creates a unique 1-Point Noodling Threat
of Fodder role, with the special power of Infection.
Gilbert Souther (4B)

Gilbert Souther was once Commander of the RATS force in
Possum Town, but decided to betray them to the Parasol Collective
in exchange for access to a special serum that turned him into a
super-zombie. Somehow he became a vampire instead, and is really
sensitive about the subject. He has since climbed the political ladder
at Parasol, and now runs all their operations from the shadows (of
his coffin, that is). He is to be considered a threat more dangerous
than any other.
Adversity Cost: As 4B
Starting Threat: As 4B
Showdown Hand Size: As 4B
Special: Gilbert Souther is a special type of enemy called a Mary
Sue. He cannot ever be killed by the direct actions of the player
characters, no matter how much Hurtin they give him. To defeat
Gilbert Souther, the players must come up with a completely
ridiculous, off-kilter, deus ex machina idea that occurs somehow
through their successful Showdown narration. CiC, keep in mind that
only the most ridiculous thing will succeed, so make them work for it.
Otherwise, Gilbert will be back in all the sequels, and only be more
ridiculously strong.
150

N on -C ombat T hreats and S howdowns
Not all Showdowns have to be combat-focused, and not all Threats
have to be terrible bad guys. The Threat mechanics can be used to
introduce non-character menaces into the game, indirect challenges
that will more frequently require guile and the Savvy Characteristic in
order to overcome. Showdowns can be used to play out any number
of dramatic conflicts with these Threats.
Below are some examples of other conflicts which can be played out
via a Showdown, and the Threats that might be faced in them. The
Threats in these examples can be purchased and introduced like any
other Threat. Overcoming them in conflicts will often require indirect
action and cleverness beyond the usual shoot until its dead that
fixes most issues.
Diffuse the Viral Bomb! For this Showdown, the Bomb
would be a Threat of most likely Miniboss role. A showdown
against the bomb could involve the player(s) using their
Savvy and technical resources to either diffuse it completely
or simply delay its countdown to explode. Should the bomb
win, well, good bye, heroes, and welcome to the world of
the infected. When the Bomb steps it up, you could have
its timer start spinning down, technical lockouts and short-
circuits could hinder the players, foreign interfaces could
confuse the, etc.
Get through the collapsing hallway before the lava fills the
room! Here the Threat is the Lava itself, of either Hindrance
or Miniboss role, depending on how powerful a force you
want it to be. The players could use Kill to try and rush past
it or kick down the door out of the hallway, Savvy to try and
divert it or help their fellows through safely, or anything else
along those lines. Should the lava win, it bursts through and
floods over the Survivors, burning them extensively. When
the Lava steps it up, it could collapse new sections of the
wall, spout up from the floor, burst down from the ceiling,
and so on.
Defeat the Malfunctioning Supercomputer! The
Supercomputer is the Threat this time, most likely
as a Big Bad role bad guy. It possesses all kinds
of traps and gadgets and attack drones it can 151
throw at the Survivors. They will soon find that

attacking the drones is pointless, as they just keep coming
endlessly. The Survivors will have to use Kill to damage its
power sources, and Savvy to bypass its controls.
Get the sailboat through the terrible storm! In this conflict,
the players have escaped the infected island on a sailboat
and must make it through a storm to get back to land.
The storm would be a Hindrance or Miniboss Threat, and
would have all manner of crashing waves, violent winds,
and lightning strikes with which to assault the Survivors. As
the Survivors take cover in the boat, direct the sails, and
shift their weight on board, they can draw some cards and
maybe make it through the storm.
Get past the Deathtrap Cube! The Threat here is the Room
itself, of Miniboss or Big Bad role, full of traps and dangers
intended to murderize the Survivors in as grisly a way as
possible. Survivors can use Kill and Savvy equally here, as
some traps can be dodged and brute-forced, while others
require insight and preparation in order to bypass. Each
time the Room steps it up, it could throw another trap at the
Survivors, drop blades from the ceiling, manifest invisible
razor wires, and so on.
In summation, any type of challenge or opposing force can be
introduced as a Threat with some creative thinking. Play around with
different ideas and see what you can come up with!
C onflicts W ithout T hreat

In fact, not all dangers in CC have to be purchased with Adversity,
have Threat scores, or even involve Bad Guys at all. As the CiC,
you should feel free to throw all sorts of non-Showdown dangers
and challenges at the Survivors. The best challenges are those
that force the characters to make decisions about their survival,
and even better are those that challenge their morals, ethics, and
attitudes about the quality of their lives and those of their friends
and families.
Introducing these challenges is as simple as narrating them

into the game at your desire. If you want a careening car
to charge the characters frantically from the highway
152
theyre walking down, then just say it and see how

they respond. If you want to have the building theyre hiding in
collapse around them, then do it. Its not only your right as the CiC
to keep the players on their toes, its your entire mission.
When using non-Threat challenges, feel free to force the players

to make various Characteristic Quickies, and use their results to
determine what happens as a result. Successful draws should work
in their favor, while unsuccessful draws should be detrimental to
their actions, safety, survival, and/or goals. But dont just throw them
a challenge and immediately ask them for a Quickie to bypass it.
Make them think about it first. Theyll need to be able to offer some
kind of valid way to resolve the challenge before using the cards to
see if their ideas succeed. Remember that the cards are there to
supplement the narration and role-playing, and not to replace them.
If the players dont have any ideas on what to do, then its their loss.
Even the most pathetic and seemingly-doomed ideas are at least
something, and could very well work.
Remember: as the CiC you are entitled to do just about anything

with pure narrative authority. You can make buildings collapse,
meteors fall from the sky, grenades magically materialize out of thin
air, swarms of locusts scour the countryside, and more. As long
as your narration does not mechanically impact the Survivors
(via changes in Hurtin, CGP, or what-have-you), then you are
free to change the environment to your hearts desire, without
any requisite expenditure of Adversity tokens, introduction of
Threats, or challenges for Showdowns. However, if the players
feel they can directly change the situation, then its time to turn the
danger into a Threat and let them overcome it with a Showdown.
Also keep in mind that there are far worse things you can do to
the Survivors than just Hurt them. Its a good idea to make sure
the players realize this, too. Sure, mechanically screwing with a
character can limit his ability to succeed in play, but so can any
number of purely narrative effects. If a character fails to dodge that
speeding car, narrate that his leg is now broken. Sure he wont
take Hurtin, but hell have to find some other way to get around,
and that will directly affect the story. If a giant magnet in the
ceiling activates unexpectedly, the Survivors might not
get hurt at all, but their metal weapons (and piercings
153
and jewelry and belts and so on) will be taken from

them. But again, remember: if the players challenge it, and their
characters can make a difference, then its time for a Quickie
or Showdown. Purchase the Threat and let the cards have the
final say.
Here are some ideas for ways to introduce conflicts without using
Bad Guys:
An out-of-control vehicle is coming their way, and fast!
Dodge quickly or break your legs.
The roof is collapsing on them! Anyone caught underneath
it will be unconscious and require medical attention to bring
back into play.
Their car is on fire, and will explode any minute now! This
could be a Showdown
A terrible skittering sound begins to gain in volume, almost
deafening the Survivors by the time the source arrives: a
veritable sea of frightened vermin, running toward them and
obvious trying to escape something more dangerous in the
darkness beyond. Dont get pulled under by the vile tide!
A grenade explodes near a character, dropped by an
unknown party. Shrapnel buries into the characters leg,
liming their ability to run.
A lternate S olutions
Something I highly recommend considering is that not every fully-
purchased Threat need to be defeated directly via Showdowns. In
some cases, consider allowing alternate solutions to your Threats
solutions that involve just a simple Quickie and a clever bit of applied
narration. Take a page from the Resident Evil series of video games.
Like many survival horror games, each game in this series features
crazy boss fights spaced periodically. However, a common element
to each game is that many of the boss fights can be handily tipped to
the players favor, if not avoided entirely, with a bit of exploration of
the setting and clever application of some game elements. By taking
an extended play detour and combining some special herbs, for
example, a certain plant boss in one of the games can be
defeated without firing a single bullet.
154

In your game sessions, if the players come up with a good way
to bypass a Threat without directly conflicting against it, consider
skipping a Showdown and letting them simply pull a Quickie or two
instead. If they succeed, the Threat doesnt have to be completely
eliminated, but it could be taken out of the current scene, and kept
out of play for an extended duration. Plus, bringing those Threats
back later at key moments of crisis can lead to some truly memorable
game play!
G ame O ver , M an
Did you all die? No worries, just curious...
Every story has an end, as does every game of CC. Sometimes the
end will come when the characters defeat a final boss, or destroy the
source of the Contagion. In other games, the game will end when
theyre killed by the monsters or by the hands of their friends, even.
Sometimes, a game might even end with a good solid cliffhanger,
which is my personal favorite way to end any game in which I am a
player or a CiC.
A typical session of Cannibal Contagion tends to last from four to

ten scenes in length. When it comes time to bring the game to a
close, just resolve the last scene and let things end. Theres really
no need for any post-game awards, unless your group has their own
system for things like that. Let the players enjoy the story that they
helped bring to a close, and then go out with them afterwards and
talk about it over beer and chicken wings. Find out what everyone
liked, what anyone disliked, and learn ways to make your next games
even more awesome than your last.
E xtended P lay
CC is primarily intended as a pick-up game, best used for short-run,
one-or-two-shot gaming sessions. The scope of the game is fairly
limited, focused almost entirely on immediate survival. However,
some groups may find that the stories they start telling in one
session are just too good to let go after only a single
sitting. Some groups may want to explore those stories
much more deeply by picking them up in additional 155
follow-up sessions.

Setting up a follow-up session of CC is actually a lot easier than
creating the first session, as the scenario preparation and character
creation is already take care of. Just sit back down, whip those
characters back out onto the gaming table, grab your cards and
start playing. You can pick up right where you left off, or you might
enjoy jumping ahead in time a bit and picking up sometime after the
previous games events.
Players experienced with other published role-playing games will

be familiar with the concept of Character Advancement, wherein
characters in those games receive experience points and use them
to acquire new abilities and such. CC doesnt really have that option,
as by default the system is pretty skewed against the characters
survival if a character makes it to the end of the session, thats
usually reward enough! While the Survival token system is intended
to allow characters to heal and recharge their stuff between scenes,
the system isnt entirely designed for long-term campaign-style
play. However, should particularly well-played characters survive a
session of CC and wish to continue in a follow-up session, the CiC
may wish to award them with some sort of character bonus.
Probably the easiest character bonus would come in the form of

increases to the characters Characteristic Scores. Consider allowing
each player to increase the maximum rank of any one of their four
Characteristics by one or more points, making them a lot more
badass come next session.
C ontagion
As the game is played and the crap flies around, there is a good
chance one or more Survivors will become Infected with the Cannibal
Contagion. When the nasty monsters bite you, chances are, you will
get the sickness, and its only a matter of time before friends become
not just enemies, but ravenous man-eating cannibals. This should be
a core feature of every game of Cannibal Contagion, as many of
the rules revolve around it. This system of entirely personalized
and customizable contagious infection is one of the big
things that makes Cannibal Contagion different from a
156 lot of other zombie-themed games.

W hat is the C ontagion ?
Just what is the nature of the Cannibal Contagion in your game? Is it
just a simple matter of the dead refusing to stay dead, coming back
from the great beyond to eat our brains? Is it a maddening disease
which, while otherwise nonfatal, causes people to go permanently
and viciously insane, attacking and killing everyone they see?
Perhaps the Contagion is a breed of mutating alien parasites which
use human bodies as food and host for its horrible larvae? Or maybe
its just a disease which kills everyone and everything, causing mass
deaths of biblical proportions?
When you are putting together a scenario for this game, you should
define the exact nature of the Cannibal Contagion, and choose
which mechanics it will use in your game. Creating the Contagion is
simply a matter of setting up five special variables that define how it
fits mechanically into your game.
C ontagion V ariables
The five important mechanical variables you must define are the
Vector, the Effects, the Threshold, the Aftermath, and the Antidote
of the Contagion.
Contagion Vector
The Vector of the Contagion determines the mechanical side of how
the Survivors might contract it.
Environmental: Something in the world around the
Survivors is Infecting them. Perhaps theres a corrupted
water supply causing all of this, and anyone who drinks it
turns into a cannibal monster. Or maybe the Infection is
spread by an airborne virus! The simple act of breathing
is now dangerous to their survival. The characters should
gain Infection after each scene unless proper precautions
have been arranged (such as gas masks). Or perhaps the
Infection is spread by weird insects. These insects are
never introduced as a directly-combatable Threat, but
as an ever-present danger that the characters
must somehow protect themselves against.
Randomly let them know theyve been bitten, 157
and let them react. (Example: Cabin Fever)

Physical Contact: With this Vector, the Contagion is
spread through the bites/claws/kisses/licks/etc of infected
opponents. Youve seen the movies: if a zombie bites you,
youre pretty much a goner unless something extremely
fortunate comes your way. In your game this could be any
narrative method you desire: bites, claws, venom, saliva,
slime, blood whatever it is, the mechanics are the same.
With this Vector in play, when you lose a physical-based
Showdown against infected foes and take at least one
point of Hurtin (before any Grit checks are drawn to reduce
Hurtin), your opponent immediately gives you one point of
Infection, and can choose to exchange aces or faces in the
pile to give you more. It is up to the CiC whether or not you
can try to resist it (see below). Multiple points of Infection
are cumulative, and the tally totals for each character
should be recorded on the CiCs sheet. (Example: Zombie
Bites)
No Reason!: If the Vector is set to No Reason, then
everyone in the game is already infected. There is no
cause, it just exists and now you have to deal with it. This
is useful for games with a more Romero-like feel, where
everyone becomes a zombie when they die, without any
real explanation. You know, Hell has no more room, and the
dead just walk the earth. This type of infection cannot be
resisted! (Example: Night of the Living Dead)
Right From the Get-Go: For a fabulously-awesome twist
in the way the game is played, have the characters all get
infected before the game even begins! The game could
open with them all waking up wearing hospital gowns inside
some weird compound, and theyve got band-aids on their
arms from a recent hypodermic injection of some sort. Or
instead, open the game with some kind of subtly baited
statement, such as Your company just took you out to a
delicious and unexpected breakfast of scones and tea. Out
of curiosity, how do you usually take your tea one lump or
two? Any players who dont specifically say I didnt eat any
scones start the game with Infected characters. Combine
this with one of the above Vectors so you can infect the
others later in the game!
158

Contagion Effects
The Effects of the Contagion determine what mechanics are in place
while the Infection is inside the character, up until the point of the
Threshold (see below). Each of the choices below has different
effects that must be considered at different times in the game, so
I advise you make sure you are fully familiar with the rules of the
Effects variable your have chosen.
Debilitating: If the Contagion is Debilitating, at the end of
every scene the infected characters each take an amount
of Hurtin equal to their current individual Infection tallies.
Remember: once your Characteristics all reach zero, youre
dead! (Example: The George Romero Zombie Movies)
Incubating: If the Contagion is of an Incubating variant,
then their Infection tally steadily increases at the end
of every scene. The CiC makes a Quickie for each
Infected character, using their current Infection Tallies as
the Characteristic in the test. Each Ace or Face drawn
increases the Tally by +1. Thus, greater levels of Infection
only serve to multiply themselves. (Example: Aliens)
Maddening: Characters infected with a Maddening
Contagion steadily increase in Crazy-Go-Psycho points
instead of Infection tallies. Once Infected, they gain points
of CGP at the end of every scene one for each scene that
has passed since becoming Infected, including the scene of
Infection. Meaning, at the end of the first scene of Infection
they gain one, then at the end of the next scene they gain
two more, and then three, and so on. (Example: 28 Days
Later, The Signal, Serenity)
Contagion Threshold
The Threshold of the Contagion sets the point at which the infection
permanently sets in, transforming the character into a different
creature altogether. Once the Threshold has been reached, the
Aftermath mechanics set in. The CiC should use this variable to
determine just how much time the character has left in the world of
the living and/or sane.
159

Death: If the Threshold is death, then the infection fully
takes over when the character dies. (Example: George
Romero Zombie Movies)
Madness: With this setting, the Threshold is crossed the
moment the character descends into Stage 5 Madness, or
in the following scene if such happened between scenes.
(Example: 28 Days Later)
Random: If the Threshold is random, then the CiC makes
secret Quickies for each Infected character at the end of
each Scene (use the Infection tally). Any aces or faces
drawn mean that the character will cross the Threshold at
some point during the next scene. Either work it out with the
player privately, or just announce it when the time comes.
Threat Cap: If the Threshold is set to a Threat Cap, then
the character crosses the Threshold when their Infection
Tally exceeds their current Threat Score.
Contagion Aftermath
The Aftermath of the Contagion decides what happens after the
Threshold has been crossed. When an infected character passes
the above-defined Threshold, you should apply the mechanics of
whatever you have chosen for your Contagions Aftermath.
Explosion!: When the Contagions Threshold is crossed,
the character explodes (and dies, of course). Everyone
nearby takes Hurtin equal to the characters Infection tally
at the time of their death. This can be resisted by Grit, and
if the CiC so decides, the explosion also infects anyone it
hits. Talk about a dirty bomb! (Example: Cloverfield)
Just Plain Death: Once the Threshold is crossed, the
character is immediately dead. Theres no threat of them
coming back or anything, just death. Perhaps theyre really
the lucky one, right? (Example: Any historical plague of epic
proportions)
Turned: Once the Threshold has been crossed, the
character has Turned, and become entirely under the power
of the Contagion. In your game, depending upon your
own Contagion this could mean they are a shambling
corpse, a vile alien metamorph, a necrotically-evolved
160 super-zombie, a fully-possessed demon shell, an
uncontrollably enraged psycho killer, or whatever

you so decide. Either way, the rules are the same: the
character is now re-introduced as a Threat. Read on further
below for all the juicy details. (Example: Zombies & Aliens &
more!)
Contagion Antidote
Can the Infection be delayed or cured in your game? Thats what this
variable sets. If theres a possibility for an Antidote, define it here.
Does the antidote cure them, or only slow it down? Will everything be
turned back to normal if the source of the Infection is discovered and
cleansed? Maybe there really isnt an antidote at all, but everyone
believes there is and theyll spend their whole time searching for
one, only to die horrible ignoble deaths. It could definitely happen. I
recommend for a truly tense game that you not let the players know
how you defined this variable; even if there is no cure, they might
think there is, and it could make the role-play pretty awesome!
The Antidote variable determines not only if the infection can be

cured, but also if it can even be resisted at all.
Mind Over Matter: If Mind Over Matter is in place, then the
Infection can be resisted with natural abilities alone. This is
good news for the players! Each time the character is set to
take Infection, you (the CiC) should tell them so, and offer to
let them try a Grit check to resist it. Each Ace or Face they
draw resists one point of incoming Infection. Dont tell them
how much, though, and only give them a vague idea if they
succeed or not. Keep asking them if they want to Negotiate
to draw more cards, too theyll rack up the CGP if the
threat of Infection is upon them! Note that if the character
was not previously Infected before this Showdown, he
remains un-Infected if he can reduce the incoming Infection
to zero.
Only Delays the Inevitable: If the Antidote only delays the
inevitable, then the player has to keep track of a supply
of special expendable Gear (pills, serum, special food,
human flesh, etc) that keeps the infection from rising. This
gear is special in that it can only be Sacrificed, and it
can only be used on Grit checks made to resist
the Infection. The mechanics function just like
161
the Mind Over matter option above, but with

two changes: 1) the player must have one or more units of
the special Gear in order to attempt the check, and 2) the
Infection prevention is only temporary, and any prevented
Infection must again be resisted at the end of the next
scene.
Destroy the Source: The Contagion cant be eliminated
until you find and destroy the source of the infection. This
could be a super-vampire, a master zombie, an alien hive
queen, or any other sinister Alpha Source of the infection.
This enemy should most definitely be of the Bigger-Badder
Big Bad role, although it could be fun to make the players
think that the mere Big Bad they just fought was their actual
nemesis.
MacGuffin: There is theoretically a cure, but it isnt
something the Survivors can mechanically apply during this
scenario. This could be some special serum that has no
mechanical effect but serves as a major plot point of the
games narrative. The Survivors could have a special cure
with them the whole time, but no way to apply it, with the
games desired outcome involving them spending all their
efforts trying to find a way to use it.
None!: Theres no cure! Tough luck, bro. Of course, you
dont have to let the players know this
C hoosing Y our C ontagion s V ariables

When designing your Contagion, go through the options presented
above and choose the variables most fitting to your needs. You
should select at least one for each of the five variables, but youre
not necessarily limited to only one for each. Many of the variable
options can easily work in harmony. For example, if your Contagion
has both Incubating and Debilitating for its Effect variables, then it
will not only hurt the Infected character, but the pain it causes will
only increase drastically over time.
I nfection T allies
Several of the variable options for your Contagion mention
keeping track of Infection Tallies. The printable CiC
162 sheet has a spot on it where you can keep track of

each players Infection tallies, should you use them in your game.
I personally suggest keeping the Infection scores a secret, to build
more suspense and tension at the table. After all, if Sam knows that
Jakes character has a certain level of Infection, whats to stop Sam
from taking action on that knowledge and having his own character
just take out the poor sod before he turns? Keeping the tallies a secret
allows more moments where the players act purely on paranoia and
suspicion. Let them fight amongst themselves as they worry over
who will get infected next!
T urning
In many ways, the scenarios Contagion can be a far more
dangerous and despicable enemy than any Threats the CiC throws
at the Survivors. Many of the Aftermaths listed above have the word
Turned as part of the Contagions final effects. When a character has
Turned, it means they have become a dangerous monster of some
sort, and that usually means they are now a Threat. Allies, Threats,
and Survivors alike can both be equally affected by the Contagion
and Turning, and the rules on how to handle this are printed below.
Turned Threats
Okay, lets say you used some Adversity tokens to introduce this
awesome Threat, say, a really hard-ass riot cop who is there to beat
him down some errant Survivors, teach em whos boss and not to
give him no lip, that kinda bad ass. And lets say this riot cop gets
totally greased by said Survivors, eliminating him as a supposed
threat. But lets also say that before this riot cop gets whacked, he
gets Infected. Finally, lets just assume that in your game, folks who
get Infected and die will quickly come back as turned cannibals.
So how do you handle this Threat? He was already paid for by

Adversity and defeated fair and square by the heroes, yet the
Contagion in your game decrees that the dead come back to life, so
what then? In such a case, the Contagion trumps, and the Threat
comes back as a murderous zombie monster.
Heres how it works. When a previously-introduced

Threat turns, it can only return to the game by being 163
re-introduced (and re-purchased) as a new Threat,

using the standard mechanics for doing so. If you are curious to
know why the turned Threat must be re-purchased, it is because
essentially, the character is now a brand new threatening menace
that must be defeated again. The only difference here is that in being
re-introduced, the new Threat adds their old remaining Threat score
(at the time of Turning, if any at all) to their newly-drawn one. This
is because in almost every circumstance, the newly-transformed
cannibal-thing is far harder to take down than the original guy. Now,
if the Threat was killed before the Aftermath set in, then of course
there will be no previous Threat score to add in, making the new
beast-thing a bit easier to kill. But if the Turning happened before
the Threats death, oh no! In such a case, you can either narrate the
Threat out of the scene to re-introduce later with the rules above, or
instantly pay for the new Turned Threat
Adversity Cost: Same as new chosen Role
Starting Threat: Equal to the Threat Score of the character at the
time of their Turning, plus the normal Threat draw for the purchased
Role.
Showdown Hand Size: Same as new purchased Role
Turned Allies
When an Ally is subjected to the Contagions Vector, draw a card.
If it is an Ace or Joker, the ally remains unInfected, but any other
result means they are Immediately Infected. When this happens,
the Ally will succumb to the Contagions Effects with much quicker
results than the Survivors. Immediately upon becoming infected,
you should draw a single card. If the card is a number, then the Ally
will automatically cross the Threshold sometime in the next scene. If
the card is a face or ace, the Threshold is crossed sometime in the
current scene.
Should an Ally Turn, the new Threat must be purchased into the
scene just liked Turned Threats (detailed above). Their previous Ally
Rank (if any remains) is added to their new Threat score.
Example: In a previous example, Splick narrated that Max

Bentons ally Policeman Joe sacrificed himself to save Max
from some monsters. However, Splick was not aware
that in this scenario, anyone who dies comes back
164 as a zombie, regardless of infecting bites and such.
When Joe bites the bullet, Screg secretly draws a

card, getting a Queen of Clubs! He narrates Joes valiant death,
and Splick continues to have Max explore the scene. But a few
minutes later, Screg interrupts some question Splick is asking
to tell him that Max suddenly feels something grab his leg with a
grip from beyond the grave. Its Policeman Joe! Screg pays two
Adversity tokens to purchase Joe as a Hindrance, and draws
a card (seven of Spades) for Joes new Threat score. Since
Joe and Max had started to develop something of a survivors
friendship, Screg pays an Adversity token to make this a Panic
Button event for Max, giving him a point of CGP.
Turned Survivors
Like Threats, player-controlled characters can become Turned, too.
When the Survivor turns, she becomes a CiC-controlled Threat
with a Threat score equal to her Threat tally at the time of Turning,
plus any remaining Characteristic ranks they may have had at that
moment. Remember that Threat tally youve been counting since the
game began? Thats the one. The longer a character has survived,
the more badass she will be when she becomes a zombie. Total the
Threat and Characteristics and the result is the new Threat score for
the character.
Unlike turned Threats, turned Survivors under the control of the CiC
do not need to be purchased into the scene. However, you can
choose to spend Adversity to boost their Threat scores using the
normal rules for doing so. They automatically come into the game
as Minibosses, getting four-card hands for use in Showdowns. Once
theyve Turned, you can bring them into play at any time during any
scene without needing to pay any Adversity tokens. You can do
this as often as you like, up until the turned Survivor is somehow
eliminated.
Of course, if the CiC allows it, the players whose Survivors have
turned can choose to continue playing as their turned characters, or
can instead opt to stat up new characters and bring them into play.
Playing Turned characters can be quite fun, and can lead to zombie-
driven games of exciting inter-player conflict. Framing new
scenes around this can be difficult, though. If one or two
characters have Turned and their players opt to keep
on playing, consider framing scenes around them, and 165
have the other players temporarily take over other

in-game characters that are either fighting against or running away
from these player-cannibals.
Adversity Cost: None!
Starting Threat: Equal to the Threat Score of the character at the
time of their Turning, plus the total remaining Ranks in their
Characteristics.
Showdown Hand Size: Four cards
S ample C ontagions
Below are a few examples of Contagions created using the five
basic variables described above. These are all based on famous
zombie movies and media, and are perfect for any game of Cannibal
Contagion. I encourage you to try each of them out in your own
various game sessions. Each of these example Contagions is
described with the five base variables, as well as a little flavorful
background that you can use in your games.
The Infectious Infestation

Alien Parasites! These vile critters use your body as an incubator,
and then burst into the world as dangerous infant monsters bent on
devouring all life. Usually, their birth involves your violent, bloody,
painful death.
Inspirations: Alien, Iron Empires, Resident Evil 4, Slither

Vector: Physical. The Parasites must be implanted into the victims
body by direct physical action. This most commonly involves a
physical Showdown, with the alien directly penetrating the flesh of
the intended host with some kind of proboscis or other egg-laying
appendage. Burrowing and drilling worms are popular alternate
versions of this, as are mad scientists with needles.
Effects: Incubating. Once the character is infected, the parasites
steadily grow until they eventually explode from the host body.
Threshold: Threat Cap. As the parasites grow, the Infection tally
increases. Once it exceeds the characters Threat, the beautiful
slimy alien is born.
Aftermath: Turned (Parasitic Evolution). Once the Threshold is
crossed, an alien monster enters the game, clawing its way out
of the characters body. The monsters Threat is equal to the
characters at the time the Threshold was crossed plus any
remaining Characteristic ranks, and has whatever other
166 stats the CiC desires.

Antidote: There are these special pills you can take to slow the growth,
but they only delay the inevitable. Otherwise, you gotta Destroy the
Source: the Hive Queen, mothership, pastamancer, or other such
entity. These latter suggestions will most likely act as MacGuffins.
The Maddening Murderness

The Murderness is a vile disease which drives those infected by it to
and beyond the brink of violent insanity. As the infection sets in, the
character grows steadily more erratic and psychotic, until eventually
they are overwhelmed by their madness and can do nothing else but
cause violence and suffering to everyone they see.
Inspirations: 28 Days Later, Black Gas, The Signal

Vector: Physical. The Murderness is usually contracted by direct blood
or saliva transfer from an infected person. In some scenarios, it might
be carried by toxic fumes or gaseous clouds.
Effects: Definitely a Maddening Contagion, and if you want the players
to Turn quickly, make it Incubating (using CGP instead of Infection
tallies) as well.
Threshold: Madness. The moment a character enters Stage 5 on the
CGP meter after becoming infected with the Murderness, theyve
Turned.
Aftermath: Turned (Psycho Killer!) Folks who have been Turned by
the Murderness go on a rampage, filled with an insatiable lust for
violence and nothing but. They will be unable to do anything but stalk
and kill. They will not tire, they will not bathe, they will not talk or
laugh; violence is their only action. Eventually their bodies will expire
from lack of nourishment, but theyve got a good month or so before
that happens
Antidote: Rumor has it that a complete blood transfusion of the
infected victim will cure the Murderness, but cmon, who really
believes that?
The Shambling Sickness

When theres no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth,
and this is the Contagion you should use to play that out. If youve
seen the George Romero movies, then you know everything there
is to know about surviving this Contagion: run away, dont get bitten,
and dont let yourself die. Sooner or later everyone comes back,
but those painful zombie bites sure help to speed the process
along!
Inspirations: Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the 167

Dead, Day of the Dead, Planet Terror, Versus

Vector: The Contagion technically has two Vectors. The base vector
is No Reason meaning that anyone who dies will come back,
regardless of infection. The second vector, however, is Physical:
those bitten by the dead get sick and die a whole lot quicker. The rest
of these variables are written from the perspective of the Contagion
being transmitted by that bite.
Effects: Debilitating. Once bitten, your body deteriorates and you slowly
die. For some reason, the zombie bites cause festering wounds that
bring your death about pretty quickly. Is this because of a virus, or
some supernatural contagion?
Threshold: Death. Once the character dies, regardless of infection,
the Aftermath sets in. The only difference here, Infection-wise, is that
people who have been bitten reach that death a whole lot sooner.
Aftermath: Turned (Undeath). The character returns to the game as a
flesh-eating zombie! They retain no semblance of their original self,
and no form of communication other than a chilling moan. Their only
goal is to eat you!
Antidote: None, nor is there any real explanation there doesnt really
need to be. I encourage you to not try and explain the zombies. Just
throw them in, and let the players do what they can to survive. Let
them try and find a cure that doesnt exist, let them try to make sense
of the unexplainable.
S cenario I deas
Here is a small collection of predesigned stock scenario little ideas
for you to read through, gleam ideas from, and even run yourself,
should you find them suitable enough for your gaming needs.
168

Z ombie S urvival S cenarios
The Zombie Apocalypse Is Now: This is considered the default
scenario for Cannibal Contagion, simply because this is the primary
theme behind most of the games core source material. Please
check out the complete scenario after this section of the book for
a fully fleshed-out zombie survival scenario using the four example
characters printed and detailed earlier in these rules.
Very Tragic Forest Battle Good and Evil for Fate of World Attack!:
A handful of seemingly-random strangers find themselves trapped
in the same endless misty forest, trying to figure out why theyre
there and why the dead wont die. All the while, a powerful cosmic
war across time and space wages subtly through their every action.
[Inspiration: Versus, Wild Zero]
Strikeforce Zero-Zero Badass: A group of Special Forces are sent
into a quarantine zone to discover the source of some effed-up ju-
ju and neutralize it. Since these are super-badass Special Forces,
they of course have swords, guns, and martial arts. After arriving, of
course, the world goes to hell in a handbasket. [Inspiration: House
of the Dead, Event Horizon, Aliens, Predator]
Occupant Necrodanger: The sinister Parasol Collective has
developed a new virus, codenamed The Z-Contagion, and theyve
decided to use the remote Possum Town as their first major testing
experiment. Your characters are stylish-yet-clueless members of the
local R.A.T.S (Rural Assault Team-Squad) Special Forces country
militia unit, and must find a way to stop the contagion from destroying
your way of life (and taking your jobs). [Inspiration: Resident Evil,
Redneck Zombies]
Z ombie -L ike T hreat S cenarios

Carnage Incarcerated: Youre all in prison for various crimes great
and small, and the world outside has gone craaaazy. Now you gotta
break out. Good luck dealing with the zombified inmates, demon-
ridden guards, and the murder fiends that now roam the hell-
twisted halls of your prison. [Inspiration: The Suffering]
Violent Hill: You are a group of high school students 169
on a road trip who have stopped in a shady mountain

town for gas. While enjoying a breath of fresh air, the world goes
nuts and you cant leave the town. Oh, did I mention the flesh-eating
demon-zombies that are trying to get you now? [Inspiration: Fatal
Frame, Silent Hill]
Attack of the Cybermandroidbotatrons: People are being replaced
left and right by replicants of a robot kind: the Cybermandroidbotatrons
are invading! Watch out when you face these bastards their guns
infect you with nanobots which slowly take you over and turn you into
one of them! [Inspiration: Star Trek, The Terminator, Doctor Who]
Hollygrove: So tell me if youve heard this before. Youre all at a
party in downtown Big City when a giant effing monster attacks. Oh
Noes! What? You want zombies? Okay, so the monster has little tiny
monster friends that bite you and make you explode. There, hows
that? Oh yeah, spoiler alert. [Inspiration: Cloverfield]
Starship Fearcraft: Youre all in the Star Navy of the Galactic
Alliance. While on a backwoods planet, you encounter a terrible
alien scourge that threatens to take over your bodies and invade the
universe. [Inspiration: Pitch Black, Aliens, Starcraft]
S omething C ompletely D ifferent

The Emperor has Been Kidnapped By Ninjas: Are you an
Honorable Enough Sama to rescue the Emperor? In a steampunk-
stylized ancient Japan, the Emperors most loyal guards discover
that the Emperor has just been kidnapped by ninjas! However,
the palace has just now been suddenly teleported to a wicked-evil
dimension. The PCs must now battle their way through the undead,
save the Emperor, and escape the palace alive. [Inspiration: Every
Japanese survival horror video game ever made]
Starvation Pass: A small trading post in the Californian Mountains
is trapped in by heavy snows, and the officers from the Civil War
must hole up for the winter. Unfortunately, a sinister wendigo has
hidden among their ranks, and soon, they will all be crazy cannibals!
[Inspiration: Ravenous]
Snakes in a Game: Vicious, venomous reptiles have been
let loose on a plane flying over the ocean! You must find
a way to stay alive and beat back the horrible snakes
170 while trying to land the plane and get its passengers
to safety. [Inspiration: Snakes on a Plane]

C i C T ips
As with the Characters section, here Ive compiled some various
bits of advice that I think could be useful to CiCs new to the system,
based on things Ive noticed in my own games.
When the players finish Showdowns, take note of their
highest-played card, so you can compare it with their
current Juice, and keep track of when they run out.
It helps to have a few scene ideas prepped in advance. This
keeps the game flowing fast and action-packed.
Dont hold back with the Adversity tokens, unless youre
planning something big. It really pays off to throw everything
you have at the players.
If youre running out of ideas, keep the draw tables from the
back of this book close by. They can help immensely with
pulling random characters and encounters out of thin air.
171

172

The Zombie Apocalypse is Now
This section of the rules contains a demo scenario for you to use
to get your players into the action of Cannibal Contagion. This is
the original demo I frequently run at playtests and pick-up games,
and Ive found that it really works well for some high-octane zombie-
killing fun. There are four complete scenes here for you to run, and
more than a handful of suggestions for scenes to run as follow-ups.
Read over the background and basic scenario setup information, and
pass out the four pregenerated stock characters from the Survivors
section of this book.
W elcome to the E nd of D ays !

Setting and Premise: And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:
One of the four beasts saying: Come and see. And I saw. This is
the core, default scenario for Cannibal Contagion. In this scenario,
Doomsday has arrived, and its royal litter is being carried by waves of
zombies. The characters are a collection of unconnected strangers
who have been forced together, trying to survive and find safe shelter
against the cannibals that now run wild on the streets.
Contagion: A variant of the Shambling Sickness or the Maddening

Murderness works best with this scenario. This specific introductory
game does not need to go into the details of the Contagions nature or
origin, as the primary focus is staying alive and not getting infected.
If you want to jump right in, just use the default Shambling Sickness
outlined below:
Vector: Physical (bites)
Effects: Debilitating
Threshold: Death
Aftermath: Turned (Undeath)
Antidote: None, no explanation
Primary Threat: This should be pretty clear, but in case you
werent listening: Zombies. Hell isnt necessarily out of
room just yet, but that doesnt matter, as for whatever
reason the dead aint staying dead in this crazy-go-nuts 173
world gone mad. Everything was fine and peachy,

and then one day some mysterious infection starts spreading, and
all hell breaks loose. A scene or two into the game and the streets
are overrun with infected flesh-eating corpses which move slowly
but never stop moving. These were once people your friends, your
classmates, your co-workers and now they are The Enemy.
Characters: The four stock characters from the Survivors section

of the rules should be well-suited for playing this scenario, and if
you have more players, feel free to create some extra characters in
advance. If this is the first time your players have played, I suggest just
assigning them pre-generated characters and skipping the creation
section, instead jumping right into play after a brief explanation of
the basic game mechanics.
Threat Factor: Doomsday! When the game begins, the crap is just
now in the process of hitting the fan, and the infection will spread
like wildfire. Rack up those Adversity tokens and take out all your
aggressions on those poor, doomed Survivors.
Game Setup: Make sure youve got some pencils and note paper,
and I suggest printing out copies of the character sheets, either by
photocopying the sheet in this book or by printing the sheets that you
can download from the games website (http://cannibalcontagion.
com). Set these up in a spot with comfortable seating and nearby
writing surfaces, such as at a convention table, in the dining room,
or around your living room coffee table. Get yoruself some drinks
and snacks to set close at hand, and maybe set some suspenseful
or creepy mood music playing in the background.
C old O peners
The following Cold Openers can be played if youre using the sample
characters from this book. If not, then be sure to ask each player
The Question you come up with and then play through a tailor-made
Cold Opener for their character. Try to steer the direction of that
scene so they can each begin on the bus in the First Scene written
up further below.
Carla is waiting tables at a crappy midtown
restaurant when a customer tries to get a little fresh
174
with her. Wait a sec, thats more than fresh thats

rotting flesh! After dealing with the customer and a couple
more that shamble in, she goes out the back and sees the
Citybus pulling up right then! Maybe she can make it home
quickly to check on her kids
Roger is in his car, driving home from work, yapping on his
cell phone when he hears a scream on the other end, and
it cuts off, no reception. He pulls off the road to dig for his
emergency backup phone, when a zombie bursts through
his window! He hits the gas in panic, crashes, and now must
deal with this shambler trapped in the car with him. When
done, he sees a sign for the bus station, and sees hope for
getting out of here.
Jian is riding his cruiser fast and hard through the rain-
slicked streets. A pretty dame with a nice rack catches his
eye momentarily, and when he returns his eyes to the road,
he swerves just in time to not hit someone in the middle of
the road. He is thrown off his bike, which crashes and totals
against a building. When he gets up, he sees the person
coming closer. Shes a zombie, kill her! When done, he sees
a large mass of them further down the street, coming closer!
Right then a city bus pulls up.
Mei Li and her friends are at recess at their super-
expensive private school. A rival gang of girls comes up
and harasses them, but they look a little sick. A fight breaks
out, and during the fight, the girls start biting each other!
Her friends start bleeding and dying, so Mei Li must defeat
the zombie schoolgirls and get away, as it looks like the
whole school is now going crazy. She runs and just barely
manages to catch up with the bus that is pulling away on
the next corner.
F irst S cene : T he C ra sh
The characters are all in the same vicinity, sitting near the back of a
bus (city or fleet) that just ramped and crash-landed on its side. There
are others on the bus too, some okay, most injured, some dead. The
characters did not see why the bus crashed, only that everything
started going crazy and soon the world was literally right
flipped upside-down. Soon, folks start screaming near
the front, and theres inhuman groaning and the sounds 175
of violence. What do you do?

When/Where: During the afternoon rush hour commute, somewhere
in or near the downtown area, most likely in your own city.
Explosion!: This scene should open with the bus hitting a car pile-
up and ramping up sideways into the air. In a second or two the bus
will crash down sideways, throwing the passengers all around inside
and showering them with broken glass. Describe the scene as total
chaos, everyone is screaming, a briefcase flies through the air and
smashes into the face of the fellow sitting next to you, a wheelchair-
bound rider is thrown atop several others, and so on. As the bus is
in the air, have each character make a Cool Quickie. Anyone who
succeeds can think quickly enough to take a quick action as the bus
is in the air.
Scene Purpose: To introduce the characters to each other and to the
situation. Their goal for the scene should be to get off the bus quickly
and safely. If they wish to help others, they should be rewarded.
Conflicts:
The Bodies: Get out from under a pile of bodies, some
alive, some dead.
The Bus: Escape the Bus obvious escape routes would
be the jagged windows above, or one of the two exits
most city busses have a front and back door, while most
fleet busses have a back exit in the roof. If they try the back
exit, it is twisted and jammed, possibly even covered by
debris from some outside wreckage.
The Zombies: If the players spend too much time looking
for a way out, and arent thinking fast or working together,
use your starting Adversity to throw some zombies at them.
Theres some violence going down in the front, and it is
steadily moving toward the characters at the back of the
bus.
The Other Survivors: There are survivors, but not many.
To determine how many folks survived, draw two cards and
keep the highest, and the lower of the two determines how
many of those survivors are injured. Draw another card to
determine how many are dead. Do the players try and help
them?
Bonus Opportunities: Whichever character takes the
176 first action towards selflessly helping other non-player
survivors immediately earns a Survival token. If

that player is taking indirect action by coordinating some kind of
group escape plan for more than one survivor, they get two. After the
scene is over, add a token to the teams Survival Pool for every two
survivors the players helped escape.
Added Oomph: Want to really shake things up? Have another

survivor escape before the Survivors. When they follow him out of
the wreckage, they see him gunned down by a line of advancing riot
cops, who are apparently shooting anything that moves. What do
you do now, fellas?
End of Scene: This scene should end once the Survivors have
escaped from the bus and come up with at least a bare minimum of
a plan for what to do next.
Possible Follow-up Scenes:

Theyve been taken to a shelter by the cops, but the
shelters safety has just been compromised by an infected
refugee!
New scene opens with the Survivors in an alley facing off
against advancing riot cops. The catch? These are zombie
cops, with full riot gear. Watch out!
S cene : R iot at M c G urdy s H ardware

The characters need some gear, and fast! They venture into the city
to McGurdys Hardware, only to find that a lot of other folks have the
same idea.
When/Where: Shortly after the Contagion begins to take over the
city, in front of a locally-owned hardware warehouse superstore. Its
about a third the size of your typical Home Depot.
Explosion!: The scene opens with the sound of a riot in the making.
Hundreds of other survivors have taken to the streets, and a good
number of them are looting the stores and strip malls in the area.
Theres even a small mod gathered outside the Hardware store, and
the sounds of screams and gunfire in the distance.
Scene Purpose: The Survivors need some Gear, and the

hardware store was the first place that came to mind.
If they do well in this scene, the spoils of the store are 177
theirs for the taking.

Conflicts:
The Crowd: The folks trying to break in will definitely be
a Threat of some sort. The Survivors can try and just tag
along and see what happens, challenge them for looting
rights, or deal with them once inside. Showdowns against
the crowd dont have to all be violent, mind you, as some
good moments of negotiation and Let us fight together,
folks! speeches can be quite fun. Both Savvy and Cool can
be very useful in these situations.
The Store: Getting into the store itself will require some
ingenuity. The front is made of heavy-duty glass, so trying to
shatter the windows wont be all that useful. Let the players
come up with a good way to get in on their own.
The Looting: Once the Survivors get in, they have to deal
with other looters. There could be Showdowns with other
people over who gets what loot, and quite possibly some
bloke might try and take over as a warlord, using this as
his fortress. Have the players make Savvy checks when
theyre looking for specific gear.
The Chainsaw Zombies: Cmon, you knew these guys
were coming. These fells are at least Miniboss rank, and
carry chainsaws. They will scream and howl and pursue
the Survivors relentlessly until somehow destroyed. For
some reason, someone tied burlap sacks around their
heads, probably so the Survivors wouldnt have to see their
hideous faces.
Bonus Opportunities: If the Survivors actually try and coordinate
the looting efforts with the other folks there, give them a bonus
Survival token, and another if they succeed. If they try to actually
take over and become the new lords of this situation, give them
two each, and another if they succeed. Any number of good Allies
can be made from this scene.
Added Oomph: If you really want to mess with them, have the place
already be looted! Each attempt to find new loot would then be a
Royal Pain, or even a Longshot. You could also throw in that one
or more of the looters is infected already, and turns while in
the middle of looting.
178

End of Scene: This scene should end when the characters stock
up on Gear, leave empty-handed, or establish some kind of lordly
domain. Any of these would make a good ending point. If the players
come up with something better, of course, just go with it.

The Survivors have led their new followers into a suburb
just outside of the city, and are about to go to war with
another army in front of a high school, medieval-style!
The Survivors are now trapped on the roof of the Hardware
store. See, all the looters got infected and the zombies ran
wild, so they ran to the roof and barricaded the stairs behind
them with lumber and power tools. Now what?
S cene : S omething A foul in the S ewers

The Survivors have found temporary shelter in the sewers beneath
the city, but deep in the darkness beyond, something sinister awaits
them something hungry
When/Where: This scene takes place in the cramped sewers

beneath the city. The passages are cramped and labyrinthine, and
the Survivors must forge their way through the offal and muck to find
their way wherever it is they are going.
Explosion!: The characters are scrambling down a ladder shaft from

the streets above, and the last one is thrown halfway down the shaft
as a massive explosion above rocks the earth. The character drops
and rolls aside, and chunks of ceiling, brick, and pavement fall as
the shaft collapses, sealing the entrance to the sewer behind them.
Looks like theyre going to have to find another way out!
Scene Purpose: Seeking an emergency escape from a horde above,

the Survivors have trapped themselves in the sewers and most now
find their way out. Maybe one of them knows a secret hideout, or
maybe theyre just running madly until they find another safe exit.
This scene would be great for building up some creepy tension, as
who knows what horrors lurk in the dark?
179

Conflicts:
Getting Lost: Getting lost in the foul darkness of the
sewers is a constant threat. As the characters wander the
veritable maze of waste, they can very easily get lost in the
oppressive black. Periodically have one or more of them
make Savvy checks, with failures resulting in them getting
lost. If they have some kind of Gear that provides light, or
some kind of mapping tools, then they can use them for
bonus draws. This is a great opportunity to work out that
Panic Button.
Disease and Sickness: Sickness is another major danger,
as the Survivors are literally walking in or very close to
the bodily wastes of all the people of the city. Additionally,
any number of other disgusting things are in the muck too,
from dirty needles to diseased rats and more. Feel free
to periodically have them startled by a creature running
up their pants legs, or freak them out when the step
on something sharp. Use an Adversity token to force a
character to make a Grit quickie, and if they fail, make him
resist a point of Hurtin.
Escape: How are they going to get out of the sewers? They
might stumble upon an underground waterway, or find the
railway mentioned above, or bust into their citys Subway
tunnels, or just keep trying the various access shafts until
they find one they can open. Give them the tiniest hints, but
ultimately let them try and come up with ideas on their own.
Monsters: The scene just wouldnt be complete without
a bunch of monsters, now, would it? Have the Survivors
bust through a barricaded door looking for supplies or other
surviving people, only to find the room on the other side full
of zombies, who turned after they barricaded themselves
in. Or have them encounter some twisted gator-rat-men
feasting upon the corpses of some sewer workers, only to
attack the Survivors when their meal is interrupted.
Bonus Opportunities: Give the players the slightest hint of
something more by mentioning an old, long-disused access
tunnel off to the side, possibly built long before the sewers
were fully established. Theres a creepy guttural clicking
180 noise that echoes from down the passage. The
passage is held up with rotten beams and looks like

it could collapse at any moment. If the players brave the potential
collapse and defeat the Miniboss-grade Threat at the end, they
discover an old cache of mostly rotted weapons from the 1890s
Shanghai days, and a single set of mine-cart-like rails that could
lead them to the waterfront/riverside/railyard/what-have-you. Award
the bravest among them a Survival token or two. Any player who
suggests a Temple of Doom-style mine cart chase is my hero and
gets two bonus tokens.
Added Oomph: You should seriously play up the ambience of the

all-pervasive darkness that surrounds their every step. Make it seem
alive, and to help, throw in descriptions of half-seen movements in
the shadows, accompanied by skitterings, slithering, crunching, and
moans in the distant dark which seem to be getting ever so slowly
closer and multiplying. Hit those Panic Buttons!
End of Scene: This scene should end when the Survivors have
found a way to escape the sewers.

Having broken through to the Subway tunnels, a new scene
has them battle through a mass of commuter undead to get
to the front of their train and hit the brakes before it crashes!
The Survivors have been taken in by a strange underground
cult of mutants and nutjobs. They must escape, take them
down, or somehow use them to their advantage.
S cene : T he A irfield E scape

Theyve made it across town to a small private airfield, and now they
only need to get a plane started and high-tail it out of there!
When/Where: A private airfield in the county outside of town. There

is a small set of hangars which, once broken into, will reveal four
fully-functional small planes. Theres also an attached office, and a
lot of gear around. Theres also a plume of smoke off in the distance
which, if investigated, will reveal the site of a crashed military cargo
transport helicopter.
181

Explosion!: Almost out of gas, the Survivors hit the gas and ram their
stolen jeep through the wire fence that surrounds the airfield. The
jeep runs out of gas just a hundred yards or so from the hangars.
Scene Purpose: To give the Survivors hope that they just might
escape this crazy city.
Conflicts:
The Fuel Crisis: There are four planes there, but only one
of them can carry all of the Survivors and whatever Allies
theyve brought with them. Additionally, its almost out of
fuel. The most fueled one is a single-person stunt plane,
and the other two planes have some fuel too. If they search
around a while, they can find some more fuel reserves.
However, getting all the fuel into the larger plane could
take some time, especially if they resort to siphoning it.
Meanwhile, the zombies are coming. Of course, a selfish
player could just take the already-fueled plane, and sucks to
the rest of them! Award this selfish player a bonus token!
Starting the Plane: Once they get the plane fueled, how
will they start it, and who will fly it? Gotta find the keys or
otherwise hotwire it. After that, who among the Survivors is
able to pilot?
Zombies: First off, a handful of typical shamblers are inside
the hangar, including a pilot or two and some students. With
the fence ruptured, of course, more from outside will start
coming in, and must be dealt with.
The Mincer: Bad news for the Survivors: that crashed
military chopper was carrying an experimental war creature,
called The Mincer! This human-monster-hybrid-thing was
created using the Contagion as a potential weapon, and
was in transit to a hidden base when it escaped its bonds.
The chopper crashed, but it escaped, and will attack the
Survivors before they can take off. The Mincer is a Big Bad,
and should have all manner of foul bio-organic weapons.
Bonus Opportunities: Any player who tries to use the planes
propeller blades to chop up The Mincer can treat it as a +6
Hurtin weapon, no Juice cost, no Draw bonus. Additionally,
give them a Survival token for such a bad ass idea.
182

Added Oomph: If you want to make the fight with The Mincer
really difficult, give him any of the qualities described in the sample
Threat section (starting on page 142). He could be a regenerator, a
threatener, or worse. Since this is probably their first encounter with
a Big Bad, make them fight hard!
End of Scene: This scene should end when the players either fly
away or otherwise escape from the airfield.

Their plane has crashed just south of the border, and they
must now deal with foreign zombie variants and crazed
post-apocalypse doom bikers.
Twenty years later, the children of these survivors ride
camels to the entrance of a monster-infested desert temple,
to find the source of the problem and end it once and for all.
How about something totally off-the-chain: a battle in the
sky versus zombie-piloted fighter planes!
C onclusion
Congratulations! You have now just run your first session of Cannibal
Contagion! Awesome! I hope everything turned out well, and I hope
everyone had a whole lot of fun.
Wrapping up the session should be pretty simple. As you clean up

the tokens and other supplies, ask your players what they thought
about the experience (if it was their first time). You can learn a lot
from these player comments, and they can help you make your
games even more fun in the future.
So whats next? If you had fun, I suggest trying another scenario of

your own some time, possibly basing it off any of the sample scenario
ideas provided in the CiC section of these rules. If the players had
such fun that they want to continue on with these characters, then
just plan a new scenario starting where you left off, and give it a whirl
when you next meet.
183

184

Appendices
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts,

And I looked and behold: a pale horse.
And his name, that sat on him, was Death.
And Hell followed with him.
185
A ppendix A: R eferences
and I nspirations
This section lists a whole lot of inspirations you can use for your
games, ranging from cinema to comics and more. These are just listed
here for a good source of additional fodder for your imagination, and
their being shown here does not necessitate that this game will have
any printed stats or references to them. However, I wholeheartedly
suggest you check some of them out, as theyre all lots of fun, and
many of them can be greatly inspiring.
First and foremost, the movies Versus (2000) and Wild Zero (2000)
were perhaps the biggest inspirations for this game. In many ways,
Cannibal Contagion could be considered to be the unofficial RPG
of those two movies. Come on: Zombies, guns, swords, and rock-
and-roll! Another big one for me was the 2004 remake of Dawn of
the Dead. Some hardcore George Romero purists might be crying
Blasphemy! at me right now, but screw em, I really loved that
movie. The kill-dozer with the razorwire and the chainsaw slots is
exactly in line with the wicked creative spirit that this game is all
about. But even more than that, watching the chaotic tension as
the characters are forced to frequently kill their own after turning
into zombies is great for getting into the role-playing mindset of this
game. While youre at it, check out Planet Terror (2007) you wont
be disappointed: its quite contagious.
Below are more sources of inspiration that I recommend you check

out. Some are hardcore zombie slashers, true to the traditions of
the genre, while others take the basic tenets of the concept but use
different approaches to their execution. Serenity (2005), for example,
has no actual zombies, but the Reavers in that film are pretty similar
in spirit. Even more are listed because I feel they somehow help to
evoke the other less zombie-oriented themes of this game: paranoia,
survival, trust, and terror of the unknown. If you look through the
recommendations below, Im positive youll find others with a similar
off-beat execution. All references and recommendations listed with
an asterisk are billed as highly recommended inspirational
fodder for this game.
186

Movies & Shows Books
28 Days Later (2002)* Monster Island, by David
Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 Wellington
Army of Darkness (1992) The Zombie Survival Guide,
Black Sheep (2006)* by Max Brooks*
Cloverfield (2008) World War Z: An Oral
Dawn of the Dead (2004)* History of the Zombie War,
Dead Set (2008)* by Max Brooks
Diary of the Dead (2008)
Comics
Event Horizon (1997)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Black Gas*
Pitch Black (2000) Blood, Shells, and Roses
Planet Terror (2007)* Living With Zombies
Poultrygeist (2006) Walking Dead*
Quarantine (2008)* Zombies! Feast
Ravenous (1999)*
Music
Serenity (2005)
Shaun of the Dead (2004) Ghoultown*
Slither (2006) Guitar Wolf*
Snakes on a Plane (2006)* Misfits
The Signal (2007) Rob Zombie (of course!)*
The Thing (1982) Slayer
Versus (2000)* Zombie Girl
Wild Zero (2000)* Board Games & RPGs
Video Games All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Dead Rising (X360, Wii)* Classroom Deathmatch*
Dead Space (X360, PS3) Human-Occupied Landfill
Extermination (PS2) (HoL)
Half-Life (PC) Maul of America*
House of the Dead Zombies!
(Arcade)* Online
Left 4 Dead (X360, PC,
seriously, this game is allthingszombie.com
goddamned awesome)*** deadwinter.cc
Martian Gothic: Unification thezombiehunters.com
(PS1) zombiehunters.org*
Resident Evil (PS1, GC)* zombiewalk.com
Starcraft (PC)
The Suffering (PS2, Xbox)*
187
Part 6: Appendices
A ppendix B: G lossary of T erms
Activating Gear: The act of using a piece of Gear for a single-card
bonus.
Adversity Tokens: The CiCs ever-increasing pool of points with

which he can purchase enemies to put into a scene.
Ally: A helpful non-player character who gives the Survivors special

mechanical bonuses.
Ally Rank: The mechanical value of an Ally when evoked for bonus
cards, denotes both the number of bonus draws allowed and
the type of tests the Ally can assist.
Characteristics: Every character has four major characteristics,

used to affect most of the games mechanics: Kill, Savvy, Cool,
and Grit.
CiC: The Cannibal-in-Charge. She prepares and runs the game and
you should bribe her with delicious candy.
Cold Open: The scenes that start the game off, in which characters are
introduced individually and the main themes are established.
Cool: The Characteristic attributed to being Cool.
Crazy-Go-Psycho (CGP): As your character does and see crazy

things, they gain CGP points. These points are tallied on
the CGP Meter, which tracks your characters descent into
madness.
Facts: Extra (optional) statements of narration added to a scene

when players win Showdowns with faces or aces in the Play
Pile.
Faces or Aces: When cards are drawn or played, a Faces or

Aces result occurs when one or more of those cards is a Jack,
Queen, King, or Ace.
Gear: Specific items and objects which you can call

188 upon in Showdowns and Quickies for extra cards.

Grit: The Characteristic attributed to Toughness.
Hand: At the beginning of a Showdown, the cards dealt to a player

form that players Hand for the duration of the Showdown.
Hurtin: When a Showdown ends, the cards in the Play Pile are
the winners Hurtin, which can be used to damage opponents.
Each card is one point of Hurtin.
Infection: A tally of points that goes up as a character grows closer

to turning into a flesh-eating cannibal monster.
Juice: Ammunition. Gear with a Juice stat builds up Juice tallies

when they are used, and can stop working when the tally gets
high.
Kill: The Characteristic attributed to Offensive ability.
Longshot Quickie: A Quickie that can only be won by drawing

Aces.
Mad Half: This named player represents the voice of your characters
insanity.
Negotiation: The act of convincing your Mad Half to empower your

character in exchange for gaining CGP points.
Pawn: When you are the Mad Half, the person you mess with is
called your Pawn.
Play Pile: During a Showdown, every card played by a participant

is placed on the table, and those cards are collectively called
the Play Pile.
Psychotrigger (PT): A predetermined thematic element which,

when present in a conflict, can be evoked by the Mad Half to
drive a character crazy.
Quickie: A quick single-player card-draw mechanic for resolving

instant decisions, random choices, and some resistance
checks.
Royal Pain Quickie: A Quickie that can only be won 189

by drawing Kings or Queens.
Part 6: Appendices
Sacrificing Gear: The act of throwing away a piece of Gear for four
immediate bonus draws.
Savvy: The Characteristic attributed to Smarts and

Resourcefulness.
Scene: A span of game time in which actions and story take place.
The scene is the basic building block of the game.
Showdown: The card-battle mechanic for resolving inter-character

conflicts.
Survival Pool: A pool of Survival Tokens available to all of the

Survivors at once.
Survival Tokens: A pool of points which the Survivors use to recover

their losses between scenes.
Survivor: The main character directly under the control of a player.
Threats: Any characters or group thereof that exist to oppose and

directly challenge the Survivors.
Threat Score: Serves two purposes: 1) it serves as health points

of CiC-controlled characters and monsters, and 2) it gauges
how powerful a Survivor will be should she ever turn into a
cannibal.
Turned: A status applied to characters who have been overcome

by the Infection and transformed into dangerous cannibal-
monsters.
Wallflowers: Any characters that mainly exist to color a scene.
190

A ppendix C: T he S erious G ame
If youve read this far, then you should be pretty aware that Cannibal
Contagion is primarily geared towards playing games of crazy
monster-killing survival-comedy action. If the fact that its main
inspirations are some of the campiest gore-fu movies ever made
didnt give that away, the flavor of this books rules text certainly
should have. The primary goal of this game is to allow you to enjoy
a fast and wild recreation of the action and themes present in those
movies (and the video games and comics theyve inspired over the
years).
That being said, it is also entirely possible to use this system to play
out more serious-themed games with similar monster apocalypse
tropes Ive done so, and so can you. Many of the stories that inspired
this game are full of some really emotionally intense moments, which
focus more on the psychological impact of the so-called End of the
World upon its survivors than they do on scenes of visceral gore
and murderiffic action. Characters see their whole world crumble
around them, watch their friends and loved ones die or transform
into terrible monsters, and must learn to trust complete strangers
with their hopes of staying alive in a world turned onto its side. The
protagonists of these stories often watch their own psyches crumble
under the stress of survival. Groups that wish to focus heavily upon
these themes should not be put off by the inherent campiness of this
books text.
Arranging and running a more serious game first requires that all the
players be on the same page of maturity and gaming motivation. If
some folks are there to joke around and others are there to explore
the psychology of the setting, a serious game probably wont be
happening. If everyone is there to explore the emotions of the setting,
however, then youre off to a good start.
When preparing to run such a game, you should probably take some
time to plan out some scenes in advance that will focus upon the
heavier themes. Find out beforehand what really gets under the
skin of your actual players, and then include those things
in your scene-planning. If you know that one of your
players is affected by creepy children, for example, 191
then play more on themes of children being infected,
Part 6: Appendices
or of parents being forced to make choices between survival and
abandonment of their kids when the chaos hits. Do your best to work
in those themes and tie in the players own emotions to the story you
all tell.
You should probably also not use the pre-made character sheets
from this book. Those were designed to look pretty campy, and
having them on the table in front of everyone could make it a bit
more difficult for them to focus on the themes you are trying to evoke.
Instead, just have them write out their information on sheets of loose
leaf paper, and even index cards will do in a pinch. Additionally, the
names of the four characteristics might be a bit odd, so instead of
Kill, Savvy, Cool, and Grit, consider using Action, Resourcefulness,
Calm, and Endurance, respectively.
When preparing the gaming environment, take some time to set

up some good mood lighting and atmospheric assistance. Darker
lighting is always more conducive to heavier, more horrific gaming
than the usual lights in your living room at your local gaming store.
Cover the lamps with darker shades, put in some low-wattage
light bulbs, maybe open a curtained window for a light breeze and
ruffling curtains. Making sure roommates and family members who
arent part of the experience dont constantly shuffle through is
also a must; I cant count the number of so-called horror game
sessions Ive tried to run that have been ruined by the presence of
a curious or disruptive roommate. Also, tell everyone in advance
to turn off their cell phones and pagers. These can absolutely ruin
any ambience of darkness and tension. Additionally, making sure all
food arrangements are taken care of before game time can help to
eliminate distractions once the game begins.
When actually running the game at the table, you are going to need
to take a lot of care to avoid gaming jokes and funny anecdotes.
If you have something humorous to say, write it down and tell it
later. If your players start goofing off, quickly tell them to cut it out,
or just arrange a break and let everyone get their sillies out away
from the gaming table. When establishing your scenes, keep your
descriptions short yet evocative, and dont let the players
dally around on minor details. Focus on the What and the
Why, and keep it moving.
192

When describing gore and carnage, do it with a tasteful bit of horror,
and put more emphasis in describing how it makes the characters
feel more than just how messy and hideous it looks. Since serious
games will most definitely include a lot more connection between
the players and their characters, it is important to emphasize the
characters feelings and evoke those emotions as much as possible.
Try not to put a lot of detail in your descriptions of monsters and
such, as too much description can make a threat feel much less
threatening. The most terrible menaces are those that you cant
quite see, or those whose descriptions are simple and just disturbing
enough to let the players minds fill in all the unspoken details.
A ppendix D: H elpful
R andom T ables
Cannibal Contagion was designed with many intentions in mind, one
of which is that it should be able to be picked up and immediately
played with pretty much zero prep time, should that be how you wish
to roll. To better meet that goal, Ive included a few handy random
charts for you to use and quickly draw up a variety of variables for
your game. From Scenario setup to character creation to scene-
framing, its all here. Just grab a deck, draw some cards, and check
the tables, jokers wild.
Random Character Creation

If you want to just randomly draw up a character and hop right into
the game, grab a deck of cards and use these draw-tables to produce
some interesting results. All the listed archetypes are pulled directly
from movies, comics, and other media relevant to the zombie survival
genre (trust me, I just finished a long marathon of them).
193
Part 6: Appendices
D Spades Archetype Hearts Archetype Clubs Archetypes Diamonds Archetype
2 The Prize Fighter The Cheerleader The Secret Nerd The Silent Badass
3 The Escaped Convict The Calm Preacher The Stupid Hot Chick The Cop/Soldier
4 The Warrior Nun The Chainsaw Guy The Cab Driver The Gun Bunny
5 The Loser Boyfriend The Jock The Buffy Fangirl The Nubile Schoolgirl
6 The Fast-Mart Clerk The Irritating Kid The Damn Doctor The Accidental Tourist
7 The Scottish Sailor The End is Near Guy The Heinous Bitch The Screaming Girl
8 The Damsel-in-Distress The Private Dick The Mother The Suit
9 The Wise Professor The Bloody Waitress The Warrior Princess The Freak/Weirdo/Goth
10 The Hayseed The Crazy Cat Lady The 2nd Amendment Guy The Conspiracy Theorist
J The Leet Haxxor The Creepy Little Girl The Psycho Killer The Trucker
Q The Girl With Glasses The But Im Famous Guy The Arrogant Playboy The Super Girl
K The Action Photographer The Ass-Kicking Babe The Clueless Gaijin The Village Idiot
A The Prom Queen The Zombie Fanboy The Carnie The Game Dork
D Red Psychotriggers Black Psychotriggers Red Goals Black Goals

2 Something of a pyromaniac Cant stop screaming Find missing family Prevent any escape
3 Obsessive-Compulsive Martyr complex Destroy evidence Blow it all up!
4 Have to be the Hero Afraid of the Dark Get revenge on enemy Study the Infection
5 Agoraphobic Afraid of Blood Find missing heirloom Lead this rabble to safety
6 Compulsive Liar Delusional Go out in a blaze of glory Find a sign from God
7 Need my missing Girlfriend Flashbacks Field testing of new monster Collect many powerful weapons
8 Weak Stomach Drug Addict Find a cure Get the package to safety
9 Cigarette addiction Kleptomaniac Expose the truth Protect your family
10 Always the Bridesmaid Daddy issues Secretly kill another Survivor Set up reliable defenses
J Phasmophobia Abandonment Issues Never leave a man behind Kill em all!
Q No self-confidence Self-Cutting Survival at any cost Get everyone to safety
K Mindless aggression Dangerous drug habit Religious cleansing Lose your Virginity
A I want my kids back! Conspiracy Theorist Start a new family Get the hell out of here!
Random Weapon Table

Use this table to quickly generate random weapon attributes on the
fly for weapons whose stats you cant create off the top of your head.
Draw one card for each column.
D Type Hurtin Draw Juice Special Attribute

2 Yard/House Tool +1 +1 +4 Hard to find ammo
3 Sports Equipment +1 +1 +3 Easy to find ammo
4 Kitchen Knife +1 +1 +3 Lame
5 Club or Pipe +1 +1 +2 Scary
6 Pistol +2 +2 +2 Ammo hog
7 Shotgun +2 +2 +2 Penetrating
8 Rifle +2 +2 +1 Self-destruct
9 Submachine Gun +2 +2 +1 Psychobilly
10 Automatic Weapon +3 +3 +1 Knock-off
J Military Experiment +3 +3 +1/2 Recharging
Q Exotic Weapon +4 +3 +1/2 Last resort
K Sword +5 +4 +1/2 Disposable
194
A Something Improvised +6 +4 +1/3 Dial Goes to Eleven

Random Scenario Table
Use this table when you feel like throwing down a completely
unprepared scenario for your group. You can use these columns
to quickly generate some of the scenario basics, and even to help
you out if youre having problems coming up with scene-starting
Explosions.
D Characters Are The Bad Guys Setting Purpose Explosion

2 Special Forces The Living Dead Anytown, USA Find a cure Grenade Blast
3 High Schoolers Alien Infestation Modern Tokyo Destroy the Source Door kicked in
4 Samurai Warriors Strange Parasites Ancient Japan Survive for 7 Days Character is stabbed
5 Trained Assassins Enraged Cannibals New York Escape the City Building collapses
6 Mall Employees Reptiles Prison Start a Resistance Bloody Vomit
7 Research Team Robot Overlords Spaceship Search for Survivors Severed limb/head
8 American Colonists Intelligent Virus Lost Colony Escort the MacGuffin Vehicle crash
9 Road-Tripping Family Crazed Junkies Quarantine Zone Destroy all the Undead Gunshot in the distance
10 Random People Madness Spirits Trapped in the Sewers Restore Order from Chaos Shattered glass
J Prisoners Giant Effing Monster Cross-Country Train Defeat the Overlord Explosive Bodily Organs
Q Para-Investigators Vampires/Wendigo Airplane Gather Field Data Systems Crash
K Psych Ward Patients Angry Plants Amusement Park Make it to the Checkpoint Earth-shaking roar
A Cowboys Soul-Eaters Fantasy Castle Rescue Someone Important Ear-splitting scream
Random Characters Table

Need a character idea (Wallflower, Ally, or Threat), stat? Draw some
cards against this table.
D Relation Pers. Trait Phys. Trait Occupation 1 Occupation 2

2 Immediate Family Angry A bit on the small side Teacher EMT
3 Extended Family Confused Broken Nose Soldier Politician
4 Lover (Current or Ex) Horny Scantily Clad Gardener Waitstaff
5 The Help Arrogant Amazingly Unscathed Shop Clerk Unemployed
6 Current Friend Crying Mean-Looking Driver Professional Criminal
7 Rival Addict Obese Secret Agent Mortician
8 Childhood Friend Off the deep end Anorexic Sailor Barber
9 Neighbor Too much coffee Sucking Chest Wound Programmer Massage Therapist
10 Co-Worker / Associate Hates You Big Hairy Hands Athlete Religious
J Frightened Covered with Blood Nurse Construction
Q Complete Stranger Amnesiac Missing body parts Doctor Bellhop
K Hungry Infected Law Enforcement Stock Broker
A Long-Lost Twin Too Many Questions Immune to Infection Murderous Hobo Scholar Adventurer
195
Part 6: Appendices
A ppendix E: C ustom P rintables
When running my own games of Cannibal Contagion, Ive found that
it is quite helpful to have one or two decks of custom cards handy to
assist with in-game minutiae. A stack of quick weapons, some handy
random Threats, and some Mojo cards can go a long way towards
making your own games more awesome. On our website, you will be
able to download and print out free templates for making your own
Mojo, Weapon, and Threat cards. I find they are most useful after I
cut them out and slide them into deck protector sleeves, which you
can get real cheap at just about any collectible-games hobby store.
Once theyre in the sleeves, you can use dry-erase pens to write on
them, and just wipe them off when youre done. Below, you will find
instructions on their use, and advice on how best to maximize their
potential in your own games.
Gear Cards: The Gear Card deck is useful both as a way to introduce
new gear and random weapon stats into the game with even more
quickness than the quick-stat charts in this book, and as a way to
simply keep track of the stats and Juice tallies of those already in
the game. Before a game starts, you can lay out a handful of these
and then fill out their stats by drawing on the weapon table a few
times. Set them face-down in a stack, and when the game starts,
you can draw from it to give stats to any new weapon narrated into
the game. You can also pass out blank ones to the players so they
can keep better track of the gear they already have and the pieces
they eventually acquire.
Mojo Cards: By printing out the pre-filled Mojo cards and their
accompanying blank templates, you can allow each player to draw
randomly from the deck when the game begins to ensure they all get
separate powers. Additionally, you can use the templates to create
your own and throw them into the random draw deck. Finally, by
having the info there on the cards, players dont have to write it all
down on their character sheets, nor do they have to keep checking
the book to look them up again.
196

NPC Cards: Need a quick Threat or Ally? The printable NPC card
templates can help make the Threat and Ally creation process a
whole lot smoother for you. They can also be a blessing when youre
trying to keep track of multiple Threats at the same time. Just draw
a blank card, give it a name and a Threat score, circle its Role, and
youre ready to go. You can just as easily use them to quickly jot
down a new Ally.
Pawn Cards: These nifty little note cards can make it easier for the
Mad Halves in your game to keep tabs on their Pawns Psychotriggers
and stages of Madness.
Vote Cards: The Secret Votes are a vital part of the game, and
having an easy way to jot them down and pass them to the CiC is
always a good thing.
Madness Meter: While not a deck of cards, the Madness Meter

is a handy printable sheet that you can lay in the middle of your
gaming table and use to keep track of everyones relevant stage
of Madness. This is definitely handy for each of the Mad Halves to
keep tabs on their Pawns current level of sanity, and can also serve
to keep the tension high among the player group. When using it,
each charactershould use a unique token or marker to represent
their current position on the meter.
197
Part 6: Appendices
A Message From the Chief
A cknowledgements
Id like to thank four people here. First, a massive shout and thanks
to fellow Portlander Jake Richmond, who encouraged me to take
this idea and run with it. Thanks Jake.
Second, I send many, many thanks to Gaston Phillips, who made it

possible for me to create the Reverend Rufus D. I am Gods Middle
Finger Hossweiler, and introduced me (kicking and screaming) to
the joys of truly player-driven story games.
Third, Id like to give a big shout-out to Steve Saunders, for connecting

me with Vero and Leo and helping to make this game come to life.
Finally, Id like to thank The Screg, for being everything that The
Screg is.
L a st W ords
Well folks, there you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading Cannibal
Contagion, and even more so do I hope you have (and continue to
have) some wicked fun times playing it.
I am always looking for feedback and play reports, so please drop

by the website and leave me your thoughts. There you will find
discussion forums and a sporadically-updated weblog of design
notes and random gaming anecdotes. Notice any typos? Found
some inconsistencies? Got some questions about articles you think
need some additional clarification? Just want to stop by and buy me
a beer? Come on over and drop a line!
Many Thanks!
Nathanael Phillip Cole
198
Alliterated Games

Cannibal Contagion Adversity Pool:
Cannibal-in-Charge Record Sheet

Ca n n i b a l- i n - Ch a r g e
Scenario Name: Scene Components

Setting: 1. Who is there?
2. Where is it happening?
Premise: 3. When does it take place?
4. Why is this scene important?
Primary Threat:
5. Explosion!
Threat Factor:
Threat Breakdown End-of-Scene Checklist

1. Survivor Threat Tally +1
Fodd er: Adv: 1; Th: draw 2, keep lowest; Hand: 2
2. Increase Survival Pool
Hindrance: Adv: 2; Th: draw 1; Hand: 3 3. Spend Survival Tokens?
Min iboss: Adv: 4; Th: draw 2, keep highest; Hand: 4 4. Check for Infection & Turning
B ig Bad: Adv: 8; Th: draw 3, keep high+low; Hand: 5 5. Increase Adversity Pool by TF
4B: Adv: 16; Th: draw 4, keep highest 2; Hand: 6+ 6. Survivors get Tokens = Grit
Adversity Costs: Introduce New Threats: Varies by Role (see above breakdown)
Introduce Old Threats: 1 Token, Threat returns with previous Hurtin
Increase Threat: +1 Threat per Token, only when (re)introduced
Use as CGP empowerments for purchased Threats: same as CGP costs
Activate a Panic Button: 1 Token
Attempt Soak Check for a Threat: 1 Token (cards determined by Role)
Take a Survivors Gear between Scenes (1 for Gear, 2 for Weapon)
Characters: Notes: Tr i g g e r Threat: Infect:
Cannibal Contagion is Copyright 2008-2009 Nathanael Cole. Permission given to photocopy for personal use only.
Cannibal Contagion
M ax C u rr e nt Max C u rre nt M ax C u rr e n t M ax Current
Player Name

[ C ircle you r cu r r e n t st a ge be l ow ]
Mad Ha lf Psychotrigger:
Gear Slots:
[ Sav vy x 2] Suit Order: Points Until Next: /
C ool + 1 C u r r e n t Tal l y
Gear: Slots: Notes: Juice: Th e Mad Half s Na rra ti ve P ri ce must b e p ai d
Stage 1: The Calm so m e t im e du r ing the current scene.
Th e Mad Half s Na rra ti ve P ri ce must b e p ai d

Stage 2: The Brink im m e diat e ly.
The Mad Half c a n n o w ran d o m l y r e m ove

Stage 3: The Descent o ne o f yo ur ca r d s fr o m yo u r h an d b e f o r e
yo u play a Show d ow n.
Th e Mad Half ca n now choose to narrate

Stage 4: The Shatter ho w yo u pe r form any S how d ow n.
Stage 5: The Madness Whe n yo u de c l a r e an a c t i o n , t h e M a d Ha l f

can n o w de cl a re tha t you d o somethi ng to-
t ally diffe r e n t i nstea d . SP EC I AL: You can
no lo n ge r Ne goti a te for more card s!
Cannibal Contagion
Madness Meter
Stage 1:
The Calm T he Mad Half s Narrative Price must be paid so metime during the
current scene.
Stage 2:
The Brink T he Mad Half s Narrative Price must be paid immediately.
Stage 3:
The Descent
T he Mad Half can now randomly r emove on e of your car ds from
your hand before you play a Sh owdow n.
Stage 4:
The Shatter T he Mad Half can now choose to n arrate h ow you perform any
Showdown.
Stage 5:
The Madness
When you declare an action, th e Mad Half can now declare that
you do something totally differ en t inst ead.
Cannibal Contagion is Copyright 2008-2009 Nathanael Cole. Permission given to photocopy for personal use only.

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Cannibal Contagion

A Horrific Survival Comedy

design: Nathanael Phillip Cole

cover art: Kathren Moss

internal art: Leonardo Freites

Cannibal Contagion is Copyright 2008-2009 Nathanael Phillip Cole

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Special Thanks: The Four Fine Fellows From Eugene, Gaston,

Extra Special Thanks to Bethany for the many nights of

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:

Johnny Cash, When the Man Comes Around

[or, you know, The Bible (Revelation 6:1)]

In Cannibal Contagion, there can be plenty of high-adrenaline, off-

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Thanks so very much for picking up a copy of Cannibal Contagion.

W hat M akes T his G ame D ifferent ?

In Cannibal Contagion, the mechanics are built entirely around

Additionally, youll see words written in bold and italics quite

Something I find more amusing than I really should is reading these

G ame P lay S ynopsis

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

The characters will come up against horrific things in this game,

B a sic S ession F low

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Youll need to make sure you have the right materials to

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

O ptional : U sing a S econd D eck

A N ote on P ower B alances

E very G ame is D ifferent !

A bout T his B ook ...

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

In Cannibal Contagion, you are given a whole lot of freedom in your

At the core of your character is a base Concept, in the form of a

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

S tep Z ero : T he S cenario

M ethod #1: C ustom C haracters

Once a general connection and scale is established (if any), each

Part 2: Character Creation

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Part 2: Character Creation

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Dont forget to keep track of those Gear

If you so desire, you can choose to voluntarily decline any or all of

For more information on Gear, see page 65.

Advanced Rule: Allies

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

Because the Psychotrigger will most likely be evoked quite frequently

Below are some examples:

For more information on the Mad Half and Psychotriggers, 27

Part 2: Character Creation

The Secret Votes

M ethod #2: R andom C haracters

For random Archetypes and Psychotriggers, use the Draw

Cannibal Contagion: Comedic Survival Horror

So, to re-cap, every character should have the following

Part 2: Character Creation