Wednesday 6 May 2015

Zombicide Scenario C19 A Little Setback Part 2

TURN 5.
CHUCK. First Action. Move North one Zone. This brings him in contact with the Walker who was threatening Fred.

Second Action. Melee Combat with his Crowbar. A Crowbar uses 1 die to hit, hits on a 4+ and does 1 Wound. Chuck only scored a 3, so he misses with his first attack. A Crowbar does not generate a Noise token when used in combat.
Third Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. This time Chuck succeeds by rolling a 5. The 1 Wound he causes is enough to kill the Walker.
Fourth Action. Ranged Combat with Shotgun. Chuck rolls 2 dice looking for results of 4+. He scores 1 hit, a 6, as represented by the Molotov Cocktail symbol, and a miss with the 3. He kills one of the three Walkers in the adjacent Zone and generates a Noise token.
FRED. First Action. Ranged Fire with Rifle. A Rifle only uses 1 die to hit but hits on a 3+. It has a range of 1-3 Zones and it causes 1 Wound. Fred rolls a 4, which is a hit and causes 2 kills. HUH?! How can that be? Two kills with one shot? Surely not? Read on and all will be explained. Fred has the Skill, Reaper: Combat. He uses this Skill when assigning hits while resolving a Combat Action (Melee or Ranged). One of these hits can freely kill an additional Zombie in the same Zone. Only a single additional Zombie can be killed per Action when using this Skill. How cool is that? By the way, if you're looking for this Skill in the Season 1 rulebook, don't. It isn't there. It appears in the Season 2 book, Prison Breakout and the Season 3 book, Rue Morgue.
Second Action. Move North one Zone.
Third Action. Ranged Fire with Rifle. He rolls a 3, which is just enough to hit the female Walker shambling towards him. She drops down dead with a bullet to the head.
ZOMBIES. The three Walkers move one Zone towards Fred, whilst the two Runners move two Zones towards Fred. Remember that Runners get two Actions per Turn, so they were able to move twice this Turn.
 Spawn Zone 1. Three Walkers spawn.
Spawn Zone 2. I draw the top card from the Zombies deck and my heart sinks as I see I have just spawned four Walkers in the same Zone as Fred. What a time to draw that card!
This is very bad news for our heroes! Can they possibly survive with so many Zombies closing in on them?
TURN 6.
CHUCK. First Action. Move North one Zone into Zombie Spawn Zone 2. If you're wondering why he didn't just stay put and shoot the Zombies next to Fred there is a nasty little rule that Zombicide uses, called Target Priority. The shooting Survivor does not choose freely the targets he hits with successful Ranged Combat rolls. Hits are assigned in this order -
1. to Survivors (except for the shooter)
2. to Walkers
3. to Fatties or Abominations (player's choice)
4. to Runners
The hits are assigned until all targets of the lower degree of priority have been eliminated. I know that some players hate this rule and ignore it but I'm okay with it because it forces players to think tactically. If Chuck had fired he would have had to kill Fred before he could kill the Walkers and there was no way that I'd do that. So, Melee Combat it is then.
CHUCK. Second Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. Needing a 4+ to hit, Chuck rolls a 4 and kills a Walker. He's off to a good start.
Third Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. Sadly, this time he rolls a 2 and misses.
Fourth Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. He redeems himself by rolling a 5 and killing one of the two female Walkers in the Zombie Spawn Zone.
FRED. First Action. Melee Combat with Fire Axe. The Fire Axe uses 1 die, requiring a roll of 4+ to hit and each hit causes 2 Wounds. Fred rolls well with a 6 and kills the two remaining Walkers in this Zone with his one hit thanks to his Reaper: Combat Skill.
Second Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. He rolls a 1, which is a clear miss. He generates one Noise token.
Third Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. This time he scores a hit with his roll of 5. I really wanted to kill the two Runners first but because of the Target Priority rule, Fred must eliminate the Walkers first. Still, he does kill two of them because of his Reaper: Combat Skill. He generates a second Noise token, which is just out of shot.
ZOMBIES. The Walker and two Runners move into Zombie Spawn Zone 2 alongside Chuck and Fred. For the Runners' second Action, they attack and cause 2 Wounds. Note that Zombies do not roll to hit - they automatically hit with each attack they make. However, I can allocate their Wounds as I see fit.
The logical and sensible thing to do is to apply one Wound to each Survivor otherwise it'd be game over, so this is what I do. Whenever a Zombie causes a Wound, it also grabs one Item from the Survivor and replaces it with a Wound card. I get to choose which Item Chuck loses, and I pick his Pistol. Now Chuck can only carry four Items instead of five because his Wound card takes up one space on his ID Card.
Fred loses his Canned Food and replaces it with a Wound card. In Zombicide, all Survivors start with two Wounds. Once they receive their second Wound they are killed and removed from the game, unless you decide to bring them back as a Zombivor. I won't be doing that in this game if the worst comes to the worst. As it stands, our two heroes are in a very perilous situation. If either of them receives a second Wound the mission ends in failure.
The remaining three Walkers close in on Chuck and Fred.
Spawn Zone 1. Another four Walkers spawn.
Spawn Zone 2. Two Walkers spawn. Thank goodness the Walkers spawned in that order!
TURN 7.
CHUCK. First Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. In Melee Combat, Survivors can freely choose which targets they attack, so Chuck takes a swing at one of the two Runners. He misses with his roll of 3.
Second Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. Better luck this time! Chuck hits with a roll of 5 and kills the Runner. Runners only have 1 Wound and so are relatively easy to kill.
Third Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar and another wild swing that misses.
Fourth Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. Chuck scores a lethal blow to the head of the second Runner with a roll of 6. That should make life a lot easier for our heroes.
FRED. First Action. Melee Combat with Fire Axe. Fred also rolls a 6 and once again, thanks to his Reaper: Combat Skill, he kills two Walkers.
These two kills earn Fred two more Experience Points, taking him into the Yellow Level. He immediately gains the +1 Action Skill, giving him 4 Actions per Turn.
Second Action. Melee Combat with Fire Axe. He rolls very badly with a score of 1, as indicated by the Zombie head symbol shown on the dice. It's an obvious miss.
Third Action. Melee Combat with Fire Axe. Bloody hell! Another miss! Come on, Fred! Get your act together!
Fourth Action. Melee Combat with Fire Axe. Yes! He rolls a 6 and kills the plucky Walker. Thank God he gained that fourth Action!
ZOMBIES. Seven Walkers advance one Zone as they have Chuck and Fred in their sights.
Spawn Zone 1. One female Walker spawns.
Spawn Zone 2. One Runner spawns. Not bad! That could have been a lot worse.
TURN 8.
CHUCK. First Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. He rolls a 2 and misses.
Second Action. Melee Combat with Crowbar. Chuck rolls a 5 and kills the newly arrived Runner.
Third Action. Ranged Combat with Shotgun. Chuck fires into the adjacent Zone, containing three Walkers, hoping to whittle them down. He rolls a 3 and a 4, meaning one miss and one kill. He generates a Noise token.
Fourth Action. Moves West one Zone. At first glance this seems like a foolhardy Action but trust me, it is a brilliant play. Firstly, it gets him out of that dangerous Zombie Spawn Zone and secondly... well, read on.
FRED. First Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. Hang on, I hear you say. Won't this mean he'll have to shoot Chuck first because of the Target Priority rule? Ordinarily, yes, he would. But here's the clever part of Chuck's Move. Chuck has the Skill, Low Profile, meaning he can't be targeted by allied Ranged Attacks and he can't be hit by car attacks. He is ignored when shooting in or driving through a Zone he is standing in. However, weapons that kill everything in the targeted Zone, like the Molotov Cocktail, will still kill him. So Fred rolls a 6 with his shot and kills both Walkers courtesy of his Reaper: Combat Skill. You can see now why these two Survivors complement each other so well. Fred generates a Noise token. Please note, the Low Profile Skill does not appear in the Season 1 rulebook. It appears in the Season 2 book, Prison Breakout and the Season 3 book, Rue Morgue.
Second Action. Moves West one Zone to stand alongside Chuck.
Third Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. A roll of 5 hits and kills two more Walkers. He generates a Noise token.
Fourth Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. Fred ends a brilliant Turn with another hit and two more kills. My God, I love that Reaper: Combat Skill! He generates another Noise token.
ZOMBIES. Incredibly, there is now just one Walker left on the board! She moves one Zone East to stand in the Zone adjacent to Chuck and Fred.
Spawn Zone 1. Just a single Walker spawns. Cool!
Spawn Zone 2. Three Walkers spawn but it doesn't really matter. They are behind Chuck and Fred and are unlikely to catch them.
TURN 9.
CHUCK. First Action. Ranged Combat with Shotgun. Chuck scores one miss with his roll of 2 but a hit with his roll of 4 and he kills the female Walker standing in his way. He generates a Noise token.
Second Action. Moves West one Zone.
Third Action. Moves South one Zone, bringing him outside the generator room.
Fourth Action. Opens door to the generator room with his key. Only Chuck could open this door because he holds the key for it. Whenever a door to a building is opened for the first time, Zombies are spawned inside in the same manner as their Spawn Zones. You must draw a Zombies card for each room in the building. As the generator room is only a one room building I only draw one card for it and it turns out to be two Runners.
FRED. First Action. Moves West one Zone.
Second Action. Moves South one Zone to stand outside the generator room.
Third Action. Ranged Combat with Rifle. Fred fires through the open door and kills both Runners with his excellent roll of 6 and of course, his awesome Reaper: Combat Skill. He generates a Noise token.
Fourth Action. Moves East one Zone, placing him inside the generator room.
ZOMBIES. Four Walkers shuffle a bit closer to Chuck. One of them can see him and the others can hear him.
Spawn Zone 1. Four Walkers spawn.
Spawn Zone 2. A solitary Walker spawns.
TURN 10.
CHUCK. First Action. Moves South one Zone.
Second Action. Moves West one Zone.
Third Action. Moves West one Zone.
Fourth Action. Moves North Zone and reaches the Exit Zone.
FRED. First Action. Takes the Red Objective and gains 5 Experience Points. This is enough to advance him to the Orange Danger Level on his ID Card. At the Orange level he can chose one of two Skills. I decide upon +1 Free Combat Action. Of course, this also means that Zombies will now spawn at the Orange Level. Yikes!
Second Action. Moves East one Zone to just outside the generator room.
Third Action. Moves South one Zone.
Fourth Action. Moves West one Zone.
ZOMBIES. Five Walkers move towards Chuck. Although they couldn't see him they could hear him. Survivors make Noise even if they do nothing. Chuck is closer to them than Fred so they are drawn towards him. Note that I don't place Noise tokens for the Survivors but I am always aware of this rule.
Another four Walkers close in on Chuck but they are far too far away to be able to do anything.
Spawn Zone 1. Three Runners spawn. At this point in the game it's no big deal.
Spawn Zone 2. Two Fatties spawn. Each Fatty comes into play accompanied by two Walkers, making them quite a threat. It was great to see the Fatties make an appearance in the game but they have arrived too late to do anything.
TURN 11.
CHUCK. First Action. Exit board.
FRED. First Action. Moves East one Zone.
Second Action. Moves North one Zone into the Exit Zone.
Third Action. Exit board. Game over. Mission accomplished.
CONCLUSION.
That was just so much fun to play. What an incredibly exciting and tense game it was! I absolutely loved it! I was so pleased it ended well for Chuck and Fred because I honestly did not think they would make it. When the two Runners wounded them and they were stuck on Zombie Spawn Point 2, I really did fear the worst. The fact that they survived was truly epic and made for some great story telling. I must admit that starting off with Low Profile and Reaper: Combat Skills greatly aided them and was an awesome combination for the pair.
I hope this batrep gives you a good insight into how Zombicide plays, as well as a flavour of how much fun it can be. Trust me, I plan on posting lots more Zombicide batreps. Thanks for reading.

30 comments:

  1. Absolutely fantastic stuff Bryan... I didn't think you'd best your previous post but this has done so in spades. What I'm especially impressed with now I have the game myself is how colourful and full of life(!?!) your models look as the minis are small!!! Your painting really adds to a stunning BatRep and certainly makes me eager for more. I shall have to buy this compendium of missions as well. You've certainly given me plenty to think about as I planning on doing a BatRep for the tutorial at the weekend albeit without the wonderful rule explanations you so kindly provide with this one. I certainly can't compete with these sort of postings of yours however as you're now clearly the definitely "Zombicide" bloggist in my books. Plus I haven't painted my minis yet so I'll be giving the game something of a 'Fantorical' makeover with a special team-up and zombie replacements ;-) Many many thanks for posting this, I really can't say how very much I enjoyed it - except perhaps by saying that I sat down with a cuppa to read it and never managed to sip a drop as I became immersed in Chuck's plight :-)

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    1. It is comments like yours, Simon, that make blogging such a pleasure. I have to agree that part 2 was a lot more exciting than part 1. The game could have gone either way when Chuck and Fred were stuck on Zombie Spawn Point 2 for what seemed like an eternity. I am so pleased that my batrep has inspired you to play the game. If you do post a batrep of the tutorial scenario, or any other, I'd love to see them.

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  2. Great batrep! Zombicide is quite a fun game, and you do a wonderful job of explaining the mechanics, as well as making it entertaining. Lovely job on the minis, they paint up quite well, and look great. Can't wait for more Zombicide reports, they are a fun read!

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    1. Many thanks Nobody667. Zombicide is immensely fun and the minis are just superb. Have no fear, I plan on running a lot more Zombicide batreps.

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  3. Awesome job Dude! That was a cracking read. It's a game filled with tension (every time you spawn) and you thoroughly explained the rules and game mechanics. I hope all your readers cotton on to how much fun Zombicide is, in all it's forms. The WNI(Wednesday Night Irregulars) have been playing it since the first season came out, in all that time we have rarely played anything else.
    I'm so glad you are showcasing it, in your own unique style of course. Playing it with painted mini's is so much more satisfying too.
    Once again, great job Bryan. Here's to many more. Have you put any thought to some of the Zombicide survivors meeting up with Team Vampifan?

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    1. Thanks, Bob, and I totally agree with you. Zombicide is just such a tense gaming experience but at the same time, immensely enjoyable. I now think it will be my number one go to zombie game, even though I still love ATZ and I want to play GURPS Zombies.

      Having such a large pool of painted minis to choose from is a huge plus and I'm busy working on increasing my painted figures collection as I go flat out painting even more Zombicide Survivors, Zombivors and Zombies.

      I would love have Team Vampifan meeting up with some Zombicide Survivors. I have two schools of thought on the idea. First, convert a few Zombicide Survivors to ATZ and do a meet up using ATZ-FFO. Second, convert Team Vampifan to Zombicide and use them with the Zombicide rules. Both ideas have merit and I'm undecided on which option to choose. Heck, I could even do both.

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    2. You should definitely do both Dude! That would be awesome, with awesome sauce.

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  4. Low Profile..... Reaper....... okay, I REALY need to buy Prison Breakout. I will, I will, next time I`m in the city; Other Realms will get a visit from yours truly and hopefully will walk out with a nice shiny new Zombicide Box to add to my existing Base game and Toxic Mall.

    Don`t you just love it when games work out like yours did. Thematically, its almost like they are working to a script (which is always a sign of a good well balanced game when the rules `directs` play which allows the miniature `actors` to do that).

    Definitely worth waiting for Bryan, part two was a real Zombie-fest of goodness.... or should that be badness!!! It felt like watching a previously undiscovered piece of video footage from "Shaun of the Dead". Total visual treat, and a literary delight to read.

    PLEASE write more... many MANY more of these. I think you have found your forte here, and it would be a crying shame to the gaming community (especially to zombie fans) if they were denied all the (as yet) unwritten delights still swimming about in your head, just waiting to be put into form.

    Truly excellent stuff Bryan.

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    1. Lovely comments, Steve. Yes, you certainly do need Prison Breakout. It greatly expands the Skill list found in the Season 1 rulebook. Plus it is worth getting for the figures and tiles.

      The game played perfectly. The dice gods were kind to me and the Zombie Spawn cards worked out well, even though there were times when I thought I was well and truly screwed. Fred having the Reaper; Combat Skill was a godsend. And even though Chuck only used his Low Profile Skill once it happened at a pivotal moment in the game. I honestly could not have scripted that game any better. I loved your comment about the game playing like "a previously undiscovered video footage from "Shaun of the Dead." It did, didn't it?

      I have two points I want to make about doing more Zombicide batreps. First of all, I had so much fun playing this one that I want to continue. Secondly, given the extremely positive feedback I've had for this first batrep, I simply HAVE to continue. There will be more and they will come soon. I already know which scenario I want to highlight next. I am keen to introduce the six Season 1 Survivors, Amy, Doug, Josh, Ned, Phil and Wanda.

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  5. It is the most exciting Zombicide batrep I have seen so far. It has stunning painted minis, great photos, story and explanations. You really nailed the format.
    When I play Zombicide at home in solo, it is nowhere as exciting as reading your game. Well done.
    I hope that Guillotine read it and post it on their website. You are making them a hell of a promotion.

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    1. Wow, many thanks, Cedric. Doing this batrep was a labour of love from start to finish. I suspect that my passion for this wonderful game has come through in my words and photos.
      It would be nice if the folks at Guillotine Games did read it. I am more than happy to promote Zombicide for them.

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  6. I could really feel the tension all the way through that game. I kept wanting to scream "run away! run away!", but you stuck to the objective and succeeded in winning the game.

    Damn - I really don't want to distract myself from my other projects by buying this game :-( !

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    1. Keep telling yourself you don't want it and you don't need it, Hugh. Meanwhile, I'll keep on posting more batreps like this to try and break your resolve. ;)

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    2. Its worked on me twice now ;-)

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  7. ... I just LOVE those dice you use ^^

    We wants them.... we wants them my precious.

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    1. They are nice dice, aren't they? Now you have another reason to buy Prison Break, my friend!

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  8. Top notch Bryan playing with all the miniatures painted really elevates the play experience! Intellectually I know it would but seeing you BatRep its even better than I imagined!

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  9. Really enjoyed reading part Bryan. Zombicide sounds like a lot of fun and I like the fact you can pick up skills. Reaper seems a useful one for thinning down the zombie ranks.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. Playing Zombicide is a huge amount of fun. Gaining skills is one of the key components to winning the game and, yes, Reaper: Combat is particularly useful for killing zombies.

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  10. Ooo, you mean... those dice actually come in the Prison expansion ??????

    oh my, how cooool :))

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    1. I'm pretty sure they do, Steve. I know I got them with my Season 2 stuff, so I'm guessing so.

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  11. "And breathe" What a good report. It is clear that you like the game and that the rules work rather well. I am tempted but I am resisting like crazy!

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    1. Yes, it was a long batrep. I really do love this game. The rules are fast, fun and easy to learn and capture the flavour of a zombie apocalypse very well as more and more zombies threaten to swamp the board. Of course I want to tell you to buy Zombicide but I fully understand your reasons for resisting. With so many games to choose from you have to be selective.

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  12. Great game it was, Bryan! It looks like both of them had red on them by the time it all ended!

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    1. Ha, ha! Nice movie reference, Mathyoo. Yes, they did end up with a lot of red on them!

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  13. Very Nice Battle Report!, Can't wait for more, I'm considering getting Zombicide as a birthday treat and having a couple of games with some of my friends, How easy are the rules to learn?, as they are not really into wargaming.

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    1. Hi, Redcoat. I can honestly say that the rules are very easy to learn. The game plays quickly, although your first few games may take longer as you learn how it plays. I really can't recommend this game too highly. Zombicide is now my all-time favourite zombie game and if you can afford it I'd say, go and buy it for yourself. Even if you don't like it, which I very much doubt, you get a load of great looking figures in the box. I'm sure you'll find the game a fun way to introduce your friends to zombie gaming.

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