CapnJim's Post-Apoc Stuff: Zone Run #8 Report Complete...Pg 12...08 Mar 24

[Spinal Tap]

Looking forward to the next part of this story-great work.

[CapnJim]

Looking forward to the next part of this story-great work.

Thanks,  You shouldn't have long to wait.  I hope to play Encounter #2 yet today.  News to follow, of course....

[CapnJim]

Thanks,  You shouldn't have long to wait.  I hope to play Encounter #2 yet today.  News to follow, of course....

Speaking of which...

But first, a few housekeeping details: 

1.  I've decided how the crew will earn FFoL Renown Points.  They will get one point per successful Objective/Hot Spot search, and 3 points for successfully obtaining an artifact.  They can spend the Renown Points per normal FFoL rules.  I will also permit them to spend Renown Points to affect the story arc between games...for example, 1 Renown Point will get a minor advantage, while 2 Renown Points will get a more significant advantage.  The story arc will drive what those may be.

2.  Figures may "capture" another figure by winning a melee against them.  With such a win, they can forgo the Wound Roll, and the "capturee" automatically gets 1 Shock, and is now in custody of the "capturer".  The "capturee" will still get a card as normal, and may escape custody by winning a subsequent melee when their card comes up.  If they lose that melee, they simply remain in custody.  Otherwise, they move when their "capturer" does. 

3.  I fleshed out the Civilian Reaction Table a bit, as you can see below.  And I decided that subsequent rolls can be done if/as events warrant...

4.  The crew is still in the Soft Area of the PEZ.  As such, the roll on Zona Alfa's Environmental Conditions Table will apply during the whole game.  When they get into the Medium and Hard Areas, I will introduce Jokers into the deck.  One Joker when it's Medium, and 2 when Hard.  The Joker(s) will act as normal Wild Cards, but will also trigger a roll on an as-yet-to-be-developed 10-item "Shit Happens" Chart.  Some of the items will include re-rolls on the afore-mentioned Environmental Conditions Chart.  Other items could include comms going out, the van acting up, random beasties or civilians or (gasp!) The Press showing up, and things like that.  Did I mention that the PEZ perimeter is a bit porous?

Anyway, I ran through SEA30's 2nd encounter in the PEZ today.  Here's the lead-in...

"The crew stashed the cash and the artifact in the small safe in Jupiter 2, and Robinson stashed Robot away.  Pyle was getting checked out by the ambulance crew when they mounted up, and headed east through the busted roadblock.  They could hear the unmistakable sound of a firefight up ahead, maybe a mile or so away.  Carter:  "Robinson, get on Google Maps, and see what's up there."  "No go, Gunny.  Service here sucks."  "Okay." responded Carter  "I guess we'll see what we see.  How hot is it?"  Robinson replied:  "106 degrees.  Way too hot for this time of year..."   

And what they saw, about a mile and a half down the road from where the roadblock used to be, was a leftward bend in that road.  And the sound of gunfire getting close.  Very close.  And they also heard Newkirk singing (off-key, of course) "The hills are alive, with the sound of gunfire..."  He was cut off by McGuyver yelling "Shit!", and the sound of tires screeching on pavement as he hit the brakes on Jupiter 2.  Just as they came around the slight bend and came to that abrupt halt, they could see a police vehicle blocking the road not 50 yards up the road, and 2 officers behind their open doors exchanging gunfire with someone to the left of the road (north).  There was another police vehicle another 50 yards up the road, having come in from the other direction.  2 more officers were behind that car's doors, exchanging fire with whoever was north of the road.  None of the police officers seemed to notice their presence, likely due to being shot at by somebody else and returning that fire.

Carter barked orders (he was in Marine Gunny mode now).  "O'Rourke! You, Newkirk, and DeSoto go left, get to that hedge row, and see what you can see.  McGuyver and Malloy, you're on me.  We're gonna go see what the f**k is going on.  Damn it, I wish we had Pyle's SAW right now.  Robinson, you stay with Jupiter 2 and watch things here.  Be ready to get Robot up if I give the order.  Everybody clear?"  5 heads nodded up and down, and O'Rourke was already out of the van headed toward the hedgerow left of the road.  "Okay, good.  Go!  Go!"

And that's where the game starts.  On a still bright and sunny (and hot for this time of year.  Too hot...) day.  Below are 2 things.  First is my cheat sheet for the scenario.  Second is the view SEA30 saw when the van came to that screeching halt. 

The AAR that will follow, likely starting tomorrow, will be 3 parts.  Part 1: The Approach, Part 2: The Assault, and Part 3: Will Officer Griswold Get a Medal? 

More to follow.  CapnJim out.

 

[mikedemana]

Love it! Your terrain looks great. This should be fun...

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Thanks, Mike,  And now, I present to you all...

PEZ Encounter #2 Part 1:  The Approach.

Carter's boys unassed the van, just as he had ordered.  O'Rourke had already almost made it to the hedge, while Newkirk and DeSoto were headed that way.  Malloy and McGuyver were out, and Robinson had set up at the edge of the wood-line next to Jupiter 2.  Carter ran straight toward the officer at the driver's side door of the nearest patrol vehicle.

Carter Yelled "SAE #30!" as he got near him.  When he got there, rounds were coming their direction from a farmhouse left of the road.  The officers were firing back, and the other officer at this car had a patrol rifle.  "Whaddaya got?" inquired Carter.  "Jeez! Glad you're here.  At least 3 shooters, likely more.  Bottom right window, and both upper floor windows.  That SUV busted through our barricade back there, and whipped in here.  They dropped that duffel bag (referring to a duffel bag lying next to a hastily exited SUV parked next to the farmhouse) as they bailed into the house.  We dropped 2 of them as they came back out to get it.  The only close-by back-up was those guys" the officer pointed to the other patrol unit.  "Nearest other back-up is 20 minutes out." Carter could see 2 prone figures lying near the duffel and SUV, as more rounds came from the house, and more rounds went toward it. "Check.  Those are AK rounds.  You guys try to keep 'em busy, and we'll move in and take them out.  And whatever you do, don't go into those woods behind us.  My guy says he has readings from in there."  Officer:  "Gotcha."  More rounds coming and going, and they had to keep there heads down.

Carter, on his comms:  "O'Rourke, you guys go in the back door.  Stay clear of the outbuildings.  Probably Hot Spots.  The duffle bag by the SUV is the Objective, but we gotta clear that house.  Malloy, take McGuyver in the front.  I'll be with you 2.  Go!"  And they went, each as Carter had instructed.  O'Rourke made it to the house first, staying clear of the side window.

Then, the officer Carter coordinated with said 'I can't hit shit from back here", turned to his partner and said "Cover me", and headed forward to a split-rail fence closer to the house, and was met with more AK fire.  And he was hit and went down.

The back-up officers at the east end of the farmyard, decided to move closer too.  They needed to, for their pistol and shotgun to have any real chance to hit anything.  They were kinda pinned down where they were at their car.  One moved along the far side of the tall hedges, wriggled through so that the guys firing from the front of the house shouldn't have a shot, and the other followed. 

Carter, seeing the downed officer several yards in front of the patrol car, chucked a smoke grenade between him and the house.  The fire coming from the house was starting to slacken just a bit, but it was still coming.  "DeSoto, go see if you can help that cop!".  But just them O'Rourke had fired into the window on the side of the house, and whoever was inside returned fire.  O'Rourke went down.  Hard.  "O'Rourke is down!" came back DeSoto's reply, who was only a few feet from O'Rourke.  "I gotta see about him!"...and Newkirk chimed in "Got a runner!  One of 'em just bugged out the back door, and hightailed it north..."

As the wind picked up, the downed officer got back to his feet (his vest must have taken the AK round).  But that breeze dissipated the smoke from the grenade.  The officer was OK, but still exposed out in the open.

As it now stood, O'Rourke was down and motionless at the near side of the farmhouse.  DeSoto was ready to move the few feet to his aid, and Newkirk was at the back door of the farmhouse.  Malloy and McGuyver were carefully making their way toward the front door.  Carter was back at the patrol car, ready to move to join McGuyver and Malloy.  And Robinson was back by the van.

The patrol unit at the west edge of the farmyard had one officer at the car peppering the house with his patrol rifle, and the other out in the open in front of the patrol car.  The officers at the far end of the farmyard were making their way to the far end of the farmhouse.

What would happen next?  There was still fire coming from the farmhouse, but at least one of the guys there had bugged out.  The crew was almost set to assault the farmhouse, but O'Rourke was down, and DeSoto was fixin' to work on him.   How would SAE30 do this?  Can they improvise, adapt, and overcome?  Would O'Rourke be OK?  Find out in PEZ Encounter #2 Part 2:  The Assault, to be posted soon (maybe tomorrow even!)...









 

[CapnJim]

A few more pics from Part 1...

[Bullshott]

Come on, don't leave us in suspense. What happens next?

Since the bad guys are in the farmhouse and the objective is outside it, did anyone bring any satchel charges?

[mikedemana]

Great start! Well, maybe not for O'Rourke 

Looking forward to the Assault!

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Thanks, fellas.  In fact, Malloy does indeed have a satchel charge.  And Carter has more grenades.  Too bad I forgot to take a pic of the smoke grenade....

Anyway, read on to see what's next...

PEZ Encounter #2 Part 2:  The Assault

Now Newkirk was pissed.  O'Rourke was a good guy, and had the makings of a good scrounger.  So, he put his Size 10-1/2 boot to the back door and it opened up with some authority, nearly coming off its hinges.  He went in, saw a guy with an AK, and opened up, freaking that guy out.  Apparently that guy wasn't expecting that.



Meanwhile, Desoto got to O'Rourke, careful to avoid exposing himself (so to speak) at that window.  O'Rourke had some cuts and scratches on his face, 2 distinct smudges on his vest, and was out cold.  DeSoto worked a MedKit under O'Rourke's vest, and he came to.  "Looks like your vest took those rounds." DeSoto assured him.  "But you're gonna have a sore chest for a while..."

The officers at the east end of the house had made their way (apparently undetected thus far) to the east wall of the house by a propane tank.  They couldn't get any shots to the upper floor window from there, so they backed away from the wall (and that tank) a bit.  And came under fire.  They ducked and returned fire, peppering the upper floor window with 12-gauge slugs and .40S&W rounds.  The firing from that window stopped...and the officer at the west end of the farmyard, made it back to the cover of his patrol car.







Carter, Malloy, and McGuyver made to the front door of the house, and after a couple attempts, Malloy had the front door open.  Carter yelled "Flash-bang!" and chucked a flash-bang grenade past Malloy into the house.   Everyone on the ground floor of the house suffered the effects of the grenade.  Including Newkirk.



However, Newkirk was able to gather his wits, and ducked out the back door as Carter, Malloy, and McGuyver were coming in the front.  They fired as the came in, dropping a bad guy.  They also found another bad guy cowering in the corner, and took him into custody.  Oddly enough, given how hot it was, they were wearing cold-weather clothes, and all did have AKs.



DeSoto applied a 2nd MedKit to O'Rourke, and O'Rourke was back on his feet.  Newkirk said over comms "That close outbuilding is a Hot Spot.  I'm gonna engage it."  He picked up a rock, and immediately fumbled it, dropping it at his feet.  Must have been still a bit dazed by that flash-bang - good thing it wasn't a grenade.  But the delay gave O'Rourke time to move to the front of the SUV to cover the outbuilding, and DeSoto headed into the back door of the house to see if he was needed in there.  Newkirk tossed another rock, this time sending it through the outbuilding's window.  4 tangoes came out, again all wearing cold-weather gear and wielding AKs.  A 5th was just inside the doorway of the outbuilding.  "Shit" thought Newkirk "This ain't good."  But quick bursts from Newkirk's M4 and O'Rourke's SCAR dropped 2 tangos, and made 2 more duck behind the SUV.  That evened things up a bit...





So now, SAE30 had cleared the ground floor of the farmhouse, taken a prisoner, and had engaged a Hot Spot in that outbuilding.  That produced more bad guys, but O'Rourke was back up an in the fight.  But they still had work to do, and the clock was ticking.  It was too damn hot for a protracted gunfight, and those cops had to get back to their checkpoint.


So....

1.  Will SAE30 clear the upper floor of the farmhouse?
2.  Will they take care of the bad guys at the outbuilding?
3.  Will they have time to search the Objective and Hot Spot?
4.  What about the possible Hot Spot in the woods across the road?

Stay tuned for PEZ Encounter #2 Part 3:  Will Officer Griswold Get a Medal?, to see how these questions get answered...

[CapnJim]

** Deleted.  **

[Bullshott]

Excellent stuff. The house clearing was almost professional (if you ignore getting your own guy with a flashbang). Don't you just love it when you come out if a firefight only to bump into more bandits at the first hot spot!
And what happened to the one that bugged out of the house last time?

[CapnJim]

As far as the chap who ran from the house, he ran all the way off the board (he rolled a "1" on his Shock Recovery roll...)

And my guess is Carter will have a, um, chat with Newkirk about the flash-bang incident after this is over (if they're both still alive, that is...)

[Doug ex-em4]

I have to say, Capn, your descriptions of the action read like they’re written by someone with some real-life experience of these things. They have the ring of experience.

More, please.

Doug

[CapnJim]

Thanks, Doug.  I reckon it's my 15 years in the Army, and my 26 years' experience as a Village Manager working with Police Officers...thanks for noticing.

[CapnJim]

Here's Part 3 (the Final Part)...

PEZ Encounter #2 Part 3:  Will Officer Griswold Get a Medal?

The bandits who came spilling out of the outbuilding (the Hot Spot) tried to fight back.  Ineffectually though.  Newkirk had run his M4 dry, and was reloading it when O'Rourke dropped a 3rd bandit there.  The 4th one outside apparently decided that getting to the SUV wasn't gonna cut it, and he fled north, away from the whole affair.  That left the chap inside the outbuilding to deal with.



Meanwhile, inside the house, Carter tossed a frag grenade upstairs.  It went "Boom!", then things got quiet up there.  McGuyver went upstairs to clear it, and found 2 dead bandits, also clad in cold-weather stuff.  Malloy grabbed the prisoner, and hustled him outside.  Carter and DeSoto headed out the front door, too, but went around back to see if they could offer assistance there.



In the meantime, the 2 back-up officers had worked their way around back too, and were set up behind the water tank. 



Officer Griswold, apparently having had enough of this crap, bolted toward the door of the outbuilding.  What no one outside knew was that the bandit inside had looked out the south-facing window, and had a clean shot on O'Rourke (not 15 feet away at the SUV).  Too bad the bad guy's AK just went "click", so he had backed up into a far corner to reload it.  That's when Officer Griswold barged in, taking the bandit by surprise.  Officer Griswold holstered his pistol, and slammed the bandit against the wall (checked him into the boards, in hockey-speak), taking him into custody.

Newkirk now searched the Objective, and found $700 in cash in the duffel bag.  O'Rourke went in to search the outbuilding as Officer Griswold brought his prisoner out.  O'Rourke found another $350 in cash, and a MedKit.  He would give that to DeSoto to replenish his stock of them.   



The 2 officers at the black-and-white came up to help "escort" the prisoner from the house to the patrol car.  "Watch your head, sir", one said as they stuffed him into the back seat of the car.  And O'Rourke and Officer Griswold brought their prisoner out and headed to the van that Robinson had brought up.  And there the whole thing ended.







Epilogue 



SAE30 and the Police Officers decided that the crew would take the prisoners back to SAE30's warehouse, where they would have a polite (I'm sure) conversation with them.  The Officers in the black-and-white would head back to re-establish their roadblock, and the back-up Officers would resume patrolling their sector of the Soft Area of the PEZ.  Carter did learn from the Officers that the ambulance crews would respond to the edge of the PEZ, but, unless an Officer was down, they wouldn't go into the PEZ any more.  They weren't paid enough for that.  And that Hot Spot in the woods south of the road would have to wait for now...man it was hot out...

I will reveal what SEA30 finds out from their prisoners in the Lead-in to Encounter #3.  They may have to spend some Renown Points during their discussion with the prisoners (they have 10 Renown points now), and Dr. Smith will likely be there for that (and to take possession of the artifact from encounter #1 and SAE's cut of the cash)...