Wednesday 13 August 2014

Zombicide Season 2 Survivors and Zombivors 04

Here are another batch of Zombicide season 2 survivors and zombivors. These figures are based on starring characters from two well known films - Shaun of the Dead (an obvious choice) and The Silence of the Lambs.
I'll kick off with Fred Pegg, whom we all know as the eponymous Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, as played by actor, Simon Pegg. However, in Zombicide, Fred was a Wall Street trader. He was a mathematical genius with intuition and an aggressive instinct. When the zombies came, he was the first on the trading floor to understand what was going on and what he needed to do. Fred was the only one to get out alive and being a natural predator at heart he feels his life now has real meaning. Both survivor and zombivor Fred are armed with a cricket bat. Fred starts the game with the Reaper: Combat skill, which is used when he assigns hits while resolving a Combat Action (Melee or Ranged). One of his hits can freely kill an additional identical zombie in the same Zone. Only a single additional zombie can be killed per action when using this skill.
Shaun without Ed is like fish without chips so here we have Chuck Woodhead, who is clearly modelled on Ed played by Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead. In Zombicide, Chuck is disparagingly referred to as a momma's boy. Living in his parent's basement, this 30+ man child's lack of real world experience hasn't been much of a disadvantage because civilisation has gone tits up. Armed with his knowledge of zombie survival lore gleaned from video games and the Internet, Chuck is an unlikely chubby ally - and possible food source if things get desperate! Survivor Chuck is armed with a double-barreled sawn-off shotgun and a frying pan. Zombivor Chuck has acquired a pair of gunblades - large calibre pistols with underslung blades - very rare weapons. Chuck's starting skill is Low Profile, which prevents him from being the target of allied Ranged Attacks and car attacks ignore him.
Next, we come to Achille Hopkins, a serial killer who is clearly based on Hannibal Lector as played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film, The Silence of the Lambs. Achille is every bit as insane and demented as Hannibal. He would be a danger to every survivor if he hadn't changed his mind when the apocalypse came and he decided to focus his murderous instinct on zombies. he finds being surrounded by potential victims that are actively hunting him terribly exciting. As a survivor, Achille is armed with a nightstick and a .44 Magnum revolver. Zombivor Achille retains the nightstick but has lost the revolver. Achille starts the game with the Zombie Link skill, which allows him one extra turn each time an extra activation card is drawn from the zombie deck. He plays before the extra activated zombies.
Finally, is FBI agent Helen Foster, a dead ringer for Jodie Foster's character, Clarice Starling from the film, The Silence of the Lambs. Helen's inquisitive nature and logical mind led her into investigations and she became a terror to the nation's organised crime syndicates. She finally managed to anger the wrong people and she was under investigation for trumped up corruption charges when the zombies rose. The game had changed but Helen found her skills and experience still applied. She finds it refreshing not having to wait for a warrant before breaking into wherever she needs to go. Survivor Helen is armed with twin 9mm pistols but zombivor Helen is only armed with one 9mm pistol. Helen starts the game with the Starts With a Flashlight skill, which is self-explanatory
Fred and Helen were part of the free stretch goals offered during the season 2 promotion. Achilles and Chuck come from the third boxed set - Survivors and Zombivors. These are all iconic characters and it is hard to shake off the fact that they are not meant to be exact copies of their film counterparts. I can understand why Guillotine Games have had to change the names of them but I wonder how many players adopt the figure's Zombicide names or use their film character's names instead. Chuck, Achille and Helen are virtual clones of their film characters in everything but name. Fred at least has been given a different background but he is still a trader at the end of the day. Also, I suspect that if you choose one of these figures, you'd have to choose the other from the same film. They are pretty much double acts who should be kept together.

24 comments:

  1. As mentioned in the last post I so much like the skin tone on the zeds. They are all good additions (dead and alive) AND I look forward to seeing them in a bat rep.

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    1. I have no idea when they'll appear in a batrep, Clint, but it's something I'd like to see as well.

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  2. Very nicely done Bryan. Your certainly working you way through these sets. Finished by Christmas?

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    1. I'm on a roll, Simon. I'm painting the last few survivors and zombivors right now. Finished by Christmas? Doubtful as I have way too many zombies to paint. Still, any progress is good progress.

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  3. Another nice set of figures - there can't be that many more, can there :-) ?

    I'm not sure that the FBI agent and the serial killer are a double act who should be kept together. After all, they're not exactly allies in the film...

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    1. There are just still quite a few more to show, Hugh.

      Your second point is very true, but that's the fun of gaming - coming up with "what if" ideas.

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  4. Fred and Ed are perfect, love what you've done with them all Bryan, very nice work

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  5. I think that these are my favourites so far (except for the "zombivor" versions), but isn't Helen/Clarice a little too tall ?

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    1. Thanks, Joe, I'd say Helen is neither too big nor too small. Mind you, I have no idea how tall Jodie Foster is in real life so this is difficult for me to answer.

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    2. Anthony Hopkins is 5'8" whilst Jodie is 5'3". I knew he was on the short side and she was smaller still !
      Thank google for the actual heights.
      Not that it matters anyway

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    3. Your Google Fu is impressive, Grasshopper! So I guess Helen/Clarice should be a bit smaller but I can live with how she is just fine.

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  6. Fantastic work once again Dude.
    We (the WNI) have only used Fred and Chuck for Zombicide, Chuck can hold his own but Fred turned out to be an absolute combat monster, flying up the levels leaving everyone else struggling to keep up. He's your man for "crowd control" though.

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    1. Thanks for that insight into how Fred and Chuck play in a game, Bob. It doesn't really surprise me that Fred quickly became a combat monster in your games. His starting skill ensures he's going to rack up a lot of kills.

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  7. I had no idea cricket bats were so deadly. Well done as always and no panda eye anymore.

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    1. I suspect it has more to do with the person wielding the bat than the bat itself, Robert! Hey, hey, no panda eyes!

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  8. Very nice set of character. I am amazed about the fine lines on the white shirts, it is a very detailed job.
    Thumb up!

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    1. Thanks, Cedric. Most of the time I'm very good at doing black lining but I have been a bit off recently due to my failing eyesight. Thankfully since my corrective surgery I'm now back on form.

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  9. Ha! Can't make a zombie game without Shaun and Ed.

    I really like Hannibal's survivor pose. Very suitable, especially with the hidden revolver!

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    1. I agree, Shaun and Ed are such iconic characters. Hannibal/Achille is doing his best to appear unarmed, isn't he? Sneaky sod!

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  10. Really nice work on all these figures. I'm not sure I totally understand Zombivor, intelligent zombies? It was also great that you got in some games of ATZ with Joe and Mathyoo, I'll have to check them out.

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    1. Thanks, Sean. Zombivors are just survivors who have become zombies after becoming infected. They retain their intelligence and memories and are used as player characters.

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  11. These are looking cool! As ever with your painting.

    We have yet to try out the Zombivor mode in the club.

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    1. Do let me know when you do get round to trying them out, my friend.

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