Victorian Zombie campaign Journal Game 4

 Scenario 4 – The Library

Compiled by Alan, of Tring Wargames Club 

When searching a ruined section of the town, a basement library is found.

Set-up

An underground maze is entered by 4 stairways, located in each corner of the 3’x3’ table. The terrain used for this scenario came in part from Alan’s D&D collection of dungeon scenery. A lot of the bookcases used were scratch-built by Henry specifically for this scenario.

Players deploy in the usual way and activate in the usual way. Players each place two caches of supplies in the usual manner.

Card Choice

Survivor	Zombie	Tank zombie	Zombie Horde	The Round ends.	Zombie Rising	Random Occurrence Card
4	4	0	0	1	1	0

 

Spawning Points

The Players each place a spawning point in the usual manner as supplies etc.

Special rules

Figures may only leave the table by the stairway it entered by, or a stairway not used by any other group to enter.

Since we had a few concealed doorways among the scenery, we elected to make a rule for opening a concealed doorway. It took no additional action to locate a concealed doorway, but the first time one is opened, roll 1D6 for what is on the other side – 1,2 nothing; 3,4 a supply token and a Zombie; 5,6, a Zombie.

Concealed doors can be opened from either side, and remain open as long as a figure is touching the base, then close. Zombies cannot open concealed doors, although they can keep one open and/or  pass through an open one.

Victory points

A supply token when recovered is worth 1 point to the player. Each Zombie killed is worth 1 point to the player. To obtain the points the character earning them needs to survive the game.

 

The Adventure

The game began with the deployment of items of interest (supply caches), according to the campaign rules, and then with deployment of the Zombie Spawning Points according to the scenario rules.

The Society of Africa team added a new character (Bill “Scoop” Harrison, a reporter for the Daily Wail), and each team also beefed up their skills and weapons to the extent allowed.  Martin decided not to deploy Sgt Calahan, who had been wounded in the previous scenario, with his Bow St Runners; Sgt Carter would use his shotgun instead.

Henry opted for the Southwest corner of the board as a deployment point; Alan took the Southeast corner, while Martin chose the Northeast corner.

Henry won scenario 3, so he had the Initiative for the first move. On subsequent turns, we diced for the Initiative, and then proceeded clockwise around the table from the high roller.

 

Fig 1: The terrain looking North-west

As in the last scenario, the Zombies immediately got two moves in a row, but this time, with no Zombies on the table yet, this had no effect.

The Butcher St Boys got off to a quick start this time, and Basher grabbed the nearest supply cache. This produced a Zombie as well, which was promptly killed by the Detective.

 

Fig 2 - The Butcher St Boys are quickly in action

The Bow St Runners moved too, and Dr Watson picked up a supply cache, triggering another Zombie, which was promptly shot and killed by Insp. Gadget.

The Society of Africa had split into two sub-teams again, and Lord Dunce was able to reach a concealed door. Upon opening it, his sub-team moved through, and Fred picked up the cache concealed behind it; this time nothing haoppened.

 

Fig 3 - The Society members find a concealed door

Meanwhile the other sub-team also reached a supply cache, and Rose went to pick it up, triggering yet another Zombie appearance.  The Society’s new character, “Scoop”, charged the Zombie but lost the struggle. Fortunately for him, the Zombie was only able to sink its teeth into his trench-coat.

 

Fig 4 - Rose and Scoop struggle with a Zombie

Scoop eventually killed the Zombie, and Rose and George retreated, carrying the supply cache with them, while Kate and Scoop rejoined the remainder of their team.

The Butcher St Boys picked up two more supply caches, which both triggered Zombie appearances. One was  killed by Purdy with his shotgun,  but another Zombie grabbed Dapper Dan, who managed to get the better of it in the ensuing melee. However, the gunfire had served to attract more Zombies, and suddenly the tables turned on all three teams as the odds against them began to mount.

Dr Watson of the Bow St Runners  was attacked by two Zombies while struggling to carry off the supply caches his team had found to date.  In an effort to defend him, Sgt Carter missed one Zombie  with his shotgun, while Insp. Gadget fired his pistol at the second one and also missed.

The Doctor was eventually able to wrestle free of the Zombies and beat a hasty retreat, but he dropped one of the supply caches in doing so.

  

Fig 5 - Dr Watson is attacked by two Zombies

Meanwhile, for the Society, George located a concealed door near an archway, and found a supply cache and a Zombie on the far side. More Zombies were approaching through the archway, and in an effort to defend George, the Rev. Green and Lord Dunce attacked two Zombies and killed them, but Angus Hudson the butler was killed by a third one.

 

Fig 6 - The Society confronts Zombies in an archway

The Zombies then had an opportunity to restock the spawning points, which made the situation significantly worse for all three human players.

Two of the Bow St Runners, Dr Watson and PC McGarry 452, had become separated from the rest of their team by a number of Zombies, and were forced to try and fight their way out. As a doctor, Watson lacked any fighting skills, and he could only parry the Zombie’s attempts to bite him, but PC McGarry 452 was successful in despatching one of the Zombies facing them.

 

Fig 7 - Dr Watson and PC McGarry 452 isolated by Zombies

Meanwhile the number of Zombies now facing the Society of Africa had grown alarmingly, and faced with the threat of being flanked through the archway, the team was forced to retreat. However, George was  unable to wrestle free of the Zombie he was fighting, and found himself trapped on the wrong side of the concealed door, with a corridor-full of Zombies.

 

Fig 8 - George is trapped in a corridor full of Zombies

At this point, the Zombies replenished their spawning points again, and the situation for the Bow St Runners and the Society of Africa became really dire. Meanwhile, the Butcher St Boys saw the writing on the wall and decided that discretion was the better part of valour, so they began to fall back, shooting two Zombies who threatened  to get too close.

 

Fig 9 - The Butcher St Boys beat a retreat with their loot

For the Runners, the Doctor was barely hanging on in his grappling with the Zombies, though PC McGarry 452 had some luck and managed to finish off another one.   The rest of the Runners team were trying to fight their way through to the colleagues, but the Zombies were simply multiplying faster than they could be killed.

 

Fig 10 - The Bow St Runners try to get through to their colleagues

The Society was desperately trying to save their isolated character too. Outnumbered in melee, George was  unable to use his shotgun, and though he was able to hold his own, the odds against him were not improving. Lord Dunce killed one Zombie as it came through the archway at the rest of the team, but they simply could not get to George.

Meanwhile though, in response to desperate calls from the rest of the Society team, Fred has handed his supply cache to Rose, and run back to rejoin his other team-mates, in the hope that his Petrol Bombs may yet save the day.

 

Fig 11 - Fred comes running to rescue his team

On the next Human move, the Butcher St Boys continued their retreat.

For the Bow St Runners, the Doctor finally wrestled free from the Zombie he had been strugging with, and retreated his 3” move, which took him off the table with the two supply caches he was carrying. Their team missed with all their firearms, but PC Plod was able to kill another Zombie with his cutlass.

The Zombies got a move, which enabled them to attack the Runner’s Insp. Gadget, who was hit, but luckily the damage was absorbed by his thick coat.

 

Fig 12 - Some of the Bow St Runners in a desperate fight

George, of the Society, was not so lucky. He had continued to fight desperately, but alone and outnumbered, his fate was really only a matter of time. Suddenly he was wounded by one of the Zombies, although his wound was not Infected.

On the next Human move, the Butcher St Boys once again continued their retreat, but their hopes of scoring additional points by finisheing off some Zombies with long-rangegunfire came to naught.

Sgt Carter, who was grabbed by a Zombie as he tried to move away, falied to wrestle free, but he did kill the Zombie in the ensuing tussle.

George tried one last time to wrestle free of the Zombies attacking him, but he was wounded again, and this time it proved fatal.  In revenge, Fred managed to lob a Petrol Bomb through the archway, immolating two Zombies.

The Zombies restocked, and then immediately got a move. Three of them caught Insp. Gadget, of the Bow St Runners. He managed to kill one, but was wounded in the fight.

 

Fig 13 - Insp. Gadget is wounded as he and his men retreat

The Butcher St Boys left the table, meaning that play will end at the next “End of Turn” card.

The Society of Africa decided to fall back, but Fred had decided that he “loves the smell of burning Zombies in the morning”, and despatched four more of them with a second Petrol Bomb. Coincidentally, this opened a possible escape route for the Bow St Runners.

Insp. Gadget of the Bow St Runners wrestled free of the Zombies still holding on to him, and PC McGarry 452 was able to kill one. Sgt Carter fired at a Zombie and missed.  PC Dibble lost his melee with yet another Zombie, and was killed.

That ended the turn, and hence the scenario.

Tallying the Adventure

Under the campaign rules, Victory Points were awarded for gathering supply caches (1 point) and killing Zombies (1 point each).

Martin’s Bow St Runners had retrieved 2 supply cache, and killed 5 Zombies – worth a total of 8 points.

His PC Dibble failed his saving throw, and is therefore out of the campaign; Dibble’s points for Zombie kills are therefore lost. Insp. Gadget wound has failed to heal, and he will commence the next scenario with 1 wound.

Henry’s  Butcher St Boys had retrieved 4 supply caches, and killed 7 Zombies – worth a total of 11 points.

Alan’s Society of Africa had retrieved 2 supply caches, and killed 10 Zombies – worth a total of 12 points.

However, both George and Angus Hudson failed their saving throws, and they are therefore out of the campaign; their points for Zombie kills are therefore lost. To add insult to injury, the team’s shotgun was lost with George, and will cost 3 points to replace.

The Society of Africa was awarded victory in this scenario.

It was universally agreed that this scenario was by far the most enjoyable game so far. The new Zombie movement rules seemed to work well,  and the Humans now have to work very hard to keep the Zombies down to manageable numbers. Two teams came close to being trapped in this scenario, and both paid for the mistake with team members killed.

 

Note:  A Point About “Petrol Bombs”

Although this description has used the term “petrol bomb”, and we do envisage a Molotov cocktail type of device, we recognise that “petrol” in the modern sense would not have been in widespread use or supply in Victorian London.

The device is therefore far more likely to actually use “whale oil” or “coal oil” as the inflammable ingredient. However, we will continue to use the term “petrol bomb” in our descriptions, as that will be more familiar to a modern reader.