Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
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25 December 2010

Hope Everyone had a Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and got some great stuff for Zombie gaming.

My Christmas was ok. I did get some Bacon flavored Popcorn (I love bacon, but the Bacon Popcorn is , ehhh, ok at best), along with the tried and true classics, Clothes, yay, LOL. I also received a Gift Certificate for the local Hobby Shop, so I will be getting me either some more miniatures, paints, or brushes and/or sculpting tools. I also received a gift card for Wal-Mart which I will probably use for some Cardstock or Printer Ink.

Then of course I also had the Ebbles Archive DVD that I bought as a present for myself, which I build one of the M11 4x4's, UN Variant, today just to have something to do. I did include the Weapons Mount (Heavy Machine Gun), though I did do one modification, I glued a Magnet under the Weapons Ring and to the bottom of the weapons cradle, so that I can remove the HMG if I want to, and replace it with the Missile Launcher or the Grenade Launcher, or have nothing in the weapons ring. I built the model with only glancing at the instructions once before starting the build (though I did make notes about where some of the parts, like what bumper was the front and what one was the rear, went on a scrap of paper), Over all it came out looking decent for a quick build without really looking at the instructions. I also unfortunately had to use some White Glue to build it since I am out of the low water content glue (I believe the glue I used before was Scotch Scrap Booking glue) that I normally use.

Well going to go print off a couple more of the M11s and maybe both the 2005 and 2010 UD-41's along with some of the Folding Buildings.

22 December 2010

Ebble Miniatures 2003-2010 Archive DVD

I just received my latest acquisition earlier today, a Christmas Present from myself to myself, from Ebbles Miniatures.

I think I will do a review of the Ebbles Miniatures Archive DVD. I purchased it this last weekend (18DEC2010) for $49.99 and received it today (22DEC2010). The disc contains the Ebbles Cardstock Models from 2003-2010, with some exceptions which I will get to in a bit. First off you are getting 65 different sets, including variations on color schemes for some of the sets, that if bought separately would have cost you more then $400, the UD-41 (2010 version) iirc was roughly $30 with the forum exclusive re-skins running about $16. Most the sets are geared towards Sci Fi (including a game called Guncrawl which from a brief glance looks to be an Aliens/Space Hulk/Starship Troopers style game, though I may be wrong haven't looked at it yet). Some of the models such as the M11 4x4 looks liek it could easily pass as a modified Humvee, the M9 6x6 as a wheeled APC/Police Riot Tank, and the M8A3 as a Main Battle Tank for a military. Each of these three models come in a variety of color schemes ranging from Woodland Camo to Desert Tan to UN to Police paint jobs (yes there is a Police version of the M8A3 for those who may play a game where the Police are a Militant force). There's also the Convoy set that Ebbles released this year that can be used in a Modern Day setting, the convoy consists of a truck with a covered bed, one with an open bed, one with a tank labeled Water and one with a tank labeled Flammable (Fuel). The convoy comes in either 15mm or 28mm size and in Helo Drab (an greenish color), Tan, Gray, and white.

There are a few exceptions to the disc, these are models that have recently been released such as the Overland Motor Works Onager, a tracked vehicle and the just released Jeepvee (another Hummer styled vehicle), fortunately these are available on the Ebbles Miniatures site for about $2.50 per model, unfortunately that $2.50 will only get you one color scheme. I also believe that some of the forum exclusive re-skins of a couple of the models may not have been included in the archive.

Other then these few models not being included, I will find use for the M11, M9, M8A3 as military vehicles (and police for the M11 and M9, Civilian for the M11), the UD-41 (the newer 2010 released version, a high tech Castle Pharmaceuticals Transport plane) the Folding Unit Structures (structures for a Military outpost/base/refugee center), the Convoy (Military transport trucks, and maybe as a Survivors convoy), and maybe some of the props from the Derelict II set (an interior set one could use as a bunker/Space Station/Vault).

I may get around to building some of the Mecha models though the wont be used in my ATZ games. Over all the DVD Archive is well worth the price, and it is only available for a limited time, once Ebbles Miniatures transfers all the files for the Models over to the World Works Games storefront, the DVD will be no more (the copies of the DVD still on hand will be sold, once those are gone there will be no more print runs of the DVD).

For those not familiar with both Ebbles and World Works Games (WWG), while technically they are/were competitors they had a close friendship and if say Ebbles had the model someone was looking for on the WWG forums, WWG staff would point the forum user over to Ebbles and vice versa, Ebbles would send users over to WWG for models he didn't carry.

18 December 2010

Christmas Wish Lists

Well Christmas is less then a week away and if you are like me you have a wish list of what you want/would like to receive from Friends and/or Family for Christmas. Surprisingly mine isn't that large, I tried to keep everything under $10 on my list and told everyone that if they want to get me stuff off the list that one or two of the items would be good.

Here's my list

From Reaper Chronoscope List
*50183        Nova Corp. Rifleman                                $3.99
50179         Ebony Foxx, Modern Heroine                   $3.99
50173         Garvin Markus, Nova Corp. Hero               $3.99
50161         Nine Suns Henchman                              $3.99
50159         Sister Maria, Nun                                    $4.99
50157         Townsfolk: Ladies of the Night (3)             $6.99
50153         Berkly, Zombie Hunter                             $3.99
50149         Natalia, Female Secret Agent                  $3.99
50146         Female Nova Corp. Officer                       $3.99
50133         Mira, Post Apocalyptic Heroine                $5.99
50132         Jessica Blaze, Smuggler                         $3.99
50114         Chupacabra                                            $3.99
50111         Diamond Sue Dawson, Cowgirl                 $3.99
*50103        Nova Corp Soldier                                   $3.99
50082         Cobra, Modern Ninja                               $3.99
50065         Rex, Dark Future Hero                            $3.99
50053         Sly Withers, Street Boss                        $6.99
50047         Mike Noe, Biker Boss                             $4.99
50044         Frank Russo, Mercenary Hero                 $4.99
50043         Ernesto, Revolutionary                            $4.99
50033         Horace "Action" Jackson                        $4.99
50032         Jake Ryan, Hero Explorer                       $4.99
*50005         Nova Corp. Security Sergeant                 $4.99
*50004        Nova Corp. Security Guard                     $4.99
50002         Boris Barayev, Five Suns Smuggler         $4.99
Figures with a * by the number are ones that I can definitely use multiples of 

Ebbles Miniatures List
2003-2010 Archive DVD                            $49.99 (This will be a gift from me to myself, ordered it already)

Misc. Companies List
Any modern looking Zombies-
      Sets from Studio Miniatures (if you want to go this route you only need to purchase one set)
      Sets from Cold War miniatures (only one set needs to be purchased)
Figures from eM4 miniatures (anything other then the Robots and Cyborgs from the Future Skirmish line of unpainted Metal Minis)
Copplestone Castings (Various sets from the future Wars Line, only one set is needed to be purchased, all sets product code starts with FW followed by the number, here are the numbers, 1, 4, 5,  7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24, 26, 33, 34, 35. All sets are about $13.20USD with the current exchange rate at the time of this posting)

In all actuality I don't expect any of the items on this list (other then what I may/will purchase), even though I gave this list to family and friends its more of a check list for me to use when getting additional miniatures for my ATZ games.

Some items on my list that I didn't give to family and friends are items such as 1/42 scale die cast cars to use as props in my games. I currently have 4 die casts 2 Hummer H2s- one Red and one Yellow (now repainted Black), 1 Police Interceptor/Cruiser and one US Mail Truck. I am planning on getting an additional Hummer or two or 20 (one will definitely be a yellow one that I will paint the #3 onto the doors), I also want to get an additional Mail Truck and repaint it as a Dept. of Public Works truck (perfect for the Police or FBI to use as an undercover stake out vehicle, yeah I know so Cliche, LOL). I also want to get a VW Mini Bus or two (one for use as a News Van and the other repainted to look like the ones the DHARMA Initiative used in LOST).

In addition to the items on my list I also told people that gift cards/certificates for one of the local Hobby Shops would also be appreciated.


Now that's not to say I am greedy, I have donated to the local Old Newsboys (they provide a service similar to USMC's  Toys for Tots, in that they give toys to unfortunate children who otherwise wouldn't be having a Christmas with any gifts) and Toys for Tots, the two organizations I try to donate to every year.

I don't know if I will post anything again before Christmas, so if I don't Have a Merry Christmas. For those of you who are of other religions, Happy Hanukkah, Ashura, Yule/Litha, Kwanzaa or any other religious holiday you may observe during the month of December, also I am sorry if the well wishes for your holiday are late. No matter what your Religion and/or religious Holidays you observe have fun and most importantly Stay Safe.




Edit: Had to use some (as in a good $80US chunk) of the money I would have been using to get me more figures on a new Wireless Router today, the one I had decided to kick the bucket and would no longer communicate with anything connected to it via Cat 5 cable (though it still would connect to anything via WiFi). Granted I could have probably have gotten a cheaper router, but unfortunately I needed a new one ASAP and instead of driving 15 minutes to Wal-Mart (which last time I was there didnt have really and routers) or 20 minutes to Staples, I drove up to the local Radio Shack that's only a minute or two away and got the new router.

11 December 2010

Some of my Miniatures

I already posted some pics of my miniatures previously http://dougslandofthedead.blogspot.com/2010/11/small-sampling-of-my-painted-figures.html

Here's some more of the figures along with a crude height scale behind them.

All lines are 5mm apart except for the 25-30mm lines, I have included a line at 28mm. The scale starts 4mm from the base of the cardstock (the height of a slotted base).

From left to Right: THW Carolee 35mm, THW Carolee 15mm, Horroclix Zombie Trooper, Zombiesmith Zombiesmith, Last Night on Earth Hero, Last Night on Earth Hero, Heroclix Kingpin, Zombiesmith Jacket Zombie (Straight Jacketed Mental Patient), Horrorclix Corporate Trooper, Wargames Factory Plastic Zombie (with Metal head from Reaper Chronoscope's Frank Russo Blister pack).

From Left to Right: THW Carolee 35mm, THW Carolee 15mm, Reaper Chronoscope Frank Russo, Reaper Chronoscope Sugar Anime Heroin, Reaper Chronoscope Candy Anime Heroine, eM4 Female Biker w/ Auto Shotgun, eM4 Fat Biker w/ Auto Shotgun, Reaper Chronoscope Terrell Zombie Survivor, Wargames Factory Plastic Zombie (Head from the Reaper Chronoscope Frank Russo Blister pack)

From Left to Right: eM4 NBC Trooper, eM4 NBC Trooper, THW Carolee 35mm, THW Carolee 15mm, PEF (Twilight Creations Human pawn form Humans!!!), eM4 Camera operator, eM4 Female Reporter, eM4 Biker Chick w/ Auto Shotgun, eM4 Fat biker w/ Auto Shotgun


Sugar has blue hair with purple dry brushing and the gun has been painted with Reaper Pro Paints Purple Steel (no longer manufactured), Sugar has Orange hair with neon pink dry brushing and her gun is painted neon pink over a black base coat. the 35mm Carolee has both the blade guard and the pommel of her sword painted in Purple Steel. As mentioned in the captions the Wargames Factory Zombie has one of the two heads from the Reaper Chronoscope Frank Russo Blister, which is a skull mask. Also all my Wargames Factory zombies are mounted on square 25mm bases, where as the rest of my figures (with the exception of Reapers Frank Russo which is on a 30mm lipped base, and my PEFs which are on 40mm round bases) are on 25mm round slotted bases.

I do have more figures but unfortunately I need to dig out all my lighting gear and find an area here that is large enough for me to start taking decent pics of the figures, these were quick shots with ambient light and one flash off camera.

I like the Carolee figures but unfortunately probably wont use them all that often, as you can see the 35mm one towers over all the other figures at 35mm without being mounted on a slotted base like most my other figures, her base is integrated, though I did glue her down to a 25mm circle of plastic from a blister pack. The 15mm, based on a US Penny (one Cent piece) one will be used with the 15mm Zombies and Survivors which were purchased from THW right before Ed sold the molds to Mike at Rebel minis. I probably wont post pics of my 15mm minis since I mostly use them for testing and quick little games that I can play on a smaller area.

In addition to the Carolee figures and the Chupacabra figure mentioned in my last post this week I picked up another set of each of the ATZ token sets (Action, Status and Bullet tokens), additional paints (like reaper Pro paints Purple Steel which was on sale at the Local Hobby shop since its been Discontinued), some Gale Force 9 Green Stuff (finally have some decent putty to work with after getting a bad batch of Milliput), and 32 ceramic tiles (4-1/4in x 4-1/4in, white) to use with teh interior building rules in I, Zombie. I have taken a black sharpie and divided each tile into 9 sections (for ease of figure placement) and will be using Dry Erase Markers on them to show doors, stairs, windows, open areas, etc...

08 December 2010

Updates

as mentioned I received my order from eM4 last week and got to painting the figures during a break from Fallout New Vegas (great game, btw). Ended up getting them painted and decided to take a count of all my figures.

Heres the totals:

55 Zombies (56 if I can find where I placed my Zombiesmith not-Micheal Jackson zombie) of which they are mainly Zombiesmith zombies, one set of Wargames Factory plastic zombies, a set of the Reaper Chronoscope Urban Zombies (the Police officer, "Professional Escort," and the Businessman), and a couple of Horrorclix zombies. Not as many as I initially though I had, I didn't count the 400+ Twilight Creations Zombies (Males, Females, Clowns, and the zombies from the game Humans and Zombietown), the zombies from Flying Frog's Last Night on Earth, or Asmodee's Mall of Horror.

44 Survivors/Military/Gangers/Law Enforcement consisting of Reaper Chronoscope, Zombiesmith, eM4, Last Night on Earth and a couple Horror/Heroclix figures. This isnt including the Twilight Creations Shotgun/Pistol Pawns (Zombies!!! and Zombietown) or the Human pawns from the game Humans.

2 Ragers which are from the free Mantic Ghouls sample that Mantic and Wayland Games was giving earlier this year.

5 PEF's made using the Human pawns from Twilight Creations game Humans.

1 BA Wolf/Dog that's a Horrorclix Dire Wolf.

1 Chupacabra from Reaper Chronoscope line. This will be used as both a Chupacabra for the Giving up the Goat scenario and as a Stalker (my campaign worlds equivelent to the Resident Evil Hunters) created by Castle Pharmaceuticals White Rook Division.

I also have a THW Girl Carolee combo pack ordered (1x 15mm figure and 1x 35mm figure of Carolee the THW Girl) along with some additional ATZ Token sets (one of each: Bullet, Action and Status) to go with the set of each I already have. Depending on how everything goes for Christmas ( as in how much money I get) I will possibly be either ordering another Risk and Rewards Deck and more ATZ Tokens, or more Zombie and Survivor Minis.

29 November 2010

Quick Break from playing Fallout New Vegas

I am taking a small break from playing Fallout New Vegas. Great game by the way.

My order of minis from eM4 came in today. Must say the minis are nicer looking them the images on the eM4 website shows. All my figures also look like Doug over at eM4 primed them before shipping. Cleanest figures I have ever had, no flash or mold lines visible anywhere on the figures. Only one has any sort of imperfection and that's Rouge Scavenger w/ Assault Rifle and Survival Equipment. on the front of his hat is a small hole from where there was an air bubble during casting. This hole is easily filled though, so it isn't too big of a deal for me.

I of course picked up a copy of Bryan's (Vampifan) Big Sil and Angie (Fat Biker w/ Auto Shotgun and Female biker w/ Auto Shotgun), though mine wont be Big Sil and Angie, I will be calling them something else in my campaigns.

I also picked up the Savage w/ Punch Dagger, Handgun and Hockey Mask, he of course will be a ganger, though not the head of the one gang in my Mackinac Campaign (the gang leader is a Heroclix King Pin figure from original Heroclix release), he will probably be one of the Lieutenants for the King Pin figure (who I am have given the last name of Rex to, since Rex is Latin for King, LOL).

I picked up some of the NBC Troopers, along with the Corporate Guard/Militia/SWAT figures, the Female Reporter and her Cameraman, Road Hero w/ Auto Shotgun and one of the female scavengers.

In all I purchased 15 figures and have another 2 or 3 dozen I want to get (yes there are duplicates such as the NBC Troopers and Corporate Guard/Militia/SWAT in that list). I will probably get to actually painting the figures here later this week. Right now I am just starting with doing the flesh on the figures, will figure the colors for the clothes and everything later. Photos will be coming along with photos of my other figures.

25 November 2010

Computer Games and Hardware Requirements

Its official I hate computer games that have certain Hardware requirements. I know this isn't necessarily a Zombie related post, but just got Fallout: New Vegas today (finally) and I hate it. My computer meets all the specs for the game, yet I can't seem to play it. I keep getting the same message saying something about T&L required and not being supported by the adapter, I have narrowed this down to the graphics card and my graphics card is and nVidia gForce8 card and the game requires a gForce6 as the minimum graphics card. I have been wanting to kill me some feral ghouls (guess this post is sorta about zombie like creatures) and other nasties around the Las New Vegas area.

Update: I got the Fallout New Vegas up and running on my laptop computer. I did notice one thing with it being a STeam game, if I lose the disk and want to install it on a new computer I can download it through the steam network at no additional cost.

Right now I am at the very beginning, just did the face generation, time to go back and play the game.

20 November 2010

Title Banner

Following Colin's lead here http://downamongthezedmen.blogspot.com/2010/11/progress-report-02.html about his Blogs Title Banner I decided to try the font out on my blog.

The font, Zombie Holocaust, can be found here http://www.deviantart.com/download/14654269/zombie_holocaust.zip

After importing the font into the Windows (Control Panel>Fonts) I opened MS Paint and proceeded to make the banner (did it the quick and easy way that took like 10 seconds to do). Saved it as a JPEG and then uploaded it to my blog. I might actually make a better banner using the Zombie Holocaust font and an image or two of some of my zombie and survivor minis.

17 November 2010

Castle Pharmaceuticals: White Rook Divison Part 2

This should be one of the last two posts on Castle Pharmaceuticals and White Rook (other then possible updates on their existence in my Mackinac Island campaign). This post will will reveal some of the structuring of White Rook in a little more detail.

White Rook Division- The Bio-Weapons Division of Castle Pharmaceuticals, a covert division of the company.

Black King- Head of the White Rook Division, current identity known only to a few.

Blood Queen- The Black Kings right hand, identity only known to the Black King

Bishops- Heads of the Research Facilities, color coded
Black Bishop- Head of the largest and most prestigious White Rook facility
Purple Bishop- A ruthless Bishop willing to do anything to become the
Black Bishop (the Bishop of Death according to her, a title she wants),
and eventually the Black King (a position she ultimately feels should be
hers).

Black Knights- The Mercenary force operated by Castle Pharmaceuticals, that acts as their security and extermination team for any "accidents" or "tests" that get out of hand. The only part of White Rook known to the public. They are believed to be nothing more then an armed security force to protect Castle Pharmaceutical Facilities and upper echelon.

Pawn- Staff of White Rook, these can be Researchers, Maintenance Crews, Animal Handlers, ect... color coded based on the Bishop they work under. Refered to as Pawn , ir Red Pawn Smith or Blue Pawn Johnson

Black Prince- Rumored to be the White Rook Code name for the head of Castle Pharmaceuticals. It is also rumoured he is nothing more then a figurehead in the company and that the Black King controls him.



Now some additional background info I use in my campaigns, please not this doesn't include the Lazarus Project from I, Zombie, I am currently working that into my campaigns.

X-Virus (Pedes Mortis Virus)- A virus discovered in 1925 by Dr. Smitherson, this virus is lethal to those infected. Kills the host off within a few weeks of infection, then reanimates them into a mindless beast that consumes the flesh of the living. Due to the way it works it will only reanimate and survive in the host for two weeks after the host expires. White Rook and Castle Pharmaceuticals have destroyed traces of this virus, other then the one that White Rook has in storage.

Z-Virus (Zombie Virus)- A more virulent form of the Pedes Mortis Virus. Developed in 1943 by Dr. Smitherson. The Z-Virus is longer lasting then the Pedes Mortis Virus. Once infected the Z-Virus will kill and reanimate the host withing 24-72 hours or initial infection. The virus then will reanimate the host and will survive in the host until the host has been destroyed, either through natural decay (though the virus slows the rate of decay down) or destruction by any other method.

Dr. Elizabeth Marie Smitherson- Discovered the Pedes Mortis Virus in 1925, also developed the Z-Virus in 1943. Infected by a test subject in 1945, as a result of the infection about 80% of her staff were subsequently infected, along with a National Guard unit were lost either through infection or the fire that destroyed the facility.

Capt. James Adam Keller- The sole survivor of the 1945 incident that killed his entire Guardsman unit and the staff at the White rook Facility. Recruited by White Rook to establish a security force to handle any future incidents. Capt. Keller named the new security force the Black Knights.



A small sampling of White Rook Z-Virus Experiments (White Rook Experiments also includes the standard Zombie template/profile found in ATZ). I have more experiments on my list but still have to draw up the background on them. I may do a later follow up post of just experiments going into more detail on them and possibly include pictures of them if I obtain/make minis to represent the experiments. I have included in the experiment the template/profile to use for the experiment and where to find it. For experiments that don't have any template/profile I will have to either create one or use one that was created by another individual (with their permission of course).

All experiment names are currently the working name unless other wise noted.

Stalkers (official name in my campaign)- A White Rook experiment that has shown limited success. Stalkers where designed to go in and clear out targets from areas where high concentrations of Z-Virus infected may impede Black Knight operations. Initial tests with the Stalkers proved successful, unfortunately it was later discovered that control of the Stalkers gradually diminishes unless they receive regular doses (once every 5-7 days) of a special chemical compound. This compound is administered to a Stalker though its food supply. Stalkers while created utilizing the Z-Virus are not hosts to the virus and cannot infect humans or other creatures with the Z-Virus. Stalkers use the Chupacabra profile found in the Giving Up The Goat Scenario by Two hour Wargames. I am thinking of using the Reaper Chronoscope Chupacabra figure for my Stalkers.

Delvers (working name, also referred to as Terror Worms in my Mackinac Island Campaign)- Another White Rook experiment. A Delver is a giant worm that tunnels through the ground looking for food. The Delvers were designed to be released into an area to destabilize the local government, economy, and reduce the population, before an invading force goes in. Unfortunately the Delvers proved to be uncontrollable and difficult to kill once released. Delvers while created utilizing the Z-Virus are not hosts to the virus and cannot infect humans or other creatures with the Z-Virus. Delvers use the BA Worm profile from I, Zombie by Two Hour Wargames. Not sure what figure I will use for this yet, may have to try and sculpt my own figure.

Exterminator (thinking of calling them the Inquisitors instead of Exterminators, since they won't only kill their targets, but also try to capture them alive when ordered to)- White Rooks most successful B.O.W. experiment utilizing the Z-Virus, once given an order by White Rook they will follow the order to completion or until receiving amended orders, upon completion they return to a designated location and await pick up by White Rook or further orders. Exterminators are tough foes with hard thick skin and an even harder and thicker bone structure that allows them to receive massive amounts of damage. Unfortunately for White Rook has discovered that Exterminators can only be created from a small percentage of the Human population, less then 2% of the worlds population are genetically compatible with the surgical and genetic enhancements done before introduction of the Z-Virus to the subjects system. The surgical and genetic enhancements preformed to a subject prior to the introduction of the Z-Virus helps build up the subjects muscle mass, thickens the bone to protect vital organs, and toughens the skin, in addition to allowing White Rook to surgically implant/attach weapon systems to the Exterminators arms/hands as needed. Unlike most humans infected with the Z-Virus Exterminators are not undead, they still breath, need nutrition, and have a functioning circulatory system. Exterminators also have a sterile version of the Z-Virus in their system that will not infect humans or other creatures if exposed. Currently do not have a profile for Exterminators, luckily so far in my campaigns we have yet to run across one, Will have to work out the profile later and post it. Thinking of using the Hasselfree Jotun to represent the Exterminator.

14 November 2010

Creative Commons License

Well I figured I might as well make a post about this after Bryan (Vampifan) posted a comment about using my Castle Pharmaceuticals/White Rook background as a basis for the cause of the outbreak in his campaigns.

All content on this Blog is available for you to use and build upon free of charge under the Creative Commons Licesne, as long as you 1) Credit me as the original source 2) Use it in a non commercial way and 3) You may share it as long as you make it known that it has the same license or one similar, even if you altered the content or built upon (added to) it.

If the content of a post doesn't fall under the Creative Commons License stated below or falls under another Creative Commons Licensing type, I will have that information there in the post to inform you about the Licensing status.

If you click the little pic below it will take you to a Creative Commons page detailing what the license allows you to do.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Content on this site is free to use under the Creative Commons License unless otherwise noted.


I will probably re-post this post every 3-6 months (if I remember, LOL) as a courteous reminder about the content of my blog being free to use under the Creative Commons License

13 November 2010

Castle Pharmaceuticals: White Rook Division, Part 1

The White Rook Division of Castle Pharmaceuticals, they are the secret branch of Castle Pharmaceuticals that handles B.O.W.s (Bio-Organic Weapons). They specialize in the research of the Z-Virus (and to a limited extent the lesser X-Virus) and finding a way to make it a viable weapon.

While Castle Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1862 by Dr. Ian Castle and Dr. Ryan Maxwell, the White Rook Division didn't come into existence for another 63 years. White Rook was founded after Dr. Elizabeth Smitherson discovered the Pedes Mortis Virus (called the X-Virus initially), when she was only 25 years of age in 1925. While publicly calling for the eradication of the Pedes Mortis Virus, Castle Pharmaceuticals founded the White Rook Division to study and look for ways to use the virus as a weapon.

Dr. Smitherson was chosen to be the first Director of White Rook. It was under her that White Rooks current structure was formed. Due to her interest in the game of chess, Dr. Smitherson named the new division White Rook, and instituted chess related titles for all White Rook Staff. Dr. Smitherson became the very first Black King, a title still used by the head of the White Rook Division.

In 1943 Dr. Smitherson and her team discovered the Z-Virus, a more virulent version of the Pedes Mortis Virus, which reaminmated the host for a longer period of time and halted most decaying of the hosts body. Unfortunately Dr. Smitherson was infected by one of her test subjects in December of 1945 along with 80% of the staff at the facility, when the subject got loose. It is rumored that the subject was intentionally released by a rival looking to take over White Rook from Dr. Smitherson. A US National Guard unit was called in to eradicate the infected, and unfortunately all but one Guardsman were killed when the facility went up in flames. The survivor was Capt. James Keller.

In January of 1946 Capt. Keller was recruited by White Rook to establish an in house security force. This force in addition to providing security to all Castle Pharmaceutical facilities (both legit and subversive) acts as a clean up crew for any "accidents" that may happen. Capt. Keller named the new security force the Black Knights, keeping with Smithersons chess theme. Ultimately the Black Knights fall under the umbrella of White Rook due to the true nature of their existence, though they are also the only know part of White Rook that is publicly known. Their public image is that of Castle Pharmaceuticals armed security force for their facilities and upper echelon.

All White Rook facilities operate under the cover of another legitimate Castle Pharmaceuticals facility. Most of the White Rook facilities are actually housed underneath the legitimate Castle Pharmaceutical facility and accessed via a secret entrance. In addition most White Rook facilities consist of one main complex and a number of smaller satellite complexes that may be as far as 10 miles away, these smaller complexes are connected tot he main complex via an underground tram system. Each facility is color coded based on the Bishop (the head of the facility) in charge, so a facility run by the Red Bishop would be coded Red, along with any staff (pawns) stationed there, excluding Black Knight personnel. Using the color coding example above if the Red Bishop was assigned to the Omicron Facility, it would then become the Red Omicron facility and the satellite complexes would be referred to as Red Omicron 2, Red Omicron 3, etc... and all personnel would be referred to as Red Pawn Smith (if the personnel member's last name was Smith), if more then one member of the facilities personnel share the same last name the initials for their first and middle names are used, ie Red Pawn J. M. Smith and Red Pawn S. B. Smith.

The current number of facilities and total number of personnel are only known to the Black King and a select few within White Rooks and Castle Pharmaceuticals ranks.

12 November 2010

Castle Pharmaceuticals

Ahh good old Castle Pharmaceuticals the Global Leader in Medical and Technological Research and Development. They are here to make life for all better.

Castle Pharmaceuticals (also called Castle Pharma, Castle Medical, and Castle Inc.) was founded in 1862 by Dr. Ian Castle and his good friend and colleague Dr. Ryan Maxwell. Originally founded in order to supply medication and medical supplies to Union Hospitals, Castle Pharmaceuticals has since strived to be a world leader in business. After the US Civil War ended Castle Pharmaceuticals built its first factory outside of the US in England. By 1920 Castle Pharmaceuticals had factories and research facilities in Ireland, France, Spain, Switzerland, India, Australia, Canada and Mexico, in addition to their New york, Mayhem City, Atlanta, San Fransisco facilities and the London England facility.

As more was understood about the causes of disease and infections, Castle Pharmaceuticals continued to be a world leader, developing some of the worlds first successful vaccines. It was Dr. Elizabeth Smitherson who discovered the X-Virus in 1925, when she was only 25 years of age, and a new Castle Pharmaceuticals hire, Upon the discovery of the X- Virus, also known as the Pedes Mortis Virus (Walking Death Virus), due to the fact it kills the infected host within a matter of weeks and then causes the dead to reanimate for a period of 2-4 weeks and consume living flesh, before it collapses from deterioration of the body due to rotting away. Castle Pharmaceuticals vowed to increase the amount of research and find a way to eradicate the terrible Virus. It was in 1943 that Dr. Smitherson and her team discovered the Z-Virus a mutated and more virulent strain of the X-Virus, the Z-Virus kills the infected withing a matter of days, and the reanimated corpse will continue to "thrive" for an unknown amount of time.

During the 1940's Castle Pharmaceuticals started producing Weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and equipment for the US Military and their allies. After WWII ended Castle Pharmaceuticals continued the production of non-medical related products, expanding the range of products to include other household goods such as radios, kitchen appliances, furniture, etc... When computers were just starting to emerge, Castle Pharmaceuticals stepped up to begin manufacturing their own computers and parts for other manufacturers to use, thus becoming the truly diverse company they are today.

Today it is estimated that 80% of the homes in the industrialized world have a Castle Pharmaceuticals product in them, and almost all businesses relay on Castle Pharmaceuticals products for their daily operations.

At least this is the public face of Castle Pharmaceuticals. Unknown to most they operate a secret Black Ops Bio-Organic Weapons Division they call White Rook Division.


For one of  my next post I am planning on providing the details of the White Rook Division that in my campaign a brave secret agent for the MGCIS (Military, Government & Corporation Investigative Services, a Multi-National organization that investigates proposed crimes committed by the worlds Military's, governments and major corporations that I use in my campaign world) before he disappeared. I may also later draw up some background on the MGCIS and post it if theres any interest, though the info may not be as detaield as what I have for Castle Pharmaceuticals since I have only used them in passing in my campaigns (have had them as the Men-In-Black in my campaign only showing up a couple of times, and once as a military unit helping with the evacuation).

10 November 2010

A small sampling of my painted figures

Thought I would post a quick sampling of some of my figures, these photos were just quick snaps, I didn't set up my light table or even my light tent to take them.

First up some of my PEF's. PEF is a term in ATZ originally introduced in the Giving up the Goat scenario ($3 from THW), and then included in I, Zombie. PEF stands for Possible/Potential Enemy Forces (officially its Possible, but you can also use Potential), though as some others mentioned because a PEF could be depending on the Die rolls nothing, friend or foe (foe includes Zombies, Ragers, Gangers, Hostile Survivors, etc...), PEF should more  accurately called Possible/Potential Encountered Forces.





To make these i used 40mm circular bases, Twilight Creations Human Pawns from the game Humans, and some plastic sprue pieces. Before painting I glued the sprue pieces into a box shape large enough to fit the dice used in the image. I then placed a Human Pawn onto the base to see how much of the integrated base would need to be trimmed, then trimmed the figures base to fit on the 40mm base. All figures primed with Reaper Pro Paint Dragon Black before painting. Shoes painted GW Skull White, Pants painted Privateer Press P3 Coal Black, Shirt painted GW Skull White, Arms and Face Reaper Pro Paint Caucasian Flesh. The Base is painted Reaper Pro Paint Neutral Grey . I also used Reaper Pro Paint Dragon Black to paint PEF inside the Die Box and on the back of each figure. The Idea for these figures were stolen, err Borrowed from Colin over at Down Among the Zed Men- PEFs.

Now here are some of my painted Survivors next to some of the Zombies I have:
Two Infinity figures with a HorrorClix Zombie Trooper, one of the three HorrorClix Zombies I have, the other two are the Hardhat Zombie and the Zombie Cop.
 Two Reaper Chonoscope figures, then the HorrorClix Hardhat Zombie, another Reaper Chonoscope figure, Wargames Factory Plastic Zombie (Dr. Zed/Trenchcoat Zombie) and then HorrorClix Zombie Trooper.
 Close up of the figures. Same with the picture below.



Shot of the Infinity Ariadna Scout's poncho's camo paint job, still need to finish and add a couple more brown patches.

For my figures I typically go for what I call the Three Foot Paint Job, as long as the figures look good from a minimum of 2ft-3ft away (playing distance when they are out on the table) I am happy. I paint the figures for play not for show. This isn't to say I dont spend the time and paint more detailed figures, because I do, though those figures are typically given to others and not kept for myself. I should note that the HorrorClix figures are stock paint job out of the box with some touch ups (added Reaper Propaints Aged Red Brick as blood in what would be bullet holes, bites, or other wounds, the Aged Red Brick is the color I use for blood, I knwo others use the Tamiya Clear Red).

Sorry for the clutter in the background, the photos were taken at the table I have the computer I use for photo editing and also use as my work station for assembling and painting my minis, and working on terrain. Because I use the table for all this it tends to get cluttered up between projects.


I initially was planning on posting the info about the Evil Pharmaceutical Corporation my next post, but because I had my camera out and some of my figures right here by me decided to post the images instead.

Official Unveiling of my Blog

While I stated my blog back on Nov 7th, I waited to unveil it to everyone in order to get a few comments from a small group of people. As of today I have officially unveiled it to everyone else, via posts in the various forums and my signature in the same forums. Right now I have have 3 or 4 posts that I am working on for future release. They are notes from my Mayhem City Campaign, detailing the evil pharmaceutical company in my campaign world and their chief rival company. After that I will try to get some photos of my Zombie or Survivor figures posted.

07 November 2010

Some New ATZ Weapons and Items

Decided to post some of the Items I use in my ATZ games that aren't found in the ATZ: Better Dead Then Zed rule book. These items are are either found in ATZ: Haven, ATZ: I, Zombie, ATZ: Risk and Rewards Deck, the THW Yahoo Group posted by others, or created by me.

For the Items I created I tried to keep them as balanced as possible but I can't guarantee that they are fully balanced. Some items such as the Crossbow and Bow I play as though they are silenced weapons and they follow the procedures for a silenced weapon (described later in this post).


BA Machine Pistol- Rng 12, Target 3, Impact 2. The BA Machine Pistol was originally in the 1st Ed of ATZ, and left out of ATZ: Better Dead Then Zed.

Carbine- Rng 24, Targets 1 or 2, Impact 2. IIRC another Item from ATZ 1st Ed. This is a Semi- Automatic Rifle that has a shorter length barrel. An example of a Carbine would be the M1 Carbine from WWII or the Semi-automatic M4 clones available.

Assault Rifle Carbine- Rng 24, Targets 1 or 3, Impact 2. A weapon I created. This would be akin to the M4 that the US Military has in use today.

Machete- Rng N/A, Targets N/A, Impact 2. The Machete is a melee weapon that adds 2d6 to your attack rolls when used in Melee. Released by Ed Texeria in his ATZ Risk and Rewards Deck and I, Zombie rule book.

Scope- May be attached to any ranged weapon except for the Bow and the S.A.W.. Using the scope allows the shooter to extend the range of the weapon by 12” and allows for one additional d6 to be rolled when firing one shot. In effect, the shooter rolls 2d6 and counts the best results on the Ranged Combat Table. Note the 12” range increase does not stack with the Marksman attribute, though the additional d6 does stack. Released by Ed in the Risk and Rewards Deck.

Silencer- may be attached to any firearm excluding the S.A.W. and the Shotgun. A silenced weapon does not make much noise when fired, so to reflect this use the following procedure when it has been fired:
1) Only an enemy within 12” of the Shooter has a chance of being alerted
If the enemy is a missed target, he will roll 1d6 against his Rep to see if he must take a Received Fire test. If so, the test is taken at -1 to its Rep.
If the enemy is a non-target figure with LOS to the Shooter he will follow the same procedure as if he were a target to see if he can take an In-Sight Test. If so, the test it taken at -1 to its rep.
2) Those that do not qualify under #1 above but are within 12” of the Shooter and outside of LOS will only be alerted to the fact that someone is firing with a silenced weapon.
3) Firing with a silenced weapon does not attract Zombies.
4) Firing of a Bow or Crossbow counts as firing a silenced weapon
The silencer was introduced in the free ATZ: Haven Scenario Hostage Rescue initially released by Rebel Minis with their Haven Boxed set.

Sniper Rifle (Custom Bolt Action Rifle)- Rng 60, Targets 1 or 2, Impact 3 Sniper rifle is equipped with a scope, and the user receives the +1d6 bonus when firing. When used by a shooter with the Marksman attribute, they shooter may take two shots, and will receive the +1d6 bonus from the scope for both shots. This is a weapon created/modified by me.

Bow- Rng 24, Targets 1, Impact 3. Composite Bow used with two hands. The Bow may be fired once when active and once in reaction during the turn. Firing does not attract zombies and firing the Bow follows the procedures for firing a silenced weapon. Introduced in the Risk and Rewards Deck. Part about functioning as a silenced weapon added by me.

Crossbow- Rng 12, target 1, Impact 2. Hand held pistol type crossbow. Once fired the crossbow must be reloaded. It takes one full turn of activation to reload. When reloading the crossbow the figure may now Fast move, melee, or any other action. Firing the crossbow functions as a silenced weapon and does not attract zombies. Introduced in the Risk and Rewards Deck. Part functioning as a silenced weapon added by me.

Grenade- Rng 6, Targets 6” Blast Circle, Impact 2. Fragmentation grenades that can only be tossed by hand. Blast Circle equals # of Targets (6)

Grenade Launcher- Rng 24, Targets 8” Blast Radius, Impact Varies see below. The Grenade launcher can either be mounted to a weapon (ie the M203 Grenade Launcher) or stand alone (ie the M79 Grenade Launcher). To use the Shooter must be active and nominate a spot within LOS. Blast Circle equals # of targets (8). Impact varies based on grenade type used.
High Explosive (HE) Grenade- Impact 2. HE grenades are a fragmentation style grenade.
Tear Gas Grenade- Impact N/A. Any figure within the Blast Circle will immediately move 8” away from the direction that the grenade was fired from. This movement replaces one turn of their activation, whether current or in the future. Figures hit by Tear Gas do not count as Out of Fight. Firing counts as 1 shot for attracting zombies.
Tear Gas Grenade launcher released in ATZ: Haven. HE grenade created by me.

M240 Medium Machine Gun (MMG)- Rng48, Targets 5, Impact 3. This weapon requires a two man team to function properly, with one acting as the loader. When properly crewed the MMG is not subject to the Tight Ammo rule found on page 17 of the ATZ rules. However if there is not a loader then it is subject to the rule. This was released in ATZ: Haven

HMMWV (Humvee)- Speed 18, Turns 1, Seats (see below), Bash Value 6. This vehicle can be configured one of two ways. It will either be a cargo/troop carrier with a crew of two and eight others or a Fire Support Weapon. When used in the latter form it is fitted with a crew served Medium Machine Gun (MMG) and will have a crew of three with two working the MMG and room for six more. Released in ATZ: Haven

Baseball Bat- Rng N/A, Targets N/A, Impact 1 (one handed) or 2 (two handed) The Bat provides and additional 1d6 per arm used when used in Melee. So id it is used one handed it provides an additional 1d6, if swung with two hands it provides and additional 2d6. Released in the Risk and Rewards Deck.


I am always looking for new ideas for weapons, items and vehicles to add to my ATZ games.

Finally got me a Blog

I finally started my Blog, partly due to the urging of Bryan over at http://vampifansworldoftheundead.blogspot.com/ and partly as a way to document my notes for my All Things Zombie games and my ATZ Campaign I am working on.

A little about me and what I want to get from this blog. I am Doug, of of the many survivors of  Zombie Apocalypse gaming. My primary game of choice is All Things Zombie by Two Hour Wargames, though I also play the occasional game of Xtreme Zombie Hunter by Grimey Games, Marines vs. Zombies (don't as the Manufacturer), Last Night on Earth (Flying Frog Productions), Zombies!!! the Game (Twilight Creations), Dead Walk Again (again unsure of who made the game), Total AR:SE by Akula for the UK Frothers, along with a couple others. Reason I primarily play ATZ is because of the fact you can do almost anything (that you may be able to do in real life) with the rules, plus Ed of THW has great customer support through his Yahoo Group.

I am from the Flint, Michigan, USA area (Luckily though I am not in Flint itself but one of the cities between 10-20 miles from Flint). When I start getting scenery built for my ATZ games I will be using the World Works Games Urban Mayhem line for the buildings, may possibly upgrade to the Mayhem TLX line. My games will primarily be centered around Mayhem City, a fictional city created by WWG for their Urban Mayhem line for modern card stock buildings and scenery. I will be placing my Mayhem City here in Michigan either replacing Detroit, Flint, Saginaw or Bay City, the states capitol of Lansing may stay as Lansing of become the infamous Capitol City.

Right now I don't know how often I will get this blog updated, I wont give a set schedule until I get the blog more established though I will try for a post at least once every week or two. I am thinking for my next post that I will post my Mayhem City Campaign I played with friends back before ATZ: Better Dead then Zed was released using the ATZ first edition rules (though there is no real changes int he campaigns rules), or I might post about one of the major companies I have in my ATZ games.