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Saturday 17 March 2012

Bring the Boys Home: Episode One - Take Back - ATZ, Bat Rep.

Prologue
A number of officers have attended at the entrance to 'Purgatory', the Moor City Shanty running along Donkey Drive, and have had a pretty torrid time of it. Two officers, Dave Briggs & Bob Louise, were sent to investigate a domestic dispute at Arch Wright's store. Constables Jack Regan and George Carter along with  Special Agents Hamilton Square & Conway Park backed them up. They saved the Wright children but their colleagues fell. Sergeant Connor Ski and Constables Terry Moffat and Christopher Dean have been sent to 'bring the boys home.'

Aim
To play in the open. To get the feel for 'Purgatory' for future games and to try out PEF rules.
Convention on dice rolls zeds first: characters second: others third.


The Recovery Team

Map of Gaming Area
 Turn One (5-1)

The three PEFs 2 (reps 3 & ) in zone 1, 1 (Rep 2) zone 6.

Sergeant Connor Ski ordered his driver, Constable Terry Moffat, to pull up by St.Anne Field, prior to the Wright's place. On the instructions of the Force's senior sergeant he'd taken an ambulance as opposed to a police vehicle. Born Kimnel Konorski somewhere in western Russia he had punched and fought his way through war torn Europe arriving in Liverpool at the age of 16. Securing his passage to the new world he was re-baptised Connor Ski by an Irish American clerk on Ellis Island unable to get a grip on his birth name. Now a sergeant in Moor City PD he found himself recovering the bodies of two of his new family in Donkey Drive.

"Sarge, what do you reckon to Jack's story? I mean the living dead," asked Terry Moffat a rookie with less then six months on the job.

"He's a good man Moffat. Pay attention to what he says. Jack's no fool," replied Ski, squatting by the corner of St Anne Field, surveying the road between the bush and the store. He checked over his shoulder to ensure that Constable Dean had brought the shotgun.

"Load up boys," ordered the sergeant.


PEF resolved & one down

Free move, 6d6 rolled for noise no zeds.

Turn 2 (6-1)



'Orders'


"What the?" gasped Dean pointing along the turnpike.

"My God," hissed Ski as two figures emerged from the scrub lined road.

Tattered, blood soaked clothing and pale grey skin marked the bodies 'different'. The two creatures roared in unison and charged the trio.

Connor recovered first and snap fired, one of the beasts flew backwards as one of the .38 rounds ripped the top of it's skull off.

One of the PEFs moved into sight and was resolved into 2 zeds (could have been allot worse to start with). Passing 'in sight' 1d6 the zombies charged. Connor being the only one to react; hit one missed the other.

Turn 3 (5-1)

Gnashing pointed teeth was all saw as the beast lurched across the closing gap. Connor fired again, downing the beast.

"Bloody hell, sarge."

Sergeant Ski did not reply as he scanned the space between his team and the house. Years of keeping alive began to pay dividends. Use the bush on the far side of the road to protect your back, giving you a good field of fire down Donkey Drive. To the abandoned Penitentiary vehicle and then the store. Dean would follow with the artillery, protecting both him and Moffat. Moffat takes up the rear,keeping him near the vehicle and out of the way.  Easy when you know how. But with no time for a course in 'field-craft' Ski snapped his orders to the other two. 

Fairly straight forward dice rolling here. One zed created in the car park.

Turn 4 (4-1)

"Move out!" barked Ski as he bolted across the turnpike, sidestepping along the scrub, Donkey Drive always in sight.

Dean followed, taking up position opposite the entrance to the fields.

"Chris, three-o-clock!" Connor yelled at his shotgun-man pointing down the Drive.

Chris Dean snapped off three rounds seeing them all go wide.

The zed shrugged off those pellets that pulled at his clothing, turned and shuffled towards the shooter.


"Move Out" A zed heads towards Dean.



Turn 5 (6-3)

Connor shouts out, "MOVE!" and jogs into the lea of the Penitentiary vehicle. Chris Dean takes his place. Terry pushes his way through the underbrush towards the unseen dead.

Seeing the danger Chris looses three rounds at the slavering zed awaiting his young colleague. The zed disappears in a shower of black gore.

Terry drops as the detritus splatters him, for the second time that day Constable Moffat saw his breakfast. 

One zed created zone 9 & one at 6.



Turn 6 (2-5)

Connor slipped to the side of the car and checked inside. Seeing the keys hanging from the ignition he breathed a sigh of relief.

A crushing came from Chris' left. He spun on the balls of his feet bringing his shotgun to the ready as a brace of pigeons break from the cover of a roadside hedge.

Moffat, already spooked, crept through the remains of the zed, a snapping twig brought his attention down Donkey Drive, he stared down an empty road into the shanty.

A no move for the cops, but the zeds move as did the PEFs. Both came to fruition this move but led to nothing.

Turn 7 (6-6) (1-3)

Connor checked his twelve and crossed to Wright's. Moffat pushed on to the edge of the bushes covering the Drive. Officer Dean cocked his shotgun and walked down the centre of  Donkey Drive.

"Who the hell do you think you are Dean? Wyatt Bloody Earp!" yelled Ski as he dodged into the side door of Wright's.

Dean froze and his mouth dropped, he shot a glance at Moffat only to see the blood drain from his face. As if by some kind of necromancy a trio of the undead morphed into being before their eyes.

Doubles created a PEF which appeared in zone 5, resolved to three zombies.

Turn 8 (5-6)

"Holy Mary, mother of God," prayed the devout Moffat, as the creatures bayed a if torn from the warmth of hell and dumped into Purgatory.

Dean's mouth dried and he spat to clear it.

Connor Ski cast an eye about the carnal house that was once Archie and Becky Wright's living room. The remains of the two MCPD only recognisable by their shredded uniform.

"SARGE!" Terry's voice echoed from without.

No move for either side.

Turn 9 ( 6-6) (3-4)

Moffat's cry activated Ski and he burst from the store and into a gunfight. Chris Dean fired and kept on firing hitting zombies as if they were Aunt Sallies at the County fair.

Terry Moffat tried to follow his colleagues example but his shots all went wild and the remaining only standing zed lunged across the Drive at him. Terry braced himself as the creature crashed into his chest knocking them both to the ground. Ramming his left arm under the snapping teeth he kept death from claiming him. Turning the beast Terry found himself on top of the creature. He hammered the butt of his revolver onto the skull of the grey paloured beast. It's forehead burst showering his already blood stained face with a second coating. Terry didn't stop 'til his assailant head was a mush.

Sgt. Ski enters a gunfight

Little Mo had run the beer market in Purgatory since it formed and a day of shooting, albeit not that unusual, required his attention. Leaving his 'Sportsmans' Canteen', with two of his most trusted Lieutenants, Little Mo took an afternoon stroll up Donkey Drive.

Little Mo enters the fray


The doubles create another PEF. Coming in zone 6 it is instantly resolved, again, & three gangers are created. CD does well and all his shots hit with varying results, killing one and knocking down another. TM misses his shots and is charged and forced to melee: 3-6,3,1: 5-3,1. Zeds created all over the place.

Epilouge

The team are holding their own with no serious threats to life, save for TM's melee. As U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas said in 1896 when he dealt with the Doolin Gang, "we got the shotgun to work and the fight was over." But can they survive? A group of gangers to deal with and they don't seem to be getting a break from 'shooting' created zombies. PEFs are proving more difficult then first envisaged.

Aftermath

I struggled with the rules over this one, I had a mental aberration over activation and I found the creation of PEFs awkward, Why? I know not, a bit too cocky methinks. As a result my note taking was poor as was the photo story. Playing, by far, is the best way to get a grip of them but the game didn't flow, therefore the story is not as fluid. I have played this game to a conclusion in one sitting and 'Episode 2' will follow presently.

9 comments:

  1. Good write up, roll on part two.

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  2. Exciting times, Irqan. By the way, in turn 7 when you rolled double 6, the new PEF should appear in sector 6. The number you roll for the doubles indicates where the new PEF will appear. If that sector is occupied by PCs then the PEF is a false alarm and does not appear. Other than that one minor error, you seem to have handled the rules well.

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  3. That was another very nice batrep. After my recent cakewalk, yours was more of a bloodbath and very exciting. The new scenery looks great, too. I'm looking forward to part II.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks mate. Part two certainly isn't that gory. I'm not sure whether to role for nosie zombies, or just rely on PEFs. I'll revisit the rules.

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  4. Very cool. Playing is always the best way to get a handle on the rules and the more you play the easier and more fun it becomes.

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  5. Apologies for only just reading this post. Great Batrep dude. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in a few more games. I've been reading my NMRIH rulebook this week and feeling lost lol. I need to get some zeds painted so I can get some game in.

    Keep it up. I'm off to read part 2

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  6. Great Batrep, thanks for sharing! Now I'm going to read part 2...

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