Monday, March 31, 2025

(Fistful of Lead) Dead Birds

Months into the zombie apocalypse, there was considerable confusion about how the outbreak originated.  There were talks of fungi, molds, and infections, but almost all of the scientists and doctors were dead... or walking the earth trying to consume the living.  

But deep down, humanity knew there wasn't a logical explanation for everything... something otherworldly, maybe not voodoo or necromancy, but something that warped their reality into the hellscape they were living in.

The good news:  this apparently supernatural force could be killed my physical means. 

Kyle had a rap sheet a mile long for bar brawls, street fights, etc. He also liked the character Darryl Dixon from the Walking Dead, so when the real shit hit the fan, he found himself a leather vest, a machete, and a crossbow.  

Two problems:  a) he had never shot a crossbow in his life before then  and b) he was blind as a bat without his glasses, which he had lost early on.  

Just his look and demeanor was enough to have him join groups.  Somehow everything went wrong on his watch.  

Recently, things had gotten a little better.  After escaping a horde with just his trusty machete, and getting rid of the kids in their protection, the group moved faster.  The world before the apocalypse had created a generation of women who thought swords and silver could eliminate most evils.  He had run into a few overconfident ones, but Jelly, their current top dog, was the real deal.  

She had gotten info on a stash at a nearby farm, weapons, food, gold... it didn't matter what it was, but there were a few hiding spots to check out.  

They arrived at the farm, cleared out the outbuilding, and got some rest so they could better search in the morning.   Kyle took that last watch, and as the run began to rise, he noticed what the darkness had hid.  

The barn was right next to a large family cemetery, and somethings were wandering in from between the tombstones.

One looked like a ghost, the one behind it was definitely a zombie.  '

Turn One: 

Kyle banged on the wall to wake up his friends.  Then he picked up his crossbow, and took aim at the entity coming in and out of reality.

*click*

Nothing

The idiot, like always, forgot to load his crossbow.  

The older man everyone called Father, ran out first, firing a shotgun blast through the creature when it went incorporeal 

Jelly charged right at the entity, sword in one hand, and a "blessed" silver dagger in the other.  She may not have injured the specter, but their was a glancing blow.  

Mel, the machine gunner, looked in the opposite direction, counting three zombies coming right them.

And Old Man McGuckett? He took a bee-line to the old stone wall, one of the alleged hiding spots for the cache.  

Turn Two:  

Jelly slayed this graveyard wraith, a solid torso laying on the ground, with the arms and a flowing robes dissolving into the ground.  The zombie following met Jelly and it's head was quickly removed from it's body.  

Old Man McGuckett got to the wall, finding nothing, but another zombie shuffling in from the east.

Mel lowered her machine gun and actually incapacitated one of the zombies, but it would keep moving, so she wisely fell back. 

Zombie kills:  Jelly =2

Turn Three:

Mel continued her retreat, destroying the lone zombie from the west.   Kyle quickly dashed across from the building to the western fence.  

This left Father alone with two zombies, and another rising up and trailing them by a few steps.


Old Man McGuckett wasn't hopeful for his chances and high tailed it towards the south.  Jelly had search another spot as well, with no luck, except for another zombie! 

Turn Four: 

More zombies were appearing, but Kyle finally made it over the fence, and uncovered.... the cache!  He would pick it up and leave unmolested to the west. 

Jelly dispatched another zombie, but another one appeared from behind, throwing off her sword-fighting abilities.
Jelly Zombie Kills:  3
Father could handle himself, but his normal barrage of hits in the butt of his shotgun, seemed to barely hold off the two that were upon him.  Mel made sure he didn't have 3-1 odds by taking a zombie out, before trying to follow Jelly. 
Jelly: 2 Zombie Kills
In the end, Mel cowardly turned tail, watching a Jelly but the finishing touches on her four zombie kill of the afternoon. 
Jelly Zombie Kills:  4

At the end, it was a commanding 9-2 victory for the humans, although Father slowly succumbed to a wound, and then finally lethal damage.  There were still some bad rolls to start, but Jelly performed as expected, and a more experienced Mel kept the north flank at bay.  Kyle always rolls a 1 (out of ammo) with his first shot. 

This scenario is based off of  Dead Birds, a Flintloque scenario posted to one of advent calendars on Orcs in the Webbe. If I can acquire some Zombie Gnomes, I'd definitely pull this out for a Gnome Wars game.

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