Looking for feedback on judging how players can deal with zombies.
The adventure I plan is either the player as a Necromancer or the player against Necro as the villain. Either way I want to be prepared for the player to go after and defeat the necromancer or if the necromancer for the CS or whoever (psi-stalker, mercs, etc) to not be idiots about going after the player.
The player unload on a zombie. The zombie is lasered, cut, blasted.
So, either they see the humaniod they beat is a zombie or not.
IF they do, what is the roll Lore: Magic or Demons & Monsters?
What do they need to roll to know how to kill a zombie?
The assumption is they loot the corpse. Then maybe they bury it, leave it be or set fire to it. Most games I have run the players let slain enemies lie.
Zombie description reads they regenerate and go back to their master in 48 hours.
Is their no option where they continue their last "mission/job"?
Either the player know or don't that zombies regenerate. Roll?
Is there some magic that teleports the zombie next to its master after 48 hours?
Or does the zombie corpse stand up and zombie walk to their master?
IF that's how it works, can a smart player just watch it happen and tail the zombie back to the zombies master (Necromancer)?
Or will the zombie do evasive action and conter tracking?
Put an eletronic tracking device and/or listening bug on the zombie?
Will the zombie attack the player if he doesn't attack the zombie or keep it from returning to its master?
Would the zombie resist the player helping the zombie but taking it in the direction it wants to go by a car or hovervehicle?
What about hiding a bomb on the back of the zombie so they can remotely blow it up while watching from bionoculars?
I assume the zombie has a magical way of knowing the direction to walk towards its master even if the spell caster is moving.
I assume the zombie only walks to its master without any effort to pilot a car, bike, etc and without any urgency.
I assume it walks the path of least resistance going around fires, fights, bodies of water etc.
Would the zombie fall into a trap if the player set one in front of its straight line travel? (Pit trap and such, rope around leg pulls up like in the movies, etc). Assuming it does, the zombie does not give up but, what, climbs out, breaks rope?, etc.
Could the player trap a zombie in a basement or holding cell and put others in the basement for the zombie to kill? Would the zombie only attack those who attack it? Or just ignore everyone and keep trying to return to its master?
IF the player "trapped" the zombie could they keep fighting it and defeating it watching it regenerate every 48 hours and get experience points for fighting and beat it?
Zombies
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darthauthor
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Re: Zombies
My opinions about zombies.
Zombies are not as well known as vampires or animated dead.
Lore: Demons & Monsters at -20% unless they take their time in daylight or flashlight to study how their recently killed was already dead. Watching the zombie rise from its regenerated corpse makes it clear it is no longer living. They would get a 2nd roll of Lore: Monsters. They could experiment with various spells and learn.
Figure a successful roll under 20% and they will figure or remember to get off the head and put them in separate graves.
Zombie regenerate in 48 hours. Then return to their master on foot. Players who watch will see the zombie slowly grow back its pieces to look like it was the way it died. So my opinion is that Zombies stay they way they look when their dead body was made into a zombie.
The zombie once destroyed is "reset" and returns to its master (regardless of weather their mission was complete).The zombie walk to their master in the shortest path that does not damage it but will endure damage to return to its master (climb cliff, risk falling off, swims, etc) but does not drive or ride.
IF a zombie returning to its master it does not resist being carried or driven in the direction of its master. If the vehicle it is being transported on is no longer taking it in the direction of its master it will get off. It will not take orders. It will not answer questions under torture or interrogation. With its limited intellgence if placed with the means of transportation can it can pilot (put the zombie on a horse, in the seat of a car, it will take this path of least resistence driving the car until it is out of gas but on roads that go in the right direction. Same with a horse. After the transportation out of "gas" it abondons it or walk (unless someone helpful refuels it. Possibly after killing the zombie and leaving it in the drivers seat to with a full tank of gas.
As a GM I might judge that it does NOT take a full 48 hours to regenerate the zombie if all the pieces are kept together or the necromancer uses spells to speed the regeneration [Assemble Bones (2), Bone & Joint Bonding (2), Death Bolt (30), others?].
YES, a smart player can just watch it happen and tail the zombie back to the zombies master.
Zombies do not attempt to conceal their return or evade those tailing them.
Players can put an eletronic tracking device and/or listening bug on the zombie. It will not resist unless it perceives it being an attack (reverse pick pockets if skill roll is used to conceal the electronic device from another watching).
The returning zombie does not attack the player unless attacked or the zombie attacking is the easist way to return to it's master.
Hiding a bomb on the back of the zombie would work
It walks (max speed) the path of least resistance going around fires, fights, bodies of water etc.
The zombie could fall into a trap if the player set one in front of its straight line travel.
IF it did, the zombie does not give up but, what, climbs out, breaks rope.
YES, the player trap a zombie in a basement or holding cell. It would attempt escape.
It would ignore others unless they attacked it. Attack those who attack it.
IF the player "trapped" the zombie could they keep fighting it and defeating it watching it regenerate every 48 hours and get experience points for fighting and beat it?
Unless the players are at risk of being hit and damaged by the zombie players would not get experience. Its would just be target practice or punching a punching bag. Its practice NOT experience.
Zombies are not as well known as vampires or animated dead.
Lore: Demons & Monsters at -20% unless they take their time in daylight or flashlight to study how their recently killed was already dead. Watching the zombie rise from its regenerated corpse makes it clear it is no longer living. They would get a 2nd roll of Lore: Monsters. They could experiment with various spells and learn.
Figure a successful roll under 20% and they will figure or remember to get off the head and put them in separate graves.
Zombie regenerate in 48 hours. Then return to their master on foot. Players who watch will see the zombie slowly grow back its pieces to look like it was the way it died. So my opinion is that Zombies stay they way they look when their dead body was made into a zombie.
The zombie once destroyed is "reset" and returns to its master (regardless of weather their mission was complete).The zombie walk to their master in the shortest path that does not damage it but will endure damage to return to its master (climb cliff, risk falling off, swims, etc) but does not drive or ride.
IF a zombie returning to its master it does not resist being carried or driven in the direction of its master. If the vehicle it is being transported on is no longer taking it in the direction of its master it will get off. It will not take orders. It will not answer questions under torture or interrogation. With its limited intellgence if placed with the means of transportation can it can pilot (put the zombie on a horse, in the seat of a car, it will take this path of least resistence driving the car until it is out of gas but on roads that go in the right direction. Same with a horse. After the transportation out of "gas" it abondons it or walk (unless someone helpful refuels it. Possibly after killing the zombie and leaving it in the drivers seat to with a full tank of gas.
As a GM I might judge that it does NOT take a full 48 hours to regenerate the zombie if all the pieces are kept together or the necromancer uses spells to speed the regeneration [Assemble Bones (2), Bone & Joint Bonding (2), Death Bolt (30), others?].
YES, a smart player can just watch it happen and tail the zombie back to the zombies master.
Zombies do not attempt to conceal their return or evade those tailing them.
Players can put an eletronic tracking device and/or listening bug on the zombie. It will not resist unless it perceives it being an attack (reverse pick pockets if skill roll is used to conceal the electronic device from another watching).
The returning zombie does not attack the player unless attacked or the zombie attacking is the easist way to return to it's master.
Hiding a bomb on the back of the zombie would work
It walks (max speed) the path of least resistance going around fires, fights, bodies of water etc.
The zombie could fall into a trap if the player set one in front of its straight line travel.
IF it did, the zombie does not give up but, what, climbs out, breaks rope.
YES, the player trap a zombie in a basement or holding cell. It would attempt escape.
It would ignore others unless they attacked it. Attack those who attack it.
IF the player "trapped" the zombie could they keep fighting it and defeating it watching it regenerate every 48 hours and get experience points for fighting and beat it?
Unless the players are at risk of being hit and damaged by the zombie players would not get experience. Its would just be target practice or punching a punching bag. Its practice NOT experience.
Re: Zombies
There are lots of types of zombies in the books (CE, Dead Reign, Dark Conversions, Psyscape, etc.), but going to assume garden variety Create Zombie ritual type.
Skills: anything that is relevant with appropriate modifiers. My first guess would be Lore: Undead (primary skill!), Lore: Magic, Lore: Demons & Monsters, Post-Rifts History (I recall somewhere says zombies were one of the known plagues of the Dark Ages, so I'd say they are at least, if not better, known by humans than vampires), Mythology, and Mortuary Science (perhaps decapitation is a common practice in funerary rites on Rifts Earth just in case). CS troops specially assigned to hunt down a necromancer and tangle with undead are likely to have the Demon Hunter AT option, but modified for undead rather than demons/dyvals. Your average CS trooper without adequate briefing and training is a loot pinata.
You're the GM. You can make the zombie do whatever you allow. E.g. their master could have ordered them to continue the mission if destroyed. Or it could be reset. Whatever you decide.
Zombies have an IQ of 7. Here is where you might want to use common sense as IQ 7 is below average, but adequately functional according to RUE. Not an unthinking automaton, despite how they are described - you can't drive a car and yet have the pinnacle of your knowledge be the opening and closing of doors and telling the difference between a truck and something else (Dark Conversions pg 67). The description says they are smarter than mummies, but then give it pretty much the same behaviors.
Though the spell specifically says a zombie could drive a car, their master could have had the foresight to show and order them to put liquid that has a certain smell in the gas tank if the gas gauge reaches a certain point. They have the IQ to fill a gas tank, so let them use it. Also, ask yourself do they need to recognize what a tracking dart is or a ticking backpack in order to react, as they might just brush it off because it is something it doesn't recognize. Perhaps a IQ roll would be required for it to recognize the object as something odd to drop/remove/smash.
I find these types of zombies can be one-dimensional when played as an automaton and find that the way spell zombies are presented needs to be rewritten or given a much lower IQ stat. At minimum, I'd treat them as a Terminator-like magical construct. Normally, I prefer using a blend of CE Chaos Zombie with a dash of DR Sloucher. That said, you might want to check out the zombie quirk tables in CE SB 3 (pg 42-44). The physical and emotional quirks added to a spell zombie could make the zombie more than a meat puppet. A zombie obsessed with smelling flowers...
Skills: anything that is relevant with appropriate modifiers. My first guess would be Lore: Undead (primary skill!), Lore: Magic, Lore: Demons & Monsters, Post-Rifts History (I recall somewhere says zombies were one of the known plagues of the Dark Ages, so I'd say they are at least, if not better, known by humans than vampires), Mythology, and Mortuary Science (perhaps decapitation is a common practice in funerary rites on Rifts Earth just in case). CS troops specially assigned to hunt down a necromancer and tangle with undead are likely to have the Demon Hunter AT option, but modified for undead rather than demons/dyvals. Your average CS trooper without adequate briefing and training is a loot pinata.
You're the GM. You can make the zombie do whatever you allow. E.g. their master could have ordered them to continue the mission if destroyed. Or it could be reset. Whatever you decide.
Zombies have an IQ of 7. Here is where you might want to use common sense as IQ 7 is below average, but adequately functional according to RUE. Not an unthinking automaton, despite how they are described - you can't drive a car and yet have the pinnacle of your knowledge be the opening and closing of doors and telling the difference between a truck and something else (Dark Conversions pg 67). The description says they are smarter than mummies, but then give it pretty much the same behaviors.
Though the spell specifically says a zombie could drive a car, their master could have had the foresight to show and order them to put liquid that has a certain smell in the gas tank if the gas gauge reaches a certain point. They have the IQ to fill a gas tank, so let them use it. Also, ask yourself do they need to recognize what a tracking dart is or a ticking backpack in order to react, as they might just brush it off because it is something it doesn't recognize. Perhaps a IQ roll would be required for it to recognize the object as something odd to drop/remove/smash.
I find these types of zombies can be one-dimensional when played as an automaton and find that the way spell zombies are presented needs to be rewritten or given a much lower IQ stat. At minimum, I'd treat them as a Terminator-like magical construct. Normally, I prefer using a blend of CE Chaos Zombie with a dash of DR Sloucher. That said, you might want to check out the zombie quirk tables in CE SB 3 (pg 42-44). The physical and emotional quirks added to a spell zombie could make the zombie more than a meat puppet. A zombie obsessed with smelling flowers...
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darthauthor
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Re: Zombies
In my question, I was referring exclusively to Rifts Earth
Although I see how material can be incorporated from other books. My only concern is being consistent and not making more work than is wise. Its disappointing when I point a lot of time in and get excited over a character that is gotten ride of and/or forgotten in a minute.
Zombies with special personalities and/or abilities, if I were to consider then I'd have to have some rules for to like a dice roll or special circumstances.
Ideas include:
The way the zombie died.
Condition of the corpse.
Personality before death.
Human, mutant or D-Bee.
How long they have been a zombie and their experience as one.
IF they have been destroyed and regenerated (reset deletes memory).
Got any ideas?
Although I see how material can be incorporated from other books. My only concern is being consistent and not making more work than is wise. Its disappointing when I point a lot of time in and get excited over a character that is gotten ride of and/or forgotten in a minute.
Zombies with special personalities and/or abilities, if I were to consider then I'd have to have some rules for to like a dice roll or special circumstances.
Ideas include:
The way the zombie died.
Condition of the corpse.
Personality before death.
Human, mutant or D-Bee.
How long they have been a zombie and their experience as one.
IF they have been destroyed and regenerated (reset deletes memory).
Got any ideas?
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darthauthor
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Re: Zombies
Looked up some of Chaos Earth Zombie material:
"Affects most mortal, humanoid life forms, including humans and human-like Dimensional Beings (D-Bees) such as Phlebus, Elves, Dwarves, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins, True Atlanteans, Trimadore, Tirrvol Sword Fists, Squilbs, Psi-Stalkers, Quick-Flex Aliens, Noli Bushmen, Vanguard Brawlers, Roane Pipers, Posluznik, Cyber-Horsemen, Kremin Cyborgs, D’Norr Devilmen, Fingertooth, Vintex Warriors, Yhabbayar, and even Grackle Tooth, N’mbyr Gorilla Men, Sasquatch, Simvan and
Mastadonoids. Even Full Conversion Cyborgs can be affected with their Mega-Damage armor, enhanced strength, and integrated weapon systems, cyborg zombies can become some of the
most dangerous.
Only creatures of magic (e.g. dragons, unicorns, Faerie Folk, etc.), and supernatural beings (e.g. demons, Deevils, Elementals, Entities, spirits and deities) are immune, as are most D-Bees of a reptilian, insect, plant or energy nature.
Supernatural beings and creatures of magic cannot be reanimated.
Zombie encounters something large and unliving blocking its way, its first reaction is to tear it down or go around it. If tearing it or knocking it down proves unsuccessful, the zombies usually give up after 4d6 minutes and try to find a way around it or move off in some other direction.
"Affects most mortal, humanoid life forms, including humans and human-like Dimensional Beings (D-Bees) such as Phlebus, Elves, Dwarves, Ogres, Orcs, Goblins, True Atlanteans, Trimadore, Tirrvol Sword Fists, Squilbs, Psi-Stalkers, Quick-Flex Aliens, Noli Bushmen, Vanguard Brawlers, Roane Pipers, Posluznik, Cyber-Horsemen, Kremin Cyborgs, D’Norr Devilmen, Fingertooth, Vintex Warriors, Yhabbayar, and even Grackle Tooth, N’mbyr Gorilla Men, Sasquatch, Simvan and
Mastadonoids. Even Full Conversion Cyborgs can be affected with their Mega-Damage armor, enhanced strength, and integrated weapon systems, cyborg zombies can become some of the
most dangerous.
Only creatures of magic (e.g. dragons, unicorns, Faerie Folk, etc.), and supernatural beings (e.g. demons, Deevils, Elementals, Entities, spirits and deities) are immune, as are most D-Bees of a reptilian, insect, plant or energy nature.
Supernatural beings and creatures of magic cannot be reanimated.
Zombie encounters something large and unliving blocking its way, its first reaction is to tear it down or go around it. If tearing it or knocking it down proves unsuccessful, the zombies usually give up after 4d6 minutes and try to find a way around it or move off in some other direction.