GreatWyrmGold
2009-09-11, 08:26 PM
Okay, ha ha. Now let's get down to buisiness.
As Roy so eloquently (?) put it, unless a Micael Jackson video erupts right in the middle of a battle, zombies don't do much more than shuffle around. Zombies in D&D are like they are in voodoo (which, on an undelated note, the writers of the 2nd edition Shadowrun sourcebook Awakenings said was spelled voudoun. I told you it was unrelated!).
So, here are some ideas.
Zombie Curse
Some zombies put a curse on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put...
Hollywood Zombies
Somewhere, a virus originated. It turns those it infects into zombies. They gain the following template:
Type: Undead
HD: Zombies have their hit points double, since these represent having to hack apart the zombie's body.
Speed: Halved. Zombies lose their non-land forms of movement, unless they lack land speeds, in which case they only retain their "main" speed (swim for fish, as an example), which is halved.
Attack: If they have no natural bite attack or attack with Improved Grab, they gain a grab attack or a bite attack. Creatures who have arms or similar gain a bite attack; ones without gain a bite attack.
The grab attack deals no damage, but is a touch attack and gains benifets from the Improved Grab ability.
{table=head]Size|Bite Damage
Fine or Diminutive|-
Tiny|1
Small|1d2
Medium|1d3
Large|1d4
Huge|1d6
Gargantuan|1d8
Collasal|1d10[/table]
SA: Improved Grab (with bite or grab)
Bite (zombies with a grab attack only): The zombie can attempt to make a Grapple check to deliver a bite attack dealing damage as a zombie of its size and inflicting zombie fever.
Zombie Fever: See below.
SQ: Zombie Resilience (see below)
Zombie Clumsiness (see below)
Detect Life: A zombie may make a Wisdom check with a +14 racial bonus to detect the nearest living creature or group thereof. The DC is 10, with the modifiers below:
{table=head]Circumstance|Modifier
Target larger than Medium|-2 per size category
Multiple creatures|-2 per extra creature
~~~~|~~~~
Per 100 feet away|-1
Makes Hide check to avoid being seen by the zombies|See below
Makes Move Silently check to avoid being heard by the zombies|See below[/table]
If a character makes a Hide or Move Silently check to avoid being seen or heard by a zombie, it adds 1/2 of the check result, minus 5, to the zombie's DC.
A zombie loses all other special attacks and special qualities that it had in life unless they are A.) Extraordinary, B.) based on anttomy, and C.) constantly active,
Abilities: Initially, Dex -2, Con -, Int -, Wis 3, Cha 1. See also Zombie Age (below)
CR: +1 or +2 for creatures who deliver zombie fever through bite attacks instead of grappling.
Zombie Fever
This ability is sort of a disease; any magical effect that removes disease removes zombie fever IF the caster suceeds on a DC 20 caster level check.
Every hour, a character under the effect of zombie fever must make a DC 15 Fortitude szve or take 1 point of Constitution drain. Whenever the character dies, if the brain is not destroyed, they turn into a zombie in 1d6 hours.
Zombie Resilience
A zombie can only be destroyed by destroying the brain. The zombie's hit points represent the effort of reducing a body to where it is effectivly destroyed; as such, it takes no damage from piercing atacks and only half damage from bludgeoning attacks. In addition, energy damage is modified as if the zombie was an object.
A zombie's head may be targeted. This provides a variable attack penalty; most humanoid creature's heads are treated as being four size categories smaller, but a beholder's "head" is its body. A head has hardness 5 and hit points based on its size:
{table=head]Size|Hit points
Fine|1
Diminutive|2
Tiny|4
Small|8
Medium|16
Large|32
Huge|64
Gargantuan|128
Collasal|256[/table]
Zombie Clumsiness
A zombie automatically fails all Jump and Swim checks, and has a -15 penalty to Climb checks and a -20 penalty to Balence checks.
Zombie Aging
A zombie decays like a corpse, albeit much slower. Every 1d6 months or so (more in humid, hot climates, less in cold, dry ones), a zombie loses 1 point of Strength and Dexterity. When one of these attributes reaches 0, the zombie falls apart.
Zombie Mutation
This idea goes with one of the above two. Basically, zombies change about 1% of the time, and gain either a positive or a negative mutation, or maybe a nutral one. All mutations pass on to any zombies the mutant creates.
Some traits come in levels. In general, mutation levels stack, even if gained from different generations.
Random mutation table:
{table]d8 result|Mutation
1|Claw
2|Lose Negative Mutation
3|Rending Grasp
4|Slow Decay
5|Fast Decay
6|Lose Positive Mutation
7|Putrescent
8|Roll twice[/table]
Positive mutations
Claw: This mutation comes in levels. At level 1, it grants the zombie two claw attacks of a creature one size smaller's bite. At level 2, It can throw it's claws. At level 3, it can transmit Zombie fever to the target of it's claws(non-thrown). At level 4, it can transmit zombie fever with all claw attacks. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels.
Lose Negative Mutation: The zombie loses one negative mutation, or one level of a leveled negative mutation.
Rending Grasp: If this zombie wins a grapple check after a successful bite attack, it establishes a hold, latching onto the opponent’s body & tearing the flesh. This attack automatically deals damage equal to their bite.
Slow Decay: This trait comes in levels. At level 1, the zombie loses 1 Dex and Str every 2d6 months. At level 2, it loses them every 1d6 years. At level 3, it loses them once every 2d6 years. At level 4, it never loses Str or Dex points to decay. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels.
Negative Mutations
Fast Decay: This trait comes in levels. At level 1, the zombie loses 1 point of Dex and Str every 1d6 weeks. At level 2, they are lost every 1d6 days. At level 3, they are lost every 2d20 hours. At level 4, they are lost every 1d20 hours. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels. Needless to say, zombies with high levels of this trait don't often pass it on.
Lose Positive Mutation: The zombie loses one positive mutation, or one level of a leveled positive mutation.
Neutral Mutations
Putrescent: It is impossible to disguise this zombie as anything else, and it are easy to track or locate due to its smell. Any attempt to use the Track feat against this zombie gains a +10 circumstance bonus. Everyone within 5’ needs to make a Fortitude save (DC10) or become sickened.
As Roy so eloquently (?) put it, unless a Micael Jackson video erupts right in the middle of a battle, zombies don't do much more than shuffle around. Zombies in D&D are like they are in voodoo (which, on an undelated note, the writers of the 2nd edition Shadowrun sourcebook Awakenings said was spelled voudoun. I told you it was unrelated!).
So, here are some ideas.
Zombie Curse
Some zombies put a curse on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put on those who they kill. They gain the zombie template, with the zombie curse ability (which causes a curse to be put...
Hollywood Zombies
Somewhere, a virus originated. It turns those it infects into zombies. They gain the following template:
Type: Undead
HD: Zombies have their hit points double, since these represent having to hack apart the zombie's body.
Speed: Halved. Zombies lose their non-land forms of movement, unless they lack land speeds, in which case they only retain their "main" speed (swim for fish, as an example), which is halved.
Attack: If they have no natural bite attack or attack with Improved Grab, they gain a grab attack or a bite attack. Creatures who have arms or similar gain a bite attack; ones without gain a bite attack.
The grab attack deals no damage, but is a touch attack and gains benifets from the Improved Grab ability.
{table=head]Size|Bite Damage
Fine or Diminutive|-
Tiny|1
Small|1d2
Medium|1d3
Large|1d4
Huge|1d6
Gargantuan|1d8
Collasal|1d10[/table]
SA: Improved Grab (with bite or grab)
Bite (zombies with a grab attack only): The zombie can attempt to make a Grapple check to deliver a bite attack dealing damage as a zombie of its size and inflicting zombie fever.
Zombie Fever: See below.
SQ: Zombie Resilience (see below)
Zombie Clumsiness (see below)
Detect Life: A zombie may make a Wisdom check with a +14 racial bonus to detect the nearest living creature or group thereof. The DC is 10, with the modifiers below:
{table=head]Circumstance|Modifier
Target larger than Medium|-2 per size category
Multiple creatures|-2 per extra creature
~~~~|~~~~
Per 100 feet away|-1
Makes Hide check to avoid being seen by the zombies|See below
Makes Move Silently check to avoid being heard by the zombies|See below[/table]
If a character makes a Hide or Move Silently check to avoid being seen or heard by a zombie, it adds 1/2 of the check result, minus 5, to the zombie's DC.
A zombie loses all other special attacks and special qualities that it had in life unless they are A.) Extraordinary, B.) based on anttomy, and C.) constantly active,
Abilities: Initially, Dex -2, Con -, Int -, Wis 3, Cha 1. See also Zombie Age (below)
CR: +1 or +2 for creatures who deliver zombie fever through bite attacks instead of grappling.
Zombie Fever
This ability is sort of a disease; any magical effect that removes disease removes zombie fever IF the caster suceeds on a DC 20 caster level check.
Every hour, a character under the effect of zombie fever must make a DC 15 Fortitude szve or take 1 point of Constitution drain. Whenever the character dies, if the brain is not destroyed, they turn into a zombie in 1d6 hours.
Zombie Resilience
A zombie can only be destroyed by destroying the brain. The zombie's hit points represent the effort of reducing a body to where it is effectivly destroyed; as such, it takes no damage from piercing atacks and only half damage from bludgeoning attacks. In addition, energy damage is modified as if the zombie was an object.
A zombie's head may be targeted. This provides a variable attack penalty; most humanoid creature's heads are treated as being four size categories smaller, but a beholder's "head" is its body. A head has hardness 5 and hit points based on its size:
{table=head]Size|Hit points
Fine|1
Diminutive|2
Tiny|4
Small|8
Medium|16
Large|32
Huge|64
Gargantuan|128
Collasal|256[/table]
Zombie Clumsiness
A zombie automatically fails all Jump and Swim checks, and has a -15 penalty to Climb checks and a -20 penalty to Balence checks.
Zombie Aging
A zombie decays like a corpse, albeit much slower. Every 1d6 months or so (more in humid, hot climates, less in cold, dry ones), a zombie loses 1 point of Strength and Dexterity. When one of these attributes reaches 0, the zombie falls apart.
Zombie Mutation
This idea goes with one of the above two. Basically, zombies change about 1% of the time, and gain either a positive or a negative mutation, or maybe a nutral one. All mutations pass on to any zombies the mutant creates.
Some traits come in levels. In general, mutation levels stack, even if gained from different generations.
Random mutation table:
{table]d8 result|Mutation
1|Claw
2|Lose Negative Mutation
3|Rending Grasp
4|Slow Decay
5|Fast Decay
6|Lose Positive Mutation
7|Putrescent
8|Roll twice[/table]
Positive mutations
Claw: This mutation comes in levels. At level 1, it grants the zombie two claw attacks of a creature one size smaller's bite. At level 2, It can throw it's claws. At level 3, it can transmit Zombie fever to the target of it's claws(non-thrown). At level 4, it can transmit zombie fever with all claw attacks. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels.
Lose Negative Mutation: The zombie loses one negative mutation, or one level of a leveled negative mutation.
Rending Grasp: If this zombie wins a grapple check after a successful bite attack, it establishes a hold, latching onto the opponent’s body & tearing the flesh. This attack automatically deals damage equal to their bite.
Slow Decay: This trait comes in levels. At level 1, the zombie loses 1 Dex and Str every 2d6 months. At level 2, it loses them every 1d6 years. At level 3, it loses them once every 2d6 years. At level 4, it never loses Str or Dex points to decay. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels.
Negative Mutations
Fast Decay: This trait comes in levels. At level 1, the zombie loses 1 point of Dex and Str every 1d6 weeks. At level 2, they are lost every 1d6 days. At level 3, they are lost every 2d20 hours. At level 4, they are lost every 1d20 hours. This mutation cannot have 5 or more levels. Needless to say, zombies with high levels of this trait don't often pass it on.
Lose Positive Mutation: The zombie loses one positive mutation, or one level of a leveled positive mutation.
Neutral Mutations
Putrescent: It is impossible to disguise this zombie as anything else, and it are easy to track or locate due to its smell. Any attempt to use the Track feat against this zombie gains a +10 circumstance bonus. Everyone within 5’ needs to make a Fortitude save (DC10) or become sickened.