Contents
Zombicide: Black Plague Combat
Introduction
Hey there! Ready for an adrenaline-pumping adventure? Well, you’re in luck because I’ve got just the thing for you. Let’s talk about Zombicide: Black Plague Combat.
What is Zombicide: Black Plague Combat?
Zombicide: Black Plague Combat is a game that combines strategy and survival in a post-apocalyptic world infested with zombies. It’s an exciting tabletop game that allows you to team up with friends to fight against hordes of undead creatures.
How does it work?
The game is played on a board divided into different zones. You and your team will take on the roles of survivors who are desperately trying to stay alive. As you move through the zones, you’ll encounter zombies that you’ll have to defeat using various weapons and abilities.
Teamwork makes the dream work
In Zombicide: Black Plague Combat, working together is crucial. You’ll need to coordinate your actions, communicate effectively, and make strategic decisions as a team. Remember, your survival depends on it.
Choose your survivor
Before embarking on your zombie-slaying adventure, you’ll need to choose a survivor to play as. Each survivor has unique abilities and skills that can be upgraded as the game progresses. So, choose wisely and play to your survivor’s strengths!
Customize your experience
With Zombicide: Black Plague Combat, you have the freedom to customize your experience. You can select different scenarios, adjust the difficulty level, and even create your own unique challenges. The possibilities are endless!
Conclusion
So, are you ready to take on the zombie apocalypse? Zombicide: Black Plague Combat offers an exhilarating experience that will test your survival skills and teamwork. Grab some friends, choose your survivors, and get ready for an epic battle against the undead. Let the slaying begin!
So, here’s the deal: anyone can go charging at the enemy with an axe. But if you wanna take ’em down fast and proper, that’s a whole different ball game. Especially when it comes to zombies, your usual swing might not cut it. You see, chopping off a guy’s arm will put him out of commission. But with a zombie? Yeah, not so much. Even with just one arm left, they can still grab you. That’s why you gotta be quick and accurate, or else you’ll end up as one of those undead creatures.
When I attack Zombies with a Melee, Ranged, or Magic Action, I roll a number of dice equal to the Dice number of the weapon (or Combat spell) that I’m using.
Hey there! Did you know that if I have two identical weapons or Combat spells with the Dual symbol equipped in my Hands, I can use both of them at the same time, while only using one Action? Pretty cool, right?
Let me give you an example. Imagine I’m a Survivor named Silas, and I have two Repeating Crossbows in my Hands. These crossbows have the Dual symbol, which means I can shoot both of them at once! This is awesome because I get to roll 6 dice in a single Ranged Action. Each Repeating Crossbow has a Dice value of 3, so when I shoot both of them simultaneously, the dice add up. It’s like doubling my chances to hit the target!
#image.jpg
EXAMPLE 2: I’m holding two shiny Daggers. They look exactly the same and have a special Dual symbol, which means I can use them together in a fight. Basically, I get to roll 2 dice, one for each Dagger. But wait, there’s more! Each Dagger also gives a bonus of +1 Die to another melee weapon I’m holding. And here’s the cool part – the bonus works both ways! So, each Dagger actually has a Dice value of 2, which means I get to roll a total of 4 dice when I’m dual wielding Daggers!
#image.jpg
Why Three Hands?
When I put the right equipment card in my body space, it’s like I have three cards in my hand. But don’t get too excited, I can only use two of them at a time. So before I take any actions or make any rolls, I have to choose which two cards I want to use.
When you roll the dice, every result that is equal to or greater than the Accuracy number of the weapon means you’ve hit the target. It’s as simple as that!
When I attack in Zombicide: Black Plague, the amount of damage I deal depends on the weapon I’m using and the target I’m attacking. Let me break it down for you:
- Walkers, Runners, and Necromancers are taken out with just 1 hit of damage. But remember, I can always deal more damage if I want to.
- Fatties are a bit tougher. They require a hit of 2 damage or more. It doesn’t matter how many times I hit a Fatty with a 1 damage weapon, they won’t even flinch!
- Now, dealing with Abominations is a whole different story. These monstrous creatures need a hit of 3 damage or more to be defeated. Unfortunately, there are no weapons in Zombicide that naturally have 3 damage. To take down an Abomination, I’ll need to use Dragon Fire or have Samson wield a Damage 2 Melee weapon with his +1 Damage: Melee Skill.
It was insane! I unleashed the power of my two Repeating Crossbows upon the three Walkers standing guard, and boom, right away, five hits! The Walkers didn’t stand a chance against my weapons. But then came the Fatty, the tough one. It took both of my remaining hits and didn’t even flinch. Apparently, the Repeating Crossbow deals only 1 Damage, which wasn’t enough to take down the Fatty.
Luckily, Ann came to save the day. She swung her Hammer with all her might, and with one hit, she crushed that Fatty down! The Hammer deals 2 Damage, and that was enough to get the job done.
Here’s something interesting to note. If there had been two Runners instead of a Fatty, even a single hit with the Hammer wouldn’t have been able to eliminate both of them. You see, the Hammer can only take out one target with a successful hit. Any additional Damage would have been overkill and wasted.
The Power of Melee Attacks
If I’m holding a Melee weapon, which is a weapon with a maximum range of “0”, in my hand, I can attack a Zombie that’s in the same Zone as me. To successfully hit the Zombie, I need to roll a die and get a result that’s equal to or higher than the Accuracy value listed on the weapon’s card. Once I have my hits, I can divide them as I see fit among the potential targets in the Zone.
Hey, did you know that when you’re in the middle of a melee battle, you don’t have to worry about accidentally hitting your friends? It’s true! Missed melee strikes can’t cause any friendly fire. So if you’re swinging your sword and you happen to miss your target, you can rest easy knowing that you won’t hurt your allies.
Let me give you an example to make it even clearer. Imagine Samson is in the heat of battle, fighting off a Walker, a Runner, and a Fatty with his trusty Sword. He rolls a 5 and 6, which means he gets two hits. Samson decides to take out the Runner and the Walker, but his Sword’s damage isn’t high enough to kill the Fatty. Now, here’s the cool part: even though Clovis is also standing in the same zone, he’s completely safe from Samson’s slashes. There’s no need to worry about accidental injuries when it comes to missed melee strikes.
Ranged Action
If you’re a Survivor and you’re holding a Ranged weapon, which is a weapon that can reach a distance of at least “1” Zone, you have the ability to shoot at a Zone that you can see and that is within the weapon’s Range.
When you’re inside a building, your Line of Sight is restricted to the Zones that are connected by openings and that are only one Zone away. It’s important to be careful with your aim, as missed shots can accidentally hit your fellow Survivors in what is known as Friendly Fire (refer to Page 34). So, take your time and aim wisely!
When you look at a weapon card, you’ll see a number called “Range.” This number tells you how far the weapon can shoot. The Range value tells you how many Zones the weapon can cover.
There are two parts to the Range value. The first part is the minimum Range. This tells you the closest distance the weapon can shoot. Sometimes, this number is 0, which means you can shoot targets in the same Zone as you. It’s important to note that shooting still counts as a Ranged Action, even if the target is in the same Zone.
The second part is the maximum Range. This tells you the farthest distance the weapon can shoot. The weapon can’t shoot at targets beyond this distance.
#image.jpg
EXAMPLE: The Longbow has a Range of 1-3, meaning it can shoot up to three Zones away but not in the same Zone as the Survivor. The Hand Crossbow has a Range of 0-1, so it can shoot targets in the Survivor’s current Zone or an adjacent Zone.
When I choose a Zone for a Ranged Action, I don’t have to worry about any Actors in the Zones between me and the target. That means I can shoot through occupied Zones without putting my fellow Survivors or the Zombies in danger.
I can even shoot at a different Zone while Zombies stand in my own Zone!
Here’s the Order of Priority for Targets:
When I use a Ranged weapon (even at Range 0), I don’t get to choose who I hit with successful rolls. Hits are assigned to Actors in the targeted Zone based on this targeting priority order:
- Walkers
- Fatty or Abomination (I’ll let you choose!)
- Runner
- Necromancer
I assign hits to the targets with the lowest priority first. Once they’re all gone, I move on to the targets with the next priority, and so on. If multiple targets have the same Targeting Priority Order, you get to pick which ones to hit.
| 1 | Walker | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Fatty / Abomination (1) | 1 | 2/3 | 1/5 |
| 3 | Runner | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Necromancer | 1 | 1 | 1 |
(1) Abomination: No need to worry about Armor rolls.
Armed with a pair of Hand Crossbows, I take aim at the Walkers, Fatty, and Runners lurking just a Zone away. My hands steady as I release four dice, two for each Hand Crossbow I wield. The dice roll across the table, showing numbers 6, 5, 3, and 1. My targets are hit if the dice show numbers 3, 4, 5, or 6. Luck is on my side today, as three hits line up perfectly. The Walkers are the first to fall, their deaths quick and efficient. The Fatty feels the sting of my bolt, but its strength prevails. I needed a damage value of 2 to defeat the formidable foe.
Watch Your Aim
But what happens if I accidentally aim at my companion? Well, I’m relieved to say that I won’t harm myself, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. In cases where I need to target a Zone occupied by a teammate, any misses automatically hit the Survivors in that area. No worries though, we can always come up with our own game plan for assigning these friendly fire hits.
In the world of combat, armor rolls play a crucial role. They have the power to cancel out hits caused by friendly fire. For each successful armor roll, one hit inflicted on the survivor is neutralized. However, any remaining friendly fire hits take their toll, inflicting wounds equal to the damage value of the weapon or combat spell used.
But here’s an important thing to keep in mind: melee actions are exempt from friendly fire. So, go ahead and swing that sword without worrying about hitting your allies.
It’s worth noting that killing a survivor doesn’t earn you any experience points. Keep that in mind as you battle the hordes.
Let me illustrate this with a few examples:
Example 1: Baldric finds himself in a tricky situation. He aims his crossbow (2 dice, accuracy 4+, damage 2) at a zone where Clovis and two Walkers are. Baldric rolls a 5 and a 2 – one hit and one miss. The hit kills one of the Walkers, but the missed shot lands on Clovis. Ouch! Clovis takes 2 wounds as a result.
Example 2: Nelly is faced with an emergency. She casts a dual mana blast (1+1 dice, accuracy 4+, damage 1) at a zone where Ann and a Runner are present. Nelly rolls a 5 and a 6, resulting in two successes. This is more than enough to kill the Runner. However, since only missed shots are assigned to survivors, Ann remains unharmed.
Example 3: Samson takes aim with his hand crossbow (range 0-1, 2 dice, accuracy 3+, damage 1) in his own zone. Alongside him are Silas and two Walkers. Samson rolls a 3 and a 1, resulting in a success and a miss. The success kills one of the Walkers, but unfortunately, the missed shot hits Silas. Silas endures a painful wound.
Reloadable Weapons: Shoot, Reload, Repeat!
Hey there! Let’s chat about reloadable weapons in games. You know, those cool weapons that you can use over and over again. Well, most of them, anyway. There are a few exceptions, like the Hand Crossbow and Orcish Crossbow. These bad boys require you to spend an Action to reload them between shots if you want to fire multiple times in the same game round.
Don’t worry, though. It’s easy to keep track of whether your weapon is ready to fire or needs a reload. Just turn the card upside down to remind yourself that it’s empty and needs a reload. And here’s the best part: at the end of each game round, all these reloadable weapons are freely reloaded. So, you’ll always start the next round ready to shoot!
- Oh, one thing to note: if you pass a reloadable weapon to another survivor without reloading it, they still need to reload it before they can use it in the same round. Safety first, right?
- Now, here’s a nifty trick. If you’re equipped with two identical dual weapons that require reloading, you only need to spend one action to reload both of them. Efficiency at its finest!
So, now you’re all caught up on reloadable weapons. Shoot, reload, and repeat! Have a blast!
Survivors like me can use a special type of weapon called Dual reloadable weapons. These weapons allow me to fire at one Zone with one hand, and then quickly switch to fire at another Zone with my other hand. It’s like having two weapons in one!
For example, let’s say I have two Hand Crossbows. On my Turn, I can fire both of them at one Zone. Then, I can reload them both and fire them off again at another Zone. It’s a rapid-fire attack!
After I’ve fired both Hand Crossbows, they become empty. But don’t worry! During the End Phase, both Hand Crossbows automatically reload for free. It’s like magic!
Using Dual reloadable weapons is a thrilling and efficient way to take down enemies. It gives me the advantage of surprise and keeps my opponents on their toes. So the next time you’re in a battle, consider using Dual reloadable weapons like Hand Crossbows. They’re a game-changer!
I have a cool ability called Dragon Fire, which is a Combat spell. When I have this spell in my Hand, I can use it to blast a Zone that I can see, as long as it’s within the spell’s Range. It’s important to note that Magic Actions, like Dragon Fire, follow the same rules as Ranged Actions. So, if you’re looking for a powerful spell that can deal some serious damage, then Dragon Fire is the one for you!
When I have a Dragon Bile card in my Hand, I can get rid of it to create a Dragon Bile pool near me, which can be as close as Range 0 or just one step away at Range 1.
Later, if I have a Torch card, I can discard it from my Hand to light up the Dragon Bile pool. When that happens, a Dragon Fire is created, and it’s a powerful force. It doesn’t matter how strong or well-armored the Actors in the same area are; they will be instantly killed by the Dragon Fire, regardless of their Damage thresholds, Armor values, or remaining Wounds. What’s great about this is that a Dragon Fire doesn’t make any Noise.
After the Dragon Fire has done its job, the Dragon Bile pool disappears. And the best part? The Survivor who threw the Torch and caused the Dragon Fire gets all the experience points.
If you want to be clever and strategic, you can use Dragon Fire to create traps for Zombies. When all the Dragon Bile tokens are already on the board and you need to set up a new one, simply choose one of the existing tokens and move it to the new area.
So here’s the situation: I’m stuck in a world overrun by zombies. Sounds fun, right? Well, not so much. But I’ve got a plan, and it starts with step one.
Step 1: I find myself surrounded by those dreadful zombies. They’re closing in fast, and I need to create some distance. That’s when I grab a trusty bottle of Dragon Bile and toss it right into my own zone. Boom! A Dragon Bile token is set, and those zombies are momentarily distracted.
With the zombies momentarily confused, I seize the opportunity to make my escape. I swiftly move away from the chaos, leaving the zombies behind and breathing a sigh of relief. And just like that, I’m one step closer to survival.
It may sound crazy, throwing a bottle in my own zone, but sometimes you gotta do what it takes to survive. And in a world overrun by zombies, every decision matters. So, onward to step two!
So, here’s what happens next. I make my move and lure all the Zombies to chase after me. They’re in hot pursuit, running and stumbling as I lead them straight into a trap. I take a deep breath and hurl my torch into the dragon bile. Boom! The whole thing goes up in a blaze of glory. And just like that, every single Zombie in the area is wiped out. I can almost hear the sizzling sound as they meet their fiery demise. It feels incredible, like a rush of victory coursing through my veins. And to top it all off, I earn tons of experience points for my heroic act. It’s a sweet reward for a job well done.