Zona Alfa - Winter Campaign - Part 4

Day 2 (but not sequential days.)

New day, new board. An industrial warehouse zone takes up most of the board. A road runs along the bottom edge and solid fence lines it with a gate 2/3rds of the way up.  [Characters can jump over fences but there would be a movement penalty.]

Used 'the other trees' - it's nice having multiple sets. Also more scatter rocks and lichen shrubs.

Lots of scatter, boxes, barrels, pallets... whatnot.

Quite like this shot...

Mission 4: Salvage at the Warehouse

Narrative:  "The team decides to hit up an industrial warehouse for salvage. Cos that's what STALKERS do, no?"

Specs:  Straight salvage mission.

There are 6 HS and no dedicated mission objectives. The team has 6 turns available. [grrrrr]

To cover the extra distance the team can use the APC as a transport. A designated team member spends an activation which allows it to travel (max) 9". The driver can drive until they're out of activations, and activations cannot be 'ordered across' (from the Leader) to the driver. 

The team arrives.

And drives straight into the compound, those characters with activations remaining pop out.

They trigger a HS (the blue barrels) and get some Yowies (large mutants). Good start chaps!

They were down a gun (driver - Bob, I think). And Charles takes a hit but Derek and Alphonse mow down the mutants. Alphonse patches up Charles. 

Charles searches the barrel and someone triggers the HS at the sewer entrance. Spitters.

The Spitters all spit at Charles but he doesn't take any hits and I think someone grenades them. There's an electro anomaly there as well. Charles searches the anomaly successfully and then the sewer HS.

As he's regrouping someone triggers the HS behind the small building (crates). Snorks. A real mixed bag this time, which is fun. 

The snorks divide,  some head for the main group near the forklift and some go around the building and launch themselves at Charles.  [poor ol' Charles really cops it this campaign, and we're not even close to done.]

I think Charles might have taken a wound (possibly a mutual take down with the last snork) and Alphonse cleaned up the other, then patched Charles up... again.

That was the end of game one.

- - -

From memory, we were down to just one or two medkits left by this stage which made the second chapter very risky. btw the APC contains some spare gear so they were able to stock up between the ship mission and here.

I find the combat in this system quite risky in general. While you have the option to patch people up, it's very easy to take hits with failed armour saves, which takes you straight out of action (losing precious activations if nothing else).

This is not a criticism by any means and it works both ways so the critters are equally as (or more) frail.

However, I find it definitely makes me play conservatively, I'm really reluctant to take risks to push for just one more HS because chances are it's going to cost a lot either wounds/medkits/resources to get it, or activations to set up most of the team to overwatch it.

Again, I don't mind that, it makes things suspenseful but based on other people's batreps I'm definitely not gung-ho with my approach.

Your game, your playtime of course.

Mission 5: Continue Looting Before the Horde Arrives.

Narrative:  "In the distance the sound of the undead can be heard. Attracted to the skirmish underway at the warehouse. The team's time at this location is limited."

Specs:  Continue salvaging the remaining HS, then get to the APC to escape before the horde arrives.

There are 6 HS - whatever remained from last time (no resetting them). The team has 6 turns available.  [Gack! Sick of these minimalist time limits!!]

Once in the APC team members are safe. However they can embark/disembark from it at will.

Zombies appear at the ends of the roads. The move at the start of each turn (except turn 1). They cannot jump or knock over the fence they must go through the gate to get to the player models. 

The team triggers the nearest HS and bandits pop out [the early, difficult rolls seem to be a running theme]. One of the team is hit before the bandits are neutralized. That's the last of the medkits.

A whirlwind anomaly also pops out but given there is no way to patch up Charles if he fails a will save the team collectively says &@(# it, safely salvages the HS and calls it a day.

The gun specialists cut down a couple of the incoming zombies arriving at the gate, as Charles and Alphonse get onboard the APC, before they jump in too.

Game over.

- - - 

Relatively uneventful in the scheme of things. The APC runs over the zombies with several satisfying thuds on the way out, and drives gracefully into the sunset dripping gore... mainly gore.

I guess the driver could have run over the zombies as they came in to reduce their numbers but I couldn't be bothered thinking up damage options for the APC. Plus... no medkits even if i wanted to hit up more HS.

- - -

The lack of turns really hurt. The APC was a great idea for covering distance and mitigated it slightly.

Charles and/or Bob are going to get their rifles modified when I get home, so I can tell them apart easier. I keep moving the wrong one. Might give Bob's a longer barrel with a muzzle brake or something, leave Charles' shorter. Doesn't have to be fancy. just visible. Could also give one of them a different coloured jacket... clearly I didn't put too much thought into that decision.

Thus endeth day two.

--- some time later [2022-05-29]

As planned, Bob got a barrel extension and muzzle brake, and Charles got an adjustment to his jacket.

Hopefully there's enough quick attention-grab to quickly work out who is who in-game.

The muzzle brake is extremely low quality but will do. Oh, and I also salvaged a scope from the bitz bag.

The camo is not terrible. Though whether it's effective in low light is [shrug]. I kind of like it, muted grey and orange splotches.

Until next time...