Post "cyber attack" test post.

When I dropped in on the blog last night to check for comments, I was treated to a helping of spam (and not the "fritter" kind!)
It looked none-too-serious, someone had simply copied previous comments and re-posted them, along with links to what looked like an online gambling site, under their own profile.
Obviously I avoided all the links and went straight to the edit page where I marked the posts as "spam" - blogger did its thing and removed the unwanted posts, so I assumed all was well...........
unfortunately I'm now having a couple of issues.

The first thing I noticed was that the "Image Gadget" has stopped working.
I was using it to post a cover photo of what I'm currently reading (it was Cornwell's Waterloo and I wanted to change it to THW's Savvy & Steel), but when I tried to change the image, I got a security warning and the action wouldn't complete.
I'm not very computer literate, so I've simply removed the gadget for now while I continue googling around for some help and thought I'd try posting some text and a random image here

just to check if the main content bit is working.

If anyone has had similar problems, I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have hints on fixing 'em (and avoiding 'em!)

End of test.

"Heatwave edition"

Well, it's certainly been 'Scorchio' over the last few days - too hot to do much at all, and with having a busy time with work this week my gaming has taken a knock, so I can only apologise for the lack of any AAR in this post.

Just this minute managed to blag this on ebay though......

... I've been watching it for a couple of weeks while deciding whether to get it or not (it's another self indulgent nostalgia trip), and the price steadily came down as there were no takers and it kept getting re-listed.
This weekend saw the 202nd anniversary of Waterloo, so I finally thought "why not?", and snapped it up before anyone else did!

I've also finished re-basing figures from two Oldhammer armies for use with.....

As much as I've enjoyed playing with the old 3rd edition Warhammer rules, my regular opponent has found them a bit 'clunky' and I must admit, the last couple of games seemed a little laboured. I've read good things about the Lion Rampant system, so I thought I'd move with the times and give them a go - a batrep shouldn't be too far away!

I'm also just sorting out unused bits from the Project Z female survivors sprue to put together a 'post day one' Hannah (you may have noticed that Brad's figure was switched after 'Day minus One'). As soon as she's done, I hope to get the next encounter played out on the tabletop - and the really good news is that we'll be back on the full size board at last, because the birthday cake has now been delivered!!

OK, back to the bits box to try and find a suitable left arm for Hannah!

Day One Hannah's place

As much as his head told him to get home and get himself better equipped, his heart won out and Brad headed straight for the suburbs of Perryton. He could stay off the highway and follow the roads around Lake Meredith, then along the north bank of the Canadian River.
Brad rolled 2D6 v his Rep3 and scored one pass. The location number (2) is lower than his rep, so counts as passed 2D6 and he "arrives there normally, counting as next location"

This left me with a slight problem - I didn't have any terrain for this encounter!
Luckily I had a couple of mdf kits (from "banksjohnedwards" on ebay), they're tiered for access but have no interior detail, so it was a case of making the interior walls from foamcore before a quick paint and weather.
The Perryton 'burbs are printed pdf tiles from the old Worldworks "The Village" set, pasted onto the back of a foamex sheet (I say "back" because the other side already had some urban tiles glued to it!)
This was all done over the last couple of days, while the table is STILL in use as a cake decorating stand! Anyhow, on with the AAR...........

Brad arrived just before mid-day, he'd witnessed signs of disruption, but avoided any trouble. It all looked very quiet on the estate - would she be here?

Starting the encounter, 1D6 on the Contact table scored a 3 and generated a lone "terrified citizen"

As Brad pulled up alongside the house, he spotted a guy carrying a jemmy coming his way.

Sliding the Colt out from under the seat, Brad stepped out of the RV to confront him

Yet again, he lost the initial activation roll, but just passed the "Brown Pants" test as the stranger charged

Thinking the guy was up to no good (finding him carrying a jemmy outside Hannah's door), Brad's blood was up, and he pistol whipped his assailant to the floor!
Before he could even think about "putting the boot in", the guy had scrambled to his feet and sped off.

Brad rushed to Hannah's door, anxious to see if she was there and OK.

Once inside, and relieved to see that she was fine, they traded what info they had about what was going on. Brad suggested they head to his place, but Hannah insisted they go and make sure her brother was safe in Wichita Falls

Hannah had filled her RV with gas just before arriving home, so Brad told her to get whatever she needed from the house while he grabbed the stuff from his wagon.
They both got busy, but when they stepped outside...

....the next activation roll was a 7 - this generated 2 zombies (which were deemed to be "locals")

Hannah failed the "Zed or No Zed" test (and the brown pants!) and fled back into the house. Brad faced the pair and took aim with the pistol....

....scoring two hits, but only one kill, he looked on in horror as the other zombie ignored the bullet in its chest and advanced towards him!

Brad smashed the abomination in the face with the automatic (pistols don't count as improvised melee weapons - but they hurt a darn site more than a bare fist!!), winning the melee and knocking the zombie to the ground.
Winning the next activation, he despatched it with an "Easy Kill", putting a bullet through its head.

He found Hannah upstairs sobbing uncontrollably while she cradled the pistol she'd taken from her bedside cabinet.
After comforting her the best he could, he went down and reversed his RV out of the way and made sure the coast was clear (the noise of gunshots and engines somehow failed to attract any more trouble) before getting her, still obviously shaken, into her motorhome.
As they departed, Brad wondered if he should have checked the neighbors house for anything useful, or maybe taken their pickup instead of the RV? Weighing it up against the possible hazards, and with Hannah the way she was at the moment, he knew he'd made the right choice........

........ he was already thinking like a survivor!

Only two locations, but that wraps it up for the Day One scenario. The only other possible location on the list might have been a 'box store' for something more effective against zombies than handguns, but they haven't yet figured that one out, and attempting to find Travis has become a priority.

Thanks for reading through. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back to see how the pair get on as they struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse.
As for me, I'll be cracking on with some new modular terrain since I've just picked up a couple of packs of 1ft square cork tiles from Wickes!
Oh, and I've realised that I've been posting on a very ad-hoc basis - I will try and stick to a regular timetable from now on!!

Day One The Gas Station

Basked in the dawn light, Brad pulled up at the pumps, but as he walked round the RV he was confronted by a pair of wild looking youths running his way.....

... first activation roll of the campaign, and it goes against him! Is this a taste of things to come?

The youths move first and rush into contact - Brad passes the "brown pants" test and stands his ground. The first round of melee ends in a tie and results in a stand-off,

but the second youth beats Brad 2 successes to 1,

which results in knocking him to the ground.

A little dazed and clueless as to what had just happened, Brad could only watch as the pair fled off over the road towards the woods.

Dusting himself off and then filling the RV while he mulled over the morning's events, he was still none the wiser as he went to pay for the gas......

.... inside the gas station, the proprietor was standing open mouthed with the owners of the bike parked at the pumps as they stared at a TV screen.

As Brad followed their gaze, he turned to the screen and felt his own jaw hit the floor!

So, our hero is now fully aware of the situation unfolding around him - the bikers explained how they'd ridden around the police cordon and made it to the outskirts of Amarillo, where they'd witnessed scenes of total mayhem.
The phones were out which meant he couldn't contact Hannah and he had to decide what to do next........
and fast!

Admission time: First off, I've "cheated" with Brad's stats!
His age, fitness, prior military training and experience would qualify him for Rep of 4, but I had problems with his People and Savvy skills, which I really felt should be on a par with each other to better suite his character.
To fudge this, I took one point from his Rep (making him a 3) and gave it to one of the skills (making them both 2)
I'm happy with how that rounds him out as an ex-soldier turned entertainer, and the lower Rep serves well to portray his easy going nature at the start of the outbreak!

Secondly, the above encounter was played on a small board just representing the gas station and its immediate surroundings, since it was set alongside a minor road running through a wooded area which would limit line of sight.
This was a practical convenience to get around the fact that "the lady of the house" has currently commandeered the table while she's working on a birthday cake!!


Finally for this post, I'm delighted and thrilled to say a big welcome to Bryan who in my opinion, after following his "Vampifan" blog,  is Mr Zombie Gaming personified!

Day Minus One

Brad had enjoyed a week 'away from it all' at the "Pan Handle Hoe-down" festival in Oklahoma.
Forty five years old, he'd felt like a kid again when he met Hannah there - she'd be tucked up in her RV before driving to Perryton in the morning..... would she be thinking of him?
A kid again?? He'd left college in '91 and headed to Fort Bliss, El Paso, where he'd joined the 1st armored division (Old Ironsides), the Texas regiment and served in the Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq and Kuwait between (mostly enjoyable) stints in West Germany before rejoining civilian life in 2006.
Now he was a 'Country singer' after he found he couldn't settle into a dull 9 to 5 job - life on the road could be tough, but hey, he wouldn't have met Hannah otherwise!
Tough?? Saying goodbye was tough - he had to admit it, he was in love!

Right now he was driving home overnight to the outskirts of Lubock. He wished he could have grabbed one more night with Hannah, but he had to be in Colorado City for a studio session

and he'd made the border just after midnight on the back roads,

hoping to pick up the highway outside Amarillo - the CD player was working overtime to keep him awake and his spirits up!

If he thought he'd have a signal, he'd turn on his cell phone - but then he'd only call 'her' which wouldn't be fair...... she had to get up early for her own drive home.
It'd sure help the miles go by though!

The first sign foe Amarillo showed up just before first light,

but the road was closed ahead.

Not happy with having to take the diversion, worried about having enough gas, and wondering what the hell was going on in Amarillo, at least he could relax about the gas situation when he spotted a gas station and pulled in............
but something didn't 'feel' right

The above is the start of Brad's 'ATZ:FFO' narrative campaign following the 'Day One' scenario.
The dice have been kind on the "Getting There" checks, and he's as yet unaware of the zombie outbreak.
Following the "First Things First" section, he's arrived at the gas station as the sun rises and the scenario will be driven by the encounter rules (with the help of the Mythic gm emulator if appropriate), so I have as much idea as Brad about what's about to happen!

Sorry you're going to have to wait for the start of the action, but I thought I'd get the background done before tomorrows gaming session  to help break things up - AND I'm aware this post is a tad late!

Thanks for reading, and please come back to see how things turn out.

"Best laid plans" and all that

 - this entry was supposed to contain a report on the reboot of my ATZ storyline, but an unfortunate series of events (or a glitch in the matrix) has meant there'll be a slight delay.

Did I say "best laid plans?".......... and now it's time for

Following the recent arrest at a remote farm on the Notts-Derbyshire border of a senior commander of the Pinxton Popular Front by members of special branch

and his subsequent trial under the Treason Act,

the local militia have taken control of the important M1/A38 hub

and are carrying out aggressive "stop searches" in the area, looking for undercover government agents.

There has been a series of bus hijackings, and barricades have been erected to on the approaches to the PPF headquarters, which has been established at the police station and adjacent 'Globe' hotel.

The activity at the Globe has caused concern for the security of nearby East Midlands airport for the government forces,

who responded in the early hours of the morning by mobilising a task force from the Sherwood Foresters regiment.

Government troops prepared to advance from the east, were delayed awaiting the 'pincer movement' from the open west side of the enemy position,

while the local PPF supporters made their presence known.

The advance from the open countryside was halted however, when it drove into a heavy ambush

and the attack had no choice but to go in, with "the back door open".

With all main routes blocked, the attack was stalled under smallarms and RPG fire

Taking heavy casualties, the attack stalled.

A series of "Government Force Activations" (which were used to withdraw) only served to delay the PPF's departure,

leaving the streets once more under control of the local militia.

Phew, my first AAR - I hope it makes interesting reading (I'm actually nervous about hitting the "publish" button!)

So, a huge setback for the local government forces after a show of force by the popular resistance. No doubt the Sherwood Foresters won't be happy about the defeat on their 'home turf', and of course the campaign will continue - but not until the terrain has been replaced!
Remember the unfortunate series of events I mentioned at the start of the post? Well one of them was the total destruction of the above gaming set up when a certain person forgot it was temorarily stored under the bed! :(

Thanks for dropping by and I hope you call in for the next post, which should feature ZOMBIES!