Saturday, 9 February 2019

22C - toot battle in the ruins - Part 1

Toot strikes back.

Feral tribes have been expanding across the world and toot is determined to destroy them. Also, there have been hints of a new force of humanity, a new army, and toot is not going to sit back and wait.
It is deploying a strike force of its new RoBroZ along with some DroneZ and TankZ. Of course a large group of HumanZ will proceed their robotic masters to identify the location of the ferals and absorb casualties.

The feral tribe occupying the ruined city had been under pressure for some time. A previous major attack by toot forces had been beaten off but with significant losses. Other minor attacks caused further losses. While the ruined city protected them from toot CarZ, BusZ and TruckZ, small groups of HumanZ would slip through and kidnap their people. DroneZ and TankZ attacks also sapped their strength.

When the toot forces started assembling on the out skirts of the city the Columbus Ohio ferals put out a call to all other tribes for assistance. The Columbus tribe knew that they would not be able to resist this onslaught of HumanZ and the new and terrifying RoBroZ.

None of the other ferals would come to help, despite repeated pleas and entreaties. “If we don’t fight them together here they will soon be at your town” the Columbus ferals leader said. But her arguments were useless and she was about to leave the control room to encourage her troops when an unfamiliar voice came over the radio room.

“Acknowledge your request for assistance. This is the 5th Air Assault Group. Can you confirm your position and the location of the toot attack.”

The feral leader was suspicious but knew there was no time to doubt the call. She had never heard of this group but anything was better than nothing. “We are north of the elevated highway. Toot is attacking from the south. What forces do you have?”

“Rodger that Columbus, we have four gunships and six slicks incoming. The slicks will land north of the highway while the gunships cover. Please advise your troops!”

“Thank you. I will send out the message that help is coming!”

“Rodger Columbus, our ETA is twenty minutes!”

She turned and shouted orders to tell the tribe help was coming before asking her captain. “What the hell is a slick and what is ETA. And who is Rodger? Get the Nerd, maybe he knows”

Nerds were this post-apocalyptic world’s answer to lost knowledge. Nerds learnt to read and studied the left over books, manuals, and the machinery of the bygone world. A cross between a librarian, an archaeologist and a hunter (think Indiana Jones) they searched through the ruins for old books and for any pre-collapse technology that they could use and would not betray them to toot.

The Nerd was down in his shelter, packing away books and equipment so that another Nerd could find them in the event that the toot forces over ran the base. The Nerd was quick to respond to the commander’s summons and soon entered the command room and the commander shouted for answers.

“A slick in this context is a helicopter that carries around 10 soldiers. It may have some light weaponry for self defence as well. ETA is Estimated Time of Arrival. Rodger is not a person but them acknowledging that they have heard you. From all the terms they sound like some old school group that have got themselves really organised with plenty of resources.”

“Well let’s hope so Nerd. You had better stay here in case we need some more translating. It will be too easy to screw up communications with toot attacking.”

Toot forces are already on the board. (right hand side of picture)

Ferals are deployed in defensive positions along the elevated highway (from top to bottom of the picture) with some in the craters where the highway interchange used to exist and some strong points in ruined buildings in front of the highway.. Their vehicles are in the rear as reserves. They also have one chopper (top left corner of picture.)

United Humanity forces fly in from the left. Turn 1 the gunships and turn 2 the slicks with their troops. (gunships bottom left corner)


Ferals chopper takes off


HumanZ and a TankZ enter the central crater, one DroneZ is destroyed while the RoBroZ advance


Humanity Slicks arrive


Another DroneZ is brought down by the gunships. The HumanZ approach the highway, there are too many to stop.

TankZ and RoBroZ are on the flanks. The main force of RoBroZ and HumanZ take the centre of the board

HumanZ and TankZ surround a feral position. Feral utes come to their aid

Unopposed the gunships provide ground support while the slicks arrive and start landing their troops



At the end of turn three toot casualties are mounting but they are mostly just HumanZ and are of no concern.


Friday, 7 December 2018

Episode Five Mars- Rescue Mission May 1895

Captain James T Cook and the HMSS Endeavour - VSF 1770

“Space the new frontier.  These are the voyages of the Her Majesty’s Star Ship Endeavour.  Its five year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilisations; to boldly go where no Englishman has gone before.”- Captain James T Cook

Captain’s Log: 15 May 1895 – Mars!

After leaving Venus we received an S.O.S. on the Aethergram. "This is Earl Codpiece. My daughters and I are stranded in the city of Coccyx on Mars. Our colonisation mission has failed as all our civilian colonists have gone mad and are attacking us. They bite each other and then rise from the dead. We are surrounded in a building near the edge of the city. Our company of regular infantry are low on ammunition. Please help us!"

"What do you think Captain" said my trusty man Cheerful Rodgers.

"Well, the Earl Codpiece is famous for being a complete idiot and I certainly would start biting people if I was near him for anytime. But with the chance to pick up a company of redcoats we are going! Ship Commander Robert Molyneux, please set course for Coccyx on Mars."

We have landed on Mars again. The green rectangles are possible mad colonists.



Passing over the city we saw the Earl and his surviving crew members huddled on the roof of a building.



We can only deploy one Gatling gun after the debacle with the dinosaurs.

We cautiously deploy and already some dogs race towards us.


We fire at the dogs and kill one but one makes it to our lines and kills a crew man. 

Note:    The black skull marker shows where a crewman died. These stay here until they turn into a zombie. The red fire markers show where zombies were shot at/killed this turn and are then removed.

We kill the remaining dog and press onwards.


As we come closer to the city more crazy colonists (aren't they all though) appear and charge towards us.

Just then, the crewman killed by the dog comes back to life and charges the Gatling gun!. Cheerful Rodgers says "That is typical zombie behaviour Sir!. I saw that in Cuba in 85!"

I call out to the men "They are zombies not colonists! Load rifles. Shoot to kill!!"

Zombie dogs attack the Marines but they shoot down two 

Zombies come at the crew in the middle.

On the right the crew blast away at the zombies approaching them and kill four.
On the left the Marines finish off the last of the dogs.

We blast the oncoming zombies and kill two but lose two crewmen

The Gatling gun crew blasts the zombie attacking them.

On the right the zombie hordes advance menacingly.
Overview of the current situation.
In the middle we finish off the remaining zombies but lose another crewman. The Marines come to our aid.

On the right the crew kill three zombies but the rest advance.

The Senior Leadership Team bravely moves forward against minimal opposition. The Marines move up in support.

On the right the crew bravely blast away at the zombie horde killing five but losing two of their own.

In the middle the zombies assault but are destroyed. Luckily the Marines get there in time but two of them die. Behind us one the the dead crew re-animates as a zombie.

On the right the zombie assault continues. Another zombie goes down but the horde gets closer.

We push forward in the middle. Killing a zombie that reanimated from a Marine. The Earl has seen us and brings his force towards us. They must be completely out of ammunition as they form a square to defend all round with their bayonets.

On the right the zombie assault grows in strength as the crewmen retreat.
The zombies reanimate in the middle and attack

More Marines die while the Earl, his family and soldiers slowly move towards us and rescue

On the right the crew seem about to get overwhelmed by the zombie hordes. They kill many and then their own casualties come back to attack them.
In the middle the final zombies are killed off but on the right they have won and killed all the crewmen. These dead crewmen will now join the zombies.

The Gatling Gun blasts the zombies killing three. The rest of the crew retreat with the surviving colonists.

The zombies have been destroyed with no further losses.The colonists have been saved. A medal or two for the men no doubt and rewards, recognition and promotions for the officers.

Another successful mission, 14 crew and marines killed but they are replaced by 23 soldiers happily joining my command. The soldiers declined Earl Codpiece's suggestion to start a new colony saying that they wanted to repay their debt to the crew of the Endeavour. Cheerful later told me the men would happily join the devil if it meant they did not have to see or hear the Earl ever again. A backhanded compliment but I take what I can get.

Some of the ladies said they would like to join the crew but the Earl forbade it.

"Cheerful, send an aethergram to the Admiralty. Earl Codpiece and family saved. Soldier shortage sorted. Next mission please."

In the Admiralty Admiral Burns read the aethergram. "Excellent, excellent, the Earl will owe me big time now! Tell Cook he has another rescue mission. The daughter of Lord Backstabber has been reported missing. He is to look for her on the moons of Jupiter. We believe she is on Europa setting up some sort of weird suffragette community against her fathers wishes. Nonetheless, her father has lost contact with her and is yelling at the PM to find her. So act promptly."

Some notes. The zombies are not really identifiable in photos so I will add some blood to their bases.



Friday, 30 November 2018

New Purchase

From the local war games show MOAB I got some toys from the bring and buy.

Trees are from an earlier AliExpress purchase = more to follow

Scary alien tripods and attack ship.

One large attack ship with muliple guns

Two large Tripods with guns

Three smaller tripods that control the drones which destroy all the prey creatures.

A worthy new alien army for $30. I only had to add some paint to the tripods and paint up the drones.