ATZ Batrep - Live by the Gun...

After the debacle of the last attempted "Take Back" mission our gang of nefarious stooges limped back into camp to lick their wounds and work out the next plan of action.  After much debate the vote was still split as to what to do next.  Evil Nick, Gabe, and Dad wanted to go back for one last try at a Take Back mission because the possible loot was irresistible.   Evil LTL Mom wanted no part of it after seeing the gang in action the past couple of missions and she has declined to go back as she thinks we are going to get our arses handed to us in this town.  AJ and Brandon are off hunting for jelly donuts and are not present.  Hmm, leaves a rather small group of three.  But the good news is that we hopefully will not generate so many Zeds.  Let's see what happened!

And here's the line up.  Gabe has changed his wardrobe again as he wants a gun as well as a sword.

What the heck is going on!?!?!?  As our Gangers break from cover and approach the town they immediately notice that things are not as they left it.  First off, the soda truck that Gabe left after demolishing the Zeds has been moved and parked on the roadside.  Just behind it is the fuel truck and it is parked as well.  In addition, the police car has been moved and it is parked outside the warehouse entrance along side a Highway Patrol car that our Gangers are sure wans't here last time.  Hmmm, kind of makes you think, don't it?
Our lads carefully move up and take cover behind the trucks.  It is then that they notice the most ominous sign of all.  It is perfectly quiet and there isn't a single Zed in sight!  Methinks something is rotten in Zed Town.

As the boys are peeking around trying to decide what to do next, they smell something burning and then notice that the warehouse is on fire!  It's not long before they see Zeds heading out of the woods to investigate.  Well, here we go, off to another great start I see!

I don't know if it was something to do with the heat from the fire or just some evil fate that follows Nick's gang, but shortly after noticing the fire a cell phone that had been dropped on the road side decides to ring attracting even more Zeds!

 

The boys decide not to stick around and make a fight of it until they have a better understanding of the strange occurrences in the town since their last visit.  They fast move around the trucks and across the street to start working their way around the warehouse.

Just as Nick and Gabe cross the street, the doors to the warehouse office burst open and a Woman in a tattered Police uniform flies out.  She's got a shotgun!  The boys are on the ball, make their insight test, and blaze away at the unfortunate Police Woman.

She goes down in a bloody shambles.  Nick was thinking about trying to talk to her when Gabe opened fire, so he joined in.  It turns out this was the right call as she was a Cop turned Ganger, and definitely not friendly!

The gang keeps heading up the alley to the back of the warehouse with Dad in the lead.  Looks like the coast is clear.  (Note the horrible de-lam in the corner of the warehouse where the humidity has caused it to peel.  If the Earth has an anus, I live there.)

As they run up the street, more Zeds responding to the sound of gunfire shamble out of the woods and follow the group.  Man their close!  I sure hope that our friends activate first.

Then to make matters worse, Dad has a little case of the nerves and fires at the shadows attracting even more Zeds from the surrounding area.

Now I need to back peddle a second and explain a little something.  I had gone in for a couple of minutes to get a drink and a pit stop and when I came back out the kids were fighting.  It seems they had a row over a scooter and Nick ran it into Gabe's knee.  As we resumed, tempers were still flaring and they were still arguing back and forth so when we activated they were threatening to shoot each other.  When it came down to it Gabe decided to retract his threat but Nick didn't.  Nick turned to shoot Gabe, and Gabe drew down to defend himself.  With the same Rep they tied with doubles three times before Nick finally got the drop on Gabe.  He unloaded with a blast from his shotgun at point blank range.

As you might have guessed, Gabe went down.  So we have yet another victim of Nick's quick draw.  So here we are surrounded by Zeds, we have an unknown force of ex-Police Gangers, and our gang is having a fire fight among their own ranks smack dab in the middle of it.  I guess we are just simply hopeless.

At this point Dad decides enough of this nonsense, he is definitely all out of bubblegum now.  He scoots over to the building corner for some cover in case Nick gets lucky and has a chance to return fire and unloads a blast of divine retribution on Nick's backside.

With some mighty fine shooting, Dad drops Evil Nick like a bad habit.  Nick goes OD and Dad then declares that Evil Nick's reign of terror has come to an end.

While all this idiocy is transpiring, the cacophony of gunfire is bringing Zeds like a dinner bell.

This is getting ugly fast.  Dad starts wondering if he can even make it out of town now.

Without the higher Rep of Gabe or Nick, he only passes one die on his fast move test and doesn't quite make his get away.  And you guessed it, the Zeds activate first and slam into Dad's flank making him defend himself at a disadvantage.

 

Dad reaches down into his primeval reserves and fights off the two Zeds!  He makes it out of town alive!

(See those two Zeds in black in the distance?  I just noticed I made a mistake, they should have been feasting on Nick and Gabe right about now.  Oh well, it turns out it didn't matter)

Later that day Dad rolls into camp and everyone asks where Nick and Gabe are.  Dad replies "Zed Chow".

Evil LTL Mom says that the only way this gang will ever succeed at a Take Back mission is if we go for a run down mobile home in the desert.  And then it's still a "maybe".  I think she's right.

Bad Dad has regained control of the gang so maybe they will ride again.
Oh, and we forgot to roll our failed mission die so it may still be worse when we do!

ATZ Batrep - Take Back Time

After the failed discovery mission, the surviving members of Nick's gang came trailing back into camp with vengeance on their minds.  AJ was eaten but by the time everyone got back in, Nick managed to recruit another miscreant named AJ to take his place.  Brandon was infected but he hasn't turned and so he will continue on in the hopes of finding a cure.  Fat chance, but we can cap him anytime.  The gang decided to regroup and have another go at trying a Take Back mission in the morning.

Same lineup as before but with the addition of Evil Mom to the group.  In addition, some of the gangers are trying out different rigs.  We even have a Heroscape and D&D type figure on the table this time so you can see that we are not so particular around here.  Hey, they wanted swords, what could I do!?!?

On the first turn it immediately became apparent that the gang had already made an incredibly stupid mistake.  They split into two groups of three and fast moved onto the table with one group going into the gun shop, and the other into the Quickie Mart across the street.  This meant that as each group fired their weapons, they were generating Zeds into each others buildings!  After a good laugh at the stupidity, the gang decided to continue.  Gee wiz, this is so embarrassing I hate to post it, but we never post "fluff" so I have to do it.

Nick, Mom, and Gabe went into the Quickie Mart and found two Gangers and a bunch of Zeds.  Nick wanted to kill the Gangers and leave them to be feasted on but decided against it.  It turns out that maybe he was onto the right move.
On the other side of the street Dad, AJ, and Brandon burst into the gun shop to find it swarming with Zeds!

Both the groups in the gun shop and Quickie Mart (including the neutral Gangers) are mowing down Zeds but not shooting so well.  However, the noise is attracting plenty of Zeds at an alarming rate.

In the Quickie Mart the Zeds have been wiped out by the combined fire of both Ganger groups.

While in the gun shop the battle rages on.  Dad, AJ, and Brandon are not shooting well and there are also just a hell of a lot of Zeds.  And plenty more coming all the time.

Nick and the other Gang leader have a talk and it goes downhill fast.  I have no idea what Nick said to the guy, but he went for his gun.  But Nick was faster and down goes the Ganger!  Nick is becoming something of a fast draw expert it seems.  This is exactly what he did to poor Dad last month.

The remaining Ganger doesn't activate in time to defend himself and he stands no chance.  He goes down under the combined fire of Nick, Mom, and Gabe.

The other group is still blazing away but some of the Zeds will not stay down and others keep coming on.  There is a mob forming out front as well as out back.  The boys are getting nervous.

Quick, get up the stairs!  It's the only way out.

The overall situation after just a couple of activations:  CRITICAL

Right about now, Nick, Mom, and Gabe run out the back door of the Quickie Mart and leave the area, leaving the other group to it's fate.

Only one last thing to try.  Dad jumps through an upper story window and to the ground and AJ quickly follows.  They both make the jump ok.  Brandon finally decides to follow as he is all alone and he twists his ankle in the fall.  Lucky for him he still barely makes it off.

Well that was a total fiasco and we were darned lucky nobody got killed.  We learned that you NEVER run two groups 10 to 12" apart from each other in ATZ.  Really bad idea that one.

Another bit of bad luck for Dad.  He failed his failed mission roll and is now a Rep 4.  I think everyone is really mad now and I suspect that there will be one last try at a Take Back mission in this town.

ATZ Batrep - A Zed Killer is Born

Gee wiz, it has been a while since we did some real gaming around here.  The kids were threatening revolution so I finally broke away from the lousy work schedule and got a couple nice games of ATZ in this weekend.

As some of you may remember, Nick's evil ganger character took control of the gang after he bested dead in a duel for supremacy after a mission.  Since then, Nick has picked up some new recruits and he has decided to go on a plundering spree to test out his gang.  He left all his NPC grunts in camp and brought only would be Stars with him for this one.

The most notable new face is Gabe.  He is a regular fixture around here for gaming, but he has never actually had a chance to play ATZ yet.

The layout.  Lots to explore.

And from the other end, you can see that the propensity for mischief will probably prove to be irresistible.

The gang decides to move on from behind the warehouse.  Everybody is sticking together except for Brandon.  He has decided to run ahead and go for the door to the warehouse despite the warnings from the more experienced Gangers.  There are several large groups of hungry Zeds meandering about and they spot the Gang quickly.

Dad and Nick take the group between the truck trailers hoping to use them as a way to slow the Zeds down when they make their break for the open.

Brandon on the other hand has other ideas.  He continues on his foolhardy course and enters the warehouse alone.  This time he is lucky!  He finds a lone Ganger skulking in the warehouse and manages to get the Ganger to join up with him so he's no longer alone.

Outside the Zeds are angry that their prey is fleeing and some head for the warehouse where they saw Brandon disappear, while the others all head for the group.

Brandon and his new buddy head into the warehouse office and find three Zeds milling about.  Even though they are well armed and not surprised, they manage to botch the shoot up and miss the Zeds completely!

Brandon's new buddy goes down in melee but he manages to down his own Zeds.  One Zed is still up.

Gun shots ring out from the warehouse and outside the Zeds are getting stirred up to a frenzy.  Time for the group to make their break.  They head out under the trailer and around the corner by the white truck.  This should slow those nasty Zeds down a bit.  On the other side, the gunfire is drawing Zeds to the warehouse like flies.

Brandon takes down the last Zed and tries to recover his buddy.  No go, he's gonna be Zed chow.

Time for Brandon to quit messing around, he's drawing quite a crowd.  Ever notice how as slow as Zeds appear to be, they always manage to get where they are going faster than you'd like?

The rest of the gang has outdistanced their pursuing Zeds by a mile and are already at the front door to the warehouse.  Brandon is still dazed, confused, and screwing around in general as he cannot activate without help from Dad or Nick's higher Rep. Note that Zeds are already in the warehouse outside the office!

The other Zeds that were following the main group are way out in the boonies for now.  Sweet.

Ok Brandon.  Now it really is time to get the heck outta there buddy!

He is lucky once again and makes it out of the warehouse where AJ has fallen back to give him some help if needed.  The others are not feeling so charitable and feel that he deserves what he gets.  Dad looks in the silver convertible while passing by and finds the keys in the ignition.  He announces that he will not be handing these to AJ under any circumstance.  Everyone remembers the AJ/silver convertible incident right?  If not, see the Thansgiving special for details.

Here are those speedy Zeds again and they make the corner before our gang can get out of site.

Wow!  It looks like "Buddy" was good for something after all.  He is now a banquet for the hungry Zeds who mob up to stop and feast.  This will give us a little time to maneuver.

Uh oh.  Brandon and AJ have gone off together and found a nice red Porsche in the garage.  Fortunately there are no keys in it.  They do manage to loot some nice melee weapons in the garage.

Meanwhile, Nick and Gabe are looting the gas station and Dad is checking for keys in the squad car.  Gabe found keys in the blue car so we have plenty of transport already if it is needed at some point.

All of a sudden Nick announces that he is going for the chopper.  You can see him taking off between the buildings.  His plan is to go around the back way while the Zeds are distracted.  AJ and Brandon are heading up the street with plans to raid the gun shop.  These guys just cannot stick together and do things systematically.  If there is no chaos, screaming, bleeding, pain etc.. they are simply not happy.

Gabe seems to be exhibiting a bit more sense as he hangs with Dad.  They go into the Quickie Mart in search of a Slushie but all they find is three Zeds.  On the way over, Gabe found the keys to the Cola truck outside.

 

They gun down the Zeds and pop the weasel on one that was only stunned.  But this brings more Zeds.

Dad and Gabe decide to nip this in the bud so they go out and melee a couple of Z's.  Two down.

AJ shoots down another.

And while they are focused on that, four Zeds burst out of the gun shop and they are fighting for their lives!

AJ takes down his Zed but Brandon goes down.  I think his luck just ran out.

Dad and Gabe come to the rescue and soon all the Zeds are down and out.  Brandon regains consciousness but it remains to be seen if he is infected.

Now to see what is in the gun shop.  Dad and AJ get the drop on a couple of Zeds and blow them away.  Brandon is too scared to come in, and all of a sudden Gabe freaks out and proclaims that he can no longer abide the Zeds shadowing and stalking us.  He's had enough of it and goes berserk running off down the street.  Sigh..

And here he goes.  He drops another Zed and his blood is really up.

Remember how I mentioned that Gabe had found keys in the truck?  I think he's serious about being fed up with the Zeds.

More Zeds.  There's always more.  Brandon is getting scared again and decides to join Dad and AJ.

While all this has been going on, Nick has been sneaking around the back way with the goal of reaching the chopper.  Remember Nick?  The Gang leader who is supposed to be leading this expedition?  His timing is lousy however, and some of the Zeds who have finished feasting on Buddy are randomly cavorting out of the warehouse just in time to catch a glimpse of Nick scooting by.

Gabe was in fact heading for the big rig.  He straps on his seat belt and fires the baby up.  With a steely glare of resolve he looks up the street at the mob of Zeds heading his way.

With the pedal to the metal the big diesel screams as it slowly starts to accelerate up the street!  Gabe is alternating between "Your going down Zeds" and "I'm going to die".

Gabe and his big rig plow into the mob of Zeds and start to make sidewalk jelly.

The last thing that many a Zed will see this day.

While looting the gun shop, the boys hear something at the back door.

A bunch of enraged Zeds charge the truck.  Trucks beat Zeds.

Nick is almost to the chopper and he's bringing his fan club.

All the noise and chaos in the street is attracting more Zeds.

The boys have lingered too long.  Zeds burst in from both sides of the shop!

But they handle it well.  Dad and AJ gun down one Zed each and Brandon manages to recover from being surprised from behind and downs his Zed also.

The slaughter in the street continues and Gabe is still in control of the truck.

Nick hesitates as he has second thoughts whether he is up to the challenge of trying to fly the chopper.  In his pre-Zed days he had fixed wing flight experience that may help a little, but it doesn't mean he's going to be able to fly this helicopter!  His groupies are getting closer.

Zeds are everywhere.  No matter where you go, they are shambling about.

Nick finally makes his objective, he's at the chopper!

Gabe has cleared the mob!  He definitely is getting Zombie kill of the week and I think he set the record for single mission Zed kills in our games.  We have already been recycling Zeds for quite some time now and there are still loads of Zed jelly rolls all over the street.

Seeing Gabe's success, Dad starts thinking that we might want to go for a "Take Back" mission and try to turn this map into a base for our gang.  He exhorts everyone to settle down and start to clean up the Zeds one by one.  Here is Dad taking down some Zed stragglers.

AJ follows Dad's lead and runs up to melee a couple more stragglers.  He's decided that shooting is generating too many Zeds.

AJ takes them down without breaking a sweat.  Nice job!

The choppers turbine is winding up!  Is Nick really crazy enough to try this?  I've warned him the challenge will be really tough.

No!  He chickens out!  He shuts it back down and runs out to start blasting the Zeds.  So all he did with the chopper was attract more Zeds.  Now that's leadership.

The blast from his shotgun is not helping much either.  Although, he does take a couple down.

Dad is still out mopping up Zed stragglers in the hope that we can still do a take back mission.

And so is AJ.  He's following Gabe's trail of destruction and cleaning up the stragglers as well.

So what's Gabe been up to?  He's being a very good boy, that's what.  He stops the truck, shuts off the engine, blows away two Zeds who approach the truck and then he gets gone fast.  His plan is to go help Nick clear his problem.

Nick's still standing on the platform trying to decide what to do next.  He's managed to attract a lot of Zeds and he's not feeling good about it.

Dad is still hard at work mopping up.  Brandon is hiding, I forget where.  At some point he runs off

We got trouble on main street.  While AJ was running around mopping up Zeds he was attacked by a mob coming up a side street.  With a little bad luck he goes OOF.

 Before the Zeds can start to feast on AJ, Gabe, our Hero of the day decides to run back to help.  He blows away the Zeds closest to AJ giving him a chance.  He decided to help even after I warned him that going back usually results in death.  What a nice chap.

 Nick has had enough.  He doesn't want to risk his Ganger character because he has so many assets and he decides to turn tail and run off the map.  In a fine display of leadership, he safely makes the jump off the platform and is gone.

At this point the Zeds around AJ are getting thicker and with Brandon, AJ, and Nick out of the game there is little chance to continue.  I manage to convince Gabe to get clear while he still has the chance and he exits.

And now it is time for Dad to go too.  He's heading off and makes it ok.

Which just leaves poor AJ to feed the Zeds.

Well, it looks like Nick's Gang is off to an auspicious start.  40% Casualties and we probably got off light.  Gabe made a spectacular debut with generally good decisions tempered with some well measured audacity.  Gabe went up a Rep justifiably for his action.

The Gang has decided to go back in the next day to try a take back mission again.  Rumor has it that LTL Mom's evil Ganger alter ego will be joining the expedition.  Should be fun!