Zone Compendium 3: Die, Meat eaters, die!

The third Zone Compendium presents five additional special zone sectors. This time, the focus is on a cross-over with the Genlab Alpha setting, meaning that mutated animals play a central role here, although in various forms and roles.

The first of the five locations is the rabbit kingdom of Deeproot, which introduces a new faction to the zone, as militaristic mutant rabbits have built a burrow to protect them from the carnivores like a fortification. This location offers a potential threat to the player characters and their base, which can be dealt with in a number of ways.

Blackhand's Bar is a place where the player characters can meet with other factions in a neutral atmosphere. In addition to the bar as a meeting place, this setting offers another group, the so-called Zone Riders, which can become an interesting addition to the game setting.

The Garbage Masters is another location where an animal mutant tribe, this time of toads, has settled, searching for relics of bygone times in an old garbage dump. Of course, this potential treasure trove also attracts other parties, so this setting can develop in different directions depending on the player character's involvement.

The Island of Dr. Life also introduces a team that has escaped from Genlab Alpha and offers special services on its island, which may also be targeted by enemies.

Finally, the fifth scenario, the Squirrel Wars, revolves around a forest area in which mutated dogs and mutated squirrels engage in a long conflict that can potentially be broken up by skillful player characters.

As with the other Zone Compendiums, the five locations offer interesting starting points and a variety of possibilities between social interactions and battles: whether and what role these locations play in the player characters' campaign is largely determined by their decisions. In the case of Squirrel Wars, there is a loosely defined goal that the player characters can use to resolve the situation — provided they devote themselves to this zone accordingly.

Although knowledge of Genlab Alpha is recommended in the book's introduction, the information in this Zone Compendium is sufficient to at least understand the basics of how the animal mutants got into the zone and about their background. As with all Zone Compendiums, the key question here is whether the game master needs further suggestions for special zone sectors. If this is the case, and if you want to confront the player characters with the animal mutants from Genlab Alpha, then Die, Meat eater, die! is the appropriate supplement to enrich the setting of the game with further exciting as well as bizarre facets of the zone.

(Björn Lippold)