I shot the Sheriff...

Day One – Location #8

Cast: Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface

Objective: enter he military base, receive food and protection

Area: suburban

Even without a lot of cash the Whitefaces had decided to check the supermarket for some food. Several shops had already been set afire by rioters and Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface had to fight a large mob of looters. They realized very quickly that they had no chance to push through the crowd and with only a small chance of finding something useful in the supermarket they had decided to walk on.

The Whitefaces arrived at the Camelot Army Base on the outskirts of Whiteville in no time. Some refugees had set up their trailers right at the wall, but there isn’t any sign of a strong military presence at the moment. With a tilt of his head Mr. Whiteface guides his wife’s attention to a tall man approaching them. They don’t fail to notice that the stranger has a big pistol in his hand and Mr. Whiteface clenches his spade with both hands while hearing the distinctive noise of Mrs. Whiteface’s telescopic steel baton getting ready for action.

It's amazing what those Army Engineers can build with a few thousand Hescos.

This scenario is played on the usual 4’x 4’ table. The Whiteface Family didn’t succeed in location #7, the supermarket. They had been OOF’ed by ten terrified civilians even before the game started. The Whitefaces had needed one additional location to get to the supermarket and now arrived at the army base without further delay (2 successes).

Turn 1: (Eleven!) Everyday something new. The tall man steps out of the shadows and the sunlight glints of the badge on his breast.
  

“Halt! Drop your weapons, creeps, you are under arrest!”
  

I decided that they do the “Halt!” check from ATZ:Haven against the freshly spawned Rep 4 police officer with a BA Pistol.

“Get lost, moron!” With an unnerved battle cry (The Whitefaces win the test with +2) the Whitefaces charge the cop.

Comment: Right at this point, before checking for being charged I came to the conclusion that this may be my most stupid decision during Day One. This guy is a REP 4 with a firearm. Hello, anyone at home?!

The cop wants to show his superior melee skills and doesn’t use his BA Pistol (only 1 success on being charged). The missus annihilates him with a sickening sound (+3 successes in melee).

Turn 2: (Seven!) The Whitefaces don’t stop (both active) to stare at the pool of blood and brain on the road. While Mr. Whiteface grabs the BA Pistol and some ammunition his wife is checking the corpse for some additional loot, but finds nothing. Some zeds must have noticed the enticing smell of human brain and appear further down the road (2 x 1d3 = 6! zombies). Due to the clockwise correction of zeds placed outside of the border I have four zeds appearing at the same place on the road, a lady of negotiable virtue next to the Mercedes and a zombified cop on the road to the military base.

Uh...hello officer?!

Turn 3: The Whitefaces analyze the situation (inactive) while the zombies are closing in.

Do you think they've seen us?

Turn 4: Mrs. Whitefaces urges her husband to “Do something!” but both don’t dare to move (inactive) while the zeds are closing in (active)…and start feasting on the dead police officer at their feet (for six rounds 4 – 9).

“Urrk! This is gross!” says Mr. Whiteface (2 successes on see the feast) while Mrs. Whiteface runs toward the cab for a better place to throw up (1 success on see the feast and 2 successes on sanity check = stunned).

Turn 5: Mr. Whiteface stares horrified at the feasting while his wife covers her face in her hands. (both inactive)

Turn: 6: “Whoa, you really should see this, honey!” Mr. Whiteface shouts to his wife. She continues to throw up (both inactive).

Turn 7: (Eleven!) “I am the law! Get away from that officer” Another cop appears, this time a Rep 5 Veteran with a BA Pistol. Mr. Whiteface glances at the S&W Model 29 and yells “They’ve killed him, these horrible creatures killed your partner!”

I decided that the cop wouldn’t confront the Whiteface Family in this situation.

You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"

Turn 8: The zeds continue feasting, the cop walks slowly towards the carnage and fires two shots at the zeds. The first shot is a solid hit and kills one zed, but the second shot misses. No zombies are generated due to shooting. Mr. Whiteface stares at the killed zombie next to him while Mrs. Whiteface cautiously tries to get his attention (both inactive).

Well do ya, punk?

Turn 9: The last round of feasting and there are still a lot of zombies around. The activation dice show a (Seven!), so more zeds will appear. Eight new zombies for three humans on the board. All three humans have been placed so cleverly that many zombies 12” away from them are in charging distance of another human. Seeing so many new zombies arrive and noticing that the previous zombies are finishing their picnic every human is alert (all humans are active). Mrs. Whiteface gets on her feet and Mr. Whiteface runs over to cover her from the zeds in charging distance at her back. All the while the Police Veteran is shooting at the zombies but doesn’t hit anything. As a result of his shooting two more zombies appear…right in charging distance of The Whiteface Family. Can anyone say “bloodbath”?

Look for Mr. Whiteface at the cab...

...just where the zeds spawned due to shots fired. Bummer!

Turn 10: The feasting is over, let’s find a new snack! (Eleven!) Another cop enters the scene right next to the vet. This time it’s a Rep 5 Detective with BA Pistol. The Whitefaces are shocked by the amount of walking corpses around them, but the police veteran is pumping more lead into the zombies. Two shots, two zeds killed, one zombie generated. At least the new zed is farther away.

Do you need help, Harry?

Trust me. I know what I'm doing.

Turn 11: This is a job for the professionals! Only the cops are active in this turn. The veteran remains at his place, but the detective walks over to support the Whitefaces. Both cops fire two shots at the zombies. The veteran kills 2 zombies and the detective kills a zombie threatening the Whiteface Family. As a result one zombie is generated. At this point I felt very, very bad for killing the police officer in turn 1.

How many shots can he fire without reloading? This is like one of those old wild west flicks!

Turn 12: Yeah! Hah, how I needed this result! (all humans are active, the zombies fail to understand what is happening to them and are inactive). Both Cops fire again. The veteran misses twice, while the detective knocks down one zed. I pondered about the situation for some time, but in the end I decided to leave the table with a fast move. This was way too dangerous for Rep 3 civilians and I wasn’t bent on discussing the whereabouts of a missing BA Pistol with two Rep 5 cops.

Note: the green and the trees on the right side of the road are not part of the 4' x 4'.

Believe it or not, this used to be a great neighborhood - till it changed.

Final Comment: Wow, this was so close! I was so nervous and so thankful to receive help from the cops and yes, I really had a bad conscience about turn 1. This Day One was way more entertaining than the first one, but I rated it as unsuccessful for the Whiteface Family. If they had found Dotty it would have been a success regardless of not getting cash from the ATM, not getting food from the supermarket, but without Dotty? No success, so I rolled the dice for a possible Rep reduction, but both Stars stay at Rep 3 (with Mrs. Whiteface now being a survivor).

Day One is over for the Whiteface Family, but I decided to finish this scenario with both cops. They deserve all the honour! Just this much: Turn 13 will start with an activation dice total of (Seven!)…

Whiteface

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

Home, sweet home...

Day One - Location #1

Cast: Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface

Objective: go home, join each other, grab weapons, drive away

Area: suburban

Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface hadn't really listened to the morning news in the radio. They had been drinking some coffee while talking about Mrs. W's strange dream last night. Mr. Whiteface concluded that all those violent incidents in the media had some influence on her dreams and he assured her that those kind of things wouldn't happen in Whiteville.

Five hours later both of them were fighting their way home. There were riots and looting all over the town. The Whitefaces agreed to meet at home before going to the kindergarten to get Dorothy.  

pic. #1: The peaceful suburbs of Whiteville

This scenario is played on a 4' x 4' table. Mr. Whiteface starts on the road coming from the right. You may spot him next to the roof of the church tower. Mrs. Whiteface starts on the road at the bottom of the table. No zombies or terrified civilians are present at the moment. The Whiteface's home is this time the small blue house on the left side with the two blue pick-ups next to it. It had been bigger in Mrs. Whiteface's dream. Both miniatures are 30" away from the door of their home.

As a house rule I will roll three activation dice in this scenario. One for Mr. Whiteface, one for Mrs. Whiteface and one for the zeds. I will check Mr. Whiteface's die and the zombie die for random events and I will check Mrs. Whiteface's die and the zombie die the same way. This way I know where zeds, terrified civilians or the police may appear. This house rule will be used throughout the whole location, even after they join each other or activate as a group.

Turn 1: As Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface don't see anyone they both try to run down the street towards their home. From the shadows of the church a pale looking female jogger appears (both activate, Mrs. W. triggers 1 zombie). Mr. Whiteface runs to the T-crossing (2 successes) and Mrs. Whiteface runs to the flag pole (1 success).

Turn 2: Mr. Whiteface sees his wifes and stops while he waves to her (he's inactive). The jogger walks onto the road between the two Humvees parked in front of the church (Zed activates first). An old guy staggers across the lawn behind the white house and a guy in a torn business suit appears at the border next to the same house. As a special surprise an old granny appears on the road nest to the T-intersection, only 9" away from Mr. Whiteface (Yes, Mrs. Whiteface rolled another seven for three new zombies). I have to admit that after reading my notes I think that I forgot to move Mrs. Whiteface this turn.

pic. #2: There is not much life in this part of town.

Turn 3: Having been undead only for a short time, the inexperienced zombies hesitate this round (inactive). Mr. Whiteface runs (2 successes) to his home. He could easily move inside, but he decides to wait outside and turns around to watch his wife. Mrs. Whiteface sighs when a business women and a little girl with a teddy bear appear on the road behind her. She doesn't really notice that a street maintenance guy moves onto the green next to the business suit man (Oh, well, Mrs. Whiteface does what she does best: bringing zeds into the game! Three again.). She runs (2 successes) toward her husband stops beside him and turns around as well. She couldn't have move into her home, so it's better to prepare for a fight.

pic. #3: Seven zombies on the table in turn three. Not bad, eh?

pic. #4: Prepare to defend position!

Turn 4: The Zeds move first this time. All move close and granny-Z ends here movement just 3" away from Mrs. Whiteface, but a fraction farther away from Mr. Whiteface.

Mrs. W. passes the Zed Or No Zed test with two successes,...but hey wait a second, isn't that Granny?! (She rolled doubles on the test, counting just as one success). Granny Whiteface charges while Mrs. Whiteface hesitates. Due to the leader die of her husband Mrs. Whiteface is able to fight in melee and OOF's Granny. I checked Mr. Whiteface for Zed Or No Zed during the charge and he passed without problems.

The small group led by Mr. Whiteface enters the house.

pic. #5: What the...?! It's Granny!!!

Turn 5: The Whiteface's close the door behind them and try to catch their breath (They are inactive. To get the weapons they are looking for they have to be active for one turn.). The zombies have cannot see them anymore, but they move closer to the spot where they last saw them (active).

pic. #6: Home, sweet home!

Turn 6: Everbody stops to listen to the strange noise coming up the street. The Whiteface's hear a lot of shouting, screaming and knocking on their door and the zombies think they hear a dinner bell. (all inactive, Mr. Wh. with doubles). Five terrified civilians demand entry into the house.

Comment: I decided that just for this situation Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface could fight together against single opponents coming through the door. Out on the open ground I would let each of them fight one enemy.

pic. #7: Shoo! Shoo! Go away!

Both of them manage to push the five wannabee intruders out of the door, but Mr. Whiteface has to use his "Luck" attribute. Remember, I will use this attribute only once over whole Day One.

Turn 7: Guess what! I rolled triples! After staring gloomily at the dice for some time I rolled for terrified civilians...for Mr. Whiteface AND for Mrs. Whiteface. Twelve, yes twelve, terrified civilians try to break the back door. It's the same situation as last round: one looter enters and receives his deserved beating by the Whitefaces before sending in the next guy.

pic. #8: This is madness! I hate my dice!!! 

Although they are still unarmed they manage to push the terrified mob outside. No delusions of grandeur though, the elventh guy was a close call. This is a world gone crazy!

Turn 8: All need some time to catch some breath or marvel about the amount of food running around. No one is active this turn, but another zed arrives (Mrs. Whiteface again!).

Turn 9: Time for some action. The Whiteface group is active, but they will move last. The zombies will move first. Three zombies charge the five civilians at the front door. With double and singles successes on the Zed Or No Zed check all three zombies charge and the civilians have to take a Being Charged test. Of those three that are attacked two retire around the corner of the house. Two civilians in the second row have to take their place. It's three against three. The first civilians kills his zed (a relative!), the female civilian  is OOF and the third one kills his zed as well. The surviving civies take the Man Down check and though the first one would have stayed he notices that his companion retires. So he decides that ducking back behind the corner might be wiser this time.

As a result one zombie prepares spoon, fork and napkin for his next activation and four civilians hide around the corner and pretend not to hear anything. All the humans at the back door move randomly and the Whiteface's finally grab their weapons.

pic. #9: Do you think they're gone?

Turn 10: The group is active, but Mrs. Whiteface triggered terrified civilians with a double five. The zombies are having the time of their unlife and decide not to rush anything this turn (inactive). The family does a fast move (0 successes) out of their home facing a group of four terrified civilians at the end of their movement.

Comment: Every Whiteface has to fight terrified civilians on his own because there is no narrow door opening this time. The civilians don't have to split up their dice.

Mr. Whiteface is knocked out by his first opponent. Good start, I guess he hadn't enough practive with his spade. Mrs. Whiteface putting her steel baton to good use. She defeats all civilians, although the last one is a tough fighter.

The neighbour's car is just a few steps away, but Mrs. Whiteface will have to carry her husband now. Embarrassing, I know...

pic. #10: "I will take this *#&% car!" yelled Mrs. Whiteface
"Now get the &%$§# out of my way!"

Turn 11: A triple one! Wonderful, eh? All are inactive and I will roll twice for terrified civilians. I am kind of lucky, only five civilians dare to oppose her. As you can see in the next picture I had to fall back on my special survivor box. You won't see me putting any unprimed miniatures on the table. Even I have my standards!

pic. #11: Meeow!

The Missus slaps the blue haired girl with the back of her hand and sends her running away crying and complaining all the time. She manages to knock out the strange guy in the orange suit with her steel baton before she goes down against a small guy with a club. This location is over. Just one activation away from the car or the table border, but it's over nevertheless.

Final Comment: This game was great fun, even though I technically lost! I had no problem of bending the rules to my will without feeling like I was cheating. Sometimes it was to my advantage, sometimes I had a disadvantage, but it always felt right. Being so close to a successful completion of this scenario and getting knocked out again by terrified civilians is hard, but this time it doesn't feel like I have lost. Eight zeds and 26 terrified civilians were messing around in this scenario, but I managed to get the Whiteface's together and grab the weapons and almost left the table. If - after I have played through Day One - it is not clear if Day One was a success or not I will not hold this against them very much. The Whiteface family did a formidable job.

Whiteface

Living the dream

After my first ATZ campaign ended sooner than expected the Whiteface Family is now gearing up for another try. This time the family lives in a suburban area of Whiteville.

pic. #1: Mr. Whiteface, Mrs. Whiteface, little Dotty

Mr. Whiteface starts as a Rep 3 office droid with the "Lucky" attribute again.

He will receive his second attribute at Rep 4. He doesn't have any weapons at hand. His miniature is Harold Smith, white collar survivalist from RAFM. The miniature is painted and varnished, but I intend to give his shoes a coat of shiny 'ardcoat. His base is a generic slotta-base with a selfmade milliput pavement with some shotgun shells lying around.

pic. #2: Mr. Whiteface with better lighting

Mrs. Whiteface is a Rep 3 teacher.

I have not finally decided about her attributes. She starts without any weapons too. Her miniature is the well known Dionne (b) from Hasslefree Miniatures. I have not yet finished painting Mrs. Whiteface. The dark colour scheme may not be clearly vivible on these pictures. The coat is black with grey highlighting, her suit is black with dark blue highlighting and may receive some 'ardcoat. Her hair is - under natural lighting conditions - brown. Mrs. Whiteface's eyes may appear too big or dissimilar, but I can assure you they are not. Hasslefree miniatures are small and their heads are in the right proportions, so these eyes are really, really small. Her base is a round diamond plate from Antenociti's Workshop.

pic. 3: The family again, but from a different angle

Little Dotty is not a real character. She will act like one of the Bleens from the corresponding scenario.

I have chosen Rose from Hasslefree Miniatures. This is a great miniature, but it is incredibly small. Rose has only received a black basecoat and some Tallarn Flesh so far. Rose's base is a round road with large manhole from Antenociti's Workshop.

The Improved Plan (TM) for Day One:

Location #1: Mr. and Mrs. Whiteface will go home, join each other, grab some melee weapons, get into their car and drive away.

Location #2: Both drive to the Kindergarten and get little Dotty.

Location #3: The Whiteface's have to get some money from the ATM.

Location #4: They go into a supermarket and get some food. This may be dangerous...

Location #5: They drive to a military base / military safe zone to have some protection.

Location #5 was decided by the real Mrs. Whiteface. The options were: hiding at home, going to a police station or to a military base. The decision ended with her question if I need some military helicopters now. Well, to be honest...yes!

Final Comment: I am already deep into the first location of Day One but will probably have no time to post a batrep this weekend. It's going to be an exciting fight for survival. Promise!

Whiteface