Rolling the Bones is what we call the basic mechanic, or game engine, used to resolve actions. It calls for the player to roll a 20-sided die (or in some cases, a pool of 20-sided dice), apply any relevant modifiers to the total(s), and arrive at a single, final result. The higher this result, the more likely it is that the survivor succeeds at whatever it is they are attempting to do. Shotguns & Zombies uses a simple rating system to gauge the relative difficulty, complexity or risk of a given action.

Routine: This is a no-brainer. No need to roll.
Simple: This won't take a whole lot of effort. Succeed on a 6+.
Easy: This shouldn't be too difficult. Succeed on a 9+.
Hard: This could go either way. Succeed on a 12+.
Tough: This might be a bit challenging. Succeed on a 15+
Extreme: This is probably a long-shot. Succeed on a 18+.
Impossible: This is hopeless. No need to roll.

Setbacks are delightfully nasty. They are the really bad things that can happen to a survivor. They occur when a player rolls the bones and ends up getting a natural 1. The consequence of such an epic fail is that something bad happens. Maybe a survivor's pistol jams or they drop their baseball bat. Perhaps they twist an ankle or their opponent catches them off-guard and inflicts some damage. Whatever the setback is, it should make sense within the context of the action being attempted.

Qualities:

• Aim - A survivor's proficiency with guns, firearms and projectile weapons. A survivor uses their aim to make ranged attacks against an opponent.
• Agility - A survivor's dexterity, coordination and reflexes. A survivor uses their agility when attempting any athletic-type and finesse-based actions or to defend themselves against attack, danger or bodily harm.
• Brains - A survivor's acumen, intelligence and senses. A survivor uses their agility when attempting any cognitive-type actions.
• Brawn - A survivor's strength and physical power. A survivor uses their brawn when attempting any physical-type actions and to make close attacks against an opponent.
• Spirit - A survivor's courage, magnetism and allure. A survivor uses their spirit when attempting and socially-based actions or to make a gut-check in the face of fear.

For character generation, you get 4 points to spend. Allocate them however you want into those five categories. After, you must remove 2 points in total from skills you have not added to. If you choose to take +2 Aim and +2 Agility, you may remove one or two points from Brains, Brawn or Spirit, so long as the total is -2.

Specialty:

Grease Monkey - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I make repairs to an automobile.
Gun Enthusiast - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to repair to firearms.
Hot Stuff - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to influence or persuade the opposite sex.
Hotwire - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to start a car without the keys.
First Aid - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to treat wounds.
Marksmanship - I gain a +2 modifier to my rolls when making single round ranged attacks.
Pick Locks - I gain a +2 modifier to my rolls when opening locks without a key or bolt-cutters.
Self Defense - I gain a +1 modifier to my rolls when I defend myself against close attacks.
Techie - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to repair electronic gadgets and devices.
Tracking - I gain a +3 modifier to my rolls when I try to track footprints and other signs of passage.

All:

You have a total of 6 health.
You have a total of 3 sanity.

As events unfold and they faced with moments of sheer terror and horror, a survivor is forced to make gut-checks to keep their wits about them. Should they fail a gut-check, they inch closer towards the edge of all out panic. Once a survivor has failed three gut checks, they panic. When a survivor loses their last sanity point or fails a gut-check while they have 0 sanity, they will acquire one of the following conditions:

Confused (-2 Brains)
Desperate (-2 Spirit)
Distracted (-2 Aim)
Hampered (-2 Agility)
Hamstrung (-2 Brawn)
Sick (-1 all qualities)

These conditions only last until you sleep.

The basic principles of the items are fairly decent, so we'll probably stick with the majority of what they say they do. Aside from that, we'll take it by a case by case basis as you run into them and we'll work together to keep it balanced.

We've dropped action dice for ease.

Carry capacity will be whatever makes sense. For instance, if you try carrying two shotguns, five pistols, a baseball bat, a machete, six hand grenades and seventeen clips of ammo, that's probably no good and you'll need to drop stuff. But we'll work on that as we move.

For now, characters should be fairly simple, but if you have questions, please ask.