Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Who needs money, not me!?

Day One - Location #5

Cast: Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface
Objective: get some cash from the ATM
Area: suburban

Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface where still in shock after their unsuccessful search of Dotty at the Kindergarten. There had been so many aggressive and irritated people running around. Mrs. Whiteface had tried to fight her way through the crowd on her own when Mr. Whiteface had been knocked out by a thrown chair, but to no avail. The Whiteface’s had lost so many hours when they continued their search after the rampant mob had mostly left the area, but the Kindergarten had been evacuated already.
Now they had reached their next target: a small bank office with an ATM. There wasn’t anyone in sight, even the primary school to their left was uncanny silent. Without talking they started to run towards their destination.
pic. #1: The ATM is in the brown building over there.
This scenario is played on a 4’ x 4’ table again. The Whiteface’s had arrived at the Kindergarten normally (2 successes) in location #2, but they hadn’t been able to push their way through nine terrified civilians at the start of the game. Mr. Whiteface had been going down against opponent #5 and Mrs. Whiteface had been OOF’ed by opponent #8. This location had been over even before the first activation roll.
I decided to take the same table again and start at the road visible above the primary school. They had needed two additional locations (0 successes) to arrive this part of town, because they had left the area around the Kindergarten with great reluctance. Their new objective is inside the brown apartment block in the centre of the table. This time the Whiteface Family will only use one activation die, but more zombies may appear due to them counting as two humans on the table.

Turn 1: Both do a fast move (1 success) along the road towards the T-intersection without problems.
pic. #2: Let's go!
Turn 2: (Seven!) This area isn’t as empty as the Whitefaces had presumed. They stop to check the new arrivals (inactive, 5 zombies). There is a badly mauled guy dragging a rifle along the asphalt on the road behind them and Tom, the Town Sheriff between the Humvees in front of the school. They see Rose, the friendly waitress from the nearby Diner appearing from their left but fail to notice the two eerie children behind the school.
pic. #3: Here they come!
Turn 3: When they see the zeds closing in (all active, Zeds move first) the Whitefaces don’t hesitate and decide to run (fast move, 1 success) along the road. Sheriff Tom and the school boy have minor problems with the hedge around the school, but not too much.
pic. #4: Good thing these aren't Ragers!
Turn 4: Looking over his shoulder Mr. Whiteface sees the zombies still following them (all active, zombies move first) and he urges his wife to run faster (fast move, 1 and 2 successes). Mrs. Whiteface arrives at the trees while Mr. Whiteface is dragging staring at the abandoned cab on the road.

Turn 5: The Whitefaces cease to move (inactive) when they notice a large pool of blood and unidentifiable remains in the back of the cab while their zombified pursuers are getting closer (active) to Mr. Whiteface.

Turn 6: Mr. Whiteface isn’t able to make up his mind (inactive) and the zombie hordes moves nearer again. The Sheriff will be in charging distance next round, with Rose the waitress not far behind.

Turn 7: What a lucky guy Mr. Whiteface is! (All are active, the Whitefaces move first). He awakes from his daydream yells at his wife and both run (double successes due to leadership) into the group of trees next to the road. They manage to reach the back of the bank building. Rose and Tom are still able to see them and the other zeds move where they last saw Mr. Whiteface.

Turn 8: So many decisions, not enough time (All are active, but the zeds are going frist this time). Three late comers move just in time to get Mr. Whiteface back into there blurry sight again and the two leading zombies walk through the trees. The Whiteface Family realize that their attempt to hide has been futile and they start to run (fast move, 1 success) around the corner of the building.

Turn 9: The Whitefaces try to catch their breath (inactive), something the zeds don’t need to do (active). The undead horde moves towards the spot where they have last seen their prey, but they are not able to get them back into sight again.

Turn 10: The Zombies are irritated! Where is them brains?! (inactive) The family runs (fast move, 0 and 1 success) around the next corner towards the door. Mr. Whiteface stops at the door while Mrs. Whiteface enters the building.

Turn 11: The zombies have lost their motivation (inactive). Mr. Whiteface checks the area before following his wife inside the bank office. Mrs. Whiteface is already frustratedly kicking the ATM. There description for this location tells me that there is no money inside and that this location is over.


Comment: I had some minor problems with my pictures and will add more later on. Nevertheless I wanted to get this batrep done, because I played this game last week.

Whiteface

14 comments:

  1. Bad luck seems to follow the Whitefaces wherever they go! Still no Dotty and now no cash. Bummer! Fast moving is a good tactic to use against the much slower zeds. Yeah, thank God you weren't facing Ragers! Shudder! They scare me!

    What I love about your table is the little touches that bring it to life. The play area in the garden of the red brick house is excellent. Just where you'd expect a few zombie kids to hang out. I presume they came with the house?

    I wouldn't worry about the lack of photos, Oliver. What you have and your excellent narrative gave a fine sense of what was going on. Besides, how many photos of the Whitefaces running do you need?

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  2. The photos you posted are very nice and coming along nicely. Lighting is correct and makes a huge difference.
    Sorry about the bad luck again, I'm debating whether to drop LTL Nick in the mail to come help you.

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  3. This isn’t bad luck! This is Day One as a Rep 3 civilian. The game is hard, very hard. You cannot avoid terrified civilians and you probably won’t be able to beat them with your low fighting skills. Such is life in a dying civilization.

    @Vampifan: The red house is the Plasticville school and both zombified kids are from Cold War miniatures (“Streetwalkers” and “Run For It”). The girl is scary, but the boy…the boy is my favourite CW mini: he’s so creepy and I think he will be my first smart zed.
    I have spent my september budget for trees, hedges and rocks to fill the space between the buildings. Very soon I’ll be able to add more little touches to my tabletop thanks to The Extraordinarii’s post about street accessories from Scenemaster http://leadwarriors.blogspot.com/2010/08/street-accessories.html.
    Ragers scare me too! Will you include Ragers and Smarties in your normal games?

    QUOTE: “Besides, how many photos of the Whitefaces running do you need?“
    LOL! I guess you’re right.

    @LTL Dad: Thank you for your offer, but I think LTL Nick will attract more zeds with all his shooting and I don’t want to find myself at the business end of his gun. ;o)
    I haven’t changed anything about the lighting, but I don’t use the flash anymore. And my wife has showed me how to change to focus. I am a guy, so I try to avoid manuals as far as possible!

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  4. At some point down the line I will include Ragers and Smart Zombies in my campaign. Vampires, too, although not in the short term. I very much doubt if I'll be including Giant Worms. They don't fit in with my plans. I'm quite happy with just sticking with your ordinary run-of-the-mill zombies for the foreseeable future. The new stuff can wait.

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  5. Yep, I think that smarties could appear after 12 or 24 months, but ragers? Ragers are not as low-profile as smarties, so I guess they wouldn't suddenly appear in Z-World later on, but be a constant threat following month one or two. This would be very, very, VERY dangerous! Even Team Vampifan would have some problems with a mob of ragers, but the Whiteface Family would have no chance with their low Rep and without firearms.
    Hmm, play a Secret Lab scenario after completing year one?

    BA worms...funny, but I don't think I will include them in my campaign too. This is more something for After The Horsemen.

    Do you have any ideas / thoughts about the new quirks / phobias system? Inlcuding them into a running campaign may pose a problem. On the other hand, a "running campaign" is not a problem that couldn't be solved by a bunch of ragers...

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  6. I'm not sure how far after Day One I plan to introduce Ragers or Smart Zombies. After a year or two seems reasonable for Smart zeds, as you say. Ragers are something I'd like to avoid for as long as possible, say when Vampifan reaches Rep:7! On the other hand, it all depends on the campaign. Sometimes events just spiral out of control and who knows where your heroes are going to end up? The beauty of ATZ is quite often the story unfolds at its own accord, something that LTL Dad has said many a time.

    A secret lab scenario? It has to be done, hasn't it?

    Quirks, Phobias and Fame and Fortune Points are something I will include. I'm all for expanding the personalities of my heroes. Having just a Rep and an Attribute doesn't say much but these new rules will help flesh out a character. I like them!

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  7. Hey hey, scenery is lookin good, I'm liking the trees and the hedge, very cool, also perhaps you can tell me.... the taxi where did you get that one?? I cant find a taxi to suit 28mm for the life of me, do tell.... :)

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  8. I just read the comments, Yay I get a mention (I know very shallow !).....now as far as having different zombies goes, I think I will just dive into the deep end and have all zombie types in the first game ?! slow shamblers,fast ragers and zombie dogs, Crazy I know but it should be fun, now what are smart zombies? you have peaked my curiosity, well I can guess what they are, but where did the idea come from ?

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  9. @The Extraordinarii: The taxi is a 1/43 vehicle kit from Welly Diecast. Their website isn't really helpful, better search for a 1/43 diecast modelcar website in your area. These model has a little pull-back motor to better crash it into your scenery.
    I hadn't really noticed scenmaster before, so your post about the street accessories was very helpful.
    My math & theory gaming says: don't include Ragers in Day One scenarios! Your Star(s) will die...faster than usual. Give ragers and smarties at least a month or two to spread the virus mutation all over the country.

    Smart Zeds...hmm, is it Land Of the Dead? I think so, but I am not that well versed in all those "...of the dead" movies. Yeah, I know, I know...

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  10. Oliver, there was indeed a smart zombie in "Land of the Dead" aka Big Daddy. But the original (and still the best) smart zombie was surely Bub from "Day of the Dead." Studio Miniatures make a mighty fine figure of Bub, by the way.

    Extraordanarii, if you want a short and bloody first game, then go ahead and include Ragers. If you want your heroes to survive, then leave them out for as long as possible.

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  11. I prob didn't make my self too clear but I will use my own homebrew rule set, which hopefully will make ragers a bit more balanced, easier to kill but can close in on you quickly, shamblers are a lot slower but are harder to kill. I wont run a campaign yet, so I'll have a few stand alone scenarios, at least until I can iron out the flaws in the rules.
    @ Whiteface - I'll check out welly ...thanks.
    @ Vamp - I'll check out Studio Bub ...cheers

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  12. I see that Nick's reputation precedes him. You must remember a couple of episodes about him shooting his friends and even his Dad in a temper flare up.
    I think you're right, you're better off without Nick.

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  13. Wow, I just can't believe what's happening at my table right now! Be sure to drop in for the next batrep this week!

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