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This world is dying. Millions of them were stalking through the streets and fields now, rotting hands clawing at anything still drawing breath, being relentlessly pursued unto their deaths. What few defences remained could hold them off, but for how much longer could they stand against the never-ending tides of the reanimated dead? What remains of high command has issued a general evacuation order, all remaining Imperial forces are to withdraw from the planet's surface, so the Inquisition can work its magic on the doomed world and deny the enemy its final victory. This world has been declared a lost cause, no longer worth fighting for.
You are amongst the last mortals still on the surface of this doomed world, desperate to escape the encroaching hordes of undead and find a way off. A garbled vox transmission offers you a glimpse of hope, promising a way out. However, before you are to be evacuated there is a final, last-minute assignment that must be completed, coming from the high offices of the Imperial Governor of the doomed world itself. Somewhere, amidst a city overrun by the undead there is something that must be recovered at all cost. The risk is great, but the promise of not just salvation, but also honour, glory and riches beyond imagination are offered to those who accept this mission.
Sounds easy enough, right? What could possibly go wrong? Duty and honour troopers!
NIGHT OF THE PLASTIC DEAD
Quick background: for Halloween every year run a fun themed scenario that anybody can partake in, last year it was Guardsmen against hordes of zombies. Mega-cliché I know, but it made for a fun little even where participants built their own plucky, grizzled or cuddly WYSIWYG veteran, the best painted and converted model won a bucket of candy a.k.a. diabetic coma (losers get a smaller bag of candy, because nobody likes tossers who cry), they then partake in a scenario where they need to kill hordes of zombies while rescuing the daughter of the planetary governor or hold out until a rescue can be organized or something equally amazingly cliché and over the top.
The general idea behind this all is to run a simplified version of the 40k rules that speeds up the play somewhat, so that people take less time deliberating about how to move about a single model and spend more time chucking dice and blasting or hacking apart the plastic undead. The rules have taken a large page from Age of Sigmar (though the comparison did not come until those rules were officially released some time later, ask some of the DCM's who helped out! ) and a general "arcade game" vibe.
I've broken the document down into several spoilered bits for ease of reading, with the two linked scenario missions all the way at the bottom of this post.
BASIC RULES
Spoiler:
Stat-line.
Every model comes with a simplified stat-line, displaying the following:
WS 3+
BS 3+
W 3
A 2
Ld 8
Sv 5+
WS: What you need to roll to hit in close combat.
BS: What you need to roll to hit when shooting.
W: The amount of wounds you have.
A: The amount of attacks you have per round of melee, not counting bonuses for charging, etc.
Ld: Your leadership value for morale purposes.
Sv: Your saving throw against all enemy attacks.
COMBAT As with the stat-line, combat has been streamlined and simplified for the sake of the scenario. If you roll a hit, you automatically wound your opponent as well. The opposing model then takes its relevant saving throw (if applicable) and casualties are removed as normal.
LUCKY HITS Sometimes you land a lucky shot with your rifle or manage to decapitate a zombie with one swift strike of your blade, putting it down for good. To represent this whenever you roll a '6' when shooting or fighting in melee, the zombie goes down without being allowed to take its Feel No Pain roll. Please note that this may stack with other effects described elsewhere.
BLEEDING OUT AND DYING Should a veteran lose its last wound it will be put on its side and left there until either three turns have passed, in which case the model dies from blood loss, or a medic reaches the model in time to revive it. Zombies will ignore downed veterans in favour of those that can still fight.
Should a player's veteran die it will be respawn at either the starting location or at a deployed smoke grenade.
RESPAWNING Death may or may not be inevitable. Should a veteran come to an untimely end at the hands of the undead the model is removed from play and may re-enter the game via one of two ways.
1. The player respawns at the starting point of the scenario on the very next player turn. This may lead to the respawning player being cut off from the rest of the group and maybe even starting neck deep in hordes of undead.
2. One of the surviving players in possession of a smoke grenade may deploy it and allow the dead player(s) to respawn within 3" of the grenade, as if arriving from deep strike without scattering. A deployed smoke grenade will remain in play for three turns and is only available in limited numbers at a Pile of Ammunition.
The smoke grenade is not an offensive weapon and while it can be thrown up to 8" away without scattering, it can only be used to act as a temporary marker for respawning dead players.
PILE OF AMMUNITION Models that move within 3" of a pile of ammunition may stuff their pockets with enough ammo that their primary weapon counts as twin-linked for the next turn of shooting. Any spent grenades may also be replenished once up to their original amount. The model may also attempt to find a single smoke grenade on the D6 roll of a 4+.
CHARACTER CREATION
Spoiler:
Each player controls a single Imperial Guard veteran who is tough as nails, has a fought in a hundred engagements and has quite literally seen it all by now. Been there, done that, your veteran has seen a lot by the time he or she has wound up in this sticky situation.
All veterans have the following stats:
WS 3+
BS 3+
W 3
A 2
Ld 8
Sv 5+
All veterans have the following starting equipment: flak armour, two (2) frag grenades, a laspistol and one of the following primary weapons: veteran's close combat weapon, veteran's lasgun or a veteran's shotgun (Note that the starting weaponry may be affected by some of the perks listed below).
Benefiting from years of combat experience and the occasional dirty trick, each veteran may also pick one of the following perks they have learned over the years as campaigners:
* Agile – You have the Fleet and Move Through Cover special rules.
* Badass – You are Fearless.
* Berserker Charge – You have Rampage.
* Grenadier – You have a 4+ armour save, but always move as if going through difficult terrain.
* Gunfighter – You exchange your primary weapon for a second laspistol and gain Chain Fire*.
* Looter – You may take a different starting weapon, as listed in the armoury.
* 0-1 Medic – You can restore lost wounds and revive downed comrades (see next page).
* Sharpshooter – You may reroll all 1’s once when rolling to hit when shooting.
*Chain Fire (Gunfighter only): When attacking with pistol weapons the Gunfighter may declare a Chain Fire attack. For every successful hit, they may make an immediate additional shooting attack with the weapon against the same target and may continue doing so until they miss with the weapon (note that the Gunslinger special rule applies and so the Gunfighter may fire two pistols at once). After they have made a Chain Fire attack, they may not assault in that player turn or use shooting attacks in the following turn.
AUTHOR NOTE: Yes, chain fire is ripped straight from the pages of the Horus Heresy rulebooks, but it's a cool rule and (hopefully) makes people pick gunfighters instead of a shotgun like everybody else!
MEDIC Alongside the normal weapon options and starting equipment the medic also has the following items: a Medi-pack and a single smoke grenade.
Special rules
Medi-pack: As long as the medic is not locked in combat friendly models within 6” of the medic may re-roll failed armour saves once.
The Medic may also restore lost wounds when in base contact with a wounded model, so long as neither model is locked in combat. When performing first aid the medic foregoes any shooting in order to help to those in need of a band aid and a warm hug.
Models that have been reduced to zero wounds by the enemy can be revived by the medic within three turns of going down. This is done by moving into base contact with the downed model. This may be achieved through a run or charge action, as the medic rushes in to try and stabilize the patient.
If the medic gets there in time the patient will be revived and come back into play the next round with one wound restored. Should the medic be unable to reach the downed model in time it is declared dead and respawns at the nearest checkpoint instead.
A medic may opt to restore own lost wounds instead of shooting, however the medic cannot revive oneself when downed.
A NOTE ON THE MEDIC: Only one veteran is allowed to take the medic perk.
AUTHOR NOTE: The harsh limit is in place to prevent people from all picking this profession and having a possible walk through the park without having to worry too much about dying. It was also a naive attempt at promoting teamwork. However, during the previous running of this scenario it led to the medic being bossed around an awful lot by one player and not having a lot of say as to what to do next turn.
ARMOURY
Spoiler:
Lasgun 24” Salvo 2/4
Laspistol 12" Assault 1
Shotgun 12” Assault 3, Metal Storm
Grenade 8" Assault 1, blast 3", One Use Only
Metal Storm: When firing at targets within 6" or closer the shotgun becomes twin-linked.
Blast and template attacks: Models hit (full on or partially) by the blast or a template are wounded on a 2+ unless specifically noted otherwise.
AUTHOR NOTE: Blasts have deliberately been made this powerful to make the limited amount of grenades the players have at their disposal great crowd clearing tools or for when their luck truly is about to run out good and proper.
Veteran's close combat weapon: To hit rolls of 5+ generate another attack. These extra attacks can in turn generate even more bonus attacks.
AUTHOR NOTE: I looked at several ideas before settling on exploding dice for melee attacks. I personally felt that wading into potentially large mobs of undead with a low armour save should have a massive potential reward in return.
Looter weapons.
Looters may choose one of the following starting weapon choices, replacing the original choices.
Explosive Rounds: Every to-hit roll of 6+ generates two wounds instead of one.
Alien Technology: Roll a D6 before the game begins to see what type of weapon the veteran has.
1-2: Advanced Optics - To-hit rolls of 1 may be rerolled once per shooting phase.
3-4: Lethal Munitions - Every to-hit roll of 6+ generates two wounds instead of one.
5-6: Gyro-stabilized barrel - Range increased to 24".
Ancient Technology: Roll a D6 to determine what type of relic the veteran has.
1-2: Helios pattern laser cutter - Assault 1, Beam
3-4: Jupiter pattern Laslock - Assault 4, Get's Hot!
5-6: Mars pattern galvanic rifle - Assault 2, Explosive Rounds
Upon dying the veteran may re-roll the result of the alien / ancient technology table.
POWER-UPS
Spoiler:
Scattered across the area are strange, glowing, orange orb-like totems with carved faces harkening back to an era predating the Imperium by many millennia (Read: pumpkin heads!). These eerie objects strangely enough contain small caches of experimental medical supplies, left behind by sources best left unknown. Whenever a veteran comes into contact with one of these markers roll a D6 and immediately apply the result:
1-2: +1 to WS or BS (player's choice, this result may only be applied once, if this result is rolled again, no further gains are made)
3-4: +1 Wound
5-6: +1 Attack
No need to be greedy: Did we mention that those medical supplies were highly experimental in their nature? Too much of the stuff could have disastrous results on the human body. If a veteran comes into contact with more than one marker you must immediately roll a D6, on a 1-3 nothing sinister happens, though on a 4+ you must immediately roll another D6 and apply the result, then roll for your buff (if you survive). Should a medic be within 6" you may reroll the result, but the second result, for better or worse, is final.
1: Anomalous Dermal Calcification! Your bones and limbs have become calcified. When making a Run move or performing a Charge, roll an additional D6 and discard the highest dice after rolling. If you roll a double you take a wound as your knees lock up and you fall face first into the ground. Armour saves are allowed as normal.
2: Unstable Cardiac Reaction! Whenever the veteran passes or fails a Leadership test roll a D6, on a 3+ the model suffers a wound with no saves of any kind allowed, due to a weak heart poisoned by greed (and highly unstable combat drugs).
3: Hyper-aggressive Tendencies! Something inside your head snaps, twisting your mind into that of a violent monster that only wants to beat things to death with its fists! The veteran's BS becomes 0, it discards all ranged weapons and its WS becomes 2+. From now on the veteran must move and charge towards the nearest mob of zombies at all times.
4+ EXPLOSIONS?! The drugs do not respond well to your body and react violently. You let out a strange burping sound and explode in a shower of gore and bone fragments. Place a 5" blast template centred over your veteran. All models covered, even those partially, automatically receive D3 wounds.
Dying after using drugs: When a veteran dies, whether or not it has overdosed on the upgrades, it will lose its condition, along with any and all beneficial upgrades it has received beforehand.
ZOMBIES
Spoiler:
The Zombie Plague, also called the Curse of Unbelief, is a deadly viral infection that was spawned by the Forces of Chaos and led to the creation of hordes of infectious, undead zombies that threatened billions of people on many Imperial worlds near the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus. Or so they say.
Plague zombie
WS 5+
W 1
A 1
Unit Composition: see scenario special rules.
Special rules: Fearless, Feel No Pain (5+)
Always Strike Last: In assaults zombies always strike last.
Fear: At the start of each fight phase veterans who are not Fearless and locked in combat with one or more zombies must take a Leadership test before any blows are struck. If the test is passed all is well and there is no effect. If the test is failed, the model succumbs to fear - the veteran has its WS value reduced to 6+ for the remainder of that round.
Shambling gait: Plague zombies always move and assault as if going through difficult terrain. They are incapable of running or performing sweeping advances.
Unrelenting Hunters: If a player model opens fire on a horde or comes within 18” of one, the mob will start hunting down that player model, pursuing it and any other player models they see until they have been slain or the mob has been destroyed.
Horde Mentality: When a zombie mob comes within 6” of another mob it will join up, effectively becoming a single, larger mob.
More bodies, more trouble: When a zombie mob contains 10+ models their WS becomes 4+. When a zombie mob contains 20+ models their WS becomes 3+ and their Feel No Pain roll is increased to 4+.
Fear is the mind-killer: Player models that start their turn within 12" of a group of zombies must pass a Leadership test, if it succeeds the model may act as normal, if it fails it will run towards the closest friendly model. The model is not required to make a Leadership test if there is a friendly model within 6".
If the group of zombies contains more than ten (10) models the Leadership test is taken at -1.
So, what am I looking at getting fixed, tweaked or otherwise changed?
- A more interesting way of presenting the lasgun as a viable option for the players
- A better list of weapon choices available to Looters
- Tweaked or better pool of skills a Guard player can choose from when creating a character
- A more interesting way of presenting the power-ups found ingame, plus a more elegant way of punishing greedy playes for hogging it
- Perhaps a more elegant way of making the zombies a bigger threat, while toning down the amount of rules they have right now, in particular the way a horde would home in on the players
MISSION ONE - CRASH COURSE
Spoiler:
You crash near the walls of the quarantine zone. Regroup at the crash site, head for the walls and find a way in.
Mission Objectives
1. Regroup at the wreckage: The veterans must regroup within 6" of the wreckage of their shuttle. Once all veterans have done that they can set out for the hive city proper.
2. Reach the walls of the city: The veterans must come within 6" of the walls of the quarantine zone.
3. Recover explosives from the armoury: The veterans must reach the nearby Bastion and find one or more demolition charges stashed there. These must then be used to blow a hole into the wall.
4. Get into the zone: Once the wall has been breached all veterans must enter the quarantine zone to move onto the next stage of the mission.
SCENARIO SPECIAL RULES Grav-chute insertion: All players deploy within 12" of the crashed shuttle, then scatter 3D6" from there. On a hit the veteran made an expert landing and does not scatter at all. If the player scatters into terrain (or another player!) the model must make an armour save or suffer a wound. If the veteran scatters off the table the model goes into reserve, arriving the next turn from that table edge on the D6 roll of a 3+.
Escalation: The longer the veterans remain, the more zombies home in on their position, drawn in by the flaming wreckage of their shuttle. At the end of each player turn, before the zombies are moved, more mobs of zombies are created and deployed on the table, if applicable.
Turn 1: 1d6+1 zombies per player currently in play
Turn 3: 1d6+3 zombies per player currently in play
Turn 5: 2d6+1 zombies per player currently in play
Turn 7: 2d6+3 zombies per player currently in play
Turn 9: 3d6+3 zombies per player currently in play
Turn 11: An unending tide of zombies (10D6) starts to move in from the crash site, slowly making their way towards the walls of the hive.
Once the mobs are generated roll a D6 for every mob to see where they will spawn. It may occur that more than one mob spawns at the same location, if so, the mobs will become one entity.
1: The mob will move into play from the corner of the crash site.
2: Bottom table edge (crash site).
3: Right table edge.
4: Left table edge.
5: Top table edge (armoury & city wall).
6: The mob will be added to the cemetery pile until it is triggered or if already triggered, spawn there and head towards the nearest veteran.
Dangerous Terrain: Whenever a veteran enters the swamps or woods roll a D6, on a 4+ a mob of D6+3 zombies claw their way out of the wrecked Rhino or the middle of the terrain feature.
Cemetery: Every turn D6 zombies are spawned at the cemetery. These will not become active until a veteran moves within 6" of the terrain feature. From that point onwards all zombies spawned there will be actively hunting for the veterans.
Pumpkin Heads: Scattered across the table are several pumpkin tokens, these represent medical supplies of a rather dubious origin and quality.
PDF Armoury Stashed at the nearby abandoned PDF armoury is a pile of ammunition and D3 demolition charges.
Demolition Charge 8" Assault 1, blast 5", One Use Only, Death of Glory, Timer
Death or Glory: The demolition charge may be used as a last act of defiance against the odds, a dramatic middle finger to the dark gods. Upon losing his last wound a veteran may opt to detonate the demolition charge, pulling the pin and taking as many of his foes with him in a massive explosion. The 5" blast is centred on the veteran, with no scatter. All models hit by the blast receive D3 wounds with no saves allowed.
Timer: The demolition charge may also be dropped and used as a time-delayed explosive at the start of the movement phase. Before dropping it the veteran using it must declare after how many turns the charge will explode. This is between one and three turns. A counter is then put in base contact with the veteran who dropped it. Upon exploding the demolition charge will not scatter, a large 5" blast will be centred over the counter and all models hit by the blast receive D3 wounds with no saves allowed.
MISSION TWO - SUBURBAN HELL
Spoiler:
Upon finding a way into the quarantine zone you must now venture into the gloomy darkness of a seemingly abandoned township, find and secure the objective, then get the hell out.
1. Find the target
2. Escort the target to the escape vehicle
3. Open the gates and escape
(Optional) Restore power
SCENARIO SPECIAL RULES No Power: Until the power has been switched on again the town is cast in a murky and unnatural darkness that your eyes have difficulty piercing. This renders all visibility beyond a certain range all but impossible. Due to the impenetrable darkness all weapon ranges are reduced to a maximum of 12" until the power can be restored.
Door Kicker: It's all down to a gritty house to house search now, but with each door locked you'll need to force it open with a sturdy boot or combat weapon. A veteran who has moved into base contact with a door may try and force the door open. Roll a D6, if the result is 4+ it will open. Anything less and the door will remain shut. A character armed with a veteran's close combat weapon opens a door on the roll of a 2+. If a veteran manages to force a door to open he may shoot (or run) as normal, but may not assault.
AUTHOR NOTE: we used Infinity MDF buildings to build a town, which all come intact with one or more doors that could also be removed when the house was broken open and searched.
Restore the Power: If inclined to restore the power the veterans must locate a jerry can full of fuel scattered across town and dump it into a nearby emergency power generator. Once inserted the power will be restored, lifting the darkness for D6+3 turns.
Heavy load: Lugging along a full jerry can of fuel is hard work! One model can drag it along at 6" per movement phase. Whilst carrying the fuel does not affect the shooting of a model, it does prevent it from running or charging.
House to House: When a door is kicked in or otherwise opened for the first time you roll a D6:
1: Nothing, the building is empty aside from a pile of ammunition.
2-5: 2D6 zombies and a zombie spawn point.
6: Primary objective
Should the primary objective be found early on all other remaining buildings will automatically become a zombie spawn point with 2D6+3 zombies in them, their doors torn down by the hungry occupants found within.
Hidden ammo dump: One or more of the sealed buildings may be devoid of undead and instead contain a small ammo dump left there by previous defenders. Models that move within 3" of it stuff their pockets with enough ammo that their primary weapon counts as twin-linked for the next turn of shooting. Any spent grenades may also be replenished on a 4+. If this roll is failed the pile no longer contains any extra grenades.
Zombie Spawn Point: A zombie spawn point creates 2D6 zombies every other turn, until either the supply of zombies runs out, or if one of the veterans manages to destroy it by throwing a grenade into the building.
Objective: Hiding in one of the buildings of the township is the primary objective of the operation, the young child daughter of the current planetary governor. The girl is scared witless and does not dare to move on her own, she must be carried. The veteran who moves into base contact with her becomes her caretaker, receiving no penalties to movement, shooting or fighting in assaults. In addition, the veteran will be filled with a certain parental instinct, a grim determination setting in that the child must survive, no matter the odds. Any veteran carrying the child will gain Preferred Enemy (Undead) and may re-roll a single failed armour save every turn.
Favourite toy: Should the team recover the beloved toy of the daughter, a rare commissar Cain doll, they will quickly discover that the toy is not just a cool doll with a cap-firing gun, but that it also contains a powerful protective device designed to keep the young heir safe and sound. The player carrying it benefits from a 3+ invulnerable save.
Barricades: Several streets may be partially or completely sealed off by barricades. These cannot be scaled, destroyed or removed by the veterans in any way shape or form. Zombies however can claw over these, spending two turns to do so.
They're coming: From the end of second turn onwards 2D6 is rolled, the score is added up and written down. This repeated at the start of every zombie turn until the total score of the dice rolls is 50 or higher. Once this score has been reached the entrance point has been compromised by the undead and 5D6 zombies enter the township, slowly making their way through until they reach the veterans.
Escape: Upon securing the objective the veterans must reach the waiting Taurox. Any veteran may enter the vehicle at any time by ending his or her movement phase within 1" of one of the entry points. The first veteran to enter automatically becomes the driver and may drive away on any turn afterwards.
Other stuff?
- Scenario seeds are most welcome, as I can't re-run the scenarios from last year, that would be a cheap shot for the veterans of last year! - Suggestions for achievements.
- Opposition suggestions! Zombies are of course the (rotten) main course of these scenarios, but that shouldn't stop one from tossing in the odd mini boss or the like to spice things up.
) and a general "arcade game" vibe.
