One thing that will remain “the same” is how players will first get a chance to get the game. There’s a new Kickstarter planned for launch next month. As usual, there will be the base game, plus an expansion add-on, and plenty of exclusive heroes and other fun goodies to be had. Though the colors have been changed (to protect the innocent?). All of the figures will be in grey plastic, though there will be more detail added to the figures.
The tiles are also getting a once-over. Medieval towns weren’t built along the straight streets that modern cities are laid out on. They have twists and turns and narrow alleys and all sorts of fun places for zombies to hide. The artwork is once more done by Nicolas Fructus who really went to town (no pun intended) in making the streets feel alive, even if they’re crawling with the dead. And almost forgot to mention Vaults, which are secret areas that link spots that could be way across the board. Sort of like those hidden passages from Clue, but… you know… with zombies.
In the Middle Ages, people had to struggle to survive anyway, so it bred a much tougher sort of person. As such, the heroes in the game got a little beefing up, too. To start with, they all now have 3 hit points as opposed to 2. Also, while unless you’re in SCA, you’re not generally walking around in armor of some kind, it was much more commonplace back then (ok, notreally but we’re still talking about a game here), and as such, heroes have armor saves against zombie attacks. Resilient, indeed! Much better for wading into a group of zombies and just hacking away! Tallyho!
Granted, if the heroes get a boost, if the game is still going to be a good challenge, then the villains need to get a little somethin’-somethin’ as well. That primarily comes in the form of the Necromancers. These evil sorcerers spawn like regular zombies through spawn points, but once on the board, they, themselves act as spawn points! Zombies! Zombies everywhere! And all the brains to… drink? Anyway, these necromancers are looking to head off the board through another spawn point. But their exit doesn’t mean the exit of their zombies. Those spawn points become cumulative. Hordes of the walking dead everywhere!
Equipment also changed quite a bit. Obviously, there weren’t guns. So those are gone. There are, however, crossbows, swords, axes, and now spells. Ranged attacks, while less regular in the deck, don’t hit Heroes first, so that’s nice. Also, melee weapons can all try and open doors (the axe does it automatically). So there’s a lot less chance for noise cropping up in certain situations.
Another issue with weaponry is that there’s no molotov cocktails and fewer weapons that do multiple damage with a single hit. So… yeah… Abominations… They’re going to be much more of a thing now. The closest analog to the molotov is Dragon Bile and a Torch. Just make sure the zombies are still where you want them when you light up, otherwise… well… just make sure they’re there, ok?
So yeah, while Zombicide: Black Plague is certainly still Zombicide, there’s plenty to bring veterans back to the table with a brand new experience. New players that might not have really liked the “modern day” zombie theme may really like the change in venue and century. Of course, check back here often for any updates we might come across and we’ll certainly let you know when the Kickstarter goes live.
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It certainly looks like it'll be fun. I'll be interested to see what extra characters they come up with for this campaign
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