Colonial Horror In 15mm

[Smokeyrone]

Colonial gaming, with horror,  is more accurate than " Horror" gaming, IMO.

I use TSATF with added rules, the settings are certainly colonial (Egypt, Sudan, Darkest Africa, etc)
and the scenarios and units are Colonial. 

I found that adding a supernatural element to a typical Colonial scenario works out great! 

Example:  British force sent into   the Sudan, to find a missing patrol and civilians, or investigate why an outpost has gone silent.  Standard TSATF play, fighting off swarms of Mahdists.  They reach   mysterious, ancient ruins, and investigate.   Game then becomes a dungeon crawl through the Tombs of Despair, or whatever.   Of course, they are soon balls deep in cultists, mummies, and zombified British soldiers, civilians, mahdists, etc.

Of course, you include a competing German or bersageli unit, and include nefarious characters like the sinister Professor Ackbar, on loan from the Cairo museum as a advisor to the british unit, etc. 

It really is a great scenario.  Especially when the players do not know their TSATF game is gonna have zombies. 

Yes, 15mm Horror figures for this kinda gaming abound!   Blue Moon and Rebel Minis have just about everything you need, and dont forget Khurasan and Splintered light, and all the 15mm fantasy makers.  (I have a unit of skeleton Crusaders and one of Turks, for example, PERFECT to spring up from some cursed tombs)

Colonial zombies?  Oh yeah!   OG15s have big packs of "Wounded" British, Mahdist, Zulu, etc figures.  These guys make PERFECT zombies!  Easy to modify figures too.  a File or careful use of a soldering iron and BAM!  Its easy to file off a British helmet, for instance, and scribe in some hair using a hot file.  (I would think most British solders turned zombie would probably lose their helmet along the line?)

Anyway, its a lot of fun.  Anyone try it?   I used to play CiC, but combining horror with TSATF has taken over. 

[Harry Faversham]

We did something along the same lines... with Daleks!!!

 

[Leapsnbounds]

I love it, I am a big TSATF fan myself and have most of the supplements.

[Smokeyrone]

Heck ya!   TSATF lends itself to almost RPGish play anyway,  So easy to add investigation, and individual actions consistent with horror play, and a 10 man unit fighting mummies or zombies is easy as heck in the rules.

[Alcide Nikopol]

A very clever idea. I just got a wonderful little horror deck for a different game and was thinking about using it with pirates.

[Barry S]

I painted up a 15mm Inyanga and some Demons for my IHMN Zulus.

[DintheDin]

You just opened a box full of new scenario ideas! 
Already my hair is rising inside my helmet...

[Smokeyrone]

You just opened a box full of new scenario ideas! 
Already my hair is rising inside my helmet...

Yep.  Think about it.  BE frontier, India, Egypt/Sudan, S.A., China.  You already have most figures and the terrain, so crank out some units of mummies, cultists, zombies, and various other monsters. 

Now that I'm making a Boxer table, how hard can it be to find suitable 15mm Chinese figures to paint up as terra cotta mummies?

And Barry S, love It!  Great stuff!

[DintheDin]

Now that I'm making a Boxer table, how hard can it be to find suitable 15mm Chinese figures to paint up as terra cotta mummies?

I think the Chin Chinese are the most suitable, e.g. look at ESSEX codes CHN19 and CHN20

https://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/collections/15mm-ancient-chin-chinese-warring-states-480bc-202bc

(although horror isn't absent from my everyday life, especially when I'm called at the Director General's office for new orders) 

[Smokeyrone]

Oh yeah, Din! 

So, it's all about adding relevant action moves to TSATF.  Not hard.  The rules already have climbing, busting through doors, setting fire, etc.   

I use action moves during the movement phase.  Actions cost movement dice.  (and movement is decreased of course when your unit is working through tunnels, catacombs and caves anyway)

Actions also have goals, at times.  (ie breaking down a door, searching an area, etc may take a "6" cumulative or on a single roll).

You also have situations where only a few figures can fire, as they are not always in standard formations.   Melee can also vary.  Individuals may fight a melee (the head of your single file column in a cave, por exampol) as opposed to the standard "line them all up, and fight and fight".   

RPG type mechanics are easily adaptable to TSATF.  Sometimes, a particular monster/opponent has "hit points" or similar features.   

anyway, you know what I mean, and you can figure out what you want.  Point is, you can turn a typical TSATF Colonial Battle into a horror show real quick. 

[Smokeyrone]

You can test the waters.

Run your TSATF NW Frontier game.   Dont tell the Brits and Indians whats up.  When they reach their objective, its a Temple of Doom style Dashira Cult, with hooded cultists, slaves that must be freed, and zombified Afghans, plus some sort of Hindu Demon arriving at the worst moment. 

My "Shadow over St Lucie Village" game will be set up like a sweep and clear the rednecks out of their decayed town scenario, then cultists, mutants and deep ones start appearing. 

[chicklewis]

Smokey, what is a 'hot file'?

Sounds like something I may NEED. 

[DivisMal]

Brilliant ideas! I must try this soon. Thanks for all the inspiration in this thread.

[Smokeyrone]

Smokey, what is a 'hot file'?

Sounds like something I may NEED. 

LOL!  I was like "Hot file? I dont know?  Did I mention it?  Typo?"

Then I realized, its a metal file you heat up under a Bic.  Not as hot as a soldering iron and thus less likely to turn your figure into liquid metal puddles  like that terminator 2 guy. 

[Deflatermouse]

Now that I'm making a Boxer table, how hard can it be to find suitable 15mm Chinese figures to paint up as terra cotta mummies

I found the Museum Miniatures 15mm Chinese to be great as Terracotta warriors.
Use them mostly for the Pulp era, but no reason they couldn't make an appearance to rid the Foreign Devils.

I also have a good sized Undead army. I haven't taken a pic of it recently but it has grown a bit since this one was taken.
I'd be interested in seeing an Undead Crusader unit.

An excellent idea thank you