Zombies!

[InVinoVeritas]

Zombies have come up a lot in my radar lately.

First, I saw the folks on youtube trying to make a zombie movie.

Then, I read about differences between the zombie myth in America vs. Britain (it was all high-level stuff that I didn't fully understand, unfortunately).

Then, I read jdrakeh's line on zombie RPGs.

So, I wanna talk about zombies.

What makes a good zombie? We've had the shambling hordes of zombies before epitomized by Night of the Living Dead. We've watched them progress to more autonomous, faster, violent forms through Dead Alive to the glorious 28 Days Later.

But what makes a good zombie? Are they better as empty, shallow, unending forces? Are they better as thoughtless, rapacious monstrosities? Or should a zombie have a personality, a sense of purpose?

What do you like in zombies?

 

[Cirex]

Speed. Slow zombies are boring, I really like fast zombies, like in 28 (even if they are infected, we can consider them zombies).
If zombies don't run, I get bored.

 

[S'mon]

If they run, they ain't zombies in my book. Ghouls, maybe.

 

[jdrakeh]

Speed and Intellect:

I've liked fast, intelligent, zombies ever since they first turned up in Return of the Living Dead. Despite said film being mostly a parody (it was originally penned as an official sequel to NotLD by John Russo), the fast, intelligent, zombies seemed to be much more of a credible threat than Romero's slow, witless, shamblers. See also "Cannot be Easily Killed" below.

Spreads by Infection:

Infectious bites are part and parcel of zombie lore. If you get bit, you'll turn into one of those things. And if you turn into one of those things, you'll eat your buddy. Infection must be a credible threat for it to have any impact, however (which is why zombies never work out very well in D&D).

Cannot be Easily Killed:

Another reason that the zombies in RotLD stood out as a more credibel threat than Romero's zombies is that they couldn't be killed. Any ol' country boy could put down Romero's zombies (as indicated by the closing sequences of NotLD), but nothing short of a tac nuke could eradicate a Trioxin zombie. Unstoppable killing machines = spooky.

Mysterious Origins:

Romero wisely obscured the true cause of the zombie plague, which made NotLD about the protagonists and the zombies, rather than about the cause. In a zombie RPG, I don't think that there should be a defined cause, rather this Bad Thing (i.e., the recently deceased returning to life) should simply happen because it can. Keep the PCs guessing. It'll ratchet up the fear.

The Clu Gulager Factor:

Or, more correctly, there needs to be a take charge kind of guy who kicks ass and takes names but is destined to die horribly later in the flick game. There's nothing like building up hope for the PCs and then dashing it on the rocks just when things are looking up

 

[Wik]

IN my experience, zombie films are usually cool until the zombies really start showing up.

What I mean is, there's a survival element to the movies that is a theme all unto itself. Hoarding supplies. Making a defensive position. Dealing with survivors that you'd normally hate. Forming your own "tribe".

28 days later, for instance, had a lot of scenes where people were just coping with life. Cross-country driving, looting a convenience store, and dealing with the fact that you just had to kill a former friend because he was infected... and knowing that, should you get bitten, your best friend is going to do the same to you.

That, to me, is why zombies don't always work in RPGs. If a PC is bitten, he's dead. And in a true Zombiepocalypse, you don't introduce new characters... humanity is a dwindling asset.

Fun story, though. In a semi-Riftslike post-apoc game I ran, the two PCs came across a mine that had been invaded by zombies. They found a few survivors, and were trying to effect an escape... zombies in this world weren't the head of a zombiepocalypse, but were more localized threats.

The zombies closed ranks, after a few rounds of being blown to bits by the two well-armed PCs. Then, the mechanic was bitten. I rolled his saving throw in secret... he had failed.

Not knowing this, the two PCs make a hasty retreat to their El Dorado, and get in. The mechanic starts fumbling for his plague zombie antidote shot, but can't find it. And then he starts convulsing.

The other PC quickly levels his shotgun to the mechanic's head, and pulls the trigger. Then, he revs up the engine and drives through the swarm of zombies, the headless body of his buddy beside him.

Easily one of the coolest scenes we've ever had in an RPG, and one that both players still talk about as one of their favourites.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

It I think depends on the circumstance:

Fun, Intelligent Zombie:

This is a pretty modern creation, but the idea of a essentially classic zombie that has lost none of its intellect or abilities. The kind that will have a pleasant chat with you while using a fork and knife to neatly eat a human brain.

These I think are fun for really campy, comedic games. Especially if your group are playing the zombies.

Fun, Stupid Zombies:

These are more your Romero-style zombie. Where their stupid, slow lumbering corpses that can be killed somewhat easily.

The fun with these is it gives a sense of comfort and familiarity in many gaming groups familiar with zombie-flicks. This can be quite good if you want a fun, easy-going romp through a zombie-game.

Spooky, Massive Hordes:

Now into more serious territory, the extremely massive hordes of slow zombies. This I found was exemplified extremely well in World War Z. Where essentially all of New York had become zombified and the army facing the horde could see a endless line of them stretching all the way back to the city.

This is good in games, since while the players can have a chance to survive and also take out their fair-share of numbers. It is still a extremely credible threat if they get overwhelmed and is atmospherically amazing. Just having the moan of thousands of zombies can be creepy.

Fast, Medium Hordes:

The more modern style of zombie where they attack in fewer numbers but are quite fast and take lots of punishment.

These are extremely good in RPGs since you can use fewer of them but still create a credible threat and scary atmosphere (if they can climb even more so).

Atmospheric, Single Zombie:

This is when travelling through a city or countryside you see a single zombie or two simply wandering or feasting.

These are less for combat and more atmosphere, with hordes it is all about escaping with single zombie or two it creates more a connection between the zombie and what is happening around the PCs.

Overall I think zombies only work as good as the atmosphere and setting you create.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

If they run, they ain't zombies in my book. Ghouls, maybe.

If they run, they're zombies. If they stand still, they're well-fed zombies.

 

[Phlebas]

Hopping Zombies

(from Mr Vampire)

 

[Doug McCrae]

Don't overlook the importance of the slow, shambling approach. It builds a lot more tension than a monster that gets in your face right away and is the one thing that makes zombies special. Otherwise they're just another undead in a system that has a gajillion of 'em.

For it to work tactically the PCs need to be surrounded (and heavily outnumbered) or physically restrained, which is admittedly pretty hard to set up.

 

[jdrakeh]

For it to work tactically the PCs need to be surrounded (and heavily outnumbered) or physically restrained, which is admittedly pretty hard to set up.

It's not hard at all, really. It doesn't have so much to do with restraint as it does with isolation. If you make the default setting an isolated place that is cut off from the rest of the living world (e.g., an old farmhouse, a science supply warehouse, a shopping mall, a military bunker, an entire city, etc), you're good to go.