Zone Raiders: Deadly Skirmishes of the Post Singularity

For months we’ve been continuing work on Zone Raiders, an upcoming 28mm sci-fi campaign skirmish game featuring a high degree of player customization, tactical impact and cinematic rules. We had previously introduced the core goals of our model-agnostic game, and now are diving into a preview of some art, story and factions of Zone Raiders. 

Background

Zone Raiders takes place in a distant future far beyond anything we would recognize as our world. Descendants of humanity, the Post-Humans, had created a great achievement as a crown to their civilization: They built a vast mega-structure, a great layered sphere a billion kilometers across and filled with automated intelligent systems. This artificial world was called Matroshka, and it was destined to last for eternity.

This would not come to pass. For reasons unknown, the Posthumans vanished, leaving behind a world out of control. For millennia, Matroshka descended into chaos as it’s systems went rampant, destroying vast swathes of once functional landscape and building vast aimless constructs of twisting metal. Pockets of ‘old-style’ humans, sapient robots and mutant beings called morlocks held out in what few areas of safety exist. Some survivor cultures have built rustic villages from scraps and materials like their hunter-gatherer ancestors, while others reclaimed existing arcology towers to create populous but resource-starved cities.

Between them all is the Dark Zone, a dangerous area filled with ancient malfunctioning machinery of unknown function, bio-domes and twisting towers of scrap. The tech resources people need to survive can only be found in the Dark Zone. Only the bravest survivors called Zone Raiders venture into the Dark Zone to scavenge and explore.

A diversity of terrain and areas exists through the layers of Matroshka. Some are complex and giant machines, in which a man is an insignificant insect. There are vast magma forges, or nanite-fabricated simulacra of forests and entire deserts made of rusted powder. Each presents a deadly new challenge for Raiders, as well as unique opportunities.

In addition to rival scavengers, deadly machines hunt unwelcome Raiders throughout the Zone. These murderous machines seem to protect the Data-Nodes, access points to a fragmentary information realm at the heart of Matroshka. To them, the existence of life nothing more than a pest to be exterminated from the system.

Despite the dangers, Powerful hyper-tech artifacts, vital resources and forbidden data-lore are all coveted prizes to be won in the Matroshka. Only the bravery of Zone Raiders can secure what their people need to survive.

Raider Teams

Each player builds their own team of between 6-14 Zone Raiders to take on this dangerous world. Each of the seven initial factions have multiple Raider classes, unique gear and distinct Doctrines to choose from. Our innovative Doctrines system lets a team upgrade it’s strategies and techniques over the course of a campaign. Even if a disastrous battle leaves your team without it’s veterans, established doctrines can keep even the most hard-pressed teams competitive in battle. Those individual Raiders that survive can gain unique skills or improve their characteristics to become a more capable survivor. Some Raiders may even find powerful artifacts in the field, taking advantage of these lost technologies to give them an edge in future encounters.

Additionally, each campaign battle’s prizes are up to you to decide. As Team Leader, you’ll need to weigh scavenging resources to seeking rare technologies or biological lore, or simply knocking down a rival a notch. If an enemy team has secured an artifact, you may even choose to launch a lightning raid to take it for yourself!

Because the game is model agnostic, the theme of each faction is up to you as well. Each faction is designed to have many potential interpretations and can fit the story you and your playgroup experience through the narrative campaign. With a bit of player imagination and creative modelling, no two teams will be alike!

Want to Know More?

We aim to release Zone Raiders later this year. This has been a great passion project for our team who are deep enthusiasts for miniatures skirmish gaming, and we hope to share to you the game we’ve always wanted to play!

If you’d like to know more, check out the Zone Raiders website at www.zoneraiders.com, or follow our Facebook at www.facebook.com/zoneraiders

(Special Thanks for miniatures by RN Estudio, Scotia Grendel, Mantic Games and Blackhat UK)