Thursday 19 October 2017

Recce - Part Three.

With my batteries fully charged (and those in the camera Ha-ha) it's on with part three !
After Rebbeca's volley had stunned Nate and dropped the zed, Hannah and Brad returned fire attracting yet another zombie to with the noise.
Rebecca slumps to the ground next to her dead partner (managing to reduce the "Obviously Dead" damage to "Out Of Fight" with her 'Star Power')
The moans of the approaching zombies are close, so Brad barks a desperate order to Hannah before grabbing the unresponsive form of Nate. He and Hannah test for "Moving Fast", only counting the best D6 so they can carry 'Retrieved Wounded'.
Bursting into the cabin, Brad manhandles Nate into the middle of the room as Hannah secured the door behind them - it was only when he'd checked Nate was OK (he'd been grazed by a ricochete), that he realised she'd dragged Becky's unconscious form to safety on her way in.
The zombies close in on the cabin as they follow their prey......
.......who were quickly forming a plan of action - Nate immediately volunteered to act as bait and draw the zeds away from the cabin, but Brad had a better plan, telling them to search for the keys to the pickup, and fill their sacks with any supplies they find while they're at it.
The undead continue shambling along in the wake of the group.....
.......as they discover the huge stash of resources the Miller family had brought from the trailer park!
Hannah also found the keys alongside a backpack FULL of ammo,
by which time, most of the zeds were at the front door.
Brad and Nate grabbed Becky's comatose form between them, and the group slowly and quietly  left by the back door, Hannah taking point duty and checking the coast was clear at each stage along the way.
The zombies were crowded around the front door, and they made it to the truck without incident  - other than Nate complaining that they should have left her behind as "zombie chow" (Thanks Bryan)
Hannah slid onto the back seat and helped load Becky and the loot in with her, then Nate peered around the back of the truck, only to see a load of grotesque zombie faces looking right back at him!
As careful and quiet as they'd tried to be, they'd still made enough noise while loading up to attract unwanted attention.
Brad knew by the look on Nate's face that the game was up and quickly got in the drivers seat and turned the key....
..... Nate hauled himself over the side of the truck and yelled to Brad as the zeds appeared around the corner!
Brad's features were contorted into a grimace and his eyes were squeezed tightly closed as he willed the truck to start when he turned the key - then cracked into a grin as the engine spun and fired into life!
Shifting into gear and pulling away from the pursuing horde, he was well aware that the noise of the engine would probably be attracting yet more of the walking dead to the scene.......
...... but he was STILL wearing that grin when they arrived safely back at the farm with their spoils!

Epilogue:
Once the shooting started, I honestly thought the group were in BIG trouble, not only from the Miller's guns, but the number of zombies being attracted - even in a Rural area!
When they made it into the cabin, the relief was instantly followed by dread of what was to happen next? Would they have to try and justify leaving Becky behind as 'bait'? Would someone have to attempt drawing the zeds off (as Nate suggested)? Would they have to try and 'slug it out', or become besieged?
"Brad's plan" might have come from the mini itself! I certainly hadn't thought of it while I was slurping my Java Lava between turns!!

From the packaging labels and blood splatter on some of the food packaging, it was obvious that they were "ill gotten gains" - on the ride back, Hannah heard Rebecca mumbling about how the Millers had robbed the store at the trailer park, and then stolen the pickup for their getaway during the panic when the outbreak started. Anyone that got in their way was simply shot as the family "looked out fer theirselfs and dang ev'rybody else" - "at least that worthless husband a'mine went down fightin' but as fer that lily-livered son a'mine......."

Certainly plenty to think about at the end of day 13.

Many thanks to all those that have followed the story so far, and I hope you've enjoyed this latest encounter. Maybe I should be using more words and less photo's?
It's back to painting for the Zomtober challenge for me the rest of this week, but I still need to do a full update to the campaign journal (Resources stock check, Rep increase / decrease, Keeping it together, etc) and I'll let you know of anything significant before the next game.

12 comments:

  1. A most satisfactory conclusion to a very taut expedition that could have gone so badly wrong. Brad is a better man than me. I'd certainly have left Rebecca for the zombies to feast on! I do wonder if rescuing her will prove wise or not. Still, it'll be fun finding out. For what its worth, I think you have the balance between words and pictures just about right.

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  2. Many thanks Bryan. The game certainly 'turned' a couple of times and seizing the initiative to sneak out at that moment was definitely a good move - the longer they stayed there, the worse the situation could have become.
    I love the way each ATZ encounter throws up plot threads for the campaign! They've left LOADS of stolen supplies there, Lee Miller is on the loose, and Rebecca is yet to be dealt with. It's still early in the outbreak, so "morality" meant saving her if they could, even if they might regret it later ;-)
    Thanks for your opinion on my AAR presentation, much appreciated :-)

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  3. I totally echo Bryan’s comments mate, a good balance on the AARs and wonderful encounter - bravo

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    1. Cheers Andy. If it ain't broke, I won't go fixing it then ;-)

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  4. Very satisfactory conclusion to a great scenario, I was wondering if the truck owuld dtart, whether or not you got initiativee and ahost of other things - just like you were at the time I suspect!
    Whether more pics or words, I say go for whatever works for you, I'm pretty poor at amateur prose, so I tend to avoid it and just tell the story from a game pov. IMO I always try and give both sides of the turn (Zeds and other) in pictures, but it's a pain. But pics do pad a blog out and people do like them!

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    1. Thanks Joe, we're in the first 20 days so any 'found' vehicles have fuel, but when they first searched it there were no keys (I didn't roll a 1) - I decided the Millers would have the keys either 1 Rebecca, 2 Jon, 3 Lee, 4 or 5 in the cabin, 6 hidden / lost (I rolled a 4)
      It wasn't just Brad that closed his eyes when he turned the key - I closed mine when I rolled the dice and opened them to see a 3 and it started!
      Quite often the zombies threw higher than the group for activation, but also higher than their Rep which gave the group the initiative (this was one of the rules that had me head scratching when I first played)
      All very tense at times, and this was a fairly 'easy' encounter. I dunno what's going to happen to my stress levels when I take the group beyond day 20 ! ;-)

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  5. I'm late to the party, but was able to go back and get the whole story in one go, great stuff! Look forward to more :)

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Ivor - thanks for taking the time to read it :-)
      I'll certainly be posting more AARs as I play through the campaign, and life can only get tougher for the group!

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  6. Well, the party lucked out in the end, didn't they :-) ? Although it seems that Star Power was the only thing that really saved them.

    Hmm, what to do with a wounded, truculent and possibly vengeful Rebecca?

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    1. Using their Star Power (and getting good dice rolls when they did) is the only reason the two opposing leaders (Brad & Rebecca) survived the game - certainly food for thought about how "safe" the farm is if it came under attack!
      As for Rebecca, the group will certainly have to be careful when they weigh up their options ;-)

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  7. Absolutely loving this series.

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    1. Many thanks Tim, I just wish I had more 'free time' at the moment to get a few more gaming sessions in!
      Admittedly, the Zomtober Challenge was a self imposed (and highly enjoyable and productive) distraction, but RL has been pretty hectic too.
      There's a light at the end of the tunnel work-wise though as things are starting to ease off for winter, which means more time for ATZ (Hurrah!) :-)

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