Seeking "Zombie Survival" Scenario Advice

I’m planning an adventure for my group next year, and would like some input. I’m intending to have a scenario similar to that which has been many zombie movies and games (Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, etc.), recent and otherwise. In this case, the party will enter a small town looking for their priest mentor only to find that the entire town is overrun by zombies. I want to make it as interesting (and memorable) as possible, so I’m going to have a scale model of an inn (made from Hirst Arts molds) for them to hole up in. However, it won’t be much fun if they’re just in the inn waiting to die (or if they rush out and get annihilated). So- that’s why I’m looking for advice or ideas. Here are some of the details.

-The group will enter the town at night. Although it will be deathly quiet, nothing seems out of the ordinary.
-Upon nearing the middle of the town, they see zombies approaching from in front of them- a lot of them. They soon realize that they seem to be completely surrounded.
-They hear a familiar voice- that of their mentor, a priest- calling them into the town inn.
-They enter the inn just in time, and he blocks the door. He is severely wounded (and infected with the “zombie disease”), but he explains that the town was overrun in a matter of less than a day. There were only two survivors- he and the town smith. The smith is in the corner, unconscious.
-As this conversation is taking place, the smith rises up (as a zombie) and attacks the party. As they’re all going to be level 4, this will be an easy encounter- but it will show what happens when you’re bitten.
-Shortly thereafter, the priest will die (and eventually rise again as a zombie himself). I also plan on having another zombie or two in other areas (such as a room upstairs, the kitchen, and the basement storage area).

So, that’s the general scenario. What are some things that will make it more interested? How should they get out? I thought about having an old smugglers’ tunnel out of the basement, but, while I don’t want to make escaping impossible, I don’t want to make it too hard, either. This type of scenario will really get my characters going, I think, but since I’ll only do something like this once I want to do it right. Any ideas, suggestions, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

First off, is their a cleric in the party? If the Zombies are 2 or less HD a 4th level cleric can just sestroy them with a turning attmept. Sure, with hundred or more zombies it would take forever to do that, but turning can really effect how this plays out especially if he has a high charisma and turning feats.

Also, are the zombies all goiung to be 2 HD were human, or are yuou going to mix it up some. Like have them encountera tougher ogre zombie or something like that.

As they enter the town if ytou have a wilderness person, have them notice the utter lack of animals. If a tracker is in the party let him notice the large amounts of humaniod tracks going all over the place. I'd build up the tension first with a fge small zombie encounters and save the wave of hordes as a suprise. Let them think its just a few undead.

I'd have the escape tunnel be in another building. Have them use ropes and grappling hooks to go from the roof of the inn to the other building then fight some zombies in there and down into the tunnel. You can have an old map of the place in the inn that even shows the tunnel goes under a few buildings but fails to say which buildings still have access to the tunnel. Fighting from building to building, sneaking and scouting, this can again build some tension and offer a differnet style of play.

Possibility - Give the PCs a method of stopping the zombie plague. Perhaps come daybreak all the zombies retreat to a central location, gathering around a roughly carved statue of half melted stone...

Perhaps there are 'tells' when the zombies are near, candle flames change color to a cold flickering blue...

If there is a smuggler's tunnel perhaps the only zombies that know of it are the smugglers themselves, who brought the statue into town for a mysterious customer... and now wade through the half flooded tunnel in silent undeath...

The Auld Grump

One suggestion I heard on another thread about the topic is to have the zombies attack to grapple (in order to chomp on their brains) - and as soon as anyone is brought down to the ground, all other zombies abandon their actions to pile on, taking AoO's if necessary.

I've been considering using a similar scenario, though I'm still not sure whether D&D zombies or D&D ghouls should be used for the living dead. It seems that the movie zombies are a combination of the two (appearance, & for the most part, a slow gait like zombies [not so in the newer Dawn of the Dead]; but power-ability/wise, pretty much like ghouls).

As for an escape plan, the tunnel sounds like a good idea (or a tunnel leading to a natural cavern complex). Then again, perhaps the tunnel/cavern could be the source of the zombies--perhaps some drow-spawned undead thing(s) still lurked in the dark, and attacked/infected a smuggler using the tunnel, who made it back to town & started the chaos; thus, the "evident" escape route would actually be leading the PCs into a whole other scenario...

Heck, provide a few escape options--every good zomble flick has arguing & inner conflict at its core, which inevitably whittles down the group to a lone survivor or two. Perhaps a pair of horses & a carriage are available, though using would mean trying to rush through the zombie horde & lose pursuers with speed. Perhaps a scroll with a potent spell like Chariot of Sustarre or Mass Teleport is available, but the risks of using magics well above their abilities is an issue. Perhaps the underground route, though rumored to not be safe as well (whether for the underdark undead, or some other menace [maybe grues!] is your call). Or maybe even a flying carpet, kept at the top of a mage's tower... in the middle of town... where the largest mass of zombies is... and the tower has its own traps & spellwards to deal with, though "defeating" those devices not only allows the PCs to get in, but the zombies as well...

Can't you tell I like this scenario?

Crothian said:

First off, is their a cleric in the party? If the Zombies are 2 or less HD a 4th level cleric can just sestroy them with a turning attmept. Sure, with hundred or more zombies it would take forever to do that, but turning can really effect how this plays out especially if he has a high charisma and turning feats.

Also, are the zombies all goiung to be 2 HD were human, or are yuou going to mix it up some. Like have them encountera tougher ogre zombie or something like that.

As they enter the town if ytou have a wilderness person, have them notice the utter lack of animals. If a tracker is in the party let him notice the large amounts of humaniod tracks going all over the place. I'd build up the tension first with a fge small zombie encounters and save the wave of hordes as a suprise. Let them think its just a few undead.

I'd have the escape tunnel be in another building. Have them use ropes and grappling hooks to go from the roof of the inn to the other building then fight some zombies in there and down into the tunnel. You can have an old map of the place in the inn that even shows the tunnel goes under a few buildings but fails to say which buildings still have access to the tunnel. Fighting from building to building, sneaking and scouting, this can again build some tension and offer a differnet style of play.

Click to expand...

Yep, there's one cleric in the party. I was thinking that with just one cleric in the party it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of a large number of zombies (I'm thinking about 150-250 around the inn). Any thoughts about whether this would be a problem, and whether or not it can be handled without taking away from the cleric's contributions to the group, would be helpful...

All of the zombies are going to be humans (town commoners); I considered having a necromancer lurking in the town, however.

I like the ideas about the animals... I was planning on having there be other signs, too (complete lack of sound, no lights in the town, etc.). Like you said, I was going to start with a few and send the horde after the first 1-2 small groups.

I really like the idea about the other building(s). I don't know about having a map in the inn, though- maybe the smith told the cleric about it, but became unconscious before he told him where it was? This actually does take things in a little bit different direction- more of the "survival horror" theme I was seeking. Any ideas on things that might be in the inn to help the party? No huge armory or tank in the basement or anything- just things that the group can use if the scenario is played intelligently...

One note that I forgot to mention- this scenario is the harbinger of a zombie plague that will be ravaging my campaign world (or at least this continent). The party will eventually discover a means to stop it, but not for quite a while... Whatever solution(s) used to get them to safety should most likely result in them having to run, and leave the horde behind.

AFGNCAAP, I like your ideas- I will probably use some of them for a later scenario. This town is more of a "middle of nowhere" stop on a trade road, so there isn't much in the way of resources that would be feasible beyond standard adventuring fare (ropes, etc.).

I created a "hungry dead" zombie a long while ago (with a contagious bite), and got input from folks on these boards. I was planning on using that style of zombie for these scenarios.

Kryndal Levik said:

[snip]
AFGNCAAP, I like your ideas- I will probably use some of them for a later scenario. This town is more of a "middle of nowhere" stop on a trade road, so there isn't much in the way of resources that would be feasible beyond standard adventuring fare (ropes, etc.).

Click to expand...

Ah... cool. Only reason whi I've mentioned this is because I'm considering a similar scenario as well for my current campaign. I was going to place it on an uncharted/non-detailed island off the Sword Coast, where the PCs need to retrieve some macguffin to continue on the main plot. More or less just a minor settlement, 1 major trade settlement (where the PCs start off), & lots o' wild. Tempted to have it in the Western Heartlands somewhere, but that may be a bit much. I was actually thinking of having the players play their PCs and some followers/hirelings who accompany them (slaughter fodder), so there's the dread & horror of dead characters, but I won't be intentionally exterminating the PCs.

Now, for added gruesome, I was going to throw in a sort of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" style slaughterfest beforehand--an inbred batch of mongrelfolk living in the wild, slaughtering & feasting on travelers (and the novice necromancer of the clan making the bones into servants). I intended on said necromancer activating a foul curse from some forgotten lore (perhaps some foul incantation of Bhaal &/or Myrkul) before he & the rest of the clan is slain (since I doubt the PCs will be merciful at this point). The curse makes the recently deceased into undead (probably ghouls, or ghoul-like zombies); when the PCs make it to the trade town, all hell has broken loose; by then, it's either a wipe-`em all out scenario (doubtful) or the classic get-out-alive scenario (the curse will activate after the previous adventure/encounter ends, so travel time & any rest time the PCs take will allow more time for the curse to spread).