Home Invasion

"...So I just wandered for the last day or so after I left the pro shop.  It sucked I was at work when this all started, but at least I got Big Bertha here, which has been handy in dealing with these things."  Ella said as she finished a can of soda.  "I love that I'll be able to get a shower and get cleaned up.  That, and not having to worry about being eaten at any moment."  She smiled at the group.  "Thanks for letting me stay!"
"Glad you were in the neighborhood.  We'll need to stick together to get through this."  Allen replied.  "The fact is that none of us know what's really happening out there.  Together we can watch each others backs and survive."

In the last scenario, the group added Ella, she had been masquerading as a zombie to survive.  She is Rep 4, armed with a pistol and an improvised melee weapon (in this case, a golf club) and has the Agile attribute.  The figure is a Wargames Factory Survivors: The Women build.

Ella, ready for a long drive!

Over the last few days, the group "borrowed" from (okay, looted) the next door house, as well as traded a bit with the other two families in the neighborhood.  This allows them to partially furnish the house they are in, helping make it a bit more livable.  They have added a radio and TV, as well as some chairs, a table and some beds.  Next door has an active wi-fi connection, so they get some internet access.  They have also grabbed some clothes, soap and other sundries.

The group has been watching the local news and what international news they can find.  What they get is a confusing picture of contradictions and seemingly draconian measures.  There are dusk to dawn curfews, reports of looters, shootings, and general chaos.  As a whole, they could see the world spiraling out of control, but they were relatively safe where they were.

Dawn was up late, she had been for days now.  Sitting in the front room watching the night slide by silently, she could deal with the horrors.  She desperately missed Cindy.  From the start, Cindy had saved Dawn - pulled her from the traffic jam, and staying together until they met Mark and the rest.  Dawn was happy she was with them, but she missed her home, and just wanted things back to normal.
Headlights played across the front of the house, shutting off as three cars rolled down the street.  Two sports cars and a pickup truck drove to the corner, parking in front of the Richardson house, at 1216 Woodstock Lane.  Dawn's eyes flew wide when she saw the armed men and women gathering by the cars.  Judging by the gestures, they were going to go into the Richardson house.
"We've gotta help them!"  Dawn thought and ran to get everyone awake.

This scenario is 8 gangers attacking a random house at night.  The streetlights are working, but otherwise everyone has a 6" vision limit.  I rolled a d10, with the various homes being 1-6, and the group's home being 7-10.  I rolled a 5, and got the house at 1216 Woodstock.  There will be no zombies to start, but 3 PEF's.  Instead of the normal encounters for PEFs, these will be 1-4:d6 zombies, 5-6: d3 gangers.  They still have to pass 2d vs the encounter rating, just like a normal PEF.
Police response will be 1/2d+1d6 turns, plus a 50% chance they don't show at all.  I will roll for the chance on the turn they are supposed to arrive.  It would take the group d6 turns to be ready.  I rolled a 2, which got them into action pretty quick.  The neighbor's at least locked their front door, so that should buy some extra time before things get too bad...

The gang gets ready to attack

The gang is armed as the figures appear (mostly BAP, pistols and a shotgun) plus one figure has a chainsaw.  They are lead by a rep 5 (born leader) armed with a BAP and wearing body armor, four are rep 4, the remainder are rep 3.  The gang has left the city, and are looking for 'supplies' as well as a new place to live.

Move in!

A loud crash woke up the Richardson family.  One of the front windows crashed in as a large rock flew through it.  They could hear hammering on the front door, then the guttural roar of a chainsaw split the night.  Donald grabbed his pistol and stood at the top of the stairs, shaken, but ready to fire.  His daughter shrieked upstairs as she looked outside.  "There's a bunch of them!  They have guns!"
The door crashed in, and the chainsaw shut off.  "Don't come in here"  Donald shouted.  "I'll shoot!"
"So will we!"  Big Money shouted back.  "Just walk on out and we'll let ya leave!" 
Jackson laughed "Yeah!  Just come on out!"  They set aside the chainsaw, and got ready to head in.

Luckily its nothing

Donald failed his citizen brown pants roll, and retreated upstairs with his family.  The two gangers entered the house, but did hesitate before going very far.  Mark and the group ran out the back of their house, and circled around the block.  They uncovered one of the PEFs (which turned out to be nothing) and formed up a firing line in the dark.

The truck was just inside the streetlight glow

Allen failed his brown pants roll when he saw the gangers.  With the screams and crying echoing from the Richardson house, it wasn't a hard decision for the rest of the group to choose to open fire on the gang.  They had a great opening round.  The first ganger went out of the fight right away, the other two were obviously dead.

Just like a shooting gallery

The gang reacted by trying to move towards the shooting.  Mark's group was in the dark, but could see anyone moving through the streetlights before they could see the group.  That did pose a problem as the gang moved up - how do you handle the check?  Is it when they first come into sight by the one side, or when they complete their move, and both sides are in sight?  I went ahead and moved the gangers and then did the in sight test - besides, it all depends on which figures move first anyway, and it just makes sense from the way I read the rules.

Ella fails her brown pants roll to start the next round of in sight tests.  Man, that rule gets annoying.

Standoff in the dark

Neither side could shoot very well.  The gangers fast moved to get into firing position, and that threw off their aim (as well as Mark and Dawn).  Two of the gangers failed the received fire test, hiding next to the house.  Mark's group won initiative, and he started by shooting down the last ganger in the open.  It was the leader, and even though he had body armor, Mark's shot dropped him dead.  Dawn and Mark moved back to Allen and Ella as the other gangers finally moved up.

Moving back in the dark

Allen was having a hard time recovering from his duck back, and the gang had a round where the group didn't activate.  They moved forwards to cover, but couldn't see the group to fire.  Eventually, Mark's group recovered and moved back around to the main street.  The police should have arrived, but didn't appear, which meant they wouldn't.

Sneaking through the backyard

Wait until they come back!

Mark stood in the street, the cool spring night air making his hands clammy as he gripped his pistol.  The rest of the group stood next to him, in a loose line, ready to fire when the gangers came back to their cars.  The wind raised slightly, and the trees rustled.  Suddenly, a loud crack of a branch breaking made Mark spin around.  Zombies shambled forward into the yellowish streetlight.  "Zombies!" Mark yelled as he grabbed his bat.

Zombies!

The last PEF resolved as zombies.  (I am not sure when the second was resolved - it was another nothing PEF, so it didn't matter)  Mark switched to his bat, and charged.  The rest of the group followed behind him,
firing on the other zombies.  All they managed to do was knock one down.  Mark took out two with his bat.

Facing the zombies

The group repositioned to back up Mark as he fought in hand to hand.  Nobody could manage to hit the lone zombie before it stood up. The zombies piled into Mark, who had a hard fight to take on three zombies.  Meanwhile the gangers first reacted by doing nothing, then moving up the street to engage the group.

Midnight standoff

First off, everyone passed their brown pants roll.  One of the gangers went first, and hit Allen.  He went down, out of the fight.  Dawn acted next, fired, and killed the ganger that had hit Allen.  She missed the other ganger.  The last ganger fired next, and hit Dawn.  She also went down out of the fight.  Ella fired last, and managed to kill the last ganger.  Ella passed her man down check, and watched Mark finish off the zombies.

Just like that, its over.

Both Allen and Dawn recovered.  The Richardson family was grateful for the help, and took a pair of pistols from the gangers.  In addition, the gang cars were moved to form barricades in the neighborhood (and drained of fuel).  The leader's body armor was recovered, plus the weapons from the other gangers.  That gives the group a pretty fair arsenal.  Next everyone will begin barricading their homes.

Allen and Dawn both passed the checks to stay, luckily it was a successful mission.

Won't You Be My Neighbor (Part 2)

The police made a cursory inspection of the house, covered the bodies up and ran crime scene tape across the front door.  The cruisers hit their sirens and lights maybe half an hour after they arrived, speeding off on Farmstead Drive, no doubt responding to another emergency.
"They seem to be gone."  Cindy said as she looked back from the front windows.  "We should check out the rest of the neighborhood, maybe even see what's left next door..."
"Sounds like a good idea, same plan as before?"  Mark replied as he finished off a bottle of water.  "Anyone object?" 
"Nah, let's go see who is out there!"  Allen was excited to get back outside and explore the neighborhood.  "Hopefully we can find some information about what has been going on."

Early Afternoon starts out

Three PEFs are the only other figures on the board.  One is rep 6, one rep 5 and the other is rep 3.  They are scattered around the house the group is using as a base.  Once again, Mark will be running on his own, Allen and Dawn will be a group and Cindy and Ben will be another group.  Zombies (1+d6) will appear on the first doubles roll equal to or less than the encounter rating (which is 3) and a random event will occur on any double 6 roll.

At the start all 3 PEFs roll to approach the group.  The first raises the encounter level (to 4) and the second PEF reveals a lone zombie.  The last PEF is hidden just behind a tree, next to the group's starting location.

Did you hear something behind us?

Looks like a lone zombie

" Head for houses, I'll take care of our friend."  Mark said as he looked at the zombie.  He heard a rustling in the trees next door.  "I'll see what's happening in the trees too."

Mark moved into the trees, and resolved the last PEF - another increase in the encounter rating (now 5).  The groups moved out towards the homes.

Turns out to be just nerves

Moving up the road

Double 6's come up, and I draw a random event.  It seems the zombie is actually another citizen.

Its one way to stay alive

"Don't Shoot!  I'm alive!"  A young woman, who had appeared to be a zombie and dragging a golf club behind her suddenly yelled from the intersection.  "I'm looking for help!"
"Are you from around here?"  Mark yelled, somewhat wary.
"No, I have been trying to find a place to wait this out."  She yelled as she approached Mark.  "My name is Ella by the way."
"I'm Mark.  Nice to meet you!"

The meet and greet goes well, and Ella joins the group.  Doubles come up and 4 zombies enter from the board edge.  Mark meets up with Ella, and prepares to face the group of zombies.

A zombie skirmish line

Mark can't move far enough to charge the zombies, so I make sure he is positioned to be the closest target for the charge, keeping the zombies from getting to Ella.

Meanwhile, Allen and Dawn get no response at 1217.  They do manage to get two newspapers for the information check though.  Cindy and Ben move on to 1215 Woodstock Lane.  They knock, but the front door is open.

This seems like a bad idea

"Its open, let's check it out!" Ben said happily.  "Hello!  Anyone home?"  Ben yelled as he stepped inside.  "See - nobody is home!"
"Look out!"  Cindy screamed as a zombie shambled into the front room.  Ben yelled and ran out the front door as Cindy charged the zombie.  "Get back here!"  Cindy yelled after him.

The owner shambles in

I am using my dungeon tiles from Dwarven Forge.  I have a ton of these from years ago (I use them for Dungeons and Dragons and any other fantasy or any interiors, really) so the home isn't decorated in late medieval style, if you were wondering.  The various furnishings are from toys I have found at the local secondhand store.  I am going to setup each house on a separate table as I need them.

Ben fails his Citizen brown pants roll, and ducks back, just outside the front door.  Cindy charges the zombie, as others start shuffling in from other parts of the house.

Ben Hides outside

Meanwhile, Mark fought the approaching zombies in the street.  He could only knock two down, not killing them right off.  The other zombies continued to stagger forward towards Mark.

Mark fights in the street

Keep knocking them down

A deep groan echoed from the kitchen, and another zombie staggered around the corner.  Cindy yelled for Ben "Get back in here and help me deal with these things!"
Ben wiped sweaty palms on his jeans,his hands shaking so bad he couldn't grab his shotgun.  "They'll get me!  They'll get us all!"  He cried.

Ben fails to recover

Cindy knocks another zed down

Mark and Ella move to 1216 Woodstock, knocking on the door.  Finding a family home (5 citizens) and they make a peaceful contact.  Normally the result would have been a 'join' if asked, but I figured nobody would leave home to join some random folks with guns.  If nothing else, the groups can trade with each other, or help out.

Allen and Dawn move on to Springfield Road, having found two sources of information, but nothing about the house at 1217.  Mark and Ella also gain some info at 1216 while talking with the neighbors.

New neighbors

Allen and Dawn move on

Cindy keeps trying to convince Ben to come back into the house.  Zombies keep interrupting her, as another one stumbles down the stairs.  He keeps remaining ducked back.  I decide to send Mark and Ella over to help him recover (use some leadership!)  Cindy scores an evenly matched on the last zombie, and combat continues.

"Ben!  Get your ass in here or the zombies won't be what you need to worry about!"  Cindy yelled as the dead hands tried to drag her down.
Ben shivered as sweat poured from his body.   Looking around he couldn't believe the zombies weren't just waiting for him everywhere...  "I...I...Can't"  he mumbled.

Cindy faces off with yet another zed

Allen and Dawn heard signs of movement from the house as they knocked on the door.  It was locked, but it sounded like someone coming to the door.  "Hey!  Finally someone's home!"  Dawn said as the garage door creaked open behind her.
"My god!  Look out!"  Allen pointed behind Dawn as two zombies staggered into her.  With a crash a third zombie came out the front window and grappled with Allen.  "Dawn! Watch out!"  Allen struggled with his attacker as he watched in horror as Dawn was knocked to the ground, and the two zombies collapsed on top of her.

The zombies sense a dinner

Things go bad in two spots.  Allen and Dawn are surprised by the zombies, and Dawn is knocked down (luckily not just killed) by the second zed, after scoring an evenly matched on the first.  Allen fights to an evenly matched result as well.  Meanwhile, Ben finally blows his recovery roll and runs away.  Mark and Ella don't make their fast move rolls, and end up at the door to the house - just in time to see Cindy knocked down by the zombie she was fighting.

Where is Ben?

"Gahh!" Cindy screamed as the zombie clubbed her head.  As the world went dark, she saw Mark running up, but felt the scrabbling fingers of the zombie on her legs.  "Help..." she croaked out.

Mark charges the zombie the next round.  Cindy makes her recovery roll, and is only stunned.  At this point, I elect to check for infection at the end of the scenario (okay, actually I thought that was when I was supposed to.  Oops!)  Ella and Cindy meet, and Mark asks about Ben, who has vanished.

Dawn recovers from her stun, and Allen still struggles with his zombie, staying evenly matched.  The zombies get initiative, and Dawn manages to stay evenly matched (even though prone!)  Allen goes a third round of evenly matched (that was getting ridiculous!)

Allen wrestled the zombie, spinning in place.  The zed's foul breath stank like week old meat, left in the sun.  As they turned, Allen saw Dawn thrashing on the ground, kicking out and heaving the zombies away from her.
Finally, with a snap, Allen broke the things neck, and bashed the head into the house, killing it.  Quickly turning around, he found Dawn standing over one remaining zombie.
"Damn girl, you are a bad-ass!" Allen grunted as he moved over and helped finish off the last zed.
"Aww, I just got this outfit clean!"  Dawn complained.  "Looks like more laundry when we get back home."

Allen and Dawn finally finish the last zombie

With no more zombies, I take a couple of turns to loot and reorganize.  I pair up Ella and Cindy (they find keys to the SUV in the garage, load it up with stuff and head for home) and Mark heads off to join Allen and Dawn to check the last house.  Each group also grabs some info/newspapers along the way.  I have not been paying attention, and I don't know if I have 6 different ones.  I was gathering the papers off to the side, so I was going to continue to gather info before I ended the game.

Regroup at home

Cindy and Ella head to the crime scene house - figuring no one will be home, nor will anyone miss anything.  Mark leads the rest of the group to the last house, and find a family home.  The meet and greet goes well, and I should have a mission success.  Instead of just heading straight back home, I figure a loot of the nearby car wreck makes sense.

Need to avoid the police tape

Dawn finds a bat in the car wreck

Everyone back home.  Where's Ben?

Paper collection - got 6

So I didn't see what happens to someone who 'runs away' after an encounter.  I rolled a 2d check for Ben, passing 1 or 2 meant he went home, 0 would mean he ran away completely.  He passed 1d, and the group found him when they got home.

Mark looked around as Ben sheepishly came out of the basement.  "Sorry guys.  I just couldn't handle it any more."  Ben said apologetically.  "There's just too many of them, I can't believe we can survive!"
"You can't just run away like that, not cool man."  Allen was firm, holding back anger.  "Any of us could be in trouble then!"
Dawn came running into the kitchen, crying.  "No, no, no, no!" she just kept repeating.
"Were you bit?"  Allen asked, horrified.  "Please, no!  I tried to help, I really did!"
"Not her, me."  Cindy said calmly.  "Looks like that last one got a bite on my leg."  Cindy gestured to her torn pants leg.
Everyone broke into tears, they all knew this was a death sentence.  "We'll take you to the hospital, get some help.  Hell, let's get the cops here again, they can help out!"  Mark was trying to suggest a solution.
"You know that won't cut it.  Besides, I am already shaking bad, and burning up.  I won't see tomorrow, and I don't want to cause any more deaths.  Someone take care of me."  Cindy was actually very calm for asking to be killed.
"I can't - I won't."  Nobody wanted to be the one who killed their friend.  
"I'll do it myself."  Cindy grabbed a pistol and stormed out the front door.  "It could be any of you next!"  She yelled as she walked into the woods.

Dawn rolled a 6, and passed her check for infection.  Cindy, unfortunately, rolled a 3, and is infected.  This changed the successful mission to a failure (someone died) and figured into the keeping it together roll.

I gave Dawn a chance to increase her rep, but she failed her roll.  I also checked for Mark to be reduced (this was technically two failed missions in a row.)  He managed to stay at his current rep.

Allen and Dawn rolled only one success each, and Mark managed two, so they would stay.  Ella had no successes, and would stay (and not need to check next time).  Ben passed two dice, and would leave.  Cindy was going to die, and traded her SMG for a pistol, and left as the sun went down.

It was a downer, but not a disaster.  At least most of the group stayed, and in the end, the group is only down one, and has plenty of resources to last for some time.  The group will consolidate their home, getting useful items from next door to make it livable (pots and pans, bedding, some chairs?) and try and see if this whole things passes.

I don't think things are going to get better...

Won't You Be My Neighbor (Part 1)

Dawn sunlight was streaming through the cheap yellow curtains, giving the family room a buttery glow.  Mark stretched out from his sleep on the carpeted floor.  He was disheveled, but cleaner than yesterday.  There wasn't much in the house, but the showers worked.
Gathering with the others in the kitchen, the group had a short breakfast of peanut butter and crackers.  "We need to check the neighbors out.  They will see us here eventually, and we don't need the cops coming here looking for looters."  Mark said between bites.
"That's a good idea.  Maybe some folks will be willing to trade for some stuff.  At the very least, some information."  Cindy said to the group.  "Hopefully the neighborhood isn't hostile to newcomers.  Before... whatever this is, this was a great place to live."
"Well, let's see if anyone wants to be our neighbor!"  Allen chuckled.  "Its early, but some people are bound to be up by now."

The group has found a house for sale that was sitting empty.  It had nothing of value, as far as loot.  The utilities are still on (I am rolling each day - pass 2d means things on, after day 10, if they go off they will stay off) so at least everyone could get cleaned up, and get plenty of water.  The local neighborhood consists of 6 other homes:

Pleasant Hills Neighborhood

The scenario takes place in the morning of Day 4.  The goal will be to visit each house, meet the occupants and not have anyone die.  Occupants for each house will be generated when contact is made.  A simple 2d check will determine if anyone answers the door.  2d = answer, 1d = no answer, but sounds of occupants, 0d = no response.  To determine if the house is occupied, I will roll 2d6, a result of 5+ indicates it is.  Then I will roll 1d6 for the type : 1:gang, 2-5:citizens, 6:zeds; these are all generated as if they were PEFs.  Its only day 4 (seems like it should be later!) so the law is still active, and will respond in 1/2d6 turns if any shots are fired.

A successful scenario will be contacting each house and nobody being killed.  As a bonus, I am placing newspapers at various places (including 2 at each house) any team member can try and pass 2d and pick up one of the papers.  If I can collect 6 different papers I will get a free piece of loot (random draw).  Just something to make things interesting.

Board set up has 5 vehicles (all wrecks) and 6 zombies.  I am only using 2 PEFs, this is supposed to be a quiet suburb.  The encounter rating is 2, but random events will occur only on double 6's.  No zombies will be attracted by gunfire, they will only appear from the PEFs or from finding them in homes (or cars - they will be searchable as well.)

Okay, that about covers the rules I am using.

A new day dawns

"Let's check that blue house Dawn."  Allen said as he jogged across the street.  Dawn quickly took the lead as they moved to the house.  Her twisted ankle was feeling better.

Zed comes towards the group

 To start I had the team break into three groups.  First was Allen and Dawn, second was Cindy and Ben and finally Mark was on his own.  I planned to use Mark as a 'fire brigade' supporting each group as needed.  I want to avoid shooting if possible, as dealing with the law will be difficult.

Allen and Dawn trigger the first PEF, which increases the ER by one to 3.  The next turn Team mark wins initiative and Mark charges into the mass of zombies.  I want to try and do this quietly, and this fits in perfectly so far.

Charge!

Letting out a growl, Mark charged into the mass of zombies.  Mark quickly battered down one rotten corpse, ducking under the clumsy swipe of the second.  With a brutal back swing, Mark crushed the skull of the second zombie like a hollow egg shell.  The third zombie pressed forward, its eternal hunger driving it forward.  With a sharp crack, Mark smashed the last zombie's head to the pavement.
"We'll check the house!"  Cindy cheered as she and Ben ran past Mark as he caught his breath.  "It looks clear from here!"

Hey! The street is clear!

Allen and Dawn reached the front door of the first house.  Knocking gained no response.  Unable to tell if anyone was home, they tried the door and found it locked.  Repeated knocking still brought no response.

Nobody home?

Dawn and Allen searched for clues or news, but found nothing useful (only one success each.)  Still no sign of occupants.  They consider breaking down the door, but that doesn't seem very neighborly.

A hollow electronic two tone doorbell rang as Cindy pushed the button.  The pad of footsteps came to the door.  A small face peeked out the side light next to the door.  "Hey there!  Are your parents home?"  Cindy waved at the child as a thump sounded upstairs.
The sudden crash of broken windows and the sound of raining glass shattered the quiet.  The dull thump of something heavy landing next to Cindy startled her.  Disoriented, she didn't realize the zombies had broken out the side lights as well.  Five zombies began pawing at Ben and Cindy.
"Gahh!  Look out Ben!"  Cindy cried as the first zombie staggered upright and lunged at her.  Without thinking she fired off a burst from her SMG, spraying bullets into the roof of the front porch.

Zombie Family!

Checking the house resulted in 5 zombies.  I rolled a surprise, and Cindy and Ben both lost by 2 dice.  the front door was closed and locked, so I ruled zed had just crashed the windows.  Normally things would move straight to melee, but I gave the survivors a charge reaction roll.  Cindy got to fire, and missed horribly.  Ben didn't even get a chance to shoot.

Melee started out very scary.  Cindy got an evenly matched on the first zed, with 4 successes each.  She managed to knock down the other two, but didn't get any kills.  Ben killed one zed and fought to an evenly matched with the other.

The next turn started up and the team gained initiative.  Mark charged in and took out two zombies, Cindy won her melee against the last zombie she faced, and Ben knocked down his last zombie.  When the zombies activated, Ben finished off the last zed in melee.

Well, it seems clear...now.

The last zombie kicked a tinkle of glass across the front steps.  Mark heard the distant wail of sirens.  "Time to go!  Back to the house!"  With a push, Cindy and Ben started running for their house.  Allen and Dawn were already ahead of them, dodging up the drive towards the front door.  More zombies were shuffling towards the house, with two slowly moving through the trees in the back yard.
As Dawn ran through the yard, a sudden thumping sound echoed through the neighborhood.  A black helicopter flew overhead, and the zombie in the street stumbled back to the intersection.  
"Let's get inside!"  Dawn waved towards Cindy as the sirens got closer.  "Head for the back!  The cops might not see you!"

Keep Moving!

Two squad cars roared down Springfield Road.  The lead car clipped the zombie in the intersection, not even pausing.  The police continued through the neighborhood...

The penalty for jay walking...is DEATH!

So I rolled double 6, and drew a black helicopter random event.  It moved only one zombie (the others were beyond 12" from the nearest survivor).  As the police entered the board, they failed to activate for three turns.  Ridiculous!  I figured the cars would follow the road, not just drive forward and crash.  I know the rules say they can turn to avoid obstacles, etc, so I figured this was okay.

Meanwhile, the team entered the backyard, with Mark charging the zombies.  Once again, he pretty much destroyed the zombies without much trouble.

There should be a grill out here.

Mark slammed the last zombie to the ground.  The police sirens were echoing around the house, and he could hear the squeal of the cars on the road.  Quickly turning and running, Mark dove through the back door, kicking it closed behind him.  "I don't think they saw me!"

The police rolled down the street, just missing the wrecks and finally activated long enough to stop outside the house where shots were fired.  Four policemen jumped out to investigate the scene.

The police have arrived.

So now what?

I stopped at this point, I have no interest in fighting the police, it won't end well.

My plan for the next step will be to continue the same scenario - still have to visit each house, etc.  However, now I have to get the successes on the news (6 different locations, pass 2d) or Mark will have a -1d on the keeping it together roll.  I will move the time to daytime, same day.  Instead of any starting zombies, I will have 3 PEFs, and the first doubles roll under the ER (which will start at 3) will cause 1+d6 zombies to enter from a random board edge.