Editing Dead Reign (section)

=Occupational Character Classes=
If you're familiar with anything that Palladium has put out, you know how these work. Obviously, these are all mundane in nature, but given that [[RIFTS]] is a thing, it's funny to imagine what might happen if you stir more supernatural O.C.Cs into the pot.

The '''Half-Living''' would probably be characterized as a Racial Charcter Class in other Palladium games. These are people who were reduced to near-death at the hands of zombies, but somehow rescued before they could fully die and rise as one of the dead. This is both a blessing and a curse; the Half-Living are much more tolerant of heat, cold, disease and poison, can absorb P.P.E from dying humans and animals, and can even walk safely through the ranks of the dead. The downside? Aside from pale skin, black circles around the eyes, stiffened movement and a crippling need to be around humans, the Half-Living also have to live with the fact that when they die, no matter how it happened, they'll rise as a zombie within 1d6+6 minutes. Oh, and most living people treat them like shit. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Hound Masters''' have realized just how useful dogs are in a post-zombocalypse world, and so have dedicated themselves to recruiting, breeding and training loyal dogs to aid themselves and others in the fight against the undead menace. Also to reduce the dangers posed by the packs of turned-feral stray dogs now running wild in the wilderness. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Road Reapers''' (or just ''Reapers'' for short) claim membership in the first major anti-zombie survivalist organization, a biker outfit who have rededicated themselves to preserving humanity as modern-day knights on mechanical steeds. As such, this O.C.C focuses heavily on combat and survival skills, alongside using and maintaining motorcycles, a valuable asset in a world where cars have become too bulky to be routinely usable. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

Half merchant and half thief, '''Scroungers''' specialize in pilfering the ruins of humanity to find things that can either be cobbled together into immediately useful gear or which are valuable enough to be worth trading on. It might be easiest to think of them as the [[Skill Monkey]]s of the default O.C.Cs. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Shepherds of the Damned''' are some of the noblest souls left in this hellish world; people who have dedicated their lives to finding and rescuing the other surviving members of humanity. Not to slaying zombies, that's what the Reapers do, but to finding the living and getting them to safety. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Soldiers''' represent the surviving members of military and law enforcement, who have adapted to using their skills to survive in the post-Wave world. It's up to the individual Soldier what they put their talents to use for, but most dream of establishing safe zones and/or wiping out as many zombies as possible. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Survivors''' are your Average Joes. These are the regular working stiffs who managed to ''not die'' during the rise of the undead, and intend to keep on living. Whether they're just trying to get to a safe zone to regain some sense of normality or they're taking an active stand against the dead, this is the generic "everyman" O.C.C of Dead Reign. This O.C.C is found in the Dead Reign Corebook.

'''Sentinels''', introduced in the third Dead Reign [[splatbook]] "Endless Dead", are the specialist scouts, first responders and rescue agents of the post-zombocalypse world, usually working on behalf of an existing group of survivors or teamed up with other specialists, such as Hound Masters and Shepherds of the Damned. They specialize in mobility as much as stealth.

'''Survivalists''', introduced in the third Dead Reign [[splatbook]] "Endless Dead", were people who believed that ''something'' was coming to fuck civilization over before it actually happened, and took every step they could to prepare themselves to weather the storm when they came. Folks aren't laughing any more. Now they're the leaders, teachers, and even prophets of post-Wave survivor groups... which has gone to a ''lot'' of their collective heads.

'''Wheelmen''', introduced in the third Dead Reign [[splatbook]] "Endless Dead", used to drive for a living before the Wave - truckers, highway patrol, cops who managed to get away in their cars, bus drivers, taxi drivers, construction vehicle workers, delivery guys, ambulance drivers, even farmers and former racers and stunt drivers. Now they are modern-day nomads, using their skills to drift from place to place. Some work in tandem with zombie hunter bands suchs the Road Reapers as supply vehicles or rolling HQs, others just try to survive by staying mobile, often partnering up with Scroungers or even becoming full-on traders.

The name '''Zombie Hunter''' may seem like a bit of an oxymoron; after all, by definition, anyone who is fighting to preserve humanity in this Post-Wave world is going to hunt zombies at some point. What earns this O.C.C from the third Dead Reign [[splatbook]], "Endless Dead", its moniker is its focus: professional Zombie Hunters are devoted to the war against the undead. They don't care (too much) about rescue, resupply, rebuilding, they care about dealing with the central issue. Namely, the need to put down every last shambling, crawling, moaning undead bastard there is. This is the anti-zombie combat master of the O.C.Cs.

'''Zombie Researchers''', introduced in the third Dead Reign [[splatbook]] "Endless Dead", were educated souls in the pre-Wave world, and now that the dead walk, have turned that intelligence to answering the question of ''why'' the dead walk. The smartest ones make that phase one in a plan to ultimately figure out the answer to "how do we make them '''stop'''", but of course you have the eccentrics who just want to know for knowledge's sake.

'''Drone Masters''', introduced in "Hell Followed", were pioneers in the art of remote-controlled robotic drones before the Wave, and have now turned their talents to good use in surviving. Whilst not foolproof, almost all zombies will ignore drones, which can be used as far-ranging scouts... and perhaps even assassins, if you can equip them with weaponry.

'''Federal Emergency Managers''' are agents of the pre-Wave American government who now serve still-surviving enclaves of bureaucracy. Their primary mission is to preserve and advance "The Continuity of the Federal Government"... basically, to try and keep the idea of the US government alive in hopes of one day actually restoring it to power. This O.C.C was introduced in "Hell Followed".

'''Free Spirits''' are similar to Survivors, except for one thing: their indefagitable sense of optimism and compassion.  Whilst often perceived by more bitter, cynical or traumatized individuals as raving loonies, the Free Spirits are perfectly sane - they just prefer to look on the bright side of life, and seek to inspire humanity to hold onto hope. This O.C.C was introduced in "Hell Followed".

'''Naturalists''' represent those people who have focused on learning the skills needed to survive in the wilderness, which is honestly a pretty smart decision considering that a) most of the zombies are clustered around the urban environment, and b) there's only so much salvage and preserved food, so eventually it's going to run out. This O.C.C was introduced in "Hell Followed".

There are Road Reapers. There are Soldiers. There are Zombie Hunters. And then there's the '''One Man Army'''. These are the guys who have decided "enough is enough". Through sheer grit, determination, and a fuckload of guns and explosives, they are determined to start taking the world back for humanity. This O.C.C was introduced in "Hell Followed".

The '''One Percenter''' was amonst the richest and most powerful people in the world before the Wave. Now they have to struggle with a world where all their money, all their political connections, all their social clout, everything that made them "special" is either gone or absolutely worthless. But they often have a hoard of practical wealth too - land, fuel, ammunition, guns, medicine, food - and the smart ones learn how to leverage that to rise to the top in a rebuilding world. 

Introduced in "Hell Followed", the '''Zombie Prophet''' O.C.C moves away from the relatively hard sci-fi of the rest of the setting. These individuals have learned that Potential Psychic Energy exists, and that it is central to the existence of the zombies - they know zombies feed from it, starve without it, and this has compelled them to explore its mysteries in hopes of unearthing the secrets behind the Wave. Which has paid dividends by teaching them how to manipulate their P.P.E field to become temporarily invisible to zombies. The downside is that almost all Zombie Prophets ''don't condemn the zombies as evil'', which makes them almost as popular as [[necromancer]]s.

The last [[splatbook]], "In the Face of Death", introduced several O.C.Cs specifically for ''kids'' who have managed to survive in the post-Wave world.
* '''Rat Runners''' specialize in getting around quickly, exploiting their small, nimble bodies and intimate knowledge of the terrain to manuever in ways that many adults are hard pressed to match, making heavy use of parkour and similar athletic skills. They often serve as couriers and lookouts for the groups they run with.
* '''Urban Explorers''' are the young scouts of the Post-Wave world, taking advantage of being smaller, stealthier and more manueverable to locate even the most well-hidden or obscure resource caches and hot spots.
* '''Zombie Nerds''' are smart kids who are fascinated by the undead, and do their best to learn everything important about them. Don't mistake this for the abstract scientific knowledge of a Zombie Researcher; this is practical knowledge, gained through observation and confrontation. Unfortunately, familiarity can breed complacency, which can be their downfall.

Finally, the very last O.C.C invented specifically for Dead Reign is the '''Masked Lunatic Hero'''. Originally appearing as a concept with several NPCs based around it in "Hell Followed", it was promoted to a playable O.C.C in the final splatbook, "In the Face of Death". Masked Lunatics have gone, well, a little crazy, and have completely immersed themselves in a new fictious persona of a hero who stands up to the undead. This is usually a superhero, but not always; classic pulp and literary heroes like [[knight]]s from the [[Arthurian Mythos]], Robin Hood, or masked saviors like Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel also become a basis for this delusion. Masked Lunatics don't have superpowers in the technical sense, but usually have special abilities born from their dementia, such as berserker rages or lightning reflexes. The sourcebook also discusses in brief the idea of crossing over Dead Reign with Palladium's [[Supers]] RPG [[Heroes Unlimited]] or the [[RIFTS]] splatbook [[Heroes of the Megaverse]].

[[Category: Roleplaying]]