Awakening of the Leyaks: Their First Mission

 Welcome to the first and perhaps only blog post in this new blog I'm starting called NK: New Kowloon 2096.

This may turn out to be a one post wonder blog, being my account of trying out and running the game Exploit Zero: Cyberpunk Espionage and Mayhem, a solo and co-op miniatures skirmish game.

This post will be a combination of actual play report and review. You might call this a battle report, however I am not familiar with them and will just be treating this as a recap/actual play like in an rpg. The review is just going to be a vibes review, a feeling of the game rather than an in depth delve into the mechanics.

The Year is 2096 in alternative reality, and something has awakened after a long, long dormancy with far too little dreams between falling asleep and awakening. The Something are a group of Leyaks, Demon-Witches from Balinese mythology, who've awoken and materialized out of Niskala, or the Unseen Realm to a world they barely recognize.

They awaken to New Kowloon cira 2096 in the Lower zone of the city where smog, grit, and the shadows of the Upper zone high above block out the light of the sun. Lower New Kowloon is the Dark Town where most of the population live and survive in the darkness created by Upper Kowloon, the city in the clouds. 

The Leyaks find a world and a city full of squalor, corporate lust, and cruelty where the ones deemed unworthy are thrust down to let the chosen few take their place in the glorious daylight in the clouds. Although, all of that is out of their concerns, for the Leyaks discover a world devoid of magic and the supernatural. 

The Niskala, the Unseen Realm, which they have originated from is far away and the membrane between the Seen and Unseen is thick and hard. This makes the Leyaks particularly vulnerable and weak, yet simultaneously gives them an advantage, for no one else has magic or even believes in its existence.

The Leyaks and their allies, for a Chaos Android (from 1980's Rogue Trader era 40k) and a Wobbuffet (from Pokemon) have also manifested with them, quickly decided that it would be best if they can awaken their Master, Rangda, the Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft in Balinese mythology and tear down the barrier between the Seen and Unseen to build their power.

(Sidenote: Just accept the Chaos Android and Wobbuffet being there because I had the minis and I wanted to use them.)

The Goddess, Rangda, they wish to summon!

They swiftly figure out that the magical instruments to awaken their Goddess from sleeping are under private collection by a corporate aristocrat and said magical instruments are being transported from to an A to B location. Through their magic, they create a terrible accident that destroys the convoy and vehicle carrying the instruments. Then they move in to acquire them.

How I see this unseen character of the corporate aristocrat.

This is where the game begins.

I pulled out the terrain and a terrain board on the table and placed four glass stones out on the table to represent the magical instruments that need to be stolen, err, I mean recovered.

As well, I use an optional rule and put two Hostile Security mins on the table, hereto referred to as H-Sec from now on. H-Sec are the enemy combatants that will be coming and fighting the Leyaks, they represent roaming streetgangs, police, corporate security etc. These original H-Sec figures represent two street gang members who were at the site of the vehicle crash and are checking things out.

I place my Leyak team on one side of the board. The goal is to get in, get the magical instruments, and get out through the agent exit zone, aka the other side of the board.

The team consists of:

Chaos Deathtron, the Chaos Android as the Rohin, the ranged special agent.

A Krasue (Thai name for a floating head with organs trailing out of its neck, a common Southeast Asian folklore monster, we are calling it by its Thai name)  and her Leyak acolyte as the Splicer and the drone respectively. Basically a Splicer is a hacker, replace hacking with magic in the flavor fluff and you've got this Krasue and her acolyte.

Pocong, the revenant swathed in Islamic funerary cloth wraps as the Shiver. The Shiver is a psychic type agent. In Indonesian folklore, the stuff that I read anyway, the Pocong doesn't attack you directly, however its presence is an ill omen and it can curse you and drive you ill if it is around you. The Pocong attacks through atmosphere and aura, making it the perfect actor to play the Shiver.

A note on the Shiver when reading about it in the base game, it gives me SCP feelings, when SCPs are good as a disclaimer. I don't know why, something about heavily armoured special forces and something low-key supernatural about the Shiver gives that SCP fiction flavour.

And finally, last, but certainly not least, is Wobbuffet as the Sawbones. The Sawbones is the medic agent because Wobbuffet read How To Fix Up Robot and Supernatural Monsters For Dummies quickly before this mission, he's a fast reader and learner.

On the first turn the team hit the ground running, the Krasue and the Leyak Acolyte retrieve one magical instrument that fell far away from the crash site in a dash. Then they and Chaos Deathtron shoot down the two H-Sec gang members, (no witnesses).

The team begins a sprint to the crash site that is right in the middle of a destroyed, ruined building.

A police robot walker trooper and police officer immediately enter in as the first deployed H-Sec. Shots are fired and killing magic is conjured however none are killed in the firefight.

I do not remember the sprint to the magical instruments very well, other than Wobbuffet tries to parkour over a police barrier, fails, and falls flat on his tail, which might be the actual creature of Wobbuffet and in keeping with the wacky try-hard loser character of the show. 

Although the Krasue fails to float over another police railing and has to move around said barrier, so maybe the team is just bad at parkour.

More H-Sec deploys in the area, these being hired gang members. Apparently, the corporate aristocrat has been informed that there is some pretty weird shit on the police cams and there are some incredibly crazy yìng gǔtou: 硬骨头 (from contextchinese website, It is NK after all. I am not a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker, please forgive language misuse) stealing his antiques. Acting on this information, the corporate aristocrat has paid the local gangs in the area to liquidate the anomaly agents seen on the crash-cams.   

More firefighting ensues. Wobbuffet takes most of the shots fired as he is big and strange and the nearest target. This works in favour somewhat for the Leyak agents with Wobbuffet's counterattack Karmic Retribution ability setting the H-Sec fire back on themselves.

However, there is just too much of a barrage of bullets and other projectiles and Wobbuffet can't deflect them all, he is hit multiple times and is in incredibly bad condition.

Wobbuffet scrapes by into the ruins of the destroyed building while the Pocong gets the next instrument of magic and Chaos Deathtron gets the third. 

The Krasue tries conjuring some killing magical spells, but it doesn't work. The firefight is just too intense. 

Time is running out and it is turning out to be a race to the finish-line for the Leyaks.

More H-Sec deploys. This time the yìng gǔtou: 硬骨头 of the gangs are coming and with them, the corporate aristocrat has authorized the use of a Death-walker 9000 to take out these bizarre freakos stealing historic artifacts from his private collection (if they get away with them, he won't have the complete set to brag about at parties!).

The Death-Walker 9000!

Wobbuffet runs, but doesn't get far because of his wounds. He attempts to apply first aid to himself to try and heal a wound - - - and he fails! Damnit! Wobbuffet, you had one job!

I don't know who throws the bolter, perhaps it is the Death-walker 9000, but I think that is wrong and I am remembering it that way for poetic flair. I think it was actually one of the gang members. Whoever fires, they hit Chaos Deathtron, the robot on the Leyaks' side, with an immense explosion on impact. 

However, thanks to the foul and warped plasteel armour the Chaos Deathtron has been forged out of, it is merely a bonk on Chaos Deathtron's metal skeleton.

The Krasue and her Leyak acolyte swerve through the broken building and grab the final fourth instrument of magic. 

They have them all! Now they just need to get away.

Time is running out, they only have two turns left before armies of gang members and corporate soldiers race in to fucking eat them!

Pocong gets the fuck out of dodge and into the exit zone scott free.

The Leyaks - -- they are lucky that not more of H-Sec doesn't deploy near their escape zone.

Wobbuffet tries to make it out, however he is too wounded and crawls along.

Unlike these apparent corporate overlords and moral-less street gangs, the Leyaks have a feeling of solidarity and the Krasue and her Leyak acolyte run back to protect Wobbuffet. It seems that the monsters of witchcraft are not going to abandon their own.

Although, this may be a failed gesture, and a failed gesture that will cost the mission at that, for Wobbuffet is able to scamper to the escape zone and the Krasue and Her Leyak acolyte have just placed themselves in the middle of H-Secs' gun fire while holding two of the magical instruments they need.

Meanwhile Chaos Deathtron hauls metal and makes the machine pistons in his legs perform all that they were built for escaping to the exit zone.

However, he doesn't extract himself, he stays back for the Krasue and her Leyak acolyte, although mostly for the magical instruments that they need, rather than out of feelings of comradeship. Chaos Deathtron doesn't have time for feelings in his cold plasteel body and demonic soul!

Krasue gets the full force of the H-Sec deployed fire and is cut down for three wounds, leaving only her free base movement for her to hover, scarified, to the exit zone. Yet not far enough or fast enough.

At this last turn, the Krasue is able to give Chaos Deathtron the two instruments of magic. 

With them, Chaos Deathtron marathons out of the area and the mission. 

Krasue and her Leyak acolyte have enough time aftergame to evade the H-Sec chasing them. 

No turns left, and if Krasue wasn't able to hand Chaos Deathtron the magical instruments, they would have failed the mission. 

Yet they didn't . . .

Now they have the instruments of magic to emanate Rangda! Or, at least, a lower-resonance avatara of Rangda! 

In a safe location, they perform the dark, left-hand-pathed, forgotten rituals.

Then soon, the black and crimson-drenched shape emerges out of the unseen. 

Now they have a new team member and leader.

The Leyaks' leader hungers now and thirsts for power, and to make the world recall who She is. Now this world is arrogant and devoid of defense, thinking it clever and powerful, not conceiving its true situation as helpless as a newborn child. 

The Leyaks and their leader like to devour children.

If there is another report of this, then we shall introduce the Rangda avatara as the Razor, the melee specialist.

Quick review of Exploit Zero:

Definitely what it says on the tin. Exploit Zero is a pick up and play mini agonist game where, if you have all the tools available, you can play immediately without much preparation. Not exactly a portable, pocket game of the 80's where you play it when you're waiting for the rest of the group on game night, but definitely there is a beer and pretzels feeling to it where you just want to game with your friends.

It isn't a game about rules mastery or beating your opponent. It's a game for playing with the cyberpunk and other minis you've collected because you think they are cool rather than a company dictated minis game where you must buy and use only their minis. It isn't complicated so people looking for crunch will be a bit disappointed. 

However it is a game that wants you to play it your way, your own way, and that I appreciate.

One gets a distinct feeling of a hit and run through the game, which is great. The 6, and only 6, turns make it so you get in, get the job done, and get out without time wasted. 

That and the fact that there is a escalating hostility mounting every turn makes one feel like they are kid in a room where they are not supposed to be, trying to do something that they are not allowed to do, with your parents, or school facility members, or any kind of authority, walking down the hall to that room and you have to do whatever you want quick before they catch you.

If that is what you want from a game, then this game delivers.

The game states it is inspired by Syndicate and Syndicate Wars, I have not played either of those video games so I cannot say if that is accurate or not, however if you want a tactical, running and gunning, cyberpunk skirmish game, then Exploit Zero is your golden ticket.