I'm running a Warhammer 40,000 Halloween campaign using a custom detachment of zombie miniatures from Zombicide. There are 3 scenarios, with a failsafe scenario in case the Astra Militarum detachment falters. The third scenario takes place within and around an air purification station.
A Vindicare Assassin has managed to acquire an antidote for the zombie plague, along with a Magos Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus. They have a unit of Kasrkins and Tempestus Scions for backup, which is good because there are Runners pouring in from the city perimeter. Worse still, the Tempestus Scions are reporting that there's the unmistable hulking silhouette of an Abomination growing larger on the horizon.
With the Guard protecting the abandoned building, the Vindicare Assassin and Magos Biologis Thalion must ascend to the top level to feed the antidote into the central air distribution unit. Former station workers are shambling through the halls, but this is the Astra Militarum's one chance to solve the problem of Omyr and restore the planet to full production so it can resume paying its tithe. Obviously, it's well worth the risk.
Zombies roll high on initiative, which is particularly bad for the Imperial Guard. At the start of each Round of this scenario, there's a d6 roll to determine who's got an advantage. I roll a 4, which grants the Hero Army +1 Hit, so that's a good consolation.
The Runners move 6", and the Abomination moves 5". Having been deployed as closely as legally possible to the Guard, that means they each only have to roll 2 and 3, respectively, to successfully Charge.
The Shamblers in the cramped quarters of the building barely even have to move to get close enough to guarantee a Charge.
The Runners would have failed their Charge roll—until I remembered that have a +2 to all Charge rolls. The Abomination rolls exactly what he needed to Charge, and the Shamblers inside can't roll less than 1 so they also succeed.
The Runners tear through the Guard, killing a full half of the unit with 7 hits (5 of them Lethal) and just 2 Saves. The Abomination only manages to remove 1 Tempestus Scion, and the Shamblers score no hits against the Assassin and Magos Biologis.
On the Astra Militarum's turn, the Kasrkins fail to deal any damage, but they do roll 7 on their Battle Shock test, at least! The Tempestus Scions get 1 Wound in on the Abomination, but it heals before their very eyes (the zombie detachment heals all wounds at the end of each Round). The Assassin and the Magos Biologis manage to remove 2 Shamblers each, which clears that floor of the building. That means they won't have to make a Desparate Escape to get to the next level, which is hugely helpful.
Zombies roll high on initiative again. At the start of each Round of this scenario, there's a d6 roll to determine who's got an advantage. I roll a 6, which grants the Hero Army +1 Toughness, so again a lucky consolation prize for going second.
The Runners continue to slaughter the Kasrkins, removing all but 1 from the battlefield. The Abomination chooses to use his Strike rather than his Sweep attack, trading number of Attacks for greater Strength. He scores 1 Lethal Hit, bringing the Tempestus Scions down to 3 soldiers.
The Shamblers on level 1 of the building get 1 Wound in on Magos Biologis Thalion. She has 3 remaining.
In a cheeky move, the lone Kasrkin chooses to make a Desperate Escape from the Runners. It would be great for the Kasrkin to fail the Desperate Escape so the Astra Militarum could bring in reinforcements, but he succeeds. I guess that could still be useful next round, if the Astra Militarum rolls high on initiative for a change.
The Assassin and Magos are able to remove both Shamblers from their current level, so they won't have to make a Desperate Escape to move up a level.
No luck for the Tempestus Scions, obviously. They basically can't remove the Abomination, so it's just a matter of slowing it down.
The initiative roll is a tie, so it defaults over to the player that didn't have it on the previous Round, which means the Astra Militarum finally get to go first. Appropriately, I roll a 2 on the advantage die, which grants the Zombies +1 to Wound rolls.
The Assassin and Magos move up to level 3 (2 more and they'll have reached the objective). There are 4 Shamblers awaiting them here, because in a previous Round the Shamblers from level 4 moved down to 3. Because they've moved first, however, they're not in melee for a change so these zombies don't have their usual bonuses. There are some choices to be made, here.
Both Lone Operatives have 3 or more Wounds, and there are only 4 Shamblers within reach, so the risk seems pretty equal. They choose to stand and fight, which I'm not sure is the best choice but it's certainly appropriately aggressive.
Magos Biologis Thalion removes 1 Shambler with her Eradication Ray, and the Assassin uses her pistol to pick off the remaining 3. I hastily retract my critique of their strategy.
The brave Kasrkin supercharges his plasma gun and actually takes out a Runner.
The Tempestus Scions make a Desperate Escape against the Abomination and head into the building, hoping that a retreat will allow them to throw a grenade out the door. It's a big risk, and 1 soldier's head is crushed as the other 2 run inside. They spend a command point and toss a grenade out at the abomination. They score 4 Mortal Wounds on the Abomination, but with 6 Wounds and autohealing active, he's not getting destroyed this Round. Sadly, with better coordination, the Kasrkin could have added to the damage and actually destroyed the Abomination. Frankly these tank-like Kasrkins and the rogue-ish Tempestus Scions have never gotten along all that well, and they're paying the price for it now.
On the Zombie turn, both the Runners and the Abomination make Charges into the building. I think this is mostly cursory, because barring unforeseen events the Astra Militarum is just 2 rounds away from the objective, and the remaining zombies are 2 rounds away from the Lone Operatives. But who knows? Initiative is fickle.
Anyway, the Runners take out the Kasrkin, which triggers the Astra Militarum's Reinforcements ability. An identical unit of Kasrkins rush into the building, at the cost of the Astra Militarum's remaining 2 Command Points.
The Abomination removes the last 2 Tempestus Scions with a sweep of the bone protrusions jutting from his arms and fists. He uses his Consolidate action to get into melee with the newly arrive Kasrkins.
Zombies roll high on initiative, which could make for some interesting choices. I roll a 2 on the advantage die again, granting the Zombies +1 to Wound rolls, so the Zombies are theoretically in a very good position this round. However, at the start of the Round the Lone Operatives move up 1 level, so they're on level 3 of 4 now.
With a very good Charge roll, the Abomination could reach the Lone Operatives. It would have to make a Desperate Escape from the Kasrkins, but then it would be in melee with the Lone Operatives, which at the very least would force a Desperate Escape for them to reach the objective. It depends on a lot of fortunate rolls, but it's the only strategy left to the Zombie Army.
Amazingly, the Abomination rolls 1 for his Desperate Escape, and takes 3 Mortal Wounds. That's only half his Wound count and he has auto-heal, so he'll shrug it off. He moves up to level 1, and the Lone Operatives are on level 3.
By the rules, he can't Charge in the same Round that he took the Fall Back action. I let him spend 2 Command Points to make up an on-the-spot-stratagem allowing him to Charge anyway. He rolls to Charge. He only rolls an 8. Each level costs 5" of movement, so it's a failed Charge. He spends the last of his Command Points on a Command Re-roll, and rolls 7. This guy just isn't meant to reach level 3.
On their turn, the Lone Operatives spend an Advance action to move up a level to the objective. They feed the antidote into the air distributor, and very quickly the zombies around the city start to un-animate. All the corpses are acting like corpses again, which means that some forcibly relocated Imperial citizens can be deposited on Omyr so they can start processing all those spare carcasses. Order is restored!
As usual with Warhammer 40,000, there are way too many bonuses and rules to truly track during a game. I know I missed a bunch of exceptions and special abilities. Still, the campaign was a lot of fun, with 2 very non-standard scenarios that bent the game itself into feeling very unique.
The Astra Militarum has saved up enough XP now to buy some upgrades from their Crusade listing, so in their next campaign they ought to have some interesting upgrades.
Photo by Seth Kenlon, Creative Commons Zero (cc0).