Monday, October 10, 2011

Quarantine Zone

Alright, with Halloween fast approaching I have been thinking about this. I am still slowly thinking up the actual rules and have come up with the different types of zombies which will be roaming the Quarantine Zone.

It is important to remember that every zombie is unique and that zombies are as varied in death as they were in life. Assuming zombies are all the same will get you killed or worse- false familiarity is deadly.

That said, there are a handful of broad categories which most zombies can be classified into.

Sloucher - The 'regular' zombie. Slow moving, uncoordinated, and very unaware. Will wander or lay collapsed until it detects prey, at which point it will issue a horrible moan and move to attack.

Dragger- A Sloucher that moves more slowly for some reason, perhaps due to injury or decomposition. A Dragger's slow but erratic movements make them more difficult to get a headshot on than the more steady Slouchers.

Shambler- A Sloucher that is able to move slightly faster than average. Like the Dragger, Shambler's erratic movement makes them more difficult to target precisely.

Crawler- A zombie which must crawl, usually because of severe damage to the legs or back.

Juggernaut- A very large Sloucher, either obese, muscular or mutated. Not faster or smarter but stronger and very difficult to put down.

Twitcher- At first glance a Twitcher will appear to be a regular Sloucher, but a careful observer will notice the Twitcher is much more alert and fidgety. Unlike Slouchers, Twitchers will run, climb, and jump to reach prey; shrieking the whole time.

Wailer- Usually a zombie child with enormous lung capacity. The Wailer is fond of climbing and will wait in treetops or on the roofs of houses until it spots prey. The horribly distinctive wail will attract all the zombies in the area.   

Banshee- Usually a zombified young woman. The hellish shriek of a Banshee will not only attract more zombies, it is said to be able to transfix the living, freezing the weak willed in place.

Thinker- Thinkers are thankfully very rare. They look like regular people, they are able to walk and move like the living and they usually don't have obvious injuries. Thinkers are self aware and alert, able to see their surroundings in a way that other zombies cannot. Thinkers can learn simple things, use simple tools, and recognize symbols and patterns.  A Thinkers most terrifying trait however is the ability to telepathically direct other zombies, allowing them to set traps and overcome obstacles.

More on this later.

3 comments:

  1. cool-for my zombie goodness check out my new zombies attack 8pg rpg for free! couple fo d6 and you are ready to roll
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  2. Impressive zombie taxonomy. You've done extensive study!

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  3. Thanks guys. I have got alot of the rules stuff pretty much figured out I think. Your game is really cool Fenway, I find simple d6 systems are a really nice break from Pathfinder.

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