Hive of the Dead - Operation: Manala

[Brother Tyler]

Way back when GW first gave us the old kill team rules (4th edition?), I created the Hive of the Dead scenario below.

I think it's time to update the scenario for the new Shadow War: Armageddon rules.

And maybe this would make good campaign.

I can think of two ways to play it. The first is a fairly standard kill team (thematically one belonging to the Imperium, but I'm not going to be too stingy) progressing through the campaign. The alternative would be a cooperative take on the game, with each player controlling a single character that they can customize (sort of like Zombicide and other similar games). The cooperative mode would also be good for conventions, demonstrations, etc.

Anyhoo, here's the old scenario (outdated because it functions more like in the Kill Team game than in Shadow War: Armageddon)...

I came up with the below mission about a year and a half ago. It mixes elements of Kill-Team with the aforementioned Zombies! game.

HIVE OF THE DEAD

At the height of the riots upon Demaras Tertius, Inquisitor Romero transmitted a distress call. When his long time allies, the Legio, received the signal, they dispatched a kill team to provide assistance.

Play a Kill Team game with the new Rescue Objective. The targets of the Rescue objective are Sister Saren of the Order of the Torch and Sister Mirelle, a Sister Dialogus and member of Inquisitor Romero's retinue. Each of the Sisters has the following profile:

Sister | WS 3 | BS 3 | S 3 | T 3 | W 1 | I 3 | Ld 8 | Sv 5+

Weapons and Equipment: Each of the Sisters is armed with a close combat weapon.


SET UP

The kill-team starts within 12" of entry point 12.

Each of the Sisters starts in one of the objective rooms at the opposite end of the table.

4 zombie blips are placed on the table. Use the scatter dice and 2d6 to determine where each blip is placed.

An extra zombie blip is deployed at the start of the game for each Mutable and Immutable Law the kill-team breaks.

Once each of the zombie blips is placed on its starting position, roll a scatter dice to determine each blip's initial direction of movement.

The zombies use the following profile and rules (these are based on the Chapter Approved rules):

Zombies | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 3 | T 4 | W 1 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 7 | Sv 5+

Weapons: The Zombies attack by grabbing and biting. Regardless of how the model is represented, treat each Zombie as if it has a single close combat weapon.

SPECIAL RULES

Shamblers: Zombies always move as if in Difficult Terrain, even when charging.

Fearless: Zombies are Fearless and hence will automatically pass any Morale or Leadership test and cannot be Pinned.

Feel No Pain: If a Zombie loses a Wound, roll a D6. On a 4+, the wound is ignored. The Zombie has lost its legs or some other non-vital part and keeps on crawling. This ability cannot be used against weapons whose Strength is at least twice the Zombie's Toughness or against close combat weapons that allow no armour save.

Sometimes They Come Back: The plague virus is not simply carried by the Zombies. They can also infect their victims with the disease. Each time a Zombie kills a kill-team member in hand-to-hand combat, roll a D6. On a roll of 5+, the dead kill-team member will become a Zombie. The model will continue to fight as a member of the kill-team until it becomes a Zombie. Place a marker on the kill-team member to indicate that it is infected. At the start of each kill-team turn thereafter, roll a D6 for the infected member. If the model rolls above its Toughness it immediately dies. Place the model on its side. At the start of the next Zombie turn, replace the model with a Zombie model. The model keeps its Strength, Toughness, and Save scores, but follows the Zombie profile for other scores and follows the rules for Zombies. (It's best to have a couple of Zombie models converted to look like the kill-team. Alternately, you can place a marker on each Zombie that used to be a member of the kill-team.) Infected kill-team members may not be killed by the other members of the kill-team until they become Zombies - they will continue to fight as normal, ignorant of the fact that they're about to become brain-eating Zombies.

Devour All Flesh: When a kill-team member is killed by Zombies (i.e., the model does not roll 5+ for Sometimes They Come Back), all Zombies in base contact with the model will break off assault and devour the hapless model. If no other Zombies are in base contact with members of the kill-team at this point, the kill-team may make a consolidation move. At the start of each Zombie turn thereafter, the feeding Zombies must pass a Ld check or they will continue eating. Leave the dead kill-team member on the table with the Zombies in base contact until the Zombies finish eating. Other Zombies will ignore the dead model and will treat the kill-team as normal. Once the Zombies finish devouring the kill-team member, remove the model from the table. The Zombies now act as a separate unit that is Aware of the kill-team.


SCENARIO SPECIAL RULES
Use the Night Fighting rules found in the Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook.

The kill-team is armed with an auspex. At the start of the game, the kill-team can only detect movement in the darkness. The true nature and number of Zombies is unrevealed. The Zombies are represented by blips until they can be seen by the kill-team. When the kill-team is able to see a blip and discern the number and nature of Zombies, roll a D6. On a 1-5, place that number of Zombies within 1" of the blip. Keep the blip on the table in order to record the Zombies' direction of movement.

On a roll of 6 refer to the Special Result chart below.

SPECIAL RESULT CHART

• False alarm, 0 Zombies
• 1 Ogryn Zombie (this result may only be rolled once - subsequent rolls result in 0 Zombies)
• 1d3 Zombie Sisters (this result may only be rolled once - subsequent rolls result in 0 Zombies)
• 1d3 Zombie Enforcers/Planetary Defense Force soldiers (this result may be re-rolled)
• 1 Zombie Servitor (this result may only be rolled once - subsequent rolls result in 1d3 Zombie Enforcers/Planetary Defense Force soldiers)
• 1 Zombie Inquisitor (this result may only be rolled once - subsequent rolls result in 1d3 Zombie Enforcers/Planetary Defense Force soldiers)

Special Zombies follow the normal rules given for Zombies above, except as noted below:

Zombie Ogryn | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 5 (6) | T 5 | W 2 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 9 | Sv 5+

Zombie Sister | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 3 | T 4 | W 1 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 7 | Sv 4+

Zombie Enforcer/PDF | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 4 | T 4 | W 1 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 7 | Sv 4+

Zombie Servitor | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 3 | T 4 | W 2 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 8 | Sv 4+

Zombie Inquisitor | WS 1 | BS 0 | S 3 | T 4 | W 1 | I 1 | A 1 | Ld 7 | Sv 4+ (5+)


Weapons: The Zombie Servitor has a servo-arm attachment that confers an extra power fist attack on the model. Kill-team members killed by the servo-arm will not come back as Zombies, although the Zombie Servitor will feed on the corpse(s) as per the Devour All Flesh special rule. Other special Zombies are unarmed as normal.

Armour: Zombie Sisters, Enforcers, and Planetary Defense Soldiers continue to wear their armour. The Zombie Inquisitor also wears carapace armour and has a refractor field. The Zombie Servitor is protected by the machinery that augments his body.


ZOMBIE MOVEMENT
Zombies and Zombie blips move at random until they become Aware of the kill-team's presence. Use the scatter dice to determine which direction the Zombies and Zombie blips move each turn. A Hit roll on the scatter dice means the Zombies are reacting to something and move in the direction of the small arrow. A Miss/Scatter roll means that the Zombies continue to move in the same direction they were moving before, as indicated by the blip counter.

Zombies accrue klaxon counters as normal. Zombies and Zombie blips that are Aware will always move in a straight line towards the nearest kill-team model (you may remove the blip counter as the direction of travel will no longer be determined by the scatter dice).

Zombies and Zombie blips will not move off the table. If a unit of Zombies or a blip ever reaches an entry point, rotate the direction of movement so that they move along the nearest wall.


ZOMBIE REINFORCEMENTS
On Zombie Turn 4 and each Zombie turn thereafter, roll a D6 at the start of each Zombie turn. On a 4+, a reinforcement Zombie blip enters the table at one of the 11 entry points. As soon as the kill- team leaves the second Objective room with both Sisters, a Zombie blip will enter play on a 2+. If the kill-team breaks 2 or more Immutable Laws, a second Zombie blip will enter play on a 4+ once the kill-team leaves the second Objective room with both Sisters. Roll 2d6 for each reinforcement blip to determine which entry point the blip appears at. On the turn blips enter the table, the direction of movement will be straight in.


PLAYING THE MISSION
The kill-team must move to the Objective rooms. Once they reach the first door, they must spend a full turn outside the room as they alert the Sister inside to their presence and the barricades inside the room are removed. All Zombies and blips on the table automatically become Aware as the kill-team makes a great deal of noise during this process.

The kill-team must then spend a full turn inside the first room as they replace the barricades. Obviously this can't happen unless no kill-team models are in base contact with Zombies.

The kill-team must then spend another turn in the second Objective room as they quietly remove the barricades in that room. Since the Zombies can't see the kill-team, they continue to swarm the door of the first Objective room in an attempt to reach their prey.

The kill-team will then leave the other Objective room. The kill-team must exit the table at the #10, #11, or #12 entry point with both Sisters models alive in order to achieve mission success. If one of the Sisters is killed or infected, the mission is considered a draw. If both of the Sisters are killed or infected, the mission is considered a failure.


DESIGNER'S NOTES
While incorporating classic zombie elements, something else I tried to build into the game was the atmosphere of the original Space Hulk game. It was an accident of development that this became a solo mission, playable when you don't have an opponent available.

This kill-team mission is expressly designed for an army of the Imperium, specifically Space Marines of the Legio. Kill-teams from other army lists can be used, although you might have to reconcile certain issues (Necrons, daemons, wraithguard, and drones can't be turned into Zombies; why would Orks be performing a rescue?) before you can play.

When playing this mission, it is best done on a table that is 48"x48" or larger. You'll need about 60 normal Zombie models, plus models to represent each of the special Zombies, which means you'll need 3 Sisters Zombies, about a dozen Enforcers (Enforcers/Arbites are part of the Necromunda range) or PDF/Imperial Guard (standard Imperial Guard models work best), and one of each of the Ogryn, Servitor, and Inquisitor Zombies. While you can use the Zombie regiment for Warhammer, a number of the Scavvy models from the Necromunda range also work. In addition, you could use models that look like normal civilians. You'll also need models to represent the Objective Sisters. I used the Sister Dialogus and the Sister Hospitaller from the Witch Hunter range. You'll need 1 or 2 models to represent kill-team members that have become Zombies. You'll also need about two dozen blips that include a directional arrow. I used standard 25mm bases with a printed design glued to the top. Lastly, you'll need a few markers to indicate infected kill-team members.

More to come...

[Brother Tyler]

Ah, and the mods were working on an "Extraction" mission, too. More and more this is looking to become a campaign.
 
So since I had some time to think about this today, here's what I'm looking at.
 
The setting of the campaign is some Imperial hive that has suffered a deadly plague virus, so lots and lots of zombies. The storyline is that the Legio Bolter & Chainsword sends in a force, including some Scouts. The campaign traces the missions and adventures of the Scouts. Game play won't be limited to the Scouts, but the storyline and art will revolve around them.
 
The mission shown in the first post is a rescue mission. Then there is the extraction mission, which features Scouts moving from the depths of the hive to a landing platform for an extraction (all while being chased by a horde of zombies, of course). There are at least two other missions in there somewhere, including a reconnaissance mission and a seek and destroy mission (the first is a recce for the big bad leader of the zombie apocalypse and the second is the attack on the leader). I'll fit more missions in there if I can think of any. Or if you can think of any.
 
There will be two ways to play:
 
First is a two-player arrangement where one player leads a standard kill team of our heroic Scouts while the other player controls the zombies.
 
Second is for three or more players, where one player controls the zombies while each of the other players controls a Scout (that they can customize!). This is how we would play it if we were to run demos or conventions. We would provide rules for customization of Legio Scouts (players desiring to use other factions would also be given some guidelines).
 
Some missions will be set in open areas such as we see in Shadow War Armageddon, whereas others will be set within the depths of the hive (using Space Hulk tiles!).
 
Okay, now the creative (and virulent) juices are flowing.
 
I would be very interested in hearing your ideas for missions.

[Canadian_F_H]

I will play this..

[Brother Tyler]

Okay, some preliminary rules for the zombies. Keep in mind that these are shamblers (i.e., Night of the Living Dead), not sprinters (i.e., 28 Days Later).

Zombie: M 1d3" | WS 2 | BS - | S 3 | T 4 | W 1 | I 2 | A 1 | Ld 7

Mindless: Zombies will automatically pass any Morale or Leadership test. They are not subject to the Fear or Terror rules. Zombies automatically pass all break tests they are required to take. Zombies never take a bottle test.

Feel No Pain: When a Zombie rolls on the Injury table, any result of 6 means that the attack has successfully destroyed the Zombie and it is dead, any result of 1 means that the Zombie's body has been damaged so that it suffers a -1" penalty to its movement (to a minimum of 1"), and any other result is ignored.

Sometimes They Come Back: Each time a kill team member is wounded by a Zombie in hand-to-hand and fails an armour (or invulnerable) save, roll a d6. If the result is higher than the fighter's Toughness, add a Bite marker to the model. If a kill team member has any Bite markers and rolls an Out of Action result on the injury table, the model has been infected and becomes a Zombie. Immediately replace the kill team model with a Zombie model (ideally one that wears the same armour as the now dead kill team fighter). The new Zombie retains the Strength, Toughness, and armour that it had in life, but adjusts its other scores to match the standard Zombie profile. The new Zombie joins the rest of the Zombie models in trying to devour the kill team.

At the end of the game, before rolling on the Serious Injury table, any kill team members that have Bite markers roll a d6, adding 1 for each Bite marker. If the result is higher than the model's Toughness, the fighter has become a Zombie and is counted as dead. Any kill team members with Bite markers that roll a 1 on the Serious Injury table also become Zombies.

Devour All Flesh: When a kill team member is down or pinned during the Zombie turn, all Zombies within 3" of the model will move into contact with the fighter to devour the hapless model. The Zombies will break from hand-to-hand with other fighters in order to make this move. The down fighter is now dead. Leave the Zombies in contact with the dead fighter. During each Recovery phase thereafter, roll 1d6, adding 1 for each Zombie that is in contact with the dead fighter. On a result of a 5 or 6, the Zombies have completely devoured the dead fighter and return to play as normal. Remove the model of the dead fighter.

The last part of the Sometimes They Come Back rule can be particularly nasty, and it may matter during the campaign in cases where total casualties matter (I'm not necessarily sure that this is going to be the case, but I'm leaving some room to maneuver here).

Are they any suggestions for improvement?

[Brother Sefiel]

Heh

Takes me back to a campaign played about ten years ago, in which I had spyrers. In the end my chief guy (a Yeld) and a bunch of other gangs faced off against a table full of substitutes from WHB.

He might have been a horrific murderer of normal people, but he wasn't going to tolerate dead guys taking over! Fun times, although there wasn't much structure...

Your system is a lot more detailed. Looks good.

[Brother Tyler]

I adjusted the Feel No Pain rule. It used to say:

 

Feel No Pain: When a Zombie rolls on the Injury table, any result other than a 6 counts as a 1. Zombies do not suffer any penalties to WS or BS.

 

Now it says:

 

Feel No Pain: When a Zombie rolls on the Injury table, any result of 6 means that the attack has successfully destroyed the Zombie and it is dead, any result of 1 means that the Zombie's body has been damaged so that it suffers a -1" penalty to its movement (to a minimum of 1"), and any other result is ignored.

 

Okay, some scenario ideas:

• Patrol (the Scouts patrol the outskirts of the hive in order to determine the nature of the threat)
• Rescue (this is an updated version of the old mission in the first post, the Scouts move in to rescue VIPs)
• Recce (after receiving intelligence, the Legio prepares an attack on the villains responsible for the Zombie apocalypse - the Scouts recce the villain's HQ)
• Execution (difficulties prevent the Legio's full scale assault, so the Legio kill team must assassinate the villain)
• Extraction (a team of Scouts on a deep recce mission within the depths of the hive must evade Zombies and move to a landing pad from which they will be extracted by aerial craft)

Okay, so that's five. I have visions of several (additional) scenarios taking place upon Space Hulk tiles deep within the hive where there is no power and you never know what's going bump in the night (blips instead of Zombies - until the blips are revealed). I can see several of those taking place, most likely immediately prior to and following a more important mission, the difference between the two variations being the need to guard some important person on the second one. I can also see some scenarios taking place in more open hive areas such as we're seeing with the Shadow War Armageddon scenarios.

 

So we'll need to create some rules for blips (some are hidden Zombies, some are other things moving around the hive) as well as NPCs (think of them as special operatives that you can't allow to die or be infected).

 

Another thing I'd like to incorporate, at least in some of the scenarios, is Zombies being unaware until something draws their attention. So gunfire, explosions, and other noisy things (ahem...chainswords) will definitely draw their attention; while running and other things are likely to draw their attention. Sometimes, though, you're just going to have to fight because some Zombie is too close. And then the Zombies nearby will become aware and you'll be swarmed.

 

Another thing is going to be a Zombie Hunters progression where the Scouts get more adept at killing the Zombies. At first, the Scouts don't know to go for the head. In time, though, they figure it out and eventually will land a killing head shot most of the time. The Scouts will also get better and better at hiding, from simply hiding to moving in cover to moving in the open in a way that the Zombies ignore them. Don't worry - the scenarios will become more challenging as the Scouts get better at killing the Zombies.

 

And the rearm and resupply actions won't be possible after every scenario, nor will you always be able to recruit special operatives. The special operatives role will probably be provided via the various encounters (with non-Zombies) that happen along the way. There will be a few times when the Scouts return to a home base where they will be able to rearm, resupply, and recruit, but not always. There will also be caches of stuff available in some scenarios, so a Scout might find a box of grenades, or ammunition, or something else useful (sometimes it will help to search a corpse ).

 

The style of play we're looking at is suspenseful, where stealth and speed are more important than combat.

 

NPCs I'm considering include:

• Inquisitor (definitely in - this is the guy or gal, an old ally of the Legio, that calls for the Legio's assistance in the first place)
• Hospitaller (perhaps a member of the Inquisitor's retinue)
• Adeptus Arbites/Enforcers (the law enforcement of the world to begin with, some of these have to alive somewhere - note that this will probably drive an actual homegrown Adeptus Arbites/Enforcers kill team faction)
• Politicians (generally useless, but it would be bad to let them die even though that might be preferable )
• John Q. Public (who can resist taking little Suzy back to her parents?)
• Others?

And the big bad guy should be in league with Chaos, a Nurgle cultist/sorcerer of some sort who has sacrificed his/her homeworld to the designs of Grandfather Nurgle. The cultist leader will probably have some expendable cultists in addition to the horde of Zombies protecting his/her lair.

 

In the two-player variant, the Scout kill team will follow normal rules, sort of. This is a Legio kill team, so we might introduce something a little extra for them. This will be fairly standard (compared to the Shadow War Armageddon rules) as far as advances go.

 

In the multi-player variant, the game will be cooperative/competitive. The Zombie player, of course, is in it alone. Together, the Scouts are all trying to beat the Zombie player, so there will be rules for the Scouts as a side. In addition, each of the Scout players is trying to out-do the others, so there will be rules for individual achievements. Players whose Scouts die during the campaign will be able to bring new Scouts in, though they might miss a mission or three (which would really suck - solution: don't die). Players will be able to customize their Scouts as either Veteran Scouts (sort of like Leaders) or as Scout Gunners (dakka dakka dakka), with an initial points cap to keep things balanced. Players will have to keep track of their Scout fighter's achievements as advances won't work as normal. Instead, we'll probably utilize an experience system similar to the Necromunda rules.

[Paradigm]

This is great, I'll certainly give it a shot.

[Teetengee]

Looks quite fun, definitely want to give it a shot at some point.

[Brother Tyler]

Interestingly enough, I found some notes for a solo mission in which a lone scout is sent in to recover a tome as part of the Hive of the Dead campaign.

 

And the whole "infiltration" and "exfiltration" concepts will be explored.

[deathspectersgt7]

Could you add a Zombie scout or 2 into the mix I lost a couple  . But have to say this is a fun one does get intense .

[Brother Tyler]

Yes, there definitely need to be some Zombie Space Marines (most likely of the Scout variety, but woe betide anyone that runs into one of the power armoured variety).

 

I just found out about The Walking Dead: All Out War (miniatures game). I'm going to take a look at the AI zombie movement rules to see if those might be adapted (probably with some modifications based on what I've read so far). I don't dislike the current AI zombie movement rules, but they are definitely a bit clunky.

[Canadian_F_H]

Well... I think a friend of mine will bring a zombie army next time.. he owns everything ever made for zombicide... lol. I've been wanting to bolter those blokes for ages...

[Brother Tyler]

Okay, a little more work on this. First:

This is a working logo that will change because the "Hive of the Dead" campaign will actually be a bit larger (I'll cover this down below).

The campaign will introduce rules for the Legio Bolter & Chainsword, derived from the rules for power armoured Space Marines in Shadow War: Armageddon. The linked rules are much more broad in scope than the Hive of the Dead rules will be because it will be a Legio squad in scout armour (so most, if not all, of the wargear will be omitted). It basically comes down to the ability to give each fighter in the kill team a different Chapter skill progression. The entrants to the Chronicles of the Legio Bolter & Chainsword challenge will have their Chapters/character concepts represented as the squad that I use in the campaign pack.

The Legio kill team will also have access to different special operatives, based on the narrative of the campaign; and those special operatives won't be freely available, but will come into the campaign based on the progression of the storyline.

Similarly, the plague zombies will have their own special operatives, but those will appear based on the scenarios.

So the present work is mapping out the storyline in scenario format. This will drive the development of the rules. Scenario rules will be written with variations for campaign play as well as one-off play.

One thing I'll be adding in will be some foraging/scavenging/scrounging. Basically, some of the campaign progression will revolve around the Legio scouts infiltrated behind enemy lines and running short on supplies. So they'll have to scavenge ammunition and weapons. I'm considering a mechanism similar to Zombicide, where there are cards or tokens that models can examine to see if they are useful. I'll have to take another look at the Horus Heresy Vengeance is Victory campaign, too.

Another thing is that this campaign will be part of a larger campaign series spread across multiple games, the others being the new Necromunda (a prequel to this campaign) and 8th edition Warhammer 40,000 (a sequel where the Legio sends in a full strike force to take on the larger plague zombie menace).

One last thing is that "solo" mission will definitely be included, and will be used as the basis for a convention game (a game club could take it to a game store or game convention so that attendees could play short games).

[Brother Tyler]

Okay, I foresee the Hive of the Dead being a larger campaign, with this portion being the Shadow War: Armageddon portion. This will actually be the second in terms of sequence, preceded by a Necromunda campaign (gangers versus zombies, obviously it doesn't end well for the gangers but your gangers might do better in the re-enactment) and a Warhammer 40,000 campaign (definitely featuring a full Legio strike force, but potentially expanding to include other factions depending upon how the storyline develops).

For now, this topic is focused solely on the Shadow War: Armageddon portion, henceforth known as Operation: Manala (it seems odd to me that we use English and Greek (and sometimes Roman/Latin) words for rool of kool names in the WH40K setting, so I looked elsewhere).

And here's the new logo:

[Brother Tyler]

Further development...

 

This campaign will not use the normal Shadow War: Armageddon campaign rules, specifically the concept of Promethium caches. Instead, the outcome of a mission will affect special rules that are used later in the campaign (sometimes in one mission, sometimes in multiple missions). Bookkeeping needs to be kept to a minimum, though. Also, kill team composition won't exactly follow normal Shadow War: Armageddon conventions. Instead, the entire Scout Squad will be built as a sort of stable and certain members of the squad will be used in certain missions. Special operatives, too, will be more limited than in normal Shadow War: Armageddon (so you might pick the entire stable of models that are available to you up front). In this, the game will be a bit like Space Hulk.

 

On the Space Hulk note, the campaign is quite like that game in that the real feature of the game is the Scouts, with the zombies merely serving as a challenge (rather than the zombies functioning as a viable kill team with their own progression and options).

 

So, the current plan for missions (names are tentative):

 

1 - Infiltration

In this mission, a lone scout equipped as a sniper (sniper rifle, bolt pistol, combat blade, other gear) must sneak through a "few" zombies to get to his hide. The degree of success will affect the "Sniper Cover" special rule throughout the rest of the campaign (this will allow the Space Marine player to attack zombies with the off-board sniper). Oh, did I mention that this mission takes place in the dark?

 

This mission also serves as an introduction to the special rules for zombies.

 

2 - Recce

In this mission, a kill team (we'll call them "Kill Team A") is patrolling on the outskirts of the affected area in order to determine the scope and scale of the problem. The goal is to be sneaky and not to get decisively engaged (funny how plans never survive first contact with the enemy, though). Your sniper cover is available (unless he died in the last mission). There may be some NPCs on the battlefield, and if you save them, they just might give you valuable intel to make the next mission easier. It's almost daylight in this mission.

 

This is another introductory mission, building on the last.

 

3 - Into the Hive

In this mission, Kill Team A must move to one of the entry points into the hive. Your degree of sneakiness in the previous mission will affect the number of zombies on the tabletop in this mission. Luckily, your sniper can cover you (unless he died in the first mission). Also, it's daylight now.

 

This is the full-blown deal, using all of the campaign's basic rules.

 

4 - Through the Maze

In this mission, Kill Team A must navigate through the winding corridors of a hive district. This one should be played on Space Hulk tiles or similar (including Zone Mortalis type terrain, which includes the Necromunda boards). The sniper can't cover you here, and you never know what's behind a door or around a corner.

 

5 - Backup Requested

In this mission, the sniper's hide has been compromised, so another kill team (we'll call them "Kill Team 2" ) is sent to back him up. This is a straight up "kill the zombies" mission. Oh, and that sniper can't help you because he's busy. There may be some special zombies in this one.

 

The success of Kill Team 2 will determine the availability of Sniper Cover for the rest of the campaign.

 

6 - Last Stand

In this mission, Kill Team A has located the survivors of Inquisitor Romero's band and must rescue them. Oh, and there may be some special zombies in this one, too.

 

The rescued survivors will affect certain special rules or campaign requirements. There are three survivors, so the branch campaigns will only be played if the corresponding survivor is still alive and uninfected at the end of mission 8.

 

7 - Back Through the Maze

Kill Team A must retrace its steps through the maze of the hive district, though another section will be used this time. Oh, and now they have some survivors with them. They'll need the extra help, because there are more zombies. Oh, and everyone is running low on ammunition.

 

8 - Return

Kill Team A must get the remaining survivors through a horde of zombies. This one is like mission 3, only in reverse. And everyone is out of ammunition.

 

The following branch campaigns will only be played if the corresponding member of Inquisitor Romero's party survive mission 8. If only one branch campaign is played, it must be performed by Kill Team 2. If only two branch campaigns are played, one must be performed by Kill Team 2 and one must be performed by Kill Team A. If all three branch campaigns are played, one must be performed by Kill Team 2, one must be performed by Kill Team A, and the last will be performed by both kill teams combined (you'll need all of the surviving scouts for this one).

 

Branch Campaign A - Specimen

The kill team must capture a zombie for the Hospitaller. This mission is only played if the Adepta Sororitas Hospitaller survives mission 8.

 

Branch Campaign B - Forbidden Lore

The kill team must retrieve a book of forbidden lore hidden within the Archivum at the hive's cultural center. This mission is only played if the Mystic survives mission 8.

 

Branch Campaign C - The Emperor's Will

Both kill teams must combine to rescue Inquisitor Romero.

 

All three of the branch campaigns involve 5 missions, each a variation on the standard missions:

• Closure (like Mission 3 - Into the Hive)
• Approach (like Mission 4 - Through the Maze)
• Assault (like Mission 6 - Last Stand)
• Withdrawal (like Mission 7 - Back Through the Maze)
• Recovery (like Mission 8 - Return)

The baseline rules for each of the scenarios will be the same, regardless of branch campaign. However, each branch campaign will offer their own unique special twist on each mission. And each mission will have three different maps, one for each of the branch campaigns (though this may be nothing more than different terrain placement).

 

Note that the branch campaigns are optional, depending upon whether or not you want to play them.

 

Special operatives will only be available in Mission 5 and the branch campaigns. In the branch campaigns, the special operative will be with the kill team for the duration of the branch campaign.

 

As far as skill progression goes, I'm thinking about making it dependent upon scout performance. So the more zombies the scouts kill, the quicker they learn of the zombies' vulnerabilities and learn to exploit them (i.e., get better at killing them); whereas the more the scouts are able to sneak past zombies (which will probably mean moving within a certain distance of unaware zombies without them becoming aware), the better they will become at it. So the true "Zombie Hunters" skill progression might be a bit more limited, though the scouts will still be able to use the normal skill progression.

 

Speaking of which, this campaign will also feature rules for the Legio Bolter & Chainsword. These rules will be derived from the [power armoured] Adeptus Astartes in Shadow War: Armageddon rules, but will be limited to scouts (so certain weapons and equipment won't be available).

[Brother Tyler]

One minor tweak as I continue developing this - the Shadow War: Armageddon scenarios and the Warhammer 40,000 scenarios will be mixed. Basically, they are taking place semi-concurrently. This will allow outcomes of scenarios to affect later scenarios.

 

For example, certain scenarios (using both systems) will allow for the sniper to provide covering fire if he infiltrates successfully. Examples of this include the Recce and Into the Hive scenarios above (and others - basically, any in which the kill team is moving through the open). In addition, this will affect some of the Warhammer 40,000 scenarios. Each scenario will indicate where a previous scenario's outcome has an effect, and what that might be (as well as rules for duplicating those effects when you're not playing the other system or for when you're just playing one-off scenarios).

 

I've also taken a gander at the Plague Zombies rules from Necromunda (2nd edition Scavvies gang rules) and for The Horde campaign from 2nd edition Necromunda (spelled "The Hoards" because spell check decided that was a word, even though it's the incorrect word ). So I may make some minor adjustments. The Horde campaign will probably serve as a basis for the Necromunda portion of the Hive of the Dead, though it's a foregone conclusion that things don't go well, so the Antidote/Dead End scenarios won't be coming into play. I'm not doing any work on that portion, though, until I pick up my Necromunda stuff this weekend.

[Brother Tyler]

Here's a first stab at some rules for plague zombies. I used the 2nd edition Necromunda rules for Plague Zombies in the Scavvies gangs as a baseline, though I adjusted the M (from 2D6") and the wording of the special rules. I also created the "new" crawler version of the plague zombies. Lastly, I adjusted the Plague! table to (hopefully) make it a bit more fun.

Hidden Content

For playtesting, I recommend 3 Plague Zombies for each member of a kill team, plus 1 Plague Zombie for each additional 40 points of value for the kill team (from recruiting, rearming, advances, etc.). That's just a SWAG for initial playtesting - we'll adjust it based on how the playtesting goes.

Something I didn't cover in the rules is Plague Zombie awareness. In some (most?) missions, the Plague Zombies start off unaware of the kill team. They basically wander around until they notice the kill team members, then all hell breaks lose. This was based on the original version of kill team. If you're going to use this (and I'll probably incorporate it into the rules later), when deploying Plague Zombies, roll for their facing using the scatter dice, turning them so that they aren't facing toward a table edge or a wall if within 6". Use the concept of models that are Hiding (i.e., kill team members are detected if within a Plague Zombie's Ld in inches). If any kill team member runs, all Plague Zombies within 12" become aware of the kill team member. If any kill team member fires a gun, throws a grenade, or otherwise makes noise (falls, etc.), all Plague Zombies within 24" become aware of the kill team member. If any kill team member uses an item with the Noisy! rule, all Plague Zombies on the table become aware. Once aware, Plague Zombies will move towards the nearest kill team member that is in LOS, or will move toward the last spot they saw a kill team member until some other kill team member is in their LOS. Once all Plague Zombies on the table are aware, reinforcements (if you're using them) will enter play aware (otherwise, they enter play unaware). Plague Zombies that are aware can make Run and Charge Moves. I'll refine these rules later, but you get the idea (and I'd like your input on how to make them better/scarier).

I imagine that mission rules will also allow for zombie reinforcements and hidden zombies, but we can get to those later. If you want to add the reinforcements to your playtesting, bring in 1 additional Plague Zombie from a random board edge at the beginning of each Plague Zombie turn, plus 1 Plague Zombie if the kill team has fired any guns or thrown any grenades, plus 1 Plague Zombie if the kill team has used any weapons with the Noisy! rule.

I'll start working on some missions to try out and will present them here shortly.

For playtesting, using any official kill team is fine. I'm specifically tailoring the mission for a Space Marine Scout Kill Team (i.e., the one in the rulebook), but with the addition of Chapter Honours found here and here (and soon in a third set for the remaining Chapters).

[Dosjetka]

This looks fun!

 

I'll be playtesting some of the Badab Chapter Honours over the next couple of weeks but I'll be sure to give this a spin with my SWA group sometime next month. :tu:

[Brother Tyler]

With the new Kill Team coming out soon, this project has gone full circle. Where it was originally a mission for the original version of Kill Team, I'll be adapting it as a campaign that includes the new Kill Team.

 

Since the new Kill Team looks to be replacing Shadow War: Armageddon as the "mainstream" WH40K squad level skirmish game, I'll adapt the SWA missions over to the new KT. I might preserve the SWA missions for those that want them, but that is by no means certain. So this is on hold pending the new Kill Team.

[Brother Tyler]

After some more thinking on the subject, the Necromunda portion of the campaign will be separate and will incorporate some zombie mechanics from Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse (click on my profile to read my plug for that great game on my "About Me" page).

 

So the Necromunda portion will be separated from the Warhammer 40,000 portion:

• Last Days: Demaras Tertius - Necromunda, gang vs. gang with more and more zombies interfering
• Hive of the Dead - Operation: Manala - Kill Team and Warhammer 40,000, a strike force of the Legio Bolter & Chainsword is dispatched to Demaras Tertius to deal with the zombie horde and, hopefully, rescue an important inquisitor and his retinue