Rethinking Zombies: Skaarsport Zombies

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Here’s the zombies I used in my minicon a few weeks back. I used LotFP Grindhouse and Vornheim. These undead were loose in a very large city and the players were all returning veterans of overseas wars at about fifth level.

The important bits:

• As they age, they fall apart. They lose one or more body parts every few days. This sort of calculation is of course impractical when you have 40 of them coming at you, but if it’s just 3-5 it’s just a few quick rolls (table at bottom of post). So I’d run a mb of zombies as half-max HP zombies until one is targeted or steps up to attack on its own. Then I’d do a few rolls.
• These zombies heads explode if they are ‘headshot.’ I think I allowed head targeting with a -3 penalty to hit per 10 feet away. Natural 20’s were always headshots.
• At zero HP, these zombies regenerate HP to all damage unless a remove curse has been cast. Only damage caused by healing spells, fire or headshots could not regenerate. Cure disease would turn the zombie into a still corpse.

Fresh human zombie:

Move: normal human but +1 to encumbrance

AC 12 unless armored

(This is LOTFP AC, since I used LOTFP. 12 is normal human. Lower is worse.)

HP 10

Attack as FTR 3

Damage = 1d6 or weapon

Regenerates +1 HP/round unless burned or healed. Even if ‘killed’.

If the head is destroyed, an explosion of brain pressure causes 1d4 to all adjacent creatures.

Might be blind or deaf depending on body condition.

Curing wounds > Max HP points returns them to normal corpse. (no revive)

Cure disease automatically returns them to corpse state.

Remove curse means they do not revive after 0 HP.

Communicates with others via screams, morse code taps. Communication limited to simple information like ‘fresh meat here’ or ‘run! fire!’.

2+ days old

Same as above except:

+1 disability

Melee and Missile AC 9

8 HP

+1 encumbrance

Less rational, less likely to work as team, loses track of what it is doing and wanders off aimlessly (fails on 1d6)

4+ days old

+1 disability

Melee and Missile AC 7

Can no longer climb.

6 HP

+2 encumbrance

Less rational (1-2 on d6)

Week old +

+1 disability (3 total) at 1 week and +1 per week thereafter

Melee and Missile AC 6

Attack does 1d4

4 HP

Less rational (1-3 on d6)

Adjustments: per 100 lbs of human, age slower by half.

Zombie Disability Chart