Evolving/Smarter Zombies

[lvl 1 sharnian]

The idea is that the story is taking place during a z-day apocalypse, rendering zombies dominant; 6+ billion zombies compared to -50000 humans scattered around the globe. The party is basically trying to reclaim the world or atleast part of their homes. However I don't want it to drain down into a defend the fort type game so I decided the zombies are going to evolve and get smarter. This is all during the DnD/medieval times by the way.

I was going to play them with a set programming (walk towards the nearest living thing) that gradually got better and more adaptable as time passes. They would also evolve new capabilities and such so the PCs are discouraged from using the same tactics everytime.

Anyways their evolution would be mostly reactive:


For example,

Heightened Senses
If after 7? days the zombies can't find them they develop heightened hearing, smelling, and seeing (or maybe evolve the senses separately to go easy on them) in the form of bonuses to their Spot, Listen, and Tracking checks.

Overcoming Rigor Mortis
If the zombies keep being outrunned (PCs keep escaping for several days (7?) zombies may take 1 move action and 1 standard action per turn instead of just 1 or the other

Developed Legs
If PCs are still escaping after 7 days, Zombies gain Run as a bonus feat

Etc. Of course these are only the evolutionary traits, the zombies will also be able to become more intelligent over time.

Sentience

After 1 month/year, zombies gain an Intelligence score of 3

Disguise

6 months after gaining sentience, zombies passively change out of their tattered clothes and hats to resemble the living. Spot DC = 10 to recognize a zombie, +5 if head is covered. zombies gain +3 Int

Etc. Now zombies are still no fun if they're still easy to kill in combat so the zombies will adapt for combat.

Discovering Armor

If a significant (subject to DM) amount of zombies are killed after becoming sentient, they will actively seek out armor to wear. +2 Int for zombies

Adaptive Armor

After discovering armor, when many zombies are still killed by PCs, they adapt to the method used to kill them. +2 Int E.g.

Headshots = Helmets
Fire = Flame Retardant Gear
Grenades = pickup shield and duck behind shield as a readied action (don't know name for action) zombies behind them hold shields above head to prevent grenades from being thrown behind the frontline. Zombies without shields dive away. Eg. Reflex Save

These are just some of the ideas I had about making zombies a lot more threatening. The campaign was intended to be apocalyptic with mild horror elements. Let me know what you think or any suggestions.

[Pie Guy]

So after a few months or years (sentience doesn't specify well), the zombies act just like normal people with a little more lust for brains? Because 10 int is normal for a person.

[lvl 1 sharnian]

Well I meant for them to end at 10-20 Int in the end. There supposed to be a lot smarter than humans in the end, with the undead typing the only significant similarity between them and traditional zombies. I just listed examples for possible evolutionary branches they could undergo. As for sentience, I was still deciding whether years would take too long.

[Mando Knight]

Standard human/Super-human levels of intelligence aren't fitting for zombies. Maybe lesser levels of sapience, but once they hit ~6 Intelligence they probably aren't zombies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie).

Also, zombies are decaying masses of flesh. They'd get worse as they got older, wouldn't they? The main problem of a zombie apocalypse is that they're everywhere. It's like living in a den of hungry dogs: you could probably out-fight them individually, but there's just too many to do so.

The big question I want to ask is, why/how are the zombies able to become faster or more intelligent? They begin as decaying mindless creatures, so how do they gain the ability to learn?

[brujon]

My suggestions:

- Don't make the system be based only on time. If you do, when enough time has passed, the PC's will be FORCED to: run, or in a "defend the fort" situation, which you said you want to avoid. If you want to go that route, explain to the players that they have no possibility of winning. They will be outnumbered.

- Create some sort of "class" which progress the zombie based on time and combat, maybe number of brains eaten, too. Separate them like you would separate the NPC's in a city: 80% lvl 1-3, 10% lvl 4-6, 5% lvl 7-10 5% lvl 10+ ; Then, the zombie commanders could possibly rally zombie mobs to use simple tools, maybe zombie recon teams and stuff. That way the PC's will still be forced to change their tactics, but they won't fall to the pressure of sheer numbers. They will still need to sleep, and the zombies, won't...

- Armored zombies are not that difficult to muster. Knights and Warriors abound in medieval settings, most of them still wearing armor. They don't need to be smarter to be tougher. Weapon using is covered with the "zombie commander" thing.

With that in mind, i think it's an thrilling experience to be in a zombie-filled world. Especially when you don't have at hand all the stuff you have nowadays.

[Jane_Smith]

Your thinking about it all the wrong way - Do not go zombies.

Use living people who have been infected and their bodies are nothing but dying husks. Their was a template in Champions of Ruin at the end where a necromancer can make a subdued victim a 'living zombie', and they age 1/2 less each day (passing their aging to the zombie) as long as that 'zombie' is attuned to them. (It also does not count against your undead max HD)

Thus, a cabal of necromancers can have millions of semi-intelligent, brainwashed, zombie-like living people serving them for immortality and a army of fodder. They would not evolve - the necromancers would simply become more aware of the pc's and send enhanced living zombies, more of them, or necromancer-led strike forces to assault the pc's, thus they have a more intelligence leader controlling them for better stradigy, etc.

Note - this would also give the players a -focus- to attack; for every 'archmage necromancer' killed, that could be hundreds or thousands of people freed from his curse-of-flesh like effect. The pc's would have a clear goal - kill the necromancers or be killed, while fending from constant waves of attacks!

[lvl 1 sharnian]

I like your idea... reminds me of 28 days.

Perhaps have the "infected"(as "zombie" is now debatable) under their control die off when the necromancer dies because he placed evil spirits or so to control them. It should give the PCs a moral dilemma... kill off him now and kill a chunk of humanity or try to find a cure..?


Standard human/Super-human levels of intelligence aren't fitting for zombies. Maybe lesser levels of sapience, but once they hit ~6 Intelligence they probably aren't zombies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie).

Also, zombies are decaying masses of flesh. They'd get worse as they got older, wouldn't they? The main problem of a zombie apocalypse is that they're everywhere. It's like living in a den of hungry dogs: you could probably out-fight them individually, but there's just too many to do so.

The big question I want to ask is, why/how are the zombies able to become faster or more intelligent? They begin as decaying mindless creatures, so how do they gain the ability to learn?

That didn't stop Blizzard...
Anyways, the undead curse/disease is EPIC reanimation, restores back to life gradually returning them back to regular function minus free will and some of their skin and flesh.

[Jane_Smith]

Also, another reason you want necromancy involved no matter what - its a well known fact necromantic energy preserves dead flesh. That way you can reasonable say "well, they arnt rotting anytime soon."

[lvl 1 sharnian]

Although I should think of a way to prevent them from getting away to another plane... Zombie Solars? maybe

[Jane_Smith]

Outsiders cannot be turned into zombies. Only outsider in history to have been effected as such is the legendary demon princes Orcus - and that involved some seriously epic stuff.

[lvl 1 sharnian]

Hmm... right the whole return to home plane thing. Maybe have the Gods impose a quarantine eg Epic Antimagic field etc upon the material plane so as to prevent spreading of the taint.

[Jane_Smith]

Gods could kill them all, why waste the power on a giant anti magic field that would make all magic null - including mortals. :P Maybe its not a world-wide pandemic? Maybe just a large continent/nation? Something that wouldnt invoke the wrath of the gods...

Could make the game about players who are deep inside 'enemy territory' and are trying to escape to a safer region/country?

[Je dit Viola]

Or you could make it so the players come from an outside country and were sent to get rid of the scourge. That always works, and it also gives human non-zombies a mistrust of them, and makes the players stand out more.

That, and they aren't allowed to leave before removing the 'taint', one way or another, because their home country might get infected.

[Eerie]

Or you could use headcrab zombies. The headcrab is controling a human brain, so it should become smarter as time passes...

[vasharanpaladin]

Outsiders cannot be turned into zombies. Only outsider in history to have been effected as such is the legendary demon princes Orcus - and that involved some seriously epic stuff.

WRONG! Any corporeal creature that isn't already undead can become a zombie.:smallamused:

That being said, Orcus was a freak to begin with. I suggest using the Evolved Undead template in Libris Mortis to represent this. It's easier than homebrew.:smalleek:

[GreatWyrmGold]

Outsiders cannot be turned into zombies. Only outsider in history to have been effected as such is the legendary demon princes Orcus - and that involved some seriously epic stuff.
Either you mean Prince or Princess, and, unless someone slipped the Girdle of Feminity/Masculinity (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0009.html) onto him...


I suggest using the Evolved Undead template in Libris Mortis to represent this. It's easier than homebrew.:smalleek:
Well, o.k, but, even with spell-like abilities, fast healing, and whatnot, it'd still be dumb as a bug.

I suggest simply having Inteligence increase over time in a Darwinian fasion-smarter zombies catch more prey and pass their traits along to more humans. Maybe they eventually evolve to attack other zombies that are sufficiently different and pass their traits along, which causes infighting but passes on the genes quickly.

[Juggernaut1981]

Option 1: Necromancers did it.
Get the entire conecpt behind "Resident Evil" and instead of making it "Crazy Evil Scientists" it becomes "Crazy Evil Necromancers". Goal of PCs: Find out who, what and how caused the current Zombie-Pocalypse.

Option 2: Eating brains makes me smarter
Zombie 1 ate people's brains. This made more zombies. Zombie 1 became smarter and realised that eating brains made it smarter. So it created "zombie killing gangs" that went around hunting living things and sharing the brains... making the "original killing gangs" smarter and the other zombie either a) joined sub-gangs or b) just ran around and maybe ate some brains but otherwise killed things. That all started a long time ago and now Zombie-Pocalypse is upon us all... (except for the PCs).

[imp_fireball]

Well I meant for them to end at 10-20 Int in the end. There supposed to be a lot smarter than humans in the end, with the undead typing the only significant similarity between them and traditional zombies. I just listed examples for possible evolutionary branches they could undergo. As for sentience, I was still deciding whether years would take too long.

You could also include miniboss zombies and as a 'warning' of whats to come. One or two zombies might run while everything else shambles. Another zombie is particularly beefy and wielding a large sword (one size category larger).

Another is an abberation (not the type) that can spiderclimb use scent and improved grab with a massive tongue. Sort of the resident evil direction with this.

[lvl 1 sharnian]

Sounds great, I figured there's no way they would be able to stop it before they reach special ops, but I'll still and stall because I need it to reach the point where their so smart and evolved, they've taken on SR or something that they can use to overthrow their necromancer controllers all the while hunting the PCs using guerilla tactics, false distress, artillery support, and stuff like that. No more human wave tactics for them.

Maybe even have them experiment on non-zombie beings after a point to try and create their own zombies, which in the end are identical to humans because they've evolved to the point where humans are now mindless corpses compared to them

I was inspired by that kobold guy to make better zombies.

EDIT: And for a kick, let's also a different insane zombie killing faction that's been established too long to the players just to show them what happens when they stay too long and establish a time limit.

[grautry]

Well, if we're taking inspiration from other media then I'll suggest taking inspiration from Left 4 Dead.

What you basically have is hordes of weak, level 1 zombies plus several types of zombies that have evolved into more specialized and more powerful roles. Look here (http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Infected) for descriptions.

I think that just seems like a better idea - and a more interesting one - than making every zombie share similar evolutions.