Sunday 24 July 2011

Citizens of World War II

And here are the citizens that will take part in the forthcoming Occupation scenario.


I bought these from Foundry as well and they're nice - but didn't enjoy painting them as much as the Nazis.


At this stage I haven't painted the base edges yet (made from two pennies glued together).


That's the normal characters, but now let me introduce the mysterious Jacob Rainier. He takes part in the scenario as a secretive character trying to avoid the Nazi sentries but whether he works for good or evil has yet to be revealed.

Saturday 23 July 2011

Here Come the Nazis



Well I FINALLY got round to painting the first batch of Nazi miniatures for my upcoming Origins of Evil campaign.


These are Sentries that I bought from Foundry miniatures, where they have a quality extensive range. Obviously the guy with the dog is particularly cool.


To paint them I used a range of GW colours: Regal Blue, Hawk Turquoise, Shadow Gray and Codex Grey. For the weathering round the base of the coats I went with Graveyard Earth and Bleached Bone.


This next squad are regular infantry.


I'm particularly looking forward to this game. I really love the way these guys turned out.

But here's the real villain of the story. I'm planning to keep him alive as long as possible (unless the werewolf gets him): Captain Johann Kreiger!


Stay tuned. I'm now working on the civilians these guys are going to be roughing up in my Occupation scenario.

Friday 8 July 2011

Rules for Driving Vehicles



 Cars are very hard to buy at the right scale for 28mm miniature gaming and certain alleged scales  can't be relied upon to match from one vehicle to the next. Basically, to the manufacturers, it's all about fitting the box they want to sell the item in so be careful. 


Anyway, here are some fairly sturdy rules I've play tested quite a few times that seem complicated at first but aren't too bad once you get your head round them. They have a fairly realistic feel to them.
  

Hotwiring 

For every 2 actions spent, roll 3d10. 3 successes (6+) must be rolled to start the vehicle.

Movement

The driver of a vehicle must spend one action driving each turn. 
A car goes YELLOW in the turn it starts driving(8"). It can drive any speed up to RED (24"). 

The car needn't go the entire distance but must still be set at a particular speed. 

When going RED the car can ONLY go straight ahead. When attempting turns when going WHITE (18") the car must Roll for Control. The control roll is made half way through the turn

If a car wants to stop it can do so at the end of its move. A car must go a minimum of BLUE (6") distance in the turn it stops if it is stopping unexpectedly.

Cars cannot turn on the spot. The car model must be turned realistically as it drives forward. 



Getting In and Out of Cars

It takes one action to get in or out of a stationery car and one action to start her up.

Losing Control

Roll for Control by rolling 2 Lethal Dice.

If any Hits are scored then control is maintained.

If control is lost the car will go in a random direction (in the front 90 degree arc) the next time it moves (Roll 1d6: 1-2 left 45 degrees, 3-4 straight on, 5-6 right 45 degrees). 

It will continue at the same speed it went before going Out of Control.

If it is half way through a move when control is lost then it goes straight in the random direction.

If it hits anything substantial it will crash and stop. A crashed car is wrecked for the rest of the game. 

If the car doesn't crash then a 2 Dice Roll for Control must be made after its move to regain control

Ramming 

Ramming cars do damage to whatever they hit determined by their relative speed

See damage chart

Any Hits rolled against targets count toward damaging the car itself

If the car stops as a result of a ram then it continues to move at least BLUE first unless it is the result of a head-on collision

Subtract one speed from the next if one car is ramming another and they are both going in the same direction

Total the speeds if they ram head-on

The speed of creatures rammed is not taken into account 


Damage from Rams & Crashes


Damage to Targets Hit 
Crash Damage to Occupants 




Speed 
Lethal Dice 
Bash Dice 
Lethal Dice 


Blue 
3

1


Yellow
4

2


Green 
6

3
1

White 
6

3

2

Red 
8
3

3








Attacking Cars 

Cars are unaffected by Pushbacks. 

Attacks that cause damage are defined as Hits on the table below.  

Obviously close combat attacks  against the front of a car are going to result in a ram on the driver's turn.

Passengers inside the car can be attacked. If the car is moving there are -2 Dice to attacks. Stationery cars impose -1 Dice to attacks. 

 
Damage to Car and Occupants

No. of Hits 
    Effect 


2
Roll for Control on
2 Dice 


3
Roll for Control on
1 Die 


4
Out of Control



5+ 
Out of Control 
Car will not drive again





Jumping On and Off Moving Vehicles

Characters can jump onto a moving car if the difference between the speed they are travelling (zero for pedestrians) is no more than one speed bracket away. 

For example, a pedestrian can jump onto a car going up to BLUE. A character riding a car going GREEN could jump onto one going WHITE.


Characters take 2 Bash Dice when doing so and have to roll at least one success (6+) on 2d10  to manage it successfully.







Wednesday 6 July 2011

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS: The Wilsons

The Wilsons are the latest characters to be joining the LOST IN THE WILDERNESS campaign thread. 

Of the three campaign story lines I have going, Lost in the Wilderness is the most prolific so far (mainly because my wife is more up for games than my friends at the moment). 

As regular readers will know, the idea of the campaigns is to have an ongoing story with characters joining and leaving as they are killed. There has been quite a high body count so far so it will be interesting to see how long it will be before I run out of miniatures!

 Let's meet the Wilsons.


From left to right, we have:

BILL

The father and husband. Bill is a tough guy who up until recently has not had an opportunity to show it. Working in an office did not prepare him for life on the run from supernatural creatures, but he has risen to the challenge, willing to do anything to protect his kin.

BETTY

Bill's wife; Betty is a traditional stay-at-home mum with good family values and the same passion as her husband when it comes to protecting her children. She would gladly lay down her life for them, even hopelessly.

CARLY

The eldest child but still very young, Carly is a little precocious but generally a good egg. The things she has seen lately have terrified her but the reassurances from her parents that everything will be alright have strengthened her. She is very confident in their protection.

RICK

The youngest child, Rick finds the current developments more exciting than scary. He isn't stupid - he knows he can't win a fight against anything by himself - but he is fast on his feet and can usually run clear of any trouble.

MAI LING

The family's au pair, assisting Betty with looking after the children day to day. She is a little sullen, feeling that she is not really needed, but exceptionally pretty. She has her eye on Bill and secretly fantasises about stealing him away from his wife.


Let's see how they fare in their first game...

Tuesday 5 July 2011

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS: Scenario Four - Drive For Your Life!

SITUATION:
Jack and Jensen have escaped from the ghouls but Skipper and Sparky are chasing them. They blame Jack and Jensen for the deaths of their friends and want to kill them. 


Meanwhile the Wilson family are fleeing for their life by car through the countryside. They've narrowly avoided a horde of zombies crowding onto the road but a little further on they've come up against another horde, blocking their path. Their only hope is to drive back up the road and seek shelter in a house they recently passed.  

BOARD LAYOUT:
An 8’ x 4’ board with a long road. Near one end of the board, a second road leads off from the first ending at a house. Off the road is generic countryside: clusters of trees, ponds, bushes, etc.

PROTAGONISTS:
Jack and Jensen plus the Wilsons: Bill & Betty (the parents), Carly & Rick (children) and Mai Ling (the sexy Asian au pair)
ANTAGONISTS:
Skipper and Sparky from the biker gang plus a horde of zombies
ARMAMENT:
All figures are armed as modelled apart from Jack who has a hammer. Jensen has a pistol; Bill has a shotgun and cricket bat, Betty has a shotgun and hockey stick, Carly has a baseball bat and dustbin lid shield, Mai Ling has a pistol and Tommy has a crowbar. 

Skipper and Sparky have machine guns. 

DEPLOYMENT – PROTAGONISTS:
The Wilson family is deployed standing outside their car. The car is placed 18" away from one end of the road going off the board edge. 
 
Jack and Jensen are deployed on the long board edge away from the house 24" in from the end furthest away from the Wilsons. 

DEPLOYMENT – ANTAGONISTS:
Skipper and Sparky are deployed in the corner of the board closest to Jack and Jensen.


Twenty zombies are deployed in a horde blocking the road near to the Wilson's car. They must all be placed within 12" of the board edge. 


Twenty zombies are deployed in a horde blocking the road at the far end of the board, also within 12" of the board edge. 

Twelve more zombies are deployed in clusters of three. They may be deployed anywhere as long as they are 12" from any protagonists and from another cluster. 


ANTAGONIST OBJECTIVES:


The zombies want to kill all humans.

Skipper and Sparky want to:
  1. Survive 
  2. Kill Jack & Jensen

PROTAGONIST OBJECTIVES:
Jack, Jensen & the Wilsons want to:
  1. Survive 
  2. Get to safety in the house
 




Monday 4 July 2011

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS - Creeping Crawlers

Jack opened his blurry bloodshot eyes and groaned, trying to make sense of where he was. 

Tree boughs rattled overhead and there was a breeze on his cheeks and parched lips but there was also a stench, like foul fetid mud or... He had a flash recollection of a day in his youth; his dad opening up a new shop that used to be a butcher's. The smell in the empty freezer at the back of the shop was the same that he could smell now. 

When he turned his head he saw why. 

There were burst cadavers all around him, covered in blood; their clothes shredded, flesh torn and eaten. Jack gasped, trying to scramble up, but the agony set in and he realised how badly wounded he was. The Ghouls had mauled him and dragged him here. The semi-conscious memories were seeping through now: cackling braying hairless creatures carelessly hauling him through foliage and over rocks, oblivious to his grunts of pain.

They'd dumped him here for eating later. This wasn't just a cave mouth he was in. It was a pantry. 

Jack hauled himself up then staggered, catching hold of the stone wall. Jenson, the guy he'd met in the cabin in the woods when the Ghouls attacked, was lying nearby. He did his best to lift him but both of them needed time to recover. They were far too injured to get out of there alone. 

All they could do was call for help and hope they managed to regain their strength enough to escape.


Two hundred yards away, Nazi knocked back a slug of vodka from his hip flask and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "You hear that?"

Grace, the latest cooze he'd picked up, giggled from where she was sitting behind him on his Harley and said, "Sort of like someone calling out?"

Sparky, Mike and Skipper pulled to the side of the road behind him on their bikes when they saw him parked up. "What's going on?"

"Not sure yet. Someone calling for help maybe. But I want to check it out."

"Why bother?"

Nazi grinned, cocked his machine gun and said, "Can't you read my mind?"

They split into two groups, Sparky and Skipper looping round to the right, breaking off the road into the marshland; Nazi, Grace and Mike going straight in between some wide expanses of water.

It was Sparky and Skipper who saw the bugs first.


Coming out of the undergrowth, the Blood Roaches scuttled towards them, one after another, their hard shells gleaming in the dull foggy light; their incisors clattering. Both bikers swung their machine guns into position and let fly, ripping the bugs to pieces; laughing as the tough little bastards shattered under fire, splattering the leaves behind them with stinking ichor.

But as the first died, more crept out of the bushes and rose from the musty swamp. Sparky and Skipper reloaded and fired again but this time they didn't laugh.

When the third wave came and the third reload they only smiled nervously at one another before letting rip.

Not far away, Nazi led the others through the swampland toward the calling voices. He was sure there were two of them now and he grinned with relish at what this would mean to them.

When the crap that was happening had started to go down; when the dead had started getting up and killing; he'd known exactly what it meant for society. And what it meant for him. Now life was just a matter of taking what he wanted and getting out alive. It was kind of simple. And even simpler after they'd found the abandoned army truck and its juicy contents. He stroked the barrel of his machine gun, loving the sense of power it gave him.

Then he saw the Swamp Maggots coming up from the surface of the murky water to his left.

"There! Blast them!"

He and Mike threw machine gun fire into the giant slug things, tearing them into juicy chunks that sank back out of sight. Screaming in flouncy panic, Grace shot off blasts from her magnum pistol but even she managed to kill one of them.

More bugs came, drawn to the sound, but the three of them easily kept them at bay.

Initially.

Then the numbers grew and the reloading time started to take its toll. The bugs got closer before they could be eliminated, blocking off the way ahead and slithering now only a few feet away from their legs, acidic juices flowing from their blood-red maws.

"Keep it focused!" bellowed Nazi, sweeping his gun across the closest ones. "We're going to win this, don't worry! Just keep firing!"

Then the bushes burst open behind them and he realised just how desperate their situation was as a pack of Ghouls, alerted by the gunshots emerged: two Ghouls holding rusty blades with slavering animalistic jaws, and two massive  Ghoul Hounds bounding ahead of them.


It was suddenly an impossible situation.

Nazi and Mike did their best to prioritise but they were surrounded. Shooting the Ghouls meant ignoring the bugs and vice versa. 

Grace continued to fire blindly, her arm up to shield her eyes, but one of the Ghouls Hounds leapt off the ground and slammed into her, knocking her backward until she slammed into the marshy ground right in front of a pair of pulsating Swamp Maggots. 

She screamed as one slithered up onto her bosom and started to dissolve her breasts. Then the screaming stopped as the other one wallowed onto her face and released its acidic pre-digestion discharge. 

Nazi gaped in shock at his girlfriend's writhing body. He didn't care much whether she lived or died - it wasn't that - but her death meant they were all at risk. The invulnerability he'd imagined he had with a machine gun in his hands suddenly seemed far too ethereal. 

Then his magazine clicked empty and he realised it was even worse than that. 

To his side, Mike screamed in rage as the ghouls leapt at him, knocking him down. One hacked a long gash in his belly and the other broke the front of his head open like a shattered easter egg.

The bugs were squirming round Nazi's legs, and he desperately tried to reload while the Ghoul Hounds prepared to pounce, already knowing he didn't have time. 


In the cente of the swamp, Jack and Jensen struggled through the folliage surounding the cave mouth and dropped down the slope into the marshwater, supporting one another as best they could. 

They were still battered but enough time had passed to let them gather their strength. They looked round, expecting to see some kind of guard in place to prevent their escape but there was nothing. All the bugs had been drawn to the gunfight. Without even knowing they had been saved, Jack and Jensen hobbled out of there, through the murk and sludge, helping one another on when they had to. 

All they could think about was getting clear, getting to dry land and getting safe. Since this had started, both of them had gone from one terrifying encounter to the next. They needed a respite. 

Or they needed better weapons... 

From the bushes near the sight of the ambush, Sparky and Skipper watched the Ghouls and bugs devouring their friends. Grace and Mike's body were already half gone and Nazi had disappeared completely. 

Their spirits fell and then their hearts hardened. 

This wouldn't have happened if they hadn't heard the cries for help. Their friends wouldn't be dead. 

"There," said Sparky, pointing. 

Several hundred yards away, unnoticed by the Ghouls, they saw two men moving in the opposite direction. 

"It was them. They musta been the ones calling out." 

Skipper nodded. "Well let's get after them," he said. "Those bastards are going to pay for this!"

The two men got up, shouldered their weapons and started to creep after their quarry, circling round the ghouls and the maggots and their grisly meal.


Friday 1 July 2011

LOST IN THE WILDERNESS: Getting to Know Jack

In the near future, I hope to be playing my LOST IN THE WILDERNESS: Scenario Three - Creeping Crawlers.

To get me in the mood, let's take a closer look at our primary protagonist, Jack. He's the longest living survivor of the previous Lost in the Wilderness adventures and has earned a skill As such, it's probably worth investing a little time to broaden his background so that we care more about him.

Hopefully he won't get killed right away after going to this effort!!!

JACK 

We already know that Jack is a cocky young ladies man: tall and athletic, with a love of fast cars and late night drinking binges, but there is a lot more to him than that. 

Jack was a grade A student well on his way to a high level of academic success and already enrolled into a top university. He came from a good family home with loving parents and his best friend was a pretty girl named Alison. 


There wasn't a whiff of romance between Jack and Alison until the day he was about to leave to go to university. Realising she was going to lose him, Alison declared her love for him. Without knowing it himself, Jack had long since been in love with her and the two of them eloped, abandoning Jack's education. 

His parents refused to talk to him or help support him and one year later, he and Alison were living out of a seedy flat above a video shop. Jack had casual work at an off-licence and Alison was heavily pregnant. 

All of their dreams had ended in a harsh and uncomfortable reality and though they still loved one another, the difficulties of life induced terrific strain on their relationship. A lapsed insurance policy and some bad luck had put them horribly in debt. With the baby on the way and Alison's stomach bloating out, Jack realised they had little hope but to reestablish contact with his parents. 


But they still refused to meet him. 


Jack and Alison drove round to see them at the mansion but the confrontation ended in a shouting match. Jack's mother refused to even see him. Furious and desperate, Jack drove away from his parent's house. 


But he was careless in his anger. He lost control on the wet road and the car clipped the front of a truck coming in the opposite direction at sixty five miles per hour. 


The entire half side of Jack's car was shorn away, taking Alison and the baby in her stomach with it. 

Three seconds later it was all over and Jack stepped out of the wreckage completely unhurt. 


Everything had been ruined. All his potential for life had been stolen from him. What could have been a perfect life had become a wasteland of regret and despair. 


And in his blackened mind, Jack traced it all back to the day when Alison had first declared her love for him. He realised now that that moment of perfect romance had led to all of this. Their love had ruined his life and destroyed hers.


And so Jack changed his life. 


Never more did he seek out dreams of long-term happiness or love. His was a life of ephemeral pleasure; women, liquor and partying as he fell in with an entirely new group of friends. 

Alison was lost to him forever, and so was happiness. 


Pleasure was all he had left. 


Or it was. 

Until he became... Lost in the Wilderness.