Tuesday 16 January 2018

Jacksboro


Day 14
Once the group had returned with their captive back at the farm, it was obvious that she was a liability, so once they’d created a “holding cell” and had her securely locked up for the night, a meeting was held to decide what they should do with her.
During the meeting, concerns were also voiced about their isolated position at the farm, especially if there were groups of hostile people like they'd just encountered at the cabin  - maybe even 'friends of the family' who might be out looking for revenge? After all, the boy had run off into the woods, and  where’d he gone? At this  Rebecca piped up from the other side of the door - "His name's Lee, an' if he's got any sense at all in that thick skull o'his, he'll be headin' to Jacksboro where we've got kin".
The decision was made to head off next day to Jacksboro, where they could drop off their captive, maybe get news about the state of the zombie outbreak,  and hopefully find a safer, less isolated place where they could see this thing through.
Brad spent the rest of the evening poring over his road map and weighing up the options. During the meeting, he hadn’t been keen on leaving the farm, but the argument had won him over and as he sat alone with his thoughts he became fully aware of just what COULD happen if they were attacked out here in the middle of nowhere!

Just before sunrise, they were loaded up and headed South along tracks and minor roads, only taking two vehicles to conserve fuel and avoid splitting the group too much. The back roads meant they didn't see any zombies or road blocks, but the rough terrain took its toll on the RV, breaking the passenger side rear suspension!
The encounter area of downtown Jacksboro. Rebecca's folks live in the brownstone apartment block so this should be pretty easy....
... especially since the convoy is almost right outside the front doors as it enters the table. But then again, a group of six people and two running engines have attracted the attention of 25 zombies!! The zeds won the first activation, but with a "6", only two of the PEF's moved.
The first PEF exits the general store and heads straight for the apartment block,
while the second leaves the laundry building and crosses the street behind the convenience store.
Travis eased out onto the junction to allow Brad to pull up outside the apartment, and spots the PEF, which resolved as 3 citizens. Rebecca's folks had obviously got themselves trapped in the store and were using the distraction caused by the group arriving to make a dash for home!
Seeing their intention, Travis throws a hard right lock and pulls forward and then reverses to be ready to block off the zombies if they attempt to follow the fleeing citizens.
Brad's unaware of why the pickup has suddenly made the  maneuver, but instinctively  reacts - ordering the girls out and heading straight for the doors while he tells Hannah to get to the truck, ending the turn.
Activation produced a double "6", so the day part advanced from 'Mornng' to 'Daytime'
The group lost the re-roll and Rebecca's folks charged round the corner and straight through the apartment doors, totally ignoring the group and not recognising their "kin" standing with the stranger!
The building encounter deck turned up a member of the military........
...... a member of the National Guard meets the extended Miller family inside the apartment block, while outside.........
....... the second PEF appears between the block and the convenience store, and resolves as four more members of the National Guard!
Obviously, theses five guys were part of a unit sent into Jacksboro to assist in the outbreak and had somehow got separated from the rest of their guys!



The third PEF exited McDooms burger joint onto the street and resolved as "a bad case of nerves", as the rest of the zeds (and were joined by five more attracted by the engine noise).
Rebecca pushed her way through the apartment doors to add her voice to the heated "Meet & Greet" taking place in the foyer, and was joined by the NCO in charge of the guys on the street......
...... who were nervously keeping tabs on the advancing zeds.
Travis reversed the pickup against the wall and "closed the gap", crushing the zombified waitress in the process!
Brad smelled trouble brewing and yelled to Hannah to get in the truck, then slid in alongside her - there was no telling what Rebecca would be stirring up in the apartment and the zeds were getting thicker than fleas on a blanket!
Yet another six zombies had been attracted to the engine noise (somehow no shots had been fired - so far!), and winning the activation roll for the first time, Brad told Travis to drive through the zeds and head out of town...
As they sped off past the nightclub, the relief of getting out of a dodgy looking situation was obviously tempered by the loss of the RV (and the supplies in it),
and they could only wonder if they'd done the right thing,
as the walking dead closed in on the apartment,
what do you think?

Well that certainly didn't go the way I'd expected, but as ever the ATZ:FFO rules produced yet another tense and enjoyable (if short) game, with plenty to think about for the campaign ahead.
I'd better get back to painting terrain, but after this encounter I won't be leaving it very long before finding out what the group are up to.





















20 comments:

  1. I think Brad made the right decision to get out of town asap. The good news outweighs the bad in this case. Team Brad made it out of town unharmed. They got rid of Rebecca in a manner that keeps their consciences clean. Personally, I'd have slit her throat! The only downside is that they lost their RV and supplies. But, in a zombie apocalypse, easy come, easy go. They can be replaced.

    Greg, ATZ:FFO rarely ever goes the way you expect it to, such is the beauty of the game. Always expect the unexpected! I do wonder if this isn't the last we'll see of Rebecca? I fear she can still cause trouble for Team Brad.

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    1. Many thanks Bryan - I've had time to mull over the result while I had my tea and then brought the campaign diary stats up to date, and yes, I totally agree with Brad's snap decision.
      The group "Doing the right thing" is very much down to playing a LOT of D&D in my time, and observing "Alignment" codes of conduct. Maybe I'm over-playing the issue for a zombpoc scenario, but I'm keen that the group are 'survivors' rather than 'gangers' ;-)
      As for Rebecca, since I've left the table set up with the game as Brad's group left it, I might play through with the Miller family and National Guard section as the player characters just to see what happens :-)

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    2. I fully understand about having the group "doing the right thing." For what it's worth, Vampifan from my own ATZ:FFO campaign would heartily approve of Brad and his actions. You're right as well, there is a big difference between survivors and gangers. Good for you for playing it right and proper and not getting swayed by the dark side! By the way, my personal views do not always match the views of the characters I play! That's why I love role-playing so much!

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    3. "my personal views do not always match the views of the characters I play!" I think this is one of the creeds for role players Bryan, and certainly one of the challenges for staying 'in character' :-)
      Though ATZ isn't an RPG, it lends itself to the genre BETTER than some of the actual RPG's out there! :-)

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  2. Very enjoyable AAR, Wargame Addict. Great scenery, minis, gameplay and narrative. Love it. More please - so get painting ;-)

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    1. Cheers Simon, I dunno about "great scenery" - these were the warped cork tiles that I've persuaded to straighten out ;-)
      Definitely been more modelling than playing of late, so yes, more AAR's to come :-)

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  3. Heck, it'd be boring if all games were the same. So, job done, lets get the heck outta here, works for me - and seemingly for 'Team Brad'

    I bought The Walking Dead All Out War before Christmas, just for the mini's really. Its still in its box! I might, one day, get round to playing a zombie campaign.

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    1. Very true Roy, and "All Things Zombie" is certainly good at throwing problems at you to keep up the interest level!
      I'd be interested to hear how "The Walking Dead" compares in a campaign setting - it looks like it has some interesting mechanics (and it definitely has fantastic mini's!)

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  4. Another great AAR mate, yes ATZFFO throws out interesting games every time, you can never quite plan them!

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    1. Cheers Andy. In the past I've spent hours planning role playing sessions, that in the end never delivered anything close to the amount of immersive gaming ATZ produces "on the fly" - I'm tempted to write up a 'postscript' to this encounter, just to show how much of the narrative was produced by the game :-)

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  5. Captive - what captive!! I only read the full blog about three weeks ago and had already forgotten how the last game ended so had to go back and read that before I could read this.
    Another very tense game where ostensibly nothing happens. They drive into town and then out again but the tension ratchets up each turn. Decisions have to be made, do I stay or do I go, once trapped they are dead meat and inside the grey stone building is nothing but trouble. With 25 plus zombies they had to get out of Dodge, shame about the RV I do like it but easy come easy to.
    That's what I like about Ed's rules, they encourage this style of vibrant game play, where winning is a matter of staying alive and if that means RUN then do it.
    Brilliant - loved it, please don't leave it so long, we need to know what happened in the grey stone, my money's on lots of dead people.
    The board looks very good I really like the world works paper builds, are the roads the newer 6" ones?

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    1. Good point John, I really SHOULD include a brief recap of relevant plot details as part of the intro - I'll 'make it so' from now on :-)
      You're so right about THW rules, and I'll try and illustrate that in a postscript to this encounter.
      The roads are indeed WWG 6" ones, but I also use some of the older, larger pdf's (and some from the Fat Dragon) cut to size after marking them with a 6" square template. All destined to be replaced / supplemented with foamcore and mdf in the future ;-)

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    2. A recap or link to the last post is probably a good idea for guy's like myself for whom memory is a fragile thing, although you appear to have a number of younger readers who I'm sure don't need this sort of prop.

      I have hardboard roads and am thinking of creating a fixed setup with printed paper roads. Why are you moving from print to foam and MDF?

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    3. I've already decided your recap idea is too good not to use, and it'll save me faffing with links, and save anyone re-reading old AAR's

      Hmm - would a "Pirate game" batrep be an "AAR Jim Lad"??

      I got some mdf buildings and the majority of them have a 'base' and/or section of pavement as an integral part of the model, so I fancy making up some boards to accommodate them.
      I'll be sticking to 1ft squares which can be set up in different configurations (and at a push, used alongside the old 2D tiles) :-)

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    4. Arrr me hearty, I do believe an After Action Report about a pirate game would be an AAR.
      Swab me deck's but you've not said a word about pirates as I recall.
      It also gives you the opportunity to talk like a complete lunatic. What's not to like!!!

      MDF buildings, pipe me on deck and shiver me timbers, you be one of them rich buggers in a hurry then, me hearty.
      See what I mean about the lunatic speak :-)

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    5. That's the first time you've spoken like your avatar Cap'n, do we call'ee "Long" John from now on?? ;-)
      It was just a random thought - I don't have any pirates I'm afraid, though there's a pirate ship waiting to masquerade as a 17thC vessel in the "round tuit" pile.

      Definitely not rich, but certainly in a hurry ;-)
      The MDF buildings are from the mid and budget ranges (which offer very good value compared to the high end offerings), and as I (unfortunately) found out, they take a fair amount of time to paint - I'm sick as a parrot :-(
      I just wish I was better at assembling pdf buildings, because I'm pretty sure they'd be AS quick if not quicker AND more detailed.
      I know, I know, "practice makes perfect" but when all hands are on deck there seems to be a surplus of thumbs!!

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  6. Great AAR Greg, very enjoyable to read, could easily be one of the less gory episodes of the walking dead. All the actions and reactions felt natural and how people may think in difficult situations

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    1. Many thanks indeed Dave, though I really can't take the compliments which are really due to the ATZ:FFO rules system. My own humble contribution is merely playing them AS a "survival horror" game :-)

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  7. Well that turned out a lot different than I thought it would, but then again, that's the joy of ATZ and its dice rolls that never go howyou expect them too.
    Now onto part two!

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    1. You and me both Joe! I had a 'plan' when I set up the encounter, which fell apart as soon as I moved onto the table! The number of zombies generated by the group members AND the noise of two vehicles put me on the back foot, and then both passengers in the pickup truck (Zac & Nate) failed to activate!
      From then on. PEF resolutions and the sequence of events just took over!
      The following post, "Postscript" is just a debrief - "Part Two" will follow as the group head out of Jacksboro :-)

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