Friday 6 July 2012

My ATZ Campaign - Day 62 - Assault on Precinct 13 part 2

                                                                                                                                                                                           I left part 1 with a lot resting on the outcome of the next dice rolls for Activation. The fate of Captain Marquez depended on the police winning the roll. Sadly, the good guys got the worst result possible. Not only did the zombies activate first but the police failed to move at all. Bummer!

TURN 4.   Activation - Police = 6, Zombies = 4
Four zombies charged at Captain Marquez. His luck really had deserted him, as he only passed 1d6 on the Being Charged test, meaning he could melee normally but he couldn't fire beforehand.
He split his 6d6 attack dice (5 for his Rep and 1 for having a higher impact weapon) into a 2/2/1/1 split against the four zombies. He was able to kill two of the zombies but the odds were stacked against him and he fell to the ground Out Of the Fight (OOF). SWAT Sergeant Connors, who witnessed the fight took the Leader Lost test and passed 2d6. On the next turn, command would be passed to Detective Mitchell Brandt, who was also Rep:5.
Six more zombies instinctively closed in on Captain Marquez. They could smell his blood and as one they moaned loudly in anticipation of a bloody feast.
The zombies at the front entrance tried without success to breach the barricade. Another six zombies were attracted to the broken window and decided to gain access that way, following the example of a zombie they had seen scant seconds earlier who had just disappeared inside.
That particular zombie climbed over the window ledge, ignoring the shards of glass that cut his legs and hands, and moved to the open door opposite the window.
I rolled 6d6 for zombie reinforcements, and as I thought, two appeared. They arrived at the NW corner of the basketball court.
TURN 5.   Activation - Police = 5, Zombies = 3
Patrolwoman Sally Gibson led Vampifan and Big Sil up the stairs to the second floor.
"Not much further to go," she said in her softly spoken voice.
"Follow me," Patrolman Kenneth Tybald commanded. "I heard breaking glass through here."
Rookie Ryan Markowitz carefully set down his cup of coffee on the reception hall front desk and drew his .45 Calibre Kimber Custom II Pistol from his holster as he followed his vastly experienced partner.
"Brandt, I need more firepower out here!" SWAT Sergeant Wayne Connors shouted to his colleague in the Captain's Office.
As Detective Mitchell Brandt stepped outside, via the open office window, he noticed that someone was missing. (See, this is why he was a detective!)
"Where's Captain Marquez?" he enquired.
"Down below," Connors replied as he fired his 5.56mm Steyr AUG Assault Rifle. "The deadheads got him!"
Two of Connors' bullets found their targets and the two remaining zombies who had attacked Captain Marquez fell to the ground with fatal head wounds.
Up on the first floor roof, SWAT Trooper Gemma Kelly suffered two pieces of bad luck. Firstly, she shot one of the zombies trying to climb through the ground floor broken window but she hit him in the chest, not the head. He was knocked down but he was not fully dead. Secondly, her SMG suddenly clicked on empty. She was out of ammo. Thankfully, she did have a spare clip but she'd be out of the fight for a short while as she reloaded.
Her colleague, SWAT Trooper Johnny Vincenzo, thought about shooting the three zombies ripping the unconscious Killer Klown to shreds, but thought better of it.
"Let the bastard suffer!" he muttered to himself.
Six zombies reached Captain Marquez and began tearing pieces of flesh from him with their teeth. Their feasting would last for two turns, as indicated by the red die.
Another three zombies entered the police station via the broken window in the detective's office. The zombie knocked down by Kelly stood back up.
Hearing voices coming from the reception hall, the zombie leading the way inside charged at Tybald and Markowitz. Both men passed 1d6 on the Being Charged Test and could engage in normal melee combat with the Zombie. I diced to see who the zombie would attack and he chose Rookie Markowitz.
Markowitz held his nerve and killed the zombie by using his pistol butt to smash the zombie's skull, killing him instantly.
I rolled 12d6 for zombie reinforcements and, amazingly, seven turned up! I expected four but not seven! I placed them at the northern edge of the basketball court by the large tree.
TURN 6.   Activation - Police = 2, Zombies = 4.
The three zombies who had fed on the Killer Klown crossed the road to join the six other zombies still feasting on Captain Marquez.
The zombies attacking the front doors eventually broke through the wooden barricade and two of them stepped into the Reception Hall. This would open the floodgates for a zombie insertion and was very bad news for the defenders.
Three more zombies entered the detective's office at the SW corner of the police station. The three who had entered last turn charged at Patrolman Tybald and Rookie Markowitz.
Patrolman Tybald passed 2d6 on the Being Charged Test and fired his 12 gauge Remington 870 pump-action shotgun at the three rapidly approaching zombies. He hit one full in the chest, knocking him off his feet, but failing to kill the undead creature.
Rookie Markowitz only passed 1d6 on the Being Charged Test and was able to melee as normal but he couldn't fire his BA Pistol. The two cops went up against one zombie apiece.
Patrolman Tybald killed his opponent with a savage blow to the forehead from the butt of his shotgun. Rookie Markowitz, struggled against his opponent and they ended up in deadlock.
It was now the police turn to activate. Markowitz decided to carry on fighting but once more, he could only draw. The leather jacketed young male was proving to be a formidable fighter.
"Oh, for Christ's sake!" Tybald said in exasperation. He used a sidekick to shatter the kneecap of the zombie, forcing it to drop to the floor. He followed up with a lethal foot stomp to the side of the zombie's head. Pieces of brain and skull stuck to the sole of his boot. The zombie ceased any further movement.
Upstairs, Patrolwoman Gibson, Vampifan and Big Sil reached the exit that led to the roof of the first floor.
Just outside from the trio, SWAT Trooper Kelly reloaded her MP5A3 Sub-Machine Gun. SWAT Trooper Vincenzo moved south a short way to lend his support to Detective Brandt and SWAT Sergeant Connors, who were below him on the ground floor roof. All three men fired short three round bursts at the zombies feasting on Captain Marquez.
Brandt scored one hit and one kill; Connors scored two hits and two kills, as did Vincenzo.
I rolled 21d6 for zombie reinforcements and yet again scored an above average result with ten more arriving this turn. Seven emerged next to the pedestrian crossing at the SW corner of the police station.
The other three, who were obviously once strippers before rising again, appeared at the back of the police station, not far from the rear entrance.
TURN 7.   Activation - Police = 1, Zombies = 2
The zombies at the SW corner of the police station gathered around Captain Marquez had grown to seventeen. They all ignored the bloody corpse, whose flesh had grown too cold to attract their interest.
 At the back of the police station, the trio of zombie strippers reached the back door.
Inside the building, more and more zombies flooded in. Patrolman Tybald and Rookie Markowitz suddenly found themselves surrounded by ten zombies. Tybald only managed to pass 1d6 on the Being Charged Test, which virtually sealed his fate. He could melee but he couldn't fire first. His fate was decreed when Markowitz passed 0d6 on the Being Charged Test and was forced to Retire.
The young cop dashed through the door that led to the stairs. He sprinted up the staircase, crying to himself, "oh, shit!" over and over again. He dropped to his knees, just around the corner at the top of the stairwell, out of sight of the horrors below. He had to Hunker Down and could do nothing until he was Rallied.
Abandoned by his partner, Patrolman Kenneth Tybald stood no chance against so many zombies. He was able to kill just one before he was dragged to the floor screaming in agony from so many bites.
As Patrolwoman Gibson, Vampifan and Big Sil arrived on the first floor roof, SWAT Trooper Vincenzo shouted to them, "Hey, guys, I need some help over here!"
Vampifan and Big Sil strolled across the roof in his direction.
Patrolwoman Gibson moved to the parapet overlooking the front of the police station. She drew her BA Pistol from her belt holster and fired twice at the zombies dierectly below her.
SWAT Trooper Kelly also fired at the same group of zombies with a three round burst. The women each hit and killed a zombie (although not the same one, obviously).
Brandt, Connors and Vincenzo repeated their tactics of the previous turn, firing short bursts at the zombies gathered by Captain Marquez. This time they didn't do so well. Brandt hit two and killed them; Connors hit and killed him but although Vincenzo hit one, he just achieved a Knockdown result.
I rolled 20d6 for zombie reinforcements and seven more arrived, next to the western edge of the basketball court.
TURN 8.   Activation - Police = 1, Zombies = 6.
Vampifan and Big Sil reached the SW corner of the roof of the first floor and stood alongside SWAT Trooper Vincenzo.
"Let's give 'em hell" the cop of mixed American and Italian parents said fervently.
Detective Brandt and SWAT Sergeant Connors joined in.
Fifteen bullets from five short bursts rained down on the zombies below. Vampifan got off to a highly impressive start, hitting three and killing them with unerring accuracy. Big Sil scored two hits and two kills, as did Vincenzo. Brandt let the side down by scoring a single hit but failed to make it count. All he did was knock a zombie off his feet and onto his back. It was poor marksmanship from the group's leader.  Connors also scored a single hit, but he made his count, placing his shot in the top of the skull of his target.
The two females of the Precinct, Gibson and Kelly, resumed their firing against the zombies by the front entrance. From their five shots they killed three more zombies, one from Gibson and two from Kelly.
I rolled 26d6 for zombie reinforcements and scored nine successes. They appeared next to the entrance to the basketball court.
TURN 9.   Activation - Police = (5) 4, Zombies = (5) 3
Doubles meant the arrival of a PEF. I rolled or its Rep and placement. It was Rep:4 and it arrived in Sector 6. Although I placed it in cover behind a police car, it was in sight of SWAT Trooper Kelly. No matter where I placed it, she'd be able to spot it. So I rolled on my PEF Resolution Table and scored a 4 for a D result, meaning a False Alarm.
"Trooper, go check the back of the building," Vampifan ordered SWAT Trooper Vincenzo. "We can deal with the zeds here."
To his credit, Vincenzo complied without comment or complaint.
"Hostiles here!" he shouted as he saw three female zombies clustered around the back door. "Don't worry, I've got them!"
His three round burst from his 9mm Heckler and Koch MP5A3 Sub-Machine Gun hit two of them. One died from a head wound but the other one got hit between the shoulder blades and was just knocked down.
Vampifan climbed over the parapet and lowered himself down to stand just behind Detective Brandt and SWAT Sergeant Connors.
"We have to switch off that engine," he said urgently. "It's a frigging zombie magnet!"
"We already tried it, buddy" Brandt replied morosely, "That's how we lost the Captain."
"That's because he went alone," Vampifan countered, "We need to go as a group to support each other."
Brandt, Connors and Big Sil fired three more short bursts at the four standing and two prone zombies below them.
They wiped out all six, as they killed two apiece.
"We have a clear window of opportunity now," Connors remarked. "If we all go now, we could do it."
"Outstanding!" Vampifan said, feeling very confident about this.
Patrolwoman Gibson and SWAT Trooper Kelly refrained from firing this turn as the zombies below them were hidden from view by the roof of the front porch.
In the reception area, nine zombies piled in to devour Patrolman Tybald. Their feasting would last for two turns.
The knocked down zombie stripper stood back up. Her former colleague tried unsuccessfully to break open the back door.
The group of nine zombies shambled across the car park towards the front entrance of the police station.
The group of seven zombies seemed more interested in the noisy pick-up truck and so moved towards it.
 I rolled 18d6 for zombie reinforcements and six appeared at the NE corner of the police station.

TO BE CONTINUED
Total number of zombies appearing so far = 82

70 comments:

  1. Okay, so I never post on a Friday, but I finished typing this up this morning and tought you'd like to see it a couple of days early, instead of waiting until Sunday.

    Some of you will now realise you have lost the "guess how many zombies appear" contest. Sorry, guys, you should have aimed higher.

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  2. Holy Zombie Chow Batman! This is indeed a bloody batrep. Thanks for all the very clear pics. I am enjoying it greatly.

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    1. It is bloody, Charles, and it gets even bloodier!

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  3. This is absolutely covered in awesomesauce! I really enjoy reading this batrep and seeing all these beautiful zeds...in batman-shirts, cat-shirts...and zombie strippers.

    Where is the M2HB .50 cal when you need it?

    Whiteface / Oliver

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    1. Oliver, I have recently painted 50 of the Victory Force zombie horde figures and decided they would be the first to appear in this batrep. A lot of them are wearing T-shirts or sweatshirts, so I put a lot of thought into how I painted them. My personal favourite is the zombie in the Jaws movie poster T-shirt. You can get a good look at him in the tenth photo of this part of the batrep.

      Believe me, any kind of heavy weaponry would have been appreciated in this battle!

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    2. I didn't see that one, but I just noted a Sponge Bob zombie. :o)

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    3. Well spotted, Oliver! Sponge Bob is another of my favourites.

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  4. Loving these bat reps. Can't wait for part 3!!! In typical movie fashion, id really love to see some zombie revenge from a reanimated Kenneth on a certain rookie Markowitz lol! All we need now is Catweazle and the cavalry!

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    1. Ten zombies against two humans are not good odds but they sure are a lot better than ten against one. Kenneth Tybald was screwed as soon as Markowitz ran away. Of course, by running upstairs, Markowitz has unwittingly pointed the zombies downstairs where to go next. He'd better pray some one comes to Rally him!

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    2. Would'nt be zombie flick without a "Cooper" character getting someone killed! Shame it was Kenneth though, i've had a soft spot for that miniature since i finally got round to painting mine!

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    3. There's always one who lets the side down, isn't there? I have to agree with you about the figure. He's one of my favourites as well.

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    4. Hasslefree do make some lovely figs! Kenneth is second only to my Evil dead "Ash" character from Studio. Wish i had the time and money to buy and paint up a hoard of their awesome zeds to go with my survivors, and do away with the bag o zombies lol!

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    5. Oh, man, I feel your pain if you're making do with the Bag o' Zombies!

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    6. Tell me about it! My main problem is where to safely store more miniatures. I already have two chests full of fantasy/dnd stuff now along with all my modern survivors to boot. A bag of plastic zeds can just get thrown on top. Storage is that bad at the moment, I even have to use dnd type game tiles as scenery for my games :(

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    7. That makes me realise just how lucky I am with all the spare room I have. Commiserations, Dave, and I hope you can come up with a solution.

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  5. What a great batrep! The pics are beautiful, clear and do a good job showing the action. It looks like things aren't going so well for the living. Seems the more they kill, the more they attract, and they keep attracting more than they kill, too. That was a pity about Patrolman Tybald. He might have made it if Markowitcz hadn't run off. You're really showing off your Zombie and terrain collection in this one, love stuff. Thanks for posting earlier than your usual. I can't imagine how you are able to keep track of so many separate fights and be able to report them so ably.

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    1. Things are not going well for the good guys, are they, despite some fairly good shooting from those outside. You're right that the more they kill, the more they attract. Having the pick-up truck engine running constantly is not helping either. If only they could switch it off!

      Keeping track of everything isn't that hard, Joe. It comes down to practice and making meticulous notes of everything that happens. I spend more time taking notes than playing the game. But when I come to type up my batrep I find the extra effort was well worth it.

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  6. Yey, early post :) Thanks, Bryan.
    And you're absolutely right. It's getting more and more intense.
    Maybe you should have included a helicopter shot of the entire table to show how many zombies there currently are around the station. Should be a terrifying sight...

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    1. There was one of my other followers who asked for an overhead view of my game board, Stefan. However, first of all, the room isn't tall enough to allow it, and secondly, with such a large game board, I'm not sure how far I'd have to climb to fit it all in, assuming I had a tall enough set of step ladders. Hey, I love the idea but sadly, it's just not practical.

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    2. Ah, you're right, Bryan. I did not think this through. Just imagined something like a mini-map oder radar with lots of Z on it :) Hm, maybe if one had some AR Drone (http://ardrone2.parrot.com/)...

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  7. Really engrossing report. Your pictures really tell the story too. I was going to say that a lot of gun fire attracts zombies, but Holy Carp!?! I hope you post the next part early too. Also getting closer to my guess for Zombies.

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    1. I'm planning on posting part three early next week. It would be too cruel to make you wait until next Wednesday.

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  8. Wonderful batrep, Bryan! Can't wait for Part III.

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    1. Thanks, Christopher. As for part three, see my reply above.

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  9. An interesting battle; a bit more bloody than I thought it would be.

    Vampifan lowering himself down the outside of a building ? Hmm...

    All good stuff !

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    1. Joe, as I said to Charles in my first reply, the game is bloody and it gets a lot bloodier. Believe me, this is no cakewalk!

      Hey, if you can accept zombies then I don't see why you can't accept Vampifan lowering himself down the wall of a building. LoL!

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  10. What I love about your ATZ campaign is the strong narrative that you have running through it- it feels like a movie, which is exactly the feel I want form a Zed based game!. Well done. You scenery looks amazing!

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    1. Rob, your observation that this feels like a movie fills me with great joy and satisfaction as this is exactly the response I was aiming for. Thanks for the compliment. It's greatly appreciated.

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  11. Looks like captain Marquez was on the wrong side of the thin line between bravery and stupidity!

    Thanks for showing this early Bryan, I can drool all over your scenery and miniatures ocne again! Just have to say it again, you've really surpassed yourself with this game!

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    1. I actually felt sorry for Captain Marquez. If he'd won Initiative on Turn 4, he'd have had time to switch off the engine and possibly get away from the zeds. It all rested on that one dice roll. He was just unlucky.

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  12. An early post is very welcomed! It's always sad to see strippers being shot... lol Excellent game so far!! Bring on part 3! :D

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    1. No one wants to see strippers being shot, but zombie strippers... that's a different matter entirely. Anyway, I just imagined they were Jenna Jameson and I didn't feel so bad.

      (Jenna starred in the film "Zombie Strippers" and was a complete turn off, in my humble opinion!)

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  13. Whoa!

    This is getting even more intense.

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    1. It is, pal! Just wait until you see part 3!

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    2. Now I'm even more nervous about Team Vampifan....

      They're little bits of pewter and paint...this being nerve wracking is kind of funny!

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    3. Alright, getting kind of anxious!

      I must know.

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    4. Part 3 has been posted today, which should make you happy for a short while... then you'll be clamouring for part 4!

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  14. Sweet This certainly put a dent in your box o zombies. Great stuff looking forward to the next part Bryan.

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    1. Yes, I needed a lot of zombies for this game. I could have possibly recycled my 50 VF zombies that I started the game with but I thought to myself, why not use as many of my collection as I can!

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  15. For frags sake! Not the Captain!!!!

    Oustanding report so far Bryan! Damn bloody...And good men lost!

    However....The killer clown was munched as well. That made me smile!

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    1. The Captain did not deserve his fate. He was just unlucky.

      The Killer Klown certainly deserved his fate.

      Also, thanks to him the Captain died trying to turn off the engine he left running. Will Vampifan, Detective Brandt and Sergeant Connors fare any better?

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  16. More great reading and zombie shenanigans, epic...how will it go...I'll be back for more goodness!

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    1. How will it go, indeed? The short answer is not well! Things get a lot worse in part 3!

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  17. I've been eagerly awaiting your next batrep for some time, and these two reports made the wait worthwhile!

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    1. Thanks, Jacob, and be sure to lookout for part 3, early next week.

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  18. A feast of shot and flesh!! Can't wait for part 3!!!!

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  19. Awesome Brian. Thanks for the early post.

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  20. Good! Vampifan and Big Sil are still alive. Great batrep!

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  21. You've outdone yourself. Excellent minis, excellent terrain, excellent story telling. Looking forward to part 3!

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  22. Fantastic Batrep! But I still say vamp and Sil should have gone downstairs and bottlenecked those zeds.

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    1. Blame the Captain. He ordered them to go upstairs. I don't think he appreciated just how good they were at fighting zombies.

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  23. Hahahah Very Epic bryan, a very enjoyable read, I'm loving how the zombies are just swarming the compound, trying to get in via every nook and cranie, and the Captain...Foolishness? ... or Heroism? the Tybald and Markowitz saga .... understandable given the circumstances, you cant take a rookie to a zombie fight, can ya?

    Thanks for Posting Bryan, your batreps are really appreciated.

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  24. Great batrep & nice paintjob on these T-shirts. That tickles my zombie gaming motivation !

    As a side note, in close combat, cops could use baton and save their guns from being damaged by choke (don't know if it makes sense to you). Plus, it would add variety in storytelling avoiding the sempiternal (or Vampifernal) but efficient pistol-butt-to-the-head.

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  25. I agree, Ulu, but I tend to go with what the figure is armed with and not all of my cops are armed with batons. Remembering that Tybald had the Brawler Attribute, I let him try out a few martial arts moves when he took down the leather jacketed zombie that Markowits failed to beat in two rounds of combat.

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  26. poor Captain Marquez i was more than a little pissed he dident make it. Thats a hell of a lot of zeds, the guys are in big trouble, looks like its time to make a break for it, cant wait for part 3

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    1. There are a lot of zombies on the board right now and things are about to get a whole lot worse for the heroes. I'm hoping to post Part 3 tomorrow.

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  27. Even more reason for the 'tG' in VtG! Splendid photos and story to go with them Bryan. I am sooooo jealous of your zed hordes, terrain and batrep.

    Waiting for part 3 now!

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    1. And lo and behold, part 3 has just been posted. Thanks for the kind words, Colin.

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  28. Just got a chance to read this now; soo good.
    Off to part 3.

    Thanks for sharing it.

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