Flames of War, for those who don’t know, is probably the most popular and widely played WWII-era tabletop wargame currently available. It uses 15mm figures to simulate battles from the Eastern Front to the Saharan desert, from the earliest assaults in Poland to the mighty Late-war battles against a beleaguered Germany.
In terms of complexity, FoW is roughly comparable to Warhammer 40k in that the main rules are simple enough to learn in an evening though can take years to fully master, and a fair chunk of the enjoyment comes from building your ‘perfect’ army list, only to have it mercilessly crushed by some lucky know-it-all with masses of Soviet tanks. But I’m not bitter – it’s all a part of the fun!
Flames of War is only (as far as I can tell) missing one thing.
Zombies.
And (inexplicably) Japan as a Major Power. But mainly zombies.
WWII zombies seems to be the big thing right now what with Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army being released (it’s not that good, apparently), and that’s just the latest in a long line of WWII Zombie crossovers that go all the way back to the veritable Castle Wolfenstein. Add in the modern era DayZ mod for Arma II (and standalone game) and its clones, and it’s easy to see the appeal of combining military-grade firepower with undead hordes.
There’s no shortage of movies too, with Dead Snow being my own personal favourite. And I haven’t even mentioned the excellent Weird Wars RPG supplement by Pinnacle Entertainment.
Zombies + WWII = win!
So, back to Flames of War.
I am thinking about creating a Zombie Army List for Flames of War. Tentatively, I suggest the following rules and traits as a starting point.
Zombie Horde
The Undead possess no ideology and swear fealty to no nation. They follow no flag or mantra, only their own insatiable hunger for the brains and blood of the living. With their undying physiology, zombies are very tough to bring down. They have a Fearless/Trained rating.
Zombies count as Infantry in terms of basing and all other rules, except where stated below:
- Ungainly. Zombies move 6″ as per regular Infantry, but lack the fine motor control of the living. They may be bogged down in Difficult and Very Difficult going as per the rules for Tanks. A zombie can’t throw a wheel, but it can get a foot stuck on a tree root, at least until it has pulled it free (or the foot off).
- The Hunger is In Command. Zombie Hordes are never considered to be Out of Command.
- Unstoppable. Zombies cannot be Pinned Down, never take Motivation checks and do not Dig In. They can be forced to Fall Back (albeit temporarily).
- Zombies Don’t Shoot Back. Zombies do not fire in the Shooting Phase.
- Zombie Terror! Opponent Infantry attempting to Assault against Zombies are subject to Tank Terror.
- Unending Reinforcements. Opposing Infantry troops destroyed by a Zombie Assault become a Zombie Horde after two turns.
Zombie Pack (4 Zombies on a base), Range -, ROF -, Anti-Tank -, Firepower –
Organization
Generally speaking, Zombies aren’t what you (or anyone) would call organized, but for the purposes of putting together a competitive force, the zombies need a Flames of War Army List, structure and points value.
After that it’s on to Zombie variants, and more.
And that’s my challenge for the next few days.
Till then.
