05-22-2019, 08:16 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Spookier zombies ('n such)
I like games where the corporeal undead are a bit scarier than just a clumsy guy who looks like he could use a bath. Here's a simple variant on the TFT zombie (extendable to skeletons, etc.):
- Not subject to incapacitation or death by accumulated ST losses. - IS subject to all other effects of damage. Under these rules, a zombie will get temporarily set back on its heels by 5 point wound (or 2 point head wound), knocked down, and forced to retreat, and will fight at -3 DX once hacked down below 3 ST, but it will keep on coming at you regardless. An aimed shot to the arm or leg will degrade its ability to fight ... but it will keep coming. The only attack that will effectively take it out of the fight for good is a 5+ damage aimed shot to the head, which can be interpreted as the loss of orientation, vision, etc. rather than unconsciousness, per se. I like house rules that can be articulated very briefly but have substantial impact at the table. I think this accomplishes that - give it a try and see what your players make of ever-ready zombies! |
05-22-2019, 11:25 AM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
Here's one from my TFT campaign along those lines. Undead, simple, impactful (has much more impact when imported to GURPS...):
Berserker Ghouls A type of ghoul (q.v. ITL), they can and do all go berserk when they engage in combat. They hoot and scream a lot, and tend to go around in packs of a dozen or more, relying on their numbers and frenzy to overwhelm their victims. Their tactic is generally to all try to get their victims in HTH combat. |
05-22-2019, 11:26 AM | #3 | |
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
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05-22-2019, 01:06 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Mar 2018
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
The Walking Dead approach would be, at some point you say the zombie is down for good (eg -10 ST or whatever). But until the headshot, the head and anything somehow still connected to it can bite/grab/jump scare the unwary or someone forced into the zombie's hex.
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05-22-2019, 01:14 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
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Perhaps it sounds less crazy/confusing if you ask yourself how you would completely destroy a combatant's body in normal play. There isn't an obvious answer to that question. There are ways to make a foe accumulate enough damage that it can no longer do certain things. And if total damage is great enough and goes unhealed long enough those certain things include breathing. But what if you don't need to breath? Or pump blood or anything else like that. |
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05-22-2019, 01:17 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
Exactly. Functionally, a zombie becomes a nuisance creature once a couple of its limbs are incapacitated. And a zombie with ST reduced below 3 will have a pretty low DX, perhaps also putting it into the nuisance creature category. But you need to do something pretty specific to get it so incapacitated that it can be completely ignored. The motivation behind my suggestion here is that I think of this outcome as a feature, not a problem. We already have lots of monsters that are defeated following a standard recipe. What do you do about a monster that can't be defeated by that recipe?
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05-22-2019, 01:22 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Nashville, TN
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
I hear that "Kill it with Fire" is a popular solution. :)
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I didn't realize who I was until I stopped being who I wasn't. Formerly known as Bookman- forum name changed 1/3/2018. |
05-22-2019, 01:35 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: New England
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
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05-22-2019, 07:33 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
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05-24-2019, 09:10 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Aerlith
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Re: Spookier zombies ('n such)
I put Feral Zombies in my unlife book, and they function pretty much like Romero zombies. Basically they are regular TFT zombies which have no one controlling them, and in order to stave off the daily ST loss they seek out flesh to consume. If they can feed on the living, then no decay for that day. This has the side effect of making a zombie army cheaper for an evil necromancer to maintain - you just have to keep them fed.
Feral Zombies also have a contagion aspect. Any bite from one has a 50% chance of passing along the contagion, and when someone infected dies, they rise as a Feral Zombie as well. Also a useful aspect for the aforementioned evil necromancer. |
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