"I hope so." Dawn sounded weary. "It can't be worse. Well, I guess it could be..." She shuddered.
"We ain't done yet, sweetheart." Jack said, flashing a grin at Dawn. "Let's get moving, you'll feel better doing something besides thinking about what went wrong."
Sighing heavily, Dawn brushed off her pants and stood up. "Where do we go?" She asked Jack, adding "The house, head east for my friends, or somewhere else?"
Jack rubbed his chin for a moment, then looked at Dawn. "Let's see where the zombies are, and just go the other way."
It is morning of Day 59. Dawn and Jack start roughly centered on the table, in a shed they have spent the night in. The area is suburban ER 5, there are 4 zombies on the board (2d6) and 3 PEFs. Victory conditions are pretty straightforward - survive and exit the board on any roadway. They are just trying to get away from the immediate area, they will head either back to the safe house or just continue on towards the east once they escape the table.
Doing a quick inventory, Dawn has a backpack with a unit of food, a shotgun, a SMG and a unit of luxury. This plus her body armor, BAP and Machete. Jack has an SMG and a knife, plus a pack with food, luxury and a BAP. They don't need to panic yet about supplies, but they will need more if they want to get back to the farm.
Dawn is suffering from lack of sleep, and will be counting as Rep 4 until her first combat check. Jack is his standard Rep of 4. I am using scarce looting and really tight ammo rules as well.
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| Dawn of a new day |
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| The PEFs move closer |
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| Dawn runs forward |
Dawn stepped out into the early morning light, he eyes adjusted quickly from the dark shed. She could see a couple of the dead wandering around, their attention drawn to the squeal of the shed door opening. Keeping her pistol at the ready, Dawn trotted to her right, towards a low stone wall. "Jack, head right and cover me." She said as she moved forward.
Dawn's attention was focused on a lone zombie in the clearing past the wall, but movement caught her eye as she aimed. A middle-aged man with a bolt-action rifle and a teenager crouched at the end of the wall, staring at Dawn.
"I didn't see you..." Dawn said slowly as the zombie shambled towards her.
"We're just passing through." The man said. "Me and my boy are just going to leave."
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| Two civilians meet Dawn |
The PEF resolves as two civilians, one armed with a bolt action rifle, the other with a knife. Both are rep 3. They win the meet and greet and choose to just walk away. Dawn shoots and misses the zombie, but Jack jogs up and takes care of it.
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| The zombie is killed...eventually |
Three more zombies appear from the shooting. The next turn has the zombies moving first, and one catches up to Jack.
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| Here they come! |
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| One attacks Jack |
Jack heard a dry dragging sound from just behind and quickly spun about. Without even aiming, he sprayed his SMG at the undead postman sneaking up. Several shots went wide, but several pummeled the corpse, one crashing into its head, killing it.
"That's how to do it." Jack said with a short laugh.
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| Jack kills the zed |
When Dawn and Jack get to move, they check the nearby campsite. The tent and the truck both count for drawing occupants and loot. They are both completely empty.
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| An empty camp |
The man and boy move off, I am rolling their actions per the NPC movement rules. The man with a rifle will fire on the nearest zombie if he has a clear shot each turn they move/activate.
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| The man shoots and misses |
A lone zombie appears next turn, near the gas station building. The PEF moves towards Jack and Dawn. I'm trying to be cautious, but I'm hopeful for a better encounter from the PEF, so Jack reveals it.
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| Something moves closer... |
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| Jack takes a look |
Stumbling through the brush was a lone undead teenager. Jack paused when Dawn hissed at him "Don't shoot! Let's stay quiet and get to the building!"
Jack nodded, breaking his aim and jogging with Dawn towards the gas station nearby.
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| Dawn charges the zombie |
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| Jack catches up |
Dawn and Jack are making their way into the nearby gas station, the lone zombie nearby slowly chasing them. Meanwhile, towards the center of the table, the two civilians are looking like they may be in trouble...
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| Zombies close on the civilians |
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| Jack and Dawn approach the rear door |
The next turn, the civilians have a burst of speed, and they even manage to kill a nearby zombie!
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| They run, but the father stops to take a shot |
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| And gets a kill! |
Entering the rear door of the gas station, Dawn slowly let her eyes adjust to the gloom. As she and Jack slowly walked through the room, small bits of debris were sent skittering across the floor. Each time a bottle tipped or a wrapper crinkled, Dawn froze, expecting the undead to pounce.
"I think it's empty." Jack said, relaxing after a minute. "Maybe there's something we can use." he offered.
Dawn looked around, disappointed. "This place looks like a mess and its been looted a few times already." Shaking her head she continued, "Let's get going, there's noth.."
Jack stood up suddenly, a four pack of toilet paper in his hand. "Jackpot! Looks like they didn't get everything!" He grinned at Dawn.
Dawn paused and couldn't help smiling, then even giggling a bit. "Well it IS useful!"
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| Dawn and Jack search the store |
The shop is empty, but Jack manages to find a luxury item. They exit the front of the store, hoping the car out front is usable.
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| The car is out of gas, and so are the pumps.. |
The man and teenager make a break for the road. Looks like they might be able to make it to safety.
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| The civilians make a break for it |
The next turn starts with a random event.
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| The garage is secured |
With the garage secured, a PEF close by and not much else to do, I elect to move off the board when the team activates.
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| Dawn and Jack escape down the road |
It's a successful mission, and they start down the road to the east. It will take some time to get away from the FEMA camp area, but they are on their way. Now if they can find some wheels...
At least this mission went a whole lot better than the last one. Good find with the toilet paper. Imagine life without it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It seemed like a fitting item to find for them! It would be hard to replace...
DeleteSqueeee loving the latest report! Almost feels like they're getting back to grass roots eh :P I feel your restricted looting rule is a very good one for post apoc - might start causing real problems for these two.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it! In a way they are going back to basics, they need to get back to what works.
DeleteFinally an encounter that goes a bit more to plan! Shame about the civvies not falling into line though bud.
ReplyDeleteIt did go a bit better, it was a little easier to handle though. I was surprised the civvies didn't join in.
DeleteGood luck for once. That was a clean mission. As you said, I hope they get some wheels...
ReplyDeleteIt did go well, luckily it wasn't too difficult. Now they will need to stay out of the really dangerous spots until they get more people...
DeleteABout time Dawn had a break. I love these type of low-key encounters that can easily turn bad at the whims of the dice.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am tired of getting my butt kicked, time to do some low risk games. They can still go sideways at a moments notice though.
DeleteNice and easy. Takes things calmly and it'll all turn out OK in the en, right :-) ?
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's just better to do things slow and easy.
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