Zombicide: Invader - The Environment of PK-L7
Humans are relatively new to space travel. They’d been making short little jaunts around their own galaxy since the 1960’s, but as their ability to really get out and explore increased, they came across new environments, atmospheres, and species, the likes of which they’d never encountered. This new contact opened their eyes to the limitless potential for experiences in the universe.
In Zombicide: Invader, 1 to 6 players will fight a cooperative battle against an aggressive extraterrestrial force. The action will take place in the corridors and wide-open rooms of their small base, as well as the surface of the planet itself.
When a forward scouting team first landed on PK-L7, they set up a temporary command post and began to take readings of the area. It wasn’t long before they found Xenium below the planet’s surface. Tests confirmed their suspicions, that this dark, oily substance had the potential to be an incredibly powerful fuel. The message was sent out, and international scientists, civilians, and military personnel started making their way to the little rock floating out in space.
Like most planets they’ve come across in the past, PK-L7 isn’t ideal for supporting life… at least not human life. The first order of business was to erect a base that would serve as a home for the Civilians and Soldiers needed for the operation.
The base is rudimentary, but multi-functional. It serves as a science lab, a barracks, a hospital, greenhouse, eating and sleeping quarters, and much more. It is the home for the away team as they try to complete their mission on a foreign planet.
The base is a mixture of large, open rooms and corridors. Throughout it, there are a number of different important locations that will be helpful for the Survivors to familiarize themselves with. Civilians are able to Search for Equipment anywhere, but Soldiers can only Search in Security Rooms. They are easy to spot, bathed in the glow of red emergency lights. But getting to them might be a different story. Some missions or situations will force the Survivors to leave the confines of their base and travel onto the surface of PK-L7. Before they’re able to do so, they must visit an Oxygen Supply Room and acquire an Oxygen Tank. Once they’re ready to go outside, Survivors will need to find an Airlock. They act as the gateways between the base and the barren surface of the planet.
PK-L7 is a harsh, cold rock. Were it not for the discovery of Xenium, it’s hard to imagine any human wanting to spend time on its surface. When they are out in the oxygen-deprived, open spaces of the planet’s environment, many of their weapons are not going to function. Any bullet-fed guns or flamethrowers won’t work outside. They will have to equip themselves with some of the brand new futuristic Weapons like the Prototype Light Machine Gun or the Prototype Sniper Rifle. These weapons require an attached Energy Cell to power them, but will allow Survivors to bring the fight to the Xenos outside of the base.
In most horror movies, the setting is a very important element. Sometimes, it even becomes a character itself. The Survivors of PK-L7 have traveled millions of miles from their homes. They are on a strange planet, and they’re under attack. The base offers little in the way of defense from the Xenos, and if fear grips the Survivors and they run, all that waits outside is the oxygen-deprived environment. It has all the makings of a science-fiction horror movie, but this is not fiction. The Xenos are all too real, and the walls of the base are beginning to close in.
Zombicide: Invader comes to Kickstarter on April 10 at 3 PM EST.
Read our Zombicide: Invader Design and Development article here.
Read our Zombicide: Invader Gameplay article here.
Read our Zombicide: Invader Survivors article here.
Read our Zombicide: Invader Equipment article here.
Read our Zombicide: Invader Xenos article here.
