Ratling Cannon Fodder

Hi all

So onto the first part of my introduction of my Skaven BB team - the Gnash-Gnaw and as I did with the UUs, I'll introduce the line men...ahem line rats first!

 No backgrounds for these guys as yet, as not one of them has lasted long enough to level up! Yes the attrition rate of line rats is huge! Low AV and no outstanding qualities, line rats struggle to cope with bashy opponents and subsequently die in droves, but as an experienced skaven coach, I know this and factor it into my plans.  luckily they are as cheap as chips to buy...

These minis are all 2nd ed and that puts them in the 25+ years bracket and I've had them since then as well.  They, along with the 2nd ed game, have moved house (twice) survived living in my loft when I lost my wargaming mojo for several years and have been repainted 3 times! I do love these little critters... not enough to name them but still... Number 11 is the old kicker model but seeing as that position has been retired, he steps in with his giant armoured boot as a line rat.

hope you enjoy

dGG

ps as this post is a little light, I have been building a pitch for the Gnash-Gnaw! check out my You Tube channel to watch the build https://youtu.be/9Lfu4ReMJ5I

Gnash - Gnaw

Hi all

more Blood Bowl goodness coming your way, this time from the dark places beneath the empires of men and dwarfs - the Skaven!  While the Double U's (my human team) were the first team to get painted following my rediscovery of BB and I really enjoy playing them, I couldn't resist digging out my Skaven team - the Gnash-Gnaw!

Skaven society is highly stratified and bound up in complex rituals, but on the Blood Bowl pitch, all barriers drop away as every player gives their all for their teams complete and utter victory. The game has become very popular in all fields of Skaven life - the Skaven loving any opportunity for mindless violence. In fact, it has become very difficult to persuade them that there is any other purpose to the game once they are on the field, or even when they are just spectating in the stands! Some of the great all-time Player Death and Crowd Death records have occurred in games in which the Skaven have been on the pitch.

Skaven are one of the fastest teams in the game, capable of moving the ball from one end zone to the other with ease. They are generally thought of as a finesse team because of their Gutter Runners’ but their Blitzers’ and Rat Ogre give the team a real punch as well. They are a very versatile team capable of switching their tactics at any point in the game to get the win, and while they will lose players most games they can still function very effectively on the pitch when reduced to a handful of players. Unlike bashy teams Skaven can fall back on plan B or C if plan A is not going to plan, so no matter how bad things seem to be getting a win is almost always within reach. 
What makes Skaven so special is their Gutter Runners; 4 players with Ma 9, Dodge and Ag4 means any mistake or bad luck from your opponent can be exploited with a ruthless efficiency and their main strength and tactic is to just go for the ball and ‘Shoot the Gap’. 

So onto my team the Gnash - Gnaw. This team of malcontent verminous villains hail from Hell Pit in the far north and have just started to make a name for themselves.  Led on the field by the Thrower - Krik, these ruinous rats are racking up the TDs.

The majority of this team are 2nd Ed miniatures that I have owned since 2nd ed BB was released back in the day, this is their third reinvention and I'm loving them! Sadly as the Catcher role is no longer on the Skaven roster, I've had to retire my pair of catchers but in the main, these gorgeous minis date back 20+ years!

more about the team when I introduce them next time...

hope you enjoy

dGG

The Rescue part 2

Private Conti inched the small mirrored device around the corner of the housing tenement, that he and Dewbury were hunkered down in. He winced as the bullets struck the paramedic and threw the portly male to the ground with a thud.  The deserter watched in fascination as the shorter female snarled a cry of rage and lifted a wicked looking crossbow. Conti held his breath as she let fly a bolt at the sinister Mr Smith.  The former soldier had held the “Men in Black” in awe having seen them in action. He had thought them as beyond human, so he was horrified as the bolt flew true and struck the agent high in the shoulder and dropped him to the tarmac.

The low moaning of the D-Subs grew louder as the MiB went down. As one they surged forward in an effort to get to the warm flesh of the agent, their teeth bared in anticipation. Conti withdrew the device and hitched his assault rifle up, nudging the nervous man that hovered behind him, he indicated that the deserters should get while the going was good. Without a backward glance, the former soldiers ghosted away from the crash site.

one of the PEFs comes close to being revealed but then turns around and retreats

April heard the sickly thud as the heavy rounds struck Gobbo, a fine spray of blood flew from the medic's head as the bullets tore a crease down the side of his face. She stood frozen to the spot as Gobbo’s daughter – Astrid raised her bow to return fire, dropping the agent in the black coat.  A door slamming open behind her, had her spinning around with her ASP held loosely in her hand. A zed stumbled over the threshold, falling forward and allowing April the chance to crash the heavy extendible baton into the back of it’s head.

Astrid felt her father’s blood splatter the side of her face as he was spun around, before crashing to the floor.  The young woman pushed down a surge of fear for the stricken medic and sighted down her crossbow, shooting the bad guy who had fired on her dad so callously. She grinned fiercely as the bolt lodged in the sinister agent’s shoulder and taking him out of the action.  That grin turned into a shout of both surprise and glee, as she spotted her dad’s crewmate clamber over a wall behind the agent, firing an assault rifle at a couple of the zombies that were milling around.  Raising her hand, Astrid called out to the fiery paramedic, gesturing for her to run toward their group.

Smith, gasping from the pain in his shoulder, shook his head to clear the woozy feeling that was threatening to drive him into unconsciousness.  The girl was limping passed him, not 10 feet away, but he couldn’t bring his pistols up to take her out.  Grimacing against the agony of the barbed bolt pressing against his clavicle, he staggered to his feet.  Looking around, he decided that discretion was the better part of valour and darted/stumbled along the high wall that marked the boundaries of a wooded park.

Anna, hearing the stricken cry of Gobbo’s daughter as he was shot down, near boiled over the garden wall that she had been resting behind. Landing awkwardly, she ignored the flare of pain from her ruined ankle, she lifted her borrowed rifle to her shoulder and mowed down a trio of D-Subs that threatened to attack her fallen crewmate.  The paramedic looked left and right but failed to spot the mysterious agent who had gunned down her friend, grimly striding forward as more and more shambling D’s flooded the area.

 Reaching the fallen medic, she bent down to palpate Gobbo’s carotid artery. Feeling a strong pulse, Anna turned his head, tutting at the crease where the round had scraped passed the older medic’s temple.

“For Christ’s sake Gobbo, get your fat, lazy arse up of the floor!” she shouted in his ear, accompanied by a hard pinch to his trapezius muscle.

With a shout the middle-aged medic, practically jumped up as the pain from his trapezius temporarily outweighed the pain in his head. “What the fuck?!?” he spluttered as he shook his head, trying to orientate himself.  As he staggered sideways, he glimpsed sight of a zed bearing down on his beloved daughter.  Drunkenly he raised the heavy firearm that he still clutched, pulling the trigger and discharging a spray of pellets at the creature and throwing it backward.  The noise chased the last of the cobwebs from his brain and he pulled his kin into a powerful bear hug.

“Touching as this is people, I think we need to get the hell out of here…” Drawled Anna, nodding at the reporter in greeting and pulling on the arm of her crewmate.

“Of course, Putters professional at all times!” laughed the portly medic, delighted to see his young friend and mentor whole. “The ambo is just up the alleyway, ready to go”.

Pistol fire, followed by the sound of roaring engine, drew their attention as they realised that the mysterious agent had somehow escaped. All four of the humans, grimaced at the sound of snapping bones clearly heard over the squealing of tyres. 

“I somehow doubt that’ll be the last we see of him.” Astrid surmised, slowly shaking her head at the thought of the formidable foe coming after her and her loved ones.  The others nodded in agreement and turn back toward the waiting ambulance and safety. 

“Let’s get out of here.” Said Gobbo, grimly stepping over the still twitching remains of the D-Sub he had perforated with his shotgun moments before.

The shock of being shot in the head clearly slowing his thought process, it was some few precious seconds before his brain caught up. Still twitching remains…

With a hungry moan the zed lurched to it’s feet, clawed fingers reaching for April’s clothing and pulling the startled reporter in close, trying to bite the young woman. April tried to swing with her baton, but the creature was too close and pinned her arm to her sides, causing the blow to be ineffectual.  The others, caught by surprise could only watch in horror as the two combatants fell to the floor in a tangled heap of thrashing limbs. After long seconds, there was a loud snap as April leaned her full weight onto the creature, snapping it’s neck and causing it to go limp.

an event - a previously dead zed comes back to unlife...

April stood, wiping blood off her coat and looking pale as she staggered toward the ambulance.  “Hurry,” she implored, “we’ve got to get out of here.” Pushing passed her stunned colleagues, she clambered into the back of the vehicle and slumped onto the trolley, staring up at the roof of the truck.

April loses a round of combat with the zed before killing it...

With a shrug, Gobbo got behind the wheel and gunned the engine as the others got into the emergency vehicle.  Throwing it into reverse, he put his foot to the floor and backed the ambulance out of the hot zone.

That's it for this episode of my ongoing ATZ - an English Adventure.
hope you enjoy
dGG

April clutched the torn sleeve of her jacket, the pain from the D-Subs bite was abominable and she thought she might pass out. So far she hadn't checked to see if the flesh had been broken by the filthy teeth of the creature and she was petrified to look just in case it had. She'd seen the films, she'd read the books and seen first hand what the bites of the zombies did to humans.  Glancing fearfully around the ambo, she saw the two medics deep in conversation, no doubt catching each other up on the recent events. Gobbo's daughter Astrid, was watching her with her too clever eyes, taking in everything, analysing everything. Nothing would get by that one, nothing...

The Rescue part 1

The low moans of the D-Subs, as they clustered around the crash site, jarred Anna’s nerves and she checked and rechecked the safety of the assault rifle picked up from the torn carcass of the young soldier at her feet.  Glancing around, the young paramedic spotted more of the zombie-like ex residents of the Isle of Thanet gathering in a narrow road next to a sweet looking motorbike.  Lifting the rifle to her shoulder, she aimed vaguely in their direction and squeezed the trigger in a long burst.

Anna starts in section 7 (bottom left corner)

The rounds tore the ground in front of the D-Subs to pieces but spectacularly failed to slow the creatures down at all. Anna snorted, she had the feel of the weapon now and the next time, the result would be different.  However, the D-Subs were starting to fill the narrow street forcing Anna to move slowly away, wary of putting too much pressure on her torn ankle.

she quickly abandons the idea of using the motorcycle as there are too many zeds

and instead cuts down behind the truck

++FOB control, we have gunfire just ahead – possible survivors – 30 seconds ‘till contact++

Mr Smith replaced the handset and looked over at his partner, Mr Jones who was skilfully manuvering the big SUV through the cluttered streets.

“Sounds like at least one of the strike team survived the crash.” He mused to the big man, adding in muttered tones, “unless it’s the girl of course.”

Jones looked over at the taciturn Mr Smith and raised an eyebrow. “You think someone survived that?” he nodded at the rapidly approaching crash site.

“Find out in 5 seconds” Smith barked as he drew his twin pistols and slapped off his quick release seatbelt. Jones hit the brakes and brought the vehicle to a complete stop in a controlled slide, before leaping out and drawing his own weapon.

the laser pointer shows there is a LoS from Jones to Anna and the go to insight with Jones getting more successes

Anna looked up as the roar of the massive military vehicle’s engine was drowned out by the screeching of vulcanised rubber. The driver jumping down from the SUV was all dressed in black and looked for all the world like the government agent that he most likely was. The sound of a second door opening suggested a partner, but she couldn’t catch sight of them due to a wall restricting her vision.  Time slowed down for the young paramedic as her eyes recorded the information and analysed every last detail. The ripples of the black fabric of the large man’s coat as he flowed with the practiced grace of a natural athlete. The blank, dark gaze from his, no doubt standard issue ‘Men in Black’ shades. The gaping empty barrel of the enormous pistol held in his right fist as he brought it up in line with Anna’s chest…

however he rolls two 1's and runs out of ammo... Anna is not so unlucky and puts him down

Click, click, click… Jones looked confused at the sound of the pistol’s hammer slamming down on an empty chamber. The gun felt lighter somehow too, as if there was something missing? With a frown, he lifted the butt of the handgun and looked at the empty space where his magazine should fill. “That’s strange” he managed to say, just before three 5.56 NATO rounds struck his groin, abdomen and finally his chest.

Anna lowered the assault rifle from her shoulder as the MiB was thrown backward by her return fire, crashing into the side of the SUV.  Without waiting for a response from his partner, she hobbled around the back of the lorry that had plowed into a nearby wall and scuttled into the garden of the ruined terrace. All around her, the D-Subs, drawn by the sound of gunfire, moaned and shuffled, desperate for the flesh of the still-humans.

Mr Smith heard the thud of Jones’ body as it slammed against the vehicle and slid to the ground. “What the f…?!?” he mouthed as he looked around for the shooter, quickly surmising the enemy combatant’s rough position. The shooter must be skilled to have got the drop on his highly trained partner, Jones had been around the block and then some.  Smith dropped into a crouch and moving away from the still running SUV, he edged his way along the length of the articulated lorry, pistols at the ready.  Focused as he was, and thanks to the high sides of the truck, he failed to spot the puffing paramedic as she struggled over the wall of a nearby property and dropped into the next garden and out of sight.

Prowling forward he reached the back end of the trailer and cast a quick look around. Annoyingly he could only see the damned D-Subs, with two directly in front of him within touching distance. Instantly the pistols came up, like extensions of his own body. Years of drilling, target practice and real combat experience served him well as two bodies dropped to the floor. Without looking back at the still twitching body of one of the zombies, he headed the way he had come, thinking that the shooter would be trying to flank him. As he turned, he caught sight of a small group of people walking in his direction.

Like a flash, his brain kicked into analytical mode – one male, middle aged, a bit pudgy around the middle and dressed as a paramedic, but rather incongruently carrying a serious looking firearm. With him - two females, one in her early twenties and carrying a wicked crossbow, she bore a strong resemblance to the male and he surmised a father/daughter relationship.  The other he recognised from somewhere, but he didn’t know from what.  She carried a police ASP loosely in one hand as she scanned the immediate area.  They were clearly looking for someone and considering the male wore the same uniform as the target, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who…

Once again Smith raised his deadly pistols and discharged them, his left-hand pistol discharging a controlled burst and knocking over two D-Subs that partially shielded his true target. His right-hand pistol tracked the fat man and spat its deadly load at what Smith had decided was the biggest threat. With a satisfied grunt, he watched the bullets slam into the paramedic and throw him to the ground.

part 2 next time

hope you enjoy

dGG

The Rescue - the intro

Seated on the stretcher in the rear of his ambulance, his daughter Astrid in the “jump seat” and the reporter April Nillson in the attendant seat, Andy “Gobbo” Wosa shook his head in effort to organise the information that April was giving him. Black sites and strike teams were the stuff of spy novels and the like. The fact that a strike team had abducted his one-time crew mate Anna “Putters” Parker because of the information she had carried around with her, very nearly blew the top of his aching head off. 

“So, you’re saying that Anna’s fiance – Chris, had a different reaction to the virus than all the other D-Subs? And that this was the reason that my crewmate was snatched and sped away in the biggest fucking helicopter I’ve ever seen?” Gobbo exclaimed. 

Astrid sighed, a well-rehearsed sigh of exasperation at the slowness of thought her father displayed... again! “She has said this twice now dad...”. Rolling her eyes, she checked the firing mechanism of her wicked looking crossbow for the umpteenth time, the repetitive action seeming to soothe her stretched nerves far more than her father's repetitive questions. 

“Thanks, trappy!” Gobbo snapped, winking at his fierce daughter to soften the rebuke. “But now what? Do we go after her? I mean I’m just a fat old medic, never served in the forces and these guys are highly trained soldiers and by the sound of it bloody ruthless to boot. It’ll be suicide”. 

Silence descended in the back of the ambo, as each of them retreated back into their heads to contemplate the impossible task. Astrid looked over at the worried but determined face of her father and knew that he would do something, likely very stupid but brave, to help his crewmate.   

The crackle of a radio cut through the morose atmosphere like a sharp knife, as the airwave handset in April’s slingbag came to life. “April, you there? April? It’s Bobby” 

Gobbo winced at the awful radio protocol but urged the reporter to answer the call. Reaching into her bag and withdrawing the handset she keyed the transmit button. “Go ahead Bobby”. 

“April, it’s gone insane here! There are soldiers barking at each other and all sorts. It seems the chopper carrying that paramedic has gone down in somewhere called Westgate, some malfunction or something.  Anyway, they’re scrambling around like crazy!” 

April glanced at the older medic who was already heading toward the rear doors of the ambulance and thumbing a shell into the breach of the shotgun he held.  “You know where this is?” she asked somewhat resigned to the fact she was about to get dragged into something very dangerous. Gobbo glanced at his daughter and sighed... “Yup, 10 minutes away I guess we’ll see it before we get there.” 

Hi all and welcome to my first game of ATZ in over 18 months, hopefully I won't be too rusty, however you won't know because as before this will be a narrative batrep. Blue text in the bulk of the story will likely be because I need to punctuate the action with some clarification of what happened in the game, so that you don't just think it's a product of my imagination. 

https://dagobbosgrotto.blogspot.com/p/narratives.html

If you haven't read the previous episode then click on the link above to take you to an appropriate page because I will not be recapping each time. This game will be played out using All Things Zombie Final Fade Out (my preferred system) and on a 3 foot by 3 foot board divided into 9 sections.  

Anna is in section 7 (red person type icon), she needs to exit off of the board via section 3 marked by the acid green arrow (and coincidentally where Gobbo's ambulance is sitting) to succeed this mission as she looks to escape the crash site and disappear.  If she manages to link up with Gobbo they will move onto plot thread A. If she does not but still escapes she will move onto plot thread B.  Anna has an ankle injury and will not be able to fast move at all. If Anna is killed or captured by Sgt Boyle or the MiBs then we move onto plot thread C. She is now armed with an assault rifle and a flak vest (counts as protected).

Mr Smith and Mr Jones, the shadowy men in black from several episodes ago have been tasked by FOB SKA000 command to locate the girl and snatch her and the information she carries if possible, the information takes priority.  They enter in from section 1 and are marked by the purple arrow.

There are 3 PEFs (green squares) in section 7, 8 and 9 and are preloaded.  When one is revealed I will roll on the following table ignoring any repeats:

(1-2) the deserters Conti (poser) and Dewbury (dim) both are rep 4 with an assault rifle and flak vest. They will go straight to walk the walk on any meet and greet (inc the MiBs and the sarge) as they will want to avoid having witnesses to their desertion. 

(3-4) Sgt Boyle (born leader) rep 3 with an assault rifle and flak vest. Boyle is wounded, hence the lower rep and will try to fulfill his mission and capture Anna, if he wounds her he will demand her surrender and call in a heli-evac. 

(5-6) Gobbo, Astrid and April! they will automatically join up with Anna and attempt to exit at section 3 via Gobbo's ambo. 

It is an Urban setting so all of the ATZ rules for urban setups are to be used with zeds appearing on 4+ for each noise made. It is the afternoon of day 5... 

hope you enjoy 

dGG