Future Wars - Zombie Mods for Bolt Action.

In my previous game I was playing by Solo so I wrote down my ideas for Zombie Mods. I had played the first game out far past any logical point of carrying on as I wanted to test out a few wrinkles. The last squad was assaulted a few times by the Zombies and fell back only to be Flamed by an Ape Flame thrower.

 A few days later I got together with gaming mate Tyrone to try out my ideas. We discussed as to wether it was too easy to kill the Zombies or should we make it harder? I thought that it was about right as they were a big distraction for the Humans which enabled the Monkeys to set up in relative peace. The Zombies also took out a couple of individual Humans. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos of the two games.

We were using a single unique coloured dice for each Human in a survivor group to identify each person. The Hand to Hand rules need some thinking about but we decided that Humans will strike first unless surprised. A Samurai Sword or Chain Saw gives an extra attack. After the game I looked at the Crooked Dice combat table and may use that for characters. 

I really want to keep this simple as possible so do not want to add too much complication.

I use the Eureka Zombies in oil drums as spawn points numbered 1 to 6.

These are the rules that I have remembered to write down and may change.

Zombie Rules for Bolt Action.

These rules are a work in progress and subject to change.

Zombies are undead so have no logical thought other than to eat.

A, Zombies move 3” when attracted by Human smell.

B, Zombies move 6” when attracted by gunfire and smell.

C, Monkeys are of no interest to Zombies.

D, Zombies do not use cover so a 2+ to hit is usually enough.

Range and movement penalties also apply.

E, Zombies do not suffer from Pinning.

F, Zombies are a 2+ to kill.

G, Hand to Hand, Humans strike first unless surprised. Humans roll morale after assaults

but only fall back on a fail.

H, Zombies move in as straight line as possible, if in doubt use a direction dice.

I, Zombies cannot swim. If waist deep they move as usual but at 3”.

If in deep water over their heads they cannot see or smell so use a direction dice at 3”.

J, Zombies can climb at either 3 or 6 “.

Turn sequence.

1, First turn D6 for how many dice the Zombie force gets.

2, D6 for location of Zombie outbreak. (I use 6 Zombie markers numbered 1 to 6)

3, D6 for how many Zombies appear at the marker.

4, Zombies mob up when within 3” of another group.

5, On subsequent turns add up the number of groups on the table

then D6 for how many extra Dice the Zombie force gets. (up to 12 Dice)

6, New Zombie groups will stop appearing when the firing dies down.

I use a plain white Dice the same size as the Warlord Dice.

A 3 or 6 facing upwards means moving at that speed.

The next game that I have set up is Urban/City as I want the Zombies to have more chance of surprising the Humans. I also have a deep water river to test out the water rule. A group of Humans have been set up as bait for a TV crew just for a bit of fun. They have to make it off the table to the safety of the Security force, which arrives on the road near the Service Station.

Sky-clad Nuns hosting a TV crew.

Elvis and the Showgirls.

Zombie bait.

Mounted Merry Men.

I almost forgot to post these as I am so excited about my Future War ideas.

These figures are probably the most time consuming group I think I have done so far. They were bought second hand with some of them painted and needed stripping. One arm was missing so I Greenstuffed clothing on a plastic Norman arm for the leader figure. His shield was a Mordheim item which had the lightening bolt filed off. The other shields are from Crusader. The horses are from Renegade. They were meant to pull Celt Chariots but I felt they were too big for that duty. The Saddle cloths were sculpted from Sculpty which meant five minutes in the oven to harden them. I forgot to order the Transfers for the shields which I hope will arrive soon.

I am very pleased to have a unique unit but I wont be adding any more riders.

I am currently working on the dismounted versions.

The Good, The Bad and The Monkeys (oh and some Zombies).

After a sleepless night wondering how to meld all of the diverse figures in my Future Wars Collection together in a setting. I came up with the following.

The Good, The Bad and the Monkeys. (plus a few Zombies)

Some time in the distant future we find that the World is in a mess. This is not the result from Nuclear Fallout (although there have been plenty of accidents and sabotage at Nuclear Energy Plants) or a World War or even Global Warming. The Planet has been ruined by Corporate and shareholder greed. Corporate Scientists discovered that the effects of the Drug Yabber could be controlled and modified to enable workers to maintain high levels of energy and concentration. With cooperation from National Governments the recruiting of the mentally ill and criminals enabled Corporations to maintain a low cost workforce. Other marginalized citizens could also be recruited into the work force when local Police turned a blind eye. The Drug was also under trial on Primates. This had the the effect of making them very intelligent and able to undertake manual labour. The new Labour force thus freed the Corporations of making any pretense of caring for the Welfare of their workers.

After several years of use of the Drug, the Management of several plants started reporting that. “The long term Human workers were showing signs of not taking any rest breaks and were losing any interest in consuming food.” This did not seem to raise any concerns with the Management as they could only see the benefit of the cost savings.

Then the reports took a more serious turn as reports stated coming in that the workers were starting to have a disturbing odour. Then the violence started.

Investigations showed that the long term effect of using Yabber was turning the workers into a Zombie like state. Discontinuing the use of the drug did not reverse the side effects and only seemed to make the workers more inclined to violence. The other side effects were that the workers slowed down and had a craving for food. Any food would do, human food or even Humans themselves if they were not careful. 

Strangely though the Zombies take no interest in Primates and usually just stop and sniff them before moving on. The odour was simply the fact that the workers had started to rot from the inside due to lack of food to maintain their bodies in a healthy condition.

The use of drugged up workers continued while steps were made to find a cure for the side effects. Long term workers showing signs of disturbing behaviour were often taken outside of cities and dumped and left to fend for themselves.

Recruiting of more workers took on a serious note with them often being abducted off the street or from their own homes. This led to the Citizens arming themselves and forming local Militias.

In other plants where the use of Monkeys and Gibbons were utilized reports started to come in that. “The intelligence levels were surpassing expectations and the workers were able to be used in roles normally reserved for Human workers.” Management were pleased that cost savings were better than expected and started downsizing the Human workforce. Further reports started to come in that. ”The Apes, Monkeys and Gibbons seemed to have learned a common language unable to be understood by Humans, and were also cooperating with each other in a manner never seen before.”

Then the escapes started.

Then reports of armed Monkeys raiding supply depots, Gun shops and other useful premises started flooding in. They were also freeing other Primates from slavery which meant their use was being discontinued and replaced by Human workers. The escaped Primates suffered no problems with withdrawal from the drug and maintained their intelligence levels forming new societies of mixed types.

From this point the Planet became a very unsafe place with Cities being divided into Armed Camps, Factory Zones and slums. The suburbs became zones of conflict and rural districts became either walled off communes or entirely deserted.

Most communications became localized as Satellites became either unreliable or unserviceable. The Internet and Cellphone Towers became inoperable most of the time and Radios were in short supply. Armies became fractured and split between local Warlords or became independent entities.

Factories have produced their own security Robot Drones of various types. Several models have gone rogue adding to the general mayhem.

Lack of National and International Security also seemed to be an open door invitation for Alien activity. Reports have surfaced of several incursions by various types of creatures who sometimes initiate communication with local leaders. Other visits have been of a more violent nature.

The Good – Local Citizens just trying to live a normal life. Often formed into armed communes, but sometimes wandering independent groups trying to find a safe location to live.

The Bad – Corporations, Local Warlords, The Man etc.

The Monkeys – Apes, Monkeys and Gibbons. Some have escaped and seem to be setting up settlements far away from prying Human eyes. Others are still enslaved working for Corporations.

The Rotten – Zombies in various states of decay usually wandering freely looking for anything to fulfill their endless hunger.

The Aliens – Greys, Predators etc.

Future Wars Solo test game - Bolt Action.

Skirmish Sangin continued.

I restarted my game of Skirmish Sangin on turn eleven. I soon realised that I had mixed up an Ape with a M16 with grenade launcher, and one armed with an RPG. I think this was due to the need to identify each individual figure and the complex turn system. I then had to find the rules for sighting and firing the RPG at the Watch Tower. I was not able to do this in the rules or at least I could not find a way of doing so. It was also impossible to hit the sniper in the tower due to the penalties as he was elevated and hiding.

I decided that I was not having much fun so thought I should shelve the rules until I could play with someone else who knew them better than I. Also less figures on the table would have been better.

Bolt Action.

I did a quick shuffle of the forces that I was using and continued playing the game. I was immediately taken with how quickly the turns went and how easy it was to work out firing etc. I was having fun again.

Sniper in the Tower.

Human right Flank Bridge defence.

Ape attack was beaten back with one casualty.

Some ideas went through my head as to how to improve the rules for this setting. I felt the ranges of the weapons are too short and started using the range limit as the short distance for firing. (I suspect the ranges are meant to keep the game moving quickly) I had to make up stats for a shotgun as I could not find them in the lists I have. They may be in the new Marines section? I may rethink this later but this is what I used.

Auto Shotgun ROF 2 up to 12" ROF 1 to 24.

It soon became apparent that if the sides are equal the one defending is going to win (like in the real world) I had plenty of cover available and spent a sleepless night thinking about how to get around this with my limited collection. (just ask my Girlfriend who had to put up with me tossing and turning and getting up all night) Luckily I was on leave so continued my playtesting the following day.

Bolt Action, game two.

I needed some seconds for the Ape gun teams so added them in using my Alien Greys. I also added a Medic team from my Greys plus a Gorilla from my Africa collection. For the Humans I added a team of Hazmat figures, a couple more figures for NCO's and gun seconds, plus a Leopard Tank which made things even more unbalanced. I then added Zombies. The Zombies use a plain dice. They move either 3 or 6 inches when activated. I will write the Zombie rules up fuller later on.

Gorilla, Grey Medic Team and Gibbon SMG team.

The game went very well and was a lot of fun but the Tank just sat and mowed down the Zombies. I felt this was too unbalanced so removed it about turn three.

Hazmat team getting a pre-game pep talk.

Casualties from game one waiting to be allowed to return to the game.

The Hazmat team being very keen to get stuck in, took full advantage of the movement on Roads but was unaware of the lurking RPG team. This team destroyed the truck and passengers with one shot.

This game is very bloody which surprised me.

When I left the game the Apes were in control of the left flank and about to assault the bridge. I will continue playing later today.

Ape Flame thrower being ordered to Flame the Humans.

Gibbon SMG Team, Grey Medic Team and Flame thrower Team. No Humans left to fight.

Zombies mobbing up.

Did a quick repaint on NCO Perky to get rid of her lurid white skirt and red boots. Plus an ink wash to bring out her assets.

I have an elaborate back ground for my Future War setting and some Zombie Rules to write up for Bolt Action which I will put on the Blog later.

Bolt Action 20mm game.

I have not found anyone interested in playing Bolt Action in 28mm at my local club. So thought I'd try it in 20mm with my really old collection which has been collecting dust for years. It is also painted in enamels which I'd love to improve with a wash and drybrush at some stage (probably a retirement project).

Tyrone was itching to play something so I also invited my nephew Jason to join in as he has played 40k but not historicals. Maybe I can convert him?

The terrain is a mix of my old collection with some of my FOW items. The vehicles are a mix of Nitto, Esci and some conversions. The figures are mainly Platoon 20, Dixon and some others. We had to play on the dinning table as my other tables had games setup on them already.

Tyrone took the Germans and decided which end to defend on while Jason was going to attack while I umpired. It has been months since I have read the rules so I did not mind sitting out and observing. Jason was successful in forcing the Germans to retire. I may have made the US too strong as I made the force list up in about 20 minutes based on experience with other rule sets but did not take into account the ROF of the tanks.

Everyone thought that this worked well in this scale. Which means that I am not going to sell the rules and two books off which I had seriously considered doing as it is a lot of money tied up and not being used. It also means that I will be buying the Soviet and British supplements and more dice.

A few random shots of my Robin Hood table.

Just a few shots of my table which I had left setup so my family could have a good look at on Christmas Day. Dinner was held at my place for a change this year. Everyone seemed very impressed with what I have done but my sister was deliberately left out as she does not take the hobby seriously.