I was sent a copy of this book for review by Trapped Chest. I did not receive any other sort of compensation for this review.

A few months back, I read Reanimated from Trapped Chest.  It’s a very rules-light, zombie survival game.  It uses the Key Powered System, which is somewhat similar to the Cepheus Engine that evolved out of the original Traveller. Though it uses two (or 3) eight sided dice, instead of Traveller’s six side dice.  Basically, roll two dice, add them together, with a statistic and a skill, trying to beat a target number. 

Join Their Ranks is a supplement largely meant to give options if you want to play a character beyond death.  You could look at it as rules for playing an “evil” party, but I think there’s opportunity for more than a simple duality.  As games like Vampire: The Masquerade showed back in the 90s, there’s storytelling potential in trying to do good while you’ve got an all-consuming hunger that drives you to do bad.  Wouldn’t it be interesting to tap into that Day of the Dead vibe, where the zombies may not have been allies of the “good guys,” but still helped them escape the real villains, Rhodes and his cronies.  

In the book, you’ll find rules for crafting your new undead self, including the possibility of mutations that will give your shambler that extra something.  There’s some player advice and GM advice for playing the undead.  And there’s a short, sort of “points of light”…or maybe “points of dark” would be more appropriate, adventure. 

Join Their Ranks is not a complete game.  You’ll need the basic Reanimated rulebook.  And like Reanimated, I don’t think it’s necessarily a great beginner game, at least not for game masters.  It feels like a framework, but you and your table will have to fill in the details.  That gives you a lot of freedom, but that can be a challenge for beginners.

After getting really burned out on the whole zombie thing, I’ve slowly been rediscovering my love of the storytelling possibilities of that particular monster.  So, the arrival of Join Their Ranks was well timed for me.  As much as I enjoyed playing All Flesh Must Be Eaten back in the day, I think these days, it’s a bit crunchier than I like, at least as a GM.  So, maybe Reanimated, with the addition of Join Their Ranks would fit the bill.  

You can see my unboxing video here.

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