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 Post subject: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2012 7:50 pm 
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I love this game. It is by far my favorite zombie themed game but there are aspects from another game in the same theme that I really wish existed in ambush z. The ability to search for items and maybe even people appeal to me- I just don't like the way that certain other system does it- so I pose this question:
how could we make so we could actually search buildings and find stuff other than zeds? Would the items/weapons have modifiers to dice? I'm just kind of drawing a blank on how to do it. even being able to find people that may or may not be friendly would be cool. I don't want it to turn into that other game's way but a nice streamlined way of handling negotiation and having a continuing campaign with the possibility of stat growth. any one play around with this?


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 6:11 am 
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I think the main problem with searching buildings etc. to find additional weapons or people it time.

First we need to know long is an AZ "round" in real time terms? I can't recall if it is mentioned in the rules but it cant be more than twenty seconds.

Secondly, how long does it take to search a home, shop, factory etc. and have a chance to find something useful? For example, go into a store you have never been in before and time how long it takes you to find something specific, divide that time (in seconds) by 20 and we have the number of AZ "rounds" you have spent looking. Even a one minute search is 3 rounds!

It can be done but would you want to spend 3, 4, or more rounds trying to find a pistol in a house when each "round" spent brings the chance of more and more zeds being added to the table? Would the noise of your search attract the unwanted attention of the zeds, maybe a TQ test each round spent searching to avoid making any noise?

As most of my AZ games last less than 10 rounds (about 8 on average) the living don't get the time to search for stuff.

Jim


Jim

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 9:38 am 
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What if you had fate cards that had a few items or people. You would clear a building, then draw a card. It would rep a quick look around. So maybe some food, weapon or someone hiding who comes out when they hear others. Of course you would want a bunch of "nothing found" cards and maybe a Zed card or two to make you think twice about clearing building. How you have a new scenario, find food or some item in a nearby farm or town.

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2012 3:37 pm 
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I like both ideas- maybe some how have the fate/item/people cards and when you clear a building- depending on how many rounds/turns etc. you spend searching- you could draw more cards- but then of course you have a higher chance of "unwanted guests" Thoughts?


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:22 am 
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mojo wrote:
I like both ideas- maybe some how have the fate/item/people cards and when you clear a building- depending on how many rounds/turns etc. you spend searching- you could draw more cards- but then of course you have a higher chance of "unwanted guests" Thoughts?


I have had second thoughts and edited my previous post in red below...

You could weight the number of cards drawn based on the number of survivors inside the building when the search draw is made.

The initial TQ check to see if you find zeds inside the building should remain.A search of a building can only be carried out if the initial TQ check turned up no zeds. The fight with zeds inside may have also brought the attention of any other zed groups within range (if the group used CQB firearms) and they will be heading your way also.

Also perhaps put a top limit on the number of cards you can draw based on the building type?

The new search cards should also contain a number of "your search has attracted 1d6 zeds to the area" cards and "draw a Quirk card" options...

I will try to think of some "card" types and put up my ideas here later.

Jim

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Last edited by Baz Baziah on Mon May 07, 2012 8:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 7:33 am 
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I love the cards idea. The great thing about cards (as has already been pointed out) is that you can weight them for a specific scenario. This is a very cool idea that I'd be happy to post up on the website as a free download if you guys put something together.

My suggestion would be to make searching a building take a full turn - you must start and end the turn in the building to search it. Since we have an undefined time scale for turns, this should "feel" long enough and still allow a reasonable number of turns for a timed game involving building searches. That's just my 2 cents, though - your mileage may vary. ;)

S.

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 8:15 am 
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Shawn wrote:
I love the cards idea. The great thing about cards (as has already been pointed out) is that you can weight them for a specific scenario. This is a very cool idea that I'd be happy to post up on the website as a free download if you guys put something together.

My suggestion would be to make searching a building take a full turn - you must start and end the turn in the building to search it. Since we have an undefined time scale for turns, this should "feel" long enough and still allow a reasonable number of turns for a timed game involving building searches. That's just my 2 cents, though - your mileage may vary. ;)

S.


Shawn, thanks for clearing up the length of turn. I couldn't remember if it had been quoted in the rules or not.

Oh, and any news on the new zed rules that Peggy promised a few weeks back ;)

Jim

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God knows he is not a Para.


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 8:36 am 
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We have a couple of items to clear from our productions schedule (namely the 8th Force on Force companion book and the 1st Tomorrow's War companion book and then we'll be diving into Ambush Z II development.

Anyway that's the plan at the moment . . .

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"I don't wanna be remembered as the guy who died because he underestimated the threat posed by a monkey."


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 12:00 pm 
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A few ideas off of the top of my head whilst I was painting some figures...

"Light 'em up..." You discover enough gasoline, kerosene and other materials to equip the team searching with Molotov cocktails. Play this card and then add two dice to your attack pool (up to max of 10) and then discard this card. Max of three cards per deck, none stackable but may have more than one card in reserve.

"Just call me camouflage..." A tall, over muscular stranger appears whilst you are searching, he offers to join you and assist your escape. He is armed with an M-60 and has a TQ and moral of D12. He counts towards your victory points but "dissapears" just as you escape. Folk swear that he died in the opening days of the plague when you tell your tale later... Max 1 card per deck.

"I save this for special occasions" You find enough knives and small arms to equip everyone with close combat weapons. You now have the "close combat" weapon bonus for the remainder of the game. Max three cards per deck, none stackable.

"CRASH!!!..." You think you have found something useful but whilst pulling it from the other junk you bring it all down with a mighty crash. All zeds on the table make a TQ roll and will start to move towards the building you are in. Max 3 cards per deck. Plat immediately and then replace into deck.

"BRAINS..." The basement is filled with zeds... Immediately place 1d6 Romeo's in the building and commence HTH combat. This building then becomes a "6" hotspot for the remainder of the game. Max 1 per deck. Do not replace card after playing it.


More to follow and please feel free to comment and add your own ideas...

Jim

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What is the difference between God and a Para?

God knows he is not a Para.


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Mon May 07, 2012 6:38 pm 
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I love these. What about some WCs to drag along. Ammo, other guns, food/water and some meds. Also, I think there has to be some, "found nothing" cards. Keep these ideas coming!

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:28 am 
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"We don't want to die..."You find a family of 1d3+3Whiskey Charles inside, they now refuse to leave your side and become dependants from here on in. max of three cards per deck, this card is stackable.

We need bigger guns...A military fire team appears to have left in a hurry leaving behind enough weapons and ammo to re equip a four man team with militaty weapons. You can replace any or al of a 4 man team with 2 M16's, 1M16/M203, 1 SAW. max of 2 cards per deck stackable.

down Rover down... a pack of 1d6+3 zombie dogs have taken up home here, good luck! max 2 cards per deck. replace after use.

Hey, those scientists talked of this... You find enough Anti Rev to last the remainder of the game. Max three cards per deck


More to follow...

Jim

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What is the difference between God and a Para?

God knows he is not a Para.


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 10:59 am 
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One thing I like about ATZ and searching buildings, it is based on size. Each area on the board is 6"x6" whether inside a building or out. This also applies to multi story buildings. I ran ATZ games (Before I got a copy of Ambush Z) with 2 and 3 story buildings. I treated each floor seperately per turn.

Also, the longer the plague goes on, the less useful material will be available. You may want to add blank cards to the deck to refleck this.

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2012 11:17 am 
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I'm going to flesh out -if you pardon the pun!, a full set of cards over the next few days and post them here. I was thinking of drawing one card per round spent serching no matter how many floors the building has or its size.

In my opinion, AZ is a fast play system and doesn't need to be bogged down with extra fluff but to each there own so if you want to add extra fluff -like these cards, you can.

Jim

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What is the difference between God and a Para?

God knows he is not a Para.


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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2012 2:46 pm 
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Here you go 40 "cards" to be used in a single deck when searching a building.

For each full round spent inside a clear building you my draw one card.

Quote:
"Light 'em up..." You discover enough gasoline, kerosene and other materials to equip the team searching with Molotov cocktails. Play this card and then add two dice to your attack pool (up to max of 10) and then discard this card. None stackable but may have more than one card in reserve.

"Light 'em up..." You discover enough gasoline, kerosene and other materials to equip the team searching with Molotov cocktails. Play this card and then add two dice to your attack pool (up to max of 10) and then discard this card. None stackable but may have more than one card in reserve.

"Light 'em up..." You discover enough gasoline, kerosene and other materials to equip the team searching with Molotov cocktails. Play this card and then add two dice to your attack pool (up to max of 10) and then discard this card. None stackable but may have more than one card in reserve.

"Just call me camouflage..." A tall, over muscular stranger appears whilst you are searching, he offers to join you and assist your escape. He is armed with an M-60 and has a TQ and moral of D12. He counts towards your victory points but "disappears" just as you escape. Folk swear that he died in the opening days of the plague when you tell your tale later...

"I save this for special occasions" You find enough knives and small arms to equip everyone with close combat weapons. You now have the "close combat" weapon bonus for the remainder of the game. None stackable.

"I save this for special occasions" You find enough knives and small arms to equip everyone with close combat weapons. You now have the "close combat" weapon bonus for the remainder of the game. None stackable.

"I save this for special occasions" You find enough knives and small arms to equip everyone with close combat weapons. You now have the "close combat" weapon bonus for the remainder of the game. None stackable.

"CRASH!!!..." You think you have found something useful but whilst pulling it from the other junk you bring it all down with a mighty crash. All zeds on the table make a TQ roll and will start to move towards the building you are in. Play immediately and then replace into deck.

"BRAINS!!..." The basement is filled with zeds... Immediately place 1d6 Zulu's in the building and commence HTH combat.

"Can it get any worse..." The basement is filled with zeds... Immediately place 1d6 Romeo's in the building and commence HTH combat. This building then becomes a "6" hotspot for the remainder of the game. Do not replace card after playing it.

"Can it get any worse..." The basement is filled with zeds... Immediately place 1d6 Romeo's in the building and commence HTH combat. This building then becomes a "6" hotspot for the remainder of the game. Do not replace card after playing it.

"We don't want to die..."You find a family of 1d3+3 Whiskey Charles inside, they now refuse to leave your side and become dependants from here on in. This card is stackable.

"We don't want to die..."You find a family of 1d6+1 Whiskey Charles inside, they now refuse to leave your side and become dependants from here on in. This card is stackable.

"What happened to the party..."You find a group of 2d6+2 Whiskey Charles inside, they now refuse to leave your side and become dependants from here on in. This card is stackable.

"We need bigger guns..." A military fire team appears to have left in a hurry leaving behind enough weapons and ammo to re-equip a four man team with military weapons. You can replace any or all of a 4 man team with 2 M16's, 1M16/M203, 1 SAW. Stackable.

"We need bigger guns..." A military fire team appears to have left in a hurry leaving behind enough weapons and ammo to re-equip a four man team with military weapons. You can replace any or all of a 4 man team with 2 M16's, 1M16/M203, 1 SAW. Stackable.

"Down Rover down..." a pack of 1d6+3 zombie dogs have taken up home here, good luck! Play immediately and then replace card into deck.

"You're dog meat pal..." a large pack of 2d6+3 zombie dogs have taken up home here, good luck! Play immediately and then replace card into deck.

"Hey, those scientists talked of this..." You find enough RAV to last the remainder of the game. Keep card for remainder of game.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"The cupboards are bare..." Your search turns up nothing but wasted time. Replace card into Deck.

"we are here, we are here..." You discover a military radio set and call for help. Roll 1d6, on an odd number they ignore you, on an even number they say they will send help as soon as possible. A 4 man REAPER team enters from the board edge closest to you 1d6 turns later.

"Its all bad news..." All this searching with nothing to find causes a member of the searching team to say something demotivating. The whole units moral is reduced by one die type. If moral is already at D6 then the whole team gain a level of combat stress.

"Its all good news..." A member of the searching team finds something that reminds them of good times gone by and they pass on the good cheer. The whole units moral is raised by one die type. If moral is already at D12 then the whole team looses 1d3 levels of combat stress.

"This place looks like a castle..." The team discover that the house is almost fully barricaded and can finish off the job in no time. In addition to gaining all the advantages of a barricaded building the groups moral is raised by one die type. If moral is already at D12 then the whole team looses 1d3 levels of combat stress.

"Ding a ling a ling..." The burglar alarm is still active and you have tripped it! Make a TQ roll for all zeds on the table and they will start to move towards the building in addition the Zeds get an extra roll on the reinforcements table each turn until it is shut off. To disable it roll 1d6+2, this number must be rolled on a single TQ dice at the end of each turn. Of course you can just run and leave it?

"For the sake of all things holy..." for some unexplained reason the TQ of all zombie units is reduced by one die type, not to go below D6.

"Its a first aid kit..." Save this card and turn it in to revive one casualty due to combat. The figure so revived is NOT infected.

"Its a first aid kit..." Save this card and turn it in to revive one casualty due to combat. The figure so revived is NOT infected.

"Lots of ammo..." You have found some spare ammo regain a fire-power dice if short on ammo or ignore the next "Short on ammo" result.

"Lots of ammo..." You have found some spare ammo regain a fire-power dice if short on ammo or ignore the next "Short on ammo" result.

"You left WHAT! behind?" You discover that someone has left there ammo behind. Reduce the teams fire-power dice by one.

"I'm going to look over here..." One person becomes separated from the group during the search and goes AWOL. A WC first or Military if no WC's in group. They turn up at the end of the game and count as survivor for victory points.

"I'm going to look over here..." One person becomes separated from the group during the search and goes AWOL. A WC first or Military if no WC's in group. They turn up at the end of the game and count as survivor for victory points.

"This place looks like a lab..." You find the building occupied by a Dexter and his 2d3 Romeo friends!

"It's some sort of Storm-trooper suit..." You discover a Spec. Ops crate on the roof with 1d3+1 suits of Anti Zombie armour, none military units using this only add one defence dice to there total.

"Get me out of here..." In the basement is a tunnel dug by some crazy long forgotten survivor, it runs off in a random direction. Roll 1d8 (as you would for fleeing WC's) and the tunnel emerges 6" from that table edge. If taken the team are relocated to that spot at the end of the next Living players activation.


Feel free to add to or take away from these.

Shawn if they pass muster please feel free to do them up a bit and add them as a free download -just remember my name ;)

Jim

_________________
==============================
What is the difference between God and a Para?

God knows he is not a Para.


Last edited by Baz Baziah on Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: searching for items/people/threats....
PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2012 6:55 pm 
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Great job on these, I'll download unless Shawn is going to.

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Larry


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