All Flesh Must Be Eaten
Encyclopedia
All Flesh Must Be Eaten or AFMBE (ISBN 1-891153-31-5) is a multiple Origins Award
winning and nominated
survival horror role-playing game
(RPG) produced by Eden Studios, Inc.
using the Unisystem
game system.
AFMBE is derived from the traditional horror movie depictions of zombie
s who rise from the dead as mindless monsters that consume the living. In addition to producing a revised edition and many RPG supplements, there have been many works of fiction published that take place in one of the game’s many settings.
AFMBE is one of the first RPGs to focus on zombies as the main aspect of survival horror. While other games do have zombies, AFMBE was the first to make them central. AFMBE was also the first new Unisystem game produced by Eden under their exclusive licenses of the Unisystem game.
The main rule book details character creation, skills, qualities (positive characteristics), drawbacks (negative characteristics), zombie creation rules, character archetypes and several campaign settings (called "Deadworlds" in the jargon of the game). The game has a large following and several expansion books.
AFMBE genre books also serve double duty as expansions to the Classic Unisystem rules for various movie, TV and literature genres, such as the Western, pulp fiction, and sci-fi. The Revised Edition also includes an appendix detailing conversions to the d20 System
.
s, Deadworlds, zombies and other elements.
Zombie Master Screen: The first expansion to AFMBE, including a master screen as well as a book with adventures, new rules and an essay about Zombie Survival Horror.
All Tomorrow's Zombies: This supplement is the sci-fi expansion for AFMBE, and contains rules for starships, cyberpunk
, and general future tech, as well as containing very different sci-fi Deadworlds. First published in 2007.
Atlas of the Walking Dead: Includes upgraded zombie creation rules, based upon various legendary undead from around the world, including the Shuten-Doji ("Japanese Vampire"), Gyonshee ("Chinese Hopping Vampire") and Aztec Mummy.
Dungeons and Zombies: An AFMBE take on classic fantasy.
Enter the Zombie: Chinese/Japanese/Hong Kong zombies, including chi techniques, martial arts, and Gun Fu
.
Fistful O' Zombies: Western-style AFMBE, with rules for conversion to and from Deadlands: The Weird West, as well as 'spaghetti western' and 'singing cowboy' Deadworlds.
One of the Living: A player's guide to the game, as well as rules for depicting a post-Rise world and information to help run a long-term campaign.
Pulp Zombies: Pulp AFMBE, includes Mentalism rules to add to or replace Miracles/Chi Techniques for Gifted characters.
Worlds of the Dead: This book contains 21 brand-new Deadworlds in which to run adventures or campaigns.
Argh! Thar Be Zombies!: This release is a pirate sourcebook, with rules for nautical combat and other aids for swashbuckling games.
Zombie Smackdown: An AFMBE take on wrestling, with Deadworlds such as Immortal Kombat (based on Mortal Kombat
).
The following are not genre or Deadworld books like the above, but adventures, archetypes (and new character and zombie qualities), as well as inspiration for running an All Flesh game:
The Book of Archetypes 1&2: New characters and ready to run archetypes for any AFMBE game.
Little Town of Hamlin: An Adobe Acrobat PDF file adventure set in Hamlin, of Pied Piper fame. For use with the Dead at 1000 Deadworld from the AFMBE Corebook.
The Book of All Flesh, The Book of More Flesh, and The Book of Final Flesh: Books of zombie fiction, designed to provide inspiration.
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
winning and nominated
survival horror role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
(RPG) produced by Eden Studios, Inc.
Eden Studios, Inc.
Eden Studios, Inc. is an award-winning American role-playing game publisher founded in 1996 by George Vasilakos, M. Alexander Jurkat, and Ed Healy. Currently run by Mr...
using the Unisystem
Unisystem
Unisystem is a generic role-playing game system produced by Eden Studios, Inc. It is used in All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the Buffyverse role-playing games, CJ Carella's WitchCraft, Conspiracy X , and several other games. Games designed using Unisystem have been nominated for, and won, Origins...
game system.
AFMBE is derived from the traditional horror movie depictions of zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s who rise from the dead as mindless monsters that consume the living. In addition to producing a revised edition and many RPG supplements, there have been many works of fiction published that take place in one of the game’s many settings.
AFMBE is one of the first RPGs to focus on zombies as the main aspect of survival horror. While other games do have zombies, AFMBE was the first to make them central. AFMBE was also the first new Unisystem game produced by Eden under their exclusive licenses of the Unisystem game.
The main rule book details character creation, skills, qualities (positive characteristics), drawbacks (negative characteristics), zombie creation rules, character archetypes and several campaign settings (called "Deadworlds" in the jargon of the game). The game has a large following and several expansion books.
AFMBE genre books also serve double duty as expansions to the Classic Unisystem rules for various movie, TV and literature genres, such as the Western, pulp fiction, and sci-fi. The Revised Edition also includes an appendix detailing conversions to the d20 System
D20 System
The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...
.
Expansions
All of these expansions contain new archetypeArchetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
s, Deadworlds, zombies and other elements.
Zombie Master Screen: The first expansion to AFMBE, including a master screen as well as a book with adventures, new rules and an essay about Zombie Survival Horror.
All Tomorrow's Zombies: This supplement is the sci-fi expansion for AFMBE, and contains rules for starships, cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
, and general future tech, as well as containing very different sci-fi Deadworlds. First published in 2007.
Atlas of the Walking Dead: Includes upgraded zombie creation rules, based upon various legendary undead from around the world, including the Shuten-Doji ("Japanese Vampire"), Gyonshee ("Chinese Hopping Vampire") and Aztec Mummy.
Dungeons and Zombies: An AFMBE take on classic fantasy.
Enter the Zombie: Chinese/Japanese/Hong Kong zombies, including chi techniques, martial arts, and Gun Fu
Gun fu
Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is the style of sophisticated close-quarters gunplay seen in Hong Kong action cinema and in Western films influenced by it. It often resembles a martial arts battle played out with firearms instead of traditional weapons...
.
Fistful O' Zombies: Western-style AFMBE, with rules for conversion to and from Deadlands: The Weird West, as well as 'spaghetti western' and 'singing cowboy' Deadworlds.
One of the Living: A player's guide to the game, as well as rules for depicting a post-Rise world and information to help run a long-term campaign.
Pulp Zombies: Pulp AFMBE, includes Mentalism rules to add to or replace Miracles/Chi Techniques for Gifted characters.
Worlds of the Dead: This book contains 21 brand-new Deadworlds in which to run adventures or campaigns.
Argh! Thar Be Zombies!: This release is a pirate sourcebook, with rules for nautical combat and other aids for swashbuckling games.
Zombie Smackdown: An AFMBE take on wrestling, with Deadworlds such as Immortal Kombat (based on Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
).
The following are not genre or Deadworld books like the above, but adventures, archetypes (and new character and zombie qualities), as well as inspiration for running an All Flesh game:
The Book of Archetypes 1&2: New characters and ready to run archetypes for any AFMBE game.
Little Town of Hamlin: An Adobe Acrobat PDF file adventure set in Hamlin, of Pied Piper fame. For use with the Dead at 1000 Deadworld from the AFMBE Corebook.
The Book of All Flesh, The Book of More Flesh, and The Book of Final Flesh: Books of zombie fiction, designed to provide inspiration.
External links
- The official site of the publisher, Eden Studios.
- Several PDF files for AFMBE, including the statistics for the Cenobites from HellraiserHellraiserHellraiser is a 1987 British and American horror film based upon the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker, who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. Hellraiser explores themes of sadomasochism and morality under duress and fear. The film spawned a series of sequels...
and the massive Resident EvilResident Evil (series)Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a media franchise owned by the video game company Capcom. It was created by Shinji Mikami as a survival horror game series that was initiated with the eponymous PlayStation title Resident Evil in 1996. Since then, the game series has strayed from its roots to...
Deadworld; Umbrella Assault. - Large database of fan-produced rulebooks including the massive Ordog Effect, the Massacre at Muleton (humorous B-Movie spoof), A Clockwork Zombie (based on A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
), Night of the Dead/...From These Cold Dead Hands (based on George Romero's Living Dead Trilogy) and Goro's Revenge (a weird Deadworld based around AnimeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
spoofing).