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| If anyone knows the name of the original author I would love to give credit! |
That was the original intro for this Night of the living dead influenced
skirmish scenario. It was published for 6th ed Warhammer Fantasy. By
the time 8th ed rolled around it was unplayable as 8th made little provision for skirmish level play.
With the release of Age of Sigmar it may have found new life! Age of
Sigmar (AOS) seems perfect for this level of Skirmish play with little to no
adjustment to the basic rule set. At most it needs a little tweaking of starting
unit size and a few situation based modifiers for the battle field.
Number of players:
1-4 Empire players and 1-2 Zombie players. The more friends the merrier!
What you'll need:
-32 Zombies...mmmmbrains..... (This is the maximum allowed on the board at
once)
-4 Suitable Empire victims...er soldiers.
-Something to keep track of turns. A D20, some paper etc..
-4 foot x 4 foot gaming area
-Ruined buildings and rubble (Mordheim sets are ideal)
-2 long roads (about 4-5 inches wide) or some sort of suitable
markers for use as roadways. Use sand and rocks or construction paper if you
have to!
-A small central piece of scenery like a fountain (optional, but
cool looking!)
-Bunch of D6's and an Age of Sigmar rule sheet
Setting up Innswich:
-On a 4x4 board place two roads that lie down the center of the board, creating
a big "+" symbol. These will be mostly free of clutter, but some
debris is certainly feasible!
-At the center of the table place a creepy fountain or statue.
This center area of the board just screams "put something neato
here!"
-The 4 square areas in-between the streets needs to be filled out
with derelict building structures or intact buildings. A healthy mix is
preferred and will create a spooky atmosphere for the game to be played in.
-Place 8 tokens or counters (Specially made ones would be ideal,
little treasure chests, piles of weapons on a 25mm round bases etc.. but
pennies will do) on the table. Take turns placing them about the board after
distributing 4 to the zombie player(s) and 4 to the empire player(s). Put 2 in
each board quarter at least 4 inches away from a road or table edge.
-Set up the 4 empire soldiers anywhere within 4 inches of the
table center.
-Set up 4 zombies in each table corner making sure they touch the
table edge for a total of 16 zombies.
-The Empire soldiers get the first turn. Better leg it quick
before you end up as the main course!
The Goal:
Surprise! Survival is the name of the game. You can cooperate with your
companions or go at it alone. Maybe you want to form a temporary alliance. But
beware, they're called "temporary" for a reason. Watch your back!
To escape the damned village
of Innswich, you must
traverse across the table to an area where a road leaves a table edge. Once you
reach a road edge with a model, roll on the chart below with 2D6. You can visit
each table edge only once and try to escape via this point only once. If you
fail the roll, waste no time and get going to another table edge! Continue
until you escape or get devoured by the living dead!
Winning:
If you manage to find a way out of Innswich and get off the board first in one
piece, you win. Continue playing to see who gets out second, third etc. To keep
things fun, whenever an Empire player's model gets eaten or escapes, they
should start controlling a few zombies. Just split the current zombies up in a
fair manner. Do the same with incoming reinforcements. This way everyone is
playing at all times and no one has to sit around with nothing to do. Plus you
can get back at the other Empire players that remain!
In order to play Night of the Plastic Dead, you'll need to know
these few rules:
Most Important Rule Of All:
Remember that weird situations and rules questions inevitably occur here and
there. If a conflict arises settle it with a simple roll off. Highest score on
a D6 wins the ruling, and the game continues. Later, after the game is over,
discuss the problem and come to a reasonable ruling for future situations. Note: This is right out of the original article
After all the whole point of this little game is to have some fun,
don't spoil a night with a silly argument!
Turn Sequence:
Empire players get the first turn. Roll initiative on turn 2 forward.
Model Statistics:
Empire Deserters
Zombies of Innswich
Empire Movement:
NOTE:
Changes from normal AOS rules ahead
Dash Move - Once during your movement you may try and dash by a single
zombie that blocks your path allowing you to move inside the zombie’s three inch control zone. Simply roll a 5+ on a D6 to zip on by the
zombie that blocks your path. If you fail this roll, you must stop three inches out and can move no further that round.
Adrenaline Rush - After you win close combat with a zombie,
an empire player may make an immediate D3+1 inch move in any direction. This
can be used with the above dash move above for a daring escape. You must
otherwise stay at least 3” out from any enemy. Note: this move is out of normal sequence
Breaking Free - When the odds are stacked against you, the
best thing to do may be just to run for it! If you are engaged in combat by a number of zombies, it is possible to break
free of their clutches with a little luck. Obviously the fewer zombies present,
the easier it'll be to break free! Consult the chart below to see if you
succeed after a D6 roll is made to break free. This action is attempted before
any movement during YOUR TURN ONLY and will negate any chance you have at
attacking this turn if you fail. You may not try this action during the zombie
player's turn!
Note: This is the original text of the article. AOS does not treat
combat the same as the previous system. For this scenario “engaged in combat”
means the unit is trapped and cannot move in the move phase. Examples include
being surrounded or trapped in the inner corner of a ruined building. Success
means the model can move (in the movement phase) past a zombie that is trapping
it (acting as if it is not there.) It takes place during the movement phase. If
you fail the roll you cannot pile in nor attack this round.
Zombie Movement:
Stumble -The living dead aren't noted for their speed. Each zombie will always
shamble in a direct line towards ANY empire soldier on the table. No dawdling.
You have to move at least an inch, but can move up to full move in inches if
you want. Zombies crave flesh and will not just stand there while a warm meal
is running about! If you manage to get to the three inch control zone of an
enemy you may pile in normally. Note: Zombies will not run
Zombie Charge - In light of this fact, when fresh meat is
nearby, the zombie becomes invigorated with energy as it hurtles towards it's
victim! To represent this, each zombie that is within 12 inches of an Empire
soldier (at the start of the charge phase)
the Zombie will charge towards the closest unengaged model (if there is
more than one unengaged model within 12 inches.) Always start with the closest
UNENGAGED model, allocating any more successful zombie charges to the next
closest unengaged model, and the next, and so on. If there are no more
unengaged models with 12 inches, but you STILL have rolled a successful zombie
charge, allocate them as above, ignoring the unengaged model stipulation. Just
start with the closest engaged model, then move to the next closest engaged
model, etc...
This is to show that if you get left behind in a crowd, the zombies
are gonna get you first. Plus if you are already fighting a zombie when more
show up, they won't hesitate to pile 'em on!
Failed Zombie Charge - What happens if you fail the
charge? Well, simply move the zombie half the distance rolled on 2D6 (rounding
down), towards the absolute closest target, unengaged or not! If you manage to
touch an Empire model's base, then it is considered a charge. This shows the
ravenous zombie's desperate attempt to claw at something nearby: Note: this is a change from the normal
AOS rules.
Zombie Reinforcements:
There are plenty of zombies roving about Innswich and more will show as time
passes, so at the start of each zombie players turn consult the chart below to
see how many more zombies appear that turn.
Split these reinforcements amongst the zombie players evenly so
everyone gets some dead bodies to move around the board!
Note: if the maximum number of zombies (32) is already present on the table,
just ignore the reinforcement roll until someone kills some zombies and lowers
the number of them on the board.
Now, where do they turn up at? Simple; Just roll a D6 for each zombie model and move
it in from the appropriate table edge on a roll of 1-4. If a 5 or 6 is rolled,
the zombies crawl forth from the fountain (or whatever) is in table center. See
the diagram above for all your zombie reinforcement needs.
The Tokens:
Scattered about the board are a bunch of counters. What they are is up to Lady
Luck. Maybe you'll be fortunate enough to find a better weapon, or maybe you'll
disturb some nasty critter that wants to claw your face off! Nothing is
certain, so keep this in mind as you search the ruins for hidden goodies!
All you have to do is move your model into base contact with a
token to collect it. You may not collect more than one counter during a turn.
Halt your movement and roll 2D6 on the chart below before continuing on...if
you can that is! Once an item has been collected, that particular item can not
be found again. So cross off each result as play progresses. NOTE:
This is slightly different from the normal AOS sequence.
Game Variants:
Before you run off to setup a game, here's a few ideas to keep in mind the next
time you play:
Lottery Variant-Try altering the list of what tokens contain. Make the list
longer, more friendly, or absolutely horrid!
The 80s Action Movie Variant-Instead of the first one off being the winner, make the winner
the one who manages to dispatch the most zombies AND escape. Just keep track of
how many zombies each player decimates. Tally 'em up at the end and declare a
winner!
The Survivor Variant-An alternate on the one above. Use how many tokens each player
uncovers (good or bad) AND survives to judge a winner.
"There coming to get you Barbra" Variant -Have no limit to the number of zombies allowed on the board at
once!
Gauntlet Variant -Equip
the Empire players differently, or have a limited amount of ammo for the
handguns.
MORE
COMING SOON!
for a downloadable version of this article click HERE
Later
RGH
