Baptism of Hellfire

Introductory Scenario for DooM: The Boardgame

Summary GENERAL NOTES

Playtime: 30-90min When setting up, assume player order is always
Map size: 15x22 tiles, 45x66cm approx. Red, Green, Blue – thus, Green invaders only
appear in a two- or three-player game, and Blue
Tile Used only in three-player.
compass rose 1
All Marines start with only 2 clips of ammo, to
cap / end piece 3 illustrate that they are not prepared for this
X intersection 1 scenario. The do have their sidearms (Pistol
T intersection 3 tokens) with them, however.
2x3 hallway 2
L hallway 3 As the map is quite small and there are no
Watchful invaders, a Marine with both Scout and
large L hallway 1 Recon will not work in this scenario. Either ask the
4x4 room 1 player to draw again, or change one of the two
5x5 room 1 cards into "Handgun Specialist" – they can fire two
pistols at once, provided they have two pistols
door/broken door 6
chits. If you do not like either of these two
security door (blue) 1 modifications, try to use the NPCs to slow the
1x2 obstacle 2 Marine down – this is explained in the NPC
duct 1 section.
1x1 obstacle/duct 2
I also use the following House Rules:
1x1 obstacle/teleporter (red) 2
1x1 obstacle/teleporter (dark blue) 1 • Marines do not automatically have access
duct/barrel 4 to the Pistol – they need a Pistol token.
duct/clue 3 • To make them a little more useful, all
key (blue) 1 Pistols are Aimed weapons, like the Aim
Invader Ability. Marines can use this to
medpack 4 either increase their range, damage, or
bullets (ammo) 2 lower the chances of using up ammo.
nightstick (custom token) 1
pistol (custom token) 1 For a single-Marine game, the Invader starts with
three cards and draws only one every turn. For
two Marines, start with zero cards and draw two
This is meant to be a quick introductory scenario. It per turn. For three, start with two cards and draw
keeps things simple in terms of map, weapons, two per turn. This will mean that your choices are
powerups, and foes, which should help new limited at the beginning of the game, but should
players get a taste for the game without feeling increase as play goes on. I recommend not
overwhelmed. spawning until the Marines exit Area 1.
The scenario takes place just as the Mars Incident
begins, and uses only the weaker monsters: Trites, To keep things from getting boring for the Marines
Imps, and Zombies. To enhance the feeling of early on, pay extra attention to describing their
dread the Invader player attacks mainly through his surroundings, playing up the sights, the sounds,
Spawn cards, which should mean that the first few and the feel of Mars Base under attack. Make them
rounds pass without combat, letting the Marines jump – think of Acts I of Alien or Aliens. Make Mars
get used to moving and interacting with their Base feel menacing...
environment.
Once you get some spawn cards, try to introduce
The Invader player (you) should read over the only one type of monster to the Marines at a time,
whole scenario before running it, so there won't be to help them figure out their tactical options.
any surprises for him or her. There should be Later on, of course, feel free to throw everything
plenty for the Marines, though! you've got at them! If you get a spawn card with

v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko

a monster that is not part of this scenario, you may
spawn either one Zombie, two Imps, or three
Trites.
The Zombies are the most dangerous invaders in
the scenario – keep them "back" until you've killed
some NPCs, then you can add atmosphere by
having those bodies rise up. For extra effect,
maybe have Trites "hatch" out of those downed
Zombies later – think John Carpenter's "The
Thing."
When spawning Zombies, feel free to mention
sliding door noises from the direction of Areas 2 or
4, to suggest that these are UAC employees
leaving their (locked down) quarters. When
spawning Imps or Trites, I like to allude to scuttling
noises, flashes of greenish light, smells of brim-
stone, and/or noises like fabric tearing.
Describe the monsters to the Marines in detail;
never use the name of the monster (“Trite”, “Imp”,
“Zombie”) – the unfamiliar is frightening! If the
Marines use these names for their opponents (or,
even better, make up their own), fair enough. But
as the Invader you do not want to make your
Forces of Unspeakable Evil too mundane!
NPCs
The scenario has three Non-Player Characters that
the Invader player controls after the Marines finish
their turn, but before he draws or discards Invader
cards. Once the Marines have LOS to the NPC
tokens, you can replace them with a figurine that
will not be used in the scenario, e.g. an Archvile.
When fragged, mark their bodies with encounter
tokens. Use these if the Marines want to search
the bodies, or if you want to spawn zombies (but
again, keep track of these zombies so the Marines
can search the bodies later.)
All the NPCs can either Ready to move 4 and
Dodge, or Sprint 8. They have 2 armour and 1
health. They do not count towards the Marines'
LOS.
Move the NPCs as you see fit, but remember these
are civilians who are scared and will act
accordingly. Use them to inject some tension and
horror into the game – why not have one Sprint off
screaming down an unlit corridor at some
appropriate moment, forcing the Marines to make a
quick decision: split up the group, or risk another
frag?
Try and direct your attacks at the NPCs: this gives
newbie Marines more of a chance, and heightens
the horror atmosphere ("and then there were
none!") Don't forget to describe the NPCs demise
in full, gory detail.
However, if you have "the Flash" in your group (a
Marine with Scout and Recon), switch tactics and
attack the Marines instead of the NPCs. The NPCs
usually move only 4 squares, and with no keycard
"the Flash" is going nowhere!
In general, try to make the Marines feel like they
need to be everywhere at once – attack from all
sides, kill off NPCs when they are looking the other
way, make them feel under pressure! But, you
already knew that! ;-)
MISSION BRIEFING
Give the below (copies in Handouts section) to the
Marines while they are setting up, or summarise it
for them:
What a way to start your rotation on Mars
Base! You've been here less than twenty
minutes, and already you have busted up a
million-dollar Shuttlecraft, pissed off your
Sergeant, and probably earned twelve weeks
of gruelling, punishing shit-detail, probably
repainting every square inch of the outside
super-structure of the base... Great! Your luck,
as ever, is holding.
You step into the elevator after your kit-bags,
unceremoniously dumped on the floor, and
punch in SUBLEVEL 23 – one of the many
subterranean levels of the underground hive of
humanity that is UAC Research and
Colonisation Station Delta-Three-Zero, better
known to Space Marine grunts throughout the
Solar System as Mars Base. Time to report-in
to the CO of the base, and get your quarters
and rota assignments.
The doors slide shut and you feel the slight
lurch in your stomach that accompanies the
hissing of the elevator's descent. You try to
ignore the cheerful "dings" as the readout
starts counting down: GROUND, SUBLEVEL
1, 2, 3... God, this is going to be another
joyless, grinding assignment: heaving about a
50-pound spacesuit all day, and – when the
Sun goes down and it gets too cold to work –
crawling around like moles below the surface.
Great!
You can only hope nothing else is going to go
wrong for you...
v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko
Once the Marines are set up and you have found
all the tiles needed for this scenario, lay out the
elevator cabin (the START area), adjust the below
to compensate for a lone Marine, and read out:
You are in the lift, descending below the
Martian surface, when the car lurches violently
sideways and the sound of a thundering
explosion fills the confined space. You look at
each other with wide-eyed surprise, bracing
yourselves against the walls of the tiny cubicle
which you realise is no longer moving. The
lights flicker, and the readout jumps crazily
between SUBLEVEL 12 and 13. Before
anyone has a chance to say anything, the lift
car plunges down again with the shriek of
tortured metal, and you have but seconds to
brace yourselves before the bone-crunching
impact.
INVADER PLAYER: Roll (1xRed) for each Marine
– they suffer that much damage. Roll for all the
players first, then use your imagination to describe
all of their injuries. Perhaps some are caught by
surprise as the lift suddenly stops, while for others
their Basic Training serves them in good stead.
The elevator car has stopped at least, and is
mostly intact. The level readout is shattered
and dark, and in fact the cabin is now only
dimly lit by the flickering neon strip light,
dangling above your heads by it's wiring. The
whole lift has definitely seen better days, and
you hope that the cost of the repairs won't be
taken out of your paycheques. Oh yes, your
luck is definitely holding up...
Scenario Goals
The aim of this scenario is to figure out where
you've ended up, and find a way to report in to
the Base Commander on SUBLEVEL 23. You
may need to obtain extra security clearance,
as you probably do not have the correct
access codes for this level of the base.
You each gain one "kill point" for dispatching
an invader, and 5 for every UAC employee that
you rescue. You can trade these points for
equipment or powerups at the end of the
scenario. I score one frag when any UAC
personnel, including Space Marines, are killed.
Also, if I go through my whole deck of cards, I
score a free frag as your CO looses patience.
If at any point I score 6 frags, I win.
Now, game on!
AREA 1
The lift doors no longer work – leaning in, you
manage to force them open just enough to
step out into a slightly surreal scene. In front of
you is a comfortable lounge: two sofas pushed
up against the walls, soft lighting coming from
various lamps and uplighters. At the far end of
the room, two men in UAC overalls are looking
over their shoulders at you in surprise – it
looks like they were in the middle of counting
up change for the vending machine behind
them.
The two encounter tokens are UAC lab techs,
Archie and Gerard. If any Marine has LOS of
either NPC role-play their meeting.
They know very little about what is happening,
partly because nothing has happened yet. They
live on SL31 and work all over the base. This is
SL28, primarily a crew-quarters level. To get to
SL23, they recommend using one of the three
elevators on this level.
After the level is locked down and their access
codes no longer work, they might suggest looking
for "Reg", the security guard they saw earlier.
If the Marines step on any of the squares
marked X, read out the following and lay out Area
2 or 4, whichever they have LOS to:
Suddenly, the walls and ceiling shudder with
the force of another large explosion some-
where in the Base. Dust and debris shower
you as you instinctively duck down, and the
lights dim, then die.
Within seconds the backups kick in, casting a
pale, cold, flickering light over everything. One
of the UAC techs coughs up dust, then
mutters: "What the hell was that?"
If the Marines try the Blue door:
Above the door is a lit “emergency exit” sign.
You palm the access panel, but the readout
flashes “ACCESS DENIED: SECURITY
PERSONNEL ONLY”. Looks like you'll need to
find someone with security clearance to open
this door.
v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko
 AREA 2
The lights in this section of the corridor have
completely failed, and bits of wiring and rubble
hang from the ceiling. Dust is all over the floor,
crunching underfoot. Some light is filtering
from the West door's viewplate, and you can
see more light at the end of the corridor, but
everything else is in shadow.
If tried, both doors are locked down and won't open
– both control panels say "Security Lockdown
Alpha." Behind the East door is the second lift,
behind the West a corridor to crew quarters G40-
G59.
Because of the darkness, Marines can't trace
LOS further than 4 squares in this area, although
Invaders are not affected. That is also why Area 3
is not placed until the marines reach the edge of
this area.
AREA 3
The room is a smaller version of the lounge
where you met the two UAC techs – the
entrance to another lift, sofas, potted plants,
and a vending machine. Standing by the lift
doors, working the control panel, is a heavyset
UAC security guard.
The guard is Constable Reginald "Regs" Balder. If
a Marine moves into LOS of Reg role-play the
encounter.
He is attempting to work the lift, trying to figure out
what has happened. He will suggest that in an
"Alpha Lockdown" situation, he may have
clearance to use the emergency stairs in the north-
west corner.
Reg has the Blue key-card, a Pistol, two Clips, and
a Nightstick (Melee, 1xRed, Deadly), but he won't
relinquish them until his life is threatened and the
Marines save him. Even then, he will not give up all
his weapons at once, but will prefer to hang on to
either the nightstick, or the pistol and one ammo.
The third and final lift is inoperable, same as the
others. "Security Lockdown Alpha," baby!
AREA 4
The lights in this section of the corridor have
completely failed, and bits of wiring and rubble
hang from the ceiling. Some light is falling from
the glass viewplates in the two doors, and you
can see more light at the far end, but
everything else is in shadow.
Behind the two doors are corridors that lead to
crew quarters, G01-G20 and G21-G39. But, if tried,
they won't open and the control panels say
"Security Lockdown Alpha."
Because of the darkness, Marines can't trace
LOS further than 4 squares in this area, although
Invaders are not affected. That is also why Area 3
is not placed until the marines reach the edge of
this area.
AREA 5
The door slides open, and you are looking
beyond it into a dark corridor. Hulking shapes
lurch unsteadily towards you, arms
outstretched, growling.
Marines can't trace LOS further than 4 squares
in this area, although Invaders are not affected.
If all the Marines exit off the map:
You burst out onto the stairwell, the groans
and growls of the last of the invaders are cut
off as the door clicks shut. Sublevel 23 and the
Security station should be five floors up – you
better get moving!
Marines get one killpoint for each invader they
dispatched, and 5 for every NPC that made it off
the board with them. The Invader gets one
automatic frag for every live NPC that is still on the
board.
TO BE CONTINUED...
v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko
 Player Handouts
Cut out the following and hand to your players
when appropriate:
What a way to start your rotation on Mars
Base! You've been here less than twenty
minutes, and already you have busted up a
million-dollar Shuttlecraft, pissed off your
Sergeant, and probably earned twelve weeks
of gruelling, punishing shit-detail, probably
repainting every square inch of the outside
super-structure of the base... Great! Your luck,
as ever, is holding.
You step into the elevator after your kit-bags,
unceremoniously dumped on the floor, and
punch in SUBLEVEL 23 – one of the many
subterranean levels of the underground hive of
humanity that is UAC Research and
Colonisation Station Delta-Three-Zero, better
known to Space Marine grunts throughout the
Solar System as Mars Base. Time to report-in
to the CO of the base, and get your quarters
and rota assignments.
The doors slide shut and you feel the slight
lurch in your stomach that accompanies the
hissing of the elevator's descent. You try to
ignore the cheerful "dings" as the readout
starts counting down: GROUND, SUBLEVEL
1, 2, 3... God, this is going to be another
joyless, grinding assignment: heaving about a
50-pound spacesuit all day, and – when the
Sun goes down and it gets too cold to work –
crawling around like moles below the surface.
Great!
You can only hope nothing else is going to go
wrong for you...
What a way to start your rotation on Mars
Base! You've been here less than twenty
minutes, and already you have busted up a
million-dollar Shuttlecraft, pissed off your
Sergeant, and probably earned twelve weeks
of gruelling, punishing shit-detail, probably
repainting every square inch of the outside
super-structure of the base... Great! Your luck,
as ever, is holding.
You step into the elevator after your kit-bags,
unceremoniously dumped on the floor, and
punch in SUBLEVEL 23 – one of the many
subterranean levels of the underground hive of
humanity that is UAC Research and
Colonisation Station Delta-Three-Zero, better
known to Space Marine grunts throughout the
Solar System as Mars Base. Time to report-in
to the CO of the base, and get your quarters
and rota assignments.
The doors slide shut and you feel the slight
lurch in your stomach that accompanies the
hissing of the elevator's descent. You try to
ignore the cheerful "dings" as the readout
starts counting down: GROUND, SUBLEVEL
1, 2, 3... God, this is going to be another
joyless, grinding assignment: heaving about a
50-pound spacesuit all day, and – when the
Sun goes down and it gets too cold to work –
crawling around like moles below the surface.
Great!
You can only hope nothing else is going to go
wrong for you...
v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko
 v1.7 © 2007, Dima "nemchenk" Nemchenko
Made with Tile System v2.0 running under WINE on OpenSuSE Linux 10. Edited using OpenOffice 2.0