Dead Space Necromorphs

GreatWyrmGold · 10-13-2011, 08:38 PM

I've decided to run a fantasy GURPS zombie-apocalypse game. To make it more !!fun!!, I decided to have the zombies be necromorphs from Dead Space.

Does anyone have a good necromorph racial template or, barring that, some idea of what kind of pre-existing stuff could be put together to make one?

lachimba · 10-13-2011, 08:46 PM

Have thought of doing this as GURPS myself.

Unliving, no blood, no brain and (sometimes) no vitals along with a vulnerability to decapitating attacks is a start.

Psychotime · 10-13-2011, 08:46 PM

Well they're nothing but zombies that weaponize their physiology, aren't they?

I never cared to look up the names of the monsters, but it should be pretty easy to make each of them. Cutting Strikers, Sharp Teeth, No Arms, Corrosive Attacks, Piercing Attacks, ect on a case by case basis. Just slap them on any kind of zombie template and you should be fine.

Of course things are gonna be really different for the bosses, but whatever.

And lachimba, I think you mean severing attacks, which I guess would be Fragile (Brittle)? Decapitating is too specific and the fact that it's barely effective was a big gimmick of the series.

GreatWyrmGold · 10-13-2011, 08:54 PM

More specifically, that (as I understand it, having never played the game myself) you need to cut off a certain number of limbs to kill them. That would be the hard part (and knowing what kinds there are, because I have never played Dead Space).

Psychotime · 10-13-2011, 08:58 PM

You should play it then. If you want to use the creatures you should play the game itself to see how they're supposed to work, not work off of a second hand account. It's never the same. Taking ideas from them and trying to incorporate them 100% are two different things, and the latter needs you to play the game. That's like trying to use Aliens or Predators without watching any of the movies.

You don't have to cut off their limbs to kill them, but doing so deals the most damage as opposed to shooting them in the head or torso. It doesn't make any real world sense, but it's just a game mechanic. I'd ignore it.

GreatWyrmGold · 10-14-2011, 04:59 AM

I have a very good reason to use Dead Space zombies: Half of my players are zombie nuts. If I put "normal" zombies in the adventure, they'd have an effective defensive perimeter set up by the end of the session. That means that I either need to come up with some gimmick of my own or borrow it from somewhere else. Dead Space has the "zombie gimmick" that I'm most familiar with, so I was wondering if there was some way to use that. If not, I'd have to come up with a creative, sensible "gimmick," and I'm running low on time before the campaign starts.

EDIT: You guys have been helpful so far, though. Even if I can't copy necromorphs, I'll be able to throw my players a screwball.

Psychotime · 10-14-2011, 08:28 AM

Honestly the necromorphs aren't too different from the kind of stuff you see in Left for Dead.

Here's the fan wiki that you can swipe ideas from if need be. Best places to get this sort of stuff.

vicky_molokh · 10-14-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatWyrmGold

I have a very good reason to use Dead Space zombies: Half of my players are zombie nuts. If I put "normal" zombies in the adventure, they'd have an effective defensive perimeter set up by the end of the session. That means that I either need to come up with some gimmick of my own or borrow it from somewhere else. Dead Space has the "zombie gimmick" that I'm most familiar with, so I was wondering if there was some way to use that. If not, I'd have to come up with a creative, sensible "gimmick," and I'm running low on time before the campaign starts.

EDIT: You guys have been helpful so far, though. Even if I can't copy necromorphs, I'll be able to throw my players a screwball.

Not quite how most necromorphs work, but IT:Detachable Body Parts is a good counter to standard anti-zombie tactics, especially in fantasy (because in Fantasy a persistent flame[thrower] is much harder to make ubiquitous, even if there are short-burst fireballs on every corner).

zorg · 10-14-2011, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psychotime

You don't have to cut off their limbs to kill them, but doing so deals the most damage as opposed to shooting them in the head or torso. It doesn't make any real world sense, but it's just a game mechanic. I'd ignore it.

Intended to increase the gory mayhem, I think. You could, as a genre feature, add some damage on de-limbing attacks; or, as a Necro Trait, lower the damage needed to remove a Necromorph arm/leg.

Cosmetics aside, the basic Necromorph is just a regular Zombie, imo. The scary part isn't the opponent as such, but the bad lighting, ammo supply, and surprise attacks.

Adelus · 10-14-2011, 09:08 AM

Considering their extreme endurance and durability, I'm not sure modeling them like normal zombies make much sense.

It seems they are supposed to be considered capable of continued functioning unless massive damage is caused to the point where all their limbs connect (the torso) or when most of their limbs are gone (at that point, they are effectively a non-combatant, and die. I think there was some theory that the hivemind abandons useless necromorphs as they cease to be a useful asset).

Might want to try modeling it as some variety of Supernatural Durability or Unkillable with a mitigator regarding losing damage or movement capable limbs. Or maybe Injury Tolerance with Damage Reduction mitigated by limb removal. The head shouldn't be counted, as in many Necromorph cases the head is mostly vestigial or just a minor combat limb, and removal tends to just make them angrier.

Don't think of it as a traditional zombie that takes extra damage from limb removal. Think of it as a very robust, high redundancy torso that mostly serves as a connection point for a network of mildly independent limbs. The limbs need the torso as a base for movement and intercommunication, and the torso is very well protected - your best option is to dismember, bypassing the torso's armoring and redundancies by severing the limbs connections with it. Additionally, this deprives the Necromorph of mobility and weaponry it could use against you. Shooting at the torso with anything less than very heavy weaponry is going to be a huge waste of ammo, and between ammo conservation and the difficulty in having to aim for multiple limbs instead of making do with headshots or center of mass, necromorphs require a lot more firepower to take down than a traditional zombie and require more targeting and focus for each.

10-13-2011, 08:38 PM	#1
GreatWyrmGold Join Date: Oct 2011	Dead Space Necromorphs I've decided to run a fantasy GURPS zombie-apocalypse game. To make it more !!fun!!, I decided to have the zombies be necromorphs from Dead Space. Does anyone have a good necromorph racial template or, barring that, some idea of what kind of pre-existing stuff could be put together to make one?

10-13-2011, 08:46 PM	#2
lachimba MIB Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs Have thought of doing this as GURPS myself. Unliving, no blood, no brain and (sometimes) no vitals along with a vulnerability to decapitating attacks is a start.

10-13-2011, 08:46 PM	#3
Psychotime Join Date: Jun 2009	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs Well they're nothing but zombies that weaponize their physiology, aren't they? I never cared to look up the names of the monsters, but it should be pretty easy to make each of them. Cutting Strikers, Sharp Teeth, No Arms, Corrosive Attacks, Piercing Attacks, ect on a case by case basis. Just slap them on any kind of zombie template and you should be fine. Of course things are gonna be really different for the bosses, but whatever. And lachimba, I think you mean severing attacks, which I guess would be Fragile (Brittle)? Decapitating is too specific and the fact that it's barely effective was a big gimmick of the series. __________________ Who is this kid? [link] Last edited by Psychotime; 10-13-2011 at 08:51 PM.

10-13-2011, 08:54 PM	#4
GreatWyrmGold Join Date: Oct 2011	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs More specifically, that (as I understand it, having never played the game myself) you need to cut off a certain number of limbs to kill them. That would be the hard part (and knowing what kinds there are, because I have never played Dead Space).

10-13-2011, 08:58 PM	#5
Psychotime Join Date: Jun 2009	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs You should play it then. If you want to use the creatures you should play the game itself to see how they're supposed to work, not work off of a second hand account. It's never the same. Taking ideas from them and trying to incorporate them 100% are two different things, and the latter needs you to play the game. That's like trying to use Aliens or Predators without watching any of the movies. You don't have to cut off their limbs to kill them, but doing so deals the most damage as opposed to shooting them in the head or torso. It doesn't make any real world sense, but it's just a game mechanic. I'd ignore it. __________________ Who is this kid? [link] Last edited by Psychotime; 10-14-2011 at 09:09 AM.

10-14-2011, 04:59 AM	#6
GreatWyrmGold Join Date: Oct 2011	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs I have a very good reason to use Dead Space zombies: Half of my players are zombie nuts. If I put "normal" zombies in the adventure, they'd have an effective defensive perimeter set up by the end of the session. That means that I either need to come up with some gimmick of my own or borrow it from somewhere else. Dead Space has the "zombie gimmick" that I'm most familiar with, so I was wondering if there was some way to use that. If not, I'd have to come up with a creative, sensible "gimmick," and I'm running low on time before the campaign starts. EDIT: You guys have been helpful so far, though. Even if I can't copy necromorphs, I'll be able to throw my players a screwball. Last edited by GreatWyrmGold; 10-14-2011 at 05:05 AM. Reason: Forgot something

10-14-2011, 08:28 AM	#7
Psychotime Join Date: Jun 2009	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs Honestly the necromorphs aren't too different from the kind of stuff you see in Left for Dead. Here's the fan wiki that you can swipe ideas from if need be. Best places to get this sort of stuff. __________________ Who is this kid? [link]

10-14-2011, 09:08 AM	#10
Adelus Join Date: Jul 2007	Re: Dead Space Necromorphs Considering their extreme endurance and durability, I'm not sure modeling them like normal zombies make much sense. It seems they are supposed to be considered capable of continued functioning unless massive damage is caused to the point where all their limbs connect (the torso) or when most of their limbs are gone (at that point, they are effectively a non-combatant, and die. I think there was some theory that the hivemind abandons useless necromorphs as they cease to be a useful asset). Might want to try modeling it as some variety of Supernatural Durability or Unkillable with a mitigator regarding losing damage or movement capable limbs. Or maybe Injury Tolerance with Damage Reduction mitigated by limb removal. The head shouldn't be counted, as in many Necromorph cases the head is mostly vestigial or just a minor combat limb, and removal tends to just make them angrier. Don't think of it as a traditional zombie that takes extra damage from limb removal. Think of it as a very robust, high redundancy torso that mostly serves as a connection point for a network of mildly independent limbs. The limbs need the torso as a base for movement and intercommunication, and the torso is very well protected - your best option is to dismember, bypassing the torso's armoring and redundancies by severing the limbs connections with it. Additionally, this deprives the Necromorph of mobility and weaponry it could use against you. Shooting at the torso with anything less than very heavy weaponry is going to be a huge waste of ammo, and between ammo conservation and the difficulty in having to aim for multiple limbs instead of making do with headshots or center of mass, necromorphs require a lot more firepower to take down than a traditional zombie and require more targeting and focus for each. Last edited by Adelus; 10-14-2011 at 09:16 AM.