By Mike Ganotisi
After watching the first two episodes of “The Walking Dead”, Season 1 this week, I was in the mood for some Zombie action. Since Halloween is coming up, I figured it would be fitting to play the campaign. Besides, I love seeing my 3 year old daughter hesitate when I ask her to pull a “zombie” from the bag during the zombie generation phase. I couldn’t help but scare her once…so I yelled “ARRRGH” as she reached in the bag.

Scenario 1: A Few Bullets More (Solo)

It’s been 26 days since the Apocalypse. Tonya and I (Beck) have been constantly on the move in search of food, ammo, and weapons. Food was the least of our worries. It was the weapons and ammo that kept us alive. We have been fending off zombies in Vegas for several weeks before they decided there where too many of them. We managed to escape the swarm realizing our only option was to leave the city and head west towards a small town called Last Chance.


I never thought we’d make it, but we’re finally here. It seems like the zombies in Vegas hardly noticed we had made a run for it. The town was quiet. It was obvious that the walking dead had already made their way here. I can only speculate that this was their last stop prior to the city.

Turn 1
Tonya and I decided to split in order to make the search quicker. We agreed to not wander too far from each other in any case we would need the extra assistance. Tonya immediately ran towards the closest building and stopped short of the entrance. She peeked through the window only to find a gang of zombies feasting on one of the store owners. She looked over to me and placed a finger over her lips, signaling me to keep quiet.

The building I entered was also occupied by zombies. The victim distracted them from my arrival. I stepped back and nodded to Tonya, indicating that my building yielded the same results. We regrouped between the two buildings and formulated an alternate plan. Tonya was in mid-sentence before her eyes widened. Two zombies were behind me creeping towards our direction. There was no time to talk, just RUN!



Turn 2
We continued west through the town and in the distance there were more of them headed our way. Our presence was now known. The soft sand sucked most of our energy so we headed towards the street to give us better footing.


Turn 3
Tonya headed straight to the southern building. A yellow truck sat in the driveway splattered with blood. Again, Tonya surprised some zombies chomping away at the two dogs that once guarded the compound. Tonya left them alone.

I assumed our plan never changed so I sneaked into the convenient store for some cover. I stopped, looked, and listened… no sign of zombies. I rushed towards one of the aisles and opened up a bag of chips, munching away as I slip a few bags in my backpack. At the counter, I grabbed a handful of jerky sticks and nibbled at one. A zombie jumped from behind the counter and lunged toward me. I yelled for Tonya but it was too late. One of them was behind me while another grabbed at my leg. There were at least 6 of them.

(Beck receives 2 wounds from melee.)

I struggled to look out the window. Tonya had heard my cries of despair but she, too, was busy with 4 of her own. Tonya reacted with a quick shot before they crowded her. A shot cracked in the air but none of them went down. (Tonya missed shot; missed again with reroll ability. Tonya received 2 wounds from melee.)

I did the same. I grabbed my 9mm and pulled a quick shot into one of them, but nothing happened besides a quick jerk to the side. It seemed they were multiplying in front of my eyes. I had counted 9 of them before I got another bite on my wrist. (Beck receives 1 wound from melee.)

Our shots were like a dinner bell. It rang out, “Come and get it!” Dinner was ready for them.
(6 zombies generated.)


Turn 4
Tonya was able to throw her med kit to me through the window and bolted west on the street. I dragged the zombies with me as I struggled to reach the med kit. My rage helped me topple over some shelves, which broke us up and blocked an easy path between us.

We were already injured and exhausted. The med kit lacked the required tools to deal with these injuries but it would have to make do. I needed to stop the bleeding. I crossed the street and head west in search for cover. At least to buy me some time to apply the tourniquet on my arm.

The zombies were relentless. They smelled blood. Tonya was able to divert a zombie ahead towards her instead. She fired a shot and a this time it went down. Her celebration was cut short before she was swarmed again.
(Success by Tonya and Zombies tied – nothing happens.)

The zombies caught up to me. I did not have the energy to keep them off. Disoriented from the loss of blood, I ran towards the closest building. My string of bad luck was becoming more and more apparent. In the building I found another group of zombies. Not as much as before, but they still add up. They hadn’t noticed me yet, so I squeezed a round into one of their heads. My adrenaline wasn’t enough to get them off me. By that time, I was smothered again.
(Beck receives 1 wound)



Turn 5
I could see Tonya trying to make her way towards me. Another zombie joined in the feast. It proved too much for her. A final shot put another zombie down, but the others gnawed on her neck which proved fatal. Her eyes stared at me frozen in shock.

This was it… We never should have left Vegas. Even if it meant living one more day. The rest of them piled on me. It reminded me of a day I spent in sports bar: Goal line defense, denied run at the 1-yard line, fumble, and both teams desperately scrounge for the ball. I watched as they tore through my stomach as my vision slowly fades away.
(27 zombies total on Beck. 17 success – adversary re-roll still resulted in a success)

I guess my plans on writing a session report for my campaign ended quick. After turn 3 things got sour fast. I knew I was going to have a hard time keeping the zombies off me after that. It always easy to “call it quits” but I thought it would make for a good story. Regardless of the outcome, I had a lot of fun with this one. I’ll try it again next time, hopefully with a better result.