BELLONA Zombie Defense

 PREPPER FANTASY

A Solo Zombie Horde Defense Mode Optional Ruleset for BELLONA

I've uploaded the PDF here for those who want to save it and refer to it off the website.

You will need the full, current version of the BELLONA core book here in order to run this mode.

The end is extremely nigh. This optional rule set takes place in a world circling the proverbial drain, overrun with the undead. The decay is just setting in, supplies are scarce, but maybe, just maybe, you can be the one to set the world right again.

Ah, who are we kidding? You’ll probably die of dehydration or starve to death on a mattress stuffed with knives and rifles. You might have enough bullets to really go out with a bang before the zombies get you, but it’s a long shot. Are you ready to make your stand against the undead hordes? Prepper Fantasy has just one goal: Defend your stash and stay alive.

That’s two goals, but you know what I’m getting at.

The entire campaign is played on one map. This is your PROPERTY MAP. When setting up your property map, put a house (or a cabin, or what you will - as long as it has at least one door and two windows) in the center of the map. You can also put a smaller shed, garage, etc. if you want, and up to 10 inches of short fence, barricades, etc. (terrain that gives cover) on the map. You’ll probably want to put a car or a truck on the map as well, if you have one. Basically, make your property map your own, just don’t overload it too much with mazes of terrain. Give the zombies a chance to taste your brains!

You start the campaign with 10 CANS OF GAS that you can barter away on Basic Supplies (see the Equipment For Purchase table) or hang onto for various purposes between battles. If I could recommend anything, it’s that you diversify your holdings. Buy some food and some water (you’re gonna need it) but hang on to a few cans of gas in case you end up with a gloomy day or a powerful need down the line. You can also buy terrain pieces in the form of Two-By-Fours. Use these generic resources to seal up holes torn in terrain by zombies, or combine them to build larger terrain pieces, like new houses and additional cars. They’re all just terrain anyway! Who cares if it’s all just made of 2x4s?

You may also start with three rolls on the Advanced Supplies table. This is totally optional. You can forego these rolls (see Ways To Make It Suck More later in the document) either completely or in part if you feel like they make the game too easy for you. (They made it too easy for me in my playthroughs.) If it’s your first time playing this mode, you should probably take at least one roll or give yourself a fruit tree, honestly.

Keep track of your resources (food, water, gasoline, etc.) on a suitably ragged piece of scrap paper and keep it near your property map. This is your STASH and it is represented by a 1-2” terrain piece that looks like a crate (or several crates.) Your STASH can be placed anywhere you want on the map, but I recommend that you keep it in a place that is easy to defend, as there are baddies keen to try to steal from it.

Also, this game mode is not meant to endorse or parody anyone’s lifestyle. It’s about having fun embracing a movie trope and trying to survive in a tabletop wargame version of the kind of world we see in classic zombie movies and TV shows. Blast some zeds, don’t think too much about it all and just have a good time!

 YOUR PREPPER:

 You always knew the Zeds were coming. Well, the Zeds or the gubbamint. That's why you moved way out here to the middle of nowhere in rural Jefferson County. That's why you stockpiled some food, water and gasoline alongside a motherlode of hand-loaded ammunition. When night falls (and no one catches it) you’re ready, even if no one else is. The closest town to you is Citrus Flats and (for now) it’s been completely abandoned.

 Your Prepper is your avatar in this campaign. If they die, you lose and the campaign ends. If you happen to run across a second trustworthy Prepper between invasions, you can continue the campaign with them as your new primary. Maybe they’ll have better luck surviving the apocalypse.

 You start with your Glock (1 Hand): +1 Ranged, your VidTube University tactical training (+1 Acrobatic) your health and wellbeing (+1 Advantage) and your tacti-cool all weather gear (+1 Tough) to keep you safe. You can replace your Glock if you find a better gun (sell it for gas or keep it in your STASH) but your other modifiers mostly stick with you and take up no space. You only keep Advantage as long as your Prepper has had their fill of water and food. If they start to go without, they lose their health and wellbeing until that changes. (See PAY UPKEEP under the EYE OF THE STORM heading.) For the purposes of this optional rule set, Advantage adds +1 to all of your Prepper’s rolls during an invasion battle, including initiative rolls. It does not, however, add +1 when checking to see if your Prepper has died.

 An additional change specific to this campaign is Sweep. For the purposes of this optional rule set, Sweep now caps out at +5 instead of +3 and each instance counts as an extra attack that can be made against the same target OR an adjacent target. Spray and pray!

 Equipment comes in three main types: Handed, Body items and Belt items. Everything else must be kept on the Property Map (like PROJECTS) or in your STASH.

 Handed items take one or two hands to operate. The modifiers granted by handed items only apply when your Prepper is actively using them with their hands.

 Body items are so bulky that your Prepper may only carry and use one at a time.

 Belt items are light and easy to deploy. As such, a Prepper may carry and use up to five Belt items. Only one copy of each “Limit 1” item may be carried.

 You can holster handed items (like guns) by placing them in your belt inventory. The amount of belt space taken up by a handed item is equal to the number of hands required to operate the item. Items that are simply “handed” (like the Fire Axe) only take up 1 belt space. When your Prepper activates (at the beginning of their turn, before they move or attack, and only once,) they may holster or unholster up to two hands worth of weapon(s) from their belt for free. Holstered weapons add no modifiers to your Prepper because they’re just being stored, not actively used.

 Stash items are kept in your STASH. You can have any number of things in your stash, but can only use them between battles or if you are in contact with your stash. Yes, that means that you can refill Belt, Body and Handed items from your stash if you are in contact with it.

 Except for certain special weapons (like the Flame Thrower and SAW,) there is no need to track ammunition. As a Prepper, if there’s one thing you’ll never run out of, it’s ammunition.

 

 

BASIC SUPPLIES:

 All Basic Supplies in this section cost 1 can of gas and can only be bought between invasions. Upgrades to One Use Items cost 1 additional can of gas (See core rules.)

#	Equipment For Purchase
1	Two-By-Fours (Stash): Place a 1” x 1” (or equivalent) terrain piece anywhere on the board between missions (one use item)
2	Med Kit (Belt): See Core Rules, Level 3.1: One Use Items. Using a med kit also removes any negative modifiers inflicted by enemy units.
3	Ablative Armor (Body): See Core Rules, Level 3.1: One Use Items.
4	Energy Drink (Belt): Treat as an Adrenaline Boost (Core Rules, Level 3.1)
5	Food (Stash): 1 Unit of Food
6	Water (Stash): 1 Unit of Water

INVASIONS:

 Home invasions, or incursions onto your property map, come in three exciting flavors, Zombies, Wild Dogs and Raiders. Each type of enemy has its own behaviors, goals and rewards when you defeat them. When an invasion happens, you may place your Prepper anywhere on the map after the enemy deploys, but before the battle starts.

 The first invasion will always consist of Zombies but every invasion afterward will be randomly determined. Check each section below for the specifics about each enemy type.

 

#	INVASION!
1-3	Zombies
4-5	Wild dogs
6	Raiders

ZOMBIES (1-3):

 Zombies always have +1 Slow, +1 Venom, +1 Quickdraw and +1 Plated, though they may decay and pick up additional modifiers as time goes on. Since Lethargic and Advantage are not compatible, if your Prepper gets damaged by a zombie, they only lose Advantage. If they are starving or dehydrated and don't have Advantage, they suffer the effects of Lethargic as normal. Lethargic doesn’t stack, so if they already have Lethargic, it doesn’t get any worse.

 Zombies always move in a straight line toward the nearest living unit, whether that be your Prepper, your doggo, a cow, etc. They will climb over any terrain that gets in their way, (traveling up and over it as if it were flat) and they will crawl through windows and doors. If they are unable to reach a living unit, they will gain Crushing for the rest of their turn and immediately knock a hole in the closest piece of blocking terrain (destroying it or putting a hole in it) so that they can use the last inch of their move to pass through it. If they knock a hole in the wall of your house (or similar structure) then place a token to indicate the breach. You can seal it up with a set of Two-By-Fours after the invasion is over.

 When they deploy, roll a die for every edge of the map. If the result is odd, then 1 zombie deploys. If the result is even, then 2 zombies deploy. Add +1 zombie to the total number on each edge for every two zombie invasions you have survived.

WILD DOGS (4-5):

 Wild dogs will move toward your STASH, but will veer off to attack anything living that gets within 6” of them. They won’t knock holes in walls but will enter through doors or climb over low terrain if they have no other choice. If a Wild Dog touches base with your STASH, it will steal 1-2 units of food and then immediately disappear off the board.

 When they deploy, they deploy in packs. Roll a die and assign it to a randomly-determined map edge. For every Wild Dog invasion you have survived, add +1 to the number of dogs in the pack.

 All wild dogs are 2 point units. When determining what kind of wild dogs you will be facing, roll on the table below. All dogs in a single pack are the same breed. 

 

#	Dog Breeds (2 pts units)
1	Greyhound: +1 Fast
2	Staffie: +1 Tough
3	Chihuahua: +1 Zeal
4	Mastiff: +1 Plated
5	Malinois: +1 Snare
6	Husky: +1 Inspiring

RAIDERS (6):

 Raiders always move toward your PROJECTS or STASH (whichever is closest to them,) but try to stay in cover the whole way, attacking anything living that crosses within their attack range. Their first priority is to grab what they can and go. They won’t knock holes in walls but will enter through doors or climb over fences if they have no other choice. If one of them touches base with one of your PROJECTS, they will destroy it and then immediately disappear off the board. If they make contact with your STASH, they will steal 1d6 units of Gasoline, Food or Water (in that order) and then immediately disappear off the board.

 When they deploy: the first time you face a raider invasion, only 1 appears. The raider will appear on a randomly-determined map edge. For every raider invasion you have defeated, add +1 to the number of raiders that deploy. 

 They come in the following variations. Roll a die on the table for each raider that deploys to determine what kind of a raider it is: 

#	RAIDER TYPES
1-2	Stalkers: +2 Ranged, +1 Slow, +1 Phasing
3-4	Brutes: +2 Tough, +1 Unlucky, +1 Piercing
5-6	Wraiths: +2 Fast, +1 Fragile, +1 Raging

SCAVENGED REWARDS:

 If you survive any invasion or kill at least half of the invading enemies before falling in battle or bugging out like a coward, roll once on the Advanced Supplies table to see what you've found in the aftermath. In addition, each enemy type may yield additional valuable salvage if you kill enough of them. (Note that enemies that disappear after stealing resources are not counted as killed.) You still receive the following rewards if you bug out and run away:

Zombies:

• If you kill 8 zombies in a single invasion, roll 1d6 and take that many cans of Gasoline.
• If you kill 14 zombies in a single invasion, also take an additional roll on the Advanced Supplies table.
• If you kill 20 zombies in a single invasion, roll 1d6 and take that many additional cans of Gasoline.
• If you kill 26 zombies in a single invasion, take a third roll on the Advanced Supplies table.

Wild Dogs:

• If you kill 6 wild dogs in a single invasion, roll 1d6 and take that many cans of Gasoline.
• If you kill 12 wild dogs in a single invasion, also take an additional roll on the Advanced Supplies table.
• If you kill 18 wild dogs in a single invasion, roll 1d6 and take that many additional cans of Gasoline.
• If you kill 24 wild dogs in a single invasion, take a third roll on the Advanced Supplies table.

Raiders:

• For every raider that you kill, roll a die on the Basic Supplies table to determine what you find on their corpse.

ADVANCED SUPPLIES:

 Advanced Supplies cannot be bought, only found. If you find something that you don’t need, there’s always someone willing to buy it (between invasions, of course) for 1 can of gasoline. Descriptions of the items follow after the table.

 

ADVANCED SUPPLIES:

 

#	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Fruit Tree	SAW Ammo	Smoker	CB Radio	Good Whiskey	Moonshine
2	SAW	Fire Axe	Mud Boots	Shotgun	Carbine	Protein Powder
3	Grenade Box	Composter	Tesla Coil	Glock	Hi-Power Rounds	Pain Pills
4	Landmine Box	Rebar Armor	Big Flashlight	Canned Meat	Scoped Thirty Ought	Basic Supplies
5	Herbal Shrub	Aftermarket Gun Mods	Flame Thrower	Canned Water	Basic Supplies	Can of Gas
6	Bio-Diesel Still	Box of Cigars	Reloading Bench	Basic Supplies	Can of Gas	Survivor

Aftermarket Gun Mods (Belt): Grants +1 Raging.

 Basic Supplies: Roll on the BASIC SUPPLIES table and take the item indicated.

 Big Flashlight (1 Hand): Your Prepper is unaffected by the attack penalties for invasions at night (Gloomy Weather,) but any other friendly living units on your team still suffer those penalties unless they have flashlights or you burn a can of gas.

 Bio-Diesel Still (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Once per campaign turn, you may convert 1 unit of food into two cans of gasoline. You may build as many bio-diesel stills as you can fit on your property map.

 Box of Cigars (Belt): Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. +1 Rugged.

 Can of Gas (Stash): You found a single can of gasoline! Yay!

 Canned Meat (Stash): A box of cans, some expired. Gain +1d6 units of food.

 Canned Water (Stash): A box of cans, some opened. Gain +1d6 units of water.

 Carbine (2 Hands): grants +2 Ranged and +2 Sweep.

 CB Radio (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. At the beginning of each campaign turn, you may roll a die. On a six, a Survivor comes to your Property Map. (Treat as if you rolled the Survivor result on the Advanced Supplies table.)

 Composter (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Fruit trees within 3” now produce Food on a roll of 5 or 6.

 Fire Axe (Handed): If used with 1 hand, the Fire Axe gives +1 Piercing and +1 Counter. With 2 hands, it also gives +1 Sweep and +1 Sentinel. These modifiers only affect melee attacks.

 Flame Thrower (2 Handed): grants +3 Sweep, +1 Ranged, +1 Piercing, +1 Dismantle. Comes with a free can of gasoline and uses one can of gasoline every time you use it to fight off an invasion.

 Fruit Tree (Project): Plant anywhere on the property map between invasions. At the end of every invasion (including the next one) roll a die. On a six, the Fruit tree generates +1 Food. You may plant as many fruit trees as you can fit on your property map. Once a Fruit tree is planted, it cannot be moved.

 Good Whiskey (Belt - Limit 1): Your Prepper gains +1 Regeneration legendary modifier.

 Glock (1 Handed): grants +1 Ranged just like the starting weapon. If you use 2 Glocks, instead of gaining an additional +1 Ranged for the second Glock, you gain +1 Sweep.

 Grenade Box: Contains 1 die roll worth of basic grenades (Belt Items) See Core Rules, Level 3.1: One Use Items.

 Herbal Shrub (Project): Variety is the spice of life! Plant anywhere on the property map between invasions. Each herbal shrub on your Property Map grants one of your living units +1 Zeal in invasions. You may plant as many herbal shrubs as you can fit on your property map. Once an herbal shrub is planted, it cannot be moved.

 Hi-Power Rounds (Belt - Limit 1): Adds +1 Piercing to any Glock, Shotgun or Carbine.

 Landmine Box: Contains 1 die roll worth of Landmines (Belt Items.) Landmines: Place a 1" marker adjacent to your Prepper (or anywhere on the Property Map if you are placing it between invasions.) Any unit that moves across this marker suffers an attack that automatically hits and has +1 Piercing. Afterward, discard the landmine.

 Moonshine (Stash): Use in place of a unit of water during upkeep to give a unit +1 Phasing for the next invasion.

 Mud Boots (Belt - Limit 1): Your Prepper gains +1 Anchor. Their speed is unaffected during invasions in rainy weather.

 Pain Pills (Belt - Limit 1): Your Prepper gains +1 Unkillable (Campaign-Specific Modifiers)

 Protein Powder (Stash): Use in place of a unit of food during upkeep to give a unit +1 Berserker for the next invasion.

 Rain Barrel (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Whenever you gain a unit of water from rainy weather, you gain +1 unit more.

 Rebar Armor (Body): Grants +1 Tough, +1 Plated, +1 Ablative and +1 Resistant.

 Reloading Bench (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Once per campaign turn, you may convert 1 Can of Gas into a unit of SAW ammo, a grenade or a landmine.

 SAW (2 Hands): grants +3 Sweep, +2 Ranged, +2 Piercing, +1 Tracking, and +1 Unwieldy. At the end of every Invasion in which it was used, roll a die. On a 1 or 2, it is out of ammunition. You still get to keep the gun, but it’s only an attractive paperweight until you get some more bullets for it.

 SAW Ammo (Belt): Bullets for a SAW. Hang on to them if you don’t have one. Your luck may change soon!

 Scoped Thirty-Ought (2 Hands): grants +3 Ranged, +2 Piercing and +1 Railcannon.

 Shotgun (2 Hands): grants +2 Piercing, +1 Ranged and +1 Sweep.

 Smoker (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Once per campaign turn, you may convert one Cow into six food immediately, or any other friendly living unit into 2 units of food.

 Tesla Coil (Project): Place anywhere on the property map between invasions. Collects enough free energy to run your window unit (no gasoline cost) during Oppressive Heat weather.

 Survivor: Someone remains alive. You can shoot them now and be done with it, or give them a chance and roll on the table below:

#	SURVIVOR
1	Traitor: They rob you blind in the middle of the night, taking 1-2 units each of Gas, Food and Water (roll individually)
2	Traveler: You spend a wonderful evening together. In the morning, they are gone. Lose 1 unit of Food, but gain 1 unit of gasoline.
3	Scavenger: They barter for their life. Gain 1 can of gasoline and a roll on the Advanced Supplies table. If you get this result again immediately (but only immediately,) you only get the 1 can of gas. Subsequent survivors still allow for a roll on the Advanced Supplies table.
4	Doggo: The survivor bribes you with a trusty hound that will help you defend your Property Map from future Invasions. Roll on the Dog Breeds table to determine what kind of dog it is. You control the Doggo.
5	Cow: The survivor leads you to a lone cow heavy with milk. Place a Cow anywhere on your Property Map. She produces 1 unit of Food between invasions, but wanders 3” in a random direction every turn during invasions. Don’t let the zombies get her!
6	Prepper: Even in the apocalypse, you might find a friend. You can turn away this Prepper or keep them on your Property Map. They start as a basic starting Prepper and require 1 unit of Food and 1 unit of Water between battles just like your main Prepper does. Deprive them of these and they will leave immediately.

DEATH AND COWARDICE:

 If you fall in battle, roll as normal (in the core rules) to see if your Prepper dies or manages to escape. You can also run away (bug out) from the invasion by exiting on any map edge. If you took down half or more (rounded up) of the invading enemies before you fell in battle (or ran away from it) you still get to make a roll on the Advanced Supplies table as normal. You also gain the usual rewards for the number of enemies slain during the invasion.

 If you fall in battle or run away like a little whiny coward, Zombies will simply disperse into the wilderness (no further effect.) Wild dogs and raiders continue to take their turns, moving unchecked until they satisfy their requirements to disappear. Yes, this means that if raiders show up on your property map and you bug out, they will be able to trash your place and rob you blind if there are enough of them.

 If your Prepper dies and you have no other Preppers to replace them, it’s time to start over with a new character on a new property map! For the sake of drama and a warped sense of continuity, if your Prepper had a really sweet piece of equipment from the Advanced Supplies table, you can totally give that to your new character. The fighting spirit of humanity lives on!

EYE OF THE STORM:

 After the dust settles and you’ve pried your hard-earned rewards from the cold, dead hands of the. . . well, of the dead, it’s time to have breakfast and do some chores around the ol’ farmhouse.

1. Pay Upkeep: Every Prepper needs to eat! Remove 1 Food and 1 Water from your STASH to stay healthy. If you ever run out of one of these resources and cannot pay upkeep, your Prepper loses the Advantage modifier because of their dampened spirits. If you have no food and no water, you gain Unlucky modifier as well. Your Advantage will be restored (and Unlucky removed) as soon as you take in food and water again.
   
   
2. Patch Up: Spend 1 Food or 1 Water to completely heal any living unit on your Property Map that was injured (but that is still alive) or that was inflicted with a negative modifier. It only takes 1 unit of either to fully restore a unit. Units that have zero health when an invasion starts (but that did not die) are placed in contact with the STASH, but cannot move and remain rooted to that spot until they are restored.
   
   
3. Observe the Weather Stone: If the stone is wet, it's raining. If the stone is dry, it is not raining. If the stone is gone, it's time to skedaddle. Roll on the WEATHER table below.

      4.  Prepare for a Home Invasion: Get yer guns and get ready! You may move any number of simple terrain pieces (barricades, fences, etc.) and living units (doggos, cows, etc.) around on your Property Map for optimum strategic purposes. Big items like houses and fruit trees cannot be moved. Buy any Basic Supplies for 1 can of gas each, and sell anything you don’t need (even living units, like doggos!) for 1 can of gas each. Afterward, roll on the INVASION! Table earlier in this rule set to find out who is coming to dinner.

#	WEATHER
1	Gloomy: It’s a dark day and a darker night. The upcoming invasion comes at night. You may spend 1 can of gas to keep the lights on during the invasion. Otherwise, your ranged attacks are made at -2 to attack rolls.
2	Rain: Regain any water you lost this turn to upkeep and healing, then gain +1 Water. The upcoming invasion is muddy and slippery. Your Preppers move at half speed (round up.)
3	Oppressive Heat: lay around sweating or run the window unit and accept the outrageous power bill? Spend 1 can of gas or lose Advantage for the upcoming invasion, even if you have paid all of your upkeep. If you haven’t paid your upkeep, in addition to losing Advantage, you gain Lethargic.
4	Clear Skies: Refugees come to your house begging for food. If you give them 3 units, they give you a gift (1 roll on the Advanced Supplies table.) If you feed the refugees any amount of food at all, raiders will bring 1 less unit the next time they invade. If you do not share any food, they will bring 1 additional unit.
5	Stinking Fog: The dead are restless and are getting more horrific every day. Roll on the Decay Table below, then apply that modifier to all future zombie invasions.
6	Eerie Calm: You sit in your house, waiting for an attack that never comes. There is no invasion this turn. Roll on the Advanced Supplies table to see what you do find for the brief bit of time you spend scavenging, then proceed immediately to upkeep.

 

#	DECAY TABLE
1	+1 Tough (On later 1s: remove Slow, then no further effect.
2	+1 Counter (On later 2s: +1 Sweep, then no further effect.
3	+1 Raging (On later 3s: +1 Piercing, then no further effect.
4	+1 Bloat (On later 4s: +1 Ablative, then no further effect.
5	+1 Camouflage (On later 5s: +1 Phasing, then no further effect.
6	+1 Weaver (On later 6s: +1 Resistant, then no further effect.

 

 

EDGE CASES:

 My general policy towards edge cases in games like this is that the game you’re playing is on your table, so as long as all players agree (and if you’re playing solo, that’s an easy proposition) then you can do what you want.

 Sometimes that means breaking the game and having a bit of fun short term at the expense of a steady experience of growing fun over the long term. A manifestation of this might be leaning too far into realism and doing the smartest thing you can do in a zombie apocalypse: build a tower and pull up the ladder.

 If sitting in a tower and taking pot-shots at wild dogs, zombies and brutish raiders is your idea of fun, then hey, go for it, but for me, part of the fun comes from risk. If you’re like me, avoid towers and hunting blinds. Even if enemies can climb into them, it’s still a bottleneck that they have to overcome which gives your Prepper a significant advantage.

 Likewise, if your rolls are consistently terrible and you end up facing super-powered zombies with a glock and box of cigars (it happened to me on one of my playtest campaigns) feel free to give yourself a re-roll or two between invasions to keep things more moderate and less “nightmare mode.”

 

 

“ONE TRUCK” MODE:

 In the "On To The Wilderness" supplement to the BELLONA Dungeon Crawler optional rule set, I mention that one of the half-finished game concepts I was working on (kind of a proto-BELLONA rule set) was called "One Sword In The Wilderness." I also had a number of offshoots planned, with "One Piston in the Wasteland" and "One Truck in the Aftermath" being post-apocalyptic variations of the One Sword system. While I may still further explore the high-octane "One Piston" ideas down the line, this "One Truck Mode" is very much inspired by the "Aftermath" concepts I was playing around with back in 2020.

 In this mode, the map changes, but certain terrain pieces remain the same. When you start, it’s just you and your truck on a long, cross-country journey. You can still build “Projects” but they are limited to the bed space you have in your vehicle (and eventually, other vehicles that you “build” or “acquire.” Every vehicle must have a driver (another Prepper) or you can give yourself more project space by trading up to a semi, a land train, etc. or whatever feels best for you. Your stash must always be in a vehicle, but your Prepper can still deploy anywhere on the map. Additionally, whenever you find another Prepper, they bring their own vehicle to the caravan. Use your imagination and build things out however you want. Whatever sounds fun will probably be fun.

                 Each invasion plays out the same, being more of a siege on your truck (or convoy) during your journey toward the coast, or toward the last remnants of civilization, or whatever might be at the end of the longest road to nowhere. If you need inspiration for how to arrange the battlefield, roll on the table below:

#	WHERE THE ACTION HAPPENS	HOW DENSE IT IS
1	A farmer’s field	Wide and open
2	An urban hellscape	A handful of pieces of small terrain
3	A lonely highway	Tents and remnants of civilization
4	An unpaved wilderness road	A pileup or traffic jam
5	A crumbling suburb	Houses and buildings
6	The remnants of a gov’t field base	Dense and claustrophobic

WAYS TO MAKE IT SUCK MORE:

 Is the apocalypse not brutal enough for you? Maybe you’ve had some good rolls or maybe you’re just a tactical genius, but if you’re looking to make things suck more, try the following:

• At the beginning of a game, use a smaller, more cramped board (12” or less to a side.) This will give your survivor less room to move around and avoid zombies. Battles on those little LOKE battle map books are intense.
• As stated earlier, forgo the rolls for Advanced Supplies at the beginning.
• At any time, just randomly give the zombies a decay modifier.
• Add an extra raider or three extra wild dogs to the next encounter.
• Add 1 can of gas to the regular upkeep cost. This reflects the cost to run your generator, your truck, etc.
• Play “old school” mode (the way I played when testing the basic framework of the game) and spawn a number of zombies equal to the number on the die rolled (with +1 for every zombie invasion you have survived) instead of using the even/odd deploy method. Prepare to be overwhelmed!
• In the “old school” phase of development, I also kept all of the contents of my STASH on the map, represented by tokens, but this gets unwieldy. It also opens up new strategies, allowing you to make enticing traps for raiders and dogs if you have landmines or carefully engineered kill-boxes.

NEVER THE FINAL WORD: 

 BELLONA is a growing system with a lot of potential still waiting to be expanded and explored. Watch out for additional content to keep your battles interesting. I have a lot of ideas that I can expand upon. If there’s something in particular you’d like to see, please leave a comment or drop me a line over on the itch page: https://ellie-valkyrie.itch.io/bellona