Skip to main content

The Dead Are Coming - The Zombies

 


9 - Zombies

Some call them the Deathless, Walkers or some other dumb name. They are flesh eating mutant creatures that devour or infect you making you one of them. Run from them. If you can’t, aim for the head.


9.1 - Zombie Traits

All zombies share these common characteristics:

  • Don’t require Food, Water or Rest to survive.

  • Cannot suffer Critical Damage and fight until their STR reaches 0.

  • Don’t check Morale.

  • All damage against them explodes: when the damage die’s highest result is rolled, roll it again until you don’t roll the highest result, combining your results.

  • Desire nothing more than to eat your flesh.


9.2 - Zombie Infection

When a survivor takes STR damage from a Zombie attack they must make a STR save to avoid being Infected. 

When Infected, make a STR Save daily. After 3 failures you become the Zombie type that infected you (or something similar if not possible).

9.3 - Sample Zombies

Here are some examples of zombies found in the world. There can be many other types, as they mutate over time.


The Sluggish
2 HP - STR 10, DEX 6, WIL 8
Attacks: Slam (d4) or Bite (d6)
Special: can only attack or move each round.

Slow and steady they come in hordes. You can put one down but two more take its place.


The Runner
4 HP - STR 12, DEX 12, WIL 8
Attacks: Claws (d6) or Bite (d6)
Special: move twice each round.

Possessing an unnatural agility for something that should be dead, Runners will overtake you if you’re not careful. Kill them first!


The Hulk
12 HP - Def 1 - STR 15, DEX 10, WIL 6
Attacks: Slam (d8) or Crush (d12, skip acting next round)
Special: At STR 7 it’s enraged, attacking twice per round.

Hulking bloated zombies that walk haphazardly towards you, these abominations are almost impossible to stop. If I see one I just run as fast as I can!


The Spitter
4 HP - STR 10, DEX 12, WIL 10
Attacks: Claw (d6) or Acid Spit (d6, short range)
Special: When dealt STR damage everyone in close range makes a DEX Save or takes 1d4 damage.

Maybe the most irritating zombie out there. These pesky buggers form bands and rain acid over you. Kill them from afar.


The Toxic
6 HP - STR 12, DEX 8, WIL 10
Attacks: Slam (d4)
Special: Everyone within short range makes a STR test or suffers 1d4 damage.

You will see them coming. A green miasma moving towards you. Don’t wait for it or you will cough blood.


The Exploding
3 HP - STR 8, DEX 10, WIL 6
Attacks: Slam (d4)
Special: At 0 STR they explode splashing acid (d8) on everyone in close range.

These zombies look frail and week, but don’t be fooled. When killed, they explode bathing you in acid sludge and dissolving you into a pulp. Keep away.


The Mass
20 HP - STR 15, DEX 5, WIL 10
Attacks: Slam (d6) and Engulf
Special: Attacks everyone in close range simultaneously and, if it rolls a 6 for damage, engulfs the victim (STR Save to escape each round).

A grotesque vision. A great mass of corpses entwined as if by a mad intelligence swallows everyone in its path. I’ve seen it eat a horse in seconds!


The Master
10 HP - Def 1 - STR 10, DEX 12, WIL 14
Attacks: Claws (d6) or Terrifying Gaze
Special: Intelligent and can command other zombies strategically. Gazing into its eyes forces a WIL save to avoid Stress (1d6 WIL damage).

I don’t know how these terrifying creatures are created but they’re the most dangerous of all. You can feel a malignant intelligence in their eyes. Run if you ever see one of them.


Z Dog
3 HP - STR 12, DEX 12, WIL 6
Attacks: Bite (d6) or Howl
Special: Once per encounter, it howls (roll for a Random Encounter).

I once saw a dog in the distance and thought I'd found a friend. Big mistake. Nasty things. Hungrier than the human zombies. Nastier bite too.


Z Elephant
20 HP - Def 1 - STR 16, DEX 5, WIL 6
Attacks: Slam (d8) or Trample (d8)
Special: Band scale; Can move up to medium distance trampling everyone in its path.

Some animals in abandoned Zoos turned into zombies. I once saw a gigantic elephant that looked like a death machine killing a dozen people as it stepped on their heads.


Mutations

No one knows why, but zombies mutate, becoming more and more monstrous.

 

d12

Mutations

d12

Mutations

1

Extra arms: attacks twice per round.

7

Drain Blood: Bite (1d6) recovers half as much STR.

2

Spikes: Inflicts 1d4 damage to close range attackers.

8

Leathery Skin: 1d4 - 1 Defense.

3

Stench: Anyone in short range must pass a STR check or suffer Disadvantage on Saves.

9

Stare: Forces a WIL Save. Failure means the zombie can’t be attacked for 1d4 rounds.

4

Strong: Improve damage die and +1d4 STR.

10

Grasping Tongue: Target makes a DEX Save or can’t move.

5

Agile: Can move one range band further than normal and +1d4 DEX.

11

Scream: DEX Save to avoid being Deafened.

6

Intelligent: Grants 1 extra action to another zombie within short range

12

Regeneration: Recovers 1d4 STR per round.

 

 


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter!

 I can't believe I didn't post about it here! The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are on Kickstarter right now! These are 3 complete games, made using the system of Electric Bastionland and Mausritter as the basis (and with some modifications to fit my vision for each of them). As with my games, they all come filled with many tools and tables to generate gaming content, adventures, locations, NPCs and much more. They are compact, easy to use, and equipped to provide you with years of entertainment! Here's a brief description of each of the games. The Dead Are Coming The first of them is called The Dead Are Coming, a minimalist, OSR style RPG about survival in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead have risen and other survivors can be much worse than the undead. Characters in this game are common people who have been struggling to survive, find their loved ones, keep them safe and just trying to keep living. They all carry resources like...
Read more

How to never describe a dungeon!

Artwork by Luigi Castellani I've heard it a thousand times. You probably heard it too. Some people , I don't know why, say that dungeons , especially large ones, are boring . The endless repetitions of rooms and corridors and having to choose to go left, right, north or south depresses them. I don't know why. Actually, I do know why. Because they don't really know how to run a dungeon in play. It seems easy, effortless. Just say what's in the room the PCs are in and where the passages going out of it go. But it's not. They get bored with the "you get to a intersection and there is a door to the north and two passages, one going east and one going west" because that's a terrible way of describing a dungeon environment and gives nothing really useful to the players to choose from. You never describe a dungeon like that . There's a lot more going on that we can initially see. A good referee will take all the context of what the dungeon w...
Read more

Dark Streets & Darker Secrets - Complete Game Text

November was NaGaDeMon (National Game Design Month), and I decided to create an Action Horror RPG using my system (updated with all the modifications of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells). Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, X-Files, The Chilling Tales of Sabrina, Grimm and many more TV Shows, comics and books, I quickly worte Dark Streets & Darker Secrets . It is written in a very direct and simple way, similar to Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells originally was, but with uodated rules and a lot of tools and tables to assist the Referee in creating adventures, NPCs, locations, artifacts, monsters and much more. The book itself will eventually be release in partnership with Gallant Knight Games , but the text is already written and ready to be used, so I am sharing it here with you all! There is no official character sheet yet. I am working on it. But a simple Index Card will work just as well! So here it is:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QlFYafvxv...
Read more