The Book of the Dead
A HorrorClix Scenario by pumpkinhead

An inept group of cultists have got hold of the dreaded Book of the Dead and have just finished a ceremony to open the gates of hell. The incantation appears not to have worked and the cultists have started to wander off home but all of a sudden a creepy mist begins to descend on the graveyard and the night is filled with strange guttural moans.

The Book of the Dead is a fun two player scenario that pits a guardian force against an ever-growing force of the shambling undead and vengeful spirits as they spill out of hell. Although the guardians start with the upper hand they must work quickly to avoid being overwhelmed. This is a challenging game for both sides and each move will really count.

The cultists have opened a portal and zombies and spirits come flooding out to consume the living. The best map to play on is the outdoors base set map but you can use any map that is mutually agreeable. Avoid maps where it is impossible to place monsters on the outer two squares.

One player will be playing a Guardian force and other will be playing the Deadites.

Although the number of zombies in play will rise and fall over the course of the game both players always get three actions per turn regardless. All other normal rules apply including minions, plot twists etc.

Place as many victim tokens on the board as you would normally use, 10-12 is recommended.

A time limit of 90 minutes should be plenty of time to complete the game but you may wish to discuss how long you want to play beforehand.

Guardians
The guardians start with 300 points of guardian forces. Their aim is to recover the book of the dead and use it to close the portal the Deadites are using and kill all the Deadites on the map. The Guardians start off one square away from the edge of the board and all guardians must be placed next to another guardian and one square from the edge.

Deadites
The Deadite forces start with 100 points of monsters. These may be any monster with spirit or zombie mentioned on its card. The Deadites simply need to kill all the guardians to win. At the start of each of their suspense phases the Deadites gain an additional 100 points of forces if the portal is open, which can be placed on any square at the edge of the board that they could normally occupy (ie not on top of a monster, blocking terrain etc). These monsters start off at their normal starting strength and on the green side of the card if applicable, even if they have previously been killed and removed. Unspent points cannot be carried over to the next hourglass phase and are lost.

Note that the portal isn’t represented on the game board but its influence surrounds the play area. Only by reading the correct passage in the book can it be closed, it cannot be interacted with in any other way.

If the guardians kill all deadites but fail to close the portal (ie by being killed by the book for example) the game is a draw.

The Book

One of the cultists is carrying the book, but it’s impossible to tell which one has it. When a victim is killed (or in any way changed from being a normal victim, eg. turned into a minion, saved etc) there’s a chance that they will drop the book. Roll 2 D6, if you roll doubles the book is dropped in the square the victim was in prior to death. Place the book token on that square, any monster or victim that moves into that square picks the book up automatically. If a monster slays a victim that was holding the book they pick it up.

If only one victim is left and the book still hasn’t been found then that victim has the book.

A token for the book is included at the end of this document.

The book cannot be dropped, it exerts a strange will over whoever holds it – but it may be passed to another person as detailed below.

Reading the Book

Only guardians and guardian minions may attempt to read the book to dispel the portal.

Deadites and their minions are aware of what the book is but do not have the mental ability to make use of it.

For a guardian to read the book you must use up an action token. An action may also be spent passing the book to an adjacent character. You may continue to cast from the book once the portal is closed if you wish to try to kill off some Deadites but it’s a bit risky.

When reading the book roll D6 and consult the casting chart to see what passage the character holding it has read out.

1. Birmingham Teleportis: As the reader speaks the final words of the incantation they are sucked into the foul world of the deadites where they are torn limb from limb by mindless zombies. This character is dead, remove them and drop the book in the square they occupied. If the portal is currently closed it is now open.
2. Romero Maximus: : The mist thickens and more horrors plunge out of it eager for fresh human flesh. On the deadites next turn they gain an additional 100 points of forces in addition to their normal 100 points. If the portal is currently closed it is now open.
3. Wiki Wiki Ped Yar! The section read is completely inaccurate and doesn’t seem to do anything useful.
4. Tomus Cruze Sofajumpa: The reader is overwhelmed by the weird doodles in the corners of the page and goes insane as per the normal rules. Insane characters won’t drop the book or hand it to anyone else.
5. Hedpoppin Detonatium: As the spell is read the deadites start to explode into mist and bones. Roll D6 for each Deadite in play. On a 5-6 the deadite is killed, remove them and make an appropriate popping sound if you wish.
6. Wereyer Bornin A’Barn: A faint voice mutters “Shut that door” and the portal slams shut. Deadite forces no longer gain 100 points of reinforcements per turn unless the portal opens again.

Tactics:
If you can’t get together enough forces to cover the Deadites (you’ll need at least 300 points worth) then you can throw in other monsters that fit the theme. Ideally though spirits and zombies work best.

Guardian tactics: Most guardians move fairly quickly so you have the advantage of being able to hunt out the book more effectively than the slower Deadites. You’ll also have to get moving quickly because the Deadites will quickly grow in number, anyone left near the edge of the board is likely to find Deadites materialise next to them so try to move your whole team away from the edge quickly. Consider giving the book to the least valuable guardians you have, possibly minions if possible as there is a 1 in 6 chance they’ll be killed outright just by reading the book.

Deadite tactics: The longer you can delay the closing of the portal the better. If by luck you manage to get the book first protect it at all costs, killing a guardian is much less important than making sure you get an extra 100 points worth of monsters every turn. You can teleport your monsters onto any square on the edge that is unoccupied so consider dumping cheap fodder next to guardians to stop them escaping and searching out the book.

Solo Play and Multiplayer:
Multiplayer could see two 150 point guardian forces co-operating or two players sharing the deadites. You could throw in some vampires who just want to kill everyone or a team of slashers or even an alien infestation, whatever appeals.

Solo play against zombies is pretty simple, just move them towards the nearest enemy or victim if the victim is closer.