Hopefinder
A Modern Zombie Apocalypse Hack of Pathfinder 2E
Today people just call it the Fall. What a simple name for a whirlwind of death and violence that marked the end of the world. In the final months of 2022, a swine parasite spread around the world, killing billions, and causing them to rise up as the hungry zombies. The Z-Plague hit fast, killing most of the infected within days. In just weeks, world governments began to crumble. A year later, civilization had all but collapsed and only a few million desperate souls remained, surrounded by a world hellbent to consume them. Now the year is 2032. You are a Survivor, one of the lucky few struggling every day just to keep humanity around for a little while longer.
Hopefinder is a modern zombie apocalypse RPG built using the rules engine from Pathfinder Second Edition. As a hack of Pathfinder, it is not a complete game and it requires a working understanding of Pathfinder 2E to play. Hopefinder replaces the class system of Pathfinder with a story driven classless advancement system that empowers the Survivors (PCs) to drive the narrative forward by revealing their backstory through Flashbacks. The Narrator (GM) works with the players to tell a compelling story by setting the stage, adjudicating the rules, and controlling the actions of the zombies and other characters.
While the setting might be bleak and the world has seen better days Hopefinder is, at its core, about making a better tomorrow, sheltering the delicate flame of hope that lives on in every Survivor. Your character might not live to see a better future, but as long as they leave behind a world that is just a little bit brighter, their sacrifice might just be worth it.
Hope is a vital commodity in the game. Working together and sharing your stories gives you Hope. Falling into desperate times, giving into despair, and getting infected with the Z-Plague steals Hope from you. If you get infected, and run out of hope, the parasite takes over, transforming you into a shambling corpse!
Hopefinder is an RPG meant to be played over a handful of sessions, with characters reaching up to 5th level. Once their story is done, its time to let someone else take on the role of Narrator, to tell another inspiring story set in the ruins of a dead civilization.
Hopefinder is available NOW as a PDF!
The initial PDFs for the Hopefinder RPG were released in October, 2022 via the Minotaur Games store over on DriveThruRPG. You can find both the Survivor’s Guide and the Narrator’s Guide in PDF form through the following links. Scroll down to learn about the upcoming PRINT EDITION of Hopefinder!
Help make the Hopefinder PRINT edition a Reality!
Printing books in the apocalypse is hard and quite expensive. That is why we at Minotaur Games are turning to YOU to help us make it happen! Launching on February 15th, 2022, you can help make the Print Edition of the Hopefinder RPG a reality though Kickstarter! For just $25 (plus shipping), you will get a print version of both the Survivor’s Guide and the Narrator’s Guide! If you are looking for more, signed and special editions are available as well! Act fast, this campaign will not be around forever and this might end up being your ONLY chance to get a copy in this format!
A Note on this Kickstarter. Unfortunately due to incredibly high shipping costs around the world, Print Editions will only be available to backers in the USA and CA for this campaign. Shipping within the US is expected to be about $5 for most pledges (around $24 for Canadian backers). PDFs are, of course, offered worldwide and ALL backers who back the PDF tier will be offered a chance to be among the first to purchase a PRINT ON DEMAND edition of the Hopefinder books later this year. And as my thanks, those books will be offered as the SAME PRICE as this crowdfunding campaign (plus shipping). These books will be printed through DriveThruRPG, which has facilities in the US and UK, making their global shipping significantly cheaper than what I can offer through this campaign. It’s not the perfect solution, but it is the best we can offer that saves you a fair bit of money.
Resources
The basic character sheet PDF for Hopefinder is available for free at the link below. The Survivor’s Guide PDF includes the Enhanced Version of the character sheet that is form-fillable and programed to do much of the character creation math for you!
Click Here to Download the Hopefinder Character Sheet