Friday, December 2, 2011

Bitten by the Zombie Bug, Again.

Been inspired by all of these great Zombie blogs out there and broke out the 15mm Zeds, Survivors and terrain today. I played a little solo game to attempt to learn the "All Things Zombie" rules by Two Hour Wargames. I've had ATZ for a while now, but haven't done much playing with these rules. However, inspired by watching the "Walking Dead" on TV with the boys, I decided to break these rules out again. I even ordered the latest ATZ book, "I, Zombie", as well as the "Giving Up The Goat" scenario. Got the usual great Two Hour Wargames service and turn-around time on my order. Ordered on 29 November, confirmation e-mail with link to free pdf version received same day. (THW sends you a pdf of the order if you order the hard copy, something I really appreciate.) Now, today, December 2nd, my order shows up in the mail. How's that for quick? Ed at THW rocks.


Anyway, I laid out a Zuzzy Terrain 2x2 foot Broken Blacktop latex mat and placed some HO scale model RR buildings and one of the Proxie Models ruins that I got for 15mm Mordheim. It's brick so it works great for Post Apoc gaming, too. Also added a Proxie Models Billboard and some scratch built dumpsters. Then brought out the Rebel Minis 15mm Zombies and models for the Humans. Chose a couple of Rebel Minis 15mm Street Punks and a couple of 15mm Splintered Light Minis Armed Space Crew (Mal and Jayne) for the Humans. The idea was to start the Humans from the South edge of the board and have them run off the North edge. A simple (I thought) scenario. Funny how things always go to hell in the Zombie Apocalypse. :)

Here's how it went. If any ATZ experts read this, please tell me if I screwed up anywhere. I was using ATZ1 and 2, and referencing the old "Putting it all Together" and "Explaining the Reaction System" Ed from THW put together a while ago.

Turn 1: entered from the South. Did normal move 8” North. (Didn't place Zombies first. I was following the "Putting It All Together" instructions. (Sorry, no pic.)

Rolled for zombies. Got 4. Placed 2 L rear, 1 R front, 1 R rear. Used a scatter dice to determine initial Z facing. (Got that idea from Vampifan's Blog.) L rear and R front Z's have LOS to People. R rear facing R front and behind building. No LOS. Rolled a 1 when seeing if it would move L or R. Moved L 6”.
 Pic above shows Zombie to the Party's Left Rear. She has no LOS to Humans.
Pic below shows Zed to Right front. Definitely has LOS, for both Z and Party. Party can't shoot it yet because it was just placed, and placement was not as a result of Attraction by Gunfire. (Is that right?)
 Pic below shows last 2 Zombies in the Left rear.

Activation: Z's win. R front and L rear move 6” toward People.
Pic below: Zombie at R front has moved 6" directly towards party.
Below: The left rear Zs moved 6" closer to the party.
Below, the Zed from the right rear emerges from behind the building.

In Sight Test:
LJ Rep 5 Star passes 2. Go to Ranged Combat Table. Roll 3 dice for Impact 3 Assault Rifle.
6, 3, 3 each added individually to rep 5. 11, 8, 8. 10+ hit, 8 otherwise hit. 3 hits total.
Easy to Hit: Zombie was not charging so I needed 5 or less for OD.
Rolled 2, 5, 5. OD
Pic below: LJ has a 3 shot marker in front of him to mark the spot from which he fired. At the end of the turn, any new Zombies generated will be placed 12" from this marker. The Zed has an Obviously Dead marker at her feet.
People move: regular move 8”. They're getting really close to the edge, and safety.

3 shots were taken. I rolled 3d6 for Z's attracted by gunfire. Got a 4, 6, 6. Playing in Outskirts so 1 Z for each 5 or 6. 2 new Z's generated. I used the location table and assumed they would be facing toward the party because of the gunfire. Rolled a 3 and 5.

The 3 was right front and there was a building there. Measured from the Bullet Marker. So I placed the Z at the door of the building even though that was closer than 12”.  (Is that the right way to do it?)

Pic above shows the new Zeds, one is in the Right front and pretty close. Once again, even though it is in sight, the party can't shoot it yet, because it was placed as a result of gunfire. In the distance way behind the party is the other Z generated by the gunfire.

5 was rear. I placed another Z 12” back from the bullet marker at the table edge behind the Party. (Distance was actually less than 12” but I'm playing on a 2' square mat. Should I halve distances when playing in 15mm? )

Activation: Humans 6, Z 4. Humans get to go first.

Board edge is 8 1/2” away so I did a fast move to leave the table and win. Also, why waste bullets? (I wished later that I had gunned down the nearby Zed to the Right front.
Rolled 3d6 because of leader for the Fast Move. Got 5, 4, 3.
Question: With 3d6 do I just throw out the highest die? That's what I went with but not sure I was right.
4,3 (5 discarded)
Rep 5 Star Passed 2 dice. Runs 16” off table.
2 Rep 4 Grunts both passed 2 dice. Both run 12” off table.
Rep 3 Grunt only Passed 1 dice. Runs 8” (counts as fast move for shooting. Failed to get off table.)

Maybe I shouldn't have fast moved. Now 1 guy is left behind with a Z pretty close. Crap! I don't think I can use Free Will to let the Star hang back and help the Rep 3, can I? I'm thinking he's on his own. At least that's the way I played it. I think once safety was in sight and the Leader yelled “Haul Ass, Boys!” That's what they would all do. Rep 3 just couldn't keep up. Maybe stepped in a pothole. Shit happenz.

Hurry up, Dumbass!

Zombies turn:


Look out behind you!

Z in front of building charges Rep 3. Is just within 6” so makes it into base to base contact. Rep3 has to take a Surprise Check because he was charged from flank or rear. Rolled a 3, 1. Passed 2 dice. “Turns to face enemy and takes being charged check @-1 Rep.”


Being Charged Check: rolled a 5 and 1. Passed 1 dice.”Those charged to Flank or Rear will “Runaway”. Run into nearest building seems to have been what he was supposed to have done, but I figure the guys ½ inch from the table edge. He sprints away to catch up with his chickenshit, leave a buddie behind “pals”.
And so as the sun sets we bid a fond farewell to Possum Junction.

So, no losses (But it was a near thing for the poor Rep 3 guy. He may have to re-evaluate his relationship with those guys. )
1 Z killed by star.

Did I do this right? And, has “runway” been replaced by “retire”? I see “Runaway” in ATZ1 but see “Retire” in ATZ2 and no mention of Runaway.

Thanks for looking, folks. Any schoolin' you can give me about ATZ will be most appreciated.

19 comments:

Kurt said...

I also play with a KFC building. I have a house rule that allows my guys to search and possibly find a bucket of chicken. The bucket of chicken can be used to divert the zeds and they feast on it like a human.

Kurt

Simon Quinton said...

Ha very cool Report. Love the KFC rule lmao

Unknown said...

Got to love them damn undead...
:)

The Angry Piper said...

You know, this is a good idea. I have ATZ too, but I don't know how to play it, and TBH, it seems like a LOT of dice rolling. Reading your AAR, it doesn't seem so bad. I'll have to try a solo game or two before roping my pals into playing.

Vampifan said...

Great batrep, LJ, and you'll pleased to know you did very well for a first timer. I'll answer your queries as you asked them.
1. If a zombie enters LOS during its movement the party should take an In Sight test.
2. If there is an obstacle that prevents a zombie from being placed 12" away, move the zombie clockwise until it is 12" away.
3. For playing in 15mm scale you can either half all distances noted in the rules or count inches as centimetres.
4. You were spot on with rolling 3d6 and picking the best two results.
5. The term Runaway has been replaced by Retire.
Do you have the Better Dead Than Zed rulebook? There are a lot of changes to it from the first edition rules. If not it is worth upgrading to. I, Zombie is a great supplement, but just remember, all of the rules in it are optional. Choose what you like and ignore what you don't like. I hope this has whetted your appetite for more zombie gaming.
Kind regards from Vampifan.

Cherno said...

"Activation: Humans 6, Z 4. Humans get to go first."

If the humans score a 6 on their activation, that would mean that only those led by a REP 6 or higher leader can activate. From what I understand, your highest REP is 5, so you would have had to sit out that turn ;)

Sean said...

Great report. Like you I have ATZ but have not played it yet. It's on my to do list.

Luckyjoe said...

Hi, guys. Thanks for all the feedback.

@Kurt: I love that KFC house rule. Im going to have to adopt that. Though it may be a hard sell. We love fried chicken. The boys would probably fight the Zombies for it. Maybe I'll give them an additional dice when defending the bucket. :)

@Brummie: Thanks, Im glad you liked it. It was a fun little game.

@Brother Joseph: Yeah, and in the latest version it sounds like you can even play a Smart Zombie. I'd rathebe a rager.

@The Angry Piper: Thanks. Ive been a little intimidated about playing because the rules seemed a little complex, and I always learn beter from playing with someone who knows wht theyre doing. However, after lots of batreps on the excellent Zombie blogs out there I decided to give it a try. It was actually a lot easier and play was a lot smoother than I anticipated.

Guys, I will have to answer the rest of your replies later today when Im off work. I am running late.

Yantantethera said...

Great write-up, thanks. I've never really been into zombies but you have inspired me to try ATZ sometime soon. I may just use some slow moving "nasty creatures" instead of zombies for now.

Luckyjoe said...

Hi guys. I'm back.
@Vampifan: Thanks very much for the help. I was hoping to hear from you. I do own BDTZ, I was bouncing back and forth between the first ATZ and BDTZ. Do I still need to use the 1st book, or just use BDTZ?

@Cherno: Thanks, that's a good point. I thought it was just a comparison of numbers rolled. I forgot about the Rep part.

@Sean: Thanks, it's a lot easier than I thought it wold be.

@Yantantethera: Thanks. You can also play against other people with ATZ. Vampifan had a great batrep a while back fighting some Killer Clowns.

Vampifan said...

LJ, if you have BDTZ then you really don't need the first edition rulebook. Stick with that, my friend.

flashcove said...

glad to see another fan of Firefly

Kobayachimaru said...

Great Bat Rep.

The Angry Lurker said...

Great batrep, really entertaining and funny.

Luckyjoe said...

@Vampifan: Thanks, that's a big help. I will just use the BDTZ book in the future. It was a little confusing going back and forth between the two books. I wasnt sure if it was like the "Song of" series games wherein you have to do that.

@Flashcove: Thanks, we love Firefly. Just watched Train Job last night as a matter of fact.


@Kobayachimaru: Thanks! Havng read some of the great batreps youve done, I appreciate the compliment.

@Fran: Thanks. I gets loads of inspiration from your blog so I'm glad you liked it.

Ed the THW Guy said...

Thanks for sharing. It's always wonderful to see people playing the games and enjoying them. Thanks and yep, just use BDTZ.

Luckyjoe said...

Hi, Ed. Thanks very much. You did a great job on this game. I must have added 20 blogs to my list that use ATZ.

Ray Rousell said...

An excellent batrep and pics a very entertaining read!!! Sorry I missed it earlier on!!

Zombie Ad said...

great Batrep... once you're bit... that's it!