This was the only game that I could not attend due to Ragnarocktoberfest taking up all of my vacation time. However, my HvZ-playing buddies were able and willing to report on the event. Scotty took pictures of items that were stolen. You can even enjoy reading another person’s report with footnotes! A fitting report from what was sadly the last MAASF game.
Hello everyone!
Three weekends ago, a group from Ohio HVZ players, including myself, trekked out to MAASF’s closing event, Godfall – Dust to Dust. We were there because it was their last event. But, mostly, we heard that it was amazing. My comrades, and I came to a common conclusion that it was indeed balls-to-the wall awesome.
My group came from a HVZ background. They played in various HVZ games across Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. We can now add Massachusetts to this list. What we mean by this war resume is that we went into this game with HVZ expectations, which may have been somewhat a mistake on our end as this game was ultimately a LARP with HVZ mechanics (namely zombies and blasters).
Start (Entrance And Establishment Basecamp)
Attended by Team BrOhio
Our initial briefing took place outside as we were in a large airsoft/paintball arena. At around 1
Although we had the opportunity to fire at some zombies from our truck bed for a moment, few blasters could have effectively stunned them from where we were. This did not stop players from nearly emptying their drum magazines. This was effectively an interactive cut-scene to enter the game. After boots were back on the ground, it was time to fight zombies real-life to reach Freestone, the human hub. This was our first experience with zombie LARP. Normally in HVZ zombies will either stand as a meat shield or promptly disengage from the action. Those last two LARP letters are critical here, as zombies would dramatize their stuns and let go of their bodily control and fall over dead mid charge at us. This was very cool in theory, but in practice there was still a 68 kg meat suit barreling towards our legs that we didnt know how to interact with besides stepping back.
One time one of these meat suits was wearing full plate armor. Fortunately for us at least, he ran into some metal structure, making a loud CLANG on impact2.
On our way to Freestone we only encountered one skirmish. Once we arrived at the town, our first goal was to search for resources in the area and wait for a generator (literally). I heard some hammering and decided to make Freestone a safe area. We may have seen one or two zombies but the area became safe rather quickly. Once we had an established safe zone, we were given various tasks to do such as decoding alien documents and finding colossi. Colossi are posts that, if activated in the right order, stun timers will increase. There was a big emphasis on counter-play in this game, unlike what weve seen to be common in HVZ where zombies only have the goal of tagging and trolling.
First Excursion
Freestone for Humans
Our first venture out of Freestone was to find and destroy the three Colossi. BrOhio decided to scout in a particular direction and familiarize ourselves with the camp while it was still daylight. Along our travels we managed to find a lockbox, so we split up into two groups taking different paths back down. The group I was not a part of went back to Freestone to find people to pick open the lockbox. My group explored and discovered a second colossi. We called Freestone radios (which helped a lot with this game) and called in a moderator who would come and mark the objective as a success mechanically. He came to perform a theatrical act and set off an explosion that made the colossi go „ka-boom!“ It was quite cool3. We took a round-a-bout way back to Freestone, destroying another colossi in the process. Combining that with another human group destroying a third colossi, we managed to double the zombie stun timer, which was a huge boon for us in the early game. The mods / NPCs were surprised that we managed to complete the mission so swiftly.
Along the way back we had our first up close encounter with grenades. To stun one another, grenades could be used by humans and zombies (mostly Zombies).
These worked by creating a loud noise after lighting a five second fuse and underhandedly tossing it at a group of the opposing team. If you are caught within ten feet of it/inside buildings, you will be considered down if you are human or stunned if your zombie status is confirmed. Later, we would learn that the construction of these grenades was very diverse. Some would detonate after five seconds as usual, while others would detonate after three seconds or ten seconds. They got people to scatter and break up formation every time, so I suppose they accomplished their task.
We were also introduced to a Kaiser that had large crab claws. It seemed relatively simple to take down but we learned that some attacks would anger it. Rockets were needed to take it down as with most opponents in the game. This one however was immune to ammunition that hit its claws. In fact, this only served to anger it. Allegedly a group of humans managed to take it down for good, but I remember my group scurrying off and separating ourselves from the main group to avoid it, as this is where we first felt out of our depth in any capacity.
Base Camp And Small Jobs
Night had fallen in Cape Cod (sunset was at 1
While I was snacking and watching from my tower, I heard something in the woods. I shined my flashlight in the woods and searched for the source of the noise. I turned off my light, and continued eating. I heard it again. I began to suspect that someone was trying to sneak into our base. We did this dance for a few minutes until I had managed to shine my light onto a zombie ten yards away, clad in all black, but to their misfortune with reflective strips on the shoes and ankles. On knowing they were found out, they scurried back away into the woods. As I watched, I saw someone taking a swig. This zombie didn’t know or care that this was a life necessity and tried to strike.
I was able to hear enough of the zombie’s cries as I ran through the brush and path, and was able to turn on my light to track him down. My volley of darts, hurled from my stryfe at the zombie, saved my fellow human6. He may not have had time to take a break in the middle of preparing his defense.
Later, we were given the side objective of moving a bucket full (fake radioactive waste) to a valley to stop or upset the zombies. The true motivation is not clear. Tyler and I took point in guarding an NPC and a third human while another two guarded our rear. As versed in HVZ and armed as Tyler and I were, we still felt vaguely powerless in the dark with the knowledge that zombies could be lurking in the bushes all around us. This fear was unnecessary however as we successfully delivered the waste barrel with no resistance.
Second Excursion
Night having fallen, we were given another objective. Never before had our trigger fingers ever been so itchy and cold. We had to go to the same town that we had entered the game through to disrupt a zombie ritual. My BrOhio half wanted to collect the other half, who was left alone in hostile territory in the woods. We formed up in a two man wide column and marched out into the cold dark woods, feeling more afraid than we were prepared for. Along the way we found encountered our first Kaiser (special NPC). Im sure it had a special name that I could look up, but it had a flame thrower7 and that was the important part. The tank on its back was the only thing we knew. So one group needed to distract the Kaiser while a smaller quiet group attempted to shut off the flame thrower. I’ve been there both ways.
We encountered the hot head somewhere along our route (this is what Kaiser called me while trying to get it to speak for itself, so let’s call it that here). Combine that with a zombie rush in the dark, and the human group split pretty immediately. BrOhio was able to regroup once or twice but I was eventually separated from the main human force. It was strange.
It was me in the dark with a few humans rotating in and out depending on our individual opportunities to seek escape from the situation. At first, I was separated from the main group only by the Kaiser. We traded between trying to disable the Kaiser and taunting him. Both of these attempts were unsuccessful. Later, we were told by base that we had to stun the tank with rockets five more times and then try to disable its flame thrower. However, we didnt know it here, so a few people (in game) died trying to disable the air tank. I almost lost my life trying to disable the air tank, but managed to sprint up a hill just in enough time to be rescued by the Kaiser.
After that I was further and further separated from the human force, to the point that a valley had separated us, but we could see the hell that they experienced, and we were left powerless, only able to watch their demise from afar8. I was there alone in the dark woods at night with my friend and her nemesis. Uncertain of where to go or what to do next. We didn’t want to be part of the horde or join them along the way, so we chose a more peaceful approach and followed a dark, empty trail wherever it led us. Fortunately this was to another human. Unfortunately it was also to a zombie who took my first life tag. We then also rendezvoused with a member of BrOhio, Greg, who had been turned. We exchanged pleasantries and determined the location of our comrades. Then we parted ways to avoid having to engage each other again. We made it to the edge of town and provided fire support for small groups of people. I was able to re-connect with BrOhio with which I first set out. After the reunion, we went back to freestone and were reunited with the rest of BrOhio, having lost only two. One was lost to the Horde, and the other to their own digestive tracks.
Finale The Lost BoOhio
They knew that we were trying to extricate them once the mission involving the hothead was under way. I think, although I could be wrong, that the zombie objective had pushed them out of hiding, forcing them either off to the side or towards us. During this engagement, Greg had tripped and fallen, while the others turned and fled. After a flash grenade was thrown, both humans and zombies were unable to recognize the danger.
Greg and seven zombies were all that remained. Greg was armed with a shield and a noodle, and managed to stun four of the zombies in one swipe. Two of the remaining zombies swords struck his shield, with the last zombie connecting with Greg, taking his last life token.
After Greg was eliminated, Andrea and Brandon continued their journey. Brandon was able to make a connection with the flame thrower Kaiser during a zombie engagement. If I recall correctly, this removed one of his life tokens. As mentioned in the previous section, two members of the scouting group were lost at the end. The reunion was bittersweet, but ultimately we were relieved to see our comrades again.
Finale Finale.
Do you need an item to interrupt a zombie ritual
We regrouped, becoming increasingly colder as the night wore on and the Atlantic winds carried cooler air to the battlefield, where we pondered our next move. We all ate more and drank more water to replenish our strength. More information about something would be coming in periodically. Allegedly the flame thrower Kaiser had been vanquished finally and we learned how to take it down when it no longer mattered.
We found an alien artifact. We needed to combine this with the generator in our safe zone, and set it off in town to disrupt a big zombie ritual, which would sever our world from the aliens and humanity could live in peace. This was our last mission. I think out of game we moved the finale to being so early so that we could go home because it was quickly becoming colder. After trying a few different approaches, we finally settled on a route. One person chose to lead the way twenty yards ahead. BrOhio pointed at the bulk of humans, three by three, and the rest of us trailed behind. We were as ready as we could be, as ineffective as we could be, and on we marched to town.
We met another Kaiser, the knight, shortly before, and we had to approach him diplomatically. Our scout did this effortlessly, and we had gained an ally for the final battle. He quickly threw some grenades in the horde when we got to the town and we were ready to fight.
I tried to launch a rocket at the shield zombie in my first charge. I failed, and he tagged me pretty effortlessly. I quickly got rid of my gear and went off to play zombie like you do. The other humans marched to their final holding location, while I luckily met up with Greg. The zombie summoning ritual summoned two Kaisers to aid the zombies. We participated in it. Then it was an all-out assault on the human formation for fourteen grueling explosive chaotic minutes.
This finale probably had everything I loved and hated about this experience. Explosives were a great thing. The fight between zombies and humans was much more equal than I thought. Sometimes the zombies had the upper hand. This was something I hadn’t felt since I was in my freshman year of high school, when I first started playing HVZ. I thought it was a great bit of immersion, and we all seemed to have fun with it. I did not, however, appreciate blanks being fired at my face. I dont know if I inherently signed up for that happening through participation in the event, but I know that it was an overall unpleasant experience. When it happened the first time I just dipped behind a plywood wall and processed things for a minute, remembered that this was part of what I signed up for, and carried on charging at the humans. The second time I had a shield. I guess this offered some placebo of protection when someone fired shotgun blanks into the horde13. I didnt know exactly how to respond to this happening, and I had no interest in acting things out, as I didnt understand the hierarchy of power-ups at play here, so I walked off, and carried on only approaching players with normal foam armaments. I had already attempted to charge someone only for him to say I have plot armor and then gut shot me point blank with a HIRicane.
It was chaos.
Despite the fact that human forces were decreasing from 40 to 20, there was still a human victory. This victory was marked by the human goal literally going up in flames with explosions of purple. It was quite cinematic. To me, mechanical human victory and plot zombie win seem like a good way to end the game. Given another five minutes and the humans would have been wiped. Only Andrea had made it out alive in the end, and maybe Scotty. The rest of BrOhio had fallen defending humanity to their last dart, and their last cold breath.
Closing Thoughts.
Our group enjoyed the experience wholeheartedly. For those of us who have primarily played HVZ, it was quite a culture shock. We would have been more prepared if we had stayed true to HVZ elements in this LARP. Over-acting sometimes got in the way. Zombies falling in front of me made it seem like they were not stunned. This was something I usually see in HVZ, unless it is PSU or New Paltz, where you can stop in place. I loved feeling like I wasnt a Call of Duty action hero unlike normal HVZ where only a truly overwhelming horde could stop me. Hard and fast rules were often ignored in favor of narrative, simplicity of procedure or lack of understanding. This is not a critique of the event, just a point of momentary frustration. We had a lot of fun, and weve done nothing but rave to our friends and each other about the time we had there, and we hope that more of these events happen in the future.
Side Tangents And Explanations
- Her group ran straight into the woods, lost the trail quickly and came out just in time to spot the truck around the corner. After circling the edge of town, the zombies quickly cut us off and found us again.
- Tyler’s favourite moment on the trip was the truck transport and theatrics
- Nobody was hurt.
Armor can protect the body. This was still Dannys favorite moment.
