Saturday 3 March 2018

East of Jacksboro part 3

Continuing from the previous two posts.........

The strain on the door was finally too much, and the frame splintered as it gave way allowing three zombies to lurch into the room.  The group's hastily formed firing line was ready for them!

At the same moment at the front of the house, the two walking dead had gone straight for the cops and were frantically tearing at the hedge to try and reach their prey.

The bedroom erupted with the sound of gunfire as soon as Brad yelled the order to fire, and moments later the zeds had disappeared behind a cloud of gunsmoke


Distracted by the sound of the firefight from the house, one of the cops fluffed his shot and one of the zombies managed to make it around the hedgerow,
but was quickly knocked to the ground by a hefty smack with the shotgun butt, as another of the slavering monstrosities that had been attracted to the scene approached up the side of the road.

As soon as the officer had "popped the weasel", the two of them took up positions to face the new threat.

Things had gone quiet at the house, and the cops were unaware that Brad was now leading the group out to their assistance. They left via the gaping back door, not losing any time removing the temporary barricade at the front door.
(What's Hannah spotted?)

Both cops targeted the single blood thirsty zed, and it fell to their combined shots,
but the cops were dismayed to hear the frustrated groans of two more zombies trying to get at them through the hedge after they'd appeared from beyond the side of the house.
"Not more of 'em!" was the only comment as both officers wearily checked their firearms and prepared to deal with the new threat,
they were then somewhat surprised when Brad cautiously stepped into view by the corner of the house with his hands raised and calling out for them to hold their fire.
The cops were switched on enough to know what Brad intended to do, and began hollering and throwing taunts at the zombies to hold their attention - Brad followed  their queue and led the fella's straight to the unsuspecting rear of the zeds!
(To quote a recent post from Simon, "It's Clobberin' Time!")
Hefting his machete in a two handed grip, Brad split the skull of the zed in red. No sooner had the lifeless corpse collapsed into the hedge bottom, Travis swung his 'axe' at the second walker, but was evenly matched by his opponent, so Zac waded in with the butt of his assault rifle, only to be knocked down by the flailing zed! Luckily Nate had gathered his wits and pistol whipped the zombie about the head with his BAP, knocking it straight out of the fight to the ground where it twitched and died.

For a few seconds, everyone was just rooted to the spot, not saying a word as the adrenaline levels started to plummet. The silence was broken when one of the cops spoke
"OK, who's going to tell me just what you're doing here in the Johnson's place?"
Then the other cut in
"Is that you Amy? What are you doing here? How come you didn't leave with the rest of the folks in the neighborhood?"
Seeing the inquisitive looks on the faces of the group, Amy explained that a group of families had organized an evacuation convoy heading west,  to someplace in Nevada, where there was talk about some kind of safe place or haven. They'd been told what to pack, where they'd be picked up and at what time, but she had to wait for her Pa - he's the local Doctor and he'd gone into town to stock up on medical supplies to take on the trip!
At that point she began sobbing uncontrollably  (possibly because of the protracted pun) and was comforted by Hannah. The cops looked at each other with a pained expression on their faces before one of them asked
"Who's in charge here?"

Brad told the others to go and rest up in the house and made his way around the hedge to speak to the officers,
Rep5  Pep4  Sav3  "logical"
Rep4  Pep3  Sav2  "dim"

At this point (Turn 20 would you believe?!), the action phase of the encounter has concluded, and I've decided to include Brad's negotiations with the police as part of the post-game 'admin'.  Of course this means the tale is
to be continued.


Oh look - no painted ECW cavalry this post!!

27 comments:

  1. Well that went well, although that last zombie was a tough character and no mistake. I imagine you were getting a little worried at that point.
    I'm pleased you are back into zed storytelling mode because you were one of three storey oriented blogs that finally tipped me over the edge a couple of months ago into starting my blog so I could follow your tales.
    So thanks.

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    1. There were a couple of similar moments during the encounter John, and what's REALLY worrying is that they all involved Zac (who also failed to activate at all in the previous encounter). I'm hoping he's not becoming a liability ;-)

      The game stretched into 3 sessions, as written up, and I knew from the first one that it was going to be lengthy which is why I opted for a "rules lite" AAR.

      Thanks indeed for the praise, but I have to say that whatever the reason, I'm SO glad you did start your blog which is PACKED with inspiration :-)

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    2. Zac - Zed - hummmm it's a bit worrying. Glad he lives at your place and not mine. ;-)

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    3. When Zac and Nate turned up at Campbell's Farm (http://thewargameaddict.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/day-seven-campbells-farm-continued-eek.html) they seemed like ideal 'muscle' to recruit for the group, and Nate has turned out to be a great addition. Zac on the other hand is becoming a waste of rations - I think Brad needs to have a word with him! ;-)

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    4. I think Brad might have a soft centre, when I suggested half way through this episode he throw the new girl to the zombies and did a runner while they chewed on her bones he didn't accept such practical advice to save his own skin:-D
      So I don't think he'll put Zach on half rations until he pulls his weight in the outfit.

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    5. I think Brad kept Amy for the group instead of using her as bait so she'll be a 'girlie friend' for Hannah - you know, they can talk recipes and stuff, so he can spend a bit more time with the blokes ;-)

      BTW, I'm amazed I didn't get inundated with groans for the "Girl who waited" inference. (The bold text in the second para below the last pic) - was it TOO subtle??? ;-)

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    6. Well I'm sorry to say that it was too subtle for me. I knew you were making some statement and I asked Mrs Vagabond what I was missing and she didn't know either.
      However as I'm not very up on Zombie Culture I'm probably not the best one to ask.
      I know in your last post Bryan made some comment about Amy's (I think it was her) name that went right over my head.
      You have to understand that while I think zombies make great game opponents, well apart from trying to bite your leg off, I have never seen a zombie film or read a book about them and I have no desire to do so.
      What I enjoy a lot is way the rules and campaign lead to an incredibly tense story line, I've come across a few people who like yourself and DEW recently weave it into an excellent read which really appeals to me.
      The problem seems to be that they can't continue it over any length of time. Ultimately your best characters are going to die, and that's a bit of a bummer for story continuity.
      Sorry - a bit long winded as usual.
      Cheers

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    7. No apologies necessary - and I think I've misled you a little, so I'd better explain......
      Amy Littlelack ISN'T a zombie reference - it's a play on "Amy Pond", a character from the Dr Who TV series, and she was known as "The girl who waited"
      The mini is a 'not Amy' from Hasslefree Miniatures and I just stuck a rifle in her hand before dragging her into the zombie apocalypse.

      My apologies to you for the confusion, and zero marks to the Who fans that failed to spot the (TOO) subtle prank ;-)

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    8. This is worse than cryptic crossword clues, where even when I know both the question and the answer I can't make the connection.
      Thanks for trying to explain it:-)

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  2. Awesome batrep. That last zombie was certainly not going down easy!

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    1. Many thanks Simon, and yep, the last bit of action in the encounter, outnumbering the zeds 2:1, but ATZ can still bite you in the nether regions! ;-)
      I'm pretty sure the rest of the group will understand why Brad and Hannah carry melee weapons now. :-)

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  3. Nice one, Greg. I knew if the two forces worked together they could overcome the zombie threat. It was a close run thing but I'm glad the heroes prevailed. By the way, I loved the cloud of gun smoke you added. It's not something I've seen in a zombie game but it worked well.

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    1. Thanks very much Bryan, and you were right but a bit of luck was involved..
      If the front door hadn't been barricaded, Brad would probably led the group that way (the shortest), but of course they would have been directly in the cops line of fire (and their appearance 'more sudden'??), so things might have gone differently.
      Also, I checked the 'Meet & Greet' whn Brad appeared from the side of the house. The extra dice for outnumbering the cops 2:1 made ALL the difference, if he'd gone out on his own the police would have had the extra dice and the group could well be on their way to the slammer (or on the run!)

      The "gunsmoke" was done on a whim - all my game aids are shelved at the side of the table (the teddy bear stuffing is used in Witchfinder General to show who's fired and therefore must reload), and I just wondered what it would look like to show 5 guns blazing away in a confined space :-)
      I couldn't find anything to represent the tinnitus caused though!! ;-)

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  4. Another great instalment Greg, great idea of the party to take out the last two zeds quietly to lesson the chance of anymore turning up

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    1. Many thanks Dave - though it's also a pretty smart idea not to fire weapons in anything like the direction of law enforcement officers ;-)
      But yep, somehow (apart from the huge initial zed count for the group entering the table), relatively few zombies were generated by noise during the encounter - but why take unnecessary risks?!

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  5. To quote a recent post from Simon, "It's Clobberin' Time!" - LOL Greg :-)

    Terrific instalment and everything seemed to work out for the best - well, not for the zeds admittedly.

    No "ECW" though... what have you been doing with your spare time ;-)

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    1. I just couldn't resist stealing your line Simon :-)

      "Spare time?" - one word, Terrain ;-)
      As a recent returnee to the wonderful world of gaming, I need LOADS of the stuff to let me play the games I want.

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  6. What a great conclusion to this part of the adventure, it had everything! Looking forward to the next part.

    PS Gunsmoke really ? From modern weapons ?

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    1. Cheers Joe, glad you enjoyed it - Brad is having his "chat" with the cops, and I'm sure the outcome of that will influence what happens next..... one way or another!

      Yeah, the gunsmoke was OTT, but I claim artistic licence (or cheap cordite from India!) ;-)

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  7. Wonderful stuff as always Greg, another super episode 🙂

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    1. Cheers buddy, glad you enjoyed it.
      Once again NOTHING went to plan, and there were a few hairy moments, but Brad's previous military experience somehow got them through :-)

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  8. Well I was getting prepared for a gore-fest zombie feeding frenzy... Maybe in another post.

    I had to think about the pun. Finally recognised it must be referring to something Dr Who, but beyond that I was flummoxed. I might watch this new series, when it starts, since it's got a woman Doctor. It'll certainly be different.

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    1. It almost went that way a couple of times Roy - once zombies have you in line of sight, their "Rep" increases which means so too does their chance of winning the "activation" each turn and getting the drop on you ;-)

      I should apologise for the pun, but it was just a throw-away line mainly for the guys who spotted the "Amy Littlelake" gag - no worries and no harm done :-)

      I've just watched "The Devils Whore" (a Ch4 mini series set in the ECW), and the main character 'sees' a devil - you don't think whoever does the sculpts for Col Bills 17thC mini's might be tempted to do one??? :-)

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    2. I can remember The Devil's Whore adverts, but never watched the show. Stu possibly did, as ECW is his favourite subject.

      Send Stu an email, including an attached picture from Google, and suggest it to him. He definitely listens and has even acted upon customer suggestions in the past.

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    3. Thanks for the suggestion, and I'll do just that :-)
      I'm also thinking about a bit of cosmetic surgery involving a 17thC mini and an old GW Beastman ;-)

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  9. Seriously awesome stuff Greg! It's like watching a tv show play out. Really liked the one photo that looks like the Prisma app was used on it, made it look like a comic book :)

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    1. Many thanks Ivor, if that's the case I hope "you stay tuned for the next episode" ;-)
      (I happen to know where the group's heading next, and it promises to be 'interesting'!)

      Glad you liked that particular photo, I tried for the "Walking Dead" comic book look. Nothing clever about it - I use a free photo editor (PhotoScape) and just hit the 'Cartoon' button on the 'Pictorialization' menu :-)

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