Bolt Action Resistance Fighters 01

I bought these six 28mm scale figures from a seller on eBay. They were described as Partisans/Resistance Fighters for Bolt Action, which they certainly are. Unfortunately, he neglected to say who produced them and my Google-fu has come up blank. Warlord Games does sell packs of Partisans to use in Bolt Action so I'll combine them for a larger force. The Warlord Games Partisans are predominantly male, whilst these figures are all female.

At the far left is my favourite figure from this set - the leader armed with a Luger pistol. The next two figures in line are armed with MP40 SMGs.

The lady who is fourth in line is armed with an MP40 SMG slung over her left shoulder and carries a German stick grenade in her right hand. The two women at the far right are armed with bolt action rifles. Note that I converted the woman in the olive green long-coat by adding a plastic rifle with sling from one of my German Panzer Grenadier sprues.
Rules and stats for using Partisans/Resistance Fighters can be found in the campaign supplement, Market Garden, where they are classed as Green. They count as inexperienced at the start of a battle but do have a chance of upgrading to regular status during the game when they first take a casualty. On a d6 roll of 5-6 they upgrade to regular status, increasing their morale value from 8 to 9.
Being an all-female force, I really like this set. Female resistance fighters were a reality of WW2 but very little is heard about them.

My 7TV Apocalypse Collection

Yesterday was Salute 2019 and I'm sure lots of people will be posting their purchases online. Once again, I did not attend. I'm not bothered as I do not like crowds. Anyway, in my last Monthly Musings I mentioned that I'd received my 7TV2e: Apocalypse Kickstarter package. I did say I'd received a lot of figures and vehicles but failed to mention what I'd got. So, here's my loot collection, showing all the extra stuff I bought for this Crooked Dice Games package.

Starting at the top left are my mutant giant ants in three sizes. These are great critters to use in any post-apocalypse game. I will certainly get some more of these. Moving down are four Wasteland Heroes - Mad Max, Mean Machine (not Mean Machine Angel from Judge Dredd), the Gyro Captain and his kid. To the left of them is the 7TV Mcguffin scenery piece, and finally post-apocalypse versions of Dick Dastardly and Muttley from The Wacky Races. The next two rows of figures show assorted Wasteland Villains, some of whom will be recognisable from the Mad Max series of films (Humongous, Wez, Master Blaster and the Feral Kid). In the bottom row are 8 Wasteland Cultists.
Moving to the right side I have two Interceptor cars. The top one will be Mad Max's car and the lower one a Police Interceptor from the first Mad Max film. I definitely want at least two more of these cars. They are so versatile with loads of options. Below them are three Wasteland bikers. To the right of them are rear stowage options for the Interceptor cars. Finally, at the bottom are post-apocalypse versions of Penelope Pitstop and the Ant Hill Mob from The Wacky Races.
As you can see, I have primarily concentrated on figures and vehicles from the Mad Max films. I love these films. I have long wanted to use this setting to play on my gaming table using 28mm scale figures. I am sure these will be an absolute joy to paint but I'm not sure when I'll get round to painting as I have two other big projects I'm concentrating on - Core Space and Judge Dredd. Once I do get round to painting them I know I'll be buying a lot more vehicles to use in this game. This game has most definitely captured my enthusiasm.

Resident Evil 2 Heroes 01

Last month I finished painting the four Hero characters from the Resident Evil 2 game by Steamforged Games. Each character comes with multiple figures. Made of hard plastic, they are 32mm scale and are realistically proportioned, meaning they do look slimmer than many other 32mm scale figures like those from Mantic's The Walking Dead range.

First up is Claire Redfield, a college student who is looking for her missing brother, Chris. The figure at the far left is the one you get with the starter boxed set. She is armed with a pistol and a knife. The figure in the centre was a Kickstarter exclusive and has Claire armed with a grenade launcher. The third figure in line was a Kickstarter stretch goal and has Claire armed with a revolver.

In the game, her special ability is Made in Heaven. Once per scenario, Claire can spend an action to heal another character on the same tile by two levels.

Next up is Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie police officer who arrives in the doomed Raccoon City late for his first day on the job only to confront a zombie outbreak first hand. As the main protagonist of the video game, he comes with four figures. The one at the far left comes with the starter boxed set and has him armed with a pistol and knife. Next in line is a bandaged version of Leon carrying a custom pistol. He was a Kickstarter exclusive. As was the third figure in line, which is a more stripped down version of the first figure in line. Finally is another Kickstarter exclusive which has Leon armed with a shotgun and in civilian clothing.

In the game, Leon's special ability is Cool Under Fire. Once per activation, Leon may use an item while one or more enemies are in his square without making an evade roll. Note, this includes any weapon he is carrying.

Next up is Ada Wong, a spy for an unnamed rival company who is sent to recover a sample of the deadly G-virus from Umbrella's lab in the zombie-infested Raccoon City. The figure of her at the far left is the one you get with the starter boxed set and she is carrying a pistol in one hand and a key in the other hand. The alternative version was a Kickstarter exclusive with her armed with a bow gun. In the game she has two special abilities. First is Reckless. At the end of any character's activation (including her own), Ada may take an out of sequence activation. After doing so, she must forfeit her following activation. Secondly, she has Intrigue. Once per scenario, Ada may discard a card drawn from the tension deck without resolving the effects.

Finally, is Robert Kendo, the owner of a gun store in Raccoon City. The figure of Robert armed with the shotgun is the one that comes with the starter boxed set. The other version was a Kickstarter exclusive that has him armed with a high calibre Magnum pistol. His special ability is Marksman. Once per activation, Robert may re-roll all of the dice from an attack roll, providing the weapon used was not a knife. He must keep the results of the second roll.
I do like these figures. They are well sculpted and posed and I do like having multiple figures of a character. Being realistically proportioned, their facial details are a bit soft. Rather unusually, they all come on 20mm diameter bases, which makes a change from the usual 25mm diameter bases. I knew Claire, Leon and Ada from the Resident Evil films but had never heard of Robert before. I had to check up his background on Wikipedia to find out who he was. The four work well as a team and I was delighted that all four survived my first play-through of the short campaign from the starter box.

Here's Negan Survivors

I present here the five survivor figures plus Negan from the Here's Negan board-game by Mantic Games. This stand-alone supplement from The Walking Dead franchise concentrates on the vicious Negan and five of his followers clearing out a large warehouse to make it safe for Negan to use as a headquarters. Although the survivors are working co-operatively, each one is hoping to impress Negan enough to earn the title, Top Dog. This is measured in Reputation levels, which can go up or down during the course of a game. The game can be played by 1-5 players. Negan and the Zombies are controlled by cards and the game's Artificial Intelligence. Making sure that Negan does not suffer from Rage will help to ensure victory. An enraged Negan can be more of a threat than the zombies.

At the far left is Negan, the brutal, foul-mouthed leader of this group. I was pleased to see a new sculpt of him. He is armed with "Lucille" his baseball bat, a sniper's rifle, a pistol and a knife. Next in line is Dwight, who is armed with a dagger and a crossbow. He is good at running. If a character runs they must roll to see if they make noise. Dwight can re-roll the noise dice. Also, his base move is 4 instead of 3. Third in line is John, the bruiser. He is really good at melee combat and can kill zombies even if he doesn't score a head shot - he just has to roll double or more than the zombie's defence roll. He is armed with a tyre iron, which allows him to automatically open locked doors.

The three females are made up from left to right of Tara, Laura and Sherry. Tara can not use ranged weapons but is very good at melee. She has the best defence dice and if her defence roll is more than twice a zombie's attack roll, she can make a free attack against that zombie. She is armed with a dagger. Laura is ranged combat expert. She is armed with an assault rifle and a dagger. Her special ability is that she can perform the same action twice in a turn. This is very useful as the default rule is that characters must perform two different actions when they activate. Finally, is Laura, who is armed with a pistol and a dagger. Stat-wise, she is the weakest but she does have a very useful ability - she can give up one of her actions to give another character an extra action, which does not affect their activation.
I have started to play the twelve scenarios that make up the campaign and I'm using all five survivors plus Negan. They are a good mix of characters who, so far, are working well together. The rules are similar to those used in The Walking Dead games but are not identical. Here's Negan is very much its own game and I have to say, it is a great deal of fun. I ordered the game shortly before it went on general release and as a bonus I received extra stat cards to use the five survivors in The Walking Dead games, which was something that pleased me immensely. The figures are all beautifully sculpted, very crisply detailed and an absolute joy to paint.

Zomvember 2018 part 2 - The Walking Dead Survivors

Here are the last Survivor figures from the wave 1 of the releases for The Walking Dead skirmish game by Mantic Games. These are all named characters from the comic series and the TV series.

First up is Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes on horseback. He found and used this horse to ride into Atlanta. On his back is a bag full of guns that he grabbed from his former police station. The ride into Atlanta went well but the return journey did not go so well and he lost the horse to a horde of zombies. It is an unusual figure that is of limited use but it is superbly sculpted.
Next up is Morgan Jones, who was the first human that Rick encountered after he woke up from his coma. Morgan is a good man but is haunted by the death of his wife, who returned to his home as a zombie. He helps Rick by explaining the zombie apocalypse that began when Rick was still in a coma but does not go with him to the survivor camp, preferring to stay at home with his son. He is armed with an axe and a rifle.

The figure of the boy is Duane Jones, the son of Morgan. When he first sees Rick, he wrongly assumes he is a zombie and he whacks Rick in the back of his head with his shovel, knocking Rick out. Sadly, Duane later gets attacked and killed by zombies. Morgan finds him and brings him back home and chains him up. He feeds him by shooting passing survivors.
Finally, is Brian Blake aka The Governor, leader of a group of survivors who reside in the ravaged town of Woodbury, Georgia. The Governor is charming and charismatic, but also murderous, violent, sociopathic, power-hungry, completely sadistic, and horrifically ruthless. He sees himself as the community's only hope for survival, and is thus willing to imprison, abuse and/or kill anyone he sees as a threat to his authority; for him, torture and mass murder are a means to an end. The figure of him portrays him before he meets with Rick's group. That first meeting does not go well for either side.
The figure of Rick on horseback can be found in the Rick on Horse booster pack, which also contains one zombie. Morgan and Duane appear in the Morgan booster, which also contains one zombie. Brian Blake appears in the Prelude to Woodbury Solo Starter Set, which is a stand alone supplement that contains figures of Brian, and five zombies, as well as rulebook, cards, counters and dice.

Zomvember 2018 part 1 - The Walking Dead Exclusive Figures

Yes, I know that Zomvember is not an actual thing, but seeing as I enjoyed the Zomtober challenge so much, I'm carrying on painting my wave 1 The Walking Dead figures by Mantic Games. I have another 20 figures that were produced for wave 1 of the game on my painting table right now and they should be finished soon. For this post I'm showcasing the four exclusive figures that were stretch goals for those who bought the starter boxed set from Kickstarter.

At the far left is Michonne, wielding her katana. She is a fan favourite in both the comic and TV series, and I love her. A former defence lawyer, she is introduced as a mysterious stranger towing two armless and jawless zombies behind her (they were her ex-boyfriend and his best friend). She joins the group of survivors led by Rick Grimes and quickly proves to be a valuable asset. She is truly remarkable at killing zombies with her katana.
Next up is Abraham Ford. In both mediums Abraham travelled the country with his girlfriend Rosita Espinosa to escort Dr. Eugene Porter to Washington, D.C. where the supposed cure for the outbreak is located, eventually recruiting Rick Grime's group to accompany them. Though tough, and a skilled shooter, Abraham displays aggressive outbursts and has volatile tendencies towards the other group members, but over time he gains a strong sense of respect for Rick and becomes one of his right-hand men. He is also displayed as being emotionally broken from the pain he endured due to his family being killed by zombies. His figure is armed with an AK47 assault rifle and he rests his left foot on the corpse of a zombie crawler.

Bad guy Negan is the leader of a group of roughly 1,000 survivors in the Sanctuary, called the Saviours, a group that oppresses other survivor communities and forces them to pay tribute to him. He is known for his brutality and foul mouth. His favoured weapon is a baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped around it. He calls it Lucille, the name of his dead wife. His figure is armed with his trusty baseball bat, a knife and three hand grenades.
Finally, is Walker Ronnie. I admit I have no idea who Ronnie is. I don't recall seeing him in any of the comics or the TV series. Still, he's not a bad figure, and he has been shot in the chest and his right leg appears to be broken, given how he is dragging his foot behind him.
These figures are currently available on the Mantic Games webstore as part of their Mantic Points offers. You can get Walker Ronnie for 10 Mantic points and the other three cost 15 Mantic Points each.

Zomtober 2018 part 5 - The Walking Dead Survivors

Here are another seven assorted survivors and gangers from the wave 1 boxed set of The Walking Dead skirmish game by Mantic Games. As usual, these are hard plastic 32mm scale figures.

 I start off with the Harrison sisters, Amy and Andrea at the far left. These were part of the group of Atlanta survivors that Lori and Carl Grimes joined when the zombie apocalypse kicked off. Amy, who is unarmed, did not survive long as she got bitten by a zombie that was part of a horde that attacked their camp. Andrea had to kill her once Amy reanimated as a zombie.
Andrea then went on to be a superb sniper and was one of the longest lasting survivors in the comic series. Inexplicably, she was killed off at the end of series 3 of the TV series, a decision that rankled a lot of fans, including me. This pose of Andrea has her firing a 9mm pistol, which she sensibly holds in a two-handed grip. I should mention that Andrea is my favourite character in the comic series.

Two more of the Atlanta group of survivors are Carol Peletier and her daughter, Sophia. In the comic series, Carol becomes increasingly unstable and eventually commits suicide. However, in the TV series, she becomes a hardened survivor and to date, she is still going strong. She is shown here armed with a knife.
As for Sophia, she would appear to have victim written all over her. She becomes close friends with Rick's son, Carl, and in the comic series, when Carol dies, she is looked after by Maggie and Glenn. She is the longest surviving female member of the comic series. In the TV series, Sophia gets separated from the rest of the group in series 2 and is killed by a wandering zombie. Note that Mantic's game is based on the comic series, not the TV series, so the events portrayed within them should be regarded as canon.

Moving on, at the far left is Deputy Sheriff Shane Walsh, who was the partner of Rick Grimes, before Rick was shot and hospitalised. Believing Rick to be dead, Shane and Lori begin a romantic relationship, resulting in Lori becoming pregnant. When Rick showed up, there was much friction between the two cops and when Shane attempted to murder Rick it was Rick who prevailed and he killed the psychotic Shane. The figure of Shane is armed with a 9mm pistol.

Finally are a pair of gangers who are part of the crew led by Derek, whom I showed in a previous post. Mantic Games have called them Craig and Reggie respectively, but I added their surnames. Craig Gehring is a thug armed with a knife, not the best weapon to use when fighting zombies but better than nothing.
Reggie Sobel is much better armed, carrying a pump-action shotgun, making him, by far, the most dangerous member of Derek's gang.

Zomtober 2018 part 3 - The Grimes Family

For week 3 of the Zomtober 2018 challenge I present the heroes of The Walking Dead stories in both the comics and the TV series - the Grimes family. Here are three more 32mm scale survivor figures from The Walking Dead skirmish game wave 1 starter boxed set, produced by Mantic Games.

At the far left is Rick Grimes, a deputy sheriff who, at the start of the story, is shot whilst attempting to arrest a fleeing criminal. He wakes up from a coma to find a world very different to what he remembered. The zombie apocalypse has begun and nothing will ever be the same again. He seeks out his wife and son and finds them with a group  of other survivors on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. His figure is armed with a hand axe and a police issue 9mm pistol. He can be used as either a Marksman or a Tactician in the game and he is the leader of any group he is in.

In the centre of the group is Rick's wife, Lori, who was forced to flee when the zombie outbreak began, believing her husband to be lost or dead. Lori is not armed and is classed as a Support member of any group she is in.
At the far right is Rick and Lori's son, Carl. Although his figure is shown armed with a 9mm pistol, he is also classed as a Support member of his group.
As the story progressed new figures for Rick, Lori and Carl were introduced but these are the three figures starting players of the game will use the most, especially Rick. As with all of this range, they are superbly well sculpted, full of detail and an absolute joy to paint.

Zomtober 2018 part 2 - The Walking Dead Survivors

In the Zomtober challenge you must paint at least one zombie or survivor figure per week. I have already shown eight zombies in my first post. Now I turn my attention to the survivors. These figures are all from the wave 1 boxed set of The Walking Dead skirmish game by Mantic Games. There are two very different groups here. First up are four of the Atlanta survivors who Rick Grimes teams up with when he goes searching for his wife and son. The second group are a gang of miscreants who are opposed to them. Most of these are only known by their first names in the comics and game but I have given all of them full names for use in my own games.

First up at the far left is Allen Lomax, who is a bruiser. His figure is armed with a bolt-action rifle.
Dale Horvath is the lookout and marksman of the Atlanta group. He is armed with a sniper rifle with fitted scope-sight.

Second from the right is Donna Bell, an unarmed support member of the group.
Finally, is Jim Rothenburg, another support member and a mechanic. He is armed with a 9mm pistol.

Leader of the gangers is Derek Prescott, who is classed as a tactician and a heartless mercenary. This brutal skinhead is armed with a 9mm pistol.
Next in line is Patrick Singleton, a bruiser armed with a baseball bat.

The weak link of the gang is Liam White, who is an unarmed support member.
Last of all is Sandra Vega, who is the gang's runner and she is armed with a knife.
These hard plastic figures are incredibly well sculpted, full of character and an absolute joy to paint. By the way, this weekend is the 15th anniversary of the launch of The Walking Dead comic, and to mark the occasion, Mantic Games have a 15% discount offer on all of their The Walking Dead products. I made use of it by placing an order for the Greene family farm scenery set and the prone bodies set. The barn, fences and hay bales that come with the farm set will also work well for my Wild West games and dead bodies are always useful.

Shadows of Brimstone Heroes 03

I recently showed some of the new resin cast sculpts by Flying Frog Productions for their Shadows of Brimstone game. As well as making alternative figures for the eight original Heroes in the two starter sets, they also make new Heroes that you can add to your posse. I have three of the new Hero archetypes so far, but more are available. The ones I own are the Drifter, the Orphan and the Prospector. Each set comes with male and female versions, which I most certainly approve of.

At the far left are the two figures for the Drifter. A Drifter is an enigmatic and deadly force to be reckoned with. An expert shot, and the grittiest Hero around, the Drifter's skills as a fighter and a survivor are unmatched. His long years of experience can prove invaluable in helping the posse as a whole, but a darkness surrounds his past and seems to be almost drawn to him, making his presence a danger to all. No prizes for guessing who the male Drifter is based on - Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name from the Dollar trilogy of films. To me, the female has a Mexican vibe about her. They're both great figures.
In the centre are the two Orphans. Orphans have low Health, but can constantly bounce back from damage with their Youth ability. They are Quick and agile, moving before enemies at their Initiative level, and automatically passing all Escape tests, but do not have the discipline or strength to Dual Wield guns. An Orphan's greatest asset is her speed and manoeuvrability. Combine that with a mission of vengeance, and you have one tough cookie. It is nice to see some youngsters added to the mix of Heroes, as they are most often overlooked.

Finally, are the two Prospectors, at the far right of the group. One of the most hearty classes around, Prospectors have very high Health and Sanity, as well as a Miner's Canteen to heal up either. With a powerful Heavy Pick Axe and the ability to make Deathblows (a critical critical hit, or Crit Crit if you will), Prospectors may be slow but they can deal out horrendous damage when the chips are down. This combined with their Crotchety nature, preventing them from using guns or Tech items, means the Prospector's focus is as a close quarters tank in the field. Their Expert Miner ability also means that they will never be short of Gold or Dark Stone, and can even help those around them get rich along the way. The male Prospector is very heavily laden with loads of gear. The female looks quite formidable with her dark glasses.
Every one of these figures has been superbly sculpted in resin. The detail on them is crisp and sharp. Sadly, these are not easy to get hold off outside of the USA, and they are quickly sold out when they appear in the web-store. I acquired all of mine from sellers on eBay. None of these were cheap as they are highly sought after and are swiftly snapped up. It is such a shame they aren't more widely available.
I haven't named any of these yet, but the male Drifter will almost certainly be used as the Man With No Name in my games.

Shadows of Brimstone Heroes 02

It has been a while since I posted anything for the Shadows of Brimstone game, but my enthusiasm for Dracula's America has reignited my passion for the Weird Wild West. I have recently been painting a lot of figures for these two games, and still am. One of the things I liked about Shadows of Brimstone is that you had the option of playing male or female versions of each of the heroes provided in the game. However, sadly, the two starter sets, City of the Ancients and Swamps of Death only came with figures of one sex, and they were predominantly male. Six of the eight Heroes were the male versions. Fortunately, Flying Frog Productions have rectified this oversight and have produced alternate sex figures for the eight original Heroes. Here they are.

The first thing to note is that these figures are made of resin, whereas the original Heroes were made of hard plastic. The second thing to note is that the detail on these new figures is very sharp and vastly superior to their plastic counterparts. Most of these new figures are multi-part castings. I found that they went together very well. I used Superglue on them, which worked very well. I named all of the original Heroes but I haven't yet got round to naming any of these.

In this line-up, from left to right, are the Bandida, the Indian Scout, the Nun (counterpart of the Preacher) and the Piano Player (the counterpart of the Saloon Girl).

Moving on, in this group from left to right are the Gunslinger, the Rancher, the U.S. Marshal and the Law-man (technically, she should be called a Law-woman). Stats for these alternate figures are identical to the original versions.

Now, thankfully, players have the option to chose whatever sex of a Hero they want to play. Some may favour an all-male posse, whilst others may prefer an all-female posse. Or you can mix and match if you so want. I am delighted that Flying Frog Productions have taken this step. These new figures are simply superb sculpts. I should point out that there are also resin versions of some of the original plastic Heroes available  - the Bandido, the Gunslinger, the Rancher and the Saloon Girl. I don't have any of them yet, but I am very tempted to buy them. Each resin Hero costs $8.00 from the Flying Frog webstore. However, I bought all of mine from eBay at very reasonable prices. That said, they very rarely appear for sale on eBay, so if you really want them it would probably be best to order them direct from the official webstore.

Shadows of Brimstone Heroes 01

Over the next few weeks I am going to be reviewing all of my 30mm scale figures from the Shadows of Brimstone game by Flying Frog Productions. So, saddle up and let's head back in time to an alternative Wild West where the supernatural is very real and demons and monsters threaten to spill out into the world unless they can be stopped. I'm going to start by looking at the four heroes from each of the two big boxed starter sets - City of the Ancients and Swamps of Death.
The first thing you should note is that I have designed a new backdrop to photograph all of my Wild West figures against. My Victorian style cobbled street scene that I used before didn't feel right. Incidentally, I have re-shot the pictures of my Wild West figures that I had taken for my three previous figure review posts and they all feature this new backdrop now. It is made up of walls and ground tiles from a couple of the  World Works Games TLX Deadfall sets - Building Essentials for the walls and Streets of Blood for the ground tiles.

I'll start with the four heroes from the City of the Ancients set beginning with the Bandido. With a healthy mix of stubbornness, a raging temper and a lust for life, Bandidos are unpredictable to say the least. Between blasting away at everything in sight with a hail of bullets and casually tossing dynamite across the room, there's never a dull moment when  a Bandido is in the group.
Bandidos are truly a wild card in that they can be played in so many different ways. Their built-in ability to recover Grit mixed with a low Ranged To Hit value means that the Bandido tends to roll a lot of dice and then Re-roll a lot of dice just to blow things up. This gives them a lot of swing in luck but makes for a fun adventure! It also means that they rarely have a shortage of Grit for activating abilities or using more powerful Grit-based items they find along the way.
In the comic strips in the two starter set Adventure Books, the Bandido is one of the four heroes featured. He is called Rico and I kept the name but gave him the surname of Jimenez.

Perhaps the most classic Old West archetype is the Gunslinger. Fast on the draw and deadly with a pistol, Gunslingers are the best shots in the West, though often they are more frail and gaunt than the more hearty frontier folk. Living a fast life of drinking and gambling, a Gunslinger knows that life is short and unforgiving; the only way to survive is to kill them before they kill you.
Gunslingers are one of the best Classes for the sheer amount of Damage they can deal out. They are also the fastest Class in the game! Of course this comes at a price in that they do not have a lot of Health or defence, and even as they go up in Hero Level, they are slow to earn more Health. This can be compensated for a bit with Clothing Items that add Health.
I have named my Gunslinger as Jackson Krieger.

U.S. Marshals are "tough as nails" bounty hunters, working for the government. No stranger to working alone, they travel the land looking for those who need a a little justice. When the need arises though, they step up to lead those around them, descending into the very depths of hell if necessary to get the job done.
U.S. Marshals are one of the toughest Hero Classes in the game. With a defence of 3+, they can easily be a frontline fighter, blocking a hall or wading into groups of Enemies, shrugging off most incoming Attacks. With their Shotgun and Double Shot ability, a U.S. Marshal can also deal out large amounts of damage as a virtual one man army. The Marshal's Badge makes them a solid team player, waiting until just the right time to flash the Badge and give every Hero a boost to their next Attack.
The U.S. Marshal also appears in the two comic strips, where he is known as Kane. Again, I have kept this name but this time made it his surname and so I christened him Wilbur.

No nonsense Saloon Girls dance, sing and perform while in town, but use those same skills to dodge, leap and kick when it comes to fighting down in the mines. Sassy and full of moxy, a Saloon Girl is just as good at using her charms to keep the posse going as she is at fighting dirty.
Saloon Girls (and male Piano Players) are extremely agile and fast moving. This gives them the edge in dodging Enemy Attacks and getting where they need to go, but leaves them something to be desired when it comes to absorbing damage. Be careful to not get yourself surrounded, or you may find yourself on the wrong end of a tentacle1 With built-in Healing, Saloon Girls are good at moving amongst the group and reinvigorating the party, and their Hold Out Pistol is a solid Free Attack that can be used in every Fight.
I named my Saloon Girl as Holly Anne Mercy, after the character portrayed on p.41 of the Swamps of Death Adventure Book. She looks just like the figure does.

Next up are the four Heroes from the Swamps of Death starter set, starting with the Indian Scout. It is not uncommon for Native Americans who openly trade with frontier settlers to become more westernised in their appearance and dealings. Often they become scouts for the local cavalry or fall in with bands of adventurers or even outlaws. The Indian Scout is a fast and spirited fighter that is light on his feet and an expert tracker.
The Indian Scout is probably the most versatile Hero Class to play. He starts out with a solid Ranged Attack in the form of the Carbine as well as a sturdy Hatchet to do extra damage if you are up close. With a built-in ability to re-draw an Encounter or Exploration Token, the Indian Scout is great at helping the posse find objectives quickly.
In the comic strips of the two Adventure Books, the Indian Scout is known as White Crow. I have kept this name for my own character.

Next in line is the Lawman. Protecting and serving in the lawless towns of the South-west is just about the hardest job there is on the frontier. Small town lawmen need to have the diplomacy skills to settle down rowdy ranchers and saloon folk without it turning bloody, while having the cold nerve to stare down a group of ruthless outlaws threatening to roll over the town. On the frontier, justice is swift and unforgiving.
Lawmen are a fantastic choice for a leadership role in the posse. They are well-rounded, have good damage dealing potential and several options for healing and boosting the group as they go up in Hero Level. The Sheriff's Badge also gives the whole team a solid bonus once per adventure and can really save you when things look grim.
I gave my Lawman the name of Tom Morgan.

The holy man on a mission is one of the most classic staples of the West, and in the blighted and shattered lands around Brimstone, there are countless people to save and demons to smite! Wielding Sermons as weapons in the never-ending war on evil, a Preacher deals out Blessings to the good and Judgements to the damned.
The Preacher has the powerful ability to cast Sermons (another name for spells) during the game, Blessing the Heroes in the posse and dealing out harsh Judgements to the wicked Enemies you find along the way. Though slow in Initiative and low in Defence, a Preacher has a high tolerance for sanity and can strike down foes up close with his trusty Holy Book.
My Preacher is called Father Marcus O'Sullivan.

Finally, here is the Rancher. Creating a life for yourself on the frontier is no small feat, and those who do are just about as tough as they come. On the open range, Ranchers favour long range rifles over smaller guns, allowing them to pick off their targets at a safe distance. They also tend to become adept at many different skills, as they do not have the support structure of living in a town.
Ranchers are a tough breed and tend to do well at a distance. Their ability to Rapid Fire with a Rifle can make them a killing machine if you get on a roll, and having a leg up can be a great advantage in a Fight. If they do get close up though, a Rancher has many options for frontier survival.
The fourth character to appear in the two comic strips was Annie the Rancher. No surprise that I kept the name Annie, but I have added the surname, Hatcher, to her.

Here is a group shot showing all eight heroes together. From left to right are Rico Jimenez the Bandido, Holly Anne Mercy the Saloon Girl, Jackson Krieger the Gunslinger, U.S. Marshal Wilbur Kane, Sheriff Tom Morgan, Father Marcus O'Sullivan, Annie Hatcher the Rancher and White Crow the Indian Scout. I will be splitting them into two groups. The most obvious split is to keep them together from their respective starter sets. I won't be doing this. A 4-4 split is not as good as a 3-5 split. This is because a posse of four starts off with no Revive Tokens. A Revive Token allows you to restore a KO'd character to full Health during an adventure. These Tokens are very useful but can not be found or purchased during a game. The only way to get them is to start with the requisite number of Heroes. 1, 2, 3 or 5 Heroes give you Revive Tokens. 4 and 6 Heroes get none.
Something else to note is that you can play male or female versions of the eight Hero Classes but figures are included for just one gender of each Class. This isn't that big a problem as alternative figures to represent the opposite sex can be found in the ranges of other companies. I may possibly find a female Bandido and start with an all female group of the Bandido, Rancher and Saloon Girl and a second all male group of the Gunslinger, Indian Scout, Lawman, Preacher and U.S. Marshal. These are just my initial thoughts and things may yet change once I start my campaign. I'm very much looking forward to getting started.

Zombicide Scenario M01 - The Big Rubble Part 3

TURN 12

ELSA. "I have survived this far," Elsa said with gritty determination as she swung her Chainsaw at the Zombies charging her, "and I am not going to die at your hands. Not when I'm armed with a Chainsaw!"
At first, the Chainsaw felt heavy and unwieldy and she missed more times than she hit with her first flurry of attacks but she soon corrected her mistakes and she turned into a whirling Dervish of Death, killing all five Walkers around her. Just one in three of her fifteen attacks was a fatal hit but she had removed the immediate threat to herself and Raoul.

DEREK. Derek the locator walked over to where Elsa and Raoul were at the head of the T-junction.
"You handled that Chainsaw very well," he acknowledged as he walked in front of Elsa. "Good to have you on board."
He fired his unique firearm known as Pa's Pistol at a pair of Walkers. He missed once but scored two killing head shots.

NEEMA. The former corporate executive moved out of the small one room building and joined her colleagues. She thinned out the group of four Toxic Walkers moving up behind them, firing her .44 Magnum Revolver twice and killing two of the Toxic Walkers nearest to her. (This advanced her to the orange level and she chose the +1 Free Combat Action Skill.) She fired again but her bullet went wide by a few inches.

RAOUL. The freelance mercenary was a sea of calm as he stood in one place and dealt with the Zombie threat from in front, to the side and behind him. His AA-12 Atchisson Assault Shotgun was lethal in his steady hands. He fired four short bursts of three rounds and scored fatal wounds on five Toxic Walkers and two normal Walkers. Suddenly the Zombie menace didn't look nearly so threatening as clear ground surrounded the four Survivors.

ZOMBIES. The brief respite the Survivors had gained was soon interrupted with the arrival of many more of the Walking Dead. Three Runners sprinted in from Spawn Point 1. Five Walkers arrived from Spawn Point 2. A second Toxic Abomination entered the fray, this time arriving at Spawn Point 3. Four more Walkers emerged from Spawn Point 4.
TURN 13

RAOUL. Once again, Raoul stood his ground and let rip with his Assault Shotgun. The group of seven Zombies (five Walkers and two Fatties) who had exited the building that the red and yellow pimp-mobile was parked next to, were blown apart in a hail of automatic fire. (Unsurprisingly, Raoul was the first Survivor to reach the red level. He chose the +1 to Dice Roll: Ranged Fire Skill. With his Assault Shotgun, he would now hit on rolls of 3+ instead of 4+.)
"I am so pleased you are on our side," Elsa said in admiration.

DEREK. "Neema, we need to get rid of these Walkers pretty damned quickly," he said as he noticed just how close a group of five Toxic Walkers were getting. Out of four shots from Pa's Pistol only one missed. The other three were all explosive head shots. (These three kills advanced Derek to the orange level. He chose the Toxic Immunity skill, meaning that the acidic blood from the Toxic Zombies would not harm him. This was very useful if ever he got into melee combat with one or more of them.)

ELSA. She moved forward to check out the pimp-mobile. Inside the glove compartment she found two gold-plated pistols. (These were another unique weapon. They were known as the "Evil Twins" and although they were a pair, they counted as a single weapon for the purposes of carrying weapons and equipment and so only took up one hand slot for Elsa.) She took them and moved back to the safety of her new group of friends.

NEEMA. "I'll get the rest, Derek," Neema told her young colleague. The two remaining Toxic Walkers required two shots each from her .44 Magnum before they died.

ZOMBIES. Four Runners charged up close to the Survivors. Fortunately, none of them were Toxic Runners, although that wouldn't have bothered Derek too much! Elsewhere, the Zombies were increasing in the number of new arrivals (thanks to Raoul reaching the red level.) This was especially evident at Spawn Point 1 where seven Walkers arrived. Two Runners emerged from Spawn Point 2. Spawn Point 3 produced one Runner from each manhole that had at least one Survivor in its Zone. This meant that three Runners in total crawled out of the sewers. From Spawn Point 4 came two Fatties and four Walkers.
TURN 14

ELSA. Elsa placed herself in the front line of the Runners' attack and set about hacking them apart with her Chainsaw. By the time she had made ten attacks, she was surrounded by bodies, limbs and heads. All four Runners had been sliced and diced. (These kills advanced Elsa to the yellow level and she gained a fourth Action per Turn.) She switched her focus to the two Runners sprinting towards her from the Northern Spawn Point and killed them with four shots from the Evil Twins Pistols.

NEEMA. "Where the hell are they all coming from?" she asked rhetorically. Her .44 Magnum Revolver barked five times and she despatched three Toxic Walkers with lethal head shots.

RAOUL. It almost seemed like the freelance mercenary had developed a mystical affinity with his Assault Shotgun. He projected a Zen-like calm as he focussed solely on the task of killing Zombies. Out of twelve shots fired, ten caused fatal head wounds on seven Walkers, two Fatties and one Toxic Walker.

DEREK. "Well now that you've cleared a path to that building over there, let's see what's inside," he said to Raoul, as he walked over to the entrance of the building so many Zombies had emerged from.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "Not another one!"
Looming just inside the building stood a second Toxic Abomination, a fearsome monster who inexplicably was wearing a pair of purple bunny rabbit slippers and a pair of white Y-fronts. Spikes, boils and blisters covered its massive body and its hands and jaw were covered in dripping blood.
"I killed one of you bastards before and I can do it again," he said, raising Pa's Pistol to aim at the head of the creature. The incendiary round entered the Toxic Abomination's mouth and exploded in a ball of fire that left nothing remaining of the creature from the chest upwards.
Derek stepped inside and immediately noticed movement from behind a stack of wooden crates in one corner.
"Don't shoot me, dude!" a terrified voice shrieked out.
"Reveal yourself," Derek ordered. He kept his Pistol aimed at the location of the voice.
A young man with long brown hair, a beard and moustache and wearing casual clothing stood up and raised his hands in the air to show he was unarmed.
"I'm Gary" he announced, "and I'm not a Zombie!"
(Derek discovered the fourth objective token and luckily it turned out to be Gary.)

GARY. "You wouldn't have happened to come across a pretty redhead in a black catsuit, would you?" Gary asked hopefully. "We were together but got split up."
"Yeah, we have her outside," Derek replied. "She's safe and bloody handy with a Chainsaw, too."
"Oh, thank God for that. Say, I wonder what's in these crates?"
Gary had a quick rummage through the crates but most were empty. All he found was one Bag of Rice, which he took.
He walked outside, saw Elsa and gave her a wave. She smiled and waved back. He leapt into the driver's seat of the pimp-mobile parked a few feet away.
"What say we get out of here?" he asked.

ZOMBIES. Two Runners and two Walkers closed in on Elsa, Neema and Raoul, whilst one Runner ran to attack Gary in the pimp-mobile. Four Toxic Runners arrived from Spawn Point 1. Two ordinary Runners entered the area from Spawn Point 2. Five Toxic Walkers arrived from Spawn Point 3, whilst five Walkers arrived from Spawn Point 4.
TURN 15

DEREK. "You are not welcome here," he said as he ran out of the building to intercept a Runner who had reached the side of the pimp-mobile opposite to where Gary was sitting. Derek swung his Claw Hammer and brought it down in a bone-crushing blow on the top of the Runner's skull. The Zombie dropped like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut. Derek got of a single snapshot with Pa's Pistol and was pleased to see a male Walker's head explode.
"I'm riding shotgun," he declared as he climbed into the passenger seat next to Gary.
"No arguments from me," Gary responded.

ELSA. "Can't you scumbags give a girl a god-damned break?" she asked as once again, she fired up her Chainsaw to deal death and dismemberment to two Runners and two Walkers.
"Hey, Gary," she said with a big smile as she ran towards the pimp-mobile and deftly leapt into the back seat. "How are you doing?"
"All the better for seeing you," Gary grinned back at her. "Any more coming along with us?"

GARY. "You guys get out of here," Raoul ordered decisively. "Neema and I will catch up with you soon."
"No problemo," Gary replied. "Take care now."
He had no trouble in starting the car as the keys were still in the ignition. With a squeal from the tyres, he executed a handbrake turn and sped away at high speed. Three Walkers foolishly tried to block his way. In the fight between man and machine moving at high speed there could only be one winner. All three Walkers were flattened and killed as the car mowed them down. Gary accelerated away from them and drove onwards to safety.

NEEMA. Thanks to Gary's aggressive driving he had left a clear path for Neema and Raoul to follow. She sprinted after him, relieved to be free from the Zombie menace at last.

RAOUL. Raoul easily caught up with Neema.
"I see a police car parked just ahead of us," he observed. "We'll take that if it's drivable."

ZOMBIES. A plaintive moan went up from the mouths of so many Zombies who had just seen what should have been a succulent feast escape from their grasp. The car had gone but they could still catch the two humans on foot. As one, they chased after Neema and Raoul. From Spawn Point 1 three Toxic Runners made an appearance. Nothing emerged from Spawn Point 2. However, instead, all Walkers got an extra Turn. This meant that four Walkers were only one Zone away from Neema and Raoul. From Spawn Point 3 four Toxic Walkers arrived. A total of seven Walkers entered from Spawn Point 4.
TURN 16

RAOUL. Raoul ran round the corner to where he had seen the police car parked. The doors were unlocked so he stepped inside and sat in the front passenger seat. He'd let Neema drive.

NEEMA. Neema quickly joined him and took the driver's seat.
"A lucky break, huh?" she smiled.
"We've had a lot of luck today," Raoul admitted. "Let's hope it continues. Now get us out of here."

ZOMBIES. All of the Zombies in the immediate area swarmed towards the sound of a car engine starting up. (At this point it was patently obvious it was game over. I moved the Zombies who were on the board but none had any chance of stopping Neema and Raoul escaping next Turn. So I never bothered spawning any new Zombies this Turn. Still, those remaining made an impressive looking horde!)
TURN 17

 NEEMA & RAOUL. Neema started the car and swiftly drove out of the area to safety.
"We did good, Neema," Raoul said, smiling happily.
"We certainly did," Neema agreed.

CONCLUSION. It is always satisfying to successfully complete a Zombicide mission. It is even better if you can accomplish it without suffering any casualties. I was very happy with how this scenario went. But I have to admit that the Survivors had a lot of good luck working for them. Right from Turn 1 the party were lucky. Derek found Pa's Pistol straight away and that proved to be very decisive as it gave him a weapon capable of killing an Abomination with one shot. That gave them a HUGE advantage right from the start. Then Raoul did exceptionally well to find the Assault Shotgun, which was devastatingly effective at killing loads of Zombies. He also found Neema's .44 Revolver. Although it was only a single shot per Action weapon, it had enough firepower to kill a Fatty. So from Turn 2 Neema and Raoul had a firearm that could kill any Zombie except an Abomination and Derek had that threat covered. This was the perfect start to the game.
They were also lucky that Elsa and Gary were the third and fourth objective tokens out of seven to be found. That was purely random but it could have been a lot worse. Elsa got lucky in finding a Chainsaw in her first Search Action but Gary only ended up with a Bag of Rice, so it wasn't all good luck.
For me, Raoul was the man of the match. It was no surprise to me that he was the first (and only) Survivor to reach red level. He was just a killing machine and I absolutely love the AA-12 Atchisson Assault Shotgun in Zombicide and in real life.