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Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
10-20-2017, 02:48 PM
Post: #1
Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
Need a little bit of help deciding on the number of turns for two Scenarios I've been working on, as well as some advice on fine-tuning. Planning on running them on Halloween for a group of friends. Both Scenarios are designed to be played with about 7 players, 1 Zombie and 6 Hero characters. They make use of the board tiles and pieces from the base game, Growing Hunger, and Survival of the Fittest (I don't have Timber Peak or Blood in the Forest just yet). The second scenario, Whistleblower's Cure is more of a Player vs Player vs Zombies Scenario, designed to have every player out for themselves.

Board Set-Up:
Both Scenarios make use of all 8 boards from the base game and Growing Hunger, set up with two outer pieces placed together to form a rectangle and sets of these rectangles placed at each side of the core board (the mansion for Two Steps From Hell, or the empty lot for Whistleblower's Cure). City pieces from the other sets can be used, though I specifically set them up in the images below to ensure that travel between the city pieces was still fairly possible, so if you use other board sets, try and keep this in mind.

The pieces are set up in the following manner if the above wasn't completely clear.

[Image: IMG_20171019_194513.jpg]

[Image: LNOEmap.png]

The Antique Shop and Supermarket are to the south, the Gun Shop and Junk Yard are to the west, the Church and Hospital are to the north and the Barn and High School are to the east. You can always change the arrangement, but if there aren't clear paths to move from one area to the next without first returning to the center, it could make the scenario a lot harder for the Heroes without granting free doors (which is more stuff to keep in mind, and I wanted to try and keep things streamlined given how much there already is).

For random rolls, if you have one, use a d10. Treat the board immediately south as 2, with the other boards being numbered 3-9. A roll of 1 is Heroes' Choice and a roll of 10 is Zombie's Choice.

Two Steps From Hell Scenario
Turns: 15?
You and your friends have always known that Woodinvale was off, the weird building layout, the spooky mansion at the center of town, the lack of proper roads in and out of the city, but now it's all come to a head as the mayor has revealed herself as a cultist alongside a large portion of the rest of the town. Using dark magic, she has ripped the entire city outside of reality on a crash course with Hell itself, transforming many of the residents into undead abominations. Sealing herself up in the central mansion, your only hope is to gather together 4 special icons hidden around town and use them to unseal the mansion's magical barriers, enter inside, and stop the head cultist before her ritual is complete and the town descends into Hell forever.

Special Rules
Zombies: Always Zombie Heroes, Grave Weapons, Zombies Auto-Spawn, Zombie Horde (21), Hellhound*, Increased Hand Size (+2)*
Heroes: Heroes Replenish, Survival Deck, Hero Starting Cards (+2), Extra Heroes (+2), Number Counters

Game Set Up: This Scenario makes use of both sets of the A-D tokens, the 1-8 tokens, alongside the mystic circle token and the Zombie Betsy token. Use the manor as the central piece and place 8 boards around it as shown above in the set up section. On each door of the mansion, place one of the four A-D tiles, representing one of the four seals placed around the mansion and preventing others from entering.

Number and Letter Counters: Take the other A-D tiles along with the 1-8 tiles and mix them up, then place them all face down. In each rectangle of the city (the sections formed from two L-pieces), place 3 of the face down tiles in different buildings. They are placed in a square of the zombie player's choice. There are a total of 12 tiles (1-8, plus the four letter tokens), so each side of the board gains the same amount. When a player ends their movement on the same space as a tile, they may immediately flip it over. The A-D tiles are the icons needed to break the seal on the mansion. A player needs to take the icon (which does not use an item slot) to its corresponding door and end their movement there. This breaks one of the four seals. When a number tile is revealed, one of the following things happens, depending on which number was revealed:
  • Counter Table
  • 1-3: the Hero can immediately draw a Unique Item from the Unique Item deck
  • 4-6: the Hero can immediately draw a Survival Tactic from the Survival Tactic deck
  • 7-8: the Hero has stumbled directly into one of the zombie cultists, spawn a zombie with a Grave Weapon directly in their space

A building with a facedown counter cannot be taken over while the counter remains.

Hellhound*: Place the mystic circle token on one of the center board spots of the zombie's choice that is not within the manor. This is a portal created by the Head Cultist that draws forth the immortal Hellhound. On the first turn, the Hellhound is summoned forth from the depths of Hell (use the Zombie Betsy token). It is treated as a zombie for all intents and purposes, with the following exceptions:
  • The Hellhound moves 1d6+1 spaces each round instead of the normal movement for a zombie
  • At the beginning of the zombie turn immediately following the Hellhound dying, it rises once more at the location of the mystic circle.
  • The Hellhound does not move on its own on any turn that it was summoned forth (including on any turn that it has been revived). It may still be moved through cards like Shamble. While it doesn't move on this first turn, it may still fight if in the same space as a Hero.
  • A Hero may play the card Old Betsy to immediately kill the Hellhound, it does not revive on the following turn as it normally does, instead doing so the turn after that. Betsy is discarded when doing so and does not remain on the board.
  • If the manor has been opened, the Hellhound may move on the turn it is summoned

Heroes Start: Heroes begin on any space of the center board instead of their normal starting location. They each begin with 2 Hero cards.

Zombies Start: The Zombie begins the game with an increased hand size of 6 instead of 4 and has access to a full zombie horde.

The Head Cultist: When the Manor is opened, the Heroes finds the insides covered in gore from the bloody ritual the Cultist has enacted. Now, only her death can stop it. The Head Cultist has 4 hit boxes and rolls one extra fight dice in combat. The Cultist moves 1d3 squares each round and may make a ranged attack much like Heroes, with a Range of 3 and hitting on a roll of 4+ (a bolt of dark energy is sent out). The Head Cultist's dark magic prevents her from being instantly killed by effects that would do so, instead, any time this would happen, she simply takes one wound.

Winning and Losing
If the Sun Track runs out and the Head Cultist hasn't been slain, the city descends into hell and the Heroes are forever damned to oblivion. The Heroes also lose during the standard conditions of the Hero Deck running out or 4 Heroes being slain. Killing the Head Cultist before the Sun Track marker hits the end causes the game to immediately end in victory for the heroes, as the connection to Hell has been broken and the town is returned to normal.


The Whistleblower's Cure Scenario
Turns: 17?
Every radio and TV in town has been hijacked by a rogue scientist and now repeats the same message to all who will listen. A government experiment has gone wrong and a nasty virus is reanimating the dead. What's worse, you're all infected and will also rise upon your own untimely demise, which will be soon enough if you don't get the cure. Hidden throughout the town are two canisters containing the original viral samples, which can be used to synthesize a cure when paired up with the research data on the virus, also hidden somewhere in the town inside of a briefcase. The voice on the radio mentions a few more key details. The mayor knew about everything and was paid off to keep it quiet. While the voice doesn't know the location of their safe, he does know the combination; if anyone can bring him at least 250k in cash (so he can take the quickest trip far away from government spooks), along with at least one of the canisters and the research data, he can synthesize a cure for you. The last thing he mentions? Since there are only two viral samples within the city, only two people can be cured and it's first come, first served. Not everyone is making it out of this alive, so who are you willing to trust to have your back?

Special Rules
Zombies: Always Zombie Heroes, Zombies Auto-Spawn, Zombie Horde (21), Radioactive Grave Dead
Heroes: Survival Deck, Extra Heroes (+2), Number Counters, Well-Stocked Buildings

Game Set Up: This Scenario makes use of both sets of the A-D tokens, the 1-8 tokens, alongside the two Bio Canister tokens, the two Toxic Waste tokens, the Briefcase and the four stacks of cash. Use the empty lot as the central piece and place 8 boards around it as shown above in the set up section. The A-D and 1-8 tokens are the only ones truly needed for the scenario, the others are largely for flavour and as reminders.

Number and Letter Counters: Take both sets of A-D tiles along with the 1-8 tiles and mix them up, then place them all face down. The Zombie player may place them on any tile of a building, though each building may only have a single tile placed within it. If you truly want, you can randomly roll for their placement within buildings, but given the number of tiles, it's largely a moot point. When a player ends their movement on the same space as a tile, they may immediately flip it over. The tiles provide the following effects, depending on which tile was revealed:
  • Counter Table
  • 1-8: the Hero can immediately draw a Hero Card. Effects like Jake Cartwright's ability may be used on this, and the hero may instead choose to use the building's Pickup Ability, if one is available.
  • A: the Hero has found the first of the Bio Canisters. Give the player the Bio Canister token. This object does take up one item space in their backpack.
  • B: the Hero has found the second of the Bio Canisters. Give the player the second Bio Canister token. This object does take up one item space in their backpack.
  • C: the Hero has found the briefcase containing research data. Give the player the Briefcase token. This object does take up an item space in their backpack.
  • D: the Hero has found the safe. Immediately place four money tokens in the space. Each one represents 250,000 dollars and takes up a single space in a Hero's backpack. The Hero may immediately pick up any of the stacks and put them in their backpack, leaving any they do not wish to keep behind.
  • A-D: when the second A-D tokens are found, instead of once again finding the original item, the player instead gets their choice of drawing either one Unique Item or one Survival Tactic card.

A building with a facedown counter can be taken over while the counter remains. In this event, the counter is removed and placed within the nearest building. This can lead to their being two tokens in the same building, though put them onto different spaces.

The Bio Canisters, and Briefcase are not destroyed through attacks or from effects such as spreading fire (though this can prevent Heroes from being able to reach the item). The stacks of cash can, however, be destroyed using a fire item or explosive item. A stack of cash can be discarded at any time into an adjacent fire, or burned up using a fire item the Hero has during a Hero's activation. If a Hero dies by fire, or from an explosive attack, any stacks of cash they were carrying are not left behind on the ground, but are instead destroyed.

Toxic Waste: Left behind by the military during their evacuation, these barrels have granted some zombies even more power. At the start of the game, the zombie places the two toxic waste canisters on any two spawning pits. Once per turn, a single zombie spawned at that pit is a Radioactive Grave Dead. Use this in place of the normal Radioactive Grave Dead spawning rules.

Heroes Start: The heroes begin in any space of the center board instead of their normal start space. They do not start with any Hero cards, but do remember that Well Stocked Buildings is in the rules, meaning that when using a buildings pick up ability, they can instead search the deck for that card.

Zombie Heroes: When a Hero dies, they rise once more as a zombie. Allow the original player to continue to control the zombie Hero, the Hero's mind still partially intact, and potentially hungry for vengeance on anyone that took part in its death.

Hero turns and fights between heroes: At the start of the Hero's Turn, determine an initiative order for the heroes, either through high roll on 2d6, using playing cards randomly dealt out (Ace-6, with the Heroes going in order of the cards), or through some other means that you have determined ahead of time. As the Heroes are not entirely working together as a collective, a means of determining their activation order is important.

When passing through another subject's space, either Hero can initiate a fight. This plays much like a normal fight against a zombie with the following notes: unless they have an ability or card that allows them to do so, neither Hero wins on a tie, instead the two Heroes manage to fend each other off without dealing any lasting damage. Hand Weapons that can instantly kill during a fight and explosives can be used to kill a Hero, but Event cards that allow a Hero to instantly kill a zombie cannot be used to kill players. Players may choose to play beneficial Event cards on each other if they so choose.

Winning and Losing
If the sun track reaches the end, all Heroes lose as the Whistleblower is captured after waiting for too long; they are doomed to succumb to their affliction, and then rise as another one of the walking dead, leaving the Zombie player as the winner. If all four stacks of cash are destroyed, the Heroes also lose, as they can no longer pay off the Whistleblower. The normal rules regarding the game ending if four Heroes die is not in effect during this Scenario.

To win, a Hero needs to be on the Road out of Town space and have at least one Bio Canister, the Briefcase, and at least one stack of cash in their possession. At the end of the collective Hero turn, if these conditions are met, that Hero wins the game. As their are two Bio Canisters, two players may choose to collectively win the game, so long as they jointly have the items necessary and are both on the Road out of Town at the same time.





Creator Comments: I largely used the points systems when designing both Scenarios, though the second favours the players a bit since they aren't one collective whole, but multiple players competing against each other. I'm a tad worried that the Hellhound and Head Cultist might make the first scenario a bit too hard, but with the starting cards and the potential for free Unique Items and Survival Tactics, I figure it might be okay. The second one is likely to be a bloodbath, but I think my friends will enjoy it. It's set up so it's slightly easier to accomplish if you find someone to work with, but it can also be won by a single player. Any advice on the scenarios, things you think are problematic, or tips based on your own experiences with Scenarios would be greatly appreciated. If anyone wants to give one of them a spin before Halloween, and has feedback from the session, I'd also really love to hear it.
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10-20-2017, 03:20 PM
Post: #2
RE: Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
When a player controls a zombie hero, do they continue to search as a normal hero or start drawing 2 zombie cards instead?
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10-21-2017, 12:05 AM
Post: #3
RE: Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
Hrrm. I'd actually just thought of treating them as a normal Zombie Hero that the player controls, with the rules staying the same, but letting them draw a single zombie card/turn that they can only use on their Zombie Hero might be an interesting way to run things. It was mainly meant as a way to keep players in the game if they die off a little early, since Heroes Replenish isn't on.
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10-30-2017, 02:30 AM
Post: #4
RE: Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
Did you get to try either of these this weekend? I am interested in hearing how it went.
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11-01-2017, 08:49 PM
Post: #5
RE: Two Steps From Hell and Whistleblower's Cure
We just finished up last night. Since three people ended up canceling due to sickness, I ended up just running some base scenarios since we only had 5 people instead of the 8 I was expecting. I considered still running the Whistleblower's Cure but one of the other scenarios ended up going long and since it was so late we just relaxed instead and chatted instead.

Given how much people seemed to enjoy the game, I figure I'll see about trying to run one of them during our next boardgame night.
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