Reaper

*"Memento Mori"*

 **Dead Reign:  Zombie Role-Playing Game**

"Remember that you are mortal," the Reapers' motto.

Reapersare an Occupational Character Class (O.C.C.) for the **Dead Reign: Zombie Role-Playing Game** .  They are combat-oriented characters, elite zombie-slayers adept at combat while riding a motorcycle.  Players who wish to play Reapers must own a motorcycle in real life.

The origin of the "Reaper" label for *dedicated zombie killers* goes back to the members of a motorcycle club from the Chicago area known as

the Reapers.  A large group of them were on a road-trip through

Wisconsin when the Wave struck.  They managed to stick together and survive the ensuing chaos.  This was possible, in part, to their shared fondness for martial arts, firearms, and hunting, and the Reapers' strong sense of camaraderie.  Each club member considered their buddy to be family, and family sticks together in crisis.  When the dead rose to attack the living, the Reapers stuck together, watched each other's backs, and battle their way home back to Chicago in search of loved ones.  As a result, they played a key role in the Battle of Chicago.  Their valiant heroics in that battle won the Reapers great notoriety and respect, but since then, stories of the Reapers' heroics and commitment to destroying the zombie plague across North America have become legendary.  Likewise, bands of the original Reapers have scattered across the country teaching others *the Way of the Reaper* and the art of zombie hunting.  The leader, Brad Ashley, has even written and mass produced the *Reaper's Survival Guide* to help others survive.  As a result, many warrior who have become dedicated destroyers of zombies have proudly taken up the name, **Reaper**.they could not save Chicago.life in order to create a Reaper character.

Reapers are zombie-killers.  Be it in hand to hand combat or by long-range attacks, Reapers known how to get the job done.  Some of them see it as their duty or mission in life.  Others see themselves as heroes of humanity.  Many hunt and kill zombies out of revenge - everyone has lost loved ones, friends and associates to the Creeping Doom.  Still others hunt them for sport or because it gives them a strange sense of empowerment.  Whatever the reason, Reapers are amongh the most dedicated and experienced zombie slayers and are a valuable asset to any group of survivors.

   Reapers, be they members of the original club or those who have followed their noble example, roam the land like knights of old, destroying zombies wherever they are found (as best they can) and aiding other survivors.  People who take the Reaper name are dead serious about killing zombies and dedicated to riding the road in the quest to help others, which makes them very much knights on motorcycles.

The Reapers' numbers have swollen, since there are always plenty of survivors eager to join their crusade.  New recruits are called "Prospects" and must prove themselves before they earn the right to call themselves a Reaper.  The training is very hands-on, since there is very little respite from the zombie hordes, and most training involves real field combat and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants engagements with the walking dead.  Consequently, the mortality rate for "Prospects" is high, with only one in five living long enough to earn the title Reaper (which starts at level one experience).  Those who don't die in combat may give up the quest to be a Reaper when they realize this is no game, but a life and death war against the undead monsters.

Reapers are often encountered in groups typcially called Reaper "legions" or "packs."  *Packs* tend to vary in size from a half dozen to two or three dozen, while a *legion* is usually 60 - 150 (3D4 x 10 + 30) members, half of whom are Prospects.  However, a group of any size may call itself a pack or legion as it deems fit.  Alternately, a lone Reaper, a pair of Reapers, or a Reaper and 1 - 3 Prospects under his (or her) wing can be found among mixed groups of heroes and survivors fighting hte zombie hordes or keeping people safe from the undead.

All Reapers are driven (some would say obsessed) with hunting, battling and destroying zombies.  As a result, they are experts in all things involving zombies, particularly the methods of tricking, trapping, and killing them, as well as escaping them.  Reapers have become expert at hit and run tactics, fast moving raids, and inflicting massive amounts of damage fast, before beating it out of the zombie attack zone.  To this end, they have found motorcycles, dirt bikes and similar small, fast vehicles as their choice of transportation.  Reapers may have a convoy of trucks and other vehicles, but they are always left 30 - 80 miles (48 - 128 kilometers) away from the point of battle chosen by the gang.

### **O.C.C. Special Reaper Skills**

All Reapers have the following skills, only a few other O.C.C.s can take these skills without benefit of the Reaper bonus listed.

1. **Motorcycle Combat:**  The motorcycle pilot has extensive experience riding in combat situations where attention must be split between combat and normal riding.  This training allows the pilot ot engage in high-speed maneuvering, stunt riding, and extreme off-road where normal vehicles could not go.  The pilot is considered an expert rider and is capable of reliably performing actions on a motorcycle that other would never be able to consider.  The pilot knows how to use his body to steer the bike by shifting weight or use of the forearm, and can perform this with equal skill as hands on the bars.  **No penalty** to strike with a firearm or melee weapon while riding a motorcycle.  However, only one-handed weapons can be used, shotguns, rifles, and two-handed melee weapons all suffer a -2 to Strike and inflict a -10% to piloting skill checks.  Pilot must have both hands on the bike to perform any maneuvers where a wheel leaves the ground, otherwise suffers a -30% piloting check penalty.
2. **Motorcycle Mechanics:**  This covers the advanced understanding of motorcycle repair, design and modification.  With this skill, a bike mechanic can adjust the rake/trail, suspension, engine performance or accessories of almost any motorcycle.  This training encompasses advanced engine theory of both 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines as well as intake, ignition, and exhaust.  Under extreme situations, the mechanic can adapt parts from different motorcycles or even fabricate parts to make repairs.  A side effect of this training is the mechanic has a 75% chance to identify a motorcycle by sight (or the components it is made up from).  **Base Skill:  40% + 4% per level of experience, +12% for Reapers**.
3. **Lore:  Death Cults**.  Rumors, speculations and what little is generally known about Death Cults, their priests, their followers, their rituals, purpose and goals for the future.  Characters with this skill always want to learn more about Death Cults.  Includes a basic knowledge about Retro-Savages as well, though strictly speaking, they are not a Death Cult.  **Base Skill:  16% + 4% per level of experience; +20% for Reapers**.
4. **Lore: Zombies**.  Everything there is to know about zombies - their abilities, behavior, strengths and weaknesses, and the best ways to fight and destroy them.  **Base Skill:  30% + 5% per level of experience for the average Joe, +30% for Reapers**.

### **Reaper Tactics & Info**

**Reaper Killing Run:** First, a lone Reaper, pair or small squad (4 - 8 people) scout the target area. They plot the best ways in and several escape routes out. then the bikers pick a place to hit, a time to do it, and ride in from a distance and attack. The battle is usually short, under eight minutes, and deadly. If the Reaper Legion can get away with few injuries or casualties, they are likely to zip away, regroup and either attack again a short while later, or hit another target or two in the same general area. If the zombies are slow to respond, Reapers will hang around to take down as many as possible, retreating only when the number of zombies becomes truly frightening and escape increasingly dangerous. These zombie killers may be dedicated and insanely courageous, but they are not suicidal.

Likewise, they may retreat slowly, killing individual zombies and small groups they encounter on their way out of town.

The trick to these killing raids is to have several well planned exit strategies and escape routes. As swarming creatures, zombies gather toward the sound of combat, the cries of their brethren and the scent of the living. As they emerge from their hiding places they inevitably create closing rings of zombies that tighten as they head toward the conflict. Many a scavenger and hero has lost their life (or worse, become one of the living dead) when their escape route was cut off and they were overcome by swarms of zombies.

**Silent Death Run.**  Not all attacks are fast and loud.  Reapers, especially a lone hunter, sniper and small packs, may also sneak into an area and *quietly dispatch* their hated enemy one by one.  Clearing out "nests" - as they call them - one barn, house, parking garage and office building at a time.  The goal is to kill as many zombies as possible before they catch on to what's going on.

One method of quietly killing zombies is to get them while dormant or before the creature can unleash its bellowing moan that alerts other walking dead to the presence of humans.  Machetes, swords, homemade battle axes, and other bladed melee weapons that can take a zombie's head are used in these silent death runs.  Maces and bludgeons can work too, but it usually requires 3 - 6 hamming blows to the head to smash its brains or knock the head off, and 2 - 4 chops with a blade weapon to take off the head.  Bows and arrows, crossbows, fire and other means may also be used in silent death runs.

Such silent death runs may start out covert, but can end with a bank.  If the opportunity arises to kill a large number of zombies en masse, Reapers take it.  This usually involves hand grenades, other types of explosives, rings of fire to consume the walking dead, and plenty of gunfire.

**Killing Zombies is the Goal.** It is important to understand that unlike Soldiers and other rescuers, the primary goal of all Reapers is to *destroy zombies*, not rescue innocent people. Sure, they'll help other heroes, and yes, Reapers are famous for rescuing people, however, that is usually the secondary result of their zombie killing sprees. For example, if a woman and child run out from their hiding place during a raid, the reapers will try to rescue them and carry them off to safety, but only *after* the heroes have finished their assault on the zombies. Similarly, a *Reaper Legion* is happy to use a killing run to draw the attention of the zombie hordes in a n effort to help other heroes accomplish some other task or mission. Likewise, Reapers are quick to volunteer to hold a defensive line in an attempt to kill as any zombies as possible, while others work at saving lives, getting supplies, etc.

**Mercy Killing of a Comrade in Arms**. For a Reaper, becoming one of the walking dead is a fate worse than death. They refuse to allow themselves or a comrade to become a zombie. As a result, most will blow their own head off if death by zombies is a certainty. Likewise, a Reaper who cannot rescue a comrade from being pulled into a zombie swarm will try to kill his friend before the person is slain so he cannot rise again as one of the Creeping Doom.

**Reaper Women**. Like most biker communities, women are generally considered *equals* to the male members. If they can ride, use a weapon, want to kill zombies and save lives, and can handle themselves in a fight, they can become Reapers! Forty percent of all Reapers are female.

**It is Heart That Matters, Not Age**. Likewise, nearly one quarter of Reapers are 17 - 22 years of age, and 12% are 50 years and older.

**Brad Ashley** is the charismatic leader and gifted strategist of the Reapers. He saw his Reaper family through the Wave and the Battle of Chicago, and saved tens of thousands of survivors along the way. His goal is for him and his crew to help teach others how to survive and fight so the human race has a chance of surviving the Zombie Apocalypse. This is not a pipedream to Brad.

As he sees it, the walking dead rot and decay, and *will*, eventually, all (or most) perish. It may take 5 - 15 years, but it should happen. As they begin to die off in large batches, years from now, the zombie problem will become more manageable and the tide will turn for humans. The trick is rescuing those in need *now*, and keeping people alive until *later*. Meanwhile, destroying zombies now is good for morale, helps survivors establish Safe Haven Communities (sanctuaries for the living), helps them keep their edge, and trains a growing army of survivors how to fight the walking dead. This outlook for the future is also what makes Brad so worried about *Death Cults*. For his plan to work, there cannot be caretakers who protect and nurture zombies. The Death Cults must go.

## **Reaper O.C.C.**

**Also known as** Zombie Killers, Zombie Slayers and Biker Knights.

* ***Campaign Note:*** Players should note that in this campaign (*which takes place almost immediately following the Wave and the Battle for Chicago*) Reaper characters ***WILL NOT*** be members of the Reaper organization. The Reapers are still concentrated mostly in the Midwest of what was the United States of America. As time goes on the Reapers will slowly but surely spread both their numbers and their propaganda throughout the country, mostly being found along the old major interstate highway system.

**Alignment:** Any, but most are Principled (25%), Scrupulous (40%), Unprincipled (20%), and Anarchist (10%).

**Attribute Requirements:** P.S. 12 and the spirit of a hero.

**Occupation:** Doesn't matter what the character was *before* the Zombie Apocalypse, he's a *Reaper* now. His areas of specialty for this O.C.C. are noted above and under O.C.C. Skills, below.

**O.C.C. Bonuses:** 2D6 + 8 S.D.C., +1D4 to P.S., +1 to P.P and P.E. attributes, and +4 save vs. Horror Factor.

Bonuses vs. Zombies: +1 attack per melee round, +1 on Initiative and +1 to Strike, Parry and Dodge, and +1 to "Called Shots." Applies only when fighting zombies!

**Common Skills:** All; basic.

**O.C.C. Skills of the Reaper:** In addition to the four O.C.C. skills described previously (Lore: Death Cults, Lore: Zombies, Motorcycle Combat, Motorcycle Mechanics):

* Athletics (General)

* Combat Driving

* Detect Ambush (+10%)

* Intelligence (+10%)

* Radio: Basic (+5%)

* Tailing (+10%)

* Transportation: Motorcycle (+16%)

* Transportation:  One skill of choice (+10%)

* Wilderness Survival (+5%)

* W.P. Archery or Targeting, pick one.

* W.P. Ancient:  One of choice (typically Blunt, Axe or Sword)

* W.P. Handguns

* W.P. Shotguns

* W.P. Modern:  One of choice.

* Hand to Hand:  Expert or Martial Arts, pick one.

**Elective Skills:** Select six from the standard available categories. These skills *may* reflect the character's occupation and life before the Zombie Apocalypse.

**Optional Road Reaper Specializations:** Some of the most deadly and dangerous Road Reapers had completely unrelated jobs during their previous life. While many wer bikers already, other have only learned the Road Reaper way of life since the collapse of civilization. These people may have very valuable skills that could come in handy in a variety of situations. Selecting a Road Reaper Specialization replaces a character's Elective Skills. It is assumed that the Specialization represents the character's previous job, special training or skills he has learned by necessity since the appearance of the zombies. Pick one or roll percentile to make a random determination.

**Note:**  In all cases, if the character already has a skill offered by the Specialization, apply the bonus in parenthesis as an additional bonus.
**01 - 10% Boater**

A Road Reaper who was a sailor, merchant marine, crewman, diver or dockworker and has a basic knowledge of boats and sea travel.  They understand sails and knots as well as currents and proper use of anchors.
* Astronomy & Navigation (+10%)
* Boat:  Motor, Race & Hydrofoil Types or Boat:  Sail Types (+15%)
* Boat:  Ships/Seamanship (+5%)
* Carpentry (+5%) or Rope Works (+10%)
* Swim (+10%)

**11 - 20%  Ex-Con**
A former prisoner who has done his time or escaped during the Wave, this Road Reaper has a few skills that he learned in jail or on the streets that could come in quite useful when dealing with zombies, breaking into abandoned buildings or finding illegal weapons.
* Find Contraband or Pick Pocket (+10%)
* Gambling (Dirty Tricks) or Barter (+10%)
* Pick Locks or Concealment (+5%)
* Prowl (+5%) or Body Building & Weight Lifting
* Streetwise (+10%)

**21 - 30%  Scout**
Someone with an eye for detail, observation and stealth.  This can be an ex-criminal familiar with casing a place, lookout or B & E man, a military reconnaissance operative, law enforcement, private investigator, surveillance operative, hunter or someone else with a knack for the job.
* Detect Concealment (+5%) or Outdoorsmanship
* Prowl (+10%) or Wilderness Survival (+10%)
* Land Navigation (+10%)
* Radio:  Basic (+10%) or Roadwise (+10%)
* Surveillance (+5%; includes Tailing)

**31 - 50%  Fix-It Man**
Road Reapers are dependent on their bikes and vehicles, and most know how to do their own maintenance and basic repairs.  True mechanics, engineers and handymen are often necessary, however, especially in a world where everything is slowly breaking down.
* Automotive Mechanics (+10%)
* Basic Electronics (+10%)
* Basic Mechanics (+10%)
* Jury-Rig (+10%)
* Salvage (+5%) or Carpentry (+10%)

**51 - 65%  Makeshift Doctor**
Since the Wave, all types of people have been pressed into service as emergency medical staff.  Whether they worked as physical therapists, lab researchers or trauma surgeons, their basic medical skills are now of the utmost importance.
* Biology (+10%)
* Chemistry (+5%)
* Holistic Medicine (+10%) or Animal Husbandry if a Veterinarian (+10%)
* Paramedic (+10%)
* Pathology or Veterinary Science if a Veterinarian (+5%)

**66 - 80%  Aircraft Pilot**
A Road Reaper with aircraft skills is likely to be a former military pilot or a contractor who worked for a news agency, police department, logging/mining operation, film studio or government bureau.  There aren't many Road Reapers who know how to fly, but they are sure to be sought out when the organization finds a helipad or clears out an airport.
* Aircraft:  Airplanes:  Propeller Types or Helicopters (+15%)
* Aircraft Mechanics (+5%)
* Basic Mechanics (+10%)
* Navigation (+5%)
* Sensory Equipment (+5%)

**81 - 90%  Gun Hobbyist**
A Road Reaper who collected guns and engaged in hunting and/or target shooting and competitions, as well as collecting and understanding firearms.
* Recognize Weapon Quality (+10%)
* W.P. Hunting or Outdoorsmanship
* W.P. Handguns or W.P. Rifles
* W.P. Submachine-Gun or Archery
* W.P. Trick Shooting or Munitions Expert (+10%)

**91 - 100%  Road Captain**
Leadership is a virtue that cannot be taught, but even so, many of the Road Reapers' Road Captains have similar skills and talents.  They know how to manage people and stand tall as examples of courage and perseverance in a world gone mad.Secondary Skills:
* Automotive Mechanics (+5%) or General Repair & Maintenance (+10%)
* Land Navigation (+10%) or Wilderness Survival (+10%)
* Public Speaking (+10%) or Language:  Other (+10%)
* Roadwise or Tailing (+14%)
* Streetwise (+16%)

**Secondary Skills:** Select two Secondary Skills from the Secondary Skill List in Skills section at levels 1, 3, 8, 12 & 15. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get any bonuses, other than a possible bonus for a high I.Q. All Secondary Skills start at the base level.

**Standard Equipment:**

* Suit of riding armor
* Suit of modern combat armor of choice (see equipment section)
* Set of street clothes
* Running Shoes
* Pair of steel-toed boots
* Pair of leather gloves
* Leather jacket
* Rain poncho (cheap)
* 1 sheet of camouflage netting large enough to cover his bike
* Survival knife (2D4 S.D.C.)
* First aid kit
* Heavy duty flashlight
* Small flashlight
* Pocket mirror
* Refillable cigarette lighter
* 1D4 books of matches
* Roll of duct tape
* Set of eating utensils (knife, fork, spoon, drinking cup)
* Binoculars
* Walkie-talkie
* Sunglasses
* 2 canteens
* Backpack
* Duffle bag
* Knapsack
* Food rations (1 week's worth)
* Some personal items

**Tools of the Trade:** The bike, the weapons, ammo and equipment are this character's tools of the trade.

**Weapons:**

* One weapon for each W.P
* Large crowbar (2D6 damage)
* Each weapon has 2D6 x 10 + 120 extra rounds of ammunition (not all carried on the character's person).

**Vehicle:** A reliable favorite motorcycle (probably an Enduro) or Dual Sport Bike or ATV, and 1D10 + 4 gallons of extra fuel. If a member of a Safe Haven Community, other bikes, spare parts, fuel, vehicles and equipment may be provided as needed for specific assignments. Otherwise, the character must find and acquire his own equipment.

**Pay:** None, everything is barter and trade. Pay in the new post-apocalyptic world is typically barter; an exchange of goods and services for the goods and services your character needs. A Reaper is a zombie exterminator and rescuer of the innocent, that's his stock in trade. However, they'll also do supply runs and whatever it takes to keep operating as a zombie killer. People who appreciate and respect (or fear) Reapers usually give them a 10 - 40% discount. The character's acquisition of trade goods (food, fuel, medicine, guns and ammo, etc.) can be the catalyst for numerous adventures.

**Trade Goods:** $1D6 x 1,000 worth of trade goods, some may be stashed in a safe place.