Reich of the Thousand Deads: S2E5. Von Evil Strikes Back (AAR)

Bucolic countryside story

" You see mein klein Oberst, the British have shipped Gurkhas in the region to fight the zombies. The Gurkhas are little men from Asia with a natural skill for melee fights. They are killing meine kleine undeads by dozens. They have to be stopped."
"Vhy not killing them with good steel?"
"Oberst, this is why I lead and why you obey. It is funnier to see undeads ripping of the bodies while they are still alive. And I want to make a Zed Tape, like Hilton in Paris."

Objectives and Rules:
15 zombies, 4 PEF (potential  Gurkhas). Farm will be in alarm when Gurkhas shoot (increase threat potential of PEF) and if SWD shoot, generate 1 PEF in houses in the middle.
ER: 4
Zombies generated on 5-6 (the Gurkhas have cleaned the area). It is early morning and up to turn 21, visibility will be limited to 12".
Nemesis generated on double 6 activation

Von Evil party

Mission:

• Record on camera the battle and not losing the camera.

• Not losing the device attached on Gnah~ or the Pinger.

Gnah~ and his new friends. The merrier the happier

• Capturing the British radio, killing the Allied war reporter and taking documents from the Field Operator.

The farm has 3 buildings, barricades. A tough call. There are 4 PEF

Turn 1    (6:5), Turn 2    (6:3)

Gnah~ was moving forward.
"Gnah~ "
"Ahhaa~" replied his friend next to him
"heee~" said another one.
"Ho~~~" argued

They saw the farm, they all cheered.
"AhAaahh~"
And they moved forward.

Turn 3    (3:5), Turn 4    (2:6), Turn 5    (2:3)

The zombies hurried at slow pace, all very happy about the incoming biting. Building usually means either more friends or biting championship.
"Gnah~"
Gnah~ had saw something moving in the distance and was greeting them in his own word.

Thaman Gurung was patrolling when he saw the broken shapes coming their ways. He poked his teammate shoulder. He understood automatically. They set their bayonets and aimed.
"Seems we will be late for breakfast.", and they shot at the charging zombies.

"Bugger!"

The zombies reached the two soldiers and one of them dropped on the ground.

One Gurkha fell

Turn 6    (1:1): Last Gurkhas killed wasn't dead

As it seemed the last defender would be overwhelmed by the undeads, the zombie on top of the fallen Gurkha saw a blade going through its head.
"Don't write me off, I am not done yet"
"Jompur, I thought you were gone"

Turn 7    (2:1)

The Gurkhas killed more friends. Gnah~ did not understand why the warm-bodies did not want to be bitten. Gnah~ tried to approached once more but was pushed back again and fell.

"Oberst, something is coming..."
The SWD troopers readied their assault rifles but it proved to be nothing more than some junk pushed by the wind.

PEF (6) move, nothing but raise ER.

Turn 8    (6:6)

A large roar was heard from the opposite side. The SWD and the Gurkha froze for a moment, while the zombies were slowly recovering.
Von Evil smiled.
"Production bonus. Heinrich, I hope we will have that on camera"

A Nemesis had just arrived on the other side of the farm.

Turn 9    (3:4)

Still surprise by the roar, a Gurkha did not notice the risen zombie. The zombie bit the soldier on the ear and the living fell on the ground with a scream.

"Jompur! We are coming"
"Oh my sweet little Jesus. I am here with heroic Allied forces in a farm deep in occupied Europe and in front of me, courageous soldiers fight the deads. This is a live report from the ground...."
"Spread soldiers, they can be tricky. We have to clear them before more arrive."
"Aye Sir"

 Meanwhile, on the other side of the farm.
"I smell you, little rat. You will taste my bullet, you will be a great prize."
A Gurkha exited the wood, a hunter grin on his face.

1 Gurkhas was OOFed. The other one was tied up. PEF (6) came in sight, 3 soldiers and 1 objective, the war reporter.

PEF (4) was a single rifle behind the Nemesis

Turn 10    (5:3), Turn 11    (2:1)

The Nemesis smelled the Gurkha behind it. It turned in a glimpse of eye and ran toward the soldier. The beast was impressive but the small man was a hunter. As the Nemesis jumped on him, about to crush him, he side-stepped, withdrew his blade and deep cut the Nemesis' left leg. The Nemesis crashed heavily on the ground.
Before the Nemesis could raise, the Gurkha aimed his rifle at the large head and pulled the trigger.
"Never mess with the Gurkhas, monster."

"This is unbelievable. I am watching as the soldier Jompur, that I introduced in the previous show, is fighting against a large number of risen deads. One soldier is lying on the ground, I do not know if he is dead yet. Oh no! An undead is coming from behind Jompur. He... Yes... Jompur pushed aside another opponent and was able to slice on the undead. Seems he is gone, oh no, I see it moving again. Because of the melee, we cannot shoot, we may hit Jompur. Go Jompur!"
Meanwhile, in a barricaded farm near Nottingham, a group of survivors was listening at the radio.
#Oh no! An undead is coming from behind Jompur. He... #
"Go Jompur!"
"Kill it"
"10 quid on Jompur"
#Yes... Jompur pushed aside another opponent and was able to slice on the undead. Seems he is gone#
The group of survivor stood up and hugged"Yeah~! take that SeaWeed" (SWD nickname in Great Britain"

Jompur was fighting all the zombies himself and was tied up to 3 times, attacked in the back and still alive....

Turn 12    (3:1)

"Gnah~" (Why don't you let me bite you just a little?)

#The soldiers are rushing to help Jompur. He is tied with multiple attackers. Oh... my... #
The survivors in Nottingham's farm tensed.
#Yes! They have just killed two zombies. One seems to resist, but wait, ....#
"Guys, who's next for guard duty?", a young lad with a sten has just came into the room.
"Yes, the soldier was fast and his blade got its brain. "
"Ssh. Henry's View. They are attacked and they've just won" said one survivor.
"And you didn't tell me?" The young lad sat and join the group.
#Remember people, killing them is God's will. They are no more human. And only a good hit on the head does the job. Hit-the-skull, kill-the-dull. #
 "Hit the skull, kill the dull" they all repeated
#Fantastic job as ever. The soldier waive at me. It seems that the soldier on the ground is not dead, hopefully he will recover. Once more, like everywhere in the United Kingdom, the valorous soldiers of his Majesty triumphed of the great SWD evils.#

The blade came too fast and Gnah~ did not react. The blade entered his skull and ripped the brain. Gnah~ smiled for the last time.

All zed killed. Von Evil was not happy.

The SWD officer looked at Von Evil. His face was neutral as always, but he felt tension.
"Oberst?"
The SWD officer looked away, at the Gurkhas.
"Ja mein Herr?"
"Stop this mockery. Kill all these little men now. I am tired of this"
The SWD officer aimed with his assault rifle. "Troopers"...

#We have again prevail agains the world of evil. This is pure joy as the Gurkhas make sure the undeads are really dead for once#

"Aim" The SWD aimed at Jompur. That little guy was good. Better to quickly eliminate him.

#This is Henry reporting fro...#

"Shoot"

Suddenly shots erupted from the orchard on the hill. The Gurkhas who were looking at the zombies fell. Jompur was killed with a headshot.

#Oh my God. They...Unbelievable.... This is an ambush! Jompur's head just exploded. We are under attack!#
"No~~~~~!" The survivors all over UK listening to the BBC cursed the SWD.

From the two houses of the farm, sounds of soldiers readying themselves came. The sound of SWD assault rifles was easy to recognize.

2 new PEFs generated in the houses

Sound of gunshots brought zombies. But because of the pinger, the zombies were directed toward the farm.

Turn 13    (5:2)

#The Gurkhas in front of me are all on the ground. I cannot tell if dead or only wounded. Wait, more Allied arrive to help. #

Two soldiers exited the house nearby.
"Devanshu, look zombies."
They aimed at the zombies by instinct, forgetting the concealed SWD who have just shot.

The SWD saw them and made them pay their mistake. They fell under the heavy fire.

#Oh no, they shot the wrong target. In the orchard.... I see SWD troopers and... wait....#
"What? What?"
#I see a camera. Yes, it is a camera. They are filming the attack. They are filming at me right now#
"Sick bastard! Who may think doing that?"

"Heinrich, did you get that small man's head blowing away on the camera?"
"Ja my Herr"
"Good, make sure to add it to my personal movie, I liked the picture quality of the body pushed back with the brain parts exploding. I am sure they will like it in Germany."

The Gurkhas failed to spot the SWD

A deadly mistake

Turn 14    (4:1)

#Thanks His Majesty. Our boys are not dead yet.#
"Yeah~"
#Gunshots. #
#They got one. I clearly saw one SWD trooper hit. A headshot I believe.#
"Take that!"

Shot at SWD, 1 trooper killed, the other one if KD, Carry On

#More gunshots.#
#They are not giving up easily. They are very good, I see two of ours obviously dead#

Turn 15    (5:6), Turn 16    (1:3)

#Ho my.... An undead is approaching me.#
"No, no!" 
#Hold a minute.#
Henry calmly drew his revolver and aimed.

#One gunshot.#
#Sorry for the interruption. I had to shoot a risen-dead. Thanks to my good British revolver, I had no problem dispatching it. Remember to use good quality weapons when fighting the risen-deads out there.#

 "Oberst, can you kill that journalist. He is annoying me"
Von Evil was aware of a British reporter in the area and the good effect he had on the Allied morale. He waived at the journalist.
"Bye bye. Too bad you would have made a nice undead pet."

The SWD officer moved in the open with a trooper.

#They are coming. I can see them out of the orchard. 2 troopers at least. Oh, and I see a SWD officer. It seems this is.... Yes, Von Evil, the Evil commander of occupied France. I think he is waving at me, what does it mean?#
The SWD officer aimed at the journalist.
#I am waving back#
#Gunshots.#
#..... #
#It seems we are experiencing technical problem. But I am sure Henry is safe. Remember that he is with a platoon of fierce Gurkha. Hold it Henry, I am sure you will have more good stories to tell us! Now. I think this is time for our music break.#

"Too late Sir, they have shot Henry."
"Their mistake. They did not see us, lets finish these troopers in the open"

PEF (4) on sight. Officer with SMG (REP5), 1x Rifle+Bayonet, 1x Rifles and Field Operator (Objective).

The Gurkhas aimed at the SWD in the open and successfully killed the trooper, but missing the officer.

Turn 17    (3:4), Turn 18    (3:6), Turn 19    (2:5)

"Heinrich, hope you had Henry's death on film? "
"Jawohl."
"Good. Now, please record the death of the little men there."

The SWD officer moved in cover while shooting at the Gurkhas. Two more Allied soldiers dropped dead while another one took cover behind a dragon tooth.

SWD officer shot and killed 2, KD-Carry on another. The last SWD trooper missed all

Next to the wall, the SWD officer saw that one of the previously assumed dead Gurkha was not dead but still fighting undeads while prone for quite some time now. The little man was figthing for his life and was barely making it every time. He finally killed them all in one great show of close combat skill.

That Gurkha kept on fighting zombies, kepts on being Knocked Down carry on...

One Gurkha recovered and saw an undead approaching.
"Damned, risen-dead behind us. I take it, cover me"

The other soldier shot and miss, but another undead approached from behind.

The shot missed and the two Gurkhas had to chose between the undeads or the SWD. They decided to finish the undeads first and dispatched them.

Meanwhile, the Gurkha who killed the Nemesis aimed at the SWD officer.
Click
"What? How.... Damned monster."
The Nemesis did not miss the Gurkha, he was saved by his rifle who took the hit for him. The rifle was broken were the ammo were.

I got you. Oops. No more ammo.

Turn 20    (5:6), Turn 21    (5:4), Turn 22    (6:3)

The joy of the Gurkha in the South was shortlived and the SWD killed him.

The SWD trooper finished the other Gurkhas nearby the Dragon tooth.

"Heinrich, did you have it all."
"Mein Herr, I missed Herr Oberst kills. I could not, otherwise the picture would be blur."
Von Evil put his hand on Heinrich shoulder.
"You could, you were just not good enough. We will talk about it after this."
Heinrich chilled.

Another kill for the SWD officer

Turn 23    (1:2)

Add caption

Von Evil looked around.
"Let's take a walk"
They left the orchard and moved close to the farm.
"Good job Oberst"
The SWD officer smiled, relieved that Von Evil was not angry about him.
"Heinrich, if only you could shoot this film as Herr Oberst shot. Maybe you will be target practice for our trooper."

Turn 24    (2:3), Turn 25    (4:5)

"Oberst,  clear the farm. We have to find the radioman. And I want to have him alive. The codes are critical to ambush more commando."
The SWD officer and the remaining trooper moved to the next house. It was empty. Full of military materials. The Allied commando had been using the farm as a base for a sometime now.

First house checked (treated as another standard PEF), nothing but raised ER level

Turn 26    (6:5), Turn 27    (1:2), Turn 28    (2:1)

 The SWD soldiers moved to the next house. They discretly opened the door. The radioman was still missing and Von Evil said there would be one.
"Quiet Muller."
"Jawohl"
They stepped inside. Contrary to the previous house, they sensed a presence. The officer raised his assault rifle by instinct. Two Gurkhas jumped from hidden places only to be caught in mid air by 2 short bursts. They crashed on the floor, dead.

2 Gurkhas were ambushing the SWD

Reaction test in favor of the SWD

A predictable outcome

Turn 29    (2:4) ,Turn 30    (4:6)

Von Evil was quietly smoking next to a spill of blood. He heard the shots of the assault rifles and the SWD trooper and officer leaving the house. They signaled that they had not found the radioman yet.

"Heinrich, can you film the group of small men and undeads interlying. Ja, this one."
The undeads were feasting (all pictures are wrongly spelled FEsting instead of FEAsting. My apologies to the English Dictionnary) on the unconscious Gurkhas.
"Hans, make sure the Pinger works. You would not want to be their next meal." He lighted another smoke."I knew this was going to be a nice day. Hans, also, do you mind counting the deathcount? I have a small competition with Von BaadHass."
"Herr Von Evil, didn't you zay the Pinger had a limited reach?"
"Of course Hans. It haz its limitation, why?"
"The SWD offizer iz too far, I cannot cover him if undeadz come."
"Ja, I know he does not know. But I want him to find that radioman without thinking too much at other problems. He should be fine.... Heinrich, can you make a close-up at this dying Gurkhas?"

Turn 31    (2:2) Argument broke

"Oberst"
"Muller"
The SWD trooper looked at Von Evil.
"I don't like it Oberst. Why don't we leave? This is madness."
"Muller", the SWD officer continued to walk to the barn, and the SWD trooper realized the assault rifle was pointing toward him, "I think you do not realize what you are saying. There are no other ways. Your family, my family are all in resettlement area operated by the SWD. If you go, what would happen to them?"
"I don't know, I mean, we could"
"Stop before you say something. This is war. And we have to do everything to win it. And don't talk about it. Other may not be as trustful as I am"

The 2 SWD had an argument easily won by the officer.

Turn 32    (6:6) Nemesis on the West

Oops...

A loud roar was heard near the orchard and a Nemesis appeared.
Von Evil threw his cigarette away and smile. "Interesting"

Turn 33    (6:6) Nemesis on the South (WHAT! 2 double 6 in a row?)

The loud roar was echoed by another roar in the South.
Heinrich and Hans looked at each other, scared.

Bite one, Get Two

Von Evil looked at Heinrich.
"I believe you should retrieve the device on that zombie before the Nemesis catch you."


Turn 34    (1:3:2), Turn 35    (4:2:1)

One of the Gurkha that the zombies had eaten rose again. Heinrich was looking at Von Evil with begging eyes. "Von Evil, please, are you sure?"
Von Evil looked back "Mein Heinrich. Have faith in your skills. I am sure you can outrun it. Now, go, every second you lose is going to make me unhappy."
Heinrich thought for a second about Von Evil not being happy and realized that he would better face the Nemesis than Von Evil. He stopped the camera and ran toward Gnah~ to take away the device.
Hans drew his lugger and shot at the Nemesis, missing it. Von Evil turned to Hans.
"Hans, are you stupid by nature, or you are trying to make me willing to strangle you? Not that I would not like it, on the contrary." Hans tried to reload the gun.
Von Evil approached Hans took the gun and threw it away. "Hans, take that Pinger and send the undeads to the Nemesis. For your own sake, otherwise, if Heinrich dies, you will have to retrieve both the camera and the device"
Hans sent the zombies toward the Nemesis and saw with horror the Nemesis pushing the undeads like they were not really menacing it.
"Let's go Hans. I need you to come with me. We leave now." Von Evil was walking away to the North.
"But Heinrich? And ze troopers?"
"You can stay to wait for them, or you come with me. I need you in case there are more Gurkhas on the way to the base."

"Oberst..." Muller was getting nervous. "Should ve..."
"Finish thiz mission fast? Yes!"
They broke open the barn, to find four Gurkhas in it, including a Bren.
They all froze. Aiming at each other.
"Nobody needs to get hurt" said one of the Gurkha.

Mexican standoff

Then, Hans fired its gun at the Nemesis. With all the soldiers tensed, it was enough to make them pulling the trigger by instinct.
The officer jumped on the side, shooting wide, hitting one Gurkha who fell unconscious. Another Gurkha shot his rifle at the trooper who was pushed back, falling on the ground. His body armor had stopped the bullet. Muller raised his assault rifle at the same time as the Bren aimed at him. They shot at the same time. The Bren chest was shredded into pieces while Muller was badly wounded.
The radioman tried to use his pistol, but messed up the holster and could not draw it.

When shooting sequence end up in missing people in a barn.

Turn 36    (1:1:5) Rain in 5 turns (will take out the scent skills of the Nemesis)

Turn 37    (6:2:4) ,Turn 38    (3:4:4)

The SWD officer aimed at the remaining Gurkha and dispatched him. He looked at the radioman frantically trying to get his pistol.  The SWD officer approached him and kick his head with the assault rifle butt.
"Gut Nacht. Not zure you vill like it vhen you'll avake in Von Evil'z lair."

the radioman kept on missing activation (reaction or standard activation...)

At this moment, zombies attracted by the gunfight entered the barn. They did not look as tamed as the undeads controlled by the Pinger.
"Scheisse." said the SWD officer. He raised his assault rifle and shot at them before they reached him.

 With ease he killed all of them.

He loaded the unconscious radioman on his shoulder and went to Muller. "Can you valk?"
"Barely, but yes, I can" he spitted some blood and was suffering, but he may make it.
"Take my shoulder. I von't leafe you."



The South Nemesis finished the zombies next to it and raged, taking a long time to ripped them apart.

Nemesis at the center rage against zed
Gurkha on the left will raise as a zed in 1 turn

Turn 39    (6:4:4), Turn 40    (2:4:6:4), Turn 41    (2:3:3:3), Turn 42    (2:3:2:2)

Von Evil knelt near the Forward Observer body and took a bag of document. "Thank you"
He and Hans left the area. All the zombies lost the control of the pinger and became "wild" once more.

Fighting his way back, the SWD officer looked like he will make it. He was slowed by OOF SWD trooper and OOF radio and despite a -2 in Melee Knocked down all the zombies on his way

The SWD officer was walking as fast as he could. He could hear the Nemesis approaching and the zombies raising up.
"Leafe me Oberst. I am sloving you"
"Never Muller. You vill come vith me, Don't try to find a vay to dessert the army"

The SWD officer moved without looking behind him, too afraid to see what would happen. He moved forward as fast as he could.
He could hear the Nemesis clashing with the zombies as it started to rain. After few second, the rain was so hard that he could not hear anything. He just walked until he could reach the next SWD outpost.

Saved by the Nemesis or saved by the zombies?

Summary:
I forgot to play the infection of the Gurkhas who were KD, OOF or killed by zombies in melee. I finally remembered it in late stage when the undeads started festing.

18 living died
2 were changed in zombies
2 OOF were still on the table at the end of the game
3 Nemesis generated
43 zombies were killed.