Ok, so I had this idea for a hero for a while.

Name: [Enter name here], The Horror Movie fan
Keywords: Male, Student, Strange
Ability 1: "Zombie Lore" - "During a Fight [Enter name here] can add or substract 1 from any Fight Die, as long as this change will make him Wound a Zombie instead of just fending him off."
Ability 2: "Go for the head!" - "While using a Gun, [Enter name here] Instantly Kills a Zombie instead of just Wounding it."
Ability 3: "Youth" (you know the drill)
Wounds: 2 (I would like to go with 3, but then Youth could be a bit overpowered)
Quote: "Dude, trust me. I've seen it in a movie once."

The general idea behind this character is that he knows how to kill a Zombie, and doesn't just hit them in random places but instead knows to go for the neck or head. So if he, for example, rolls 3, 2 and 5 on his fight dice, AND the 5 won him the fight (ie. the Zombie is fended off), he can now change either 3 or 2 to be the other number so he achieves a pair and Wounds the zombie instead of just fending it off. Note that he has to defeat the zombie with a higher roll on one of the dice for this ability to be used.

The second ability is an idea I just had and I'm not sure if it makes him overpowered or not. For sure, that makes him more or less useful depending on the scenario. Of course it goes without saying that he has to Hit the Zombie for this ability to work. Anyway, I'll appreciate any thoughts on this.

Any comments are welcomed, and I would also very much appreciate if someone would be kind enough to prepare a Hero card for this character (I'm not any good with Photoshop or any other program of this sort). Maybe after we tweak this together...

Yes, 3 health is overpowered for a youth.

I dunno. I like it, and it's been done in zombie comedies...

But it is a really RARE horror movie where the characters KNOW they are in a horror movie and act accordingly(Scream, Shawn of the Dead). It's a more comedic-horror thing.

And they NEVER call them Zombies. Even in SotD, Shawn tells Ed not to use the word "zombie". Says its ridiculous.

I think it is wise to make sure every strength is offset with a weakness. This is not so much for play balance, but more for cooperative play, as having a glaring weakness forces the character to rely on others to shield him from his vulnerabilities so that his strengths can be deployed.

In the case of your idea, there should be some very entertaining weaknesses you can come up with.

I don't know, he seems fairly balanced to me. Ability 1 is very nice, but not brutal, since you have to have already won the combat - this just helps you kill more zombies that you'd already beaten. And ability 2 doesn't come up that often - only when shooting at zombie heroes (or maybe grave dead - can they get 2 wounds, maybe?). Sounds great to me.

I only have the base game so I don't know if there is precedence but is it a good idea to give it 2 key words (student & strange) ? While I admit that it does work thematically, some cards are geared towards keywords so would two be too many?

Awesome ideas! My only input would echo the above. I also think that you should pick either Ability 1 OR 2, as both together seem a wee bit too powerful.

If I were to pick a weakness it would be:
Couch Potato: Subtract one from all movement to a minimum of one, but may move one square and search.

Alright, so maybe if I dump the second ability, but instead add to the first, that it also works for any hero in his space (as the guy keeps shouting what to do during the fight).
Bret's idea with the Couch Potato seems good - he wouldn't be very fit I guess. But then again, if I include that, I don't know if he won't be too weak with one ability. Then again, with the changed ability...
Decisions, decisions...

As for the second ability, I also had an idea for a militant-hobbyist kind of guy. You know, the kind of person who works out at the gym, spends a lot of time at the local shooting range and known all kinds of survival tactics + wears khaki all the time. Maybe I could throw in a similar (or identical) ability because of his skill? I doubt even Sheriff Anderson or Detective Winters have those kind of skills, as they probably spend more time doing paperwork than shooting bad guys (or bad carton people for that matter).

A weakness I've not seen mentioned before could be poor vision.

A short-sighted hero may have negatives to hit in ranged combat, and/or have their maximum range reduced by one.

A long-sighted hero may have negatives with respect to searching.

Yes, but surely the hero would have a pair of corrective glasses that would offset these weaknesses?

Perhaps. Zombie attacks are a bit like the Spanish Inquisition. Maybe the hero has a 4 in 6 chance of having glasses with them at the start of the game? Here's the fun bit, though : the first time the hero sustains a wound, the glasses are broken and discarded.

You should call him Chuck Norris.

Well, you don't have to dump "game-breaking" abilities if you can generate offsetting weaknesses - as long as his character card doesn't get so text heavy that no one can remember what he does anymore.

Most of the characteristics you mention could be used to justify some interesting anti-social weaknesses - if he's grouped too long with other players, Bickering might automatically ensue, or he may be intolerant of nerds and women or something.


Obsession might also be an interesting source of weaknesses; he might get stuck in searching mode until he finds a favorite weapon, he might be prone to Overconfidence, he might be required to kill a certain number of zombies before moving on, etc.

What actor or person did you have in mind I could pop his face on to a card for you with name and final write up of abilities.
Just let me know unless you already have it planned out.

Perhaps the Movie Fan's ability could work for heroes in the same or adjacent space, but not for himself since he would, in fact, be a couch-potato. So, make it sort of like Amanda's ability. He's not powerful by himself, but works best when teamed up with others.

Name: Steve, The Horror Movie fan
Keywords: Male, Student, Strange
Ability 1: "Invaluable Knowlege!" - "During a Fight, any hero in the same or adjacent space may add or substract 1 from any one of their Fight Dice."
Ability 2: "Youth"
Wounds: 2
Quote: "I saw this in a movie once. Trust me."

Bio: Having spent the better part of his childhood watching monster movies while his mother worked long hours, Steve has never been more prepared for the horror which is about to be unleashed upon Woodinvale. He knows that the wisdom he's gained over the years is invaluable...if only he can find the right people to share it with.

Sounds cool,like the dude that was in scream"the movie fan".
What actor did you have in mind to play "steve" ?

Sorry to have not responded, this topic kind of slipped my mind.
I didn't have any specific actor in mind, so I don't really know what could go on the card
I'll revisit this topic tomorrow and think about it more, it's almost 1am here!