the problem with undead (last commands, free will and low-lying prairies)

[alsih2o]

so, the bbeg tells him undead minions to start tunnelling. less than 40 feet of solid rock to go until he invades the vaults of lord whoseybigman.

unfortunately, some nasty adventurers show up and kill said bbeg.

now what?

these undead will continue tunneling until told otherwise, yes?

i see a lot of potential for a side trek here, massive problems caused when walls start collapsing and all manner of other problems caused by undead left on-task without a leader.

any ideas from anyone?

 

[med stud]

so, the bbeg tells him undead minions to start tunnelling. less than 40 feet of solid rock to go until he invades the vaults of lord whoseybigman.

unfortunately, some nasty adventurers show up and kill said bbeg.

now what?

these undead will continue tunneling until told otherwise, yes?

i see a lot of potential for a side trek here, massive problems caused when walls start collapsing and all manner of other problems caused by undead left on-task without a leader.

any ideas from anyone?

If I got the specific situation right, I dont know if the undead would take the actions to find a new wall after making an opening in the first one; the wall breaks down and the zombies stand in the open air. Will they just stand there because they have no orders or will they continue to "dig" in the air until they meet the next wall? In that case there could be problems decades after as some forgotten zombies have tunneled for hundred of yards in the meantime ^^

(Happy new year BTW )

 

[wingnut_dc]

I would say they stop. Whatever control bbeg had over the undead is now gone.

 

[dravot]

If they're commercial-off-the-shelf zombies, they'd finish digging through the wall and then stop.

If they're some sort of monster garage style zombie, then choose the havoc (if any) that you wish to wreak upon the landscape.

 

[GreyShadow]

I think they miss the vault, continue digging till they hit the bottom of the world and then fall.

 

[alsih2o]

in my mind it works out like this-

the zombies are digging for months, the bbeg checking in on them weekly or so. he dies off in his weel-defended tomb/tower of evilness and the zombies keep digging right under the mountains, continuing for years on end unnoticed by humanoids.

then they strike the ocean, massive volumes of water fill the cavern all the way under a mountain range and back to the low-level prairie, making a giant salt marsh in the once pristine land.

the local prairie druid goes mad, embraces chaos and gains control of the zombies that are slowly floating back up to the prairie. massive rafts of tortoises, buffalo, hare and fox bodies aimlessly float around the water, which ranges from ankle-deep to 10 feet. the maddened druid rides a corpse raft of the animals he used to protect.

i know a lot of that is crap geologically, but it entertains me to no end.

 

[Altalazar]

I would say they stop. Whatever control bbeg had over the undead is now gone.

Does lack of control mean no new orders or does it mean they now act according to their "free will"? But then if that is the case, what would they do with no orders? Being undead and mindless, I imagine they'd just stand there and ignore everyone who comes near them.

But then if "uncontrolled" undead stop following their last orders, how do you explain all of those adventures where undead are standing and guarding (with specific orders) places where their original "masters" are CENTURIES dead, and therefore no longer "in control"?

To fit with the logic of how the game world works, the zombies MUST keep on following their last orders, regardless of control. Otherwise you have 30 years of adventures that just don't make sense.

 

[Mordane76]

the local prairie druid goes mad, embraces chaos and gains control of the zombies that are slowly floating back up to the prairie. massive rafts of tortoises, buffalo, hare and fox bodies aimlessly float around the water, which ranges from ankle-deep to 10 feet. the maddened druid rides a corpse raft of the animals he used to protect.

Okay... this is possibly the most disturbing thing I think I've read here in quiet some time. When do you have the time to think about stuff like this?

Now that we're off the corpse gondola... <rimshot>


I agree with Altalazar to an extent; I think, if the zombies are digging towards a destination, and their course is plotted correctly so that they don't require their master's intervention at certain points for course correction through the earth to their destination, then they will tunnel until they reach their originally ordered destination and break through the wall there. At this point, their final order completed, they would become free-willed and free-roaming.

Many of these adventures involving undead guarding locations involve an order that cannot have a definite end -- "Protect this crypt against any intruders," or its like, and there is no way for that order to ever be truly completed without killing every thing on the earth that could become an intruder... hey... there's an idea for twisting a final command...

 

[Arnwyn]

To fit with the logic of how the game world works, the zombies MUST keep on following their last orders, regardless of control. Otherwise you have 30 years of adventures that just don't make sense.

That's the way I rule it, but I note whether the undead is "natural" (uh, umm... you know what I mean) or if they were created with the animate dead spell. If animated by the spell, they continue following their last order forever, or until they complete it (if it can be completed). Once completed, they "stop" (likely becoming free-willed, and do undead-y things).

If not actually animated by spell, then I rule that once the current controller dies the undead immediately become free-willed.

Works for me, and is consistent with how my world works and all the adventures that I own.

 

[dravot]

the local prairie druid goes mad, embraces chaos and gains control of the zombies that are slowly floating back up to the prairie. massive rafts of tortoises, buffalo, hare and fox bodies aimlessly float around the water, which ranges from ankle-deep to 10 feet. the maddened druid rides a corpse raft of the animals he used to protect.

i know a lot of that is crap geologically, but it entertains me to no end.

Geologically it'd only work if the average altitude of the prairie was lower than the level of the ocean. Unless magic were involved. Sounds like a good plot hook.