Exotic zombies at WotC

[Raven Crowking]

The reason I dislike this is: a party has to hang back and wait for the thing to run out of HP. Or they hang back and pelt it with arrows/spells until it does.

Why does a party have to? I prefer things that give options. "We can hang back and get pelted with meat, or we can try to take these things out now...." Which seems better to the party can change from encounter to encounter, depending upon the group's needs, resources, and objectives.

I hope that the 4e zombies have DR as well.

I can see that, even if I do not choose to switch over to 4e, I'll probably have to raid the MM for good ideas. If the spined devil is any indication, it shouldn't be too hard to reverse-engineer things to 3.x.

RC

 

[lukelightning]

"Look, there goes his liver. There goes his heart and there goes his liever again! Man, that dude has it going for vital organs..."

This made me think of Dr. Zoidberg's autopsy. "Heart, lungs, stomach, deviled egg....the same deviled egg..."

 

[Zaruthustran]

I don't like the concept of a regenerating zombie. It lacks internal consistency with its own fiction.

How about this? The zombie can tear chunks off itself and throw them, doing 2 damage to itself per chunk. A zombie that is "bloodied" (at 1/2 hp or lower) cannot tear chunks. A zombie regains HP by feeding (effectively, adding chunks to its stomach).

 

[Rechan]

Why does a party have to?

Party doesn't Have to. I'm just saying that it's an easy way to let the thing kill itself by staying juuuust out of range.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Party doesn't Have to. I'm just saying that it's an easy way to let the thing kill itself by staying juuuust out of range.

I never minded that. When you have creatures that are mindless and follow specific programs, for example, I like to know what the creatures' orders are. That way, if the players can figure them out by watching the creatures, they can take advantage of them.

"It seems like they only attack those entering this room, guys! Let's pepper 'em with arrows!" was always fair game to me. Indeed, I encourage it.

RC

 

[MoogleEmpMog]

I never minded that. When you have creatures that are mindless and follow specific programs, for example, I like to know what the creatures' orders are. That way, if the players can figure them out by watching the creatures, they can take advantage of them.

"It seems like they only attack those entering this room, guys! Let's pepper 'em with arrows!" was always fair game to me. Indeed, I encourage it.

RC

Agreed.

Few things in gaming - tabletop or electronic - are more entertaining than watching poorly programmed mindless enemies kill themselves by doing something, well, mindless.

Of course, you occasionally run into the ghost or astrally projected necromancer who lets you THINK that's what's happening while he commands a second mass of shambling undead horrors to flank you and push you into the horde you're cheerfully pelting from range...

 

[ptolemy18]

Three types of zombies in the Monster Manual, and no Illusionist or Necromancer specialist wizards in the PHB? I am a Romero/Fulci/28-Days-Later zombie-loving maniac, but priorities, Wizards people! Prioritites! ~_~

Anyway, I hope they don't throw out the rules for making zombies of various sizes and from various creatures, which currently exist in the PHB. That's way more useful than specialty zombie types, in my curmudgeonly opinion.