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Zombies! New Dungeoncraft article up
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<blockquote data-quote="Merlin the Tuna" data-source="post: 3842330" data-attributes="member: 55638"><p>Rather than arguing the merits of a template versus the merits of a monster, let's actually look at the <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/zombie.htm" target="_blank">3.5 Zombie template</a> and compare two creatures to see what kind of difference you actually get out of the thing. Let's say we use an Elf and a Half-Orc.</p><p></p><p><strong>Size and Type:</strong> Same for both creatures.</p><p><strong>Hit Dice:</strong> Same for both creatures</p><p><strong>Speed:</strong> Same for both creatures</p><p><strong>Armor Class:</strong> Natural armor is the same for both creatures.</p><p><strong>Base Attack:</strong> Based off of HD, and therefore is the same for both creatures.</p><p><strong>Attacks:</strong> Same for both creatures, except for Elven weapon proficiencies.</p><p><strong>Special Attacks:</strong> None for both.</p><p><strong>Special Qualities:</strong> Hey look, this isn't even described clearly. Appears to be the same for both creatures.</p><p><strong>Saves:</strong> Same for both creatures.</p><p><strong>Abilities:</strong> 4 of them are the same for both creatures. The Half Orc has 2 more Str than the Elf, and the Elf has 2 more Dex.</p><p><strong>Skills:</strong> None for both.</p><p><strong>Feats:</strong> Just Toughness for both.</p><p><strong>Alignment:</strong> Same for both creatures.</p><p></p><p><strong>Result:</strong> The only meaningful difference between the graceful elf becoming a zombie and the brutish, boorish half-orc becoming a zombie in 3.5 are their Str and Dex scores, and even those are barely different.</p><p></p><p>The thing about the zombie template is that it really isn't that useful -- it doesn't <em>adjust</em> monster properties as most templates do, it simply sets them to the same value every time, whether this means dumping special attacks and qualities, hard-coding 4 of the 6 ability scores, dropping feats, or eliminating skills. This is hardly the only example. A Zombie Gnome is a Zombie Halfling with 2 less Dex and no bonus to thrown weapons. A Zombie Dwarf is a Zombie Human with Dwarven Waraxe proficiency and +1 to attack versus orcs and goblinoids. If you decide that a Warforged has a sufficiently skeletal structure, you can make a Zombie Warforged that's exactly the same as the Zombie Human except for his built-in armor. (And then what do you do if he took the Adamantine/Mithral Body feats?)</p><p></p><p>Zombies are pretty much the same, even when you <em>do</em> use the template. That's kind of iconic for zombies anyway -- they're faceless (literally, sometimes) members of a mob, utterly unremarkable from each other. The template further muddles things by not being very clear what gets retained and what gets dumped in the infamous catch-all category that is "Special Qualities."</p><p></p><p>Would a zombie template be useful? Possibly, though not likely. Is the current one useful? Not so much.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Merlin the Tuna, post: 3842330, member: 55638"] Rather than arguing the merits of a template versus the merits of a monster, let's actually look at the [URL=http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/zombie.htm]3.5 Zombie template[/URL] and compare two creatures to see what kind of difference you actually get out of the thing. Let's say we use an Elf and a Half-Orc. [B]Size and Type:[/B] Same for both creatures. [b]Hit Dice:[/b] Same for both creatures [b]Speed:[/b] Same for both creatures [b]Armor Class:[/b] Natural armor is the same for both creatures. [b]Base Attack:[/b] Based off of HD, and therefore is the same for both creatures. [b]Attacks:[/b] Same for both creatures, except for Elven weapon proficiencies. [b]Special Attacks:[/b] None for both. [b]Special Qualities:[/b] Hey look, this isn't even described clearly. Appears to be the same for both creatures. [b]Saves:[/b] Same for both creatures. [b]Abilities:[/b] 4 of them are the same for both creatures. The Half Orc has 2 more Str than the Elf, and the Elf has 2 more Dex. [b]Skills:[/b] None for both. [b]Feats:[/b] Just Toughness for both. [b]Alignment:[/b] Same for both creatures. [b]Result:[/b] The only meaningful difference between the graceful elf becoming a zombie and the brutish, boorish half-orc becoming a zombie in 3.5 are their Str and Dex scores, and even those are barely different. The thing about the zombie template is that it really isn't that useful -- it doesn't [i]adjust[/i] monster properties as most templates do, it simply sets them to the same value every time, whether this means dumping special attacks and qualities, hard-coding 4 of the 6 ability scores, dropping feats, or eliminating skills. This is hardly the only example. A Zombie Gnome is a Zombie Halfling with 2 less Dex and no bonus to thrown weapons. A Zombie Dwarf is a Zombie Human with Dwarven Waraxe proficiency and +1 to attack versus orcs and goblinoids. If you decide that a Warforged has a sufficiently skeletal structure, you can make a Zombie Warforged that's exactly the same as the Zombie Human except for his built-in armor. (And then what do you do if he took the Adamantine/Mithral Body feats?) Zombies are pretty much the same, even when you [i]do[/i] use the template. That's kind of iconic for zombies anyway -- they're faceless (literally, sometimes) members of a mob, utterly unremarkable from each other. The template further muddles things by not being very clear what gets retained and what gets dumped in the infamous catch-all category that is "Special Qualities." Would a zombie template be useful? Possibly, though not likely. Is the current one useful? Not so much. [/QUOTE]
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