Why don't flesh eating zombies eat each other?

[Wicht]

Sylverflame,
Make it a level two spell and reduce the damage to 1d4 and 1d3 with 1d6 vs zombies. This should make it more balanced. And if you make it all bludgeoning damage it will be more effective against skeletons, making it an all around useful anti undead spell.

 

[Kesh]

Good idea Kesh, but one problem. How can zombies coordinate then? I mean, they aren't tactical geniuses, but if they ignore each other, then they'd bee-line through each other to get to warm fleshy chew-toys. What if it were a mindless-flesh-eaters code of honour? No eating the competition?

Well, that depends on the zombies, doesn't it? Just for one example, look at the Resident Evil movie. That's your typical zombie activity there... stumbling about, bumping into one another, trying to reach around each other to get at the prey... no planning, coordination or anything at all. It's like they ignore anything that's not food.

 

[mythago]

I'm not a stickler for canonical D&D, but...

Ghouls are generally undead critters in their own right. Zombies are re-animated corpses. They're ex-humans, forced out of the grave by dark magic. Ghouls, on the other hand, are monsters.

Lovecraftian ghouls are not undead, and humans can become ghoulish through Ye Darke Powers. There's the whole thing about the traditional ghouls being grave-robbing corpse nibblers vs. these newfangled ghouls and their killin' ways, viz Delta Green.

Remind me to lend you Low Red Moon, btw.

 

[evileeyore]

In movies like the Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, and Resident Evil flesh eating zombies terrorize normal folks in their undead quest for food. But the question arises in my mind every time I watch these shows – why don’t they violently attack and eat the mindless fool next to them?

Maybe live meat taste better, but in the absence of live meat why not just eat each other?

Any rationalizations?

Geez 3 pages and noone gets it right.

Its because Zombies have a 98% chance to Seek Human Flesh*.

Not Cow flesh, not zombie flesh, not even Tofurkey flesh (if that can be considered 'flesh').

Anyway I hope this clears things up.


TTFN

EvilE

*Or something like that. It really don't remember the exact % from good ole Call of Cthulu...

 

[Piratecat]

Personally, I think that zombies should seek out fresh brains. No real reason for that, other than tradition (and the delight of staggering across a street groaning "Brrraaaiiiinns. . ." Technically speaking most of the other undead don't dine on human flesh, vampiric blood drinking aside.

Really, D&D skeletons would be creepier if they put down the rusty weapons and started sharpening their molars.