The Walking Dead Universe RPG
Core RulesBest For
Groups who want tense, character-driven survival horror in the Walking Dead universe: where stress, difficult choices, and human drama matter more than combat.
Core Mechanic
Roll a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Push your roll to reroll failures, but gain 1 stress and add a stress die. Stress dice that roll 1 cause bad things: attracting walkers, panic, or worse. Only 3 HP means every fight is dangerous. Anchors (named NPCs) relieve stress. Breaking Points track psychological damage; cross too many and your character is Shattered.
The d6 pool counts 6s, with pushing for rerolls at the cost of stress. The defining wrinkle is that stress dice can tip you into panic at the worst moment. Otherwise it stays a light, fast survival system.
- Free to tryNothing freeNo free rules or starter
- Get it nowSold newIn print or as a legal PDF
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Highlights
Stress dice create constant tension, push mechanic forces difficult decisions, only 3 HP makes combat highly consequential, Anchor system ties survival to relationships, well-integrated licensed IP
Considerations
Tightly bound to the Walking Dead IP with limited homebrew flexibility, limited character options in starter set, stress mechanics can cascade into unavoidable spirals, Anchor system penalizes character growth through loss
Rules license All Rights Reserved (AMC Networks license)
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