Game Two: Walk in the Chernya Woods

The stinking Rotters came out of nowhere… You never knew something that decayed could move so fast. So, you yanked a moldy old leather briefcase from under a seat, swept up a handful of stuff from an open gear bin and ran for it. You never knew you could move that fast either.

Most of the papers were ruined, but one at the very bottom had the heading ‘RED GYPSY 3’ on it in big block print. And below there was a list of rifles, pistols, a column of ‘Special Weapons’. Cases of ammo, boxes of grenades… All of it typed up neat as could be. If half this stuff is there, we’ll be rich.

Trouble is that same piece of paper mentioned a keycard – a one-of-a-kind special keycard that’s needed to unlock the steel door that leads to the stash. And that’s a problem.

Yuri mentioned the last guy who passed through Blyatsk was new to the Zone: some thug named Big Nikolai. Apparently, he got tired of being a junior Bratva bull in Moscow and decided he wanted a bigger slice of the pie. So, he grabbed a handful of his boys and bribed his way past the Cordon guards. Word is he’s camped in the Chernya Woods.

You’re not big on that forest, or chatting up Bandits for that matter, but it’s the only lead you’ve got right now.

Guess it’s time for a walk in the woods.

Table Size

4’ x 4’

Threat Level

One – Blue. One Mission Objective. Two Hot Spots.

Terrain

The mission area is a wooded location that’s bisected by a dirt trail. This trail runs from one corner of the mission area to the lower, opposite corner and divides the game table into two triangle-shaped sections. In the center of the mission area, on the trail, is a large clearing with four makeshift barriers: stacked rubbish, shrubs, short sections of broken fence or stone walls. This is the Mission Objective.

There are two smaller clearings, one in the middle of each of the two triangular halves of the mission area. These are not on the dirt trail. These are the two secondary Hot Spots.

You’ll need plenty of stands of trees for this one. The floor of the Chernya Woods is relatively clear of undergrowth and debris.

Suggested Crew Experience

Starter Crew with Veteran Crew Leader.

Deployment Zones

Crews set up in opposite corners either on the trail or in the woods inside a 4” x 4” square.

Turn Limit

Seven.

Zone Hostiles

Mission Objective: Five Bandits already visible: four Rookies lead by a Hardened Boss. 1 and 2 Actions per Activation, respectively. All of them are armed with

Salvage

Successful Search Action of Big Nikolai’s camp after it is cleared yields one worn but very official looking keycard for an office building in the town of Ishikhov, a Molotov Cocktail, and two rolls on the Basic Equipment table (see page 32).

Secondary Hot Spots yield Salvage per appropriate Hot Spot Salvage Tables.

Game Three: The Ishikhov Shuffle

The town of Ishikhov used to be the regional administration center. Just off Highway 109 and Route 7, it was close to the military base, the refinery, and the mine. Soldiers, workers, clerks all made their home there. It had apartments, row houses, shops, nice roads, parks... even a supermarket.

It was wiped out in the first Incident and the inhabitants were killed instantly.

All those families and stores, most people believe there’s plenty of regular supplies and salvage still there, lying all over the place. But everybody in the Zone seems to know a guy who went looking for easy pickings and never came back.

Word now is the place is haunted. That much death so sudden, some say it’s cursed. A few of the old-timers insist the original citizens of Ishikhov are still there, lurking in the ruins of their former homes.

You’re going to find out one way or another because the keycard says ‘Basement

2. Central Planning Office’. The Central Planning Office (CPO) is a big, ugly concrete and steel building, built like a fortress, full of narrow halls and tiny cubicle offices. It stands dead center in the town of Ishikhov.

And that’s where you’re going.

Table Size

4’ x 4’

Threat Level

Two – Yellow Zone. One Mission Objective. Four Hot Spots.

Terrain

The mission area is a deserted town filled with ruined homes and buildings. Two streets run North to South and two streets run East to West. These divide the table into nine sections roughly equal in size. Place the largest building in the center section and arrange other buildings and scatter terrain as desired in the remaining areas.

Place one of the Secondary Hot Spots in each of the four table quadrants. These should be centered and accessible, and cannot be within 6” of the table edge or another Hot Spot.

Suggested Crew Experience

Reinforced Starter Crew with Veteran Crew Leader.

Official reports say hundreds died in the first incident but apparently not everyone stayed dead.

© Lead Adventure Miniatures

Crews set up in opposite edges of the mission area anywhere up to 4” from the edge.

Turn Limit

Seven.

Zone Hostiles

Turns out the old-timers were right all along. Place four zombie models at each of the four road intersections. These zombies activate as a single mob and will move toward and attack the closest player model in line of sight. If no player models are visible, they will move toward the CPO. They will only stop

converging if a player model appears. At TL 2, they have two Actions per Activation.

These are additional Zone Hostiles not connected to the present Mission Objective or secondary Hot Spots. Roll as needed on the Threat Level 2 Zone Hostile Table to determine the occupants of the four Hot Spots (see page 41).

Salvage

After the CPO is cleared, the crew can ‘enter’ the building. A successful Search Action will yield 2,500 ZS worth of Salvage plus two rolls on each of the Basic, Advanced, and Special Item Equipment Tables.

Secondary Hot Spots yield Salvage per appropriate Hot Spot Salvage Tables.

Aftermath

Well done, comrade. Your first run. You put down some Zone scum, got a few notches on your AK, picked up some new gear, a new recruit maybe. Even set aside some in your Retirement fund. It’s like you were made for this place. You belong here. But a word of advice: you really want to hit it big, you need to collect Artifacts

– that’s where the real money is. And those are only found deep in the Zone. That’s where you really want to go.

Part 11: The Last Bit

You’re in the Zone now. There are enemies, rivals, horrors and mysteries waiting in the fog-shrouded, irradiated wilds. And treasure, treasure beyond your wildest imagination. It’ll be terrifying, brutal, bloody and immensely rewarding – if you survive.

Zona Alfa was ordered around the simple thought that the rules shouldn’t interfere with the game. They should support rather than suffocate. They should minimize friction and streamline gameplay, not bog players down in complex record- keeping, gimmicky or tedious combat mechanics. And you definitely should not have to constantly flip pages back and forth to get through a turn.

Hopefully, these rules are robust, reliable, and easy to operate. They won’t cover any and every potential in-game situation, so if you encounter something during a mission, roll dice to resolve the problem, keep playing, and discuss the specific instance afterwards. I’m confident players can come up with a solid solution in keeping with the core rules and the spirit of the game.

Which is what it’s all about: the story that unfolds on the table as you and your rivals advance your Crews toward the Mission Objective, never quite knowing what terrors and treasures the Zone is holding for you there.

We’ll take a short cut through this tunnel. Of course it’s safe.

© Lead Adventure Miniatures

Crew Roster

OSPREY GAMES

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK

1385 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA E-mail: info@ospreygames.co.uk www.ospreygames.co.uk

OSPREY GAMES is a trademark of Osprey Publishing Ltd First published in Great Britain in 2020

© Patrick Todoroff, 2020

Patrick Todoroff has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: PB 9781472835697; eBook 9781472835680; ePDF 9781472835673;

XML 9781472835703

Typeset by PDQ Digital Media Solutions, Bungay, UK

Osprey Games supports the Woodland Trust, the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity.

To find out more about our authors and books visit www.ospreypublishing.com. Here you will find extracts, author interviews, details of forthcoming events and the option to sign up for our newsletter.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Phil, Chris, and the entire team at Osprey for taking a chance on Zona Alfa; to Sam for the incredible art, to the very excellent members of the Cape Cod Wargame Commission who endured many a trial run; Joe P. and the fine folks at the Second Saturday Scrum, and all the STALKERS at the Stalker7 website and the Zona Alfa Facebook page.

Good Hunting, Comrades!

Photographs

All the photographs found within this book, and the miniatures showcased, were kindly provided by Lead Adventure Miniatures. Check out their website and webstore at https://lead-adventure.de/

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