Mark of the Dead

**Still undergoing playtest in group and solo.  
Feedback is very welcome**

WHAT IS THIS? This game attempts to emulate the genre of zombie apocalypse stories through the Old-School Renaissance (OSR) Mark of the Odd system, created originally for Into the Odd by Chris McDowall.

NOTABLE FEATURES The game features a minimalist d20 Mark of the Odd ruleset, with a few tweaks and extra features:

• Character creation includes the possibility of boons and banes, depending on the highest Ability Score
• A simple stress mechanic that encourages playing out emotional moments in the fiction
  
• Hit Protection rethought as Control, a measure of the Survivor's ability to avoid physical damage and stress (a renaming partly inspired by Liminal Horror)
• Armor as HP (or in this case, Control), not armor reduction
• Rules for zombies and becoming one
• Advice for being an Apocalypse GM
• An FAQ for new Mark of the Odd players - and for fellow designers, outlining some of my thoughts
• Equipment and tables for the wasteland
• Simple character sheets

CREATIVE COMMONS Mark of the Dead is designed by Mattias Olesen and is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

ART AND ASSETS Art by Chaoclypse (cover) and Roque Romero (p. 4, 6 & 7). The handwriting font is by rthorm. The Character Sheet assets is by Penflower Ink, 2025, www.penflower-ink.com.

DESIGN CREDITS Mark of the Dead is based on the Mark of the Odd SRD v0.4 by Chris McDowall, www.bastionland.com.

Mark of the Dead also adapts elements and text from the following splendid games: Liminal Horror (equipment), Breathless (Before Play and Roles section) and Zombies, Brains and 2D6 (tables).

• Mark of the Dead an independent production by Mattias Olesen and is not affiliated with Goblin Archives LLC. It is published under the Liminal Horror Third Party License. Liminal Horror is copyright by Goblin Archives LLC.
• This work is based on Breathless, product of Fari RPGs (https://farirpgs.com), developed and authored by René-Pier Deshaies-Gélinas, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons.
• Zombies, Brains and 2D6 is created by Incerto and under CC BY 4.0. 

The genre reflections and advice of Free League’s The Walking Dead Universe roleplaying game have also been a major inspiration.