Earlier today, we highlighted the Zombicide: Wulfsburg expansion for the forthcoming Zombicide: Black Plague (coming to Kickstarter in June) from Guillotine Games and CoolMiniOrNot. Now, TGN is getting an exclusive look at the core Survivors of Black Plague. Every day this week (and Saturday), we’ll highlight one Survivor from the game. When battling hordes of medieval Zombies and Necromancers, the world needs heroes like no others. In Black Plague, players can take control of a mighty warrior, an elf archer, a wise mage, a blacksmith dwarf, a tavern maid, or a nun out for holy vengeance. Today we’ll take a look at Clovis, our mighty warrior, and the game’s new dashboards.
In Black Plague, players utilize a deluxe plastic dashboard, a first for the Zombicide series. The dashboard holds a Survivor’s ID Card, two hand slot items, a body slot item, and five backpack slot items. It also has built in trackers for Survivor experience/Danger Level, Skill level, and Wounds. These new dashboards seem like they’ll go a long way towards making sense out of what might normally be organized chaos when it comes to tracking stats and maintaining inventory cards. I always appreciate a tidy table, so these are a truly welcome addition.
Of course, those dashboards won’t be anything without Black Plague’s core group of Survivors. As in previous versions of Zombicide, players will have a diverse selection of Survivors to pick from. Gone are the modern day gals and guys turned Zombie slayers. Now there are mighty warriors using steel, magic, and skill to best the Necromancers and their hordes of undead. Let’s meet out first Survivor.
Clovis is a former paladin who discovered the world is not simply black and white, but also shades of grey. Once the undead arrived, he left behind his world of servitude to a lord, instead bringing hope to all of civilization. Looking at Clovis’ ID Card, we see he is indeed the Survivor built for battle as he starts with +1 die to his Melee attacks at the Blue Danger Level (0-6 experience). You’ll also notice he has the capability of wielding a Shield in his body slot instead of armor. Most Survivors must equip a Shield to one of their hand slots, leaving only one hand for a weapon or magic, but Clovis is free to use a Shield (for its base armor stat) while clutching two weapons, which will be useful when combined with one of his Orange Danger Level Skills.
Once he hits the Yellow Danger Level (7-18 experience points), an additional Action is acquired. (The Yellow Level Skill is the same for all Survivors.) Kill more, and he’ll eventually hit the Orange Danger Level (19-42 experience) where players choose between two new Skills: +1 free Melee Action or “Swordmaster.” The free Melee Action essentially gives him the opportunity to attack up to five times a turn, brutal. Swordmaster lets him treat any melee weapon as if it had the Dual icon. This means Clovis can swing two identical weapons for one action, making him a medieval flurry of steel and viscera. Swordmaster is a great Skill to take if you don’t plan on using a Shield (unless it’s equipped in your body slot). Who really wants to hide behind something when there are Zombies just begging for an axe to the head?
With Clovis’ capability to kill, it won’t be long before he hits the Red Danger Level (43 experience). Once he red lines, players select one of three Skills: +1 free Combat Action, +1 to dice roll: Combat, or “Hit & Run.” The free Combat Action is nice, adding to his already deadly capabilities. Unlike the free Melee Action, this one can be used for Melee, Ranged or Spell attacks. Of course, if you’d like to error on the side of success, you could always grab the +1 to Combat dice rolls to get that extra boost just in case. Then you have Hit & Run. With this fun little Skill, any successful Magic, Melee or Ranged Action can be followed up with a free Move Action, getting you out of danger or getting Zombies in to danger. And I think we all know Clovis won’t just run away.
Personally, Clovis seems like the guy for me. I like the idea of just wading into battle, slicing and chopping, as I clear a path for my friends. Come back tomorrow to check out our next Survivor, Anny!
And check out Guillotine Games’ Facebook for more information as they get closer to Black Plague‘s Kickstarter.