Why is it always the sewers? – Playtest Battle ReportThis is a scenario set in an underground sewer network. I made some pretty basic game tiles (printed out on paper and cut out) in order to represent the sewer network.
The scenario is a bit more complex than the simple “monster patrol” game (see above). This time, the KTMH earn VPs for each tile they explore… as-well-as the number of Zombies they can swat!
The monsters (in this case zombies) have the advantage of being able to hide under the (nasty) sewer water, while also scoring extra VPs for every Personality they can defeat.
The game was played using 250pts each (purely due to the number of miniatures available) and again the players drew up their groups in secret… the teams stacked up like this.
Kooky Teenage Monster Hunters- The Principal; Hardcore Headmaster [80pts]
- Rowan; Ditzy Witch [60pts]
- X3 Reluctant Monster Hunting Recruit [20pts each]
- Soldier from that Cool Government Agency [50pts]
Total = 250pts
Again the KTMH went with two personalities to provide much of their punching power.
The Principal is (literally) one tough cookie (literally), he can activate reliably and has enough Combat score to deal with all but the biggest baddest monsters on his own . However, as was proved in the last playtest, he suffers due to his weapon being ill equipped to deal with most monsters permanently.
Rowan is a good all-round controller, her
Awesome Magic gives her a variety of powers, but the most effective so far has been her ability to Transfix enemies, which are then dealt with by more “combat ready” team members.
Then we have the Extras…
The Reluctant Monster Hunting Recruit isn’t the games best fighter… nor the most reliable… nor the least likely to get scared… they are the archetypal “monster fodder”. However, they do come quite well equipped for their points cost and after the last game, where many of the group couldn’t actually score a “kill” against any of the monsters, it was decided that this group should load up on stakes!
The Soldier from that Cool Government Agency is another matter altogether. They are effective fighters, with a reliable Quality score and come equipped with some of the best weapons in the game (Grenades and an SMG). However, their price tag is pretty high, but considering the package you are getting, it was deemed a bargain. There was even talk of giving up Rowan for one of these guys, but that would also mean giving up The Principal for a 90pt model to balance the points… and The Principal is the hardest dude on the block… so he stays!
The Monsters- The Ju-Ju Man [100pts]
- X2 Sewer Zombie [20pts each]
- X4 Zombie Construction Worker [27pts each]
Total = 248pts
In the previous game (see the Monster Patrol report above) the Vampires came out badly against Mitzy. Assuming that Mitzy would surely be played again, the monsters decided to go with Zombies (Mitzy has a harder time fighting zombies). Again the Monsters went with only one personality…
The Ju-Ju Man isn’t actually a zombie (although he is in the zombie listing), but he is a Necromancer… and something the monsters were sorely lacking in the last game… a Leader!
Other than that, the Ju-Ju Man is a good support character and is also surprisingly effective in combat, he won’t be slugging it out with any big-hitters, but he won’t be falling over to some two-bit monster hunting rookie either.
As for the extras…
Sewer Zombies, these stinky walking corpses bring a new special ability to the table… Icky… this makes them dangerous to kill in hand-to-hand, but they are surprisingly cheap considering how effective they are. If I had of had more miniatures to represent them, there would have undoubtedly have been more than two on the table.
Zombie Construction Workers, these guys are a bit more stable than your average Zombie, having a new rule that affects the way they interact with terrain. However, it wasn’t used in this scenario, so you’ll have to wait for the book to find out more about it. Therefore, for this game, they were just more zombie mouths that needed feeding!
The Map SetupI set the sewer tiles into a basic pattern, with both teams entering from opposite ends of the map and the centre consisting of a large box section, with corners to use as cover.
In total there were 5 tiles in which the KTMH could score VPs.
As always the KTMH activate first.
KTMH turn 1There was little else to do other than move into the map… so all the models tried for 2 activations… however, “someone” didn’t read the scenario rules properly and set up most of their models in the sewer water!
This meant a 1D6 Quality check before activation, or they were slowed (i.e. can only make 1 movement action in a turn) and the model couldn’t charge anyone.
Rowan can fly and so was exempt from the check. She activated first and zipped into the first scoring tile (+1VP for the KTMH). The Principal passed his Quality roll and also advanced, as did the first Recruit and the Soldier. The next recruit failed the initial Quality check and decided to roll only 1 dice for activation, a success made it move up too. The next recruit passed the check, but rolled a turnover.
Monsters Turn 1The Ju-Ju Man activated with 3 dice… with Quality 3 this was risky, but turned out to be worth it, when he got his 3 actions. As a living model, the Ju-Ju Man can be affected by the sewer water, so he moved along the ramps at the side of the sewer, then spent an action to issue a group order to his zombies…
The Zombies passed their check with 3 actions! So they moved into the nearest scoring tile and used their last action to submerge under the water… hiding them from the KTMH!
Note – While submerged, the Zombies could not be targeted by ranged attacks and got an
Ambush bonus against any model they attacked in hand-to-hand. However, they were slowed and could not charge while submerged.
KTMH Turn 2The submerged zombies were a problem for the models with ranged attacks (the Soldier, Principle and Rowan). However, they could still be charged… provided the model wasn’t affected by the sewer water.
This seemed like a good idea. However, as with the last battle, it now became clear that the KTMH were once again ill-prepared for monsters they would face. The Principal, Rowan and the Soldier all had attacks that were effective against zombies. However, the Recruits are equipped for vampire slaying… zombies would be a problem for them.
The best idea would be to move the Recruits up to the front and try to expose the zombies, so that the better equipped members could deal with them.
The Recruits rolled for their sewer water check and some movement. Three moved up to within charging distance of the zombies, while the Principal and Rowan scouted around trying to flank the group of zombies and catch them should they surface.
The Soldier moved along the edge of the sewer (on the ramp). He would try to pick off the Ju-Ju Man himself.
Monsters Turn 2The Ju-Ju Man used the same trick again. He rolled 3 dice for actions (and got 3 again!). Moved forward and threw one of his tomahawks at the Soldier… scoring a Fall result… with his last action, he issued a group command the zombies with 3 dice!
This time he only got 2 actions, but that was enough… the zombies rose out of the water and charged the three recruits!
The recruits needed to make fear checks… one failed horribly and was torn apart… the second died from free hacks (from the two zombies who based him) and the third, while he remained standing, was again torn apart by the wave of zombies that descended on him.
That was 3 models destroyed in one turn and half the total number of models, so a morale check was required by the KTMH!
Rowan failed two rolls, and with her flying movement, left the map. The Principal failed one roll (as he is a Hero) and moved towards the exit of the map.
The Soldier passed all three rolls… but was now perilously close to a horde of Zombies!
KTMH Turn 3Things looked bad… Rowan was gone… the Principal was out of position and the Soldier was on his back!
Emergency measures were required, so the Soldier rolled 3 dice to activate (getting all 3!). He then stood up and used his grenade against the closest pair of zombies. The roll was solid and took one out, while the other zombie was knocked down. Not too bad, considering. The Soldier used his last action and retreated towards the Principal to get a bit of support.
The Principal sensed an opening, but failed his Quality check for the water. He already has Short Move, so that wasn’t good. However, it was enough to get him within range of the fallen zombie and a quick pistol shot to the head removed that monster from the game.
Monster Turn 3The Ju-Ju Man again used 3 dice to activate and announced his intention to raise a zombie, he rolls 2 actions this time. First, he moved into the water, next to a fallen Zombie Construction Worker. Next, he used his Necromancy to bring it back to… well… being undead I suppose!
The next actions were all charges from the Zombies… 3 Zombie Construction Workers descended on the Principal and the three incremental hand-to-hand attacks damaged him to Quality 6+ (remember I said he was Tough) and knocked down. The final Sewer Zombie eventually taking his head!
Left with only the Soldier (albeit from a cool Government agency) against the group of zombies… and the Ju-Ju Man’s ability to bring the fallen models back as more zombies… the KTMH conceded defeat!
In total the game lasted around 30mins (lots more deliberation this time). The final VP totals were:
So what did we learn?Well… Leaders are really good… especially when you are using average (4+) Quality models and you get a lot of activations. Swarming the Recruits was really the decisive moment of the game and the KTMH never really recovered, although The Principal would have caused much more damage had a few more zombies been knocked down.
The Ju-Ju Man is a great monster commander. His ability to activate multiple models and to raise zombies (i.e. add more models) it a strong combination… if he had gotten hold of a “Zombie Principal” (with Hero and Tough)… the game would have been a riot!
Due to circumstances of the scenario, we didn’t get to properly test some of the rules, but they are straightforward (and situational) enough that outright abuse won’t really be an issue… provided you don’t know the scenario in advance… like these erstwhile playtesters!
This scenario has been written up in PDF format (including the tiles) and we will be issuing it out to you… the faithful Ganesha Games fans… as a spoiler, just before the upcoming KTMH release.
So stay tuned for more updates!
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