Wednesday 7 September 2011

My ATZ Campaign - Day 43 - SWAT Gets Spooked part 2

Last time we left Team Vampifan just as they were about to enter the Horseman's Deli. What delights await them inside?
TURN 6.   Activation - Vampifan = 5, Zombies = 4
Billy moved adjacent to the knocked down zombie girl and administered the coup de grace. Hannah was the first to enter the deli and found it to be empty. Jamie, Gap and Vampifan followed her inside. I've made a slight boob with the positioning of my Risks and Rewards card in that I've hidden the Resource notice. I assure you, it did say Nothing.
The zombie who had been feasting on the second ganger had finished her meal and moved next to the first ganger to see what juicy morsels she could take from him.
The nude zombie crossing the road moved closer to Billy, who seemed unaware of her. There were no zombie reinforcements rolls to be made this turn.
 TURN 7.   Activation - Vampifan = (2) 4, Zombies = (2) 6
A tie off in the Activation roll meant a re-roll and the zombies unable to activate. The nude zombie crossing the road attracted the attention of Gap. He ignored Vampifan's cruel jibe that she was the first nude female he'd seen in the flesh and put her down with a single bullet to the head.

Vampifan and Hannah climbed up the step-ladders to the store-room on the roof. Although it was unoccupied it did contain another Food Resource, which was found by Hannah. I rolled 1d6 for zombie reinforcements. None turned up.
 TURN 8.   Activation - Vampifan = 6, Zombies = 4
Vampifan and Hannah climbed back downstairs to rejoin their colleagues.
The two female zombies continued to feed on the Poor Little Rich Kid.
 TURN 9.   Activation - Vampifan = 4, Zombies = 2
Team Vampifan walked along to the entrance of the large Folding Unit Structure (FUS).
The two female zombies finally finished devouring the ganger. Yum, yum!
TURN 10.   Activation - Vampifan = (5) 6, Zombies = (5) 5
Another roll of doubles for Activation and again, Team Vampifan came out best. They entered the large FUS and found it occupied by two Military types. I decided to make them SWAT Troopers because they react as Military not Police... plus they were closer to hand! Both were Rep:5 and they were armed with a BA Pistol (Trooper Barker) and an Assault Rifle (Sergeant Richardson). Barker is a Foundry figure and Richardson is a Heroclix figure. In addition, there was a Grenade Resource. Note that the second Risks and Rewards card is used solely to determine the Rep and weaponry of the second SWAT guy.
It was time to roll on the Meet and Greet table (see p.45 of BDTZ). Vampifan initially rolled 9d6 (6d6 for his Rep plus 3d6 for outnumbering the opposition by 3). Sergeant Richardson just rolled 5d6 for his Rep. After four roll offs Vampifan won 1-0. This meant that the SWAT team would join Team Vampifan, but only for the remainder of this scenario. Then they would leave peacefully. Billy found the grenade, which he promptly handed over to Vampifan for safe keeping.
 TURN 11.   Activation - Vampifan = 1, Zombies = 3
The two female zombies moved to the junction of the road.

 Team Vampifan emerged from the large FUS, with the two SWAT Troopers bringing up the rear.
 TURN 12.   Activation - Vampifan (6) 5, Zombies = (6) 1
Woot! Double sixes for activation! That meant rolling on the Random Events Table (see p.52 of BDTZ). I rolled an 8 on 2d6 for a result of "a random character opens fire at the nearest building at "shadows"." The spooked person turned out to be Trooper Barker, who fired his BA Pistol twice at something he thought he saw but wasn't there. Sergeant Richardson exchanged a few harsh words with him. He was not well pleased at his colleague's lack of professionalism. Barker's face turned red with embarrassment.
I rerolled the Activation dice and this time Team Vampifan went first. They moved into the medium FUS. Inside were two zombies but no Resources.
 The zombies lost the Surprise roll and were gunned down and killed by Vampifan and Gap.
The two female zombies moved further across the road junction, attracted by the sound of gunfire. Note the bullet marker, indicating Trooper Barker's speculative shots. I rolled 4d6 for zombie reinforcements and scored two successes. Both arrived close to the overturned green camper van.
 TURN 13.   Activation - Vampifan = 2, Zombies = 3
The four zombies moved closer to the two SWAT Troopers, who were standing guard outside of the medium FUS.
This triggered an In Sight Test for the SWAT duo. They both passed 2d6 and could fire at any zombies within 6". They fired one shot each at the two female zombies and killed them both.
Vampifan led his friends back outside and walked down the street towards the small FUS. The SWAT troopers followed but held their fire against the remaining two zombies. At this distance they were no threat.
I rolled 2d6 for zombie reinforcements and scored one success. He appeared at the back of the medium FUS.
TURN 14.   Activation - Vampifan = 2, Zombies =6 
Vampifan   was the first to enter the small Folding Unit Structure, which was the last unexplored building on the board. Inside were one zombie and a set of Keys Resource. Vampifan and the zombie rolled to see which of them won Surprise. Vampifan rolled a 5, giving him a total of 11, a result that the zombie couldn't come close to no matter what he rolled. The best the zombie could achieve would have been a 7.
So, Vampifan blew the back of the zombie's head off with a single 5.56mm shot. By now only Vampifan and Gap were eligible to find the Resource. Gap got lucky and he pocketed the keys to the yellow hatchback parked just outside. I rolled 1d6 for zombie reinforcements but none decided to show.
TURN 15.   Activation - Vampifan = 4, Zombies = 3
Team Vampifan exited the small building and proceeded off the board. Before leaving, Gap handed over the car keys to Sergeant Richardson and told him he could take the car. Both groups bade farewell to one another and departed. With no humans left on the board the remaining three zombies just shuffled about aimlessly.
So, game over and all that remained to do was roll for Rep increases or decreases. Vampifan actually performed the worst out of the group despite killing more zombies (and humans) than anyone else. By not finding a Resource this mission was classed as a failure for him. If I rolled a 1 on 1d6 he'd drop down to Rep:5. Ironically, I rolled a 6 for him, so if he had found a Resource he'd have advanced to Rep:7! I think it is probably best he didn't as that would have made him uber-powerful! Still, I was pleased he remained at Rep:6.
Gap found the Keys but he failed his Rep Increase roll and remained Rep:5
Hannah found a Food Resource and she succeeded in her roll to increase her Rep. She is now Rep:5
Jamie also found a Food Resource and  she too, succeeded in her roll. She is now Rep:4.
Billy found a Grenade Resource but he failed to increase his Rep. He remained at Rep:3.
This was a curious game to play. At no point in the scenario did I feel that Team Vampifan were in any real danger. The PEFs were dealt with very easily. The zombie numbers were thankfully light, no doubt due to there being not much gunfire. Plus, being in the suburbs is much safer than being in the city centre. To me, this was a walk in the park for Team Vampifan. Please don't think I'm complaining because I'm not. It's great when the Dice Gods are this kind. Games never pan out how I think they might and it is for this reason that I love ATZ so much. You just never know what's going to happen because of the randomness of the dice rolls you have to make. Despite Vampifan's failure to find a Resource, this was a very successful mission for the team and having both Hannah and Jamie increase their Reps was a nice bonus. If all goes well, I plan on playing two more scenarios in October and another in November.

26 comments:

  1. Damn good conclusion and as you said the dice gods were with you, looking forward to more sir.

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  2. Team Vampifan wins again! Great batrep with lots of pictures of Tamiya Red Clear.
    "...the first nude female.." :o)

    In ATZ, going from "no real danger" to "We're all going to die!" can be a matter of just one turn (I dimly remember an exploding building in one of my own games...). A game that feels like everything is under control is such a nice relief...so I've heard.

    BTW, have you seen these?
    http://theminiaturespage.com/news/910127/

    Whiteface / Oliver

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  3. @Fran. The Dice Gods can be very fickle but they seemed to be in a good mood that weekend.

    @Oliver. Games like this, where everything works out fine, are few and far between. When they do happen you should relish every moment. I, too, have seen a game turn from "no real danger" to "we're all going to die" in a single turn as well. This is probably the norm for many ATZ players!

    I have seen those figures in your link and very nice they are too. I am pondering about buying them as I wonder if I really need a third version of Alice? Even so, they'd fit in well as survivors for any ATZ fan.

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  4. A Great BATREP mr V and a happy conlusion to ths mission.

    Where is the GAP miniature from?

    @ Whiteface I saw those yesterday they are dreamy. They may have just jumped to the top of my to get list! Especially the Robert Neville miniature.

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  5. QUOTE: "...as I wonder if I really need a third version of Alice?"
    Stop that crazy talk! ;o)
    I guess it would be easy to replace the Kukris with a pair of pistols or Mac-10s.

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  6. @Brummie. Gap (it stands for General Apathy) is a conversion of a Black Hat Civilian. Check him out here. http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=121_122_143&osCsid=addf188393dbf6c2470f0623813b15be He's Civilian 9 with the baseball cap on.

    @Oliver. Who am I kidding? Of course I'll be buying them! I recently ordered some MAC-10s from Hasslefree so a conversion would be very easy.

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  7. Nice inspiring batrep VtG; well done to team Vampifan!

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  8. Bryan- Great Barep. I seriously need to find the time and space to finish the game I had started but ended up cutting short. I also need to get ink for my printer and more cardstock and build some buildings (I do have a bunch of FUS built) instead of focusing on cardstock vehicles.

    Also you can never have to many Alice (also known as St. Milla in some circles). One Milla figure I would love to get is her as Violet from Ultraviolet with the sword (different sculpts with the other weapons would also rock), if they did make a Violet figure i would probably get a couple copies of it and paint the outfits in different colors to represent the color change in her outfits in the movie, plus if you have multiples of her and in different outfits, you can pass them off as twins/clones.

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  9. @Doug:
    I'd like to have Milla from Resident Evil and RE: Afterlife...oh wait, miniatures?
    Yeah, miniatures are cool too...I guess ;o)

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  10. @Colin. Thanks. Yay, Team Vampifan!

    @Doug. I, too, worship at the altar of St. Milla (praise be her name!) I agree that it would be nice to see a few versions of her from Ultraviolet. I converted a Hasslefree figure of Dionne (a) into a Violet. I altered her jacket so showed her belly button and lengthened her hair. I can't remember if I've ever reviewed her on my blog. Damn, that's annoying. I'll check as soon as I've typed in this reply.

    @Oliver. Laughing my ass off!

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  11. Yep, I have done a review of my converted Violet figure. Check her out here
    http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/2011/01/hasslefree-survivor-females-02.html
    She's the second figure from the left, dressed all in white.

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  12. Good rep. I know what you mean about the environment, I found that out in my last game. A stroll for the gang is always good for moral and the soul. Look forward to the next one.

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  13. A fantastic read. Your team made out well, though its a shame the SWAT wouldn't join permanently. They'd be a handy addition I think.
    Thanks for posting this inspiring report.

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  14. Brilliant report and good pictures to go along with it.

    The set up is nice, the miniatures are great.... What is not to like? The fact that this was the end of this encounter. Oh well, let them rest....There will be more zeds on their way...

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  15. Turned out to be a bit of a "walk in the park" and not what could have been had the dice been against you; good morale booster for Team Vampifan though. Good write-up too,you can almost feel the tension at times whilst the dice are rolled.

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  16. @Irqan. That was a good morale booster. I hope I have more games like that but that seems highly unlikely.

    @Adam. It would have been great if two Rep:5 SWAT Troopers had joined my team permanently but the Dice Gods weren't going to let me have everything go my way.

    @Johnny. There will be more zeds on the way and you won't have to wait too long to see what happens next to Team Vampifan.

    @Joe. Yes, this was a "walk in the park" but that's just the way the dice fell. Team Vampifan's morale must surely be sky high at the moment. I'm betting it'll come crashing down next time, so that the Dice Gods can restore the balance. There were, indeed, some tense times for me when I rolled the dice. Nice to see that that comes through in the batrep.

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  17. great stuff,i love your terrain so much, im thinking to try my hand at a few world works buildings, do you have any advise, like whats the card stock and glue to use and what do you reinforce with, thanks

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  18. @Shintokamikaze. There are quite a few tutorials for beginners on the WWG website, most of which I ignore! My method involves printing everything out on good quality matte photopaper (120 - 130 gm) and gluing that to mounting card for strength and durability. For large areas, like floor tiles, I glue them in place with Scotch 3M Photo Spray. For everything I use UHU clear adhesive glue. Both give a good strong bond. Once I do my own tutorials, you'll learn a lot more about card modelling but be warned, my way of doing things are far more time consuming than the "official" methods taught by WWG.

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  19. "she was the first nude female he'd seen in the flesh"

    Lolled me out!! :D

    I noticed you don't add a Pef every double, there is a reason o you don't like to randomness?

    Beside, this was a very good bat rep, thanks for sharing!!

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  20. @Zerloon. New PEFs that appear if you roll doubles for activation is an optional rule. Therefore, I chose to ignore it. Normally there's enough going on without adding more chaos to the mix.

    Gap has led such a sheltered life and has never had a girlfriend, so he probably ignored Vampifan's remark rather than admit the truth.

    I'm glad you enjoyed the batrep.

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  21. yeh i tried to do a jug boat useing the WWG tut, everything just warped lol

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  22. I haven't had a chance to read the batrep yet but I wanted to comment on how good the dead guys laying around looks. It adds a much bigger impact to the images than I thought it would, They look great and add yet another touch of realism. I am going to be doing some when I get back in gear.

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  23. @Shintokamikaze. That's precisely why I don't follow their guidelines. Cardstock will warp. My models will definitely not warp.

    @Roger. It struck me a while back that adding dead bodies to my game boards would add an extra level of realism. I noticed when I was watching The Walking Dead TV series just how many corpses were lying around. So many that they became part of the scenery. I'm slowly building up my collection of corpses. I wish far more figure companies would make them. In the meantime, conversions are the way to go.

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  24. Good Batrep Vampifan, an enjoyable but a safe encounter, might be time to field some Ragers maybe......something more challenging?

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  25. @The Extraordinarii. I don't think I need Ragers, although they certainly would be a challenge. I'm sure the Dice Gods will want to redress my good fortune this time by making the next mission a real shitstorm.

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  26. Always such a pleasure to read Bryan. The dice gods really were with you.

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