On the painting table ...

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MERCS - This year for Halloween, my Tuesday night gaming group is planning on running a MERCS game using the zombie rules I came up with earlier this year.  As I got distracted with some other projects I never got around to finishing up the Studio Minatures zombie horde.

I think part of the reason I lost interest in painting these models is the shear number I had to finish up. When you have 40 or 50 zombies sitting on your table the first instinct it to assembly line them to get the job done. Of course this means your burn out fast and don't lavish the attention these models deserve. 

So I've decided to break the horde down into more manageable chunks. The first batch I'm working on wrapping up are the Zombie Strippers from Reaper's Chronoscope Range. These sculpts are pretty fun even though they tend to be a little clunky, I think it adds to the undead nature. 

I started with a base of Foundation Flesh followed up with a purple wash. This gives that bruised base color that I like for fresher zombies. Once that dried I used Elf Flesh as the first highlight followed with an Ogryun Flesh wash. To give them a variety in their state of decay some will have a greyish highlight applied while others with have a pale flesh tone. I'm trying to avoid the green pallor because these are fresh zombies and not from the grave. 

Before applying the final highlights I've taken red ink and applied it to all the wounds, around the eyes, mouth and hands of each model. The ink gives a slight sheen which is more representative of blood. 

To be able to tell the difference between the different types of zombies (walkers, wailers, etc.) I'm using a different color to indicate the flank and front arcs of the models. This makes game play easier and clarifies what the various zombies could be.

Apartment 13 ...

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Earlier this week, I had a chance to play a special scenario of MERCS using some home brew rules. The game was really fun and we had a chance to try out maverickman's foam apartment building. 

The terrain piece covers a 2'x2' area and each floor consists of four separate tiles. For our game we started on the roof and had to fight our way out of the building. 

We used the zombie stats that I posted up earlier this month and each chose a five man team. The apartment building was populated with about 40 zombies. Each player randomly chose one member of their team to start. Each round a new MERC would appear at one of the entrance points. The player with the fewest MERCs on the table randomly chooses a new team member to join the fight. In the event of a tie for fewest MERCs, we rolled off the determine who got a new team member. 

The zombies would move one card length towards the source of noise anytime a shot was fired (silent weapons don't trigger a move ie flamer). After all the MERCs activate the zombies move toward any MERC in LOS, attacking if they get within a base. We also determined the zombies moved at the same time, otherwise overwatch wipes them out to quickly. 

The game was a ton of fun and I look forward to trying something similar again. During the first turn all the MERCS were wiped out and became zombies. The next turn our team members were better equipped to handle the horde, but still had a tough time clearing the floor.

Get to the Chopper

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To go along with the MERCS/Zombies expansion I've been tinkering with, I decided that there should probably be some scenarios. As much fun as it is tromping a horde of zombies across the board, eventually it's going to get old. So to keep it fresh and fun I've developed some scenarios to accompany the rules.

The first set of scenarios is geared towards having one player control the zombies per the Zombie Master rules. These could be linked together as a mini campaign or just played as one of games.

Scenario 1: Patient Zero

A disenfranchised group of scientists has created a virus which is geared to bringing the Megacons to their knees. In order to develop a vaccination the original carrier must be captured.

Set-up: The table should be set up with several one and two story structures as well as some barrels, shipping containers or other industrial terrain. Each MERCS player sets up on a board edge. The zombie player sets up anywhere 2 card lengths from the board edge.

Mission Goal: After set-up the zombie player notes one zombie to be "Patient Zero." The MERCS player must capture "Patient Zero" by reducing it to 0 Blood while in melee. The zombie player wins if Patient Zero avoids capture or all the MERCS are killed.

Game Length: The game lasts for 6 Turns.

 

Scenario 2: Secure the Lab

Intel has revealed the location of the lab in which the virus was created. The lab must be secured to further research and development.

Set-up: The table should be set up with several one and two story structures as well as some barrels, shipping containers or other industrial terrain. There should be a structure in the center of the table. Each MERCS player sets up on a board edge. The zombie player sets up within 2 card lengths of the central structure.

Mission Goal: The MERCS must capture and secure the lab. At the end of the game if the MERCS player controls the lab (not zombies within the structure) they win. The zombie player wins if there are any zombies still in the lab at the end of turn 6

Game Length: The game lasts for 6 Turns.

 

Scenario 2: EVAC

After securing the needed information, it's time to get out of dodge. 

Set-up: The table should be set up with several one and two story structures as well as some barrels, shipping containers or other industrial terrain. There should be a structure in the center of the table. Each MERCS player sets up within 1 card length of the central structure. The zombie player sets up anywhere on the board at least 1 card length away from the central structure.

Special: Zombies killed respawn on one of the board edges adjacent to the EVAC site.

Mission Goal: The MERCS must get to the chopper. Nominate a 1 card x 1 card section on the board edge or place an appropriate vehicle on the board edge. The MERC player must get his team to the EVAC site or be left to the horde.

Game Length: The game lasts for 6 Turns.

The Rage Sets in ... (A fan-based zombie expansion)

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MERCS – So I've been reading Patient Zero and am really enjoying the book. Basically it involves a secret government agency trying to stop a terrorist plot to release a bio-engineered zombie plague on the world. Reading it got me to thinking about zombies in games and if there was anything that came close to recreating the feeling of the book. Unfortunately there's not really a game that caught my interest that does this in the way I want. There are plenty of good Weird War II games around and you can find zombies in just about every game system, but none of them have that 28 Days Later raging zombie which create a better challenge.

Couple that with the fact that I recently got a great deal on some fantastic zombies from studiominiatures.com as well as some neat modern zombies from the Chronoscope range, I really want a fun game to use them in. 

After thinking about it and trying a few different things, I decided to modify the rules for an existing game to make what I wanted to do work. I chose to go with MERCS because I find the system to be fun and some of the mechanics can be used to represent zombies being shot up but not yet dead.

Using a variation on the Black Ops theme of the FCC I developed two different ways to incorporate zombies into your games of MERCS. The first is to use them as a team vs. another player, and the second is to add a random element to your game.

Zombie Master

Using this variation the zombie player picks (5) zombies for each MERC on their opponent's team. You can only ever have (5) of any type of zombie except Zombie Walkers which are unlimited. The game is played as normal with the zombies having access to their Personal Abilities.

Notes:

• Zombies can never Overwatch

• Zombies can not Snap to Cover

• Not "Dead" Yet – When a zombie loses it's last wound roll a D10 on a 7+ it remains with 1 Blood

• MERCS killed by a zombie return to the game as a Zombie Walker

Zombie Apocalypse

Using this variation the zombies are uncontrolled and lose access to their personal abilities. For every MERC on the table include 2-5 zombies. Zombies roll for initiative just like players. Players alternate activating zombies. Zombies must move towards the closest non-zombie model in LOS, if no model is in LOS roll a D10 and move the zombie in the direction of the tip of the dice.

Notes:

• Everytime a shot is fired move all zombies 1 card towards the shooter

• MERCS killed by a zombie return to the game as a Zombie Walker 

• Not "Dead" Yet – When a zombie loses it's last wound roll a D10 on a 7+ it remains with 1 Blood

I mocked up some card for the variations on zombies that I could think of and they are available here.

merczombie.gif

 

This is in no way endorsed by the makers of MERCS and should be viewed as a parody. MERCS and the MERCS logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owner.