Zombicide Season 2 Survivors and Zombivors 08

And so I present the last six season 2 Zombicide pairs of survivors and zombivors. These are all original characters designed by three artists - Karl Kopinski, Adrian Smith and Kevin Walker. I had not heard of Adrian Smith before but I certainly knew of the other two. Karl used to work as an illustrator for Games Workshop and Kevin did some amazing artwork for 2000AD comic. All three were born in England.

I'll start with the two characters created by Karl Kopinski. At the left of the two photos directly above and below is "Angry Mary" Lucchesi. Mary used to lead a peaceful life in retail, with a husband (cop), two kids and a house with a white picket fence. Then the zombies came and took it all. Returning home to an almost empty house one day, she narrowly escaped becoming zombie chow by dispatching the untidy interlopers of her lovely home. Something snapped and the wild energy of her misspent youth came roaring back. Mary emptied her husband's gun safe and turned into an urban warrior. She does seem to have a special grudge against zombies though and never passes up a chance to kill them. Survivor Mary is armed with a 9mm Pistol, 9mm Sub-Machine Gun and a Knife, whilst zombivor Mary is just armed with a 9mm Pistol. Angry Mary begins the game with the Reaper: Ranged skill, which is used when assigning hits that resolve a Ranged Combat action. One of these hits can freely kill an additional identical zombie in the same Zone. Only a single additional zombie can be killed per Action with this skill.

Next up is "Red Cap Ben" Koplinski. Yes, I gave him the same surname as the artist who created him. As a young boy, Ben was strongly influenced by the Cold War and the fashion for survival that abounded from the 60's to the 80's. he went from job to job, knowing the inevitable would happen and preparing for it. He didn't really expect zombies to show up, though, and still suspects it might be a government conspiracy. Nowadays, Ben is best known as "the Red Cap" - a hardcore survivalist with numerous successes on what seemed impossible missions. As grumpy as he acts, Ben likes the nickname. Both survivor and zombivor Ben are armed with a Pump-Action Shotgun, an Axe and a Knife. "Red Cap Ben" starts the game with the Blitz skill, which allows him to get a +1 free Move Action to use immediately whenever he kills the last zombie in a Zone.

Next up are the two characters created by Adrian Smith. Bobby "Bones" Smith was the lead guitarist of a heavy metal band famous the world over... but lately things have been getting a little stale. World tours, sell out stadiums, groupies, even the drugs and booze just weren't that fun anymore. In his darkest and most sober moments, "Bones" knew he hadn't really done anything creative for the best part of a decade - just rehearsing the same old thing over and over... The zombie apocalypse changed all of that of course, and ironically, "Bones" is now incredibly inspired to create songs about death, blood and liberation! Unfortunately, electricity is hard to come by so he's perfecting his strictly acoustic metal for now. Survivor "Bones is armed with an AK47 Assault Rifle and a hand axe. Zombivor "Bones" is only armed with a 9mm Pistol. I have a story  to tell about Zombivor "Bones." I never realised until two months ago that I'd been sent two survivor figures of "Bones" and no zombivor version. Bummer! What to do? I decided to convert one of the survivors into a zombivor. I carefully cut off his guitar and hand axe. I cut down his AK47 to turn it into a pistol. I re-sculpted his left hand with it holding the battered remains of his guitar. I added modelling putty to the back of his hair, coat and trousers to hide where the guitar had been. Finally, I drilled a large hole in his stomach. Once painted, I figured who would know? (Well, all of you now that I've told you!) "Bones" starts the game with the Tactician skill, which allows him to take his turn at any time during the player's phase.

Padre Ezekiel Johnson led his small flock during the first days of the apocalypse, until they were finally, inevitably overrun. The Padre was the only survivor, miraculously emerging from the ruins of his church. Now he spreads the good Word amongst other survivors, albeit slightly unhinged from his narrow escape from death. Still, he's handy with a shotgun and a quick prayer, and is always a welcome sight. The survivor version of Padre Johnson is armed with a Pump-Action Shotgun and a Flail, whilst the zombivor version is armed with a pump-Action Shotgun and a large Mallet. He starts the game with an extremely useful skill - Super Strength. This raises the damage caused by any Melee Weapon he uses to 3. Awesome! Bring on that Abomination!

Last but by no means least are the two characters that Kevin Walker created. After graduation, Mitch Walker held down a dead end job for a while before embracing the biker life. For him, it wasn't really about the one percenter life, but more about getting some freedom of choice, a little room to breathe in a constricted world. Better to die young with stories to tell than as a senile fool in a gloomy hospital, right? Living on the edge taught Mitch a useful trick or two that let him survive when the zombies invaded. Absolute freedom is now at hand, and despite all the slaughter, life is good! Both survivor and zombivor Mitch are armed with a baseball bat and a Pump-Action Shotgun. Mitch starts the game with the +1 Free Move Action, which gives him an extra Move Action per turn.

Finally, and rather creepily, is Uncle Honk. Little is known about Uncle Honk, as he likes to call himself. Most people think that he used to work in a circus. Some mutter that, more likely, he was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. What everyone knows for sure, however, is that Uncle Honk is a brute with a taste for the circus world and zombicide. If he likes you, you can rely on him and all his formidable might. He'll expect the same in return, of course. Uncle Honk likes to taunt zombies every once in a while, to get in a "funny" during a fight. With his blood-chilling laugh, Uncle Honk is both your best friend and worst nightmare. Both survivor and zombivor versions of Uncle Honk are armed with a Machete and a horn. He starts the game with the Taunt skill, which counts as free action, allowing him to select any Zone he can see. All zombies in that Zone gain an extra activation as they try to reach him. They ignore all other Survivors, making this a useful skill if used correctly.
You have to admit that this is a very eclectic mix of characters and I'm curious to know how they'd work together as a team. I do like Angry Mary, simply because she looks hard ass and can handle herself in a fight. I particularly like Padre Johnson, purely for his most outstanding skill - Super Strength. Imagine him armed with nothing more than a frying pan, which he then uses to kill a Zombie Abomination. Totally ludicrous in reality but quite feasible in the game. I would laugh myself silly if that happened! Fans of my blog will know that I have an unhealthy interest in circus clowns. Who can possible forget the demon from Hell that was Sunny the Clown? Having a clown like Uncle Honk as one of the good guys does not sit well with me. I just couldn't trust him... even if I was playing him! Everyone knows that clowns are evil... right?