The Young Ones on Vacation - HeroQuest Skirmish battle report part 10

You can find part 9 of this battle report over here.

Happy ANZAC Day!

TURN 10 

To catch up from the last turn, Vyvyan found himself with two body points damage after being slapped by a Zombie Shuffler. SPG narrowly managed to dodge being run over by an overzealous Security Trooper seeking revenge for his fallen comrades, hiding behind a tree. Trooper 2 went nuts and manically started running over zombies and the zombies themselves continued to gather towards the loudest sounds and most visible non-zombie, i.e. Trooper 2 running amok in his Humvee.

The Hero Phase opened up with SPG rolling 7" for movement. The hamster ran from behind the tree he was hiding behind, under the Dodge truck and over towards Vyvyan by the stairs to the caretaker's cottage.

Vyvyan suffered two body hits from the slapping female zombie last turn. In response, he swings his cricket bat and scores 3x Skulls to the female zombies single Black Shield. Smashing the zombie's skull in. Vyv watched with indifference its lifeless body slide back down the stairs to where SPG stood. Giving the horror the two fingered salute, Vyv decided to stay where he was as its safer here for both he and SPG than anywhere else right now.

"Ock. Nice shot Jimmy,"

The Security Team phase now came around and the only one left was Trooper 2 driving the Humvee. Trooper 2 rolls 10" for movement. Speeding forwards, with a zombie still on the bonnet, he slams forwards six inches into another group of zombies. Trooper 2's maniacal driving also managed to collect a Zombie Brute along the way.

The Brute suffered 3x Skull hits to its paltry single Black Shield defence roll and was mushed under the vehicle's tyres.

With the force of the impact, bonnet zombie found itself airborne and slammed into the vegetation clump beyond, where it suffers 3 Skulls damage to its single Black Shield defensive roll.

Into the trees sucker!

The Humvee managed to impact three of the zombies as it came to a screeching halt. The subsequent rolling from the impact of the vehicle saw two of the three zombies mushed, whilst the third one was only grazed, i.e. the single Skull attack scored was negated by a single Black Shield in its Defence roll.

With that carnage, Trooper 2 was still technically in his movement action. As he rolled a total of 10" for movement, it seemed cinematic that he should then reverse the remaining 4". Amazingly, given that he had turned the vehicle around to hit the first batch of zombies, reversing hard another 4" actually saw him run over two more zombies directly behind him (and yes, I had to double check the movement of all that to make sure!).

The sudden hard reverse took out the Bloodface Zombie and one other, Bloodface suffering a 4 Skull attack and failing to role any Black Shields in defence. The other zombie being crunched by one unnegated Skull hit. The reverse also saw the Humvee drag the remains of the Zombie Brute along with it granting a suitable gory end to that monster.

With that, the manic driving of Trooper 2 came to an end and so did the Security Teams Phase. Only the Monster Phase was left.

The zombies, true to form, went after the loudest, closest, visible non-zombie that they could see. That was Trooper 2 in the Humvee. Shuffling forwards, they gathered around the vehicle.

With nothing to chew on, the Monster Phase came to a swift end.

With this, it became obvious as to where this was heading. Trooper 2 was in an ideal position to keep exacting vengeance for his fallen comrades by running over their monstrous killers. Trooper 2 would drive away content in the knowledge that he had whipped out the immediate zombie presence. 

Interestingly, technically the Security Team never got a chance to notice Vyvyan and SPG and as such would not be arresting them (or shooting them) for being on the grounds of the Research Laboratory during the emergency.

This would leave a clear run for Vyvyan and SPG to get to Vyv's Ford Anglia and get out of there. A clean getaway for our Heroes.

Vyv spies the carnage cause by Trooper 2's wild driving

And so, I decided that that would be the perfect end to the game. Vyv and SPG driving off into the sunset having escaped the emergence of the Zombie threat. Now to find Mike, Rick and Neil.

The Jolly Roger for Pirate Borg

 

I have mentioned in the past that my role-playing group has been up to shenanigans lately using the excellent Pirate Borg (D20 OSR/Mork Borg) system, and I can't highly recommend it enough. Seriously, it is excellent.

The lads have been searching for their missing ship, and it hit upon me that for the next adventure they would encounter a very famous Captain that was hunting them for a certain Gem of the Sea that they now possess. So that Pirate Captain would need a ship, and I decided that I would make that ship The Jolly Roger.

Previously I had purchased a Bambu Lab A1 filament printer. I had some teething problems with it doing layer line skipping and it took me a while to work out that I had incorrectly replaced a panel I had removed when lubricating the rails, and that this was the source of my woes. Problem solved I set about looking for a suitable model for the good 'ol Roger. In my travels I found one of the first submarine designs ever produced. In an epiphany, I had found my Jolly Roger!

But who would crew such a bizarre beast of the seas? Of course, who else but a bunch of bilge rats. With that, the bones of the next adventure began to take formal shape.

This model comes from the Bambu Studios creation hub and is a full submarine. So, I needed to cut the bottom off in Bambu Studios software and print it out as it will be sitting on the surface of the water when the lads encounter it. I used a 0.4mm nozzle and so nothing flash in the settings and it worked fine.

As it is a small model (approx. 18cm) compared to the pirate ship I already have (you can see that each of the small squares on my cutting board are 1cm), it could only hold a small crew onboard. Thus, the idea of The Bilge Rats as its crew began to make logical sense. A bunch of Skaven-like like rat pirates. Given also that the Captain won't be a rat, it makes sense that they serve under his leadership with some resentment. Hence some of the graffiti visible on the 'Roger.

And so, with that The Jolly Roger prepares to set sail. All I need to do is paint the Captain, First Mate, and the Bilge Rats crew. And a whole bunch of other things before we have out next game. No rest for the wicked, hey?

The Young Ones on Vacation - HeroQuest Skirmish battle report part 9

You can find part 8 of this battle report over here.

TURN 9 

The Hero Phase opened this time with SPG. The poor hamster hasn't moved much all game and is slowly getting swamped by zombies bordering the pond. In desperate need of a break, he finally rolls high for his movement. Scoring 11" of movement he decides to go for it. Crossing the shortest stretch of water to the ponds' edge, he darts between the legs of a Zombie Shuffler and makes a run for open ground and the caretaker's cottage where he saw Vyvyan entre recently. He has just enough movement to get beyond the zombies shuffling reach at the end of the turn.

"Och, out of my way Jimmy!"

Meanwhile Vyvyan decides that he has had enough of the lack of gratuitous violence and decides to take out the two zombies at the front door of the cottage. The door remains unlocked and so it's only a matter of time before even the stupid zombies manage to open in.

Rolling 10" for movement, Vyv heads for the door. The door is now unlocked and so doesn't require him to use an action to open it. This is good because he needs that action free or he wouldn't be able to attack. Vyv having a Cricket Bat gets a special rule. If he is in melee with multiple models, he can swing the bat attacking each one by dividing his Attack Dice as evenly as possible amongst his attackers. So that will be three Attack Dice on each zombie!

"You know, its moments like these that make me lose my usual tolerance towards communal living."

Rolling three Attack Dice on each zombie, Vyv gets three White Shields on the female zombie and two White Shields and a Skull on the male zombie. In defence, the male zombie rolls three Skulls. Vyv's swing of the bat must have missed the female and slammed to mush the head of the male zombie. This leaves Vyv with a zombie to worry about at the end of the turn.

"Missed! But I did smash his face in."

It's now the Security Turns phase and there is only Trooper 2 left alive. Now safe behind the wheel of the Humvee, he is ready to avenge his fallen comrades. He revs the engine and drops the clutch.

As a special rule, I decided that for each inch the vehicle moves, any zombie or person in the vehicle's way will suffer that amount of Attack Dice. For example, if 5" is rolled for movement, then any zombie in the way of the vehicle from the start of its move to where it finishes will suffer five Attack Dice.

Trooper 2 rolls 7" for movement. He elects to drive 5" straight forward and 2" further at a 45-degree angle. But any zombie in that path is going to suffer seven Attack Dice. In order to be eligible to suffer damage though the zombie's base must be in the front of the vehicle as it moves.

Eleven zombie bases are in front of the vehicle.

Road rage ensues as ten Zombie Shufflers and one Brute are in the way of the vehicle and the fence beyond. These zombies experience the craftmanship of the front fender, being smashed into various shades of red. One Shuffler however somehow manages to end up surviving seven Attack Dice and ends up on the bonnet of the vehicle still alive (in zombie terms). SPG meanwhile looks on in horror as the vehicle almost reaches where he is sheltering behind a tree.

The Monsters now get their phase and the female Shuffler in melee with Vyvyan lets fly with a bunch of slaps. Strangely reminding Vyv of his mother as he grew up, he suffers two Skulls in that attack. Vyv, stunned by the likeness of his mum, fails to defend himself and so suffers two Body hits. He has a total of 8 Body Points, so he is still alive. But that was savage.

"Ouch. Mum!"

"That hurt!"

With no other zombies in melee, the remainder shuffle after the closest visible, or the noisiest, non-zombie visible to their LOS. The Humvee is definitely the loudest, but SPG is also visible to some zombies, and a Congo-line forms up directly behind the hamster. Vyv, for now, is mostly hidden by the movement of the Humvee and so escapes attention.

Congo, Congo, Congo

And so, turn 9 comes to a crashing halt.

Happy Easter, 2026

Matthew 20:17-19 (NIV)

Jesus Predicts His Death a Third Time

¹⁷ Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

 

May this Easter bring you rest, an abiding sense of peace in a very troubled world, and the everlasting deep-seated joy of knowing the one who died for you to give you true life.

The Young Ones on Vacation - HeroQuest Skirmish battle report part 8

You can find part 7 of this battle report over here.

TURN 8 

Vyvyan opens the Hero Phase with a movement roll of 5". Spying his car keys on the table in front of him, he leaves the front door. Going over to the table, he grabs his keys by the weird eldritch keychain a little old lady once gave him as a gift. "Not sure about that old lady. Something odd about her. Brilliant keychain though!" he reminisces to himself.

Meanwhile SPG, Vyv's pet hamster, is having issues down at the pond. The little fella rolls a total of 6" for movement, but he will have to swim across the pond to escape. Given that one inch of movement in water is equal to two inches of movement in clear terrain, the hamsters only options are to move the shortest distance to either side of the pond. However, awaiting there are two separate, hungry groups of zombies. Not a good situation.

Given his predicament, SPG decides to stay where he is for now. The poor little fella hasn't done more than move around the pond. He can't escape these wretched zombies.

So now it's the Security Teams phase. When I say Security Team, I really mean just the last survivor. Trooper 2 has watched in horror as his entire team got whipped out by zombies.

With nothing left to stay for, Trooper 2 uses his action to pop the Humvee roof hatch and drop down inside before closing it. No reason to stand around here shooting at these things. "It's time to get out of this horror show"; he says to himself.

With that, it's over to the Monster Phase.

Zombies aren't bright. The two Shufflers on the cottage porch are no exception to this rule given that they have a Mind of '0'. So, I decided that they can both each roll one die. If one of them scores a Black Shield, then it has managed to accidentally turn the doorknob as it bashes on the door and open it.

They both however managed to roll a Skull indicating that the stupid things just kept bashing on the door without effect.

Over at the pond the Zombies gathered there don't move, electing to stay and stare at the pint-sized snack on the little island in the middle of the pond. If only zombies weren't afraid of water. Actually, they aren't afraid of it so much as they avoid it. So SPG remains safe...for now. The last thing he'd want right now would be for a Spitter Zombie to show up. If such a thing exists. Hmm?

Finally, the remaining zombies all shuffle towards the car park and continue to surround the Security Team's Humvee where Trooper 2 looks on with growing horror.

And so, Turn 8 comes to a quick close and the Hoard shows no sign of stopping.

The Young Ones on Vacation - HeroQuest Skirmish battle report part 7

You can find part 6 of this battle report over here.

TURN 7

Turn 7 opens with the Hero Phase and Vyvyan finding himself in melee with a Zombie Shuffler, with two more Shuffler's closely behind it. Vyv lets fly with his Cricket Bat granting him a massive six dice Attack roll. Vyv scores a lethal four Skulls in that roll, and the zombie isn't able to negate such a massive hit. Vyv slams the zombie's head to mush, and the monster does down twitching on the front porch. "Take that, you bastard," he quips.

Vyv, now free to move, rolls 9" for movement and runs inside the now unlocked front door of the cottage. He slams it shut behind him and leans hard against it. Musing on what just happened as he inspects the blood and gore on his cricket bat, he turns to camera and says: "You know, some people find cricket to be an incredibly boring game. But I find it to be completely brilliant."

Technical note: for this scenario, to open a locked door or lock an unlocked door, requires an Action. However, to open and close an unlocked door does not require the Hero to expend their action for the turn.

Vyv gives the zombie a two-finger salute.

SPG however isn't having as much fun as Vyvyan. Rolling 7" for movement and, seeing the gathering zombies moving around the water's edge, the hamster decides to swim back to the little island in the centre of the pond. At least there he is safe for now. But there appears to be no way for the poor hamster to outpace his perusers by swimming right now. He would need a massive movement roll to get across the pond and far enough away from the Shufflers, and that's increasingly beginning to look less and less likely.

Now it's the Security Teams turn and the only member left of that team is Trooper 2. Having watched the horrid death of his Sergent at the hands of the Zombie Runner, he elects to seek revenge for his fallen comrade and opens fire on the Runner.

Trooper 2 shoots and scores two Skulls on the Runner. In response, the Runner manages to only roll one Black Shield in defence. With only one Body Point left, the Runner fails to negate one of the hits and has its head shot off by the vengeful Trooper. Blam!

And with that, the Monsters now get their turn.

With no visible non-zombie in easy reach to chew on, the zombies move to the closest visible non-zombie that they can see or just recently observed.

The two Shufflers that were coming after Vyvyan gather around the blocked front door to the cottage.

Vyv raises his bat to the window; "Want to play some cricket?"

SPG's admirers gather further around the pond looking for some Hamster snacks.

"Ock, bugger off you lot!"

Trooper 2 also attracts a fan base of zombies interested in inspecting the troopers insides.

With all the zombies now on the table, there are no more available to come onto the playing area. But there are enough zombies here already. 

And with that, Turn 7 comes to an end.