A Brief Interlude

"Its a long trip to the Twin Cities.  Before we decide to go, I want to see if my parents are still alive."  Ella said to the group.  "They have a small farm just east of here."  Choking up a little, she continued.  "Even if the worst has happened, it should make a good place to decide on our plans."
"Fine by me.  I want everyone to see their families again."  Allen said as he guided the SUV around a wreck, clipping a zombie that shambled out.  "Getting off the road to figure out how head west will be easier than trying to do it on the fly."
Following Ella's directions, Allen drove down a few country roads.  The zombies thinned out, and the countryside looked normal.  "Hard to believe its the end of the world."  Dawn said as she looked out the window.  "Everything seems peaceful out here."

The group is going to Ella's family farm.  I randomly determined who would have a chance to have family nearby to check on.  This will figure later when the group discusses where to go.

This is a rural area, the encounter rating is 2, it is afternoon.  Normal zombie spawn rules apply, with them appearing on a 6 from noise.  There are 8 zombies and 3 PEFs.  One PEF is inside the house, with slightly special rules.

The PEF in the house may be an encounter, per normal chances.  If it is an encounter, civilians will be Ellas parent(s), instead of national guard, it will be gangers, and if zombies, Ella must pass zed or no zed for each one encountered in the house.

Starting setup

Approaching the farm

The group entered on a country road, lined with trees.  Two zombies  were in the road past their turn off, so I ignored them for the moment.  Luckily, the group won initiative the first couple of turns, and Allen slowed down and turned into the driveway.  The group shot and dropped a couple of zeds as they drove towards the house.

Running and Gunning

Zombies foolishly stand in the way...

...And get run down.

Pulling into the yard

Allen ran down three zombies, the rotting bodies crunching as they hit the ground.  He turned around in the yard, kicking up gravel and dust that pinged against the nearby shed.  "Got a few!  Should be safe enough to get out now."
Everyone threw open the doors and jumped out, ready to face a threat.  Ella broke from the group, running for the house.  "Mom! Dad! Are you home?"  She yelled as she ran to the front door.

Everyone into action

The welcoming committee

Mark finds nothing

Storming the house

Ella ripped open the front door, to find her parents waiting for her.  "Mom!  Dad!"  She cried, tears streaming from her eyes.  "You're alive!"  She collapsed into their arms, everyone breaking into tears.
"Honey, we were so worried.  With everything falling apart, we feared the worst."  Her mother said, between sobs.  "I'm so glad you are here!"
"We'll clean up out here."  Mark said, hefting his bat.
"Once you are done, come in, we would like to meet our daughters friends..."  Her father yelled as the group moved against the nearby zombies.

Ella's parents meet her at the door

The rest of the team deals with the zombies

Gene triggers the last, empty, PEF

"...so there we were, buildings exploding and zombies everywhere."  Ella finished her story as everyone sat around the family dinner table.  "It was a miracle we survived that day!"
The smell of fresh bread mixed with the coffee and fried chicken in the house.  It had been weeks since any of the group had eaten so well.  "Thanks again for feeding us!"  Mark enthusiastically said as he finished a portion of chicken.  "I never thought I would get to eat fried chicken again."
"Well, fresh chicken is one advantage we have here on the farm."  Ella's father replied.  "If you decide to stay..."

So the scenario to get to the farm was pretty quick, and pretty much a walk in the park.  Now the group has to decide what to do.  I have divided the group into three groups.  First is Allen, who wants to hit the road.  Second is Ella, and her parents, who want to stay.  The remainder of the group is undecided.

What I decided to do is have a basic initiative roll, Allen and Ella each roll a d6, highest goes first.  Each turn, they could try and influence or oppose the other side's influence.  Each would roll versus People skill (figured it was a good use for it.)  Mark, Allen, Ella and her parents would have 2 successes to start off, meaning to change their stance to just undecided, it would take three successes.

Once everyone was out of the undecided category, there will only be d6 turns to try and influence people.

Discussions begin

Ella grabs Gene

After a couple of rounds, Allen manages to get Mark

Dawn decides to go

Horace decides to stay

 I rolled for three turns remaining to influence each side.  Allen managed to win initiative for two rounds.

Horace moves back to undecided

And then decides to go

There were a few times where each side cancelled out the others.  I tried a couple of times for each to influence to other (Ella vs Allen, etc.)  This didn't work very well.  Overall, I liked the interaction to make the decision, not just a single roll (like keeping it together) for such a major campaign decision.

Ella and Gene are going to stay at the farm.  They can help make it more defensible, and in a worst case scenario, it may make for a safe haven to the traveling group to get to.  The group will part on good terms, and the travelers will have a couple of days to get supplies and plan a route.