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"BRAAAINS!" (Plague Zombies updated to 5th ed)

For discussing new rules and changes to the current rules, such as new homebrew datasheets for Apocalypse

"BRAAAINS!" (Plague Zombies updated to 5th ed)

Postby LordMalekTheRedKnight » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:20 am

Hey all :)

a couple of years ago i wrote some rules for Plague Zombies to be used in narrative games (for example, our Halloween "Trick or Treat" game, which you can read about here). ive just realised that i havent updated these rules to 5th ed (or even posted them here - they were on Warseer back in the day), and with Halloween coming up again i think its time i did. as usual, any help is greatly appreciated. :)

here is my first draft of the 5th ed compatible rules:

Plague Zombies!!

Troop Type ........ WS .. BS .. S ... T ... W .. I ... A .. Ld .. Sv
Plague Zombie ..... 2 ..... 0 .... 3 .. 3(4) . 1 .. 2 ... 1 .. 10F .. -

Weapons: Teeth and claws, crude clubs etc (single CCW)

Unit Type: Infantry

Unit Size: Varies (see "Pack Mentality" Special Rule below)

Special Rules:

Brain Dead:
When determining who gets to choose who has the first turn, if the Plague Zombie player rolls more than 2 on a D6, reduce the Score to 2.
Fearless USR (see p75 Rulebook)
Feel No Pain USR (see p75 Rulebook)

Zombie Shuffle:
During the Movement phase, roll 1D6 per unit of Plague Zobies as they Move:

1 - 2 = "Durrr..." - The unit has the "Slow & Purposeful" USR (see p76 Rulebook), and cannot make Run Moves (see p16 Rulebook)
3 - 4 = "Errr?" - The unit Moves and Assaults as normal Infantry. It can make Run Moves, but only if the closest enemy unit would be out of their maximum charge range (6").
5 = "Brains?" - The unit Moves, Runs and Assaults as normal Infantry but uses the Fleet USR (see p74 Rulebook)
6 = "BRAAAINS!" - as "Brains?" but gains the "Counter Attack" & "Furious Charge" USRs (see p74 & p75 Rulebook)

the results of the Zombie Shuffle apply until the start of the next Plague Zombie turn.

Instinctive:
Plague Zombies must always move as fast as possible directly towards the nearest enemy, and must Assault where possible.
Zombies are looking for fresh brains to devour, and as such will ignore Vehicles for the purpose of this rule, unless there are no non-Vehicle models on the table.
In addition, Plague Zombies never "Go To Ground".

Pack Mentality:
- Work out the number of Plague Zombies so that the points values for each army are equal (or not, depending on the scenario being played).
Roll 2D6 - this is the number of Plague Zombies in the first unit.
Repeat the process, creating one unit at a time, until all the Zombies in the army have been divided into units (the last unit may have less models than the number rolled, but that doesnt matter).

- Plague Zombies units cannot deploy so that any of their models are within 2" of a model in another unit, but can otherwise set up as their owning player wishes (within the normal Deployment Zone for the Mission played).

- If, at the start or end of any of their turns, any Plague Zombie unit has at least 1 model within 2" of a model in another Plague Zombie unit, both units merge to form one unit, and act as such for the remainder of the game.

Zombie Plague:
- Group together the casualties caused by each Plague Zombie unit in Combat, to see how they are affected by the Zombie Plague.
Only "mortals" can be affected, so ignore casualties caused on Daemons (following the normal definiton), Necrons (models with the Necron Special Rule) and Vehicles.

- Immediately after all attacks have been made, roll 1D6 for the group of casualties caused by each Plague Zombie unit:
1-3 = Eaten! If the Plague Zombies side wins the Combat, this unit may not make a Sweeping Advance or Consolidate.
4-6 = Infected! replace the models killed with Plague Zombies in coherency with the unit that caused the casualties. they count as part of the unit for the remainder of the game.

- Notes:
1. Regardless of the roll, the models are removed, and cannot be brought back to life by any means (Bionics, regeneration, etc).
2. Tyranids: No models in a Tyranid army can be Infected, so this result has no further affect.
3. "Durrr...": if the Plague Zombie unit rolled a 1 or 2 for its Zombie Shuffle, then ADD +1 to their Zombie Plague roll (making it more likely that their casualties are Infected)
4. "BRAAAINS!": if the Plague Zombie unit rolled a 6 for its Zombie Shuffle, then SUBTRACT -1 from their Zombie Plague roll (making it more likely that their casualties are Eaten)
5. Sweeping Advances and No Retreat: if a unit is caught by Plague Zombies in a Sweeping Advance, assume they scatter and flee, removing them from play as normal. Similarly, if the Zombies kill models due to "No Retreat", assume they are torn limb from limb or eaten alive, and remove them from play as normal. In either case, there is no need to roll to see whether the casualties become Infected.

Fearsome: Any Morale Tests taken by units fighting Plague Zombies are at an extra -1 Ld


so, have i missed anything - will all that now work under 5th ed? :?:

(and if my original Warseer thread still exists, i would appreciate it if someone could find me a link to it)

cheers :)

~ Tim
Last edited by LordMalekTheRedKnight on Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:26 am, edited 3 times in total.
8O :D OMG - Im a Dad - of THREE!! :D 8O
:) I am "LMTRK" on The Wizards Community and MTG Salvation
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Postby conscriptboris » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:25 am

not a big cheese on the rules, but looks good to me!

I actually would like the idea of a last stand zombie game, set points, zombies keep refreshing, who can kill the most in 6 turns or until get strun over get run over :P

Similiar to the beggining of the Armaggedon campaign!

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Postby swordtart » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:37 pm

Points Cost?

I also wouldn't bother trying to nail down explicitely which models are considered mortal. I am sure there are loads of non-necron, non-deamon non-vehicle models that are not mortal. e.g. scarabs do not have the Necron special rule, but are still constructs. If you try to list them then someone will start to use the dark side of the force against you. Since it's a narrative game, the players should be able to decide themselves what is not mortal.

For Boris' "Broken Arrow" scenario, you could use something like the "Without Number" rule from nids.

For an approx 50% points increase any unit that is removed from the board comes back on reformed in the following turn.

As the size of the unit is somewhat random you could simply class all removed zombies as candidates for the new unit and roll 2d6 as usual. If you have enough models, deploy them as a new unit and roll the dice again until you don't have enough models to fill the quota.

New casualties can be added to your pool for your next turns recycling.

so in your turn 2 you have taken 15 casulaties, you roll 2d6 and get an 8. You must deploy a unit of 8. Then you roll again and get a 3 so must again deploy a unit of 3. Then you roll an 11. You only have 4 zombies left so can't make up the unit so you write down that quota and begin your turn. If you take 7 or morse casualties before you next turn you can field the unit of 11 and roll again. If not you have to wait until your next turn.

This should mean that there are a fixed number of zombies (barring converts) and if you are doing well you won't really need any extras if you are doing badly and lots of zombies are being ripped apart you will gain a greater pool of reinforcements.

I would suggest that the other player occupy the middle ground and the zombie player get more than 1 board edge to come in on. One edge could be the way to the helicopt... er shuttle pad for the non-zombie player to escape to.

I may have to give this a go with the wife, she can play Space Marines (because "they are all stompy"). It looks like a good introductory game.
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Postby LordMalekTheRedKnight » Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:50 pm

swordtart wrote:Points Cost?

how did i miss that off? :?

must have been something i added in the drafts in the original thread. :oops:

IIRC 10pts each. (designed for use up to roughly CP level, so 40-50 zombies max)

swordtart wrote:I also wouldn't bother trying to nail down explicitely which models are considered mortal. I am sure there are loads of non-necron, non-deamon non-vehicle models that are not mortal.

gahh this is something else that was discussed in the thread, but it looks like i didnt make changes to my original file. :x

Wraithguard/Lords would be on that list, too.

as they are designed for narrative games its not too big an issue though, as the players/GM can make a ruling on a case by case basis.

swordtart wrote:For Boris' "Broken Arrow" scenario, you could use something like the "Without Number" rule from nids.

yes, i was thinking of that for special scenarios. :)

swordtart wrote:For an approx 50% points increase any unit that is removed from the board comes back on reformed in the following turn.

either that or give the defenders some sort of advantage, like being able to clear a no-mans land (or demolish buildings etc), or have good cover to defend, or automatically get the first turn but deploy second, etc.

swordtart wrote:As the size of the unit is somewhat random you could simply class all removed zombies as candidates for the new unit and roll 2d6 as usual. If you have enough models, deploy them as a new unit and roll the dice again until you don't have enough models to fill the quota.

ooh that sounds good. or maybe even just bring every casualty back as reinforcements, rolling 2D6 like when deploying.

swordtart wrote:I would suggest that the other player occupy the middle ground and the zombie player get more than 1 board edge to come in on. One edge could be the way to the helicopt... er shuttle pad for the non-zombie player to escape to.

sounds cool. 8)

swordtart wrote:I may have to give this a go with the wife, she can play Space Marines (because "they are all stompy"). It looks like a good introductory game.

cheers! make sure you lets us know how it goes. :)

EDIT: the Zombies might have a bit of difficulty taking the Marines down (this was playtested against IG and Eldar, as those are the armies we played at the time). i would suggest against taking too many high strength/save ignoring weapons, or the Marines might not have to break a sweat (and you wouldnt get the tension).

could you double check that all the rules are 5th ed compatible?

cheers

~ Tim
8O :D OMG - Im a Dad - of THREE!! :D 8O
:) I am "LMTRK" on The Wizards Community and MTG Salvation
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