Tomato Sauce
a zombie slaughter-fest
We played this one some years ago, but I only recently found the old file on my external harddrive. I`m a bit of a zombie nut really. Always have been, ever since the first George A Romero movie came out when I was a kid. Since then I`ve collected just about every zombie movie that I could find, on DVD. The zombie genre has a lot to offer for the passionate gamer... especially due to its high solitaire potential. Anyway, heres one I prepared earlier ^^
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a zombie slaughter-fest
We played this one some years ago, but I only recently found the old file on my external harddrive. I`m a bit of a zombie nut really. Always have been, ever since the first George A Romero movie came out when I was a kid. Since then I`ve collected just about every zombie movie that I could find, on DVD. The zombie genre has a lot to offer for the passionate gamer... especially due to its high solitaire potential. Anyway, heres one I prepared earlier ^^
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Like so many teenagers nowadays, most the ones I know seem to love computer and console games... the more gory bloodier the better. Amongst the X-Box, Playstation, and Nintendo gamers, zombie fests and extreme horror would appear to be the coolest thing to `get into` at the moment; so when a few of our younger friends asked if they could come over to play a proper wargame, I jumped at the chance to showcase a tiny piece of my world... show off a part of my collection... and my passion for the hobby.
Three players, one game - my choosing - OOoooo lovely jubbly :-)
So, as my last novel was a post apocalyptic near future neo gothic horror tale, and as a large part of my most recently painted miniatures theme is an extensive horror collection... and as all the attending teenagers own an appalling lack of sensitivity to blood and gore, I thought this seemed appropriate – but with a whimsical and light hearted twist. I would make the game a ripping yarn and horror romp which even Terry Pratchett would be proud of. My logic is: if the players are already de-sensitized to emotional horror, then why not approach the subject from another direction by turning the genre on its head and make fun of things a little bit, yet create an experience equally as intense as the real deal fiction horror tales.
In short, I would create a black comedy for them to go adventuring in.
The kitchen table: a Twilight World game setting.
Anticipation, nervous excitement, and compulsory pre-cursive prep talk necessary for newbie players.
Players (left to right): Byron, John, and Caitlin.
Players (left to right): Byron, John, and Caitlin.
The back story:
So far, Twilight World has reached the second phase of the B.D.S. Virus, which has struck with deadly consequences; literally causing the virtual decimation of mankind`s fragile sanity in a single month. However, a third phase of the plague caused by an unexpected mutation cycle within the xeno virus has started a chain reaction, which is turning the corpses of the recently deceased into reanimated eating machines who like to feast on junk food covered in red tomato sauce. What is left alive of humanity will have to survive in the horrific global aftermath of debauchery and bad health.
In the deep of winter, our three intrepid heroes start the game cold, tired, and hungry; roaming the wilds like nomads in search of somewhere safe and warm for them to rest and take shelter from the elements.... hopefully able to find someplace where they can cook some real food completely free of additives, fat, and tomato sauce.
Stumbling upon an old church, a farm house and outbuildings, the heroes need to secure the area of any re-animates, and build a perimeter for themselves... before the night fall, which is due to descend sometime over the next hour or so.
So far, Twilight World has reached the second phase of the B.D.S. Virus, which has struck with deadly consequences; literally causing the virtual decimation of mankind`s fragile sanity in a single month. However, a third phase of the plague caused by an unexpected mutation cycle within the xeno virus has started a chain reaction, which is turning the corpses of the recently deceased into reanimated eating machines who like to feast on junk food covered in red tomato sauce. What is left alive of humanity will have to survive in the horrific global aftermath of debauchery and bad health.
In the deep of winter, our three intrepid heroes start the game cold, tired, and hungry; roaming the wilds like nomads in search of somewhere safe and warm for them to rest and take shelter from the elements.... hopefully able to find someplace where they can cook some real food completely free of additives, fat, and tomato sauce.
Stumbling upon an old church, a farm house and outbuildings, the heroes need to secure the area of any re-animates, and build a perimeter for themselves... before the night fall, which is due to descend sometime over the next hour or so.
Paranoia, with a quick stir from the GM.
The three characters are:
Leroy Byronius: former cop and hardcore tough guy. Played by Byron.
Harvy: taken straight from the big dumb guy in “Sin City.” Played by Byron`s friend John.
Nanny Gobnat MacGillycuddy: old woman of Irish/Canadian extraction. Played by Caitlin.
It was funny watching them argue for a good twenty minutes over exactly where they would enter the map along the side I designated for them to appear from; and while they formulated plans, disregarded them, planned again, argued, and started to `bond` as a team, I smiled inwardly and made myself a cup of tea.
Good! They were already hooked, and the game hadn`t even properly started yet.
By the time they had formulated a decent plan, they were already lost in the futuristic neo gothic world of my devising. They no longer sat in our kitchen surrounded by cooking implements and daily impedimenta... instead they saw a snow covered setting, frozen buildings, and a bleak landscape full of boding tension and danger behind ever tree, every wall and hedge, where every window contained the grinning face of some hungry macabre cadaver, ready to squirt red sauce at them and force them to eat junk food and become one with them.
Now all I had to do (as Games Umpire) was work on their paranoia.
Game On:
So I started handing out little slips of paper which I had prepared earlier, to each player. I gambled on the something I have learned (from experience) about newbie rpg/tabletop players... they rarely disseminate information with one another, and I intended to make this work in my favour to enhance their enjoyment of the game.
So I started to feed each of them tiny bits of information, mis-information, suggested impulses, bad feelings, hunches, snippets of gossip about the situation as each perceived it, and about each of the three player characters. The icing on the cake came when they each started looking across the table at one another and paid less and less attention to working as a team; which was the vital lesson I really wanted to teach them... always work together against the Games Master: don`t help the Games Master take them apart a piece at a time.
It nearly made me laugh out loud to watch them huddle their characters together as they entered the game board, hugging every piece of terrain, and covering every angle against possible attack. Good! They were learning fast.
But as they were talking, debating and generally peeing their pants at every sudden noise and fresh piece of information I was feeding them... it was pretty easy for me to slip my first bad guy onto the board without them even noticing I`d done it.
Leroy Byronius: former cop and hardcore tough guy. Played by Byron.
Harvy: taken straight from the big dumb guy in “Sin City.” Played by Byron`s friend John.
Nanny Gobnat MacGillycuddy: old woman of Irish/Canadian extraction. Played by Caitlin.
It was funny watching them argue for a good twenty minutes over exactly where they would enter the map along the side I designated for them to appear from; and while they formulated plans, disregarded them, planned again, argued, and started to `bond` as a team, I smiled inwardly and made myself a cup of tea.
Good! They were already hooked, and the game hadn`t even properly started yet.
By the time they had formulated a decent plan, they were already lost in the futuristic neo gothic world of my devising. They no longer sat in our kitchen surrounded by cooking implements and daily impedimenta... instead they saw a snow covered setting, frozen buildings, and a bleak landscape full of boding tension and danger behind ever tree, every wall and hedge, where every window contained the grinning face of some hungry macabre cadaver, ready to squirt red sauce at them and force them to eat junk food and become one with them.
Now all I had to do (as Games Umpire) was work on their paranoia.
Game On:
So I started handing out little slips of paper which I had prepared earlier, to each player. I gambled on the something I have learned (from experience) about newbie rpg/tabletop players... they rarely disseminate information with one another, and I intended to make this work in my favour to enhance their enjoyment of the game.
So I started to feed each of them tiny bits of information, mis-information, suggested impulses, bad feelings, hunches, snippets of gossip about the situation as each perceived it, and about each of the three player characters. The icing on the cake came when they each started looking across the table at one another and paid less and less attention to working as a team; which was the vital lesson I really wanted to teach them... always work together against the Games Master: don`t help the Games Master take them apart a piece at a time.
It nearly made me laugh out loud to watch them huddle their characters together as they entered the game board, hugging every piece of terrain, and covering every angle against possible attack. Good! They were learning fast.
But as they were talking, debating and generally peeing their pants at every sudden noise and fresh piece of information I was feeding them... it was pretty easy for me to slip my first bad guy onto the board without them even noticing I`d done it.
It took the heroes two turns to notice there was a figure standing staring at them in the distance from between two wrecked cars.
John took point, slipping quietly into the first building (an old folly tower), while the others moved to the front door cautiously... all the time keeping an eye on the lone figure standing in the distance. The fact it was a girl, and the fact she didn`t respond to their calls and just stood there swaying slightly really, seemed to unnerve them considerably.
As John`s character Harvy entered the building, I secretly made a few checks on the random encounter sections of the Twilight World rules, and discovered the building was indeed occupied. Next I used the random charts to determine whether the occupants were friendly or aggressive.
No sooner had John`s character entered the building when he spotted three re-animates advancing steadily towards him across the crumble stone chamber... each carried a full bottle of tomato sauce, and didn`t looked afraid of using it.
Next: several things happened at once. John`s character legged it out of the building as fast a his feet would carry him.... followed by all three tomato fiends who leapt on Byron`s hero Leroy, who didn`t have time to move out of the way before they reached him.
The heroes basically scattered in three directions (instead of standing firm as a team and working together as one), while the original lone figure (actually a zombified cosplay style Japanese schoolgirl) started to move forward rather quickly.
A pack of wild dogs (who the players had, by now, come to regard as a harmless sideshow) began to get excited by the sudden commotion.
No sooner had John`s character entered the building when he spotted three re-animates advancing steadily towards him across the crumble stone chamber... each carried a full bottle of tomato sauce, and didn`t looked afraid of using it.
Next: several things happened at once. John`s character legged it out of the building as fast a his feet would carry him.... followed by all three tomato fiends who leapt on Byron`s hero Leroy, who didn`t have time to move out of the way before they reached him.
The heroes basically scattered in three directions (instead of standing firm as a team and working together as one), while the original lone figure (actually a zombified cosplay style Japanese schoolgirl) started to move forward rather quickly.
A pack of wild dogs (who the players had, by now, come to regard as a harmless sideshow) began to get excited by the sudden commotion.
Tomato sauce flies everywhere as the crazed fiends attack the hero cop.
First Contact:
Well, the re-animates tried to squirt sauce everywhere, but the heroes got the measure of them fairly quickly. The cadavers were slow, a bit stupid, and in small numbers didn`t seem like much of a threat to anyone. The dead `uns were soon dispatched, and the players debated what to do next.
Meanwhile I continued to feed each player secret cards and by now, Byron, John, and Caiti each had quite a handful of file cards on the table in front of him or her. Each player was starting to look at the blank side up collection of little mysteries with growing suspicion, and I could see the solidarity wall was coming down a brick at a time.
And I smiled, and saw that it was good.
.... and then I started using the sand timer (egg timer) to mark the passage of game time, and the paranoia went up several notches. Actually, I was marking time in real terms (not in game turns). I knew that on the tenth turn of the timer, dusk then night would descend.
Well, the re-animates tried to squirt sauce everywhere, but the heroes got the measure of them fairly quickly. The cadavers were slow, a bit stupid, and in small numbers didn`t seem like much of a threat to anyone. The dead `uns were soon dispatched, and the players debated what to do next.
Meanwhile I continued to feed each player secret cards and by now, Byron, John, and Caiti each had quite a handful of file cards on the table in front of him or her. Each player was starting to look at the blank side up collection of little mysteries with growing suspicion, and I could see the solidarity wall was coming down a brick at a time.
And I smiled, and saw that it was good.
.... and then I started using the sand timer (egg timer) to mark the passage of game time, and the paranoia went up several notches. Actually, I was marking time in real terms (not in game turns). I knew that on the tenth turn of the timer, dusk then night would descend.
Suspicion.
I was surprised when rather bravely John and Caiti agreed to re-enter the first house and check to see if there was anything useful within. Meanwhile, Byron`s character Leroy walked towards the disused cars intent on checking them out for supplies.
So Harvy and Granny MacGillycudy walked cautiously back into the now seemingly deserted house... and as their eyes adjusted to the growing gloom, they noticed a few items of interest. A small sack of potatoes, a few cans of food in a grubby and out of order mini fridge, a small medical kit, and some bandages hidden in an old rusty tin box. Harvy pocketed the grub while Granny checked the medi kit.
They also spotted an iron grate in the floor, with a flight of stone steps leading down. John had been told about the iron grate upon his first brief entrance into the tower building, but this time round, the grate was standing open.
So rather intrepidly (and perhaps foolishly) they decided to split up even further, and Harvy walked alone down the steps, while Granny waited in the room above.
Then a really amazingly dangerous decision was taken, at Byron`s behest (the un-appointed spokesmen for them all)... Granny closed the door to the tower... the only door in the tower..... the same door they had all already been told only had a door handle on the outside of the large wooden door.
So when Harvy realized there were a pile of zombies all armed with tomato sauce, piling towards him out of the darkness, he made a rather speedy exit from the catacombs below in a move which might even have made Linford Christy proud.
So Harvy and Granny MacGillycudy walked cautiously back into the now seemingly deserted house... and as their eyes adjusted to the growing gloom, they noticed a few items of interest. A small sack of potatoes, a few cans of food in a grubby and out of order mini fridge, a small medical kit, and some bandages hidden in an old rusty tin box. Harvy pocketed the grub while Granny checked the medi kit.
They also spotted an iron grate in the floor, with a flight of stone steps leading down. John had been told about the iron grate upon his first brief entrance into the tower building, but this time round, the grate was standing open.
So rather intrepidly (and perhaps foolishly) they decided to split up even further, and Harvy walked alone down the steps, while Granny waited in the room above.
Then a really amazingly dangerous decision was taken, at Byron`s behest (the un-appointed spokesmen for them all)... Granny closed the door to the tower... the only door in the tower..... the same door they had all already been told only had a door handle on the outside of the large wooden door.
So when Harvy realized there were a pile of zombies all armed with tomato sauce, piling towards him out of the darkness, he made a rather speedy exit from the catacombs below in a move which might even have made Linford Christy proud.
Food Junky human wave attack formation – i.e. mindless hunger and instinct.
Ah well, yep... I guess it’s fair to say they panicked a bit!
Granny MacGillycuddy tried to climb out of a tiny window at the side of the building, and got herself stuck half way through. Harvy pulled a large wooden kitchen table over the now closed grill in the floor, then sat on the table to give it some weight; while Leroy (now checking out the abandoned cars.... and had discovered a couple of drums of what he thought was diesel) ran as fast as he could over to the tower building, intending to open the door and rescue his friends from danger. However, when he got to the door, he found it was barred and bolted by some unseen hand... and now the panic level rose another notch. Byron`s character Leroy rushed back to the abandoned cars, and proceeded to drag one of the barrels over to the door of the tower, hoping to set it on fire and cause an explosion which would destroy the door and allow his friends to escape relatively unscathed.
But before Leroy had a chance to implement his plan, Harvy had a brainwave (big lummox). He got off the table, and charged the door, which after a couple of attempts splintered and shattered in its frame, and suddenly, an escape route was available.
Granny plopped out of the window like a cork, and ladded in a heap on the snow outside the tower.
.... right in time for the three re-united heroes to witness the first of the re-animate reinforcements arrive on the scene. Drawn by the noise and the commotion, the heroes now faced a fiendish horde of starving food junkies, intent on converting the survivors to their own way of thinking.
Granny MacGillycuddy tried to climb out of a tiny window at the side of the building, and got herself stuck half way through. Harvy pulled a large wooden kitchen table over the now closed grill in the floor, then sat on the table to give it some weight; while Leroy (now checking out the abandoned cars.... and had discovered a couple of drums of what he thought was diesel) ran as fast as he could over to the tower building, intending to open the door and rescue his friends from danger. However, when he got to the door, he found it was barred and bolted by some unseen hand... and now the panic level rose another notch. Byron`s character Leroy rushed back to the abandoned cars, and proceeded to drag one of the barrels over to the door of the tower, hoping to set it on fire and cause an explosion which would destroy the door and allow his friends to escape relatively unscathed.
But before Leroy had a chance to implement his plan, Harvy had a brainwave (big lummox). He got off the table, and charged the door, which after a couple of attempts splintered and shattered in its frame, and suddenly, an escape route was available.
Granny plopped out of the window like a cork, and ladded in a heap on the snow outside the tower.
.... right in time for the three re-united heroes to witness the first of the re-animate reinforcements arrive on the scene. Drawn by the noise and the commotion, the heroes now faced a fiendish horde of starving food junkies, intent on converting the survivors to their own way of thinking.
Oh Sh**!!!
But yet again, the intrepid heroes got themselves out of immediate danger with amazing gile and cunning. The first barrel of inflammable material was rolled towards the approaching multitude, and set alight with a single well aimed shot and spark from a handgun.
Zombies flew in every direction.. including quite a lot of tomato sauce; and suddenly, the area was secure again – for the moment. No one seemed to have remembered that noise attracts these vicious cadavers, so I remained silent, and watched my plans of hero disintegration work their course.
Now let it work,
Destiny thou art afoot,
Mischief take thee what course thou wilt.
(Shakespeare).
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Betrayal:
I guess it all started with an accident. Byron`s character accidently shot John`s character in a close encounter fire fight with a randomly generated zombie, which knocked him completely senseless. But then Byron (who had been being fed paranoia like a drug, by yours truly) moved over to the prone body of his friend, and frisked him over for anything of value; basically stealing anything he could use and adding it to his own character sheet.
John never trusted Byron again during this game, and when he recovered consciousness, he moved off alone... and suddenly the game had turned into a three player event. Byron and Caiti, versus John, and me the zombie player. Although John would not actually attack his former character friends, he would not help them any further in the game.
Zombies flew in every direction.. including quite a lot of tomato sauce; and suddenly, the area was secure again – for the moment. No one seemed to have remembered that noise attracts these vicious cadavers, so I remained silent, and watched my plans of hero disintegration work their course.
Now let it work,
Destiny thou art afoot,
Mischief take thee what course thou wilt.
(Shakespeare).
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Betrayal:
I guess it all started with an accident. Byron`s character accidently shot John`s character in a close encounter fire fight with a randomly generated zombie, which knocked him completely senseless. But then Byron (who had been being fed paranoia like a drug, by yours truly) moved over to the prone body of his friend, and frisked him over for anything of value; basically stealing anything he could use and adding it to his own character sheet.
John never trusted Byron again during this game, and when he recovered consciousness, he moved off alone... and suddenly the game had turned into a three player event. Byron and Caiti, versus John, and me the zombie player. Although John would not actually attack his former character friends, he would not help them any further in the game.
Harvy: a man alone in a sea of woe.
But, over the next half a dozen turns, the three of them found themselves pushing deeper and deeper onto the board, and by the time game night had properly set in, I was finally ready to spring my trap.
When Byron and Caiti`s characters entered the courtyard of the main building, my `brain zombie` leader.... uttered a mighty roar, and suddenly the board was infested with re-animated corpses, all eager to rekindle their lust for Burger King and McDonalds - with plenty of squirty sauce on the side.
John`s solo character missed the ensuing carnage by the skin of his teeth. Because he had remained somewhat apart from the other duo, I couldn`t quite manage to get the Harvy character close enough to include him in the trap.
Darn!
When Byron and Caiti`s characters entered the courtyard of the main building, my `brain zombie` leader.... uttered a mighty roar, and suddenly the board was infested with re-animated corpses, all eager to rekindle their lust for Burger King and McDonalds - with plenty of squirty sauce on the side.
John`s solo character missed the ensuing carnage by the skin of his teeth. Because he had remained somewhat apart from the other duo, I couldn`t quite manage to get the Harvy character close enough to include him in the trap.
Darn!
The trap is sprung!
Suffice to say, Leroy Byronius now loves junk food and tomato sauce, and he has recently joined the ranks of the mindless masses in their eternal search for food which provides them with absolutely no sustenance what so ever.
Granny escaped into the woods, several rounds of ammo spent, wounded, alone, and utterly dejected.
Harvy eventually escaped with a sack full of food, medical supplies, and a whole tub of morphine (which he could later barter with other survivor groups for different things he might need along the way).
Ah well, I guess the morale of this story and a reminder to all gamers is: always work together to achieve your goals.
Otherwise, divided you will fall!
Granny escaped into the woods, several rounds of ammo spent, wounded, alone, and utterly dejected.
Harvy eventually escaped with a sack full of food, medical supplies, and a whole tub of morphine (which he could later barter with other survivor groups for different things he might need along the way).
Ah well, I guess the morale of this story and a reminder to all gamers is: always work together to achieve your goals.
Otherwise, divided you will fall!