Maybe it's a fools errand, but I want to make the zombies in my game a little more interesting and threatening. I want my players to be genuinely scared of the undead.
I tried an iteration of this last year that fell bit flat so I've tweaked the recipe a bit.
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| Justin Moll |
Sponge Monster
Zombies should shrug off weak hits and soak up a lot of damage before collapsing. On the flip side, in keeping with the tropes, one really big hit should take a zombie out.
Instead of giving them a ton of HP, they'll get damage resistance (reduce the damage of each incoming hit by 4). This will make them very resistant to arrows and small hand weapons. You'll want to hit these things with two-handed swords and polearms.
Deadly Infection
A zombie will first attempt to grab victims. Once grabbed, zombies will make bite attacks with advantage.
Any character bit by a zombie will contract grave rot, a deadly wasting disease that most low-level parties will not be able to cure. Getting bit by a zombie usually means death.
Grave Rot: Every hour, lose 1/4 of your max HP. Hit points lost in this way can't be healed until the disease is cured. If you die while under the effect of Grave Rot, you'll return as a zombie (or occasionally some other undead). Grave Rot spreads from the point of infection. If it's on a limb, quick amputation can be a viable cure.
In B/X, 2HD crab spiders have save-or-die poison, so this doesn't feel too punitive.
Weaknesses
Zombies are slow and stupid. They always lose initiative and move at half normal human speed. If you can get out of their sight for one combat round, they'll forget you exist.
If a victim is brought down, zombies may stop fighting to consume it, ignoring anyone nearby unless directly attacked.
They are nearly always unarmored and make no attempt to avoid being hit.
Zombie
Armor Class: 0 - Automatically hit / Damage Resistance 4
Hit Dice: 2d4 (HP5)
Attacks:
- Grab, + 0 to hit, ignores armor.
- Bite, +0 to hit / d4 damage
Move: 1/2 speed of unencumbered human.
Saves: 15+
Morale: Indifferent to injury and will pursue prey until it escapes or they are killed.
Number Appearing: 3d8
Special: Zombies only bite once a target has been grabbed (by any zombie). Anyone bitten contracts Grave Rot.
Common Knowledge
Anyone who knows anything about the undead can tell you that zombies are hard to kill and spread infection via their bite.
Tactics
Zombies are not masterminds. They will shamble directly toward targets. They don't care about their own survival and will ignore injury. The closest thing they have to a "tactic" is that in large numbers, they will swarm to surround targets.
Encounter Design
These are your archetypical sponge monster. They have a poor chance to hit, deal weak damage and can soak a ton of hits. The trick is that their lethal bite makes them dangerous to completely ignore.
- Use them as a wall between adventurers and a cackling lich.
- Fill a hallway with them and make the players figure out a clever way to circumvent them.
- Generally, put them between player characters and the important thing that they'd rather be dealing with.
Biology / Environment
Zombies decay quickly. If you find one in an ancient tomb, they were a recent intruder.
Zombies are compelled to eat people but it's unclear why. Necromancers who have vivisected zombies claim that the consumed flesh isn't actually digested.
The blood of a zombie is thick and dark. It looks like motor oil. If you inject it into a living creature, it will contract Grave Rot.
You will most commonly find zombies in cursed locations, where corpses have been left without proper blessing. Zombies will also rise from necromantic rituals
Loot
You usually won't find much of use on a zombie, but you might find some trinkets associated with the corpses former life (roll on your favorite Search the Body table, if the feeling strikes you).
The skull of a zombie is an ingredient in numerous potions and magical salves. Witches, necromancers and alchemists are likely to pay a good price for zombie skulls.
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| Artist Mike McCarthy in Shadow of the Giants |
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