Random Forest Locations

Photo 49574173 | Creepy Forest © Guasor | Dreamstime.com

 

Who doesn't need random locations in a forest? People who don't run awesome games, that's who. Since that isn't you, I've got you covered with Random Forest Locations. Only one location has overt elements of the macabre, but please spice them up as much as you like when you use them. I know I will. . . 

3D6 Result	Random Forest Location	Notes
3	Hunting Lodge	Animal heads, paintings, and old weapons on display on the walls, large fireplace, beds with lots of blankets and quilts, medium wood interior, had working water and electricity at one point
4	Hunting Cabin	Exterior toilet, well water with hand pump, one room containing a couple of military cots, woodburning stove, stack of wood, table and mismatched chairs, maybe a shed nearby
5	Fishing Hut	Exterior fish cleaning table made of thick, heavy wood, no bathrooms on site, one cot, one sleeping bad, one small table, and two chairs
6	Vacation Cabin	3 stories tall, basement, 3 car garage, outdoor games, kayaks, hot tub/jacuzzi, fishing equipment, comfortable furniture all around a particular style (i.e., they all match), had water, electricity, and cable at some point, big screen TVs in several rooms, basement has pool table, bar area
7	Rental Cabin	Often found in D10 quantities, dusty interior with basic needs (beds, table, chairs, gas stove) battery operated camping lights, cupboards
8	Old Campfire	Several logs for chairs, empty cans of beer, food wrappers, beat-up vehicle nearby (dead battery and likely other issues), with nothing of use besides a source of shelter from the weather
9	Campsite	Basic trip-wire security noisemaker set-up, several tents of various sizes, gas stove
10	Mansion 1	Designed to blend in with the environment, likely inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, furniture is slightly off and perhaps not quite Euclidean
11	Mansion 2	Neo-Brutalist villa, concrete exterior with some reflective glass surfaces, interior has mid-century style furniture and not an ounce of personality of the former owner
12	Wall Compound	Several homes, a large pole-barn, a hidden underground bunker, four car garage with three very expensive trucks parked in it, interior of the homes will indicate what type of compound this was (militia, religious, farming, sex, etc.)
13	Recording Studio	Likely converted from an early 20th century home, this building was turned into office space, recording space, and kept the kitchen, bathroom, and one of the bedrooms in place; the recording studio and related rooms could be for audio, short video, or full-length films
14	Farm House	An old home with good bones, a nearby barn for cows or pigs, maybe, another outbuilding for farming or ranching equipment, several sets of human remains scattered amongst the rooms and locations (all in peaceful poses as if they died exactly where they wanted to and not from a violent end); could be a classic “haunted house”
15	Gas Station – Bait Shop	An old affair that should have disintegrated decades ago, two non-working fuel pumps, animals have eaten nearly anything worth eating inside the shop, fishing gear and CB equipment displayed on walls, tobacco products, warm near-beer, a deceased person behind the counter, fly-paper strung up throughout the establishment
16	Fence Line	A wood fence line less than 50 yards in length, there is Christian iconography nailed to the fence every foot to two feet and all of it is facing the same direction
17	Trailer	Jammed between two groups of small trees, rusting, moisture and insects have terrorized the inside of this structure, several dead bodies in various stages of decomposition, rotten food, potentially snakes, hole in the roof has let in water over the years and the nearby floor beds threaten to give way whenever anyone walks near them
18	Burnt Tree	A small section of the forest was burned, in the center of the burned section is a large tree, around the tree are the skeletal remains of three people who were handcuffed together facing outward, and one of the three was shot in the head with a commonly owned bullet caliber

Many of these locations may be found on or near water. The water maybe a river, creek, lake, or large pond. For larger bodies of water, there may be an island in the middle of it. There could be piers for small (less than 20 foot) boats or platforms anchored to the bottom of the lake used for sunbathing away from shore. If the Gas Station – Bait Shop is near water, there may be a fuel pump for diesel, an area for cleaning fish, and a ramp into the water.

The contents of these locations are left to the Zombie Master. More bodies are always appropriate, but so are basement doors that are too tough to break down, requiring the completion of a puzzle to open. Were doors or windows left open? If so, have animals destroyed the interior contents? Has a family of bears moved in? Is someone storing zombies in the building? Why?

You are encouraged to fill these locations with the macabre, with splatter-punk, and with empty souls. What will make them interesting to you, so that you in turn make them interesting to your players? What will set them on edge? Is there a character drawback that will draw them into investigating the location? Is there something behind the characters pushing them towards the location? It could be bad weather, time of day, a badass biker gang looking for scalps to claim, or a small horde of zombies searching for their next meal. Work the location into your game, Massage it until it becomes intertwined with the setting. Smile with your eyes when you describe the location.

But when you’re done with it, make sure the exit is just as creepy, just as violent (or eerily quiet), just as intriguing as when you found it. Why are those crows watching the characters? They weren’t here earlier – or at least, you didn’t notice them here earlier.

Random Forest Locations © 2023 Derek Stoelting

Zombie Mall

Zombie Mall
copyright 2023 Derek Stoelting

High Concept: Dawn of the Dead meets Stranger Things

The Pitch: a two page (?) handout Zombie Masters can use to create a mall for use in their AFMBE games. The handout includes the mall map, guide to the shops in the mall, and notes on how to use this product with your game.

"The mall?" asks Maddie

"The mall. The mall has it all," replies David.

- Moonlighting

Even since Dawn of the Dead, gamers have dreamt of invading a mall, clearing it of opponents, and using it for a base of operations in a post-apocalypse setting. This small handout provides you everything you need to fulfill those dreams.

As presented, GMs can use the mall map provided (still in development) and roll on the Mall Directory table to determine which type of stores are present and where they are located. The stores are not named by brand. This allows for the GM to cater the game to the locale and time period in which the game is set. Instead, a generic description of the type of store is listed. For those GMs with a different style of mall in mind, this handout can be used to randomly generate the store types of that mall. For example, an outdoor, outlet mall will have a completely different layout, but many types of stores will be the same. 

Each area has a die type associated with it. Those are the number of random zombies or other opponents in that area. For GMs not certain of the type of opponent, roll 1d6. On a 1-4, there are zombies. On a 5, raiders. On a 6, teenagers up to no good who may or may not be willing to fight the player characters. 

Some areas of the mall are static and do not have a random chance of occurring. Those areas are the back hallways, stair wells, elevators for patrons of the mall, food court seating area, service elevators for employees and delivery personnel, the parking lot, the parking garage, and escalators. There is also the promenade space of the mall. These areas can have their own number of opponents waiting for the player characters or present different opportunities to interact with the scenery.

Unless there is power available in the mall, the various elevators and the escalators will not function. Interior elevators will be very dark if there is no light source. Elevators have two entrances and both are accessible in a power outage. The first is a roof access. Depending on state law, these may be required to be locked shut or not. If you don’t know your state law, roll a d6. On a 1-2, it is unlocked and will open. On a 3-4, it is unlocked, but will not open without a struggle. Maybe the door is rusted shut or perhaps there is a dead body laying on top of it. One a 5-6, the hatch is locked shut from the outside and either a key or bolt cutter is needed to open the hatch. 

The second entrance is the door. In the event of a power outage, there are ways to open the door. The first is the use of the fireman’s call box. Using this requires a special key that is not likely to be found near the elevator. The other is a small pen-sized hole providing access to a release lever. If tripped, this lever unlocks the doors. The doors do not open on their own and the player characters will need to push them open. 

The back hallways of the mall connect to the various stores. They may also connect to the patron bathroom areas, mall offices, security office

Before you scold me for one of the sections with 14 locations, you can buy 14 sided dice and you can type roll 1d14 into your Google search bar and it will provide a result.

Random Items in the Concourse
1. Planter
2. Bench or Seating Area
3. Trash Can
4. Empty Kiosk
5. Dead Body
6. Fountain

Mall Directory

Department-Anchor Stores
d20

1) Low End Department Store
2) Mid-Tier Department Store
3) High End Department Store
4) Sporting Goods

Roll 1d6, on a result of 1 or 2, the anchor store connects to a parking garage.

Clothing
d6 

1) Women’s General Clothing 1
2) Women’s General Clothing 2
3) Women’s General Clothing 3
4) Women’s Business Clothing 1
5) Women’s Business Clothing 2
6) Young Women’s Clothing 1
7) Young Women’s Clothing 2
8) Teen Girls Clothing 1
9) Teen Girls Clothing 2
10) Men’s General Clothing 1
11) Men’s General Clothing 2
12) Young Men’s Clothing 1
13) Young Men’s Clothing 2
14) Men’s Business Clothing
15) Little Kids Clothing
16) Blue Jeans
17) Alternative
18) T-Shirts
19) Underwear / Lingerie
20) Pop Culture

Clothing Accessories
d6

1) Tennis Shoes 1
2) Tennis Shoes 2
3) Dress Shoes
4) Women’s Dress Shoes
5) Kid Shoes
6) Hats
7) General Jewelry Store 1
8) General Jewelry Store 2
9) General Jewelry Store 3
10) Watches
11) Purses and handbags
12) Young kid jewelry and ear piercings

Electronics and Entertainment
d4

1) Movie Theatre
2) Comedy Club
3) Book Store 1
4) Book Store 2
5) Music Store
6) Electronic Media
7) Cell Phone Cases
8) Comics
9) Toys
10) Video Games
11) Make-a-Toy
12) Pop Culture
13) Cell Phone Repair
14) Board Games

Food Court
d4

1) Sushi
2) Chinese
3) Cold Sub Sandwiches
4) Hot Sandwiches
5) Chicken
6) Candy
7) Italian
8) Gyros and Falafel
9) Fast food burgers
10) Shakes
11) Pretzels
12) Cookies
13) Snacks
14) Coffee

Other
d8

1) Arcade
2) Carousel
3) Conference Center
4) Cosmetics
5) Halloween Store
6) Hair Salon
7) Pets
8) Pharmacy
9) Rest / Seating area
10) Sporting Goods, smaller than the anchor store
11) Tobacco / CBD
12) Vitamins

Mall Management
d4

1) Mall Offices
2) Security Offices
3) Bathrooms

Restaurants
d10

1) Steak
2) Sushi
3) Burgers
4) Italian
5) Mexican
6) Large franchise with too many food choices