Night of Ye Living Dead

Tinner · Dec 23, 2004

After pouring over Libris Mrtis and not finding what I'm looking for I figured I'd ask here.
Is there a fantasy d20 version of your typical Zombie Apocalpse infectious zombie?
I'm talking about a zombie that turns others into zombies with its infectious bite.
Has anthing like that been statted up for a fantasy setting, or should I just wing something of my own?
Thanks for the help.

Warden · Dec 23, 2004

Not that I've seen for d20, at least. I know that there have been numerous non-d20 RPGs released (including one just called Zombies!), but I haven't seen anything in the d20 market that uses the Romero-style of zombie action.

But it would be cool for sure -- fantasy, modern, or future, or whatever else they come up with. A zombie infestation during the American Revolution sounds good right about now.

demiurge1138 · Dec 23, 2004

They're called ghouls. Lower the Intelligence, drop paralytic attacks, and there you go; a Romero-esque zombie. Or you could modify the type of disease spread by the infectious zombie variant to spread zombie plague (then add bloodthirsty and indestructible to taste). Third option, and the one that requires the least modifications of the original, is the ghoul template from the d20 Menace Manual. That's a straight up zombie apocalypse zombie.

Demiurge out.

VoiceOfReason? · Dec 23, 2004

It would be easy enough to use normal zombies and say they're infected with a disease that causes level drain instead of ability damage, eventually turning the victim to a zombie or similar mindless undead(ish thing).
A 2 HD vampire that the DM arbitrarily rules is not spawn, does not make spawn when its victims are of low HD, and is relatively mindless?

Warden · Dec 23, 2004

Oh, but there's so much more to a zombie apocalypse than just infectious zombies. Zombies of the best description have a culture of their own, faint taps of memory that they are actually trying to carry out when not foaming at the mouth upon the sight of warm flesh. That's the biggest difference between the original Dawn of the Dead and this year's -- there's more to the brain than just the desire to feed.

Theoretically, what would happen should zombies begin to take over the world? And is the plague infectious upon a bite? Scratch? Or is it at a microscopic level so that every dead creature rises into undeath? What would happen to a typical campaign world after one week? Six months? One year? What are some possible reactions from society to quench this uprising and what could be their possible outcomes? If a dead man stands at your door, is it a sign of doom from the gods or just the start of a bad day?

There's so much more to zombies that could be done and still has not been to date.

Tewligan · Dec 23, 2004

For an infectious zombie, I'd just make anyone wounded by a zombie have to make a Fort save. If that's failed, then every hour thereafter that another Fort save is failed, the victim loses a point or two of CON. When CON hits zero, then hey-ho, it's a new zombie.

LoneWolf23 · Dec 23, 2004

"Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead" from White Wolf's Ravenloft line includes a few salient abilities for skeletons and zombies, including the Spawning ability.

If you're just going with Libris Mortis, though, you can easily cover them just by taking Zombies and adding the Bloodthirsty, Diseased, Hunting and Unkillable variant templates to them, for a total CR adjustment of +3. The make the Disease a variation on Mummy Rot which turns the victim into a Zombie instead of a Mummy, which might increase the CR to +4, and you're set.

Klaus · Dec 23, 2004

Fiery Dragon's Counter Collection: Undead has stats for the Plague Zombie. Plus counters of it (in all its frothing gory... er, glory) to boot!

barsoomcore · Dec 23, 2004

It's a shame there hasn't been more done because it's actually a REALLY FUN scenario for D&D. I threw my players into a village beset by the walking dead, very Romero-esque with walled-up houses getting broken into (and the players having to decide if they're going to run out there to save the villagers), people dying screaming under hordes of ravenous undead, and the inevitable hardcore moment where one PC, realising that an NPC has been bit, winds up and CUTS THE GUY'S ARM OFF.

Everyone else, not having seen the bite, of course assumed the PC had gone berserk and piled on top of her.

Great fun. Somebody should do more with that.