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Zoo Mafia: Flaws, Scars, and Secrets—Let ’Em Bleed

In Zoo Mafia, every bullet wound, busted tooth, and broken alias is more than just a bad roll—it’s fuel for the story. The best fights don’t just chew up hit points; they drag out the things your crew would rather keep buried.

Combat isn’t just about winning. It’s about what it costs.

Flaws in the Crossfire

When the zoo turns into a battleground, let the flaws of your characters spill out along with the gunpowder.

• The Button loses it when they see the same flatpaw that iced their brother, smashing a rival harder than they should, drawing heat they can’t afford.

• The Grifter fumbles their cover story mid-brawl, blowing the alias they’ve been working for months. Now the enemy knows exactly who they are.

• The Lookout freezes, distracted by an old scar that reminds them of the first time they were left behind.

• The Goon won’t stop swinging even when they should—because deep down, they’re afraid of what happens when they stop.

When flaws come out in combat, they don’t just color the fight—they change it.

Scars that Don’t Heal

Every character carries scars. Physical. Emotional. Reputational. Zoo Mafia fights should poke at those scars until they bleed.

• An old wound gets reopened by a knife slash.

• A rival taunts a player with the nickname from the mugshot they swore no one would see again.

• A scarred gangster tries to prove they’re still as tough as they used to be, and overplays their hand.

Scars make combat personal. Winning isn’t about walking away with all your HP intact—it’s about what part of you survives intact.

Secrets in the Spotlight

Secrets are great currency in Zoo Mafia—until combat blows them wide open.

• The mob can’t risk the humans finding out about them, but the firefight spills into the visitor plaza anyway. Screaming kids and reporters are watching now.

• A safecracker pulls a trick that proves they know too much about a rival’s vault.

• A driver floors it, and the cops see the stash in the back seat.

The best fights are those where every round risks putting the wrong truth in the wrong hands.

The Bleed Test

Ask yourself as GM: What does this fight force the players to show that they’d rather hide?

Every round of combat should:

• Test a flaw.

• Aggravate a scar.

• Threaten a secret.

When you layer those onto the shootouts, you stop having just another mob brawl. You get messy, bloody drama—stories worth retelling long after the gunsmoke clears. If you are a fan of Zoo Mafia and want to be notified when we go live on Kickstarter make sure you head over to the follow page to get notified. If you want to be on the newsletter to get all the details as we release them you can sign up here.

Because in Zoo Mafia, the wounds that hurt the most aren’t the ones you can patch up. They’re the ones that never stop bleeding.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!