Zombie Spawn Points

[AKULA]

missed these the first time around - lovely job mate, just the sort of thing i'd envisaged for spawn points.

 

[Whiskyrat]

Very nice indeed. 

I have played AR:SE a few times and enjoyed that, so I will use the spawn points in that.  There arent specific rules for them in AR:SE but its straightforward to include some.

The problem with a gaming zombies (or bug-hunt or anything that involves one-against-many) is that there has to be a time limit of some sort.  If there isnt then it becomes feasible that players could slowly and deliberately cure the infection, one bullet at a time.  It isnt so much a rules lawyering approach to gaming, more that there isnt really any reason for a player to approach it any other way.

To counter this and to provide a timer of sorts, the spawn points generate a set number of new zeds at certain intervals.  That way, regardless of the urgency of the gaming "mission", the characters will have to make progress or they will be swamped.  It also means that shot zomibe miniatures get recycled, which is a good thing from the point of view of available models if you are short of zombie miniatures or anything like that.

Revford had a neat mechanic for re-spawning zombies - roll a D6 at the start of every turn for every shot fired or noise made (starting a car, a car alarm going off, breaking open a door/window, ... you get the idea) in the previous turn.

In the next turn Nx D6 zombies arrive at the nearest spawn point to the noise and shambled towards the sound.

It worked pretty well providing a steady stream of zombies who behaved "properly".

It even got a little hectic mid-game as the teams had to fight through raised zombies who had shambled towards them in previous turns.

If I remember things properly Dewbakuk won the game but I got style point. 

[magokiron]

WOW!     

I didn't saw this thread before, but OMG!

Those are pretty much the VERY BEST spawning points I've ever seen!

Lots of inspiration here, topped by SPLENDID paint jobs.

Thanks for sharing.

[cheetor]

Thanks for the second round of positive feedback on these guys everyone.  Its a while since I painted them, so I didnt expect to see them around here again

...Revford had a neat mechanic for re-spawning zombies...

Thanks for that info.  We use in-game factors to influence spawning and movement, but usually as additional effects.  A standard procedure for spawning happens each turn.

The last time that we played (batrep here and here) we used a pretty simple method.

We were using forces of three models each and reasoned that the average number of zombies that each team could bump off in a turn would be three.  Therefore we spawned three models per player per turn to ensure that the while paths could be cleared that the numbers never thinned.  Actually they got worse with the "Special Infected" type zombies entering via cards inserted in the game action deck in addition to the normal spawns.

We found that method quick and simple.  The random determination of where each zombie arrived in addition to the unknown nature of where, when and which of the Special Infecteds arrival kept the tension up.  Great fun.

[Commander Vyper]

Nice as ever mate.

My own spawn points are just dice markers generally, next to the hospital, subway, manhole covers etc... this is how I play them (taken from my rules):

The dead are drawn to the living like well… undead bees to a fleshy honeypot.

Gunfire, screaming, chainsaw motors, mobile phone ring tones, motorised vehicles, human scent/blood all draw more zombies onto the table. (This is a simple spawn point rule that would work on both small and large tables).

Mark out your table edges: dice are used at table entry markers, three down each long side of the table, (one in each corner and one in the middle ordered 1-6.).

Gamers note: On a small table this works well, especially when an objective is placed in a corner or near to a table edge spawn point, gives the survivors, (and zombies) something to really get their teeth into! To spice things up a little, (urban sprawl, busy shopping mall etc..). Consider 2d6 for zombie numbers entering the table rather than 1d6.
At the beginning of each zed turn roll 1d6:

1d6   Result:
1-3   Attracted by human activity… more zombies shamble forth!
4-6   Your actions go unnoticed: no additional zombies for this turn…

If more zombies shamble forth this turn:

Roll 1d6:

1-6 = dice entry markers/point of entry.

Roll 1d6 (or 2d6 as discussed above):  Dice roll indicates the number of zombies arriving from that spawn point.

Additional Zombie Spawning Points:
                        
Gamers note: Don’t feel restricted to using just table edges as spawning points, this is the real world remember.

When play testing we decided on six spawning points as this worked on a small coffee table, whereas if you’re using a more traditionally sized gaming table you might want to create a little more of a challenge for your survivors!

Want 8 spawning points? Maybe 20 spawning points?

Grab those old redundant D&D dice you KNOW you have lurking around from your RPG days and get creative!

You could also consider the following areas to add a little bit of flavour to your games:

•   The abandoned school bus or coach at the crossroads.
•   The sewer system: drains and manhole covers.
•   Large public buildings: (hospitals, schools, town halls, cinemas, shopping centres etc…).
•   The emergency shelter: where everyone was told to head to?
•   Multi level spawning points: (apartment buildings, multi-storey car parks, subways, (eat fresh eh? Or the Underground?).

What's next mate?

The Commander

[cheetor]

What's next mate?

Its all Judge Dredd chez Cheetor at the moment.  I recently got over a summer painting slump to finish a few more Judges.  I am currently working on the Dark Judges (who are kinda zombies, right? Liches maybe)

Proper zombie wise I have loads waiting in the wings.  Heaps of Studio figs, some Tengu guys, some "Smoker" conversions, some amateur zombie sculpts that an online buddy sent me, Dr Totenkranz and Dr Voodoo to lead the horde... etc.  I definitely dont have a shortage 

For their Dredd game Mongoose have made a "Zombie Mistress" that is currently waiting for paint.  It willl probably jump the queue due to being Dredd related. 

Mongoose are also planning a conversion pack of Mega City One zombie heads/limbs/accessories etc that will be compatible with another manufacturers plastics, but they havent revealed which plastics yet.  The accessory pack will be cute I imagine (I presume Shane Hoyle will be sculpting) so I am looking forward to that. 

[Commander Vyper]

Nice.

Without further derailing of your own thread... who's dark judges, Foundry or citadel or an early release from Mongoose? (You seen the City Def. new metal minis...nice)

[cheetor]

Without further derailing of your own thread...

It has already had a second lease of life as it is

who's dark judges, Foundry or citadel or an early release from Mongoose? (You seen the City Def. new metal minis...nice)

Foundry Death, Fire and Mortis.  They never made a Fear that went into production (although Kevin Dallimore has one up on his site) so Fear is a Heroclix.  They were all sculpted by the same guy (Tim Prow) so its not too jarring.

Mongoose has Dark Judges in the pipeline, but I havent seen any greens or anything.  I am picking up all of the Mongoose Dredd stuff this time around as I missed loads of it the last time, so I will grab their Dark Judges whenever they come out.

My Dredd thread is HERE.