Deadzone: AI Zombies

 The game of Deadzone is set within the eponymous 'Deadzones' of the Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere (GCPS), the rule book describes as Deadzone in this manner:

A Deadzone is a place where ordinary rules do not apply. Any intruder, human or otherwise, found on such a planet will be automatically treated as hostile by the Enforcers, who are licensed to use terminal force in all such cases. Between the incidents that render them Deadzones, and the aggressive presence of the Council’s elite forces, these planets represent some of the most dangerous places in the galaxy, but also some of the most lucrative. 

There are several reasons that a Containment Protocol could be enacted on a planet one of which is a Plague outbreak. The Plague spreads across species and infects everything it comes into contact with (except for Marauders who seem immune) and rapidly over-runs a planet. Again in the rulebook we can read:

First encountered in the so-called ‘Death Arc’, an area in the Fifth Sphere of the GCPS, the Plague is one of the greatest threats to all sentient life in the galaxy. Whether the Plague is natural in origin or was, in fact, engineered by some ancient alien civilisation is just one of the many questions surrounding this horrific disease. Its link to artefacts of alien origin is established, though their purpose and provenance remains mysterious. It was thanks to the Plague that the Council established both its own authority over the GCPS as well as the Containment Protocols, as they desperately tried to manage the first encountered infestations of Plague.

So when playing Deadzone on a Plague infected planet it would be nice to have some of the Plague victims to be involved in the game to at least give a hint of what it would be like to fight in a Plague ridden zone. 

Deadzone does already include some rules for how Zombie types can be used in a game but this requires them to be activated each time a player activates a model, which effectively doubles the number of things you need to do for each activation, this can only slow the game down. What I wanted was a way to add the Zombies in but not overly slow down the game play.

My idea is that the AI troops will activate after both players have completed their turn so the normal flow of the game is allowed to continue and then players can resolve the AI at the end. The Zombies are meant to add a little flavour to the game rather than be the focus of the game.

So the principles that control the AI are these:

1) After both players have completed all activations for a turn, activate one squares worth of models at a time, players take it in turns to activate squares until all are done, in any order they like. The player that completed all their activations first gets first choice.

2) Must move/charge towards closest model as defined by behaviour flow, but controlling player decides on the move in cases of more than one valid move.

3) All models in a square move/charge at the same time, so can get the outnumbering bonus together.

4) AI models always attack if able, never defend.

5) When rolling for melee the player controlling the AI troops always rolls for them, even if attacking their own models.

In order to simulate the different types of Plague victims I've come up with 3 behaviour flows which can be assigned to various models. All of these are melee only, again this is to help speed the resolution of the AI phase but also to help keep this a flavourful addition to the game.

The first flow is for those mobs which like to be grouped up and attack as a horde, so the 3Z Zombie is a good example of these. I think these would want to be setup/spawn in groups of 3 on the board. They essentially are happy to engage in melee if they have a friend but would prefer not to if alone.

Horders

1) If in square with another Horder and within 1 of enemy, charge

2) If in square with another Horder move 1 towards closest enemy

3) If alone move 1 toward another Horder within 2

4) Move 1 towards closest enemy

Next up are the solo fighters, so from my collection that would be the Mazon Labs Plague Victim. As the name suggests they would be deployed a single models and they just want to get stuck in ASAP.

Solo Fighters

1) If within 2 of enemy, charge

2) Move 2 towards closest enemy

The last type is the Big Baddy, the Aberration is a perfect example. These want to be the biggest fiercest model on the table so they prioritise the larger models to fight first.

Big Baddy

1) If within 1 of size 3+, charge

2) If within 1 of enemy, charge

3) Move 1 towards closest size 3+

4) Move 1 towards closest enemy

I've not had a chance to play the AI rules yet so I need to work out a few points, like how many of each type do you want on the table at once and how do they get introduced?
My initial feeling is that you could probably have 2-3 groups of Horders and then one Solo Fighter or Big Baddy at a time in a smaller points game 150/175 without it impacting too much, though it could be you just want the Big Baddy on it's own at that points level. Introducing the models onto the table could be done via set spawn points and then a dice roll to see if you get a spawn event or perhaps via the Items counters, if you are feeling nasty.

Another question is should you get Victory Points for killing the AI ? I lean towards a yes on that one, if the majority are going to be the 3Z Zombies which are worth no VP's then it shouldn't unbalance things overly.

So this should be a good starting point to test from and see if the rules work to add some flavour and fun to the game and don't break the flow which makes Deadzone so special.