ON THE ROAD AGAIN....

....or, "ZOMTOBER 2020 WEEK FIVE", because I promised to continue the All Things Zombie: Final Fade Out campaign this month. (You can play catch-up with the story so far if you need to, by clicking the "Zombie Apocalypse" label on the right of the blog page)

Bobby and Madelyn caught up with Brad's group on route 194 between Aiken and Plainview, where they'd stopped at a filling station and had tried (unsuccessfully) to scavenge parts for the RV (Zac had diagnosed the problem as a cracked distributor cap – he'd bodged a fix, but they needed a reliable replacement).

The “Meet & Greet” was initially a little frosty, but the new arrivals quickly put Brad at ease by stepping out of the UPS van unarmed and explaining that it was them that had left the note with the provisions outside the warehouse in Lorenzo. Bobby also pointed out that they'd loaded up the van with supplies, including food, fuel and ammo when they made a run for it. He also pointed out that they should get moving just in case the “The Guardians” were on their tail, though he doubted they'd stray too far from 'The Stronghold' – they certainly didn't patrol this far out, but better safe than sorry.

The convoy moved on following the 194, swinging around Plainview and Edmonson. By late afternoon they were on the outskirts of Hart and decided they'd rest up there, figuring that it would be better to set up a defensive camp in the suburbs rather than parking out in the open, just in case The Guardians bore enough of a grudge to bring them this far from their comfort zone.

Brad designated Amy, Chris and Madelyn as drivers to stay with the vehicles and at this point Bobby produced two walkie talkies from the van. Handing one to Brad and the other to Amy, this would enable Brad to call the girls forward with an all clear, but more importantly, the two groups could stay in touch if things kicked off.

The road ran alongside a railway track which curved to the right and crossed the road on the edge of town. As the group crossed the track Travis joked about them looking like a scene from The Magnificent Seven but nobody laughed – the zeds were coming to greet them!

With the larger groups approaching from the flanks, Brad instantly decided to push straight ahead and punch through the weaker line to their front, saying ”Stay close and don't fire unless you really have to!” while thinking “There's anger and grief at losing Nate, and frustration at having to run from the warehouse in Lorenzo. A fight with the zombies is maybe what we need right now”.

The survivors won the initiative and Brad advanced until he could see around the corner of the building to his right – relieved when he saw there wasn't a hidden horde.

The furthest PEF's passed 1D6 and moved further from the group while the nearest passed none and remained stationary. The zeds, all now having the survivors in sight (raising their activation Rep to 4 for “zombie frenzy”), advanced, just out of reach of the group.

The survivors won the initiative for the second turn and immediately attacked the nearest of the walking dead!

I resolved the melee in Rep order -

Brad cleaved the head of the zombie facing him with his machete, “killing” it instantly. Hannah brought her hockey stick down on her opponent but only struck it a glancing blow, knocking it to the ground with such force that its head split open on the road. Zac rained a flurry of blows on the brown suited abomination in front of him, but only managed to knock it down, while Travis swung his “axe” (he'd heavily modified his guitar!) and smashed the head of his foe.

Meanwhile, Hilary only managed to fend off her zed with the butt of her rifle, and Bobby had completely fluffed his machete attack which allowed the undead corpse to grapple him before sinking its teeth into his neck – severing the jugular vein and Bobby dropped like a stone to the ground, obviously dead!

 Brad's attack wasn't going to plan, and it was now the zombies turn to move.

The zombies from the left now attacked the group, while those from the right had appeared around the corner of the building and were now cutting off their retreat.

Hilary managed to knock down the zombie she was fighting, but Zac and Dave were now facing three opponents each. Zac was quickly overwhelmed and went down 'obviously dead' with horrific wounds. Dave managed to hold his ground, but things were quickly going from bad to worse. 

Brad REALLY needed to win the next initiative roll.......... and did!

“RUN DAVE!” Brad yelled, as he began pushing Hannah, Travis and Hilary into the road and along the shop front. Dave didn't need telling twice, and while the zombies nearest to him began feasting on the corpses of Zac and Bobby, he broke free and chased after the rest of the group.

Brad and the rest of the group had moved normal distance so as not to leave Dave behind, which was lucky because he only passed 1D6 on his 'fast move' check – just enough to close the gap.

As the survivors ran along the front of the shop, the nearest PEF advanced into line of sight, (which resolved as another group of six zombies)

Once again, Brad needed to win the initiative......... but didn't!

The ravenous horde caught up with the rear of Brad's group before they could get off the street, forcing Hannah, Travis and Dave to turn and fight.

Hannah and her hockey stick once more got the better of her attacking zed, but again, only managing to knock it to the ground. Travis fought off his attacker but caused no damage to it and Dave drove his knife straight between the eyes of the zombie clawing at him, killing it instantly.

Brad yelled out the order “RUN! GET AROUND THE CORNER!”

Needing no further incentive, the remainder of the group ran for their lives. Although true to form Dave only passed 1D6 for his fast move – but it was enough.

The survivors won the next initiative roll and completely outdistanced the zombies as they crossed the railway tracks and exited the table.

The foray into Hart had been a disaster. Not only had they failed to find a safe haven for the night, but they'd lost one of the established members of the group as well as the new guy. Brad was going to have his work cut out holding the group together that's for sure.

No time to think about that for now though, and as he paused to glance behind him, he thumbed the talk switch on the walkie talkie - “We're on our way back, get ready to move. Things didn't go to plan here,... and we lost Zac and Bobby. I'm sorry.”

 

erm, Happy Halloween everyone and thanks for dropping by. Sorry about my wonky cork tiles - I STILL haven't got around to replacing them, and they had been under a pile of books and were flat when I laid them out! Anyhow, I hope you have (or HAD if you're reading this after the fact) a Spooktacular weekend and get to enjoy the Blue Moon, which only occurs....... once in a Blue Moon!

As always, your comments, queries or suggestions are most welcome, and please call back. It's been a long time coming, but I enjoyed this game of ATZ:FFO so much that I'm just going to have to play another one soon!

 

 

ZOMTOBER

“A zombie is a fictional undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse, most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. “

Quite an appropriate month to resurrect my humble blog from its slumbers!

I must admit that I've been caught in the 'lockdown doldrums' for a while, and though I have managed to get a fair few posts done over on The Game Cupboard and The Emerald Musketeers, things have been shamefully neglected here.

The Zomtober Challenge will be a testing experience this year, since due to my complete lack of hobby funds I can only paint what I can find in the 'pile of shame' that fits the theme (so I fully expect to pick up some more penalty points on my artistic licence).

So, to offset that situation, I've decided to pick up and continue the story of Brad and Hannah's fight for survival in the All Things Zombie campaign this month, so between now and Halloween the blog will shamble along featuring nothing more than death, decay and missing/rotten body parts!

You can play "catch-up" with the Zombie Apocalypse link, but just a quick refresher - Brad and the gang had driven into the town of Lorenzo and set up camp in a small warehouse complex, before getting tipped off that they were on a large hostile group's 'patch'.

They decided to make a run for it, and drove out in the early hours of the morning.

The "informers", Bobby Johnson and Madelyn Hopper, narrowly escaped members of the gang and followed Brad's trail hoping to join them.

Only a very short post, but fingers crossed there's plenty more REGULAR updates to follow!

 

Blog Anniversary

I have no idea WHERE the time has gone!

I sat and had a good think about how to mark the occasion, and rejected the option of a "reflective musing" post - I reckon I've done enough 'blether' for a while with the last couple of offerings, and decided it should be a game report.
But what to play?    I've uploaded a D&D episode here:  On the Trail of The Stone  this week, and there's another ECW scrap to be posted here:  "For Parliament or For King"   in the next day or so.

What seemed most appropriate would be a return to the zombie apocalypse given the current pandemic situation and it was the first campaign I started!
Yes, just five posts in and the "introductions" out of the way, the ATZ: Final Fade Out campaign began way back here:  ATZ: "Day minus One" and we followed Brad and his group as they struggled for survival. As is the way of things with us gamers, this particular story has had to give way to other tales which needed to be told, as the wargame table witnessed conflicts involving 'other' genres of topical interest.
The last time I checked in on the survivors was with a short episode which formed one part of a larger post,  but we learned that they'd found themselves in hostile territory, and after a tip off from one of the opposing gang members Brad's group are moving on.

A quick consultation with "Mythic" (the GM emulator), and it turns out that since when they left the group didn't destroy the warehouse they'd temporarily stayed in, or set fire to the petrol station across the road (the kind of mean trick the hostile gang bosses would have done!), the guy who left the note decided that he and his partner were going to cut and run and try to join this group of 'lawful' survivors.

So it was, that on the outskirts of Lorenzo, Bobby Johnson and Madelyn Hopper found the road ahead blocked. They had to clear the road and fast, not just to keep up with the friendly group, but they were worried that they probably had gang members on their tail.
(They did, and they would arrive at the table edge on a successful die roll!)

With Maddie watching the rear, Bobby stepped up and dispatched the crawler by the wrecked pickup,

before calling Maddie over to help deal with the zeds approaching the junction.
(The PEF resolved as just a bad case of nerves)

They needed to get the bike out of the way, but for the moment it provided a handy barricade,

and allowed them to pick off the walkers without having to fire a shot.

With the nearest of the undead cleared, Bobby had just flipped the bike clear when something burst through the doors of the diner -

another pair of zombies!

The zeds lurched across the street towards Maddie, but Bobby managed to get alongside her just in time

and in the pair of them quickly saw off the attack.
Bobby ordered his compaion back to the delivery truck "The place looks like it might hot up - let's get while the goin's good"

The pair climbed back into the UPS wagon and fired it back up,

then headed North at the junction towards Cone.

A while later the gang members turned up.
(Pathetic dice rolling - they needed a 6 on turn two, 5, 6 next turn, 4,5,6 the turn after etc, but failed to arrive until it was too late)

Surveying the scene it was obvious that the fugitives had passed this way, but they had no idea which road they'd taken ("Mythic" was consulted to see if the UPS van had left any telltale signs), so they had to return to Lorenz empty handed..... and their boss would NOT be pleased!

So, there we go. Just a quickie because I'm off to pour myself a cupps and cut a (big) slice of anniversary cake!
Thanks to everyone in the blogging community for all of your help, support and inspiration, without which there's every possibility I'd never have got this far with my own humble offerings.

Remember, be like Bobby & Madelyn, and even if you can't carry a machete, katana or assault rifle, stay safe out there! (and you can always leave me a quick comment if you get the chance and feel inclined - it would be most welcome)

Between AAR's

I did it again didn't I?   
When will I ever learn to STOP trying to predict what the next post will contain??
I said something along the lines of it being a 'celebratory' kinda thing to mark the passing of the blogs second birthday - well, it sort of fits the billing, especially if you're beginning to think we're turning Japanese here at TWA towers, because (drum roll) I've decided it's high time to revisit two of the other story lines and find out what's happening with Brad and his group in the zombie apocalypse, and where Old Mother Brookes flew off to from Arithdale in the England Upturned campaign.

I've mentioned before that there's no "script" for these story arcs, so whatever happens is as much of a surprise for myself as I can make it, but still making 'sense' instead of being a series of random encounters. I use "Mythic" and "Decision Trees" to help with the process, and if you missed it the first time, here's a link "Anatomy of a game" 

First off, let's see what's happening in the zompocalypse, where Brad and the gang had driven into the town of Lorenzo on a supply run that had gone terribly wrong. A sizeable horde of zombies had turned up, and there were some other survivors already looting the store. The group managed to rescue the guys from the store, but they'd simply run off without saying a word!
(a result of the ATZ:FFO "Meet & Greet")
After re-grouping, they decided to check out a small warehouse complex, where they ran into another group of survivors and yet more trouble from zeds! Luckily they beat off the undead (though not before losing Nate), and yet again the strangers ran off without a word!!
(exactly the same "Meet & Greet" result)
Grieving for the loss of their friend, and more than a little angry and confused by the other survivors actions, the group went on to secure the warehouse yard and buildings, which is where we left them here:~ "A Place To Lay Your Weary Head"

Caught up? Let's see what happens next then!
The first thing I did was to list all the reasons I could think off to explain the reason both of the other survivor groups acted the way they did, then rolled a dice to select which option. (No, I'm not revealing the list yet, I've kept it in case the group runs into another 'strange bunch')
With the motive for what had happened established, the next thing was to establish the rationale for what would follow, so again I drew up a shortlist of feasible options and then let the dice gods decide.
The result immediately gave me the next part of the campaign:-

Zac and Travis were up on the roof doing their guard shift when they heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. A brown UPS van pulled up outside the gate and two guys got out and unloaded a small pile of crates before the driver got back in and drove off. The other guy went around the side of the warehouse building and got in the yellow van parked there, fired it up, and drove off after the UPS van.
It all happened so quickly that the sound of the departing engines had disappeared before Travis managed to get down to the ground floor and report the incident to Brad.
Checking the coast was clear, the group examined the crates and found they contained dried and canned food - and a note.......

Back inside the warehouse, Brad gathered the group together to tell them about the note and decide what they were going to do next........

..... to be continued.


Now, the other story that I've been itching to revisit is that of Old Mother Bankes after her unexpected visit from Captain Jessop and the troops of the All Hallows trayned band at Arithdale. You can catch up here:- "An Ecounter At Arithdale"
Again, I've used Mythic and Decision Trees to find out what's happening, but this time I'll spare you the details!

Old Mother Bankes flew straight to the ancient "Nine Ladies" stone circle at Ladygate. Here, she convened a meeting of the members of the Ladygate Womens Institute coven (the witches have a spell which in an emergency, can instantly summon the coven to the circle), and told them what had happened - especially the part where they had shot poor Josh! Of course, she had no idea where the soldiers had come from.
It was quickly agreed that the rest of the witches should follow the soldiers while Mother Bankes reported occurrence to "His Lordship". 

Climbing aboard their brooms, the witches set off, and it wasn't long before Old Mother Bankes was re-telling her tale to the Vampyre Mikhail and his lady Milyena.

Mikhail was furious! He knew that the outbreak of civil war could present serious threats to his presence here and threaten the 'masquerade', but he thought he'd taken sufficient measures by enlisting the help of the witches, and by creating a ring of "ghost towns" around his estate to ward off any 'unwanted' visitors.
This incursion by a sizeable body of militia spelled trouble - especially if word of what they'd encountered at Arithdale were to spread.
He told Old Mother Bankes to find her companions and report back to him when they find the soldiers destination. Turning to Milyena, he told her to summon Delcroix, and inform him he had need of his servives and to ready the Nocterlinger.

So there, dear reader, we have it. A bit of a departure from my "normal" posts and no AAr's I'm afraid, but the campaigns STILL progress and if you're still with me at this point, many thanks for your time and as always your comments, queries or questions are most welcome.

A Place To Lay Your Weary Head part 2

The previous encounter was played on an old board with just the warehouse building on one edge - the fenced yard area was represented "off table", but would be needed for this game. This has meant using my old (warped) cork tiles for the sequel and I can only offer my apologies for the continuity error!

Knowing that the Winnebago was going to be tricky, if not impossible, to maneuver into the yard, Brad arranged for all essential items onboard to be transferred to the Jeep and pickup.
Travis and Amy then waited with those loaded vehicles while Brad drove the rest of the group in the RV to the intersection and opened up the gates for them to drive straight into the yard.
Brad had planned to use the bulky mobile home to block the intersection if there was signs of trouble, but things looked relatively clear and he opted for parking alongside the night club.

The sound of the engines (plus the groups arrival 'on table') acted as a dinner bell for the zombies in the area, but the slick operation saw the group safely inside the yard with the gates closed and chained before the walking dead could cause any problems.

Dave was left to keep an eye on things at the gate, while Brad, Zac and Travis went over to check out the security office. Hannah and the rest of the girls made their way up the yard, making a visual check of the warehouse on their way towards the other outbuilding.

Keeping things as quiet as possible, Zac forces open the door, breathes a sigh of relief, and then points out the stash of coffee and biscuits left by the last security shift!

Having cleared the security cabin, the guys head over to join the ladies and check out the larger, garage-like building. Brad notices that the light is fading - and it feels like it's been a long day.

At the same time, the zeds are gathering outside the gates, and Dave spots a PEF through the wire mesh.......

.... which turned out to be yet more (group + 1 = 9) of the undead attracted by the promise of supper.
Dave immediately ducked out of the zombies line of sight and hid behind the Jeep.

The rest of the group opened up the roller door, and found it empty apart from some cleaning equipment. Hannah pointed out that "Blue Roll" makes for great Loo Roll though, and Brad also noticed a side door to the building which he made sure was locked and secured.

Since the light was fading pretty fast, Brad sent Hillary to join her husband at the gates (standard military practice to "double up" sentries during the hours of darkness).......

........ before tackling the side door into the main building. It was locked, so he used the tyre iron to force the door open -

and it turned out that the ground floor was occupied! A single zed, which didn't gain "zombie surprise", and was set upon by the three members of the group who were with Nate earlier in the day.

The trio piled into the creature and burned off some of their pent up anger as the flurry of blows downed it.

Venturing upstairs revealed it to be empty, apart from the abandoned clutter.

Brad spotted the fixed ladder giving access to the roof hatch, so went up to make sure all was clear.
Evening was drawing in and he could see the horde generally milling around out front of the gates and fence. The group had managed to keep the noise down enough to not give away their location, and Dave and Hils had kept out of sight.

Before heading back indoors, Brad spent some time surveying the surroundings from his vantage point and weighing up the options for their next move. Taking a full inventory of what rations, ammo and water they'd actually got would be a priority - it was now too dark to worry about what was beyond the fences - could he smell coffee downstairs??

Many, many thanks for reading - not a lot of "action", but by crikey, there was some tension during this game and I just wish I could have spent more time with the write-up to try and put some of it over.
My apologies to fellow bloggers whose recent posts I'm yet to comment on, but once I'd started this little series of linked encounters, I just HAD to use my spare time to get them played to a natural "break point".