PetroCorp has bio-engineered a parasite that rapidly transforms a host into an armored bug-like creature with incredible strength. Although savage and deadly, these creatures have proved impossible to control, making theim useless as weapons. PetroCorp has bio-engineered a parasite that rapidly transforms a host into an armored bug-like creature with incredible strength. Although savage and deadly, these creatures have proved impossible to control, making theim useless as weapons. Worse than useless, in fact: Although the parasite was engineered to be non-contagious, an unfortunate lab tech found that it could spread through physical contact. After a very exciting day involving a lot of shooting and damage, it was decided that the project was out of control. The PetroCorp Directors decided to terminate the project, and those working on it. One scientist managed to escape, with a bullet in her chest, and went to ground with some ganger friends from her youth. They really did try to help, but she bled out in their cellar. But not before she infected them all. The game begins as The Infected emerge from their crib. Scenario - One player control the forces from PetroCorp searching for anyone infected with the parasite, and eliminating them. They believe they have the infected contained in a small area of the zone and are moving in for the final sweep of the area. One player controls a group of infected bugs plus another group of uninfected civilians in the area. The goal of the infected creatures is to eliminate or infect everyone in the area or escape if the area cannot be cleared. A possible third player could control a group of UCS (Bodyguard Mercenaries) that are trying to protect one of the civilians and get them out of the area, even if that person becomes infected. Their client should start the game as a civilian and not an infected creature. Set Up - The play area should be small, 3x3 foot (90x90 cm) and be covered with buildings and rubble providing plenty of places to hide. The PetroCorp units begin with one squad on each edge of the board. The infected creatures and civilians start in the center of the board and are represented by tokens (see special rules). The UCS start near the civilian they are trying to protect. Squads - PetroCorp has four 5-man squads. The Infected start with five creatures. There are 5 Civilians UCS has one 5-man squad,. PetroCorp Forces Blue Squad Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Veteran Flak Jacket Hvy Pistol, Sword Comm Unit 38 Sub-Leader Average Flak Jacket Mach. Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 29 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Assault Rifle, Dagger Comm Unit 33 Red Squad Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Veteran Flak Jacket Hvy Pistol, Sword Comm Unit 38 Sub-Leader Average Flak Jacket Mach. Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 29 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket AutoShotgun, Dagger Comm Unit 25 Green Squad Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Veteran Flak Jacket Hvy Pistol, Sword Comm Unit 38 Sub-Leader Average Flak Jacket Mach. Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 29 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Auto Cannon, Dagger Comm Unit 49 Purple Squad Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Veteran Flak Jacket Hvy Pistol, Sword Comm Unit 38 Sub-Leader Average Flak Jacket Mach. Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 29 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Mach Pistol, Dagger Comm Unit 26 Trooper Average Flak Jacket Machine Gun, Dagger Comm Unit 49 UCS Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Elite Ablative Autopistol None 38 Agent Veteran Ablative Shotgun None 19 Agent Average Ablative Mach Pistol None 19 Agent Average Ablative Med Pistol Smoke Gren 16 Agent Average Ablative Shotgun None 13 Civilians Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Joe Average Primitive None None 10 Jane Average Primitive None None 10 Spot Average Primitive None None 10 Fred Average Primitive None None 10 Fran Average Primitive None None 10 The Infected Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Victory Conditions - PetroCorp wins if all infected creatures are killed with none escaping. If just one creature escapes the infection will spread and the chance increases that PetroCorp's role in the affair will be discovered. The Infected win if they control the area at the end of the game: All remaining humans must be either infected or dead. The infected can also win a partial victory if one of them escapes, however if one escapes then there is no chance of a full victory even if the area only contains infected units. Optional - Have a player control the civilians but change the civilians into a gang that is trying to keep the area as their turf. The only way they can win is to end the game by being the only ones alive in the area. (Note: that if The Infected are all killed the PetroCorp units will leave the area, so it might be better for the gang to work with the Corporation in order to win) If this game is played then the number of infected creatures should be increased to 10, and there would be no need to use the tokens to represent the gang members or The Infected. Special Rules Unknown units - At the start of the game The Infected and civilians are represented by tokens. When any troopers from either PetroCorp or UCS have LOS to one of the tokens it is replaced by the human or creature it represents. If one of The Infected attacks a civilian then both figures are placed on the board. Infected Units - The Infected are covered with an exoskeleton providing them with a -2 armor bonus. Due to their strength they have a toughness of 9+. The Infected cannot use equipment or weapons, but since they communicate using sonar they don’t have to worry about unit coherency. Their claws give them a +1d6 bonus for close combat attacks. The Infected are able to jump 5 inches (12 cm) and make a melee attack for 3 AP’s. When determining the distance the creature jumps the player must count both vertical and horizontal distance. An infected creature wishes to jump over a wall and land beside a trooper to make a melee attack. The creature starts 1 inch away from a wall that is 2 inches high, the trooper is 3 inches away from the wall. This would mean the creature would have to jump forward 1 inch, up 2 inches, and forward another 3 inches for a total of 6 inches which is 1 inch more than they are able to jump so the creature could not jump and land beside the trooper without expending 1 AP first to move forward the one inch before the leap. Infection Rules - When an infected creature attacks an uninfected creature there is a chance of infection. This is determined by the wound roll. If the score is equal to or greater than the target’s toughness the target is killed. If the score is 1 to 3 points lower than target’s toughness the target is infected. If the score is 4 points lower than the target’s toughness the target routs without being infected. When a unit is infected immediately replace it with an infected creature: It cannot be activated till the next turn. All units that become infected during the game have a Green quality. Other Game Ideas - PetroCorp discovers a way to control the creatures by surgically placing a control chip in the brains of the creatures, and decides to test them in the zone. The creatures have a human leader. The corp also sends in a human squad as backup incase things go wrong. Their target is a local gang that has grown to an uncomfortable size recently. Problems begin when the gang members become infected and are not under control of the leader. If a controlled creature routs, it's control chip burns out and control is lost. One of The Infected has escaped and the parasite is spreading. During a totally unrelated game roll 1d6 for each figure in the game, any result of 5 or 6 results in that figure being replaced by an infected creature. This works best if the game has an umpire to control the infected creatures. The check should be made in the middle of the game or at some point when the arrival of the creatures would cause the most havoc.

The Infected Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Bug Veteran Natural Claws Sonar 25 Civilians Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Joe Average Primitive None None 10 Jane Average Primitive None None 10 Spot Average Primitive None None 10 Fred Average Primitive None None 10 Fran Average Primitive None None 10 UCS Rank Quality Armor Weapons Equipment Points Leader Elite Ablative Autopistol None 38 Agent Veteran Ablative Shotgun None 19 Agent Average Ablative Mach Pistol None 19 Agent Average Ablative Med Pistol Smoke Gren 16 Agent Average Ablative Shotgun None 13 Victory Conditions - PetroCorp wins if all infected creatures are killed with none escaping. If just one creature escapes the infection will spread and the chance increases that PetroCorp's role in the affair will be discovered. The Infected win if they control the area at the end of the game: All remaining humans must be either infected or dead. The infected can also win a partial victory if one of them escapes, however if one escapes then there is no chance of a full victory even if the area only contains infected units. Optional - Have a player control the civilians but change the civilians into a gang that is trying to keep the area as their turf. The only way they can win is to end the game by being the only ones alive in the area. (Note: that if The Infected are all killed the PetroCorp units will leave the area, so it might be better for the gang to work with the Corporation in order to win) If this game is played then the number of infected creatures should be increased to 10, and there would be no need to use the tokens to represent the gang members or The Infected. Special Rules Unknown units - At the start of the game The Infected and civilians are represented by tokens. When any troopers from either PetroCorp or UCS have LOS to one of the tokens it is replaced by the human or creature it represents. If one of The Infected attacks a civilian then both figures are placed on the board. Infected Units - The Infected are covered with an exoskeleton providing them with a -2 armor bonus. Due to their strength they have a toughness of 9+. The Infected cannot use equipment or weapons, but since they communicate using sonar they don’t have to worry about unit coherency. Their claws give them a +1d6 bonus for close combat attacks. The Infected are able to jump 5 inches (12 cm) and make a melee attack for 3 AP’s. When determining the distance the creature jumps the player must count both vertical and horizontal distance. An infected creature wishes to jump over a wall and land beside a trooper to make a melee attack. The creature starts 1 inch away from a wall that is 2 inches high, the trooper is 3 inches away from the wall. This would mean the creature would have to jump forward 1 inch, up 2 inches, and forward another 3 inches for a total of 6 inches which is 1 inch more than they are able to jump so the creature could not jump and land beside the trooper without expending 1 AP first to move forward the one inch before the leap. Infection Rules - When an infected creature attacks an uninfected creature there is a chance of infection. This is determined by the wound roll. If the score is equal to or greater than the target’s toughness the target is killed. If the score is 1 to 3 points lower than target’s toughness the target is infected. If the score is 4 points lower than the target’s toughness the target routs without being infected. When a unit is infected immediately replace it with an infected creature: It cannot be activated till the next turn. All units that become infected during the game have a Green quality. Other Game Ideas - PetroCorp discovers a way to control the creatures by surgically placing a control chip in the brains of the creatures, and decides to test them in the zone. The creatures have a human leader. The corp also sends in a human squad as backup incase things go wrong. Their target is a local gang that has grown to an uncomfortable size recently. Problems begin when the gang members become infected and are not under control of the leader. If a controlled creature routs, it's control chip burns out and control is lost. One of The Infected has escaped and the parasite is spreading. During a totally unrelated game roll 1d6 for each figure in the game, any result of 5 or 6 results in that figure being replaced by an infected creature. This works best if the game has an umpire to control the infected creatures. The check should be made in the middle of the game or at some point when the arrival of the creatures would cause the most havoc. After watching the movie “The Cave”, I wondered what would happen next. I think it works well in the Combat Zone.