Clumsy Zombies? - Page 3

~~evileeyore~~ · 12-08-2016, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

In the literal sense, yes. But thematically, they have different powers and level of mental faculty.

Not with any great consistency.

Yup, it's a matter of definitions.

Flyndaran · 12-09-2016, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warlockco

A Zombie is technically any animated corpse with or without intellect (typically unintelligent) as long as it isn't a Skeleton.
...

So all fleshy corporeal undead are zombies? Vampires are zombies?

ericthered · 12-09-2016, 08:08 AM

In the realm of fiction, monsters generally have archetypes, not taxonomies. You compare the distinguishing features of the archetype to the monster you have to determine if it should be called by the archetype name. This means that drawing lines between archetypes is usually pointless, though contrast isn't useless.

A mummy is a kind of corpse. Mummies exist, and Undead using such a corpse are usually referred to as mummies, regardless of any other factors. Of note is some of them have features not shared by other undead.

Zombies are tricky because they have at least two archetypes in modern lore. One is the drone following the will of a sorcerer (or occasionally a curse). The other is a corpse animated by psudeo science and craving brains. Making things more complicated is that While zombies typically lack both a healthy body and a functioning mind, missing either one will suffice to acquire the title. They also tend to be the fallback name for corporeal undead.

Warlockco · 12-09-2016, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

So all fleshy corporeal undead are zombies? Vampires are zombies?

If you really want to **** the vampire off, yes you can call them a zombie.

As ericthered said a few posts later, undead are more archetypes, but if you can't find an archetype fit (known or otherwise), then you call it the closest thing.

So if someone didn't know what a vampire was, but knew the creature was undead, its a zombie.

Undead for the most part have 3 types with many variations within the type.
Fleshy undead are all "zombies" which can be mummy, vampire, ghoul, various types of actual zombie
Skeletal undead are all "skeletons"
Intangible undead are all "ghosts"

12-09-2016, 08:08 AM	#23
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Re: Clumsy Zombies? In the realm of fiction, monsters generally have archetypes, not taxonomies. You compare the distinguishing features of the archetype to the monster you have to determine if it should be called by the archetype name. This means that drawing lines between archetypes is usually pointless, though contrast isn't useless. A mummy is a kind of corpse. Mummies exist, and Undead using such a corpse are usually referred to as mummies, regardless of any other factors. Of note is some of them have features not shared by other undead. Zombies are tricky because they have at least two archetypes in modern lore. One is the drone following the will of a sorcerer (or occasionally a curse). The other is a corpse animated by psudeo science and craving brains. Making things more complicated is that While zombies typically lack both a healthy body and a functioning mind, missing either one will suffice to acquire the title. They also tend to be the fallback name for corporeal undead. __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!

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