Mojo rising

It has been a while since I last made a post. It has hard to believe that it has been months.

 I had been in a bit of a slump during this time, and one I have just been able to shake.

So, what does this mean?

It means I have started work on the Japanese zombies again and, fingers crossed, I might have them finished this week.

 Once that has been done, I can start work on the maps and then get the PBB game up and running.

 I just hope the players are still interested...

PBB3 - starting notes

The actual game will be a good number of weeks off, but I thought I would post some details as a teaser, and see how many potential players change their minds about playing once they see the setting.

 Those players that are members of "the Board of the Living Lead" could probably guess what the setting will be, as there was a bit of talk concerning what I have in mind just after Christmas.

So, to put you all out of your misery, the game is a WW2 Pacific theatre theme.

The players will take on the role of an Australian infantry section some where in the Pacific.

 This was the reason why there is only enough positions for ten players - an infantry section has ten men.

 As the players will be controlling soldiers, one player needs to take the role of the Corporal, and another that of the Lance Corporal.

 I am hoping some players will step up for these roles, but if they don't I will 'stab' two volunteers to do the job... and I have two in mind already.  Should, in the unlikely event, a number of volunteers come forth, I will 'stab' those I have in mind to get rid of any arguments.

To make it fair as to who gets what soldier I will randomly allocate the figures to players when the time comes, with the exception of the NCOs.

Now that you know who/what the players will be controlling, it should be easy to deduce what the zombies will be.

 I have just received some of Company B's Japanese zombies and they will play the part of the enemy for the game.

 The game wont begin until I have painted the zombies and created the map, and given the way I am painting at the moment it will most likely be at least a month before the game can start.

So - of those that nominated to play the game now have the chance to pull out if they find the setting not to their liking.  Any takers to sit out this game?

The people that expressed an interest in playing were:

Lord Siwoc
Mathyoo
Sean
Clint
Shintokamikaze (appropriate name given the circumstances)
Brummie
Irqan
Vampifan
Dan
Dave VanDam


For those that want to play; you need to come up with a name for your soldier.

 I will award victory points for those coming up with good Aussie names; but I will have a penalty for those going over the top when naming.  So those wanting to be known as Croc. Dundee or S. Irwin etc will most likely be eaten early in the game.
 Pick a name that is nothing close to Australian and, you guessed it, 'nom nom nom'.

(Hint - google can be your friend with the right search parameters)

As for the rules - I will be using a modified version of the Bolt Action rules which are very simply to play. Don't worry if you don't have the rules as you only need to give orders and I do all the rest of the work.

And in case any of you were wondering what Japanese zombies would say when trying to eat your tasty brains, well I have a good source that tells me it would be:

"Nō miso" or "Nō misoooooooooooo".  And no, this doesn't mean they are complaining they don't have soup.

I will do a review of the Company B zombies once I have painted a few of them up.

So, clean your weapons and sharpen bayonets lads.

The sooner I have yes or no answers for the game, the sooner I can post some background fluff for the game.

2013 and PPB 3

Well, an other year, an other zombie.

 Happy New Year to my followers, and I hope to be a bit more active on all of my blogs this year.

And part of the new year is the planning for my third Play By Blog game.

This year it will be something different.

 There will be ten spots for players in this game, so if you are interested please let me know by posting your interest in the comments below.

 I will give priority to those that have played in previous games, but those players should be aware this is a game that wont include your characters from the earlier games. (Don't worry -they will be back).

 And it will be a case of first in best dressed for positions in the game.

Also, like the other games, this is only open to followers of my blog.

 If I can't get ten players, I will ask some of those playing to control extra characters.

Players will be allocated characters by random, but if anyone is interested in playing a leader type, please let me know so I can assign figures accordingly.

 Should no one put their hand up to be the leader I will push it upon players that have shown some leadership in previous games.

  And, unlike previous games, I wont pull punches - play smart or get bitten.

 This game will be totally different to what we have played before, and hopefully a lot of fun. (Well, at least one of us will have fun regardless of how many get eaten).

Any one interested?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the followers of my zombie blog.  I hope you and your family have a great one and every one is safe from floods, snow storms or heat waves (depending on where you are in the world).

PBB2 After Action Review

Well, this brings and end to the second play by blog game.

 There will be another game, but not until 2013. Due to the time it takes to play I think one game a year is enough. Having said that, I am contemplating a smaller non zombie game to go on my other blog.

Who won the game? 

 Seeing as every character survived, every one won. Some might feel that it was a hollow victory though, as they didn't get to waste a lot of zombies or they are hiding upstairs, cut off from the others.

 Dan/"Robert" is the clear winner in my eyes for he played the game according to the mission briefing.

 Everyone else broke in to smaller teams to explore the neighbourhood or 'pop' some zombies. It wasn't until there were a lot of zombies appearing that a bit more of a focus on the actual mission parameters occurred.

 This did make it very entertaining though.


The turns from my point of view

 Fixing the maps so that I could move items around easily was a good move... loosing the map on my hard drive at the end was not a good move.

 It was just a pity that I didn't learn how to make the maps this way earlier on.

 At least I know what to do for the next game's map, and next time I will include objects that can be moved as well, such as chairs and sofas.


Future Games

Rules

 The next game will be played using a different set of rules.  They will be much simpler to use and rather generic in places so that they easier to play. More on that at a much later date.

Game Length

 The next game will only go for a certain number of turns. This will mean players will need to focus on the game objectives, and the game wont last for half a year.  Maybe no more than 10 turns for a game seems about right.

 Allowing for real life to get in the way of the game this would mean that a game might take more than 10 weeks to play.

*           *        *          *


I will probably think of some other points for this AAR, but this covers the basics for the moment.

Players are encouraged to add comments or suggestions about this game and others to come.

PBB Turn 17 results

I am unable to post a map for this turn as I can't find the master map that I made. I need the master map as I can move objects around the map rather create a new map each time.

The zombies rolled badly for initiative meaning every one on the ground floor was able to make it to the hatch, or next to the hatch, safely.

Therefor these players are safe from the zombies.

 Vonnie finishes her movement at the bottom of the stairs. She will need one more turn to get to the hatch, and this means risking running the gauntlet through the zombies to reach the hatch, or go back up stairs and hide away in a room until rescued.

If the zombies win the next initiative it will be very nasty... nom nom nom...

If she goes for the hatch there is a jolly good chance they zombies will grab her... nom nom nom...


Going back upstairs is the safest bet for immediate survival.

PBB2 - Turn 16 results

The zombie hoard moves forward, the chance to eat fresh brains urging them on.

Blink looses his nerve and backs away as they approach.

Misty fires a  burst at the on coming zombies and darts off into the kitchen.

Karen, who is very composed takes down four of the undead, giving them a small bit of breathing space.

As Lorenzo re-enforces the window at the bottom of the stairs he is joined by Grom coming down from the upper floor.

In the kitchen Robert climbs down the ladder in to what ever room is below the house.

Upstairs, Vonnie does a quick search of the room she is in before heading out of the room in to the corridor.

Game Notes

 The zombies won the initiative by one point, allowing them to move in on Blink and Misty.

Both were allowed to snap fire at the zombies before makeing GUTS check as the hoard closed in on them.

 Both of them missed killing off any of the zombies, and Blink actually failed his check, meaning he backed into the wall and is suppressed (must pass another GUTS check before taking any action).

 Misty was able to withdraw, so I more or less made her turn as per ordered.

Karen did a lot of damage - for some reason I kept rolling '3' for her wound chances on the zombies.

Robert is safe for the remainder of the game, and unless he wants to come out of the room he is now in, there is no need for Dan to give him any further orders.

Do the rest of the players want to continue for three more turns, or continue until all are dead or are safe in the underground room?

Basically everyone except Vonnie can make it into the underground room in the next turn, while Vonnie would need two or three turns to make it should Clint want to see her safe.

This is of course if the zombies don't win the initiative again.

PBB2 - turn 15 results

The zombies lunge at Karen, the small hoard seemingly flowing into the house.

 Karen backs away from the hoard in a controlled panic and fires into the mass of undead, taking two of them down.

 Blink and Misty add their own shots to the hoard and take a further three zombies out.

 Lorenzo rushes out of the room he was in and heads for the stairs. Reaching the stairs he notices a group of zombies gathering outside the window on the north side of the house.

In the kitchen Robert looks down the hatch he has just opened. He sees the rungs of a metal step ladder built into the face of the hole going down. Lighting, like that of emergency back up lights.

 No noise rises from the hole, suggesting it might be empty...

Upstairs Vonda begins to barricade the room she is in.

Grom manages to break open the last door and enters. Relieved to find there are no zombies in the room, Grom notices a number of boxes with the bio hazard symbol on them.

Game notes

 The zombies won the initiative and would have ripped Karen apart if it wasn't for the fact she passed your GUTS check (just passed) and I was able to employ the "Stumbling retreat" rule to move her to safety.

 It will be very interesting next turn, as it could end in a very messy way if a) the zombies win the initiative again, and the orders the players give aren't in their own best interests.

 As mentioned the previous turn, only one player is in a position to save themselves and possibly the group........

My apologies for the length in time between turns - things should be a lot calmer in my part of the world until early December, so I hope to get turn results a lot sooner.

 This turn did its best to prevent me from finishing it.  I couldn't find my map images for ages, and when I did find them my online image host decided to have a hissy fit.

Plants vs Zombies Gangnam Style

 Having seen it I had to inflict it on others...

PBB2 - turn 14 results

Misty rushes from the kitchen in to the main living room and hastily raisers her SMG and fires a burst in to the zombie in the door way. Unfortunately the burst has no effect on the undead.

Karen enters the living room, takes up position and blows the head off the zombie that Misty had fired upon.

Dropping to one knee, blink steadies his SMG and fires in to the mass of zombies he sees at the door. He manages to take out the zombie next in line to enter the house.

Robert kicks and kicks and kicks at the door and with a crash the door swings open revealing something unexpected.  The cupboard is empty. Empty that is unless you count the hatch in the floor that must go down to somewhere...

Lorenzo begins to look really worried, looking from window to window to door and back to window again. Hefting his machete in his hand as if to reassure himself he keeps watch in his room to make sure no zombies break in.

Vonda manages to bust the door open, and cautiously entering she sees a dead body slumped over a desk.

 Not hearing any need for assistance from Vonda, Grom heads to the third door on the first floor and prepares to open it.

Game Notes

I rolled high for the zombie initiative, but the survivors were able to pluck the initiative away with their good dice rolls.

Things are very interesting right now... will the zombies eat brains for dinner? What is the hatch in the floor all about? Who or what has been killing the people upstairs?

 Given a few things that could happen with orders this turn, I am prepared to allow players to change orders based on what orders Dan gives Robert this turn. Assuming they give orders before Dan does that is...