Horror Hero:Night of the Living Dead Zombie

[nexus]

Night of the Living Dead zombie

Val Char Cost Roll Notes

8 STR -2 11- Lift 75.8kg; 1 1/2d6 HTH damage

8 DEX -6 11- OCV: 3/DCV: 3

10 CON 0 11-

14 BODY 8 12-

5 INT -5 10- PER Roll 10-

0 EGO 0 9- ECV: 0

10 PRE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6

8 COM -1 11-

1 PD 0 Total: 1 PD (1 rPD)

1 ED 0 Total: 1 ED (1 rED)

1 SPD 0 Phases: 7

4 REC 0

0 END 0

Total Characteristics Cost: -10

Movement: Run: 4"/NC"

Swim: 2"/NC"

 

Cost Powers END

90 Dead Bodies: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50%

3 Dead Body: Damage Resistance (1 PD / 1 ED)

4 Tireless: Zero Endurance on Strength, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2) (4 Active Points)

50 Dead Support: Life Support (Eating: Character does not eat, Immunity: All terrestrial diseases and biowarfare agents, Immunity: All terrestrial poisons and chemical warfare agents, Longevity: Immortal, Safe in High Pressure, Safe in High Radiation, Safe in Intense Cold, Safe in Intense Heat, Safe in Low Pressure/Vacuum, Self-Contained Breathing, Sleeping: Character does not sleep)

60 The Dead Feel no pain: Automaton (Takes No STUN)

15 Does Not Bleed

15 Sense Flesh: Detect:Fresh Flesh A Single Thing 10- (Range, Sense, Tracking)

6 Sense Flesh: Enhanced Perception (+6 to PER Rolls for Single Sense)

 

Skills

4 +2 with grab

 

Total Powers & Skills Cost: 265

Total Cost: 255

 

200+ Disadvantages

15 Distinctive Features: Corpse pallor, smell of death, spots of decay, Concealable, Always Noticed and Causes Major Reaction, Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses

10 Physical Limitation: Dull senses -2 to all perception checks but sense flesh, Frequently, Slightly Impairing

20 Psychological Limitation: Their only motivation is to eat, Common, Total

20 Physical Limitation: Killed by an Impairing shot to the head, Frequently, Fully Impairing

 

Total Disadvantage Points: 252

 

This is a zombie like the ones seen in Night of the Living Dead, the original and the remake. They are, quite simply, animated corpses brought to life by some unknown means. They have minimal intelligence and seek only one thing to eat. They're desired food is human beings and they can seemingly sense them. These creatures are slow, their senses are dull and they are dumb. These zombies seem to almost be able to sense living flesh and swarm to it, drawn by some unholy instinct. They don't let anything stand in there way, battering threw any obstruction. Some seem to have rudimentary memories, such as :"house=people=food" and one zombie girl arms herself with gardening tool at one point, but mostly they simple shamble and grab for their targets then try to eat them alive when they get a hold. The zombies can be destroyed by a significant blow to the head or presumably decapitation. Nothing much else seems to bother them. They don't feel pain or fear, just an endless insatiable hunger.

 

Powers:Basically what you would expect of a corpse. They're hard to put down, don't breath or bleed and don't feel pain. They can sense living flesh fairly well. I didn't give them an "infection" power because in the movies zombies didn't create new zombies, well, beyond killing people so they could "wake up" (assuming they weren't completely devoured). It just seemed to be something that was happening worldwide. More of a campaign thing.

 

Appearance:Relatively fresh corpses, pallid with blue lips and milky eyes. They don't speak but only moan incoherently at times. Some have spots of decay and I imagine they don't smell too good. They move with as if painfully arthritic, shambling and jerky gait clearly noticeable, but someone might mistake a fresh one for a living person who is drunk or in pain. It may have been a limitation of budge, but only the very recently dead awakened though there is one scene of a very decayed corpse coming back to life. It looks like its little more than wet bones.

[Lord Liaden]

If this subgenre interests you, you might enjoy Will Mistretta's fine website devoted to the "Living Dead" setting:

 

http://www.yamoslair.com/totd.html

[nexus]

Thanks, thats a great site

[NuSoardGraphite]

These zombies would be good for a Resident Evil game as well.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever written up the "Rage Zombies" from 28 Days Later

[nexus]

Yep, someone did and posted them to the Hero Mailing list just a few days ago.

[Sketchpad]

Another good resource is AFMBE

[BoneDaddy]

Just a little nit-picking: High-pressure, low pressure, heat and cold would probably still effect the zombies just the same - they remain fundamentally organic, and freezing solid will stop them, as will enough fire. Low pressure/vacuum damages us is a lot of ways other than not breathing. Among other things, we boil - that'll pop you like a poodle in a microwave, zombie or not.

 

Just my 2AP

[nexus]

I think corpses tend to dry out in vaccuum when their moisture bleeds away, but don't pop like balloons. But that is a good point. Yes, soime extreme enviornments are going to effect the zombies, but for the most part they are immune to the conditions they could be expected to encounter in their setting.

 

And the trouble with Hero life support is that, for the most part, its all or nothing. You're either completely immune or you can be hurt be extremes. And it comes out to be more expensive build a character that is resistant instead of immune.

[Guest Kolava]

One thing...wouldn't an impairing shot to the head take anyone out? How is that much of a limitation? It seems to be more of a hole in their defenses, maybe worthy of an activation roll on the defenses if you aren't using hit locations?

[nexus]

Originally posted by Kolava

One thing...wouldn't an impairing shot to the head take anyone out? How is that much of a limitation? It seems to be more of a hole in their defenses, maybe worthy of an activation roll on the defenses if you aren't using hit locations?

 

An impairing headshot kills them instantly (Body doesn't matter) and ignores their damage reduction. Now, in some campaigns an impairing shot to the head instantly kills, but its an optional rule. The disad is pretty generic. Sort of like the "Stake threw the heart" for Vampires. I mean really, that would kill anyone.

[cyst13]

If you want a form of life support that only works partially rather than absolutely, you could simply buy the normal life support with a limitation defining it the way you desire.

[Badger]

True, low pressure/high pressure/vacuum and the like will kill them most likely. But there want exactly be a way for the survivors to create these effects all that often.

[NuSoardGraphite]

DAWN OF THE DEAD REMAKE!!!!!!!

 

Comming soon to a threatre near you....

[nexus]

For a Return of the Living Dead Zombie. Add alot more body only to Stave off Death/Destruction, remove the vulnerabiliy to head shots, add more intelligence and skills (they retain more of their original minds and must be nearly totally vaporized to be destroyed).

 

Add a Vulnerability to Electricity x2 Body

and a Transformation:10d6 Major human to zombie triggered when they do Body to a living human with a Gradual Effect of 10 minutes.